Job Gone Wrong (Nalu)

Chapter 9

When I finally regained consciousness, I was starving. I noticed a throbbing pain in my ankle, which was somehow bandaged. Natsu's warm scarf was wrapped around my neck, but I couldn't hear the fire wizard near me.

The book we had worked so hard to obtain was placed right next to my head. I breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the book to my chest.

As I struggled to push my sore body into a seated position, I noticed the stone beast from before. It's corpse was sprawled out a few meters away from me. Oddly enough, there were blood stains on it.

"Natsu!" I called out, praying he was still alive.

"Lucy?" His voice replied faintly.

"Natsu! Where are you?" I questioned, tears pricking at my eyes.

"Behind you. Mind giving me a hand?"

I turned to see the pink-haired dragon slayer trapped beneath a pile of rubble similar to those in random places throughout the chamber.

"Are you okay?"I asked, crawling over to him. This was difficult due to my injured ankle.

"I'll be fine. Just pull me outta here."

I did as he told me to, tugging his body free. Suddenly, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me into his chest.

"I thought you were a goner," I whispered quietly.

"I'm fine. I'm right here. I was worried for you, too," He replied, taking a deep breath. "I thought you were a goner."

"But here we are," I answered tenderly, nuzzling my face into his shoulder.  I could feel tears as they were about to fall.

"Yeah," He sighed. "We've been through a lot together."

"You got that right," I agreed, earning a halfhearted chuckle from Natsu.

"Lucy, I don't know what I would've done if you died. I just -" he hugged me tighter, cutting off his sentence.

"I didn't want you to die either," I reassured him, sniffling as tears flowed out of my eyes, landing on his shoulders.

"I love you," Natsu mumbled.

"You what?" I echoed, wondering if I had heard him correctly.

He kept his hands on my shoulders, but pulled away and looked into my eyes.

"I love you, Lucy."

"Natsu, I don't know what to say," I replied, flattered by his confession and embarrassed by the directness of it. As my cheeks heated up, Natsu's eyes searched mine for an answer.

"I'm sorry," Natsu sighed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "That wasn't right."

"What do you mean?" I wondered aloud.

"I'm sorry. I could've said that in a better way. I totally-"

He stopped speaking as I leaned in.

"It's okay, I feel the same way," I reassured him, smiling as our faces became closer. "I've never done this kind of thing before, so I'm a bit awkward."

"It's okay. Me too," he whispered.

As the gap between our lips closed, my heartbeat raced in my chest. When his chapped lips pressed against mine, a wave of excitement rushed over me and I dropped the book. I kissed back lovingly, earning a hum of approval from Natsu. I felt my hands run themselves through his messy, pink hair as his warm body embraced me.

When we finally pulled apart, I was gasping for air and Natsu's face was covered in a heavy blush.

"You got the book," he cheered, giving me a wide grin.

"We got the book," I corrected, resting my hand on top of his.

His gaze shifted down to our hands as he placed his other hand around mine and leaned in again.  He kissed my lips a second time, causing my heartbeat to accelerate again.

"Sorry I just couldn't resist," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing.

"You're adorable," I teased, giggling.

"Let's bring this book back, Luce," he suggested, looking into my eyes lovingly.

"Right."

There it is! Sorry if it was rushed or bad. I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to comment suggestions or if you just want to say hi!

Love you!