Nalu oneshots

Shot 1: Living Dangerously

They were bruised and beaten and exhausted. Lucy's headache, and only the thought of a clean, hot bath made climbing the stairs even remotely possible. Even Natsu's usually unquenchable fire - haha, not funny - was noticeably dim.

"Why do we do it, Luce?" he asked, for the third or fourth time. "It's not like it pays well. I mean" - he rubbed a dirty hand through his pink hair, but it wasn't physically possible for it to stick up any further - "look at us! And I hate having to get new clothes."

"Well, there's the goodwill factor," Lucy mumbled, too tired - and too much in general agreement - to argue the point. "Just... just sit on the couch and don't touch anything. You're filthy and I get the bath first."

Natsu didn't so much as twitch in response, let alone protest. He sat down on the couch, closed his eyes, and laid his head back on the soft blue fabric. Lucy almost felt concerned. As they had grown closer, and had oh-so-slowly begun to admit that they were moving toward a different - they avoided the term "better" - relationship, Natus had developed a tendency to joke about just taking baths together to save heat and water.

Lucy leaned in the doorway to the bathroom, eyes tracing Natsu's familiar profile and the clean lines of his sharp chin and well-defined shoulders and collar-bones. For a moment, she seriously considered taking Natsu up on his offer. He would definitely keep the bathwater warm. Then she felt herself redden and shook her head with a sigh. She was obviously way too tired to be making important decisions right now.

Instead, she rubbed her temples and said: "Happy bailed early. That made it harder."

"Yeah. Whatever happened to 'friends forever' and 'I'll always be by your side'? I mean geez! I remember when he helped me fight Cobra! Clouds of poisonous gas everywhere an' Erik predicting our every move..."

"I still remember Happy trying to save Charlie from the whole Exceed army in Edolas - and then trying to save the Exceeds from the king!" Lucy hesitated for a moment, then added: "He has a big mouth and a snarky attitude sometimes - but he saved my life, pretty much, the first time we met."

"Huh, yeah. And he's been calling you 'heavy' ever since."

"Ha! That's one of the more polite terms." Lucy sighed, but it was an odd mixture of exasperation and affection - and something else perilously like nostalgia. She suddenly felt like twenty-four going on eighty.

"Do you - " Natsu began.

"Don't. Just don't. If we start on a do you remember when stroll - or in our case more often panicked flight - down memory lane, then bad things will happen."

Natsu lifted his head slightly and peered at her rather warily from the couch. "Bad things like what?"

"Well first, I'm not going to make it into my bath before I collapse. And second, I'll feel even older than I do now and I am feeling plenty old after the day we just spent." She hesitated and then continued: "And tired, dirty, cantankerous Lucy is not going to be quite as cuddly as clean, sleepy, not-so-grouchy Lucy."

Natsu managed a small huff of amusement and sat up enough to catch and hold Lucy's gaze. "You know what, Luce? I don't really mind either way. I mean - don't get me wrong! Cuddly, relaxed Lucy is better... But I think we'll manage okay even when we're as old as we feel right now."

There was a short silence. Natsu was so unpredictable, Lucy thought. Most of the time he was totally oblivious - or pretended to be. And then he'd turn around and say exactly the right thing.

"I'll go get that bath then," she said at last, eyes unaccountably misty. Fortunately, the excess sentiment was absorbed by Natsu's next statement, which was distinctly less lover-like, but undeniably heartfelt.

"But if you ever offer to babysit Gajeel's little terrors again at the same time as Cana and Mira's hellborn babe-"

"I know, I know!" Lucy interrupted, groaning.

"Well, I may just leave along with Happy! Seriously, they'd make anyone nostalgic for a life-and-death battle against every villain in the book..."

Abruptly, they found themselves grinning at each other. Lucy's warm brown eyes sparkled, and Natsu's dark eyes seemed to laugh back in response. There were going to be plenty of opportunities to build even more memories in the future.

But preferably away from toddlers and four-year-olds for at least a little while longer. Maybe. Secretly, each of them thought that their own couldn't possibly be as much trouble...