Fairy Tail: An Aqaurius Quest

Call Me Lucy Dragneel From Now On

"I promise I won't burn your hair off, trust me Lucy, it'll dry quicker this way," he says in his most convincing voice but it's still not enough.

"No Natsu! Fire is not going anywhere near my hair. Not after last time, do you know how long it took Cancer to get me looking like a girl again!"

He sneaks a glance at my chest and snickers, "oh trust me Lucy, even if you go bald, you'll always look like a girl."

"You don't have to be such a perv you know!" I elbow him.

"Ow!"

"Hey Natsu? How are we going to tell the guild about us?"

"What do you mean? Tell them what?" He asks in his typical socially inept way.

"That we're, you know, changing my last name to Dragneel soon?" I say blushing. He blushes too, which is new. He rarely ever does it.

"Oh, well, no worries, we tell em just like we'd tell em anything else," he smiles enthusiastically.

"How? We walk back in the guild, they hound us about the key and we say what exactly?"

"Couldn't find the key. That was a real bummer. Nothing much else happened. Besides me and Lucy deciding to get married, but yeah. Still could use some help tracking Aquarius' key down," he says confidently.

He would do that. Just drop a bomb on everyone so casually. He has no tact. Whatsoever. Just like the time he literally uprooted an entire tree and paraded it down my street for me. He's so impulsive I swear.

"No. If Erza finds out like that, we won't have to worry about a wedding, she will kill us. I'll tell Erza, you will tell Gray."

"Fine," he agrees begrudgingly.

He seems more chipper than usual. I know I am. It feels good having everything out in the open. Now we don't have to hold back anymore. Maybe he's relieved that it's out in the open too. Who knows how many times he wanted to kiss me but ended up holding off? How many times beside the one where he worked up the courage to tell me he loved me but ultimately decided to back off?

He tosses the towels on a chair nearby and lays down on his side with his head propped up on his elbow.

I flick the bedside lamp switch off and turn on my side to face him. It's almost pitch black except for the moonlight pooling in through the window. I can still make out the scars on his hip, face, and neck.

I reach my hand out to caress his cheek, running my finger lightly over the scar there.

Last week I wouldn't have been so brazen to touch him like this for fear of how he might react. But now, those fears have evaporated. He's looking at me, and I can tell he loves me just as deeply as I love him. His hand clutches my wrist firmly and he bends his forehead down to touch mine. He exhales deeply and releases his tight grasp on my wrist and, my hand travels to the nape of his neck to play with his soft pink tufts of hair instead. He bends down lazily and presses a tiny little kiss on the tip of my nose.

I'm starting to become somewhat of an expert on Natsu kisses.

The very first one, while technically accidental, he still didn't pull away. That kiss was a kiss that said I'm yours.

The one after I told him I loved him said I love you more.

The ones he trailed down my stomach said I adore you.

When he kissed my forehead while he thought I was asleep said I care about you.

But this one is just because. Just because he loves me.

I tilt my head just enough so that my lips are against his, telling him the same things his kisses have told me.

"Lucy," he murmurs as I trail kisses down his neck.

He rolls back on top of me and straddles my hips. Repeating history, I tug his scarf so that his face is directly against mine. His lips part, and he tastes like honey. My legs find themselves wrapped around his torso. He lets out a groan against my lips when I tug on his hair gently.

His skin is becoming hotter than usual, if he weren't a Fire Dragon Slayer, I'd think he was sick with a fever.

He pulls away just long enough from my kiss to ask me in heavy breaths, "do you want me?"

"Always," I answer.

His fingers slide in between mine and he clasps my hands tightly as he tethers himself to me.

"I- I love you Lucy," he says the four words in perfect sequence. This is the first time that he's told me he loves me with cognizant ramifications attached.

"I love you Natsu," I tell him in between kisses and moans.

Once we are done, he grins at me with pure elation for a good few minutes before I muster the courage to speak up.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" There's a humourous undertone in my question.

This takes him aback, I guess he didn't realize he looked like a gleeful idiot, "I don't know, I'm happy I guess."

I almost forgot what he looks like when he's happy. 

I've been so self absorbed in myself this whole time. Worried about nothing other than Aquarius' key.

Natsu watched his dad get murdered in front of him, then he had to beat his own brother to the brink of death, and walk away, knowingly leaving him to ultimately die. I hadn't even noticed the toll The Battle of Tartoros and The Alvarez Empire took on him.

But now that he's smiling again, and his eyes are bright with hope, I can tell for certain that he is happy.

I don't know how to feel, I'm elated that he's happy, but I also hurt for him that he was sad to even begin with.

Eventually I say to him, "I'm happy you are happy."

I manage to sneak one last kiss on his cheek before he dozes off completely.

Once his heartbeat is slow and steady, his breathing is even, and I know for certain he's asleep I whisper, "I never thought one person could make me this happy neither."