I Feel at Home With You

Chapter 1: A Pair of Oblivious Fools

Pairing: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Setting: Modern day
Rating: T
Words: 2,061

Sure, he seemed dense at times. Natsu himself knew that much. But he wasn't completely unaware of what he felt for his nakama, the golden haired girl he'd rescued and immediately felt attached to. He wasn't stupid enough to ignore the fact that his heart beat a little faster when he saw that real, genuine smile of hers, or that his cheeks felt abnormally hot sometimes around her, even if he was a pyro by nature. And he definitely wasn't oblivious to how he would always, always, do anything to protect her from harm, even if it would hurt him in the process. She meant more to him than his own life did, anyway.

Natsu just felt so damn helpless when he couldn't get to her in time to save her from the pain or from being hurt at all. She was a Fairy Tail student, just like he was, and liked to say she could take care of herself, but he just couldn't let her be. Sure, he believed she could handle it herself, but he would just rather beat the shit out of whoever tried to hurt her than risk losing her when the enemy turned out to be so much more than he seemed.

Sometimes the pink haired young man thought that she was the dense one. Couldn't she see how much he cared about her?

Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail's Salamander, sighed as he stared up at the ceiling above him, listening to the soft splashing sounds coming from the bathroom. If one had assumed he was laying on the bed of the girl in question, they would have been absolutely correct. He'd been kind enough to drop his shoes before falling on top of her covers, putting both hands behind his head to stare at nothing and think.

He tried not to think about the fact that Lucy Heartfilia, the college's carefree and smiling student and the girl he was practically head over heels for, was one room over and taking a bath.

It wasn't exactly working.

The fire pyro groaned, glad that Happy wasn't there to see his dilemma and come out with his annoying, "You liiiiike her," like he'd been doing for a few months now. And it's not like what Happy said wasn't true, because even the sometimes thick-skulled boy knew what he was feeling towards his nakama. He knew that he liked Lucy as much more than just a nakama. But the right way to tell her, to come out with a confession, just completely eluded him. It's not like he wanted to keep it a secret, either, but he just couldn't get it to come out. Sure, he liked her, and sure, they'd been friends since he met her in freshmen year at Fairy Tail almost two years ago. They talked just fine, but when it got closer to that subject, he just couldn't say it. It had been that way for the last year, maybe even a little bit longer.

"Dammit," Natsu growled to himself, squeezing his eyes closed.

Lucy just took over his mind. She was just like that, you know? Her smile, her laugh, even the twinkling in her chocolate eyes. It just took control of him. He wanted to tell her, to hold her, but what would that do to the bond they'd built up over all their time together? Would she be offended, and all their closeness crumble to nothing? The thought tormented the resident pyro to no end.

The gentle swishing of the water as Lucy relaxed in her bath was heard, and Natsu sighed, opening his eyes again.

"Luce, open your eyes," he said, eyes trailing toward the closed bathroom door before he realized it and turned them back to the ceiling.

It was then that he thought it might be time to tell her, friendship be damned.

The girl sighed, sinking into her nice, warm, and usually relaxing bath. But her mind, for once in her life, could not be put at ease by the soothing waters swirling around her. It was occupied with thoughts of a certain person who, at this moment, was probably snoring on her bed like he usually did. No matter how many times she told him to leave, not to sneak in, she could usually find him there when she got home. Lucy couldn't deny that she'd grown accustomed to it. She also couldn't deny that, after so long, it just simply felt right. After all this time, if she'd come home more than twice a week without him waiting for her she would've been depressed.