#ft fan fiction

[shelbyshoe]

Looks Like Rent Is Due

One-Shot

Fairy Tail (NaLu) Lucy is fired, again. Saving the day with psychic abilities isn’t as rewarding as you think it is. Down on her luck, and with only half rent, she strikes a deal with her landlord’s brother, a vampire named Natsu. Free rent for free blood. At least it’s a trial run, and he’s incredibly hot. Rated E (smut, vampire bites, blood) Words: 7398

Based on this amazing post.

AO3

FFN

“You’re fired.”

“What? Can I at least get a two-week notice? I have people to feed,” Lucy said. Her manager narrowed his eyes and slapped an envelope onto the counter.

“First, you are the only person you’re feeding. Second, this is the rest of your paycheck. Feel free to leave.” He didn’t wait for her to convince him that she was a great employee and that she needed the money. On his way to the back room, she caught his brief thought.

Thank gods she’s gone.

The front door to the Seven Eleven rang as she walked out of the store for the last time toward her apartment building. The summer humidity settled over her skin. Some of the hair that had escaped her ponytail stuck to the sides of her face. This wasn’t the first time someone had fired her. That’s what happened when you had psychic abilities and just so happen to stop a man from abducting a child at a Seven Eleven. Alright, she could have stopped him a bit less aggressively. But come on. It was either she allowed the man to walk away with the kid or she kicked him in the face to give the kid some time to get the heck out of there.

Lucy was a magnet for disasters. She had stopped two kidnappings, a robbery, a drug deal, and stopped a surprisingly sneaky old lady from pickpocketing everyone that passed by her at the local coffee shop. Every time, she’d had to intervene without a good reason. No one would believe that she could read people’s thoughts.

She’d tried to tell herself that it was none of her business what people thought about. Their evil intent had nothing to do with her. But when she kicked that man in the face today, that little kid appeared so relieved. It made it worth getting fired. Except, she now had to find another job. The Seven Eleven gig was already a miracle. Managers knew her as the girl that kicked the shit out of customers. No one would take her.

Lucy stood in front of her apartment building with a sinking feeling in her stomach. The small apartment she’d moved into had the usual amenities, leaky faucets, missing cabinet handles, and of course the loudest neighbors in town. The ones below her sounded like two giraffes scraping their heads on the low ceilings, and the ones above had two dogs who had zoomies all night. The outside of the building let her know that she lived in a Junji Ito novel. The lock to the gate had long broken, left wide open for anyone to get through. The building itself needed a new paint job, and the banisters had rusted, just begging for someone to fall. But at least it was cheap.

She trudged up the concrete stairs to her second-floor apartment. The little old lady that lived next door sat in the breezeway in a little chair. She cradled a steaming cup in her hands and smiled at Lucy’s approach.

“You’re home early,” she said.

“Fired again.” She pulled out her house keys from her bag as she approached her door.

“You’re young yet. You’ll find another one. I believe in you, Heartfilia.” Ms. Sato took a sip of her tea and closed her eyes in bliss. If only Lucy’s life could feel that good.

“Thank you, Ms. Sato.” She pushed open her door and slipped inside. There wasn’t much to her apartment, maybe that was best in her situation. She pulled off her shoes in the tiled genkan, passed the little kitchenette and the door to her all-in-one bathroom, and dropped her bag on the floor before she sank into her two-seater couch. She had plans to get a new TV to fill the empty space in her living room. That was until she lost her job, again. Now she had to save every penny. She didn’t feel like she had needed one before. There was a used bookstore down the street, so she had piles of mass market paperbacks stacked just below the window in the way she’d seen on Instagram. Lucy’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She found a text message from her best friend lit up the screen.

Levy: Want to come out tonight?

Lucy leaned her head back on her couch cushion and stared up at the water-stained ceiling. Either this was a girl’s night, which she couldn’t afford now that she had no job, or Levy had asked her to be a third wheel again. Levy had acquired a new boyfriend and loved to drag Lucy along to try and find her one too. Her tired body begged her to stay home, take a hot shower, and crawl into bed. Her weary mind wanted to drink and forget her loss of a job. Ah, decisions.

Lucy: Who’s coming?

She hoped that was a hint to leave the boyfriend at home. With her luck, Levy would insist that he join them. Their honeymoon phase was cute and all, but Lucy didn’t want to date while in crisis. Did she even have enough money to go out? She leaned over, pulled her bag into her lap, and took out the envelope that her ex-boss gave her. Inside was a stack of cash. He had counted the exact amount that he owed her for her final paycheck. It included a copy of an official notice of termination. Great. Might as well add them to the pile. Her phone buzzed again. She expected to find her answer about Levy’s plans.

Scumlord: This is your reminder that your rent is two days past due. If it is convenient for you, submit your payment through the client portal. If you are using cash, please slip it under door 101. No checks or money orders. Thank you.

Fantastic. Just what she needed in these trying times. Another message lit her screen.

Levy: Just me and Gajeel. You’ve been working so many hours. You should take some time for yourself!

Lucy: Maybe next time! I’m exhausted.

If Lucy’s calculations were correct, she didn’t have enough money for rent. She needed money or time to find a new job. She stared at the landlord’s message. She had cash at least. Maybe she could go down to 101 and convince whoever lived there to take an IOU. Or she could run down to Seven Eleven and beg for her job back. She devised a plan to tell the manager that she’d heard the gross guy, that she kicked to hell, tell that kid some dirty things or something. Though she doubted that made a difference. She still kicked a customer, and corporate only cared about the money in their pockets. The next time she saw something weird, she’d ignore it. Lucy hated her little gift of reading minds. For her entire life, it had only brought her trouble.

“What people think is none of my business.” If she said it enough, she could feel better when she inevitably allowed things like kidnap to happen. Might as well—

Someone knocked at Lucy’s door. She stood and slipped her phone in her back pocket. She peeked through the peephole and found nothing on the other side.

“Who’s there?” she called.

“Here to collect rent,” a low voice said from the other side of her door. Lucy had met her landlord on a few occasions. He was aloof with longish black hair, owned multiple properties, and was ruthless with rent. He had enough money to live somewhere other than the Junji Ito horror apartment building. This person at her door must be whoever lived in apartment 101. Now was her chance to convince whoever was on the other side to allow her to pay half.

Lucy opened the door with an entire spiel about rent rattled off in her head. All of which evaporated as soon as she got a good look at 101. He stood off to the side and leaned against the metal railing. He braced himself on the rail. The drapey gray sleeveless shirt helped display his perfectly toned tanned arms and broad shoulders.

“I can’t.” She hadn’t meant to blurt it out. To her credit, her brain had run on fumes all week and clearly no longer functioned like an adult.

“You can’t pay?” The man in front of her lifted himself off the rail. Her eyes followed his movement. Bad idea. Now, she couldn’t stop staring at his arms.

“I can do half.” She held up the white envelope.

“No can do.” He crossed his arms over his chest. This was not the time to lust over a random man at her door to collect rent. “When can you have all of it? I was explicitly told by my shitty brother not to accept more than full payment.”

“Look, you seem nice. I’d hate to put you in a bad spot, but I only have half. I just got laid off and need to find another job,” Lucy said. He whistled low and shook his head.

“That’s a bummer. But I still can’t take half.”

“Wait, you’re the landlord’s brother?”

“Unfortunately.” He grimaced and peered down the breezeway.

“What brings you to this dump?” It helped the situation that the hot guy sounded like he hated her landlord as much as she did. If she could soften him up a bit, and get him to talk freely, she could convince him to take half the rent payment.

“Dropped out of college and needed somewhere to go.”

“Man, your brother must hate you to send you here.” Lucy leaned against her door frame and tucked her envelope in her back pocket.

“Probably, but I’m not planning to stay. What brings you here? I was expecting drug dealers and gang members.”

“What makes you think I don’t deal?” she said. His eyes widened before he broke out into a soft laugh. The sound made her want to hear more. “I’m kidding. I’m strapped for cash.”

“Clearly, but I meant that you seem like you belong in a high rise somewhere, not here.”

“It’s a long story. What made you drop out?” she asked.

“It’s a long story.” This time when he smiled, his canines stood out to her as particularly sharp. Either Lucy was extremely lonely, or she’d unlocked a new turn on.

“Well, if you don’t want this money, I’m going to grab a drink with it. You are welcome to join me.” Lucy ducked back into her apartment, grabbed her bag, and slipped the envelope inside.

“I’ll take you up on that,” he said as she locked the door.

They fell into step with each other down the stairs and to the sidewalk.

“So, what is your name, 101?” she asked.

“101? Oh, Natsu.” He lifted his arms to secure his hands behind his head while they walked. Lucy found him oddly relaxing to be around. “What about you, 204?”

“I’m Lucy.” They waited at a pedestrian light and waited for cars to pass. Natsu moved to turn the corner, but Lucy took his arm before he could move on.

“Nope, not that way,” she said.

“There’s a Seven Eleven down this way. It’s not that far,” he said.

“We’re going to the Lawson down the road. I was fired from that Seven Eleven.” When the crosswalk signaled them to go, Lucy stepped off the curb and tugged him in the same direction.

“How did you get fired from a Seven Eleven?” Natsu asked. This was the problem with superpowers. She didn’t know how to tell someone that she could hear people’s thoughts. Most freaked out or believed she was crazy.

“I apprehended a criminal,” she said. The cicadas whined in the lush green trees as they passed a small park. A couple kids laughed with each other on the swings. All the sounds of summer played out in a lull around the neighborhood. Even their chatter matched the ambient sounds of the city. If she wasn’t in such a tight spot financially, she may have enjoyed it.

“Fighting evil by moonlight?”

“I’m the one named, 204.”

“But seriously. What did you do? Attack someone in the store?” His tone implied sarcasm, and Lucy wished she could laugh it off with him. On another timeline, she’d still have a job and could have met Natsu under better circumstances, all bills paid. Her fantasy of a better paycheck loomed over her. Natsu’s smile fell, and he leaned forward to get a better look at her face. “You’re kidding. You attacked a customer? No wonder you got fired.”

“He was being a pervert to some kid! I couldn’t stand there and let him abduct children.” The need to validate her actions made her chest tight.

“You didn’t have to beat him up either. Though I don’t blame you. He sounds like he deserved it,” Natsu said.

“I didn’t beat him. I kicked him.”

“What’s the difference?” he said as they rounded the corner to the Lawson. They passed below its blue and white striped sign and into the air-conditioned building. Lucy followed Natsu to the back of the store and stood with him in front of the wall of refrigerated drinks.

“Beating him up implies that I hit him more than once,” she said and browsed the shelves. Her usual green tea caught her eye. Natsu picked up a bottle of cold coffee and eyed the back of the can. What was he thinking? Wait. What was he thinking? Lucy concentrated on his energy but came up empty. Until now, she’d yet to meet a person whose mind she couldn’t read.

“What? Can’t decide either?” He took up a different coffee from the shelf and meandered toward the alcohol. Either she was finally free of her powers, or Natsu’s mind was as dry as the Sahara Desert.

Damn it, she’s here. The thought had dripped in malice and entered her mind at top volume. Lucy glanced over her shoulder to find the man she’d kicked the hell out of eye her from the register. He narrowed his gaze in her direction as the clerk, oblivious, rang him up. Just what she needed, drama to follow her while she browsed a Lawson with her landlord’s brother.

Natsu had moved away from the drinks and strolled the aisle of snacks.

I’ll kill her. The man’s thought sent a chill down Lucy’s back. She turned back to the drinks, grabbed her usual green tea, and squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, she prayed the man had disappeared. Lucy jumped when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“It’s on me.” Natsu held up two beers, a bag of Calbee chips, and his coffee tucked under his arm. “What?” He followed her eyes to the cashier behind the counter on their phone. “Miss your job already? Don’t worry! You’ll find another one.” He took her green tea and added it to his stuff. She followed him to the counter and surveyed the store for signs of the man. Maybe she had imagined him. Natsu swatted her hand away from the bag when she tried to take it from the counter.

“I got it,” he insisted. The summer air, while tepid, made her feel better. The streets were desolate behind them. “Looking for someone?” Natsu asked. Lucy shook her head and adjusted her bag on her shoulder as they walked back. They turned to the street where their apartment building loomed. When she realized Natsu was no longer with her, she made it to the staircase. He squatted on the corner of the street with a shoelace in each hand. He had placed the bag down beside him to tie his shoe. She crossed her arms over her chest and opened her mouth to make a snarky comment when she heard the voice again.

There she is. The man’s voice was unmistakable. Lucy took a step toward Natsu, who kneeled far from her by the street with his other shoe’s laces in his hands. The man jumped out from the shadows. Lucy stepped back into the massive crack in the pavement. She fell over her own feet to the concrete and lifted her hands in front of her face to block an imminent blow. A wall of darkness blocked the final rays of sunlight. Natsu had stood in front of her, bags dropped at her feet, with his hand clutched around the man’s throat. How had he gotten there so fast?

“You may want to rethink that.” Natsu lifted the man up. His feet jerked around as they left the ground. One of his shoes clattered to the floor as he clawed at Natsu’s grip to no avail. “If I catch you anywhere near my friend again, I’ll have to do more than choke you. Got it?” A grin spread across Natsu’s face, and his eyes lit up. While the man gasped for air, he nodded in Natsu’s grasp. The man crumbled to the ground and coughed. His hand had wrapped around his own throat, now an angry shade of red, as he clamored away. “You forgot your shoe!” Natsu picked up the shoe and threw it at the man. It hit the back of his head so hard that he hit the floor. The man grabbed his shoe with wide eyes and ran from sight. When Natsu turned and held out a hand to help her up, she flinched.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think he’ll be coming back any time soon.” Natsu helped her off the floor and took the bag again. Without a second glance, he trotted merrily up the stairs with their goods. Lucy followed behind him with her heart still in her throat. As not to incur his wrath, she quietly opened the door and allowed him inside. Natsu set the bag down on her coffee table and sagged into the couch. “I think your apartment is bigger than mine,” he said.

“What did your brother put you in? A sardine can?” she asked. Her apartment was already tiny. She couldn’t imagine something smaller.

“Basically, a closet compared to your place.” He leaned forward and took out his can of coffee. His fingers snapped back the aluminum tab. His casual posture did not read as someone who would murder her, but she found herself on edge.

“Are we going to talk about what just happened?” she asked.

“I think he followed us from the Lawson.” Natsu took a long sip of his coffee and leaned back on the couch. “I like your couch too. Need a roommate?” he teased.

“Are you on drugs?”

“Drugs? Where did that come from?”

“I’m serious. What was that?” she asked. He eyed her for a moment and tapped his index finger against the can.

“You are kind of odd yourself, being a mind reader and all,” he said. Lucy’s blood ran cold in her veins. She took an involuntary step back toward the door. Natsu held his hands up in front of him. “It’s cool. Your secret is safe with me.”

“How did you know?” she asked.

“You probed a few times,” he pointed to his head, “but I have guards up, sorry.” He downed the rest of his coffee, placed the can on the table, and leaned into the bag for his chips.

“You’re a psychic? But that doesn’t explain the speed.” Lucy slid her bag from her shoulder and set it down on the floor beside the table. Natsu munched away on his chips, and Lucy sat opposite him on her little pink sitting cushion.

“Not exactly. But I’m not allowed to talk about it. Chip?” He held out the open bag for her. She took some and pulled out her cold tea from the bag. They sat in silence munching and enjoying the air conditioning that she turned on with a little remote.

“Why aren’t you allowed to talk about it?” Lucy had never met anyone like Natsu before. Granted, she’d yet to meet someone like herself. “Is your brother psychic too?” she asked.

“Nah, he didn’t get the gift.”

“Does he have your speed?” Lucy’s phone buzzed in her bag, and she reached over to grab it. A text lit up the screen.

Levy: When was the last time you were outside of that apartment, aside from working? You deserve a night out. She practically heard Levy’s voice through the text. Unless she had an alibi, Levy would insist she join them.

“He does.” Natsu sifted through the shopping bag, pulled out one of the beers, and popped the tab.

Lucy: Just now, actually! I’m hanging out with a neighbor. Her phone buzzed immediately.

Levy: A hot neighbor? Her text included a very suggestive emoji.

“What?” Natsu asked from the couch.

“Nothing. Texting a friend back.” Lucy turned her phone face down beside her and sipped on her tea.

“I’m faster than him,” Natsu said. It took her a moment to remember what she had asked him before.

“Your brother?”

“I mean, he tried to beat my speed, but I always have the fastest time.” Natsu grinned to himself and took a drink of his beer.

“I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me. Let me get this straight, my landlord is a super speedy guy, and his brother can read minds but isn’t allowed to talk about it,” Lucy said.

“Look, I’m not allowed to talk about it with just anyone, but you clearly are just as weird as we are, so I’m sure he’d let this slide,” he said. Lucy’s heart raced in her chest. She didn’t expect the excitement that came with those words. Would she feel less alone if she could finally talk about her gifts with someone like her?

“We’re vampires,” Natsu said. The world dropped beneath her. She needed to get this clearly delusional drug addict with brother issues out of her apartment. She lifted her phone to check it and gave herself a moment to escape.

Levy: Lucy Heartfilia! Do not leave me hanging or else I will call you!

Lucy: He is good looking, but he is my landlord’s brother. It isn’t what you think. She hoped that was enough to keep her from calling. Now was clearly not the time.

“No, I’m not a drug addict with brother issues.” Natsu rolled his eyes and finished off his beer. “Do you recycle?” He crunched a can in his fist and pointed to his empty coffee.

“Stop reading my mind! And yes, the cans go in there.” She pointed to the kitchenette. “There’s a bag under the sink.” Her phone buzzed in her hand. Natsu got up with the cans in his grasp.

Levy: Ohhh free rent? Lucy had almost forgotten about her rent problem. Natsu’s relaxed demeanor and possible insanity really put a wrench in her plan to talk her way out of paying in full.

“Ah yeah, the rent,” Natsu said from the kitchenette.

“I said don’t—”

“Read your mind. Yeah, I got it.” Natsu waved her off and sat back on the couch. Lucy leaned back onto her palms. “Well, now that you know I’m a vampire, maybe we can make a deal for rent.” He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands steepled together. From her angle, Natsu resembled a movie villain.

“A deal? Look, I tried to get you to take half the rent. I can get the rest by the end of the week if I can get another job.” Lucy didn’t want to make a deal with a drug addict, but her back was against a wall here.

“I’m not a drug addict.”

“How am I supposed to believe that you’re a vampire? That’s crazy.”

“You’re a psychic and you don’t think vampires can exist?”

“Fine, I’ll bite, what kind of deal?” Lucy heard her phone buzz again but left it alone. Levy could wait.

“I feed from you, and you get free rent. You can use the money to take a vacation or have more time to look for a new job. I get fed, which I’m currently having a hard time doing since the blood bank is low on supply. A win-win if you ask me.” His grin revealed the sharp canines from before. Could he really be a vampire?

“Feed? As in bite me? I’d rather not go to the hospital for an infected human bite.” She sat up and drank more of her tea.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not human then.”

“I’m going to be honest with you because you can read my mind.”

“That’s fair.”

“I think you’re a lunatic.”

“I’ve met lunatics and I can assure you that I am not one of them. But my offer still stands. My brother clearly stated he will not take half rent.”

“You couldn’t just ask him to take half?” she asked. Natsu tossed the empty bag of chips into the plastic shopping bag and stood.

“When I say he won’t take half, I mean it. That man will not budge on something like this, trust me.” He threw the trash away in a bag under the kitchen sink.

“Do you mean that, or do you just want to bite me?” she asked. Natsu leaned on the entry to her small hall and laughed.

“You really are fun to be around, you know that?” He ran his hand through his messy pink hair. She had to admit that she hadn’t lied to Levy. The man was hot. If only he wasn’t crazy. “I mean it though. He won’t take it.”

“But you’re so convinced that he’ll let it go if you get to feed from me?”

“Yeah. If he thinks it’ll get me closer to getting a big boy job and out of this apartment, he’d allow it. Saving money on blood supply would do that.” He pushed away from the wall, his eyes lit up, and he snapped his fingers. The gesture was so comical she expected to see a little light bulb above his head. “I have an idea.” Natsu bounded back into the living space and crouched next to her. He sat on the heels of his feet and draped his arms over his knees. Lucy leaned back at his sudden closeness.

“I’m afraid to ask,” she said.

“Why don’t you try a trial run?” he asked.

“Come again?” Close up, everything about Natsu remained pristine. The flawless skin and attractive turn of his lips made her rethink his immortal status.

“We can do a monthly trial,” he said, “I take your blood, and you keep your money. If you don’t like it, then you can go back to paying for rent the old fashion way next month.” His excitement was infectious and terrifying. The truth was, she had no idea where she was going to look for a job. She couldn’t go back to the convenience stores. Retail was hell and she had a better chance of running into people with malevolent intent. If she took this little trial, she could stash her money away and buy her time to find a job in another industry, something quiet.

“How do I know you’ll keep your end of the bargain?” Lucy couldn’t believe she entertained the idea.

“I live downstairs from you. Even if I didn’t keep my end up, you could find me easily and kick my ass,” he said.

“Do we have a contract or something?”

“I’m fine with your word.” Natsu shrugged and gave her a million-watt smile. She couldn’t help the way her stomach flip flopped. Either she had reached the limit of her loneliness, she had lost her mind, this man had mind control over her, or it was truly a good deal. Either way, she took his offered hand and shook it.

“It’s a deal then,” she said. He dropped her hand but made no move to stand up. “Uh, when did you want to start?” Her heart hammered in her chest as he leaned in and sank to his knees in front of her.

“Now, if you’d like,” he said. If she moved mere inches, she’d be able to kiss him. The idea rattled around in her head but all she could do was nod. Had he heard that little thought? Natsu moved her hair over her shoulder, leaned in with both palms pressed to the ground on either side of her, and hesitated at her neck. “I did hear that.” First, she felt his warm breath against her neck, then the exquisite sensation of his lips against her skin. She melted into him.

“You should stay out of my head,” she said.

“Do you want in mine?” Natsu took her arms in his grasp and pulled her against him. Lucy’s breath caught in her throat, and with apprehension, she concentrated on his mind.

Beautiful. The first word she’d picked up from him made her heart flutter. Hold still, Lucy.

When his fangs pierced her skin, she balled his shirt in her hands. The pinpricks were followed by the most overwhelming lust she’d ever felt in her entire life. A soft moan slipped from her lips, and his grip tightened around her arms. Her sex clenched painfully with need. A long draw of her blood forced another moan to tumble from her lips. Her whole body pulled taut and teetered on the edge of orgasm from his mouth alone. Natsu’s chest vibrated with a deep groan. He slid his hands onto her backside and dragged her into his lap. His thick arousal pressed against her core. He pulled away from her neck and lapped at the mark. Lucy’s head lulled to the side and her body thrummed in her haze.

Natsu palmed the back of her neck and dragged her lips to his. Their kiss was like lit propane. His taste mixed with the metallic tang of blood that rolled over her tongue. She thrust against his length, determined to relieve the ache. The clothes felt too heavy, too imposing, against her skin. As if to answer her thought, he pulled her shirt over her head and unclasped her bra. The air was cool across her heated skin. He took her lips again and trailed kisses from her jaw to her breasts. Lucy slid her fingers through his hair when he took possession of her sensitive nipple. He rolled the peak between his deft fingertips, and his eyes never left her as he swept his tongue over the breadth of the other.

The loud buzz of her phone cut off the curse that rolled off her tongue. She groaned when he squeezed her breast in his hand and sucked harder on her skin. The phone stopped and then started again. This time, her groan was because of the sound.

“Sounds urgent,” he said against her nipple, “you can answer it.”

“I can’t.” Her voice came out as more of a whimper than she liked.

Just tell them you’re busy and hang up. His hand that cupped her ass tugged her against him. She’d give anything to take the rest of her clothes off. The phone continued its demand for her attention. Better answer it if they want to talk to you that bad.

You just want me on the phone while you do this. She made sure that her voice came out snarky in her mind.

I wouldn’t say that. But it’s going to keep ringing. He grinned and released her nipple from his mouth with a wet suck. His dark eyes flickered up to her as he lapped at the flushed skin. Her phone started up again.

“Fine.” Lucy leaned back to reach for her bag. Her arm dug around for the damn phone. She wrapped her hand around it like treasure and answered.

“Lucy! What is going on? Did your hot neighbor leave?” Levy spoke loudly to the receiver. Her voice slurred slightly, and other voices mingled in behind her. A bar maybe?

“No and I have to go.” Lucy worked to keep her voice steady.

“He’s there with you?  Did he get you free rent or something?” she asked. Natsu took that moment to sink his fangs into the supple skin of her breast.

“Yes.” She bit her lip to keep from crying out in Levy’s ear.

“What? What does he get in return? Surely, they wouldn’t let you get away with a whole month for free.” Levy was clever. Lucy feared that her intelligent friend, even tipsy could hear what the man in her arms did to her.

You taste amazing. Natsu groaned low against her skin.

“I really have to go.”

“Are you alright? You sound out of breath,” Levy said. Lucy had a few choice words for Natsu, but her brain had barely processed her phone conversation, her telepathic one was out of the question.

“Just ran to the store. I’ll call you after, I promise.”

“After what?”

“Come on, Shrimp. You’ve had too much and it’s time to go.” Levy’s boyfriend’s voice sounded further away. If it weren’t for her predicament, Lucy would thank Gajeel.

“Talk to you later!” Lucy hung up the phone, tossed it on the couch, and let out a long moan. “Why did you have to bite me while I was on the phone?” she asked. Natsu gave another hard suck and groaned against her breast. Her pleasure sent stars across her vision. No matter how good she felt, or how close to the precipice she was, her orgasm didn’t come. Something about the bite itself could not bring her over the edge. He laid her back against the floor and pulled back. A bead of blood traveled down the side of her breast, and he followed it with his tongue before he licked the bite.

They fumbled to get the rest of their clothes off. His erection sprung free, and precum shone from the head of his shaft. In Lucy’s haze, she looked her fill, unabashed by her greedy gaze. Natsu did the same and languidly stroked himself at the sight of her.

Where have you been all my life? Did he even know she could still hear him? Natsu lifted her legs over his shoulders and clutched her thighs, lowering himself to the floor. His warm breath stroked her core.

Please. Her sex glistened with how wet she’d become.

Someone else liked the phone call too. His voice and soft chuckle bounced around her head. Natsu trailed his lips along her inner thigh toward her center. She wiggled with impatience. His deep green eyes flicked up to her. Looks like you loved it. He reached one hand over and ran his thumb up and down her damp slit. Her legs shook as he skimmed the pale skin of her thigh with his teeth. When he bit down, he pushed past her folds with his thumb and slid himself deep into her. Her moan was so loud that she was sure that the little old lady next door heard.

Lucy grabbed a fist full of his cherry hair and tugged. The growl of pleasure shook against her thigh. He pulled his thumb out of her and rubbed her aching clit with her own slick heat. Lucy writhed beneath him. He sucked hard and plunged two fingers past her soaked lips. This time, she felt her pulse race with her impending climax. The harmony of their heavy breaths and the slick sound of his digits moving in and out of her filled the room.

Can’t get enough of you. His voice was velvet and through their mental connection alone, he made her feel as though his hands pulled her hardened nipples. A curse left her lips in surprise. He pulled his fingers out of her and began to vigorously stroke her sensitive bud. The friction mounted enough to make her eyes roll back. With one last suck, she found rapture in her release. No man had ever made her cum so hard in her life.

Natsu slowed his pace and pulled away from his bite. He lapped at the skin there and moved her legs from his shoulders. The absence of him made her skin feel cold, and her sex tightened without him inside her. With the slickness of his hand, he stroked his length. A low hiss escaped him as he did. She could only imagine the discomfort he felt then. Even so, she found the look of his hand wrapped around his shaft, the definition of muscle across his arms, and the aching way he gazed at her body sexy as hell.

Lucy attempted to sit up, but dizziness made her fall back. Natsu stilled and leaned over her.

“Are you dizzy? I’m sorry, I may have taken too much from you.” He pressed his palms on either side of her and leaned in to take her lips.

“I’m fine,” she said into his mouth. His tongue moved over hers as though he’d never taste her again.

“Can I?” Natsu clutched his thick erection and poised himself over her damp curls.

“Yes.” Lucy squirmed beneath him with need. He grinned down at her and spread her lips with the head of his cock.

Hold tight. He steadily sheathed himself into her. She arched against him, and her legs spread wider. He cursed as he plunged himself inch by inch. Her walls stretched deliciously to accommodate him; the feeling so exquisite that her legs shook. He clutched her thighs, sat up, and peered down at the way their bodies met. You wanna try something? She barely registered his husky voice in her head.

Try what? Lucy had no clue what he wanted to try, but she knew she’d say yes.

Remember how I touched you telepathically before? He took a long breath out. Her walls gripped his length as he slowly moved out of her. Both groaned with the sensation.

“I remember,” she said.

“I’ve never had a connection like this before,” he admitted, “Concentrate on that link, the way you do when we talk.” At first, she felt skeptical. Part of her didn’t care about anything but the pleasure, but she obliged him. Their eyes locked as he thrust deep inside her. Lucy grabbed his arms like an anchor. Instead of pulling out, he rotated his hips so that he could stroke her clit.

This is the best sex I’ve ever had. She hadn’t meant to “send” that thought, but from the wide grin on his face, she knew it was too late to take it back. Their connection felt like a line between them, only stronger as they came together. She held onto that line. Then she felt it. Her eyes widened and her breath quickened. Natsu thrust into her at an easy rhythm all the while she felt his teeth gently tug on her nipples, even with his mouth far from her. How? The mounting feeling in the pit of her stomach started again. Her mouth hung open with cries that never came.

He bit his lip as he surged forward. He moved his hand to her ass and pulled her hips higher. The angle was her catalyst. The head of his shaft grazed a soft spot inside her with each thrust. Lucy came undone in his hands.

Yeah, just like that. A small trickle of blood rolled down his chin from his teeth clenched against his flushed lip. Her orgasm ripped through her. Could he feel it? She concentrated on the way they spoke to each other, that thread pulled taut. Natsu’s moans mingled with hers and he screwed his eyes shut. Is that your— Fuck, Lucy. Is that yours? The waves of her orgasm ebbed, and her mind reeled.

Maybe. Served him right for using whatever this was on her first.

I guess I have to return the favor. He pulled out and flipped her onto her stomach. She made a sound of protest but quieted when he lifted her hips up for his cock to slide back into her from behind. Lucy gasped at the movement. But it wasn’t until his orgasm reached her through their connection that she knew what he meant by “return the favor”. A litany of curses tumbled from her mouth. So much for a good repour with her neighbors. His climax ripped through her so hard that she thrust in the air around his dick that rocked into her. He moaned her name like a prayer. Their essence ran down her leg as she reached down to stroke herself as he came.

When their movements became languid and her muscles ached, he pulled out of her. They lay on the floor out of breath.

You said you’ve never had a connection like that before? Her exhaustion made it easier to ask in her head.

“You’re the first psychic I’ve met.”

So, you’ve never done that mind thing with another woman before?

“Never. This was the best sex I’ve ever had.” He turned his head to meet her eyes. Didn’t know it could be that good.

“Neither did I,” she said.

“We’ll need to work on this connection thing.”

“Why?” She sat up slowly. Natsu followed her movements and held out a hand in case she fell back again.

“We keep reading thoughts that we don’t mean to send. Are you dizzy?” he asked.

“Not as bad,” she said. Natsu stood and took to her little refrigerator. It was bizarre to see a hot naked man casually in her fridge.

“Ah, ha.” He pulled out a bottle of juice and came back with it. “Drink this. You should probably eat something too. I’m sorry about that.”

“Got a little carried away?” She popped the top off the drink. He messed with the back of his hair and didn’t meet her eyes.

“It seems like it.”

The two of them cleaned up and dressed. Natsu waited until she finished the rest of her juice before he offered to grab her food. She told him she had leftovers, and he didn’t have to worry about it.

“Can I ask a question?” she asked later as she walked him to the door.

“Sure.”

“Why are there no marks?” She noticed in the bathroom that none of his bite marks had stuck around. Another reminder that he wasn’t human.

“Why? Want them to show?” He wagged his eyebrows at her suggestively. She playfully swatted at him. His ability to bypass awkwardness with mischief was amazing to her. Nothing appeared to faze him. Who was this man?

“No, I was just wondering if that was why you, you know, licked them.”

“Yeah, that helps them heal as fast as I do.” Natsu leaned against the closed door with his arms crossed over his chest. “Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat?”

“I’ll be fine. I appreciate it,” she said. Natsu nodded and opened the door to reveal Levy on the other side. Her fist raised to knock. “Oh, looks like you have a visitor, Lucy.” Natsu extended his hand. “Nice to meet you. Levy, right?” he asked. Levy nodded with her mouth slightly open. “Well, this was nice. Same time next month, Lucy?” At that moment, Lucy wanted to kick his ass. She’d save it for next month.

The weeks passed quickly. Without rent looming over her head, she found a pep in her step. It didn’t hurt that she had great sex. Yet, she debated another meeting with Natsu. They’d seen each other in passing. One time she caught him in the hall, to which he whispered in her mind. Looking good, Lucy.

Her body craved him and his bite. She found that she’d pleasure herself more with thoughts of him. Occasionally she’d bite her own arm as she did so. She never broke her skin, and it never felt the same.

The day had come, and Lucy stood in front of apartment 101. Instead of knocking on the door, she focused on that connection, that thread they shared, and sent filthy images of everything she’d fantasized about. The door pulled open and Natsu’s dark eyes met hers. He had nothing on but a towel over his waist and droplets of water rolled down his body from a shower.

Looks like rent is due.

#nalu #fairy tail #nalu fan fiction #fairy tail fan fiction #ft fan fiction #looks like rent is due

[judeloverr]

morning cuddles with jude pls🙏🏽🙏🏽i love your fics sm

cuddles- jude bellingham

summary: morning cuddles with jude

pairings: jude bellingham x reader

warnings: fluff word count: 0.9k

“turn it off” jude grumbled under his breath, eyes still closed and half asleep while he nussled his head more into your neck. once reaching for your phone you pressed the button to turn the annoying alarm off. you forgot turn it off last night knowing you weren’t going anywhere and jude’s training cancelled due to the storm weather which created a lot of flooding.

the alarm stopped, silence filling the room. the soft patter of rain hitting the windows is the only thing heard. you moved back into jude’s embrace, his hands finding the familiar and comfortable position on your waist. your head leaning on his bicep allows you to put your hand on his lower arm, you scratching his skin softly with your acrylic nails.

“mhm, that tickles” you can feel jude’s smile against your neck, voice muffled by your skin and he pressed a light kiss below your ear, his lips moving up to press a feathering kiss against your cheek lovingly. “i’m so glad training got cancelled, can’t be bothered to get up”

“mhm, same just want to be with you all day” jude’s fingers traced shapes along your hip, your love language to each other has always been touch, he loves to be touching you somewhere if it’s your hands, waist or shoulders.

you turn your body so you are facing jude, his arm still under your head and his hand on your waist, he moves his hand to your back pulling you closer so your chest his pressed fully against his bare one.

shifting up so your head is aligning with his on the pillow, jude’s eyes are still closed, his relaxed face indicating he was falling out and into sleep. you hand goes to the back of his head scratching his scalp lighting, your hands lowering down to his back, nails against bare skin, jude shivers lightly, his hands squeezing your waist lightly.

you watch as his eyes open slowly, still puffy from sleep, looking at you tenderly as your hand goes to his cheek to rub his skin lightly under his eye. a small smiles appearing on his face when he looks at you, making your stomach all giddy.

his hands reaches from your waist to your head and pushes your hair behind your ear, his lips lean down and kisses gently on your forehead.

“i need to move, i’m getting cramp in my arm” jude urges your head to get up, you lift it a little allowing him to retrieve his arm. jude proceeds to move position, untangling your legs so he can be flat on his back. “c’mere” he whispers, grabbing your arm softly and pulling you to lie on his chest, your leg going over his center. your head goes on his bare chest and his arm falls of your lower back, under your shirt.

a comfortable silence fills the room while you trace the pads of your finger tips slowly over his abs on his stomach.

right now is one your favourite parts of the day, you can have each other to yourself and know knowone interrupts you.

jude’s other hand goes to your thigh which is over his centre and lays his hands there squeezing the skin every once in a while. you dig your head into his neck and begin to place light kisses over his skin. his breathing hitches very quietly when you nip at his ear lope. jude’s stomach feels like there a butterfly’s moving around quickly whenever you begin to kiss his neck.

jude feels warmth spread over his body when you gravitate towards his jaw, knowing purposely that you aren’t going to kiss the one place he wants you too. “you not gonna give me a kiss?” your kiss on his jaw lingers for a couple of seconds.

your actions pause at his whiny statement, you grin, putting your finger on his jaw, moving his face to the side so it’s facing you. jude has a cheeky grin on his face, watching and waiting for a kiss. jude loved to tease you, saying he never got kisses when you felt all you are doing all day is kissing your god damn boyfriend due to his extreme neediness for you.

you lean in a press your lips against his soft and warm mouth, he leans in closer to your face, his eyelashes against your cheek when he moves his mouth against yours, to be tease you move back, noses touching before things can escalate. a groan leaves his throat due to your lack of closeness. “hey” he mumbles.

you press single kisses against his mouth while saying “so” kiss “needy” kiss. when you pull back a blush appears on his cheeks, he digs his face into your neck, breath fanning over your chest, a breathless laughs escapes your mouth, knowing he’s suddenly got all shy.

“only for you”

#football #imagines #jude bellingham #jude bellingham imagine #jude bellingham blurb #jude bellingham one shot #jude bellingham fanfic #jude bellingham smut #jude bellingham cute #cute #england #england ft #dortmund #jude bellingham x reader #jude bellingham x you #jude bellingham fan fiction

[xanvasofxords]

“Huh what?”

Natsu tilts his head in confusion. She’s furrowing her brows in a cutesy way. The dragon slayer feels something in his stomach flutter because of it. It doesn’t bother him anymore though, for this has happened way too many times before.

Hands on her hips, Lucy asks, “Do you ever think before speaking?”

Natsu rolls his eyes with a shrug. He didn’t say anything wrong, in fact he corrected the guy by pointing out how genes work. Their kids will either have pink hair like him or blonde hair like Lucy. He thought she’d be happy knowing he’s more intelligent than some salon-guy.

“What did I say wrong?” He crosses his arms and leans into her space. Lucy’s face heats up from the close proximity.

The celestial mage was actually very surprised when her idiot of a partner started talking about genetics. But that really isn’t the issue. It’s just moments like this give her false hope. That maybe he feels something for her, maybe he does see her as more than a friend. But she knows he’s not on the same page.

Natsu loves her too much but it’s the same way he loves any other member of the guild. And honestly, she’s happy just being his closest friend for the rest of her life. Their friendship is the most important thing and she won’t ruin it for the sake of her feelings.

She just doesn’t want him to make things harder for her. She’s trying so hard to move on and it hurts when she constantly has to remind herself that he doesn’t feel the same. She doesn’t want him to talk about their future kids knowing it will never happen, no matter how much she wants it to.

“Earth to Lucy?” Natsu waves a hand before her, “What’re ya thinking about?”

Lucy sighs and looks up at him again. “Nothing. Leave it, Natsu.”

And he doesn’t, instead pulls her closer to him and kisses her forehead. Lucy relaxes into his chest, almost forgets about the mental storm from a moment ago. She knows he’s trying to comfort her as always. It means nothing...

“I didn’t know your favorite color changed from pink to blue.”

“What?”

“It’s okay. We can just adopt a little one with blue hair, if that’s what you want.”

#this is so silly bye #idk what i wrote guys forgive me #the idea wont leave me #natsu is so silly #and in love with lucy #fairy tail #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #nalu #natsu x lucy #fairy tail nalu #ft nalu #fairy tail 100 years quest #nalu fanfic #nalu fanfiction #nalu fan fic #nalu fan fiction

[tokkias]

tell me you loved me from the start ship: natsu dragneel x lucy heartfilia summary: There's nothing that can get between a friendship as strong as Natsu and Lucy's—or at least, that's what they'd like to think. Sometimes feelings are a little too complicated for it to be smooth sailing when you're feeling them towards your best friend. Lucy finds that one out the hard way. ao3

Lucy had always been good at keeping secrets. Many a friend or guildmate had confided in her before, and as such, she had gained plenty of dirt that she was sure the guild’s gossips would kill for, by virtue of being able to keep her mouth shut. She was, for the most part, an open book. There were a few things she felt the need to keep close to her chest, which would have been difficult to achieve in the first place considering just how nosy her best friend was.

Given their frequent close proximity, Lucy couldn’t keep a secret from Natsu, even if she wanted to. He knew everything about her, and she, in turn, knew everything about him. She trusted him, so there was no reason to keep secrets. They both spoke candidly to each other about their lives and their feelings, each seeing no reason to keep things from the other.

For the most part, anyway.

It was just one, teensy, tiny little secret, something she was sure would go away at first. She had expected it to pass quickly; what she had not expected was for her little, baby crush on him to spiral out of control into a full-blown yearning for her partner that consumed her entire being to the point where he was always on her mind at any given time.

Part of her felt guilty for keeping it from him, though the other reasoned that she was sure Natsu felt similarly on some things. Romance was never the type of thing they spoke about; he didn’t ask and she didn’t tell, but that was before her thoughts of romance involved him.

A brief period of contemplation had passed in which she thought about letting him know, but the realistic part of her brain reminded her of the irreparable damage that could be done to their relationship. She liked what they had too much to throw it away over anything. Instead, she resigned herself to the fact that Natsu would never know.

It wasn’t the most well-kept secret: Levy knew about it, as did Erza, Mira, and Wendy; even Gray had been in on it too, but Natsu still remained none the wiser. It was nice being able to confide in others when she couldn’t with Natsu, but it felt wrong to keep secrets from him.

It had been about a year or so since her feelings had become too big to contain, and she had let it slip to Levy, and somehow it had become an open secret to everyone but Natsu. Perhaps it was out of pity, for fear of watching their sweet angel Lucy be rejected by a dense and romance-averse Natsu, but whatever the reason, everyone was sure to keep tight-lipped around him.

That’s what made it all the worse when it was Lucy who accidentally managed to let part of the secret slip.

Lucy rested her chin in the heel of her hands, her elbows balanced on the table below her where she sat in defeat, her gaze not even focused on Levy before her as she expressed her woes.

"I just wish he’d look at me, you know?" She sighed, resisting the urge to flop down onto the table in defeat. "I want him to say I’m pretty, or something, but it’s like he doesn’t even see me as a woman."

"Who doesn’t see you as a woman?" Came the voice of the man in question as he slid into the seat next to her, and Lucy immediately froze.

"Oooooooooohhh~ Lucy’s got boy problems," Happy chimed in with his sing-song teasing.

The two of them had been out on a solo job for a few days and hadn’t been expected back until tomorrow. Had she known there was a possibility that they would come to the guild hall today, Lucy would have kept her stupid mouth shut. Now, all she could do was gape like a goddamned moron as she sat paralysed in fear that she had just let it slip.

"Soooooo~ Who’s the lucky fella?" Happy sang, clearly trying to worm his way into information that could be used against her down the line.

"Yeah, I wanna know too," Natsu added, his tone and gaze much more serious than Happy’s.

Lucy looked over to Levy in a plea for help, but it seemed as though she had slunk away in the moments since Natsu’s arrival, leaving her to deal with this one on her own.

"How was the job? Did you do any cool stuff? Eat any good food?" She asked in a desperate hope of diverting the conversation.

"The job was fine, I kicked some ass and Happy ate so much fish afterwards that he passed out," Natsu replied in quick succession, seeing right through her. "Who is this guy you’ve got a crush on?"

"Crush? Who said anything about a crush?" She sputtered, trying to maintain her composure.

It wasn’t technically a lie. What she had going on was far beyond a crush.

"You did, just now," he said bluntly. "You said you wish he’d call you pretty. You only say that mushy stuff about guys you wanna date."

Lucy paused for a moment, surprised by how adamant he was about this. She’d assumed that getting him to talk about his job, all the cool things he did, all the bad guys he’d fought, and all the food he’d eaten along the way would be enough to divert his attention, but he was stuck on the one thing she did not want to talk about with him.

"Come on, I promise I won’t tell anyone," he whined through her silence.

That’s ironic , she thought to herself.

"No," was all she managed to get out without incriminating herself.

"Why not?"

"Because I don’t want to."

"What if I say please?"

"The answer is still no."

"Pretty please?"

The two of them continued to run in circles, neither willing to be the first to break, but knowing just how stubborn Natsu could be, Lucy was beginning ware down, only, not in the way he might have hoped.

"I’m not going to tell you, Natsu, so just drop it, okay?" She finally said, unwilling to let this go on any longer than it needed to.

"Why not?" He repeated.

"Can we not do this?" Lucy sighed. "Please?"

"Why?"

He sounded like a broken record at this point, and figuring that she was not going to win their little game, Lucy simply didn’t reply. Natsu, on the other hand, was not satisfied with this response.

"Tell me," he said.

Lucy stood her ground.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me," he began to repeat, over and over again, until the words began to blur together and Lucy simply could not take it anymore.

Grabbing her bag and throwing it over her shoulder, Lucy stood up to take her leave.

"I’m going home," she declared. "Go bother someone else."

She half-expected him to follow behind and continue his nagging, but it seemed her foul mood had done enough to have her off the hook for now.

By the time her rent was due once more and it was time for them to take on a new job, Lucy had hoped that Natsu had dropped the subject. She had hoped that in the time between when she last saw him and now, he had found a new subject to fixate on. That was decidedly not the case.

Suddenly, she regretted agreeing to walk the scenic route.

"Have you changed your mind yet?"

"No, Natsu, I have not changed my mind," Lucy sighed, arms folded across her chest as they walked. "I’m not going to tell you."

"Come oooonnnnnn," Natsu drawled. "If you tell me, I’ll be your best friend."

Lucy quirked an eyebrow.

"I already am your best friend."

"Nuh-uh," he refuted. "Happy’s my best friend."

"Aye!" Happy butted in, much to Lucy’s chagrin.

"But if you tell us who you like, I’ll let you be my new best friend."

"Hey!" Happy added, clearly not pleased to have the position of Natsu’s best friend being used as a bargaining chip.

Lucy looked over at him to ensure he saw just how unimpressed she looked with his deal.

"You’re not very good at this whole bribery thing, are you?"

Deflating at her reply, Natsu’s shoulders slumped forward and he stuck his lips out in a pout, apparently having thought that worming his way into Lucy’s secret would be much easier than it actually was.

"Please?" He tried rather pathetically this time.

"Still no."

"Will you tell me?" Happy chimed in.

"Absolutely not."

"What if I promise not to tell Natsu?"

"Wh- Hey! That’s no fair!" Natsu cried out.

"That’s a lie, and you know it," Lucy said.

Happy responded with a sheepish look that told her that she was right on the money. That damn cat would backstab her for the promise of fish any day.

"What if I annoy you into telling us?" Natsu suggested, and Lucy grimaced at the idea.

Being annoying was certainly high on the list of things that those two were good at, and anyone not as strong as her may have caved right at that moment, but Lucy remained strong.

"Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!" Happy began to chant, with the background vocals of Natsu’s "pleaaaassssssseeeeeee," ringing in the back.

Pressing her hands over her ears in some attempt to block the noise out, Lucy had never regretted not taking the train more than now.

The thud of Natsu’s pack hitting the floor was louder than usual as he let out his frustration on the poor thing. Though he had been all smiles just before, Happy was quick to notice the way his mood had soured into an almost sombre state the moment Lucy was no longer around, and he thought he had an inkling as to why.

"Are you sad because Lucy won’t tell you who she likes?"

"No," Natsu shrugged, brows furrowed as if he were deep in the dregs of thought—something Happy rarely saw on his face. "Maybe, I guess."

Natsu let out a hefty sigh, though the expression on his face remained inscrutable, even to Happy.

"I just-" He stopped, his brain unable to keep up with the words he was saying. "You know."

He didn’t have to elaborate. He did know.

Though Natsu was never really one to talk about his feelings too much, he’d confided in Happy on many occasions about his little Lucy problem. Though some liked to think of him as dumb, dense, and unaware, Happy knew better than that. He knew that Natsu had his complicated feelings and emotions just like anyone else; he just kept them closer to his chest and played things off like they didn’t affect him at all. In quiet moments like this, however, Happy caught a glimpse into what was really going on in that brain of his.

"Why are you doing this if it’s just going to hurt your feelings knowing that she likes someone else?" Happy asked, trying his best to be empathetic to his situation.

Natsu was quiet for a moment as he mulled the question over in his mind. Happy knew there wasn’t really an answer—not a rational one, anyway. Anything beyond admitting that this was just some unusual form of self-inflicted pain would be nothing short of a blatant lie.

"‘Cause I need to make sure they’re good enough for her," is what he settled on.

It sounded reasonable enough. If Happy didn’t know better, he might have almost believed him.

Almost.

"I can’t let Lucy date some loser who doesn’t call her pretty," Natsu huffed. "What kinda best friend would I be if I did that?"

Happy didn’t reply, instead letting him try to justify himself, though perhaps more to convince himself than Happy. He didn’t feel the need to probe further—he’d simply deny any accusations he made because Natsu was stubborn like that. If he wanted to figure out his Lucy troubles, he’d simply have to do it in his own time.

When Natsu hadn’t brought it up again the next time they were together, Lucy had thought she was safe. Little did she know, he had simply lulled her into a false sense of security that remained throughout lunch and all the way back to her apartment.

That was until the moment her apartment door clicked shut, and as if treating her secret as a reward for him to receive for not bringing it up all day, Natsu asked, "are you going to tell me who you like now?"

Lucy crossed her arms and let out a huff. He sounded like a damn high schooler, pestering her over some stupid crush, unable or unwilling to let it go. She didn’t even know why he cared so much, but she was certain that she cared more about keeping her secret than he did about knowing it, so instead of responding, she just shot him back a deeply unimpressed look.

Her lack of response did not deter Natsu, who, in the time between first bugging her about it and now, had come up with a new strategy.

"Is it Gray?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. "‘Cause he’s not good enough for you. You could do better than him."

"It’s not Gray," she dryly replied.

"Laxus?" He probed.

"No."

"Elfman? Gajeel?"

"No."

"Is it Bixlow?"

Realising he wasn’t going to stop any time soon, Lucy just gave him a blank stare, but he remained undeterred. He continued to list people until she was certain that he had named every single man in the guild, no matter how appropriate.

"Are you done?" She asked, fingertips pressing into her temples, thoroughly over whatever little game Natsu was playing.

The only solace she got from this situation was Happy’s silence. He had been quiet from the moment Natsu started nagging her—almost suspiciously so. Any other time, the cat might have jumped at the chance to annoy her until smoke was pouring out of her ears, but he hadn’t said a word. Supposing she shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Lucy was willing to take whatever small victories she could get in the wake of Natsu’s inability to just leave her alone.

"Was it any of those guys?" He asked.

"No."

"So he’s not part of the guild?"

Lucy stayed silent at his question. If Natsu was going to run around in circles, she would let him, but she wasn’t about to lie to his face. She was simply ready to wait until he would tire himself out and get bored of her lacklustre answers, but it seemed he didn’t have plans to stop any time soon.

"Is he from another guild? Sabretooth? Is it Sting? Rouge?"

With a groan, Lucy flopped down onto her bed, which Natsu seemed to take as a no.

"It’s not Jellal, is it?"

"No, I’m not interested in being shanked by Erza," she replied in earnest.

"Yeah, that’s probably for the best," he mused.

After a moment of quiet contemplation, Natsu spoke up again.

"Was it that guy from the library?"

"Why?" Lucy finally responded, thoroughly sick of this game.

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to know?" She asked, irritation seeping into her voice.

"‘Cause I’m your friend, and friends tell each other stuff like this," he justified.

Lucy scoffed at his almost humorous answer.

Yes, of course they were friends—they were best friends, but this, whatever it was, was not something they did. They didn’t talk about crushes or romance because Natsu never showed any interest in it until now.

But even if she wanted to, she couldn’t, because telling Natsu that every time she read a romance novel, she imagined the love interest as him, would completely and irrevocably ruin their relationship. Lucy liked what they had too much to change that, no matter how much her heart ached knowing that what she wanted with him was always just a little far out of her grasp.

"I’m not to tell you, okay?" She huffed.

"Why not?" Natsu hit back, seemingly growing frustrated at this trivial impasse that they had found themselves at.

"Because I don’t want to."

"But I’m your friend."

"I know you’re my friend, but I don’t-" Lucy paused to let her mind catch up with her mouth before she said something she might regret.

She didn’t want to argue with Natsu. She knew that he didn’t want to argue with her either, but it just seemed like this was something that they wouldn’t be able to compromise on.

"Look," she sighed. "I’m not going to tell you, so you can either make peace with that or you can leave."

Her remark was met with an almost astonished silence. Perhaps he hadn’t expected her to put her foot down like that. Maybe he had just assumed that she would eventually cave to his pleas. Whatever it was that was going through his head, Lucy couldn’t exactly see it on his face, so they simply sat in silence as she awaited his reply.

It didn’t come the way she had hoped.

Instead, he turned on his heel and headed for the door.

"Come on, Happy."

All Lucy could do was stare and gape as he left without another word, Happy shooting her an apologetic look before following his friend out the door.

She knew she had given him an ultimatum, but she didn’t think that was the option he was going to choose. It all felt so childish to her, leaving over a silly little crush. That had always been her fear, but she had never thought it would happen before she got the nerve to tell him.

It had her heart aching in her chest and tears pricking in the corner of her eyes, and all she could do was let her pillow soak up her sorrows.

The silence on the way home from Lucy’s apartment was uncomfortable. Happy could practically hear the way that Natsu seethed and sulked as they walked the ever-familiar path back to the cottage in the woods. Happy never really minded the silence between them, but this time was different. This time, Natsu was hurting, and Happy didn’t have the words to make it better.

"I don’t get it," Natsu said, finally breaking the silence. "Why won’t she tell me? Is it someone we don’t know? I named everyone."

Perhaps the worst part of this was watching this all fly over Natsu’s head.

There’d always been an inkling in the back of Happy’s mind about the way Lucy felt. He’d always wondered if Lucy saw Natsu as a little bit more than a friend, but over time he had simply put that down to Lucy being weird. Now, though, after Natsu’s interrogation and Lucy’s little scene, the pieces were beginning to fall into place.

Happy knew better than anyone that Natsu was not dumb. A little dense, maybe, sure, but never stupid, so the fact that he couldn’t see what was happening right in front of him had Happy scratching his head.

"Well, you didn’t name everyone," he curtly replied.

Natsu was quiet again for a moment, contemplative, before he spoke up again.

"You think it’s Alzack?" He asked, evident confusion tainting his voice, so genuine that Happy wanted to throttle him right then and there. "‘Cause I don’t think Lucy would stoop that low."

"I don’t think it’s Alzack," Happy shot back, trying to keep a straight face.

For as much prank potential as there was in spilling Lucy’s blatantly obvious secret, it also had the potential of her never speaking to either of them again out of sheer anger and mortification. So in the name of maintaining their friendship, Happy kept his mouth shut.

"Who do you think it is?" Natsu said, glancing in Happy’s direction.

Happy looked at him for a moment before responding. There was genuine intrigue in his friends’ eyes, perhaps a hint of desperation. Happy had to break their eye contact and look forward to the path before them before guilt started to eat him whole.

"I don’t know," he lied, earning a defeated sigh from Natsu beside him.

It certainly didn’t feel good lying to his best friend like that, but even Happy knew it wasn’t his place to meddle in their relationship. At best, it was disingenuous; at worst, he was wrong and getting his hopes up for nothing. He simply had to have faith that Natsu would put things together himself. If he was going to continue to sulk the way he was, Happy could only hope that he figured things out quickly.

When Natsu had stormed out of her apartment without a word, Lucy had hoped that he simply needed some time to himself. He could be a temperamental sort of guy, but sometimes all he needed was a little bit of time to blow off some steam before he was back to his usual self.

Unfortunately, this time, it seemed he needed a little more than that.

It had been a week.

A whole week since she had seen Natsu, much less spoken to him. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that he had been deliberately avoiding her, and that fact was beginning to piss her off.

The last thing Lucy had wanted was for her feelings for Natsu to cause a rift in their relationship, but it seemed as though she had no choice in the matter. Either she told him and things would grow weird between them, or she kept her secret and he would continue to resent her.

Damned if she did, damned if she didn’t.

In the week since he had walked out on her, Lucy had done a lot of thinking between all the tears.

Would it really be that bad if he knew? Surely their friendship was strong enough to withstand the fallout from it. Though, the longer Natsu avoided her over it, the more uncertain she became.

But maybe he deserved to know. Maybe it wasn’t right to keep a secret so heavily involving him. Maybe he would understand, and if they just talked about it, they would come to an understanding and maintain the easy friendship they had.

Maybe she should have thought more about what exactly it was that she wanted to say to him before she had come all the way out to his little cottage in the woods.

She hadn’t really thought about why she was coming out here or what she wanted to say. There was an equal chance that she was going to chew him out or that she was going to burst into tears the moment she saw him. She was so angry at him for letting this get in the way of their friendship, but more than that, she missed him. She missed hearing his laughter from across the guild hall, she missed taking jobs with him. She missed his teasing, his warmth, his comfort. She missed the way he’d crawl into her sheets at night and pretend to be asleep, so she couldn’t kick him out, not knowing that these days she’d never make him leave. Just thinking about it was enough to make the tears almost breach, but as she bit down on her lip, she maintained her composure and rapped her fist against the front door.

Every semblance of composure left her once the door opened and she caught a glimpse of Natsu on the other side, looking at her like a deer in headlights, as if her mere presence had struck the fear of god into his heart.

In that moment, she was overwhelmed with so many emotions—relief, joy, sadness, absolute seething fury.

It seemed that last one was the one that took over when Lucy finally opened her mouth.

"What the hell is wrong with you!"

Part of her was expecting Natsu to slam the door in her face, but all he could do was stand there and gape as she yelled at him.

"You are so stupid! You storm out on me, and then you not only don’t speak to me, but you don’t even show your face at the guild? You dumb, stupid idiot!"

Her expression didn’t match her harsh words as her lip began to quiver, all the emotions of the past week coming crashing down on her as she spoke.

"You idiot, you don’t know—hic—you don’t even know how lonely I’ve been…"

With that, the dam burst, and she was in full tears, sobbing and wailing. She tried to step towards him but stumbled slightly, with Natsu catching her before she could fall. Feeling his touch once more only served to make her cry harder as she recalled how much she had missed it in their time apart.

With no words to make her feel better, Natsu simply wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as she cried.

"Please don’t cry…" He mumbled, resting his forehead on the crown of her head.

"I don’t understand!" Lucy wailed. "Why does- Why does who I like matter so much that you’re willing to hurt me over it?"

Natsu’s jaw clenched, and she could feel his grip on her tighten, as though her words had caused him physical pain.

"I don’t- That’s not what I-" He barely managed to stutter out, clearly struggling to find the words. "Lucy…"

Though her grief-stricken wails had subsided, Lucy continued to sob, gasping for breath between them as Natsu struggled for an answer. When the words didn’t seem to come to him, there was only one thing he could think to say.

"I’m sorry…"

Lucy could hear the remorse dripping from every syllable. Natsu rarely apologised, even rarer did he mean it. This time, he did.

He wasn’t apologising because he was made to; he wasn’t apologising because he felt he had to. He was genuinely remorseful for making her feel this way.

"I still don’t understand," Lucy murmured. "Why? I mean- I don’t- It’s so stupid…" She paused to suck in a breath and gather her thoughts. "You completely avoid me because I won’t tell you who I like? Why do you care so much?"

"I- I just-"

Natsu sputtered out the words, clearly unable to form a coherent answer to the question, almost as if he didn’t know himself.

Lucy looked up at him with glassy, pleading eyes. For the first time since she had shown up, she got a good look at him, too blinded by anger and tears to have caught a glimpse prior. He looked so terribly lost and guilty, his brain seemingly barely able to comprehend the speed in which this had all happened. She couldn’t quite find it in herself to blame him.

She had shown up out of the blue, chewed him out before bursting into tears in his arms. It certainly was not her finest moment, but keeping up appearances was the last thing on her mind. Natsu was her friend—her best friend. Not having him by her side was like some cruel, twisted torture, a reminder of days long past that she had hoped she would never have to relive. She never wanted to not be with him if she could at all help it, and if weeping in his arms was the best way to get that across, then so be it.

"I don’t want you to like some… stupid guy who’s gonna hurt you because he doesn’t think you’re pretty," he said, cobbling his words together with uncertainty as he spoke.

"You’re already hurting me!" Lucy blurted out, not taking a moment to think about what she was saying.

She hardly even registered what she had said until he was looking down at her in some gut-wrenching combination of horror and confusion. It was like her words hadn’t quite set in, but he got the gist of where she was coming from. It was like he knew how she felt but wasn’t sure how to feel about it himself, and the idea of that made her swallow thickly to push down the bile that threatened to rise.

He looked at her slack-jawed before he managed to sputter out, "me?"

With no backing out of this one, Lucy decided the only way she was getting out was through.

"Yes, you, stupid! Are you blind?"

Her insulting words didn’t seem to hit him as he simply stood, lost in his own thoughts for a moment before he finally spoke up again.

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Because… I like the way things are between us," she breathed. "I don’t want to change that because I like you. It would just… make things weird, and I don’t want to lose what we have."

Natsu furrowed his brows slightly.

"Why would it be weird?" He asked, his voice low and soft, but she wasn’t certain he meant it to be. "I don’t think that’s weird."

"It is! It’s always weird when someone likes someone else, but they don’t feel the same, and it’s just-"

"Who said I didn’t like you?" Natsu interrupted.

"I-"

Lucy stuttered around an answer, not truly knowing what to say. No one had said that. She’d simply assumed that there was no possible way that her feelings would be reciprocated because it was Natsu. Natsu, who had never shown romantic interest in anyone, let alone her. It was just an informed assumption based on years of friendship that she thought was just that—friendship. She had never considered the idea that he might feel the same way, and now it felt like everything she knew about him had been flipped on its head.

"I just didn’t think that you-"

Her breath hitched in the middle of her sentence as her mind began to race with the possibility of being loved back.

"Why’d you never ask me?"

Because I didn’t want you to reject me. Because I couldn’t handle seeing your face as you tried to let me down easy. Because I knew that if I did, things would never be the same between us again.

There were so many answers to his question running through her head that she just couldn’t seem to figure out which one she wanted to hear.

"Because I wasn’t sure I was ready for the answer."

Natsu was quiet for a moment in response, and Lucy felt her heart sink to her stomach. He still hadn’t given her a real answer. For all she knew, she was simply getting her hopes up only to watch her friendship with Natsu come crumbling down.

In a small, dwindling moment of courage, Lucy squeaked out a soft, "do you?"

"Yeah," he breathed. "I do."

His words were a little shaky, but he said them with such conviction that Lucy couldn't do anything but believe them.

"And for the record, I think you're really pretty."

Those were the words that she had been waiting for him to say for all too long. She had dreamed of hearing it from him for longer than she could recall.

Suddenly, everything started to fall into place.

"Is that… Is that why you’ve been avoiding me all week?" She asked. "Because you were jealous?"

Well, it sounds bad when you put it that way…" He murmured.

"It sounds bad no matter what way you put it!" Lucy exclaimed.

So much of the pain and despair she had been feeling could have been foregone if he had just told her how he felt. She had never felt such joy and such frustration at the very same time, because, god, he felt the same way about her, but he had put her through such heartache over a little secret that it made her want to scream.

"I don’t know if I should be mad or if I should kiss you senseless."

She knew she couldn’t be mad, even if she tried. He was protecting his heart the same way she was protecting hers—she could never hold that against him. She’d be a hypocrite to pretend she was any better.

"Can you do the second one?" Natsu asked, drawing her back into the moment and away from her thoughts—and who was she to deny him?

With no reply, Lucy placed her hands on his shoulders and pressed her lips against his, sending them stumbling back into his home. He caught her by the hips, hands gripping tight, and Lucy hoped that he wouldn’t be letting go any time soon.

#nalu #fairy tail #fan fiction #fanfiction #nalu fan fiction #nalu fanfiction #natsu x lucy #ft nalu #fairy tail nalu #mya writes things #yes i did repost shhhhh

[kakashis-formal-simp]

hii i hope you are doing well and taking care of yourself!! I had a request for Erza scarlet if that’s okay, fem reader is being hit on by someone else in the guild and Erza gets jealous about it, also i apologise in advance if you see me a lot requesting for Erza I just rarely see any fics for her 😭

~ 🌷

It’s no problem at all, I love writing for her and she needs more fanfics ❤️❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻

Also, I’m working on my other requests rn too, so if anyone requested, don’t worry they will be coming ❤️❤️🥰🥰

Erza Scarlet x reader

Sitting in your normal seat in the guild hall you did what you always did. Stare at Erza in all her beauty. She and Team Natsu just got back from a quest and you watched as she told Levy all about it, though, you assume her version of how the quest went is different than Lucy’s judging by the face she was making. Well, you were lost in thought and you failed to notice the man approaching you.

“Hey, Y/n, you’re looking as good as always.” glancing at the man talking, you had seen him around the guild but had yet to learn his name. “Thanks” you mumble toward him. “I’ve heard you’re pretty strong,” he says while he moves his body closer to you. “I am,” you say simply, you continue to talk to him while he flirts poorly with you. The whole conversation was rather one-sided as you have no interest in the man.

“Excuse you, can you not see that Y/n is clearly not interested in you?” Erza’s voice booms. “What are you talking about, why wouldn’t she be interested? We are having a pleasant conversation, aren’t we Y/n?” he looks at you as he finishes. “Please, Y/n can do way better than you,” Erza says as she grabs his collar and tosses him out of the booth.

“Wow, do you mind grabbing me like that?” you jokingly ask her. Erza’s face quickly flushes red. “I-i, you want..” laughing, you cut her off. “It was only a joke Erza, but… I am curious. Why did you stop that man from flirting with me?” Erza’s face stays red as she responds “Well, you were clearly uninterested in him, so…” She looks down. “Is there another reason you stopped him?” Erza looked up quickly, then looked around. “Actually, there is something I have been meaning to talk to you about,” smiling at her “Well, you have my undivided attention,” you answer simply. Erza’s face reddens more, “Uhm, could we step out of the guild hall," she asks nervously, without responding you stand up from the booth.

The walk outside was quick, which was good because your nerves were consuming. Trying to appear calm on the outside, “So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” Erza sighs, “I… well,” she sighs again, trying to gain her composure. You can’t remember a time you’ve seen her like this. “I like you Y/n” she blurts out, finally looking up at you, “ I like you a lot, Y/n, you’re funny, smart, and undeniably attractive. Everything about you is amazing and I would love for a chance to call you mine,” Erza looks at you with her pleading brown eyes. “How could I ever say no to you? I would love nothing more than to be your woman Erza,” you watch the excitement radiate off of Erza’s face, “really? Can we get strawberry cake?” she asks excitedly. You smile at her, “Of course, I can even make you some if you would like,” Erza smiles, pulling you into a hug, your head hitting her armor with a loud clunk. Although it didn’t feel nice, you wouldn’t change this for the world.

I wasn’t sure if you wanted an established relationship or not so I wrote it as if they aren’t yet together

Feel free to request as much as you like ❤️❤️

#erza scarlet x reader #erza scarlet #fairy tail #erza x reader #erza fairy tail #ft erza #fanfic #natsu x reader #gray x reader #erza knightwalker #fan fiction

[fics-n-stuff-n-stuff]

Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox

all fairy tail characters basically

Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic

Follows Fairy tail but with my own twists set in modern day

Fluff and Angst

Romance / Friendship / developing feelings

Lucy has new spirits I checked constellations and gave her ones I thought were cool

Summary

Lucy is thrown into a world she didn’t know existed. Join her as she unravels this new world full of magic that brings adventure, romance and destruction along with it.

———

Just a modern re-telling of Fairy tail following its arcs with a few twists and turns along the way💞

You can also read it here

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Chapter 19

"You found it." The man said with a hint of relief in his voice as he moved to walk closer to them.

Natsu's form tensed up as the man approached with slow, hobbling steps and moved a step to the right, so his whole body was standing in front of Lucy.

"Who are you? And what do you want?" Lucy asked as she moved to watch the man over Natsu's shoulder.

The closer he seemed to be, the stronger a feeling of sorrow seemed to envelop Lucy. His existence was screaming agony, and it was like she could feel a part of it.

"I was hoping that you would find it before anyone else figured out where the other half was buried." The man kept talking, ignoring her previous questions as he took careful steps towards them.

"Though I see that you had some company before I made my way here." He commented as he looked over to where Helena's body was tied up.

"I don't like attacking someone who can't defend themself, but if ya don't stop walking I'm not gonna have a choice." Natsu's voice cut through the clearing, making the man stop in his tracks and turn back to look at the pinkette.

With his nose raised in the air he sent an unimpressed look towards her partner, Lucy saw him scoff slightly before turning his gaze towards her.

"Of all the people to team up with, it had to be him?"

The question was directed towards her, but Lucy was too scattered by everything that's happened so far and majorly pissed at how this person was treating Natsu to realize that he was addressing her as if they know each other.

"I don't see how that's any of your business." She shot back at him with a small glare.

He seemed to think himself above Natsu, and Lucy didn't like that. "Now, I'm going to ask again. Who are you, and what are you doing here?" She asked him as she moved to stand next to Natsu instead of behind him.

"My name is Loke, I'm the one who sent the job request to Fairy Tail." Loke answered her after a few moments of pondering and Lucy's mind went into overdrive at his confession.

He's the reason they're here?

Who was he to do such a thing? He wasn't working with whoever possessed Helena, that much was obvious.

But what were his motivations then?

"Why did you do that?" Natsu asked that question as Lucy was busy spiraling in her mind.

"There have been whispers of a spirit summoner for months, I didn't believe it myself until just before the New Year. It was around the same time that Franmalth took possession of Miss Helena." Loke explained his actions as he motioned to the unconscious woman, but they still made no sense.

"Franmalth? That is the creature possessing her? Why is it after Leo's broken key?" Lucy asked the man, if he knew the name of whatever took over the head curator, he must know more of what was happening.

"I have many suspicions about what their plans could be, and I promise it is nothing good. Which is why I needed you to find the second half." He said, trying to take a step forward, only for Natsu and Lucy to take a joint step back.

Loke let out a sigh at their actions and raked a shaky hand through his hair.

"None of that explains who you are and why you sent out a fake job to our guild." Lucy noted sharply, crossing her hands and raising an eyebrow in Loke's direction.

Did he think to just hobble his way into this clearing, declare he was the one to send them on a fake job, and expect them to, what, trust him?

If Lucy was honest with herself, she doesn't trust a word out of his mouth. He was hiding something, she could see it, feel it.

Her words seemed to amuse him, as he let out a pained laugh, holding his stomach as he did. "I haven't explained much, you're right." He answered simply, but it was vague enough for it to be frustratingly familiar.

Getting answers out of him was like trying to get information from her spirits.

When they answered her summons that is.

Yes, she was still mad at them.

"If you're not going to tell us anything, why bother coming here?" Lucy tried a different approach this time, hoping that if she prodded enough, she might find something that would set him off.

"I came here to assure myself that it was indeed you and that you located both halves of the broken spirit key." Loke answered, but there was something about the way he said it that sounded rehearsed.

She could picture him reciting the same words to a mirror.

Narrowing her eyes Lucy went to walk towards him.

Natsu's hand caught her arm before she could take a step, but when she looked back at him with a determined look in her eyes he let go without a word.

Trusting her, and his own instincts.

"See, the thing is, I don't believe you."

Lucy said as she took small, slow steps towards Loke.

"The art of telling half-truths is hard to master. But once you do, it's easier to see through other people's bullshit."

There was a look of shock on his face at her words, and Lucy only smirked in return.

"That's not the proper language for a Lady." Was the only response she got from the man, and it made her laugh.

"I see no ladies present. Just two partners, an unconscious possessed woman, and a dying man who can't seem to tell the truth." Lucy said as she stopped a few steps in front of him.

There was a sadness in his eyes as he started back at her that she didn't catch across the field, and the feeling of anguish was even stronger, now that they were only a few steps from one another.

"If it is what you truly desire, I will tell you the truth. There are no consequences anymore, as you said I am dying." Loke told her, with a hint of depreciation in his voice.

Lucy was partially stunned by his comment, and she felt bad for phrasing it like that and throwing the words at his face.

It wasn't very compassionate of her, whatever his reasons for lying were, she didn't think they were for evil.

And he was still dying.

Everyone deserves a chance to explain themselves.

Everyone in Fairy Tail gave her a chance after what happened with Phantom Lord, Loke deserves the same courtesy.

"Okay, I want the truth, we want the truth." Lucy told him as she looked back at Natsu.

He was surprisingly silent throughout her whole exchange with Loke, deciding to observe their interactions and intervene if necessary.

He nodded back at her and started walking towards them.

"Yes, We would like the truth." He said as he pressed his front against her back, and propped his chin on the top of her head.

Lucy rolled her eyes at his behavior but was glad for the proximity. His warmth always called out to her when they were near.

And it was below freezing in the clearing.

Loke was once again slightly put off by Natsu, but when Lucy shot him a glare, he opted not to comment and instead started talking.

"Franmalth is one of Zeref's demons." He started with that, and Lucy felt a shiver run through her spine at the sound of the name.

"I already put those pieces together." She told him with a flat look.

Loke let out a chuckle at her before it turned into a coughing spree. "Sorry, that's been happening a lot more recently." He said as he moved to stand, somewhat straight.

"I believe he was after the key so that they could use the residual magic left in it."

"Who is 'they'?" Lucy asked, feeling like he was going to gloss over it if she didn't.

"They, are his followers, more than just the demons he's created. There is a threat coming." Loke said ominously, and Lucy felt Natsu stiffen from behind her.

Loke turned to look at him, and this time there was none of the hostility in his gaze. "You can sense it." Is all that he said.

Not a question, but an acknowledgment.

"It was why I used what was left of my magic to send that fake flyer to your guild. There were, as I mentioned, rumors of a Spirit Summoner in Fairy Tail. So I took a chance. It was imperative for you to find it before Franmalth."

Lucy was unsure of what to think of all this yet, there is more to this story.

He was still holding back.

"How were you aware of the key's location? And of what importance is its safety to you?" She asked as she crossed her hands, moving back into Natsu more.

There was a twitch to Loke's eyebrow at her question and he let out another sigh, before moving to sit down.

"If we're gonna do this, I might as well get comfortable. No use swaying on my feet."

He waited for a few moments to see if they would join him, before sighing again.

There was a pause, where all they could hear was the crashing of water, and the birds singing around them.

"I was, cursed, almost 14 years ago. The circumstances around it bound me to Leo's key. It was my duty to watch over the broken pieces. One half was donated to the museum by Lord Jude before I could do anything."

His posture was slumped as he talked, head turned to the right looking at the trees. "The other I managed to take and bury here." He told them staring off into the distance as if caught in a memory.

Lucy watched him as he talked.

He was telling half-truths again, but there were more details this time. She was getting closer.

"That's still not the truth, we're getting closer though. Why were you cursed? I thought my mother had all the zodiac keys before she died, so how do you fit into all of this?"

Loke seemed to be shrinking into himself with her every question, he lifted his head for a moment and his eyes were filled with tears.

"Please, Lucy, don't make me." He pleaded with her, and she was once again struck by how he addressed her as if they knew each other.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked, feeling frustrated with his carefully chosen words.

Talking to him felt like listening to a script being read. He was prepared for her every question, each answer parried with a carefully crafted and frustratingly vague response.

He said he would tell her the truth and she would settle for nothing less.

"He's a spirit." Natsu's words shocked both Lucy and Loke to the core.

Loke's face was horrified as he turned to glare at her partner, Lucy in turn moved her head to give him a confused look.

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking between him and Loke.

"I couldn't smell it till he was close enough, and even then it took me a second to place it, over all the death and decay that's covering him. But it's there, just like all your spirits." He told her with a shrug and Lucy turned back to look at Loke.

She carefully studied every part of him.

His hair was severely disheveled, but if she tilted her head she could see what looked like ears. His suit was well made, tailored to fit like a glove, and even tattered and sullied, you could tell it was high quality.

It reminded her of the suits that Capricorn wears, the quality looks the same, and so does the material.

That would explain why she seemed to be able to feel his pain, though it's never happened with any other spirit until now.

The look in his eyes, when they met, solidified her thoughts even more.

"You are Leo." She stated bluntly, not giving him a chance to deny.

He let his head fall into his chest at her words, his shoulders curling in on themselves even more as he started shaking.

No, not just shaking, he was crying.

Lucy was stunned for a moment as she watched him weep, feeling his sorrow with each breath.

What had finally made him snap? Was it the use of his name?

Pushing through the assault of feelings Lucy found herself taking a step towards him.

"Leo, please, you need to tell me what is going on. What happened, how are you here, if your key is broken? Why is it broken? Why are my spirits keeping secrets?" Lucy rambled out before she could stop herself.

She needed to get him to calm down first, but there was a sense of urgency driving her.

She was tired of half-truths, she needed answers.

"Please." She tried again, begged.

"I- I'm so sorry Lucy." His words were barely audible through the muffled sobs, and it made her heart clench at the desperation in his voice.

Lucy turned to look back at Natsu, who was as stunned as she was by the turn of events, he shook his head at her, raising his hands in defeat.

She turned to look at the leader of the Zodiac Spirits and crouched down in front of him.

"Leo." The sobs had ceased by this point, but he was still shaking like a leaf.

He was still dying.

He took a few deep, calming breaths before sitting up as straight as he could and looked at her with such sorrow, that it made Lucy want to weep with him.

"I- I was cursed in a way, that wasn't a lie." Was the first thing he said, his voice was a bit rough as he spoke. "For killing my previous master. My key was broken, I was cast out of the spirit realm and left to roam this one until death takes me."

Out of all the things Lucy could have expected, this was nowhere on the list.

A spirit killing their master.

That was not something Lucy thought her spirits were capable of.

"There are other spirit summoners?" She blurted out and immediately regretted it, out of all the things to ask.

Leo tensed at her question and looked back down at the snowy ground.

"You are the last living spirit summoner, Lucy Heartfilia." He told her with an almost sharp tone that she knew wasn't aimed at her, but at himself.

"What happened then? How did you kill your summoner? I know my spirits, and I know that none of them are capable of killing me." Lucy said as she moved to stand back next to Natsu.

"14 years ago, I helped your mother perform a spell that has been forbidden, and in doing so, was a direct cause of her death."

It was as if someone pierced her heart.

She felt like she couldn't breathe, and for a moment everything went still. It was just her and an almost forgotten memory of her mother, bedridden but still smiling at her.

"But, my mother didn't die 14 years ago, that's around when she got sick. She died three years later." Lucy told him, as she scrambled trying to put the pieces together.

"And why was she performing a forbidden spell in the first place?" She asked, mind numb at this point. With every answer received, a thousand new questions bloom.

It was all just too confusing, and she was tired.

This day has felt endless.

"It was paramount for that spell to be cast. The repercussions of it drained Layla of not only magic but life energy."

"I tried talking her out of it." Leo let out a bitter laugh. "I knew it was in vain, but it was my duty, as one of her closest friends to try." He kept talking, voice unsteady as he did.

"You know what she said to me? 'If you're not going to help me Leo, I'm going to do it on my own.'" The chuckle he let out this time was genuine, the smile on his face fond as he remembered Layla.

"If she had done the spell herself, she would have died instantly, with my help, we had hoped she would survive." His voice cracked at the end of the sentence, and he took in a deep breath to steady himself.

"When it was all over,  we were convinced that everything went smoothly. It was only after a couple of weeks, when she started getting sick that we realized it only gave her so much time." He was crying again, but his head was high, and he tried to reel himself in.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Lucy." He kept repeating as he shook with tears, and probably a fever as well. "Please forgive me!"

Lucy was even more confused now.

The story that Leo is telling her doesn't speak of him killing Layla, if anything he's the reason she got to spend three more years with her.

If there was one thing that Lucy remembered about her mother, it was that Layla Heartfilia was a stubborn woman. If she had set her mind to casting that spell, her life was a price she was willing to pay.

So why was Leo cursed? 

Or maybe the better question is, who cursed him?

"Leo, I'm sorry, but, you, this.." Lucy trailed off as she tried to gather her thoughts. "This is bullshit!" What she realized was that she was angry.

Here he was, on his knees on death's doorstep, sobbing and begging for her forgiveness, for something that wasn't his fault.

He was dying for trying to save her mother, dying and cast out of his realm, left to rot for years.

And Lucy was livid.

"Who did this to you?" She almost growled with rage, taking the spirit and her partner aback with her sudden mood shift.

She didn't notice that she was channeling her magic as her emotions started overtaking rational thought.

Light was swirling around her as she thought about the 14 years of agony that Leo had endured.

"Who gave themselves the authority to make such decisions? Because I have to say that this is the stupidest thing I have ever heard in my life!" She was laughing now, it sounded a tad maniacal, but Lucy was past the point of caring.

Leo stared back at her, mouth open and eyes wide in shock.

He had not expected this reaction from her.

"I want to speak with whoever thought that putting the person who saved my mother through years of torture was a good idea! Because frankly, they sound like an idiot!"

Lucy was yelling by this point, feeling fury at what she'd found out.

The thought of Leo, alone and suffering for all these years made her blood boil with rage. He has lived 14 years blaming himself for her mother's death.

How dare they?

With no further thought, Lucy moved her hands to dig through her pockets and pulled out the broken key.

Looking at the pieces in her palm she felt like there was only one thing left to do.

"I refuse." Lucy said with determination as she turned her gaze back to Leo.

Her magic was still surrounding her and she felt it intensifying with every second that passed.

The key pieces started glowing in her hand, and she moved to bring them together and channeled all her power into them.

"I REFUSE TO LET YOU DIE!" She yelled as she willed the key to fuse back together.

"NO! No! Lucy, you can't do that!" Leo yelled as he tried to get on his feet, stumbling through the pain as he fell over.

"You'll use up all your magic and die trying, please!" He was on his knees, pleading with her but Lucy refused to listen.

There was nothing he could say to get her to stop now. Her mind was made up, she would save him if it was the last thing she did.

"I am not dying today, and neither are you!" She shot back at him, channeling more of her power into the key.

Unbeknownst to Lucy, all of her spirits started appearing by her side as she focused her power on restoring Leo's key.

They materialized one by one until they were surrounding her, their teary gazes meeting Leo's huddled form.

"You.Will.Mend." Lucy said through gritted teeth as she glared at the key, putting all of her magic into the bond that could be felt between them, and with a sudden shockwave the key clicked back in place.

Lucy stumbled back several steps, feeling the aftershock of the blast as her knees buckled. Thankfully there was a warm hand around her waist, steadying her.

Blinking through the sudden haze, Lucy looked down at her hand and was half-stunned to see Leo's key fully intact.

"I did it." Her voice came out small, her chest heaving and her breath shaky as she continued staring at her palm.

The feeling of joy lasted for half a second before the earth started shaking violently underneath them, Lucy turned her head with a panicked look to where Leo was huddled before the blast.

She found him standing a few meters from them looking down at his hands with wide eyes and confusion. Lucy watched the spirit pat himself down as he realized what had happened.

A weight lifted off of Lucy's shoulders as she noticed how healthy he looked.

His cheeks were no longer hollowed out, she could see the colour on his face, his suit was intact, hair was styled in a way that pronounced his ears.

After several moments of inspecting his newfound body and strength, he turned to gaze at her with a mix of awe and disbelief.

"How did you do that?" His voice was small as he asked and Lucy wasn't given a chance to answer, not that she really had one, when everything around them stopped shaking and came to a sudden halt.

The birds froze mid-air. The Waterfall behind them was suspended in place, the whole clearing was left in a deafening silence.

Lucy turned and looked around for the source of the spell, only for the sky itself to part above them.

There seemed to be a different sky from beyond the crack, with a giant man looming over them.

His eyes were sharp, and his mustache twitched as he observed them. "Who are you to question my authority, little girl?" The man spoke, his voice booming through the clearing.

At his presence, Leo seemed to freeze in place, not daring to move a muscle.

Natsu was ready for action the moment the giant man spoke, but Lucy stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

This was her fight.

She couldn't explain why, but she felt no fear looking at the giant, even with his booming tone and glare.

Still fueled by anger, adrenaline, and a sense of justice Lucy glared right back at the giant man, refusing to stand down or be intimidated.

"I am Lucy Heartfilia, the last of the Spirit Summoners. It is my duty to protect the keys, treat the spirits bound to them with honor and respect, and use our magic to help those who need it."

She stated proudly as she walked forward, passing Natsu and making her way to the middle of the clearing.

Her posture was regal as she stepped forward, shoulders back, head held high and she looked at the giant man head-on.

"And who are you, to think you can just leave Leo in agony for years? Over something that was not his fault!" She shot back at him.

"You know not what you speak of girl!" He warned, but Lucy was passed reason. "Do not test me, I am the King of the Spirit Realm, it was my authority to do so."

Lucy only half faltered at his admission. 'King of the Spirit Realm?' She scoffed at the thought.

'Some King, to leave his subject in such a state.'

No, Lucy was not backing down. This wasn't right, Leo did not deserve the punishment he received, and to hell, she would fight the King if she had to!

"My mother would have cast that spell whether he helped her or not." Lucy said with conviction.

"Now tell me, Your Majesty, would have it been better had he let her die?" She shot back, curling her hands into fists as she tried to control her emotions.

"What he did helped her live." She argued through clenched teeth. "And your decision to do this to him is frankly inhumane." Lucy finished with a glare in the King's direction.

There was a moment of silence as she finished her speech and Lucy knew that she was trembling with adrenaline.

She heard footsteps from behind and then Natsu was at her back, his warmth was enveloping her as he offered his support without a word.

Lucy let out a sigh, grateful for his proximity, and welcomed the grounding effect he had on her.

Leo, Lucy could see from the corner of her eye was frozen in shock and fear as he stared at the man in the sky. It seems like he hasn't moved a muscle since the King appeared.

"Lucy Heartfilia, you say." The King's voice boomed through the clearing, bringing everyone's attention back to him.

He seemed calmer as he observed them, and there was a mischievous glint in his eyes as he stroked his mustache. "It is an incredible thing you have done here Lucy Heartfilia. Giving a spirit its key is something no one has done since the very first summoner."

A gasp echoed through the clearing and Leo's head snapped to look at her in awe.

"She was the first to call upon the stars, and pull them from the sky." The giant continued with his story as he looked down at Lucy.

"The keys were formed by her power. Shaped to represent the opening of doors between our realms." There was a wondrous tone in his voice as he spoke of the first Spirit Summoner, and Lucy was amazed by the tale.

There was nothing written on the origin of her powers, and she felt privileged to learn how the connection between the stars and her family came to be.

"In her lifetime she formed many bonds with many spirits, and when she passed away, her bloodline continued to thrive.

You remind me of her. She was a dear friend of mine." There was a twitch to his lips as he spoke before he turned his gaze to Leo.

"Leo, the lion. You have been given a second chance, I suggest that you do not waste it. My official rule is that you pay your sentence by serving Lucy Heartfilia."

His tone was serious, but the wink he gave them put everyone at ease.

"I hope we meet again, old friend. Thank you for caring about the spirits enough to challenge even me." The Spirit King addressed Lucy with a smile.

"There are great and terrible things in your future, Daughter of the Stars and Son of Fire Dragon King Igneel. I hope you are both ready for what is to come." And with an ominous warning time seemed to restart.

The crack in the sky was gone, leaving behind a picturesque sunrise.

"How did he know about Igneel?" Lucy heard Natsu's strained voice from behind her, but she was suddenly too tired to react in any way.

With the adrenaline leaving her body, all Lucy was left with was her exhaustion and the empty, almost cold feeling coming from where she could usually feel the tingling of her magic.

There was movement from behind her, and she could hear Leo and Natsu's voices getting louder, but she couldn't focus on what was said.

Everything was slowing down again for Lucy, and she let herself fall into the abyss.

* ********* ********** ********** ********* *

"There are great and terrible things in your future, Daughter of the Stars and Son of  Fire Dragon King Igneel. I hope you are both ready for what is to come."

Natsu froze the moment the stash-faced man mentioned his father, trying to figure out what he meant by the warning.

Before he could say anything, in a blink of an eye the man was gone, and time seemed to be back to normal.

Tightening his grip on Lucy's waist, Natsu moved his glare to the no longer dying spirit.

"How did he know about Igneel?" He growled at him, if these spirits had any clues as to where his father could be, Natsu needed to know.

"I don't have the answers you want." Leo sneered his way as he turned to look at him and Lucy.

"But you know something, now tell me! He is my father. Tell me what you know!" Natsu shouted at him, feeling the control over his anger slip as he glared at the orange-haired prick.

"I don't answer to you! Honestly, it is beyond me what she sees in yo-" The spirit was cut off mid-sentence when Lucy suddenly collapsed in Natsu's arms.

There was a flash of pain in his gut as she fell into his hold, head lulled on his shoulder as he held her.

"Wha-? Luce? Lucy!" Natsu yelled frantically as he moved to pick her up.

He could see her chest was moving up and down, her breaths were shallow and her skin was unhealthily pale.

The usual glow she had around her was fading fast, making her golden hair look dull in the morning light and Natsu felt like he couldn't breathe for a moment.

There was a bubbling pain forming in his gut as he watched her light go out.

Holding back a curse, Natsu turned his wide-eyed gaze back at Leo for

answers. "What's happening to her?"

"She used up too much of her magic."

Leo's voice sounded as shaky as Natsu felt at that moment. "This- this is what happened with Layla when she cast the spell. I told her not to do it. Stupid girl." The spirit said through tears as he watched the blonde in Natsu's arms slowly fade away.

A feeling of dread crept its way to the back of Natsu's head, along with the growing pain in his gut as he cast his gaze down to his unconscious partner.

His brain was fizzling as he tried to think of something he could do, maybe if he could remember all the lessons about sensing and estimating a person's magic.

It isn't something he even needed when fighting. Natsu always went head first and all out, no matter the opponents' strength.

This was different.

This was Lucy.

He moved to connect their foreheads and focused on his magic.

Not really knowing what he wanted to do, Natsu continued channeling his magic and aimed towards Lucy.

There was an unexplained, unspoken bond between them.

It's been there from the moment they met, and he hoped that this would work.

It has to work.

He will not let her die, she said she wasn't dying today, and he wasn't going to let her.

He didn't know if he could, there was no world without Lucy.

He stayed like that for what felt like hours, pooling his magic and trying to create a bridge between the two of them.

There was no guarantee it would work, Natsu barely knew what he was doing, healing magic and fire do not mix well but there were no other options left.

It took him by surprise, it started as a slight zap from where they were connected before it unfurled into a fluttering sensation in his stomach, and he could feel tingles all over his body as her magic flowed through him.

Natsu moved his head back in shock, and stared down at Lucy, only to witness the colour slowly come back to her face and her breath even out.

He felt like a weight lifted off his heart and the pain in his gut disappeared as a little spark of his fire began to burn her magic back to life.

"That was incredibly stupid of you." Looking up he saw Leo's unimpressed eyes stare back at him.

He had forgotten the spirit was there.

"I don't even know what happened." Natsu answered truthfully as he stared back at him.

All he knew was that Lucy dying was not an option, so he did what he could until they could get back to Fairy Tail.

There was a scoff from the Zodiac Leader, and Natsu was getting tired of his attitude.

"You'll see with time, it was too late to begin with. But now you've sealed her fate, and yours too."

#fairy tail #fanfic #nalu #fairy tail nalu #lucy heartifilla #natsu x lucy #fairy tail fanfic #fairy tail fic #ft nalu #nalu fan fiction #nalu fan fic #nalu ff #nalu fanfic #nalu fanfiction #nalu fairytail #naluweek2023 #nalu fluff #fairy tail ff #fairy tail fanfiction #natsu x lucy fic #natsu / lucy #natsu/lucy #natsu dragneel #natsu dragon slayer #lucy heartfilia #fanfiction

[mdot911]

Natsu loves twirling Lucy’s hair around his fingers when they are casually watching TV. It makes the cutest curls when he heats his hand. Lucy fusses at him saying he’s messing up her hair, but she secretly loves it he’s easily entertained when they are together.

#nalu #fairy tail #natsu dragneel #natsu x lucy #lucy heartfilia #fairy tail 100 years quest #ft 100yq #nalu fluff #this is cannon #nalu fan fiction

[gymjunkie412]

💞Nalu Fanfic tropes💞

#fairy tail #nalu #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #ft #hiro mashima #natsu x lucy #fairy tail nalu #fairy tail dragon cry #fairytail #my art #fairy tail 100 years quest #nalu fan fiction #nalu fanfiction

[softwarmfur]

always so shocked when I remember how hard it is to find fanworks of fox mulder getting it on with aliens...you'd think there would be a slew of horny fuckers who could recognize the potential that show had what with all the beasts and creatures.... perhaps im just too teratopilled for this

#i believe in being the change you want to see in the world even if u suck at it so. mulder/alien self insert fan fiction is in the works😁 #pre-series case fic in which mulder is dragged into a space/time pocket by a tentacled beaft that wants nothing more than to #make absolute scrambled egg out of his insides. ft. canon typical plausible deniability in which he has no solid evidence the event ever #occurred. leading him to wonder if it was real or just a wild ass stress dream

[angelwithdemonictendencies]

he set my house on fire, you lit my heart ablaze; when the smoke cleared, you stayed, coughing up ash with me.

jh86 x reader: the revenge plot doesn't go as planned (ft. ex-fiance am34).

(warnings: blasphemous filth (it's on the tamer side, i think), unprotected penetrative sex (m on f), spit and descriptions of bodies and stuff like that, hair pulling (big fan), lots of talk about toxic relationships and being mean and using people and sad moments (we can thank this fictional am34 for that), oh, and slight bullying of tz11). idk just please be warned, don’t read if you’re not 100% sure.)

(a/n: hello, favorites. thank you so, so much for your patience and softness. today i bring you a story that took me so, so long because i worked so, so hard on it (and it's really long! 14k worth). we have checked all the boxes: terrible ex-fiance am34, sweet boy jh86, schemes and plots and the like. no, i don't think any of these characters are like this in real life. no, nobody acts like this, but it's getting colder, so i think a lot of us are craving that gentle domesticity. and yes, i wish someone had shown up with flowers after i finished undergrad midterms. there's probably a ton of plot holes but shh! don't tell anyone. also tried out a new format, the smut is in the middle instead of the end, let me know how you feel about that. anyways, i miss you and i love you and i think of you often and fondly. i hope you and your snakes are doing well and knowing what you deserve and accepting nothing less. let me know what you think, what you want next, etc. go canucks, of course. oh, and no, i do not think it's a coincidence that all the guys i write about are having a great season so far (except the ducks that refuse to play). how could it be? definitely a causal connection. all my love to you. until next time).

since you were a young girl, you had known that your greatest motivation, your deepest truth, perhaps your fatal flaw, was just how deeply you felt.

when you were little, that meant tears came easily, anger festered like weeds in a prized garden, and happiness felt like flying.

it also meant you could read others' emotions almost as clearly as your own.

it made you different, it made you a good friend, it made you the person you were. for much of your life, you had made peace with the fact that your well of emotions went deeper than others. you had loved that part of yourself, even.

but the night you broke off your engagement to auston matthews, you wanted nothing more than for everything you were feeling to disappear, to evaporate into the air as if it had never been.

"you couldn't've at least tried to hide it from me?" you had said, willing your fragile voice not to break.

and he had sat at the kitchen counter, that massive body on the stool that you had carefully selected for the house that you shared, that you thought you would share forever. and he had sighed, sounded almost annoyed. "would that have made it better, angel?"

his indifference coated your bones like lead paint. that name, once one you felt would call you out of a coma, would lead you out of hell like a northern star, now felt like nothing but a condescending, patronizing taunt. silly, stupid angel, the god might as well have said, how could you think you could ever be enough?

understanding settled like ash on your eyelashes. "you think i'll forgive you," you said, little more than a whisper. "you think i won't leave."

he scoffed at that, then. at you. "and go where?" he asked, sounding almost genuine. "where do you have to go?"

how superficially he knew you, it seemed, at that moment. how had you not seen this before?

"you honestly think i could ever look at you the same?" you asked.

he shrugged, his shoulders so imposing, stature so suddenly frightening. a body you knew better than your own, suddenly foreign. a ghost. "maybe differently, but still looking," he said, "your eyes have only ever followed me, angel."

and maybe he was right, but you were done proving him so.

"send my things to my parents' place," you said, cold, devoid of anything. emotion welled up in you like a flood, but you froze it before it could crest through your mouth, come out like some mythical fire-breathing dragon. you slipped off your ring, placed it on the counter.

you didn't feel lighter without it, though. you felt so devastatingly heavy, like cinder blocks were tied to your ankles, like liquid stone filled your head.

"are you kidding?" he asked. to your silence, careful pause, he tilted his head, shook it once. "you're just gonna quit?"

your hands were shaking. you could feel rage rattle through your body, shake your bones. you clenched your fist so tightly you wondered if blood would drip from your palms, stain the light hardwood floor that you had spent so long deciding on. "how dare you," you said, begging your quivering lip to still.

his smirk was cruel. "not like it matters," he mused. "you've never been able to quit me."

you had seen him mean. on the ice, sometimes to journalists, sometimes to fans, sometimes to you, even. but this was past mean. this was past elementary bullying, past joking insults that don't land. he was trying to call your bluff, trying to push you into forgiveness, trying to hurt you.

"watch me," you said, your voice made of ancient rock.

"are you mad because she's hotter than you?" he asked, his brow contorted in false concern. "is that it?"

despite yourself, a small smile pulled at your mouth. a smile that made your eyes glitter. a smile that should have scared him. a warning.

"she is beautiful," you conceded, because she was. what good would it do you to deny that? you approached him, then, in his personal space for what you believed would be the last time. he turned to you, your eyes meeting in a clash, like sword on sword. cruel, brutal arrogance and pure, pretty wrath. you held the side of his face in one palm, the other hand resting on his shoulder. "but when a beautiful person hits on me, auston, i say no."

his eyes flickered down to your mouth, simmering with lust. you laughed at this, at him, raw and true, let pity soak your tone like acid. "i'm not mad at her, auston," you admitted truthfully. "i'm not even mad at you." you patted his cheek, perhaps a little harder than you needed to. "i'm just so disappointed."

that had been weeks ago. you had moved back to the states, so embarrassed on the plane at how you couldn't stop the tears from flowing, until finally you were back with your parents in new jersey. they had welcomed you so warmly, so easily. it had taken a few weeks for the tears to finally slow, for the utter devastation to fade, for your red eyes to brighten again.

at first, it had been hard to remember anything but how his embrace felt like home, how tightly he hugged you after games, how his eyes shone when he laughed, how he had teared up when you had accepted his proposal, how he had gushed about picking the right ring.

but as the sadness faded, as it festered into something much more serious, you remembered less of the fairytale moments, less of his perfect smile, less of the "pretty girl" utterances in his rough bedroom rasp. soon the sadness gave way to steely rage, to an almost bloodthirsty need for revenge. for him to hurt the way he had hurt you.

and no one does bloodthirsty like a group of university-age girls. after catching up with your childhood friends, and getting them caught up on your situation, you looked at your confidants with eager eyes. "what do i do?"

your best friend from high school spoke first, banging her fist on the table. "burn his house down?" she offered. "steal his dog?"

her friend from college put a gentle hand over her fist, "i think for now we try to avoid the federal crimes," she said, then turned to you. "when my ex cheated on me, i got with the lead singer of his favorite band." her eyes shimmered. "and then bought his dream car and wrapped it pink."

you giggled in delight. "oh, you're good."

your childhood friend nodded. "phycological warfare." she looked at you. "who's his idol?"

you thought for a moment, tapped your fingers on the table. "i don't know if idol is what i should be going for," you thought out loud.

"who's someone who would make him uncomfortable? insecure?"

"his dad!" your friend said, making you shake in a laugh.

"his biggest insecurity is the spotlight leaving and not coming back," you told them. you had known that for a long time.

"being forgotten?" your friend asked.

"being replaced," you said, your eyes widening with understanding. "with someone better. more promising." you shared a look with your friends, felt anger solidify into a plan. into hope.

"you look like you have someone in mind."

a memory flashed across your mind like a shooting star, engulfed in flame.

"how was the game, aus?" you had asked when he got home, stirring the pot of soup on the stove.

you heard some kind of grumble as he dropped his things in the mudroom, made his way into the kitchen.

"what's wrong?" you asked when you met his eyes, sensing something wrong like smoke in the air.

"just this young kid," he muttered. "'s nothing, really."

and you knew then that it wasn't just nothing, because he never tried to hide things from you, to diminish his feelings, unless it was really bothering him.

you turned the stove off, approached him, wrapped your arms around his middle and hugged him tight. "who's this new kid?" you asked, muffled by his chest.

his arms pulled your closer, tighter. this had always been where you felt warmest, safest. "some h name," he muttered. "hicks? hughes, maybe?"

you smiled into his chest, knowing him, and knowing he would never have forgotten the name of this kid. knowing auston matthews never forgets people who make him feel like anything other than the world's brightest star.

"whoever he is, probably just had the game of his life," you had said, your voice a comforting lullaby. you had pressed yourself up on your tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "nothing to worry about, yeah?"

he had smiled back at you, but something dark had swirled behind his gaze. something like knowing, like ominous understanding, like an empire, falling. "already forgotten, angel," he had said, but you knew, even then, that he was lying.

the memory fizzed and dissolved like baking soda in vinegar.

you looked at your friends and smiled. "what do you guys know about jack hughes?"

from there it was surprisingly easy to shift from a tangent line outside jack hughes's circle to someone inside of it. you were patient, too, careful not to rush. you wouldn't settle for anything less than perfect, after all, refused to enact any plan that wouldn't end in exactly the revenge you sought.

one of the other wags from toronto, whom you had grown close to, insisted on helping, giving you the numbers of some friends close to the devils.

"i'm honestly so, so proud of you for leaving," she had told you over the phone, her voice nothing but genuine, knowing. "all of us, we all knew you were way too good for him."

"did you?" you asked, maybe a little shocked. having been so completely deceived, so absolutely blind, for so long, it was interesting that others had not been as deluded as you. to hear their perspective, to see what you had not been able to before.

"sweetheart," she said, gently, "everyone who meets you can see that you're good. that you deserve someone good." there was a pause. "and everyone also sees that he was never that."

you let her words settle like glitter on a childhood craft. "thank you," you said. "i miss you."

"we miss you so much. see you soon?"

you agreed, thanked her for her help.

"i hope he's good," were her closing words. "maybe better, at least."

having started classes with your old friends, intent on finishing the degree you had so quickly and thoughtless abandoned for auston, you had ample time to plot.

"feels like we're in a spy movie, or something," your friend had said excitedly.

"we'll be your guys in the chair," the other chimed in. "here the whole way."

the rest of the initial plan came easily, with the help of the people who were on your side, which you quickly learned was a group made up of more people than you thought.

very soon, it was time for step one, and you were in front of your mirror, having just finished getting ready, your friends by your side.

you took a deep breath. "what if this isn't a good idea?" you whispered.

they squeezed at your hands. "no going back now, okay? we'll be there the whole time."

"what if he's not interested?"

"look at yourself," one of them said, "don't be stupid."

"what is he thinks i'm a crazy stalker?"

your oldest friend shrugged, her eyes full of mischief. "what if you are?"

so you found yourself at a dingy, run down bar, the lights low. according to your contacts, this was where the team and their friends came after home games.

when was the last time you had come to a bar looking for something? for someone? it felt distantly familiar, but so strange, like hearing a language you spoke as a child but that hadn't graced your tongue in decades.

you had been with auston for years, after all, having met him when you were 19, him 23. a whirlwind, a tornado, a perfect tempest of pink dust and white teeth. a proposal two years later, a break off a year further.

you were 22 now, and had never felt further from your nineteen-year-old self. a foolish child, a delicate doll, a phantom cloaked in a desperate desire for acceptance, for love.

you didn't know how to flirt in this new body, new being. you didn't even really know to how flirt with anyone but auston - it had been so long since you wanted anyone else. and you didn't even really want jack, at this point. you just wanted justice.

a cluster of motion and noise behind you ripped you from your thoughts. you didn't turn, though, just stirred your drink, let the liquid settle again until you could see yourself in the reflection. until you could make out your eyes, until you could plead with your mouth to tell you what to say.

a game, the beautiful girl mouthed to you, a secret code, it's only a game.

your hazy eyes caught on a pool table in the corner of the bar, vacant, the lamp above it flickering. you smiled to yourself, made your way over, picked out a cue, ran your fingers along the edge of it.

you took a sip of your drink before setting it down, lining yourself up to break. with a swift, even motion, a pleasant cracking noise rung out, colorful balls moving in different directions.

you scrunched up your nose, having sunk none initially, gracefully lining up to go again when you felt a few figures approach.

the first one who spoke, the one right next to you, was not someone you recognized. you didn't even think he was on the team, but he had the build of a hockey player, probably a quick center.

"need a private lesson, there, sugar?" he asked sleazily, his voice the arrogant drawl of a child, almost endearing in its steadiness. he leaned on the table as you looked up at him, straightened, tilted your head to rest against the cue.

"awful kind of you, coach of the year," you teased before nodding to the other person who had joined you, looming across the table like a shadow. "gonna help me beat your friend?"

your new coach scoffed, ran a hand through his long, unruly hair. "trust me, sugar," he said, "you don't need any help beating him."

you locked eyes with the figure across the table, whom you had only seen before on a screen, the one you had heard about in the arms of your ex-fiance. here he was, the soft contours of his face shimmering in the dim light. the mythical and heroic jack hughes, the shaker of the unshakeable auston matthews.

he was shorter than you expected. "not much of a competitor, is he?" you asked the man next to you, talking about jack as if he wasn't right there. as if you hadn't been looking at him the entire time. "doesn't like to play?"

you tilted your head, dared him with your eyes to prove you wrong. the familiar fire of flirtation, of the chase you hadn't engaged with in years flared when he took a step out of the shadows, letting you see him clearly and up close.

during your research, you had seen pictures of him, but they didn't do him even a semblance of justice. he was gorgeous in a fairytale prince sort of way, like he might save the day with a true love's kiss at any moment. his eyes were a striking blue, his nose almost dainty, his jaw angular. your gaze caught on his full mouth before finally landing on his eyes again. he had the kind of complexion and expression you could tell lit up when he smiled. your stomach twisted at the thought. a game, you repeated in your mind. only a game.

"i'll play," he said simply, his voice goofy in a way you weren't used to. not sleazy, like his friend, who was currently behind you while you bent forward, lining up the cue. it wasn't the classic baritone you were used to hearing in auston, but something more cautious, something sweeter.

the game progressed, each of you sinking shots with the tell-tale soft thud. it was his long-haired friend, the one who kept calling you sugar like you were some southern belle, who was much closer to you, who was adjusting your hips and arm placement before each turn, who was flirting with you so openly, his breath hot on your neck, his gaze open and obvious.

even then, a quick exchange of glances with jack felt much more intimate than any innuendo-filled comment and fumbling touch from his friend. whenever jack would sink a ball, his eyes would flutter up to meet yours in a fleeting catch of flame, of promise, of knowing.

with only a few balls still on the green felt of the table, his careful voice broke you from your trance. "what are we playing for?" he asked, eyes alight.

the look you shared was teasing, probing, yet deadly serious. this is everything, the look said. are you ready to give everything?

"how about this?" you began, your tone light and smoky. "if you win, you get my number." his full mouth quirked upwards in the slightest of smirks. "and if i win, i give it to him," you finished, nodding towards his sugar-spewing friend.

jack looked at his friend. "good with you, z?" he asked.

his friend, z, you guessed, let a cocky smirk drape across his face like velvet curtains. "more than good," he said, "as we're gonna win."

with the stakes agreed upon, the game continued until only the eight ball remained. you lined yourself up, your ever-so-involved coach just next to you as you called your pocket.

"have a game, sugar, here we go."

you ignored his friend's voice, lining your cue up perfectly, the smooth wood resting delicately between your fingers, the angle of your arm and neck smooth and sensual. everything about your preparation lent itself to a winning strike, everyone at the table knew it. you could feel it in z's early celebration, see it in the slight quiver of jack's hand.

bent over the table, in the final seconds before your strike, you peered up at jack through dark lashes, all dim light and foggy promise. you gave him a sly smirk as you followed through, the black and white ball missing the pocket by an inch, hitting the side of the table with a soft sound.

jack narrowed his eyes at you with a curious sort of look before quickly calling his pocket and immediately sinking the ball.

his friend sucked on his teeth before throwing up his hands in defeat. "christ, sugar, didn't take you for a choke artist," he said. "unless you're into that." he shot you a wink before heading off to grab a drink.

for the first time, it was just you and jack. you leaned on your cue, let your gaze fall over him lazily, in the same way you knew he was doing to you. he was close now, close enough that you could see how blue his eyes were, how long his lashes, how high and soft his features, how his hair was just a little too long on the sides.

"you let me win," he said, a gentle observation, not anything accusatory.

you smiled. "prove it," you said, to which a matching smile graced his own face.

"must be my lucky night, then," he said as he handed you his phone and you typed your number in.

you laughed. "i don't know," you mused, "you seem like a guy who's used to getting what he wants." and he did seem like that - who could say no to those pretty eyes?

he ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, a motion you tracked. "'m a guy used to earning what he wants," he corrected, and you hummed. a distinction that auston had never made, even though he worked hard, sure. but he was a natural. what would it be like to be with someone to whom everything didn't come just so, so, easily?

"like to work for it, hm?" you teased.

his gaze dropped to your mouth for a second before returning to your eyes.

you stepped forward, pushed and poked at the imaginary line between the two of you. you looked up at him, gently swiped at his cheekbone with your thumb, felt heat rumble between the two of you, something volcanic. "don't work yourself too hard, yeah?"

without a second glance, you placed your cue against the table, grabbed your bag and made for the door.

on your way out, you overhead the conversation that had erupted in your exit.

"i was the one talking to her the whole time," that long-island-ish drawl said.

"if you think she was into you for even a second, you're an idiot," jack replied.

you swore the door was chuckling as it shut behind you.

everything had gone exactly as you'd hoped, exactly as you'd known it would, so you weren't at all surprised to receive a text the next day asking if you were around that night to get a drink.

so you found yourself at a different bar, this one a bit more upscale, quickly spotting jack as he waited for you outside. you blew out a breath as you approached, as a smile made his face glow. it was still so new to find someone else beautiful. when would you get used to his imperfect teeth, his oceanic eyes, his feminine nose, this greek sculpture opposed to autson's roman one?

you blinked. "hi," you said, suddenly feeling lame.

his mouth quirked. "hey." he opened the door for you, nodded. "after you."

"i'm gonna warn you," you started as you ducked past him and into the building. "i haven't been on a date in a while."

he shoved his hands in his pockets, a juvenile habit that made you blush. "find that hard to believe," he said, his tone playful. "pretty girl like yourself."

you scrunched up your nose at that. pretty girl. auston had called you that so many times, but for the first time you actually thought about its meaning. something flipped in your stomach at jack calling you pretty, but it was the girl part that had you pausing for a moment.

you were a girl, pretty much, you were jack's age, but you hadn't felt like one in so long. maybe it was being with someone a little older, but you felt almost ancient, so tired, so drained. but here you were, on a date, every bit the pretty girl he had deemed you.

you just laughed, taking a seat at the counter, smoothing out your dress against your legs. "real sweet talker, are you?" you joked, turning to him and meeting his eyes.

his mouth quirked like he knew something you didn't. "somethin' like that," he said.

the night went by fast, conversation flowing easily, no sign of pressure or anything of the like. you asked about his career, what he did that day, his family, his friends. he made you laugh, and it came so easily, so fluidly. he asked you about what you liked to do, what you were studying in school, how you were enjoying jersey.

surprisingly, you found yourself wanting to be completely honest with him, even though you couldn't be. you found yourself wanting to tell him everything, to answer any question he asked, to never leave him wishing or wanting even for a second.

you got hung up on the curve of his upper lip, on the slope of his shoulders under his button down, on his girlish laugh, his firefly of a smile.

the night was over too soon. too soon, you had the sinking feeling that you were in over your head, that perhaps you had chosen the wrong person for your revenge plot. you wanted to hurt auston, after all, but not yourself. certainly not this shimmery spark of a boy in front of you.

he walked you out, both of you pausing outside the bar, under the dull streetlight, a theatre spotlight for your praiseworthy performance.

you turned to look at him, and him at you, sinking into each others' gazes like quicksand, the air thick with expectation.

"i don't kiss on the first date," you blurted out, talking to his lips, talking to yourself.

he smiled, his shoulders rumbling in a laugh. "'s okay," he breathed, "like to work for it, remember, baby?"

you shook your head as your cheeks erupted in a delighted rosy flush. "goodnight, jack," you said, your voice every bit the giveaway. he returned the sentiment with a knowing grin.

the next day, you invited your girls over to watch him play. as you all settled on the couch, a homemade cocktail in your hand, you couldn't help but hide your face when the camera lingered on his profile during the anthem.

one of your friends gave a mock-salute. "god bless america," she said, shaking her head as you threw a pillow at her.

"alright," you chastised.

"what?" she asked, raising a brow, "just appreciating the wonderful offerings of our country."

your other friend shook her head. "you don't usually go for guys like him, eh?" she asked. "i mean, ever since we were in middle school you always went for the guys with biceps bigger than my face." she held her hands in front of her face for visualization.

"'s not like he's tiny," you said, almost embarrassed.

"no, no," she amended, "but he's no auston. he's just, i don't know, pretty."

you smiled, knowing exactly what she meant. auston was so masculine in every way, and jack was softer, somehow, pretty in a way you didn't usually go for.

pretty in a way that made you smile at your phone when he texted you the next day, asking if he could cook you dinner later that week.

you were blushing to yourself, the morning of, after he had texted you asking if you had any dietary restrictions.

and you didn't, but wasn't it just the sweetest, most thoughtful thing to ask? would you have even thought to ask?

i want you to be comfortable, his text said, i want you to laugh with your mouth full in my kitchen.

careful, angel, a deep voice called from the back of your mind, from the inside of your teeth. this is about me, remember?

your fingers twitched with the reminder as you stood on his front stoop, waiting for jack to answer the bell. the air had a brisk twinge of a chill to it, a chill that had your nose turning pink and your feet stiffening in your boots.

but he answered the door, and the breath you blew out rose between the two of you like a misty curtain, one you resented, because it distorted your view of him, even just so.

the mist settled, and his smile was left in its wake.

a smile that silenced all the gossiping voices in your head, left the throne of their malevolent king vacant, abandoned.

"you're here," he breathed, almost like he couldn't believe it, like he couldn't believe you.

"and it's your fault," you teased, scrunching up your nose.

he shook his head, laughed at some joke in his mind, stepped aside. "you must be freezing, baby, come in."

the butterflies in your chest soared as he helped you shoulder off your coat, his fingers leaving just a ghost of a touch on your wrist, the back of your neck, leaving scorched skin behind. you shivered, took in his graceful figure hanging your coat up on a hook by the door, let a smile come easily to your face when he turned back to you.

"what?" he said, grinning.

you let out a half-laugh. "nothing," you said, looking around as you kicked your shoes off. anything to avoid the white-hot light of his undivided attention. "i like your place."

and you did like it, truly, it was just so unexpected. homely, not cluttered, but definitely not the modern, futuristic, almost barren aesthetic you can come to associate with successful hockey players.

he flashed you a shy smile as he led you into the kitchen, bowing his head, making his hair fall into his face, almost bashful. "it likes you too," he told you, swinging his hand up to hit the top of the doorframe like a basketball-obsessed middle-schooler. you bit your lip to stop your grin.

what a pleasure it was to get to know all the most intricate and intimate manners of someone new.

"everything's almost done, now," he said, quickly turning off the stovetop and peering through the glass of the oven.

his tone was much more at ease then when you had talked to him before. he was at home here, and you could tell. he wore home like a hand-me-down sweater, too big in the shoulders and worn in the elbows, but lovely and familiar in all of its comfort.

you sat atop a stool at his counter, nervously rubbing the sole of one foot into the top of the other. "thanks for cooking, jack," you said, "you really didn't have to do anything fancy, or anything." suddenly, sitting here in this space, surrounded by the evidence of his effort, you felt guilt settle deeply into your body. unworthiness, perhaps, of the smell of food in the air, of the drink he had poured for you so gently, of the smile he kept throwing your way.

that voice in your head huffed. look at all this, he said, look at the burden you are.

and you were feeling it, so heavily, until jack took a sip of his own drink and waved you off, furrowing his brow as if confused. "'s how a date works, right, baby?" he said. he tilted his head, teasing, "tellin' me no one's ever pulled out all the stops for you?"

and you laughed, shook your head, because you supposed it was, supposed no one really had.

you got to know each other even better over the meal he had cooked, surprising you once again with how easy everything felt between you.

"tell me what you did today," he might say, his voice soft, muffled from chewing.

and you might tell him about your classes, how midterms were coming up, how you were nervous but felt pretty good about most of them.

maybe then you would ask about practice that morning, to which he would tell you some story about his teammates, how they were giving it to him all morning.

"why?" you might ask, to which he would look up at you with that bashful flush.

"'cause they knew you were coming over tonight," he admitted, pushing broccoli around his plate. "kept saying how i was probably gonna make you a box of kraft or something."

you laughed, a genuine rumble from deep in your chest, tilting your head back. when you looked back at him, he was looking at you with something like wonder.

and maybe later, you would ask what his favorite part of his house was, and he would say it was his wall of framed pictures, which would make you melt a little bit, your heart a puddle of feeling.

too soon, you were setting down your fork and knife, crossing and uncrossing your legs in restlessness.

"did you like it?" he would ask, his voice so full of hope it could have killed you.

so full of hope that you reached across the counter to hold his hand in yours, if only for a moment, to squeeze his fingers in meaningful emphasis.

your touch caught him by surprise, hesitant for a moment before locking eyes with you, simmering, then squeezing your hand back in his warm, callused grip.

a grip that said i'm no natural, but i'll work for it. for you.

"it was perfect," you said honestly, because it was. "but please, please let me do the dishes," you pleaded, looking at him through your lashes, just wanting to do something to help.

it would feel so wrong to be doted on for the whole night while giving nothing in return. at the very least, it would feel foreign.

he shook his head playfully, but relented. "you can help," he conceded, "but 'm not letting a pretty girl clean up my mess by herself."

you scoffed with a smile, squeezed his hand a final time before pushing yourself off of your stool, gathering all the plates and glasses in a single go.

"where'd you learn how to do that?" he asked, genuinely, as he followed you to the sink.

you carefully set everything down in a graceful swoop, let your lips quirk upwards in nostalgia. "once a waitress, always a waitress," you explained, referring to your short-lived stint at a busy restaurant in toronto before auston insisted on you staying home.

and at the time, even a little now, it was a sweet gesture, one you had taken as him wanting you to relax, wanting you to have the freedom to do whatever you wanted with your days.

you just secretly wished he had considered that what you wanted to do with your days was working, going to school, doing something for yourself.

jack leaned on the edge of the counter, his lopsided grin like an electric jolt to your heart. "what, did they show you the door 'cause you were making all the tips?" he teased, nevertheless making you blush as you washed the plates with soap. "not fair for everyone else, 's that it?"

you gasped in dramatic accusation, flicking sudsy water from your fingers his direction. "how dare you?" you exclaimed before turning away from him in a huff, feigning sadness. "'s not like i can control this face."

his mouth widened in shock, then took on a scheme-filled smile as soon as the water hit him, a short laugh escaping him. "you didn't," he said, dipping his hand in the soap and flinging some at you.

you squealed, holding your hands up to shield your face as he reached in for more, bubbles filling both of his palms. "wait, jack, i'm sorry!" you laughed. "i swear, i didn't mean to!"

"liar," he cooed, his gaze sparking like a lighter, you swore you could hear the clicking sound. then he was right in front of you, only a breath apart, so close you swore you could feel the beat on his heart in your own chest.

he reached down and gently held your face in his hands, the soap now all along your jaw and cheeks.

you closed your eyes for a second, sighed in defeat, still so aware of him so close, of his touch, feather-light on you skin.

when they opened again, you both had not moved, frozen in place, perhaps willed by the moment, compelled by the growing sensation of rightness, of being exactly where you were supposed to be. when he spoke, he was speaking to your lips, dragging his gaze back up to your eyes like it weighed something stark.

"do you kiss on the second date?" he breathed, and your breath caught, your heart stuttering at his utter politeness, his thoughtfulness, the idea that he remembered things you had told him.

you bit your tongue, because, if you were being honest, you usually didn't - you took the rule of threes very personally. you liked to take your time, savored that lovely period of what could be. besides, you had learned the hard way what happened when you let people in your life too quickly, too hastily. you knew all too well that giving in to a toothy smile and a sleeve of tattoos only led to shrugs met with tears.

but here, now, with jack's soapy hands on your face, in the space he had so warmly accepted you into, you had the feeling this boy in front of you was going to be an exception. that he would be an exception for many things, perhaps the exception.

as if hearing your internal dialogue loud and clear, he dipped his head down until he was impossibly close, so when he spoke you could feel the words on your lips.

"please let me kiss you, baby," he pleaded, his eyes hooded and heavy, his voice a rasp.

deciding he was an exception indeed, you answered him by pressing up on your toes, meeting his mouth with yours in a kiss that bruised.

and later, you would think about how auston had never been a please let me kiss you man, instead he had been a give me a kiss, angel kind of guy.

after, you would think about how it felt so much more personal, so much more sweet to be asked please, can i instead of being ordered give me, give me, give me, like a demanding, red-faced child.

later, you would think about how the previous kisses in your life paled in comparison to the feeling of jack's lips on yours. how before this moment, you were used to kisses that felt like transactions, like the necessary box being checked before the next step, how they felt like being swallowed.

after, you would swoon over all the details and nuances, but, right now, there was nothing but his lips, his hands, the way he melted into you and practically whimpered when you kissed him harder.

kissing him didn't feel like being swallowed, it felt like taking the biggest deep breath of your life after slowly suffocating for years. you forgot you had soap bubbles all over your face, you forgot about auston, you forgot about everything - there was only him, and you, in this moment.

he held your face like you were something precious, moving one hand into your hair as you wrapped your arms around his neck. he tasted like lemon and rosemary, as well as something so deliciously him you could feel yourself become addicted immediately.

his grip in your hair was soft, and when his lips moved against yours it felt like melting snow in the warmth of the morning, pure and sweet and natural and right. kissing him felt like waking up with sunlight streaming through the windows, like laughing while taking your makeup off, like cinnamon and clove and home.

when you pulled away from him, only just slightly, both of you catching your breath heavily, he opened his eyes slowly, almost reluctantly. his eyes were almost glazed over, and you had a feeling yours looked in a similar way, syrupy and hot.

he gently swiped his thumb along your swollen bottom lip as if testing to make sure you were real, not just some shadow, not just a dream.

you traced your nails along his neck, smiled as he brought his hands down to wrap around your middle, resting them on the small of your back.

"god, you're just so fucking pretty, aren't you?" he breathed, like a revelation.

you swore he had your head spinning for days after, days you unfortunately and cruelly had to spend apart due to a week-long road trip for the team.

you told yourself it was a good thing that he was going away for a bit, as it would give you a second to regroup, to revaluate, to familiarize yourself with what your initial goal was for your plan. you reminded yourself over the week apart that jack was a means to an end, that whatever had blossomed between the two you had a finish line, that all of it was meant to make a point, then hopefully leave this whole hockey world behind after the damage had been done.

but then one of your girls would throw on the game, and jack's expressive face would fill the screen, chewing on the fingers of his gloves during warm ups, and your heart would sink at the thought of leaving him behind. and it just about combusted at the idea that you were using him, even though that's exactly what you were doing.

you've only been on two dates with him, only kissed once, you reminded yourself. he's probably seeing other people, anyways, probably with some other girl right now. it's not like you're exclusive. this is probably not a big deal to him.

the thought was comforting but also devastating, a brick in your stomach.

while he was away, midterms came and went. as you walked into your last one, you thought about maybe texting jack after, trying to get together tonight, since he would finally be back.

then your pen hit the paper and time passed in a blur.

you exited the lecture hall in a flurry of relief and pride, happy to have accomplished something so concrete, something that you had truly worked hard on.

walking down the stairs outside of the entrance, your smile stilled, frozen in shock, when you looked up from your feet and saw a familiar, beautiful figure leaning against his car, an excited grin on his face, flowers in his grip as he locked eyes with you, making your breath catch.

"is that jack hughes?" some kid from your class said altogether too loudly to his friend. you had seen that same kid wearing devils gear more than once.

his friend didn't look up from his phone. "who's jack hughes?" he replied.

you couldn't stop your disbelieving laugh, your smile, already making your cheeks sore as you finished descending the stairs, until you were in front of him, wrapping your arms around him, pulling him in for a hug before you even realized what you were doing.

this was so unlike you, really, letting yourself feel as deeply as you could without filtering it, but anything else would have felt so wrong it could have killed you. especially when he brought his arms around you without even a second's hesitation, held you tight and close, so you could feel the petals of the flowers on the back of your neck.

"you're here," you said, breathlessly, still shocked, into his firm chest.

"had to make it back for your last test," he said into your hair, both of you not wanting to let go.

"how did you know?" you murmured, pulling away from him, only slightly.

he loosened his embrace, pulled away to get a look at you, let his eyes run over you carefully, indulgently. he pushed your hair back from your face, his touch gentle, like you were a relic, something worth treasuring. "you said so, last week," he said simply, like it was obvious.

he said it as if, for years of your life, you had wished and yearned so reverently for auston to remember the little things, like your coffee order, like the dates on which your parents were coming to visit, like your anniversary.

he said it as if it didn't mean the entire world that he had listened, that he had remembered.

you only leaned into his chest, looked up at him with something seriously dangerous in your eyes, something that was not supposed to be there. "'d you bring me flowers, jack?" you asked, a playful note in your tone.

he flushed, so lovely, hid his face behind the bouquet, peeking only one deep blue eye out, as if embarrassed. "too much?" he asked, still shielding his face.

you laughed, squeezed his bicep lightheartedly. "just enough," you assured him, your eyes full of meaning, willing him to lower his shield, let you see the face you had been dreaming of all week. "thank you. i missed you."

you would have told him that a thousand times just to see the way his whole face lit up, like he could never hide how happy your words made him. he wore the late afternoon sunshine like a dream, the dewy rays dripping down his cheekbones, the slope of his nose, slow and golden as honey.

he had this way of making you feel like you were first choice, every time, and it was so foreign that you hadn't known you had been craving it until he had laid it at your feet like an offering. every time he texted you to check in, to ask how your day was, to finalize plans, it would send a flurry of butterflies swarming your chest, a rosy flush to the bridge of your nose.

he was so, so beautiful, inside and out, that you effectively forgot what the whole point of your plan was in the first place. you basically had forgotten about it, that day that he dragged you along with some of his friends to pick out a christmas tree.

"do i know any of these friends?" you had asked on the way up, riding shotgun, reaching over periodically to run your nails along his neck, just below his hairline, your way of saying i'm happy you're here. and he would reach over and rest his hand on your thigh, not possessive, just a reminder of your presence. a reminder that made your insides twist with want, nonetheless, that made your gaze simmer.

one of the things you appreciated so genuinely about jack was that he didn't rush you for even a second, so happy to go at whatever pace made you most comfortable, whatever pace would keep you around the longest. it felt almost wrong that his acceptance of a slow pace made you want to speed things up, made you want to know what he felt like in your hands, what sounds he might make if you teased him, what his voice would sound like in your bed.

he let out a rumble of a laugh at your question, shaking you from your daze. "you'll definitely recognize one of them," he said. "though i don't know if he's fully recovered from your last meeting."

"oh no." you paled. "not him." you winced, thinking about how you had probably bruised his inflated ego. not beyond repair, though, you knew. for guys like that, never beyond repair.

jack traced circles on your thigh with his thumb in affirmation. "don't worry, baby," he said, "told 'm to be on best behavior."

when you arrived, you recognized that boisterous voice immediately.

"so good to see you again, sugar," he drawled, his tone especially toying.

you decided to cut any hard feelings immediately, going up to him and giving him a quick hug in greeting. "i think i owe you a thank you, coach of the year," you said, pulling away with a smile.

luckily, he seemed to forgive quickly, even to appreciate your efforts. "i prefer my thank yous in hot chocolate form," he said, and you promised to fulfill his request later. he gave you his name in exchange for yours.

you spent the afternoon leisurely ambling around the grounds, looking at potential trees, but really just enjoying the company of those around you.

most of the time, you spent laughing, tucked into jack's side, finding warmth in the firm feeling of his hip against your waist.

"what about this one?" trevor asked, holding up an especially short and stout one.

the two of you decided jack would need a taller one to better suit the ceiling proportions in his living room.

walking around, it felt like you were in your own dreamy winter wonderland, in a fog of laughter and warmth and a million other beautiful things.

"you leave again tomorrow?" you asked at one point, unable to hide the slight disappointment in your voice. you peered up at him, your eyes warm, your cheeks rosy from the cold.

he met your gaze and nodded, hugged you tighter into his side. "back in a few days," he said.

you couldn't help but pout just a little. jack's roadtrips felt longer and more lonely than auston's ever had.

jack ran his thumb along your bottom lip. "what's that for, baby?" he asked.

you shrugged. "just gonna miss you, 's all," you told him honestly.

something sweet bubbled up in his gaze, but the moment was effectively interrupted by trevor's voice coming from behind you, now shockingly close.

"oh?" he said, dramatic, "what's this? is that - mistletoe?" he emphasized all of his words with dramatic pauses. you briefly thought that maybe, if he hadn't been all in on hockey, he would have made an excellent theater kid.

you both turned to find trevor standing right behind you, holding an alarmingly large branch of something that resembled mistletoe.

"where did you find that?" jack asked his friend.

"never mind that," trevor said, waving him off.

you elbowed jack lightly. "looking for an excuse not to kiss me, are you?"

he shook his head incredulously, as if you had said something funny. you were about to tease him again, but he didn't give you the chance, immediately taking your face in his hands and angling his head down slightly to meet you in a kiss that seared every bit of chill from the air.

would you ever get used to this? would his lips ever not feel like they belonged on yours? would your heartbeat ever not thrum, like some perfect harmony?

the warmth of his hands on your face, the security of yours against the plane of his chest, all of it, everything - it was so perfect you wanted to stay here, just like this, forever. and the thought didn't even scare you as want began to pool inside of you, hot and heavy.

a mixture of a cough and a laugh had the two of you pulling away from each other. one of jack's other friends who had tagged along let out a low whistle, making you blush deeper.

jack just slung a heavy arm around your shoulders and pulled you close, pressing his lips to the top of your head.

luckily, trevor's attention had already strayed, as he was now holding the branch over his own head and the head of the other friend. "don't fight it!" he was calling out as the friend broke out into a light gait.

"get away from me, you scumbag," the poor kid called out over his shoulder.

your eyes were stuck on jack's face, still hazy from your kiss. he turned to you, his mouth quirking up. "staring, baby?" he said, low enough for only you to hear.

you nodded, shameless. "want you," you told him plainly, barely recognizing the tone of your own voice.

the fire in his own eyes welled up as you placed your hands flat on his chest. "fuck, now, baby?" he asked, looking around to where his friends chased each other around.

you bit your lip, pleaded him with your eyes. "please, jack," you said, "please take me home."

he took your hand in his immediately, tossed some parting words over his shoulder to his friends, who paused, watched the two of you stumble into jack's car with urgency.

as he started the engine and pulled away, you heard a faint the hell are we supposed to do with this tree?

the car ride back felt longer than it really was, both of you practically buzzing with want. you kept a hand in his hair, his palm planted firmly on the inside of your thigh, close but not close enough.

you let out a sigh of relief when he pulled into the driveway, let him pull you into the house, push you up against the closed door, kiss you again with heat and force and somehow, such softness.

it was the softness that filled you with want. his desire was obvious, especially when he pressed his hips up, hard against you, but that didn't mean he wasn't just so gentle with you, so in tune to what you wanted.

you fisted your hands in his hair, pulled until his posture faltered, until his lips parted further and he moaned into your mouth.

you hooked a leg around his hip to bring him closer, relished the way he began to rock against you.

"fuck, baby," he breathed out, strained, stuttering in places, "don't wanna fuck you against the door."

later, you would think about how auston had never had such a problem. he had never cared where you were, how uncomfortable a position had made you. sometimes you had thought he found his own bed boring.

but jack just pulled you into his room, lightly rocked you back onto the bed, pressed soft kisses down your jaw, your neck, your stomach. you both pushed and pulled clothes aside, looking to give the other as much access as possible.

"so fuckin' pretty," he mumbled against your stomach, making you flush all over.

"please, jack," you whined as he slowly dragged his fingers through your folds, making you shiver.

"what do you need, baby?" he asked, pumping himself a few times, up and down, his voice low and rough.

you sat up for a moment, took hold of his hand, peered up at him through your lashes as you spit into it.

he groaned, ran his hand over his cock, now glistening with your spit. desire glowed in your eyes like fireflies. "tell me," he begged.

you laid back on the bed again, the smell of him everywhere. another time, you would insist on feeling him in your mouth, maybe on feeling his mouth on you, but you knew the both of you were far too desperate for that.

"just need you inside me, baby, please," you said, your eyes raking over his figure above you, all gentle slopes and hard lines together.

"ask me so good, baby, so good for me," he said, a careful rasp. he thumbed your clit, making you jolt, dragging his fingers through you again before bringing them to his mouth. "and so ready, hm?"

you nodded feverishly, your mouth falling open as he finally pushed into you, his groan deep.

you whined, the stretch so surreal as you reached forward to grasp at his forearm, anything to ground you.

staying still in the stretch for a second, you waited for the feeling to weaken, but it didn't, not really.

he dropped his head, his exhale coming out shallow, the muscles in his shoulders constrained.

you tightened your grip on his forearm, let your nails dig into him to pull him back to you.

"fuck, baby, i can't," he bit out, "can't, i swear."

you rolled your hips back and forth, trying to will some movement from him. "please, jack, please move," you begged. "please fuck me, baby."

never one to deny you, he began a slow pace, the friction and depth almost unbearable. one of his hands dug into your hip, so hard you could feel bruising, the other beginning to rub careful circles on your clit, making you cry out in pleasure.

"you're so deep," you choked, "faster, baby, need you faster."

he obliged, picking up the pace of his rhythm, moving his hand faster against your clit, making that wave well up within you, forcing moans from your throat.

"fuck, sound so pretty, baby," he said, a glistening sheen now painted across his brow, his collarbones. "so pretty, squeezing me so perfect."

the muscles of his stomach began to contract as you felt yourself dangerously close.

his rhythm continued, bruising in depth and force, so lovely in softness. you tugged his hand from your hip, placed his fingers on your tongue, desperate for something to do with your mouth. you sucked, pulling a guttural moan from him. "don't stand a chance when you do that, baby, swear," he said, "fuck, don't stand a chance with you, hm?"

you felt yourself smile around his hand, your eyes watering, glazed over.

"gonna make me cum, baby," he whined, his motions becoming jerky, his voice little more than a plea. "cum with me, baby, hm? make me feel so good, yeah?"

you fell over the edge at his words, felt his orgasm follow yours almost immediately, the air warm and sticky around you. he collapsed on top of you, his exhales like liquid on your skin, yours like dreamy sighs as he pulled you to him, held you close as you waited for the rise and fall of your chests to settle.

he drew his fingers lazily around the flesh of your thigh, your hip, you pushed his hair back from his face as you both fought sleep, wanting just a few more seconds in the conscious presence of the other.

everything was so lovely you could barely stand it.

you should have known it wouldn't last long.

a day into jack's time away, you received a text from one of your friends in toronto. it was a picture from auston's instagram with the message just thought you should know. we miss you.

something cracked in your chest at the photo of your ex-fiance and this new girl. it wasn't really jealousy, definitely not desire, no, it was harder to pinpoint.

maybe it was the fact that after four years of being together, and after a whole year of being engaged, auston had never once even thought about posting a picture of the two of you.

and you had always chalked it up to the fact that you didn't have any social media, but now, you realized there was something to be said about letting the world know that you were taken.

and you also knew, now, that that was a statement auston had been unable to make your entire relationship.

a voice in the back of your mind, tone watery with tears, wailed. what makes her so special? it pressed. what makes her so much better than me?

it didn't help that she looked absolutely nothing like you. you wondered passingly if you would have preferred a look-a-like to be staring back at you through your screen. you didn't really know, but you did know that her features were sharp to your soft, your eyes are hair completely different in coloring. her face had you questioning if he had ever really found you beautiful, or if you had been the exception to his regular type. the idea weighed heavily on your shoulders like a cape made of cement.

but you knew, at the end of the day, that it was not about her.

and so you decided that as much as your relationship with jack had become genuine, maybe it was time to bring back the plan, just a little.

it can be two things, you told yourself, jack doesn't need to get hurt.

so when jack arrived back from the road, your relationship now teetered on a tightrope, balancing between two things, two motives like a trapeze artist.

still, you tried your best not to let your desire to rip out the heart of your ex-fiance stand in between you and jack. you could be bloodthirsty and gentle at the same time, you told yourself. two things.

the idea became easier when jack began to ask you to come to his games.

at first, you had been skeptical. auston hadn't wanted you there until maybe a year and half into your relationship. you didn't want to push this, press your luck, make yourself a burden, in fear of him abandoning you.

"are you sure you want me there?" you had asked the first time, a little timid, your face resting on your clasped hands, sitting at his kitchen counter, keeping him company as he made something on the stove.

he had turned to you, head tilted, confused. "of course i do, baby," he had said, calmly and clearly. "i want you everywhere i am."

and that had been the end of that.

so you began to become a regular attendee at his games, getting to know the people of his life more closely, becoming a fixture in his life more solidly.

you let him post a picture of the two of you, so touched that he would even ask. he showed you the post when he was done.

you kissed his shoulder in response. "your eyes are closed, jack," you said, half-laughing at the fact that he had chosen this picture, so flawed in nature.

"hm?" he looked at the picture again, then shrugged. "hadn't noticed. no one's gonna be looking at me, anyways."

you shook your head, disbelieving. he was making it hard for this to be two things. he was making it really, really hard to care if your ex-fiance even saw this post. he was making it really hard to care about your ex-fiance at all.

"i don't believe you, sometimes," you mused aloud.

he twirled a lock of your hair, mesmerized. "how?"

you tilted your head back to allow him easier access. "you're pretty perfect, you know that?" you smiled up at him, blissful. "too perfect."

seeing his face go pink with your praise made you make a mental vow to tell him more often.

and he gave you every opportunity to be surprised by his perfection, over and over.

every kiss was something teenage you would have dreamed about, every time he led you into his bedroom was something current you dreamed about. how he seemed to enjoy every moment no matter what you were doing, even how clearly he communicated with you during your first fight, all of it astounded you.

he made all of your friends jealous, but so happy for you. he met them, one time, when he dropped you off to get coffee with them after class.

he was so respectful with them, asked them genuine questions, but never anything that told you that he wasn't in on you one hundred percent.

when auston met your best friend in toronto, he had dropped your hand that he had been holding.

"didn't tell me she was so pretty, angel," he had said, and you had hoped it was just to show you he was putting in an effort to impress the people that were important to you.

when jack said he had to be going, to get to morning skate, he just kissed your cheek. "use my card, yeah, baby?" he called out, waiting for your nod and smile before he drove away.

how had you stumbled into this? was it possible that it wasn't too good to be true?

jack had asked you to come to toronto when the devils headed up north to play the leafs, because he knew you had lived there, because he had lived there, too, and wanted to show you around. and it had reached a point where refusing him when he offered a piece of himself to you seemed cruelly impossible.

you told yourself that it was just another game, just another day. it helped that you honestly didn't feel any attachment to this rink, even to this city. you had watched jack play plenty, now, and you were determined to treat this game just the same as any other, if not rooting for jack with just a little more urgency, a little more emotion.

you loved how easy he was to cheer for. you loved how you could see how much he loved the game, how he smiled after every good play, how he saw things you could have never seen on the ice. you could practically hear his laugh in the rafters, see his imperfect teeth in the glass. he was everywhere, here, are you loved it.

of course, you noticed that your ex-fiance was here, but it honestly wasn't even that bad. if anything, it was confirmation that you were over him, that what you had with jack was real, that you weren't in for revenge anymore. you weren't in this for auston at all.

until he scored, and his goal song echoed through the arena. you knew that this year, the leafs had decided to try out individual goal songs after players scored, songs that they chose before the season started.

you did not know, however, that auston matthews' goal song was the song that, months ago, was set to be the soundtrack to your first dance.

the crowd was eating it up, of course they were, the juxtaposition of auston's dynamic scoring ability with the old-fashioned crooning of you're just too good to be true, can't take my eyes off of you.

the song seemed to reverberate off of the walls, into your head, behind your eyes, where it settled like thick fog. it smelled like champagne, waxy makeup, hairspray. your eyes began to water, which made your throat constrict.

like a dream, maybe a hazy memory, your first dance that never was flashed across your mind. an ornate, almost gauche white dress, the beautiful heels you had been practicing to wear. his pressed suit, slicked back hair, stupid designer socks that used to make you laugh. his hand on your waist, your arms around his neck, the two of you lost in each other, swaying, swirling around the floor to this song, surrounded by loved ones, high on laughter and the future and love.

slowly, the image blinked out of your vision as the song faded and the puck dropped, play starting up again.

it blinked out like a dying star, and then it was exactly that. dead.

because as you trained your eyes back on the ice, never once did they stray from 86 in red. never once did anything like regret or nostalgic desire well up in your heart, because you were not the one who lost. you were not the one with something to prove.

finally, you buried that wedding dress, laid it six feet under, let the soil spoil it, knowing one day you would wear a white dress and it would mean something to both parties involved.

in a breath, the game ended, and jack won, and he was truly all you were thinking about.

waiting for him, though, practically bouncing up and down, you were suddenly pulled into a side hallway by a grip you would recognize anywhere.

you were not surprised to look up and see the calculating eyes of auston matthews looking down at you with some lethal combination of heat and arrogance.

"angel," he said, a greeting that made you grind your teeth.

you pulled your arm away from him, shook him off of you, willed strength and stone into your posture and tone. "cool goal song, asshole," you bit out.

"i missed you too," he cooed, not taking you seriously, even now. his frame seemed so imposing now, looming large, too large for someone you didn't trust.

you rolled your eyes. "if you'll excuse me, i'm waiting for someone." you turned to leave the hallway, go back to the exit where jack would surely be walking out of any minute.

auston grabbed at your wrist, and it burned. "what, you mean that kid?" he scoffed, but didn't let go. "c'mon, angel, you know he's nothing to you." he rubbed a circle into your wrist that once, might have been soothing, but now made you feel sick. "you know you're all for me."

and you could have said so many things. like how that kid was your age, actually, so what did that say about him? like how that kid was twice the man he would ever be. like how this would be the last time you ever saw him, the last time he would ever have your attention.

the opening of a door ripped you from your thoughts as both you and auston glanced up to see jack in the doorframe, his bag slung over his shoulder, his face flushed from the game, tired blue eyes caught on auston's hand around your wrist.

time froze for a millisecond as you felt like you were pulled between worlds. it can be two things, you had told yourself once. it was never two things.

you watched as painful realization settled in jack's eyes as he simply turned away, let the door close behind him.

you ripped your arm from auston's grasp. "you've never taken me seriously," you told him then, looking him square in the face, your tone steady and serious as anything. "but if you believe anything i say, let it be that you are nothing to me, and you never will be again."

for the second time, you were the one to leave, this time running towards something worth saving.

you cursed under your breath, looking around for that head of soft brown hair.

you found him in a different hallway, sitting on the ground, his bag slumped next to him, his back leaning against the wall, his feet flat on the ground.

for a single moment, it was so quiet you swore that your exhales echoed against the walls. he didn't turn to face you, but obviously knew you were there.

"so you're with him, then?" he practically whispered, his tone like a cleaver to your chest, so defeated and blindsided, almost like he was talking to himself.

you slowly made your way over to him, sat down next to him, mirrored his position. side by side, but he felt so far away. "i'm not," you said back to him.

he let out some kind of bitter laugh, a sound you hated, a sound you hoped you would never have to hear again. "so that was you making friends?" he picked at a thread on his dress pants. "just meeting new people, 's that it?"

you turned to face him, then, but he still faced forward, as if looking at you would ruin him. "it's not what you think," you said, softly.

"well, what is it?" he paused, looked at you, then, and he wore his sadness like a suit fit for mourning. "be honest with me, please."

you took a shaky breath, knowing that this, very possibly, might be the last time you would ever be so close to him. knowing that your next words, your explanation, it might drive him away from you forever, before you had even really had the chance to have him.

you savored this breath, this liminal space between the truth and the now.

"i was going to marry him," you said, and the confession felt like letting go of every single vengeful thought you had ever had, like all the spite and disdain in your body had evaporated into dust.

"you were going to marry auston matthews," jack murmured, his face blank, his tone confused.

"yes."

"but you're not anymore?" he asked, looking at you, leaning his cheek onto his knees like an impatient elementary school kid waiting for recess.

you shook your head. "no. he cheated on me."

there was a pause, brutal silence, as his brow furrowed in confusion, his fists clenched briefly before letting go. his gaze fell to his hands for a moment, and when he spoke again it was so cautious, so pointed, that your stomach sank. "and then you just happened to start dating me?" he looked so tired. "same job, same goals, pretty much same life." he let out a breath. "you can't tell me that's a coincidence."

you sighed, prayed to whatever god would listen that honesty would count for something. "no, it wasn't a coincidence." your heart felt like it was lulling itself to sleep. "you were never a coincidence."

he dropped his head between his knees, and hurt vibrated through the air like sound waves. you could feel his hurt in your fingertips, could have melted in down, frozen it, wielded it like a weapon. "tell me something, baby," he pleaded, muffled by his legs. "please."

you knew it was unfair, but you laid a gentle hand on his fingers. "let me tell you all of it, please, jack, and then you don't have to see me again if you don't want to."

he took a breath that you felt in your bones, then in an act of mercy you cherished, gave a soft nod.

so you did. you told him the whole story - how you had been so devastated and hurt that you were blinded by a desire to make auston suffer. how you had chosen jack on purpose, because you knew it would cut the deepest. how you had not simply shown up randomly at that bar, all that time ago, how all of it was part of a plan, down to flirting with his friend, down to that first game of pool.

he didn't push your hand away, actually leaned his leg into your arm as you told him the story. the scary part's over, you wanted to say, you can stop hiding under the covers, now.

and so you told him about how he had hijacked your plan entirely. how you never expected to determine how good your day was based on how often you heard his laugh, how no one could have predicted how often you dreamed of his smile, how days when he was away truly felt like a loss.

"if i had known you, i never would have put you through this," you told him, finally, honestly. "i would have left you alone."

he was quiet for a moment, and then he picked his head up and looked at you, genuinely, thoughtfully. "you never would have used me to get back at your ex-fiance?" he asked, but there was not really any bite in his tone.

you tried your luck, reached up, brushed his damp hair from his forehead. "i did use you," you admitted. "and i don't have an excuse." he looked at you with clear eyes. "it was mean, and cruel, and all i can do is say that i'm so, so sorry and i will never hurt you like that again. i promise, that's the truth."

in the silent moments after you finished speaking, you closed your eyes for a brief moment, waiting for his reaction.

when you opened your eyes, he was looking at you. he opened his legs and knees wide, held open his arms, waiting. "i believe you."

it took no convincing for you to settle into the space he had created for you, to lean back against his chest, feel his heartbeat between your shoulder blades, his arms coming around your sides to clasp in front of your middle.

"you believe me?" you said, almost a whisper. you picked up his hand, held it to your chest, shocked that he was letting you. shocked that he was still here, making space for you.

you let the smell of him engulf you. it felt similar to walking into your mother's closet - the evidence of her living, loving, everywhere around you. the evidence of jack was everywhere, now, all over you, growing like some carnivorous plant over your heart.

"you promised," he said simply, into your hair.

and how spectacular it felt for someone to take you seriously, to take your words at face value, to understand that when you promised something, you meant it.

it felt like words were failing you, so you brought his hand to your mouth and pressed your lips to his palm lightly.

he hummed into your hair. "tell me about now," he said, voice steady and patient.

"hm?" you twisted your neck to look him in the eye, leaned back further until the back of your head rested on his chest.

"you told me about before. about him," he said, his eyes swimming with home, with hope. "tell me about us. tell me about now."

you searched for words, wondering how you could convey just how important he was to you, just how deeply you cared.

you could have said that his eyes were the most beautiful ocean you'd ever swam in. you could have said that kissing him felt like swallowing stardust, that listening to him talk about his day was a privilege and honor.

you could have said how you loved his voice after a long day, how he wore his emotions openly, shamelessly, how kind he was to those around him, how he didn't let you leave his house in doubt for even a second about his feelings, how he let laughter come easy, how he was many things but never, ever, indifferent.

you could have said so many things, but sometimes poetry and fancy words are inadequate, just diluting the true meaning, make it taste like watered-down juice, faint and lacking.

you could have said so many things, but you just told him the truth.

"i wake up every morning and i think of you," you said. "every moment you're not with me, i wish you were." you willed every ounce of meaning into your gaze. "you are my first choice, every time, jack. and it's not even close."

there was a silence as he processed what you said, and something like adoration dawned in his gaze like a springtime sunrise.

he tilted his head down, pressed his lips to yours in a kiss that told you he understood.

that no matter how you had gotten here, you were here, now.

"tell me again," he whispered against your mouth, and you smiled into his. that, you could do.

fin.

#hockey #nhl #hockey smut #nhl smut #smut #jack hughes #jack hughes smut #quinn hughes #trevor zegras smut #jack hughes x reader #auston matthews x reader #auston matthews #auston matthews smut #auston matthews imagine #jack hughes x y/n #jack hughes imagine #new jersey devils #toronto maple leafs

[izfims]

sugarcoat — yu jimin

synopsis: as a way to fix her image, jimin's team decides to host an event where one lucky fan gets to go on a date with the idol to show the world that she's a good person. since y/n's younger sister happens to be one of her biggest fans but unfortunately falls under the age limit, she decides to sign her older sibling up instead. there's no way she actually gets chosen.. right?

genre: smau + written, humor, idol x non idol, fluff, sprinkle of angst, reader wants nothing to do with jimin, jimin just wants to get this over with, forced proximity trope, the TENSION!!!

pairings: idol!yu jimin x fem!reader ft. le sserafim, aespa, & other idols

warnings: they are subject to change throughout the story because this is episodic, mentions of violence, profanity, kys/kms jokes

status: ongoing! updates will be whenever i feel like posting

notes: this is a work of pure fiction and the people involved are in no way connected to how they are in real life. if you want to be added to the taglist pls just ask. also ignore the time stamps n any other errors — enjoy :)

PROFILES!

get yn a gf | kwangays

CHAPTERS!

001. the incident

002. still my #2

003. date with a psycho

004. speak now

005. see you soon

006. free clout opportunity

007. enemies to lovers arc

008. beef with an idol

009. on thin ice

010. woman of the hour (written)

011. smile at the camera

012. disrespect yn day

013. blame it on the wind

014. i’m sorry (written)

015. don’t ghost

016. smiley face thumbs up

017. congratulations

more to come…!

TAG LIST! (CLOSED)

@yoontoonwhs @imahallucination11 @slayc9 @nasyu-kookies @leyleypad @mightymyo @runawaymazola @jimanie @awkwardtoafault @limbforalimb @channiesprincess @neuftaeng @i06kkura @lesleepyyy @sewiouslyz @irishbarcafan @winieter @pandafuriosa60 @jiwoneiric @yumtooki @kimsgayness @justme-idle @tocupid @chaerybae

© izfims 2023

#yu jimin #karina #aespa #aespa karina #karina x reader #aespa smau #smau #karina smau #girl group #kpop #le sserafim #aespa x reader #sugarcoat smau

[xanvasofxords]

“If anything, you’re the biggest pervert here!”

“Me?!” Natsu snaps, smashing his forehead against Gray’s. “How am I a pervert when you’re the one getting naked all the damn time?!” The ice mage tackles him backwards with double force. The temperature around them simultaneously rising and falling because of the polar opposite magics clashing together.

Lucy assumes it’ll take her thousand years more to get used to them. Just when she thinks ignoring them is the ultimate solution, not even a feet away, a chair crashes into the floor so loudly that she drops her book with a yelp. A vein pops on her head.

“Cut it you two!”

The blonde complains, picking the book up and closing it to glare at them. There’s absolutely no way she can finish the novel like this. She hasn’t had the chance to read it in peace at home- thanks to Natsu and Happy messing around with her all morning. And now the two of them are trying to kill her!

Unfortunately, the boys don’t even spare a look at her as they continue with their fight.

“Oh yeah? Better than looking up a girl’s skirt,” Gray shouts while giving sideways glance to Lucy. “Or shoving a hand down her cleavage!” Both Natsu and Lucy turn their heads at the remark and for the first time in his life, the pinkette doesn’t seem to have any proper response to the raven haired mage’s insult.

Gray takes it as a sign of his victory and takes off his underwear with a shrug, standing completely naked. But nobody complains because the other two people are too embarassed to speak. There’s a long pause before Lucy clears her throat. Gray smirks at the pair.

#this was the start of a oneshot i had planned to do lmao i forgot #though im not a fan of pervy natsu its fun writing him at times #will do the oneshot some other time #maybe #fairy tail #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #nalu #natsu x lucy #fairy tail nalu #ft nalu #fairy tail 100 years quest #nalu fanfic #nalu fanfiction #nalu fan fic #nalu fan fiction

[tokkias]

is now a bad time? ship: natsu dragneel x lucy heartfilia summary: Lucy's a good friend. Sometimes, Lucy's too much of a good friend that it gets her into situations like this, where she gets her back blown out while one of her best friends plans a wedding on the other end of the line. ao3

nsfw under read more

Natsu’s hands fumbled with the buttons on Lucy’s blouse as hers tugged at the belt on his waist—tasks made difficult for the both of them as they remained attached at the lips and stumbled onto the bed. The metallic clang of the clasp of the belt coming undone was like music to Lucy’s ears as Natsu continued to struggle with her shirt buttons.

Running short on breath and frustrated with his fumbling, Lucy broke their kiss and urged him to take his own shirt off as she went to work on taking off her own. She managed to pop them open more gracefully than he could (and with fewer button casualties, too), and as she worked on that, Natsu kicked off his pants, leaving him in nothing but his boxers.

Lucy bit down on her lip as she drank in the sight of his rippling abs and the pronounced erection in his shorts, hitting him with a sultry look that had him crawling on top of her, placing a kiss on her lips before moving down her jaw and to her neck. She did nothing to hold back the moan she let out as he began to suckle on the sensitive skin while his hands worked at pushing her shirt off and undoing the clasp at the back of her bra.

Her nails dug into his scalp as her fingers threaded through his hair, and her leg hooked around his own as she fell back onto the mattress, taking him with her. Though she loved the attention of his lips across her skin, she was already growing sick of the foreplay as she ached to feel his touch in other places. She bucked her hips up to meet his own to let him know of her needs, and he seemed to get the message as he pulled away to look down upon her.

With heavy breaths, he slipped his thumbs underneath the waistband of her skirt, pulling it down slowly, taking her panties with it, but as he hit halfway down her thighs, their racy little moment was cut short by a rude interruption.

bzzt. bzzt. bzzt.

Lucy let out an exasperated sigh as she heard her phone vibrate against their wooden nightstand. Natsu paused as his eyes flicked between Lucy below him and her phone, which was vibrating so hard it looked like it was about to throw itself off of the stand.

"Who is it?" She asked him with a sigh, and Natsu complied with her request, leaning over to check the caller ID.

"It’s Erza."

A defeated groan escaped her lips as Lucy buried her face in her hands.

Had it been anyone else, she’d have not thought twice about sending them to voice mail while Natsu blew her back out, but of course it had to be the one person she couldn’t do that to right now.

Erza was in the midst of wedding planning, and as her maid of honour, Lucy had been receiving multiple calls daily to help her out. She’d failed to pick up in a timely manner once, but that was enough to have a huffy and frustrated Erza on the other end of the line.

On the one hand, Lucy was not keen to deal with a scary Erza any time soon, but on the other, she could feel Natsu’s erection pressing against her through his boxers, and all she could think about was the way she needed him inside of her ten minutes ago.

Clearly sensing her dilemma, Natsu made a decision for her.

"Answer it."

Lucy knew he was right but still let out a huff, not exactly happy about the situation either.

As she reached over to grab her phone, she felt Natsu finish what he started, pulling her panties down and off her legs.

"What are you doing?" She hissed as her finger hovered over the answer button.

"What does it look like I’m doing?"

What it looked like he was doing was positioning himself between her legs to feast on her pussy while she was about to take an important phone call, and Lucy was not about to have that.

"If Erza finds out I was having sex while I was on the phone with her, she will kill both of us."

Her voice was filled with venom as she spoke, but Natsu looked undeterred. She tried to shoot him an intimidating look to get him to back off, but he remained stoic, and with each passing moment, the chance of getting a deeply upset voicemail from Erza increased.

With a frustrated sigh, Lucy slid her thumb over the answer button and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?" She greeted, trying her best to put on a cherry voice and not give away her current predicament.

"Lucy, I’m glad to see you finally picked up," Erza replied on the other end of the call.

"Yeah, sorry, I was um-" Lucy swallowed thickly to try and suppress a moan that was about to escape when Natsu began to place kisses on her inner thighs. "Busy…"

She paused for a moment, hoping Erza wouldn’t ask her to elaborate, and proceeded to thank every star when she didn’t.

"What was it you were calling about?" She asked, hoping that whatever it was would come and go quickly.

"I wanted to talk to you about seating arrangements and table décor for the wedding," Erza said.

Lucy managed to stifle a groan at her answer. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk weddings with Erza—she enjoyed it, loved it even—but not right now. If there was anything she loved more than wedding planning, it was sitting on Natsu’s face until she couldn’t feel her legs, and right now he was teasing her with that prospect as his breath grazed her slick folds and she had to bite down on her lip to muffle any noise she might make.

"Mmhm?" Lucy hummed, trying to disguise her stifled moan as an affirmation. "And uh- what- what were you thinking?"

She shot a glare down at Natsu, who had made himself comfortable laying between her legs, his lips leaving bruises on her inner thighs as he moved up, up, up, and made her flush and squirm. His eyes flicked up to hers, and he simply smirked in response.

That bastard knew exactly what he was doing, and the worst part was that she didn’t even have it in her to get him to stop.

"The venue sent me the floor plan this morning, so I thought we could go through the guest list and...

Halfway through that sentence, Erza’s voice faded from Lucy’s brain entirely as she felt Natsu’s tongue drag across her clit. She had to quickly slap her hand over her mouth to stop whatever embarrassing noise she was about to let out. Unfortunately for her, that reaction only seemed to spur Natsu on, who let out a chortle before plunging his tongue deep inside of her.

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she began to thrust her hips up into his face. She became hyper-aware of his nails digging crescent shapes into the supple skin of her thighs to match the purple hickeys that were also forming there. He was doing it on purpose, of course. He was marking his territory, making sure that anyone who got the privilege of seeing what was under her skirt would know that he had been there and eaten his fill and would continue to do so for as long as she let him (and she planned on letting him for a very, very long time).

Her hand shot down to tangle itself within his hair, pulling him even closer as he rolled her hips into his face. If nothing else, Natsu was incredibly talented with his tongue. He knew all the ways to make her writhe and squirm. He could drive her completely wild, and that was exactly what he planned to do.

"Lucy? Is everything okay?" Erza asked, snapping her back to the conversation she was supposed to be having.

"Oh-! Yeah, I uh-" She pressed her lips together as she scrambled for an answer that wasn’t about to give away what she was doing. "Natsu is just being a pain in my ass…"

It was half true, anyway. He was certainly doing this just to rile her up, to annoy her, and to get a reaction out of her, but she was certainly not about to complain about it.

"I see," Erza hummed on the other end of the line, ultimately sounding unsurprised that Natsu was being a pest.

"Hey Erza," Natsu called out from between her legs, a smug grin plastered across his face.

Lucy tried to kick his shoulder for butting into their conversation when he was already walking a very fine line between getting away with it and being exposed for fucking her while she took a call.

"Did you want to put me on speakerphone?" Erza asked.

"No!" Lucy quickly answered. Because, um- mmph! Natsu’s only input would be to uninvite Gray from the wedding."

Erza let out a sound of understanding, considering that had been Natsu’s only contribution to the planning so far, under the guise that it would be really funny.

So, uh- what were you thinking with seating plans? Do you have numbers? Tables?" Lucy asked, trying to divert away from Natsu’s presence altogether.

Though Erza’s attention may have moved from Natsu, Lucy’s certainly hadn’t. The fact that she had managed to get through that sentence at all was a complete miracle, as Natsu flicked his tongue over and suckled on her clit. Though one hand still gripped her leg, he had since slipped two fingers inside her, testing to see just how far he could take her and get away with it.

Lucy was hard-pressed to recall a time when she had to put this much focus into anything, let alone simply having a conversation. She supposed most conversations weren’t had with the world’s most prolific pussy-eater between her thighs.

Well, the guest list ended up being longer than we had anticipated, so I’m worried we won’t be able to fit everyone in."

As she spoke, Natsu pulled himself away and wiped his mouth with his arm. He moved back so he was resting on the back of his feet, giving Lucy a good view of the tent being pitched in his boxers.

Speaking of things she wasn’t sure would fit.

Lucy swallowed thickly and licked her lips as she watched Natsu’s thumbs slip into the waistband, pulling it down to let his cock spring free. He kicked his boxers off somewhere to the side before settling himself between her legs. A soft whine passed through her lips, completely disregarding Erza on the other end of the phone, and she thrust her hips up towards him in anticipation.

"Lucy? Are you still there?" Erza's voice came, reminding Lucy that she, in fact, was still there.

"Hm? Oh, uh- yeah! I’m here."

Part of her wished she wasn’t. She wanted to be alone with Natsu, where they could be as loud and as dirty as their hearts desired. She wanted to hear his sexy grunts and moans, to hear him growl into her ear as he pounded deep inside her and told her how he was going to breed her tight little pussy.

For a brief moment, Lucy wondered if it would be wrong to hang up on Erza right then and there and pretend that the call cut out so Natsu could fuck her silly. Unfortunately, that thought left as soon as it came, her moral compass not letting her go through with it.

Damn her stupid commitment to her beloved friends.

"Sorry, you uh- you cut out," she lied in an attempt to save herself. She had an inkling that she had missed something important while she was busy admiring Natsu’s cock, so she tried to play it off cool. "What were you saying?"

"I said that we were considering going with round tables to seat more people, but I like the look of long tables better."

As Erza spoke, Natsu dragged the tip of his dick along Lucy’s slick folds, causing her mind to completely blank. She could simply not care less about what shape of table Erza went with for her wedding—all she cared about right now was the fact that she needed to feel Natsu’s cock buried deep inside of her, but he was teasing her just to get a rise out of her.

She wanted to whine, thrash, and beg until he sheathed himself inside of her and made her cum until she couldn’t feel anything below her waist, but she had just enough sense to keep quiet.

"So I wanted to get your opinion," she added. "What do you think, Lucy?"

What did she think? She tried to visualise the venue from their visit, but those memories were quickly dashed from her mind when she felt Natsu’s hands grip on her hips as he pushed into her. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head at the feeling of being stretched out. He moved in and out of her at an agonisingly slow pace, and she needed more—he knew she needed more.

"Lucy?"

She let out a squeak as she heard Erza speak up again. She hardly noticed that she hadn’t replied; she was far too distracted by… other things. If Lucy had ever had strong opinions on table shapes (which she wasn’t sure if she had), they had been promptly dashed from her brain, and she was left scrambling for an answer.

"Well, uh-a-ah! If-if um you, like the long tables, go with them?" She suggested.

It was getting harder and harder to maintain her composure now that Natsu was inside of her, a fact that he had clearly picked up on. His thrusts were slow and shallow when it was Erza speaking, but as soon as Lucy opened her mouth to reply, he began to rut hard into her in the way he knew elicited his favourite noises from her.

If she didn’t know better, she’d say he wanted her to get caught.

Knowing Natsu, it wasn’t something she could put past him.

If this was a game he was playing, she wasn’t about to let him win so easily.

In response, Lucy wrapped her legs around him and bucked her hips up as she tightened her legs around him, pulling him deeper inside her. He let out a pleasured groan at the sudden movement that Lucy could only hope Erza hadn’t picked up on.

For the first time since she picked up the phone, Natsu had fumbled his sense of control. Lucy smirked up at him, but Natsu was not about to let that one go so easily—he took it as a challenge.

"I knew I could count on you to make the right decision," Erza replied, a hint of smugness in her voice that Lucy put down to having her opinion be affirmed in an argument that she wasn’t even apart of. "I’ll be sure to let Jellal know."

Natsu had moved back to his slow, languid movements, but his wandering hands had left their spot on her hips and began to roam a little further north. She didn’t need to think about what his goals were before he began groping at her breasts. He gave each of them a rough squeeze—something that Lucy was more than used to at this point, so she managed to keep her lips sealed until he pinched her nipples and she let out a squeak of pain. She shot him a searing look, but Natsu only cackled at her reaction. Lucy took a little hint of solace in the fact that it was certainly not an erotic sound that she had let out.

Based on the point where Erza had left off, Lucy had thought that would be the last of it, and the only time her noises would get muffled would be when she buried her face in the pillow as Natsu plowed her from behind.

Unfortunately, she was not that lucky.

"Was that all you wanted to talk to me about?" She hopefully asked.

"Actually, while I have you, now that we’ve decided on tables, I wanted to start thinking about the table decor."

Though she wasn’t on speakerphone, Lucy knew that Natsu could still hear every word she said. She didn’t need to know about his hypersensitive hearing to come to that conclusion; she could see it on his face. He was grinning down at her like their little game was being prolonged, and he was going to win it.

Though she tried her best to lock him in with her legs, Natsu pulled himself entirely out of her, rubbing his head teasingly along her folds, watching, waiting. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was planning to do, and staying quiet would simply prolong the inevitable.

"Yeah? What were you thinking?"

He didn’t strike right away, continuing to bide his time as he rubbed his shaft over her clit, causing her to suck in a small breath.

When Erza started speaking, Lucy half-tuned out her reply as she began to tell her something about tablecloths, table runners, and centrepieces. Her focus instead lingered on her partner, who was slowly teasing her, biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

It was absolutely agonising knowing that she was so close to being dicked down so hard that she forgot her own name, and the only thing standing between her and the best orgasm of her life was Erza on the other end of the call.

She wiggled and she squirmed, but Natsu did not relent, and she begrudgingly gave into the fact that she was going to have to wait until what he decided was the most inopportune moment to give her what she wanted.

"Did you have any ideas for centrepieces?" Erza asked, the question barely registering in Lucy’s brain as she spoke.

"Oh, um, centrepieces?"

As she began to speak, she felt Natsu’s tip tease her hole and she had to contain the noise of anticipation she wanted to let out. She clenched her eyes shut as she tried to concentrate on answering the question, but as he pushed himself deeper and deeper inside, everything was beginning to blur over in her head.

"You could, uh, go with flowers? Those are classic," she managed to say, barely maintaining composure as Natsu began slow and shallow movements that he knew were not enough to sate her. "Or, if you wanted to change things up, you could go with ca-ah-ah!"

Lucy had numbed herself to his teasing so much that she was wholly unprepared when he suddenly snapped his hips into hers at a tearing pace. His hands gripped at her hips as he pulled her onto his cock to meet him with every thrust, going harder, deeper, just enough to make tears well up in her eyes. For a very brief moment, everything went white with absolute, mind-numbing pleasure. It wasn’t until she came back to and found Natsu smirking down at her that she realised she had been in the middle of answering a question.

"Candles! I meant candles!" She sputtered out, hoping that Erza would simply move past her little episode.

"Lucy? Are you okay?"

Was she okay? She was much better than okay—she was great, incredible, fucking fantastic.

Not that she could voice any of those thoughts to her, of course. Natsu was doing his diligent duty by fucking her brainless, Erza just happened to be caught up in it all.

"Yeah! I’m good!" Lucy squeaked out, hand shaking as she held her phone up to her ear.

There was a moment of sceptical silence, as Erza presumably contemplated what the hell was going on on the other end of the line. Lucy could only hope that she had realised that now was a bad time so that they could put an end to their little game. Those hopes unfortunately fizzled away into nothing when Erza replied.

"So you think we should go with candles?"

To be frank, at the moment, Lucy didn’t care at all what Erza went with for her table décor. Flowers, candles—they could forego the tables altogether and have everyone sit on the floor for all she cared, but Erza needed an answer.

Before she could even begin to consider an answer, she felt Natsu pull out of her. There was one moment of confusion before another moment of surprise when she felt him flip her onto her stomach and begin pounding her into the mattress from behind.

He thrust into her so deep and hard that Lucy swore the whole world around them stopped for a moment. She loved the feeling of him drilling into her from behind, reaching in nice and deep, hitting exactly where it felt good, and right now, he was making her feel good.

Her body was beginning to shake from all the pleasures he was bringing her, and try as she might, she couldn’t quite string together a coherent sentence to reply with—but the thing was, she couldn’t quite bring herself to care. The coil in her stomach standing between her and absolute bliss was slowly being stretched so hard that it threatened to snap with each pump of Natsu’s cock inside of her.

Her free hand gripped at the sheets beneath her, and she moved her hips in time with his thrusts to get just that little extra sensation to tip her over the edge. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes as she held them screwed shut, pleasure teasing every nerve ending in her body. She almost couldn’t stand it.

Almost.

Natsu was relentless in his pursuit of her orgasm, paying no mind to the noise of the skin slapping together with each thrust as the volume increased along with his pace. Lucy could feel his nails digging into the skin on her hips as he pulled her back onto his dick over and over again. She knew he was holding himself back from delivering a hard smack on her ass cheek, but a little naughty voice inside of her wished he would.

She knew he was pushing her as far as she could go without outright making her scream into her pillow, and she could feel herself tipping off the edge, but every moment that passed with no reply, Erza would begin to get suspicious.

Lucy could barely remember what they were talking about, let alone the question she was supposed to be answering. She wracked her brain to try and recall what she had last said through the fuck-haze that was beginning to blur her mind over entirely.

What was it? Tables… Centrepieces… Candles… Yes! That was it!

"Y-yes! Candles! I really think you should go with the candles!" She practically babbled out.

Any other time, she’d be mortified by the borderline incoherence in her strange answer, but she knew that right now, that was the best she was going to get. Her body shook and trashed as Natsu drove her to her ultimate undoing, refusing to stop pounding into her even as she clenched and tightened around him in her orgasm.

With what little brainpower she had, Lucy still had the foresight to muffle whatever moans and wails she wanted to let out. She bit down on her lip so hard that she drew blood and buried her face into the pillow.

She was vaguely aware of Erza saying something in reply, but whatever it was went in one ear and out the other, if it even managed to register at all. The only thing her mind could comprehend was Natsu pounding deep inside her and the feeling of his hot, sticky seed being released right into her womb.

A wavered breath of satedness left her lips as she came back down from her high, but the sheer relief of her release didn’t last long. Almost immediately, common sense kicked back in, and Lucy remembered that Erza was still, in fact, there, and she was not going to be able to look her in the eye for a week. Or ever. Instead of trying to continue whatever conversation they were having, Lucy just decided it was time to throw it out entirely.

"Look, Erza I- I have to go!" She frantically said. "Sorry! Bye!"

With that, Lucy abruptly pressed the end call button and flung her phone somewhere off to the side before collapsing on the mattress. Pulling out of her, Natsu collapsed on top of her and pressed a kiss to her neck, unaffected by the vibes of mortification emanating from Lucy beneath him.

"I cannot believe I let you do that," she murmured, her voice muffled by her pillow.

"Yeah, but it was fun," Natsu grinned. "Ya wanna do it again?"

#nalu #fairy tail #fan fiction #fanfic #fanfiction #natsu x lucy #ft nalu #nalu fanfic #nalu fanfiction #nalu fan fiction #ft fanfiction #nalu smut #ao3 #ao3 writer #mya writes things #i'm experimenting with tags do not mind me #i might go back to just tagging nalu we will see

[spiteless-xo]

Prompt #66 with Reiner or Jean if you feel like it...

reiner! my love, my heart, my world 🥰 literally the reason why i got into writing/reading aot fan fiction!! ty so much for the request!

also sorry in advance! not only did i get carried away with this, but i feel like i cut it off right at the good part 💀

masterlist

╰┈➤ smut prompts - 66. “Please, let me taste you.”

ft. reiner/fem!reader cw. unedited, not proofread, explicit sexual content (fingering, spit, dirty talk, loss of innocence, mild corruption kink), explicit language. 2,800 words.

When you tell Reiner that he's your first boyfriend, he's shocked.

You're easily the most beautiful girl he's ever met in his life. And you're funny and smart. You're the complete package -- how is he the first?

"I was just always so busy with school," you explained with a shrug, but he still couldn't believe it.

"So, when I kissed you, was that...?" he trailed off when you started to nod.

"That was my first kiss."

Since then, Reiner has been very careful to take things slow with you. Despite wanting to touch you -- to spoil you -- to ruin you... if this is your first time experiencing all of these things, he wants to make sure the experience is memorable.

But you're impatient.

He can feel your desire every time you kiss him from the way your fingers dig into his skin. You urge yourself forward, pressing your soft body against his hard muscles, pulling him tight against you as you whine into his mouth.

It drives him fucking crazy.

He desperately wants to do the right thing and be gentle with you, but when you're grinding your clothed pussy along the muscle of his thigh, all he can think of is ripping the denim off your body and filling you again and again and again and --

Just like every other time, he grabs your upper arms firmly, pulling away from the kiss at the same moment that he pushes you back. He's having trouble finding his voice as he looks at you, perched so prettily on his lap with swollen lips, but he manages to speak.

"It's getting late," he says, and he has to clear his throat when he hears how ragged his voice is. "I should probably go home."

"But you just got here," you whine, jutting your lower lip out into an adorable pout that somehow makes Reiner's cock throb against his leg.

"I know, but --"

"You're tired from work today. You need to be up early tomorrow. You still have stuff to do at home," you sigh, shifting off of his lap onto the couch beside him. Reiner's heart aches from how dejected you look as you curl your legs up against your chest, avoiding his gaze. "I know, I know. There's always some excuse."

"It's not an excuse," he starts, reaching out to gently rub your arm with one hand while he rests the other against his cock -- willing it to relax.

"Is there something wrong with me?" you whisper, and Reiner immediately sits up straight.

"What?"

"I just mean..." you keep avoiding his eyes, even when you lift your head. "I feel like you're not attracted to me."

His brows furrow, watching you closely as you sigh. You bury your face in your hands and shrug Reiner's hand off of your shoulder while he looks at you in confusion.

"I am extremely attracted to you," he says, voice filled with indignation. "Why would you think that I'm not?"

You groan in frustration, throwing your hands up into the air as you speak, finally rounding your fiery gaze onto him. "You never want to touch me!"

"Of course I want to touch you," Reiner insists, shaking his head in confusion. "What do you --"

"Then why do you always push me away?" you ask, brows pitching up in the centre of your forehead. "Whenever I try to... when I try to go further... you always reject me."

He blinks at you and suddenly, like some sort of twisted highlight reel, he replays every moment that he tried to be noble and protect your innocent back in his mind.

But from your prespective, his actions don't seem noble at all. Through your eyes he sees the way that he shuts you down every time you try to reach down between his legs, every time you try to guide his hands up to your breasts, every time he throws you off of him to leave in a sudden, angry huff.

"No," he says, and your frown deepens. "No, that's not -- that's not what I'm doing. I'm trying to be a gentleman."

"What?"

"You're a virgin," he says, like that's supposed to explain things, but when you roll your eyes at him, he feels compelled to elaborate. "I don't want your first time to be --" he gestures around the room "-- in the living room of your apartment."

"Ok?" you say, obviously unconvinced. "What about the times when we were in my room?"

"There weren't any candles," he says, realizing as he's speaking how ridiculous he sounds. "Or rose petals or... there just wasn't any romance."

Your frown finally cracks into a smile, even as you cross your arms over your chest. "Romance? Why does there need to be romance?"

"Your first time should be romantic," he says, but he doubts it's convincing from the way his face burns in embarrassment. "I just want to make sure I treat you right."

"You do," you insist, leaning forward and cupping his face in your hands. He sighs, resting his head against your touch as he reaches forward to place his palms on your hips. "I don't need romance, Reiner -- I need you."

"I just want to make sure it's a good experience for you," he says, mentally kicking himself for his insistence on cockblocking himself.

You've already told him what you want. You've spent the past month thinking that Reiner wasn't attracted to you because he didn't want to fuck you. And yet here he is, still pushing you away.

"I trust you," you say, and somehow that puts him at ease. "I know you'll take care of me. Reiner, I want to lose my virginity to you."

He lets out a long, ragged breath, fingers gripping your hips a little tighter as he desperately holds himself back from ravaging you right here.

"It might hurt," he warns.

He pulls head head out from your grasp and reaches out to press the palm of his hand against yours. Your hand looks comically small against his, his fingertips easily curling over your own and swallowing your hand in his grip.

"I'm so much bigger than you," he says, and he watches you take a slow, trembling breath.

"Show me."

Reiner has to bite his tongue to stop from moaning as your gaze darkens on him. Instead, he swallows thickly and pulls you back into his lap. He rolls you along his cock and the denim of your jeans is far too thick for you to really feel anything, and he groans in frustration.

"Do you believe me now?" he asks. "Feel how hard I get for you?"

You whimper at him, lower lip pressed between your teeth as your hips jerk against him, desperate for more contact. He knows you're already soaking your panties for him -- your pretty little pussy desperate to be filled by something you've never felt before.

And the fact that it's him? That it's Reiner making you feel this way -- needy and desperate and cockdrunk -- only drives him further away from his noble ideals as he pictures you stretched open on his cock.

He lifts you then, hands cupped against your ass as your legs wrap around his waist. Your nails dig into his shoulders as you hold on tight, allowing Reiner to carry you down the hall and into your bedroom.

He kicks the door shut behind him, blindly reaching out to flick on the light before walking you toward the bed. Reiner tosses you like you weigh nothing and you fly in the air for a brief moment before landing on your back on the mattress, bouncing slightly before you sit yourself up on your forearms to watch Reiner tug his shirt off of his body.

"Let's start with my fingers," he decides, chucking his shirt off to the side as he reaches out to grab your ankles. He tugs you along the bed until you fall onto your back with your legs hanging off the edge of the bed.

He gets down on his knees between your legs and runs his large, warm palms up your shin -- up your thighs -- before settling on the waistband of your jeans.

His eyes flick up to your face and you're already breathing so hard, your hips keening up against his touch. "Can I take these --"

"Yes!" you say quickly, and he has to bite back a grin from your enthusiasm.

But his excitement is palpable, too. From the way his hands shake as they reach for the button of your jeans to how roughly he tugs on your pants until they're in a discarded heap on the floor.

Reiner lets out a shakey breath, pressing his thumbs into your inner thighs as he spreads your legs open for him. He can see the dark wet spot on the crotch of your panties and suddenly he can feel the weight of his tongue in his mouth.

Oh, how he wants to devour you.

He resists the urge to press his nose against your pussy, to smell the sweet scent of your cunt as he laps at the slick gathering on the cotton of your panties. And instead, he reaches his hand up your thigh, sprawling his fingers across your hipbone as his thumb gently rubs against the small bow on the front of your underwear.

"Do you touch yourself?" he asks, voice raw with arousal as your legs tremble on either side of him.

"When I think of you."

Reiner has to squeeze his eyes shut for a moment. He focuses on calming his breathing -- and not the strain of his cock against his pants.

When he blinks his eyes back open, he moves his hand to your inner thigh, allowing his thumb to brush down the side of your pussy before sliding back up between your folds.

You moan loudly just from one faint touch and buck your hips against his hand, forcing his thumb to press against your entrance, restained by the fabric of your underwear.

Although he wants to take things slow and keep teasing you, he's running out of blood in his brain, so his hands move without thinking. His thumb hooks around the crotch of your panties, tugging it to the side and exposing your glistening, wet cunt to him.

You're so wet. You're covered in slick and Reiner can see your swollen clit -- desperate for attention.

Your hands fist at the sheets, back arching off the mattress as you whimper above him. "Please," you beg -- do you even know what you're begging for?

Reiner can't speak as he moves his hand toward your cunt, palm facing the ceiling as he tries to decide which of his fingers to plunge into you first. He presses the pad of his middle finger against your entrance and he can immediately feel your hole clenching around him, practically sucking him in.

He moans at the feeling, gently rubbing his finger against the slippery juices gathered there. Reiner moves to rub his thumb against the slick, dragging it up through your folds before swirling it around your clit -- not quite touching it directly.

He has to hold your hips down with his other hand, pressing you firmly against the mattress despite the way you twitch and jerk beneath him.

"Reiner, please -- please," you beg.

And so he complies.

He pushes his finger into you -- just up to the first knuckle -- and the sounds you make as you writhe on the bed will forever be imprinted in his memory. You're tight around his finger -- so fucking tight -- and you just keep squeezing him tighter in small pulses as your body tries to accommodate his size.

"'S'it hurt?" he slurs, mouth watering as he watches your cunt swallow his digit.

"Moremoremoremore," comes your babbled response, and Reiner feels like he might cum from the sound of your ragged voice -- untouched with just the tip of his finger in your pussy.

He takes another slow, calming breath before he starts to gently work the digit deeper into you. Each press in as slick dripping from around him, and each pull out is accompanied by the wet squelch of your cunt and your desperate moaning.

Reiner wants to remind you that this is just one finger. That he still has so, so much more to give you. But he's practically drooling at the sight of you and he wants nothing more than to clean up the mess you're making of his hand.

"I --" he gasps as he slips his entire finger into you, like he's shocked that you're able to take him. You squeeze him so tight, and then even tighter when he starts to gently run his thumb across your clit.

"Oh, fuck," you groan.

He keeps fucking you with his finger, curling it up toward the front wall of your cunt until he finds that spot that has you twitching and squeezing around him. When he feels like you've loosened up for him, he presses a second finger against your entrance.

This time, despite how wet you are, he's met with some resistance. But he pushes into you, stretching you open on his thick fingers as you squirm and gasp from the intrusion.

"Fuck," you moan, clawing at the sheets as he pushes in to the knuckle. "It's so much, Reiner -- fuck."

"I know," he says, his voice low and raspy. "Need to stretch you open for me."

He feels you squeeze hard around him from his words and he groans, eyes rolling back into his head as he imagines you doing this to his cock.

Reiner hooks his free hand around your thigh, pulling you closer to him so he can look down at your pussy as he fucks you with his fingers.

"Lemme see this pussy cum for me," he grunts, breathing hot air against your clit.

From this angle, he can smell you. He can hear clearly every lewd squelch of your cunt as he stuffs you full of his fingers, pumping harder and faster until the heel of his hand bumps against your clit and the slick of your arousal coats his palm.

You babble out his name, rocking your hips against his hand and fucking yourself on his fingers. You're breathing hard, chest heaving with every breath as your legs tremble on each side of him. You're close -- really close.

He can't help himself from spitting onto your clit, adding to the mess between your thighs as he shifts his thumb back to rub quick, tight circles around the swollen nub.

"You're gonna cum for me," he says, eyes flicking up to your face to watch you nod furiously. Your eyes are scrunched shut but he can see the tears leaking down the side of your face -- he makes his chest swell and his cock throb with pride. If this is how you get from just two of his fingers, how will you react when he fills you with his cock?

Your legs try to snap shut but Reiner's broad shoulders hold you open. Your cries turn into quick, staccato moans and your back arches so hard off the mattress that your face is obscured by your heaving chest and tightened nipples.

Reiner groans at the feeling of your pussy squeezing his fingers, pulsing around him rhythmically as he pushes against the warm, tight walls of your pussy. He doesn't know where to look -- which part of you he wants to commit to memory -- but he settles on your drooling cunt as it twitches around his digits.

He watches you cum on his fingers, helping draw it out for as long as he can until your hands frantically reach down for his wrist -- stilling him. "'S too much," you slur, and Reiner notes that even your hands are shaking.

He swallows thickly, keeping his fingers half-buried in your cunt while his other hand rubs soft, soothing circles on your hip.

"You're ok," he says quietly, waiting with you until your breathing returns to normal and your grip on his wrist loosens.

When he pulls his fingers out, your whole body trembles. He takes a moment to look at his hand, covered in you, and he moves to take his fingers into his mouth to taste you on his tongue.

"Do you want to keep going?" he asks after slipping his fingers from his mouth with a quiet pop!

You brush your thumb across the tendons in the back of his hand, craning your head up from its place on the bed so you can see him. "Yeah," you say softly, and your voice is raw from moaning. "I want to keep going."

"Good," Reiner admits, slipping his hands to your thighs before hoisting them up onto his shoulders, "because now I want to taste you."

#reiner braun x reader #reiner braun smut #reiner smut #reiner x reader #aot x reader #aot smut #fem!reader #snk smut #reiner braun x y/n #reiner braun x you #reiner x y/n #reiner x you #aot x y/n #aot x you #snk x you #snk x reader #snk x y/n #tiff.ask #tiff.fic #reiner #aot

[fics-n-stuff-n-stuff]

Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox

all fairy tail characters basically -

Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic Follows Fairy tail but with my own twists set in modern day Fluff and Angst Romance Friendship developing feelings Lucy has new spirits I checked constellations and gave her ones I thought were cool

Out of Character probably because it is an AU

Summary

Lucy is thrown into a world she didn’t know existed. Join her as she unravels this new world full of magic that brings adventure, romance and destruction along with it.

———

Just a modern re-telling of Fairy tail following its arcs with a few twists and turns along the way💞

You can also read it here

———————————————

Chapter 18

The key, as it turns out, wanted them to go back to the forest.

It seemed to be leading Natsu and Lucy deeper into the woods compared to their light walk earlier that day.

The greenwood surrounding the East side of Sakuramori Village was vast and spread out for several kilometers. It was known for being tricky to navigate, due to the density of the tree line even in the harshest winters.

The earth was covered in snow as they trekked through the fields, and everything around them was covered in a white blanket, with a slight peeking of greenery from some of the trees.

Looking around Lucy wondered just how far into the forest they were going.

They'd been walking for a couple of hours at least by this point and she was about 50% sure that they were lost. Though Natsu would probably be able to sniff out the town, so she wasn't too worried.

Their walk was quiet for the most part.

Natsu's heat was still helping to keep her warm from the biting January air and the sound of snow crunching and sloshing followed them as they in turn followed the broken key piece to an unknown location.

"It's warming up again, I think we're close to wherever the hell it's leading us." Lucy muttered to Natsu, who was walking a few steps behind her.

He was insistent on keeping watch of their backs in case unexpected creatures were lurking in the forest.

"Well, we're a long way from the Village, that's for sure. And I can hear running water coming up ahead, a river maybe? What do you think's out here anyway?" She could hear him ask from behind her as they continued their way through the woods.

"I have no idea, maybe there are ruins of a temple or some kind of hidden cave." Lucy speculated as she continued following the tugging object.

"I remember reading that my ancestors built shrines and temples dedicated to the stars." She told him as she automatically went to look up at the night sky.

It was a clear winter's night and this far out into the woods you could usually see them, but the tree lines were preventing her from catching a glimpse of the various constellations painted in the sky.

Looking at the stars always reminded Lucy of her mom, and how they would camp out in their garden during the summer months and spend hours naming and counting the constellations.

"That was a long time ago, but there are remains of both found in a couple of places around Fiore. I was actually thinking about, maybe, visiting one of them." She trailed off absentmindedly as they continued walking.

It was one of those moments where Lucy wished her mother were here with her, and they could go see the ruins together.

And not for the first time since her death and finding out about her magic, Lucy wished that Layla would have shared more of their history with her.

Not for the first time, Lucy wished that her mother never left to begin with, and sometimes when she was younger, she wished it was her father who died instead.

Was that selfish of her?

To wish for such things?

Or was it childish naivety?

Her train of thought was cut off when the trees suddenly parted and they found themselves entering a large clearing.

It was a vast space, currently covered in snow and with a ledge overlooking a beautiful waterfall.

How far into the forest were they, to end up in such a place, Lucy wondered as she looked around.

As a child, Lucy liked studying and memorizing maps.

She wasn't allowed to travel anywhere or leave her estate, so she found her escape in books, charting the stars and pouring over various maps.

And though her memory was somewhat muddled over the years, she was sure they were closer to Mountain Village than Sakuramori if they were near a waterfall.

And just as she'd suspected earlier, the stars were lighting up the sky beautifully and she could see several of her spirits gracing the heavens.

On a closer look, Lucy could see that they were almost unnaturally bright.

Her spirits' constellations, that is.

The rest of the stars seemed to be shining, for lack of a better term, normally.

Lucy could see Aquarius, Virgo, Cancer, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Libra, and Taurus glimmering extraordinarily back at her.

It almost looked like the stars themselves were dancing.

Which made her wonder if it was because she was led to this snowy meadow by the broken spirit key of their supposed leader, or if this was their way of apologizing for burning her and refusing to come out earlier.

"I think this is it." Lucy voiced her thoughts as she slowly started walking closer to the ledge, wanting to take in the beauty of the Waterfall.

The broken piece of Leo's key was still simmering in her hand, but no longer tugging.

'What is it about this place?' She thought as she looked around.

Sure it was a beautiful sight of nature, but why would a broken spirit key lead them here?

But then again, what was it doing in the museum? Why was the key broken in the first place? And who sent the fake job request to Fairy Tail?

There were too many questions jumbling around in her head that Lucy didn't know where to start.

"Okay, what do we do now?" Natsu's voice pulled her from her thoughts and brought her back to the clearing.

She turned from the waterfall to look back at him.

He was standing casually in the middle of the clearing, hands in his pockets as he surveyed the surrounding area.

As if sensing her gaze, he turned back to look at her.

"I- I'm not sure. The key is still hot to the touch, but the tugging stopped." She said as she looked down at the hand holding half of Leo. "So we're in the right place, but I have no idea wh- " Lucy's sentence was cut off when another sharp tug pulled her to a large stone at the ledge, overlooking the waterfall.

Not expecting the sudden pull made her stumble several steps before she fell to her knees next to the rock.

"Fuck."

"Luce, you good?" Natsu was at her side in an instant at her sudden topple, one of his hands on her back with the other gripping her arm to help steady her. "I'm okay, it just startled me."

Lucy explained as she moved her gaze to inspect the rock, expecting to find a clue as to what was going on.

Only to see it was just a plain slab, there was nothing engraved, and there were no markings on it.

Nothing that would indicate any importance to a Spirit Summoner.

"There must be something, the key literally dragged us here." Lucy said with a hint of humor in her voice. "I can't find anything written on the stone though."

There was a moment of silence between them as they both started at the rock, not knowing what to do next.

"What do you think it could be?" Lucy turned to look back at him over her shoulder.

She was stumped as to what they should do, and she had a feeling that Natsu would have thought of something she wouldn't have.

He stared back at her for a few seconds, looking properly stunned that she asked for his thoughts on the matter.

"Maybe the other half is buried under the rock, or something?" He said with a scratch to his head.

"Hm, that's not a bad idea." Lucy said as she looked back at the rock and then at Natsu. "Wanna help me dig? I don't think Virgo will come out to help with this one." She asked with a smile and he nodded as he crouched down next to her.

"I just want to know why my spirits are so insistent on withholding the truth." Lucy huffed out suddenly as she watched Natsu melt the snow surrounding the rock and warm the earth so it would be easier for them to dig.

"They obviously know what happened to Leo! And none of them were willing to come out and tell me the truth." She continued ranting, feeling the need to vent suddenly.

"They must have their reasons, I mean Virgo seemed like she wanted to tell you, maybe they're following orders or something." Natsu answered her ramblings with his line of thinking as he started digging through the earth.

"Yeah, maybe you're right, but whose orders would they be following?" Lucy wondered out loud as she moved to help him.

"Grampa Crux said that Leo is the leader of the Zodiacs. Is it his orders that they're following? I swear every time I find out something new about my magic, it only leads to more questions than answers." Lucy huffed as she dug through the earth.

Now that she thinks about it, she doesn't know anything about the inner workings of the Spirit Realm.

Was it a Democracy? Monarchy?

Did they have any type of established government official or was it something completely different to how people here live?

"I have no doubt that you will get your answers, Luce." Natsu reassured her with a smile.

She smiled back at him and looked back to their hands in the dirt.

Lucy wanted to tell him that she believed he'd find Igneel someday, but she didn't want to stir up any unwanted memories, so she focused on their task.

The earth was cold beneath her fingers as they dug through it, and she knew that it would be hell getting the dirt out of her nails.

But it would all be worth it if they found some answers.

Natsu, it would seem, had no problem getting dirty. It didn't surprise Lucy per se, it was just a shock to see every time.

He shoveled his way through the earth at a quicker pace, taking out more of the dirt than her, and within a few minutes of digging, there was a glimpse of something gold underneath the layers.

It looked bigger than a key, but it was something.

"There, I see gold." Lucy called as she moved to shovel as much dirt as she could with her hands.

Natsu moved at her words, and with his help, they managed to dig out a golden box.

"It's kinda heavy." Natsu said as he weighed it in his hand before offering it to her. "Do you wanna open it here?"

Lucy looked between him and the box once, and then once more before taking a deep breath and grabbing it out of his hand.

"I can do this." She said under her breath as a form of reassurance, not caring that Natsu would be able to hear her talking to herself.

The box was heavy, and she suspected it was because it was made of solid gold.

With almost trembling fingers, Lucy worked the box open and was only half surprised to find the second half of Leo's key inside.

"You were right." She said as she turned the open container to Natsu. "That was good thinking."

His response to her words was peculiar, at least from what she'd seen of him so far.

His spine straightened, shoulders back and he beamed back at her, a slight blush on his cheeks.

He seemed bashful to a point at her praise, and she found it adorable.

"But how did this get here? I mean someone must have purposefully buried it here." Lucy asked not expecting Natsu to answer, more so resorting to asking the questions out loud.

If only to see if that would help her think of an explanation for all of this.

"It makes no sense."

"Well, if someone buried it, that means they didn't want it found by just anyone. That's gotta be a good thing, right?" Natsu asked and Lucy had to agree.

But who would do such a thing? Was it her mother? Or someone else entirely?

Feeling a headache coming on from everything that's happened in one day, Lucy suddenly felt exhausted and ready to get out for the snow.

"Well, we should get going, no use in staying here in the cold. We can take the train to Magnolia in the afternoon and investigate more of this when we get back to Fairy Tail." Lucy finally said as she stood up and dusted the snow off her pants.

"Ugh, do we have to take a train?" Natsu whined as he got to his feet.

"We could take the bus, or rent a car. Although I don't have a license, and you obviously can't drive, so bus or train?"  She gave him the options and suppressed a laugh at how his face turned multiple shades of green as he pondered his fate.

"Bwah, fine! Train it i-" He didn't finish his sentence, and in a split second Natsu's demeanor shifted from partly nauseous and hunched over, clutching his stomach to on guard. Standing tall and sniffing the air.

"Natsu, what-" He cut her off with a hand gesture and continued tracking whatever it was he smelt.

"Someone is approaching the clearing, it's two people." He said suddenly and Lucy felt her heart start beating faster in her chest.

"They're not together, I think, and one is closer than the other. I don't know how I didn't catch it earlier." He muttered as he turned his head to the path they came from and took another deep breath. "It's cheap perfume and something sinister on the first person. The second one-"  Natsu stopped for a moment.

"The second one smells like death."

Now that freaked her out.

"So what I'm hearing is we're in for a fight and none of my offensive spirits want to come out? Fan-fucking-tastic." Lucy mumbled the last part under her breath as her hand went to her belt.

She took Scutum out of the loop and readied herself for whatever was coming their way.

"Should we move to intercept them, or stay put and wait for them to come to us?" She asked him as she gripped Scutum.

Natsu turned to look at her and pondered over the question for a second. "Stay put, no reason in leavin' when they're the ones after us. They'll probably just follow us back to town. It's safer this way."

Lucy nodded, agreeing with his logic.

This far out in the woods, only the animals would be witness to whatever showdown was coming.

As they waited, Lucy, for what felt like the hundredth time that day was irritated with her spirits.

She saw them as her friends and her partners and trusted them with her life. But they obviously didn't have the same kind of trust in her.

What other explanation was there for their actions, why were they not letting her summon them still?

Even when it was for her protection.

"The perfume smells familiar, I can't remember from where though." Natsu brought her out for thoughts and she turned to look at him.

"Well, a lot of women use similar perfumes, I'm sure you caught a whiff of it somewhere." Lucy tried to reason as they waited for their enemies to approach.

"How far away?" She asked after a few minutes of waiting, she was getting antsy with anticipation and anxiety.

"Getting closer by the second. But one of them is lagging behind a bit." He told her and she nodded in return.

It was no more than five minutes later when they saw a figure emerging from the trees.

It was a woman, not surprising, considering the perfume Natsu smelled.

What was surprising was the fact that it was the same woman they'd talked to in the museum that morning.

What did she say her name was?

Helga?

No, Helena! The head curator.

What the hell was going on?

"What are you doing here?" Lucy decided to ask when the woman stopped a few meters from them.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Heartfilia." A disembodied voice rang through the air when the woman opened her mouth, and Lucy felt a shiver run down her spine.

Natsu was in front of her in an instant, as if sensing a threat in the greeting and Lucy gripped Scutum tighter in her hand as she looked over his shoulder back to Helena.

Only it wasn't her.

The woman that they spoke to this morning was not the being standing in front of them now.

Was she possessed? Is that a thing?

Lucy honestly had no idea.

"Now, now little guard dog, or should say Drakon, there is no need for that. I am not here to hurt the precious summoner, I am only here for the key." She was taunting Natsu with her words as she moved a step closer to them.

The tone in her voice seemed to be almost implying that while she wasn't here for Lucy yet, the day was coming.

A shiver ran down Lucy's spine as a name she had seen so many times while reading about her family and magic echoed around her head.

Zeref.

"Like hell I'm gonna let you touch Lucy or any of her keys!" Natsu yelled back at the woman, who in turn only offered a smirk.

But it looked more like a snarl on her face.

"Well it's a good thing Leo isn't one of her keys then. That is all I want, the pieces. What use is a broken key to spirit summoner?" It seems the taunting was turned onto her this time, as Helena directed the question towards Lucy.

And she could tell that Natsu was getting rilled up with her words.

Lucy could almost see the smoke coming from him as he stayed on guard in front of her.

"I am the last of the spirit summoners, it is my duty to protect the keys. That includes broken ones." Lucy shot back, not letting this thing parading around in this poor woman's body intimidate her.

"Have it your way then, I'm sure it will be no problem getting rid of you, I would be doing you a mercy and our Lord a favor at the same time." The threat was clear this time and Lucy did not wait another second before moving her right hand through the air.

"Open, gate of the shield, Scutum!" She called and the shield appeared in a flash of golden light. "It is my pleasure to guard you, Lady Heartifilia." He greeted her upon arrival.

"Thank you, Scutum." Lucy said as she grabbed ahold of him and took a step back, letting her partner take point in this fight.

Natsu, following her strategy, moved before the woman could attack and went to take her down.

"Natsu! I think she's possessed, that's a thing that can happen, right?" She called out after him, hoping that he would listen to her and answer.

Lucy learned the hard way that just because he can hear you, doesn't mean he'll listen.

"It is very much ' a thing ' Lady Heartfilia, and I am afraid you are right. The woman is possessed poor thing." Scutum informed her and Lucy's heart dropped as turned back to the battle and saw Natsu clock Helena in the face with his fire fists, and send her flying back.

'Idiot.'

"Natsu! You can't hurt her, she's human! Just knock her out without using magic, so no fire! She's being possessed!" She yelled at him again, knowing that he would listen this time.

Natsu looked at Lucy and then back at Helena, and they both saw the split second where her eyes turned a yellowish red before flashing back to their normal brown, a smirk on her face as she sneered back at them.

"Smart little summoner you are." Helena said with a laugh.

Lucy heard him let out a curse as he realized what was happening and quickly changed his tactics.

As soon as Natsu stopped coming after her with fire, Helena seemed to be dodging his attacks with ease and trying to advance towards Lucy.

But there were no attempts at attacking on her part.

"Why isn't she attacking?" Lucy wondered out loud as she watched Natsu lunge at her again, only for the brunette to swerve the punch and fall back.

"I suspect it is because of the form it chose to possess. As you said, she is human, and while the creature that is possessing her is a powerful one, the human body has its limitations." Scutum once again explained, and Lucy was grateful to have at least one spirit that would answer her questions without any riddles.

"Thank you for explaining that, I don't really know that much about how magic works and what the limitations are." Lucy said to the shield.

"Hell, I barely know anything about my own magic." She mumbled with an almost bitter chuckle as she watched Natsu finally wrestle the brunette to the ground, pin her face forward, and knock her unconscious.

"Gatcha ya slippery bastard." She heard him say before he turned to her. "Ya got any rope, Luce?"

"Yeah, give me a second." She said back and let go of the shield. "Thank you Scutum, you can go back now." She told him with a smile.

"The pleasure was mine Lady Heartfilia." He said with a tilt as he disappeared in the same golden light he came from.

Lucy rustled through her bag for a moment before finding a rope and those anti-magic cuffs.

"Here." She tossed the rope to Natsu as she walked towards them.

She watched as Natsu tied the rope around her torso, with her arms behind her back, and once he was done, Lucy decided to put the cuffs on for good measure.

"Maybe they'll keep whatever's possessing her at bay until we can find a way to help her." She said when Natsu gave her a weird look.

"Well that wasn't fun at all, I couldn't even fight properly." He pouted as he went to stretch out.

"I'm sorry that the fight wasn't up to your standards, I'm just glad that you managed to knock her out without too much damage." Lucy said as she looked down at the unconscious woman.

'Was she possessed when we talked to her this morning as well?' She wondered.

Was Helena the one who sent the job request to Fairy Tail?

That was the most likely answer. It was probably in hopes of luring Lucy out and having her find the second half of the key.

Whoever was possessing Helena is working for, or worships Zeref. The dark mage that is responsible for the death of seemingly every spirit summoner.

'What could they possibly want with a broken spirit key?' A shiver ran down Lucy's spine at the thought.

Nothing good.

Gods, when did her life become a fantasy drama?

"Do you know who we can get to help her? I mean we can't just leave the woman possessed." Lucy decided to focus on what she could do now, instead of pondering over uncertain things.

Now was not the time for that.

Speaking of time.

"It's almost 4 am, I can't call Mira now. We'll have to wait till morning." She started rambling as she paced back and forth through the snow.

"Do you think we should try and get some answers from the thing that's possessing her? Or would that be a bad idea?" Lucy continued pacing as her thoughts ran wild.

"Why are they coming after spirit keys if only summoners can use them?" The questions poured out of her mouth and she could feel herself starting to panic.

Feeling dizzy all of a sudden, her knees buckled under her and Lucy found herself falling on the snowy ground.

"Hey, hey, Luce, what happened?" Natsu, who up until that point had been watching her pace with a worried expression, asked as he crouched by her side. "Are you okay?" She looked up at him and saw the wide-eyed panic in his gaze.

"Sorry." Lucy replied automatically "I got dizzy for a moment and lost balance." She said as she went to slowly sit up. "It's been a long day, I probably used up more magic than I realized. I think that Leo's half was draining a bit of it while it was leading us here."

Natsu's shoulders dropped at her words and he puffed smoke in her face. "Don't scare me like that." He mumbled as he helped her stand up.

Lucy coughed slightly as she stood and shot him a glare.

"So what are we going to do with her?" She asked him and he looked back at the unconscious woman.

"Well, we can take her to town, and call the Council, they'll send someone to expel whatever is possessing her and deal with everything." Natsu answered with a shrug of his shoulder and turned back to face her.

"We have one more to go." He reminded her and glanced back at the tree line surrounding them.

Lucy turned to look around, not seeing anything.

She had completely forgotten that he said two people were approaching.

The threats from the being possessing Helena shook her enough to temporarily forget.

"Are they near?" She found her asking as she watched him concentrate on his hearing and smell.

What was it like to have such enhanced senses? Being able to hear, and smell everything around you. 

Lucy wrinkled her nose at the thought of smelling everything and everyone around her.

'No wonder he gets sick on trains, with his senses.' She thought as she watched him try to determine how far away the second threat was.

"Almost here, they seem to be moving slowly." Natsu finally answered with a scrunch to his nose before adding. "They smell like death and decay."

He turned from the forest back to her and took several steps in her direction.

"So they're dying?" Lucy asked, finding it fascinating that he could smell something like that. "What does death smell like?" She asked before her brain could filter it.

Natsu looked at her with a tilt of his head as he pondered her words. "No one's ever asked me to describe what something like that smells like." He told her as he looked for the right words.

"Rotting, but not like fruit, it's much worse. With hints of spoiled fish and sulfur. This one has a distinct magic scent as well, so I don't know what we're dealing with." He answered and Lucy was torn between being amazed by his abilities and regretting asking him.

What else can his senses tell him?

From what she's been able to observe and learn in her time in Fairy Tail, it was obvious that everyone thought Natsu was just a one-track mind.

She heard Levy and Mira call him dense on several occasions, and Gray is constantly calling him stupid.

His reaction to her asking for his input earlier only solidified that he assumed she thought the same.

But Lucy felt like she could see more of him than the others. That he lets her see more of him, even if he doesn't realize it.

It was in the way he would randomly tense up while they were in public out of nowhere.

How he would sometimes pick fights with people at random and for seemingly no reason.

How he knew exactly when during the month not to piss her (and all the women of Fairy Tail) off, and treat her to chocolate raspberry cakes.

It's in the way he fights.

Going head first is the usual ammo, yes. But he is a master strategist, she's seen it firsthand.

No, Natsu Dragneel is anything but dumb, or dim-witted. It was just something he let other people assume of him.

Why was that?

"Whoever they are, how much of a threat could they be if they're dying?" Lucy said hopefully, and Natsu shrugged back.

The sound of crunching snow made them both turn to look at the left side of the trees, where a figure could be seen hobbling slowly toward them.

Natsu moved in front of Lucy as they both waited for the figure to emerge.

It seemed to be a man.

Unnaturally pale and skinny, cheeks hobbled out, with shaggy orange hair.

He was dressed in a fancy, well-tailored suit. Only it was tattered and stained in several places.

The look on his face as he saw Natsu and Lucy standing in the clearing was unreadable.

There was a tense moment of silence where no one moved, and they started at each other.

"You found it." The man said with a hint of relief in his voice.

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[landograndprix]

woman ✾ l.n - vi

❧ you love max, you really do but your little brother has been getting more on your nerves each day as he tries to set you up with one of his friends.

❧ your friend iris tells you the truth, you're struggling with your feelings while you're not able to stay away from him but a certain Monégasque keeps popping up in your life.

❧ hi, I hate this. 🥰 this is a psa for the people who wanted to be on my taglist but never got tagged, i didn't forget or ignore you, I simply am unable to tag you and therefore removed you from the list feel free to ask me again so I can take a look at it. Taglist is open Love ya ❤️

❧ prev part – next part

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y/nverstappen

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irisxo thanks for calling me out

y/nverstappen don't act like you didn't want to tattoo 55 on your ass just last week.

norrizz 💀 @.carlossainz55

carlitosainz iris and I thinking alike

maxmaxmax Luka really is a copy of max 😭

norry4 lando's appearing in your photo dumps and stories a lot lately 👀

landoscar max's little plan of setting his sis up with one of his friends is slowly working out? 👀

sharl16 nah lando's doing amazing on the track, don't think he has time for a relationship

chilisainz ✨ fuck buddies? ✨

sharl16 ✨ situationship? ✨

verstapmax imagine being able to hang out with your little brother like this, couldn't be me :'(

bott_ass you looked hella cute in the garage today!

1mv33 y'all really missing out on y/n on these dutch sport channels, she's a menace 😂

norrizz pls drop the video, devouring y/n content atm

julieeeexo is iris single? Asking for a friend

landonorris ❤️

lan4lan LANDO?! 😭

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y/nverstappen posted to their story

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Lando taglist: @beatricemiruna @simp-for-fictional-people @landossainz @christianpulisic10 @bored-brunette2

Woman: taglist @hockeyboysarehot @starwarssavy23 @thecubanator2 @ironmaiden1313 @hanniesdawn @leclercdream @alexandralibbre @elliegrey2803 @watersquirtpewpewboomm @whoreks @cha-hot @luciaexcorvus @sunny44 @roseseraj @goldenharrysworld @18754389 @graciewrote

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