Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, because if I did, I wouldn't be working with my University's newspaper.

Sweet Somethings

"I've got a lot of hard candy especially for you, Luce," Natsu said as he and his partner walked back towards the spirit mage's apartment from the guildhall. Lucy giggled and pulled him to her, nipping at his ear lobe.

"I do love hard candy," she breathed into his ear. Lucy felt her smile grow as the fire mage's face darkened to match his hair. She was pleased that she'd managed to elicit such a reaction from him.

She thought about how surprised she'd been earlier that day when Natsu had walked into the guildhall and started teasing her in ways she never could have imagined he was capable of. The dragon slayer seemed versed in sexual innuendo to a shocking degree, and what was even more surprising was how he had been discreet about the teasing all day. It didn't sync up with his normal loud and boorish attitude, but Lucy found that, because it was with Natsu, she could play along.

"I, uh," Natsu stumbled over his words for the umpteenth time that day. Lucy let herself feel a little bit of pride at how many times she'd been able to fluster her favorite fire mage. "I hope it's sweet enough for you."

Lucy felt heat rise in her own face. She was glad that Happy had elected to stay at the guild with Charla and Wendy until later that night. The last thing she needed in the middle of the game she and Natsu were playing was for the Exceed to interrupt them with his usual trill. The celestial spirit mage stepped up to her apartment entrance.

"Anything from you is sweet, Natsu," she said. A moment passed before she realized just how real that statement was, and she worried at her lip, glancing over her shoulder to see Natsu's reaction. The fire mage was nowhere to be seen, however, and Lucy found him in her window once she entered her apartment. She let out a sigh. Natsu's toothy grin greeted her.

"I still don't get why you bother locking the door," he said, hopping from the sill over her bed and onto the floor. Lucy rolled her eyes, a small smile tugging at her lips despite her show of exasperation. Was the game over? She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She'd enjoyed the flirting, maybe more than she should have. Natsu was supposed to be her best friend, after all. "Hey, Luce?"

The blond teenager came back to the present and found a head of pink hair mere inches from her face. She stifled a squeak and stepped back.

"Y-yeah?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow at her reaction, but didn't comment on it.

"What are we?" He asked.

Lucy's tongue knotted and her throat went a little dry at Natsu's bold question. It wasn't anything out of the norm for the fire mage; he'd never been much for shyness or anything except the straightforward route to his goals. Lucy walked to her desk chair and sat down, gathering her thoughts.

"Well," she began, keeping her eyes down and fiddling with one of her pens. "Do you mean, like, to each other?"

"Yeah."

Lucy took a steadying breath, hardly believing such a conversation was happening.

"We're guild mates," she said, daring to bring her gaze back onto the dragon slayer. "And we're teammates. Do- do you think differently?"

Natsu shook his head.

"No! No, I just, uh," he said, scratching his cheek with his finger. "I didn't know if we were something more than that."

Lucy's breath caught. She felt warmth creep up her neck again.

"Do you... want to be?"

Natsu's brows furrowed. Lucy almost worried that she'd stepped over some line that had been blurred by the day's teasing until she realized he was deep in thought. He sat cross-legged on one of her chairs, and stared at her intently as if she were a teacher who taught his favorite class.

"What would change?" He asked.

Lucy noted how cute Natsu giving his rapt attention was before she formulated an answer.

"I don't know if a lot would have to change," she said, turning away from her desk so her body faced him. "But I guess it depends. Couples have different boundaries and rules between them, and they usually aren't set in stone," she said, before grimacing. "Unless the relationship is arranged, like some of the people I know associated with my father when I was younger."

Natsu cocked his head.

"Rules?"

Lucy nodded.

"Sometimes there's an issue with public displays of affection," she said, too caught up in thinking about the questions to be flustered by the discussion. "Mutual trust can be a problem too, if someone is insecure. There are a lot of things that need to be felt out and agreed on for a relationship to work."

Natsu propped an elbow on one knee and rested his face in his hand.

"That sounds kinda complicated."

Lucy smiled a little.

"Relationships tend to be that way," she said. "I don't think we'd have as much of the same trouble, though. Not every couple ventures out together to fight with their lives at stake for a living."

Natsu hummed.

"The most important thing," Lucy said, standing up from her chair and stretching. "Is that a couple practices good communication."

Natsu pursed his lips. Lucy could almost see him turning everything over in his head.

"Communication," he murmured, before jumping up. "Okay," he said, kicking off his sandals. "Lucy, I'm going to sleep in your comfy bed tonight."

Natsu slid under the spirit mage's pink comforter. He looked at her as if to ask whether he was practicing communication correctly. Lucy just returned his look before laughing.

"Most men would pose that as a question, not a statement," she said, talking over her shoulder as she walked to her bathroom. "But since I figured you'd be doing that anyway, I'll let it slide."

Natsu stared into the darkness in Lucy's room. He held his partner close to his body, one arm looped around her waist while the other hooked under her shoulders. His thumb absently rubbed her neckline. Unlike every other night he'd shared a bed with her, though, Lucy was reciprocating his contact. Their legs entangled together, and her slender arms hugged around his torso. Her head tucked under his chin, and he could feel her heartbeat just as much as he could hear it.

The proximity and intimacy wasn't why he couldn't sleep, though.

Communication, huh? He thought. The fire mage sighed, shifting his head until his lips hovered just shy of Lucy's forehead.

"Hey, Luce?"

Natsu steeled his nerves. He had no idea how she'd react to what he needed to say. She mumbled. He recognized that she was awake from the change in her breathing rhythms. He reminded himself to ask her, not just tell her.

"Um, how would you feel if," he started, pausing to take another fortifying breath. "If I left for a while?"

Lucy shifted in his arms, her pillow rustling as she lifted her head a bit.

"You mean for a job?"

Natsu's eyes flickered down to look into Lucy's own chocolate ones. He adjusted his arm around her shoulder to massage her scalp.

"Not exactly," he said. "Happy and I are planning to leave the guild for a bit to train."

Lucy went quiet. Natsu cursed himself, wondering what he'd done wrong.

"When?"

Natsu didn't miss the mild irritation in Lucy's tone. He treaded forward with as much care as he could muster.

"Tomorrow."

Lucy's eyebrows scrunched together. Despite knowing that her annoyance was directed at him, Natsu couldn't help thinking how much he liked seeing that look on her face. His favorite blond gave a frustrated sigh.

"You could have told me sooner," she said, slipping back in to his chest. "I don't know how long I'll need to pack in the morning."

"Huh?"

"Well," Lucy said, pulling back again to look at him. "You said we leave tomorrow, right?"

Natsu stiffened. He hadn't expected her to want to go with him.

"No," he said. "I said Happy and me are leaving tomorrow."

Lucy's grasp on him loosened. Natsu turned his head and buried his face into her pillow, suddenly recognizing how heartless he sounded.

"So, what," she said. Her voice was so low and quiet and fragile that it cut into Natsu's heartstrings. "You're just abandoning me?"

The fire dragon slayer jerked his head up, ready to bark out denial. He hated that word, and he knew Lucy did too. They hated it because they'd both felt it before. He couldn't find words strong enough to tell her that, though. His throat constricted and his brain short-circuited at the betrayed look she was giving him. The part of him that wanted to stay overwhelmed the rest of him, and before he fully knew what he was doing, he kissed her.

Natsu heard Lucy's heartbeat skip and spike in response. He could feel his own pulsing against his chest. He didn't pause, though, overcome by a need to convey just how much he cared about and wanted her. He let his actions speak for him, inexperienced though they were. The fire mage felt a heat he'd never known in his life when Lucy returned the gesture. It left him too soon, though, as Lucy initiated the break.

Both of them were short on breath, but Natsu could see Lucy was angry. His excitement broke down and was washed away by shame. Did he overstep some boundary of hers? He didn't know if he could live with himself if he really betrayed her like that.

"Why, Natsu?"

His heart took another blow at the chill from her voice. Lucy pulled her arms back and wrestled in his grasp so she was turned away from him.

"Why would you do that," she said, her voice shaking. Natsu tried to push past the sudden dryness in his throat, to find the right words.

"I wanna be able to protect my family, Lucy," he said.

"You do that all the time now anyway."

"I need to be ready to see Zeref again,"

"You can't just come in here and start asking for something more out of me"

"I gotta be able to avenge Igneel."

"Then just drop the idea of leaving me behind to go off to Mavis knows where"

"But you're the main reason I need to do this, Luce."

"Because it's just okay for me to sit here and worry about you?"

"'Cause I don't want you to have to make a sacrifice like that again."

"And the worst thing is to kiss me right after- what?"

Lucy stopped, twisting her neck around to look back at Natsu. The dragon slayer tightened his grip on her waist, struggling to keep his eyes on hers. Silence lingered between them for what felt like hours.

"You mean Aquarius," she whispered, almost so quiet he didn't catch it. He nodded, gently pulling her back towards him. She didn't protest. "I never told you about that."

Natsu pressed his nose into her hair, inhaling her scent.

"Didn't have to," he said, closing his eyes. "I heard it."

Quiet again. Lucy rolled over in his embrace to face him.

"I couldn't see while we were trapped," he said, feeling a lump form in his throat. "But I could hear you the whole time."

His fingers pressed into her side under her nightie about her waist.

"I was so fuckin' scared, Luce. I was proud of you too," he smiled weakly, pressing his lips to her forehead. "But mostly scared. I mean you had somethin' like three of them trying to kill you. It was infuriatin', being trapped, 'cause I couldn't do a damn thing to help you. Then"

Natsu swallowed, taking a moment for a quivering breath.

"Then I heard you sobbing. Wailing, really," he said. "I couldn't stand it. I never heard you cry like that before. And I hate it when you cry anyway. I knew something happened to Aquarius, but"

He pulled Lucy to him in a tighter grip, wishing he could erase the memory by hugging her hard enough.

"But I didn't know if you were hurt, or dyin', and I couldn't get to you fast enough 'cause I wouldn't be able to live with myself if somethin' happened to you and"

Natsu was cut short by Lucy's lips pressing into his. It was brief, but he quieted, only to panic when he noticed she was crying once she pulled away. He freaked out, asking what was wrong, but she shushed him. She gave him a watery smile and brought a hand to his face, the other nuzzling his hair.

"I'm okay, Natsu," she said. Even through the tears, her eyes conveyed so much care that the calming effect was immediate. He shuddered against her hands, blinking back his own tears. "I'm here, with you, we're safe."

"Yeah," he whispered. They lay there for a while, and he reveled in the feeling of her fingers on his face and neck. He chuckled a little. "So, long story short, that's why."

Lucy's smile widened just a hair, but his keen eyes didn't miss it. She curled into him.

"I still don't see why you think you need to go by yourself," she said, trailing her fingers down his neck to rest on his chest. His skin tingled where he felt her breath. "You don't think it was hard for me seeing you so torn up about Igneel?"

Natsu tensed. The fire mage hadn't considered things from her perspective. The celestial spirit mage brought her hand from his hair and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"I want to get stronger just as much as you do, Natsu," she said. Her hair tickled his chin. "And you're my main reason too."

Natsu played with her golden locks and hummed in acknowledgement. He still wasn't convinced that bringing Lucy with him was the best idea.

"I want you to be safe," he whispered. Lucy smiled against his neck.

"When haven't I been safe with you?"

"Every single time you've had to save my life," he said easily. Lucy tilted her head back, pressing a kiss to his jawline. "I'd just feel better knowing you had the guild with you, not just me."

Natsu winced when Lucy pinched his shoulder.

"You are a wonderful partner, Natsu," she said in a firm tone. "Don't ever sell yourself short."

The fire mage smiled.

"Well yeah," he said, grinning down at her. "I am pretty awesome."

Lucy smiled back at him.

"I think we'd be a distraction to each other if we went together," he half-joked. Natsu felt his grin widen as he watched Lucy's face turn pink.

"Well, if the way you kissed me is any indication," she said. Natsu pecked her cheek for good measure, earning a light giggle from her. "I guess I can understand that."

Natsu watched Lucy's face while she thought, appreciating the way her eyes stared straight ahead and the little huffs of concentration she let out.

"Okay," she said. "I'll stay with the guild. But you need to promise me two things."

"Name 'em."

"One," she said, pressing her index finger against his chest. "You have to write me every chance you get."

Natsu pursed his lips. He'd never liked writing to people, since he preferred interacting face to face, and it gave him bad memories of Erza's lessons when he was a child. Nonetheless, he agreed, anything to make Lucy happy.

"And two," she pressed another finger to his chest, pulling herself up so her face was level with his. "I want you to get so much stronger that I can't recognize you when you get back."

Natsu cocked his head.

"Why would you want me to look different?"

Lucy sighed.

"Just promise me."

He grinned.

"Okay. I promise."

Lucy kissed him again before snuggling back into his chest. Natsu smiled and sank into her bed with her, feeling sleep tug at his eyelids. He may be leaving something fantastically new in Magnolia, but he had another reason to look forward to coming back home.

A/N: Would you believe this is the result of some half-conscious ramblings my ill mind concocted in the middle of the night?

Well, it's official. I've dived in so far to the Fairy Tail fandom that I now have a one shot with NaLu in it. I'm a lost cause.

This turned into a somewhat more sensitive telling of how Natsu left Lucy during the time skip after Tartaros. It's also the first time I've dipped my proverbial toes into the romance genre. Let me know how I did with a review, otherwise, just mash your keyboard to give the thing some extra exercise!