CHAPTER 7

Well guys its been a fun ride, but sadly all good things must come to and end. Thank you for all your reviews and favourites. Please enjoy the last chapter, and the little piece at the end. Lots of Love from JellyBean ^3^

Eventually the power had come back on, and the lights had brightened up Natsu's home. He whooped in relief and walked throughout his house to blow out all the candles and put them back in his drawer.

After Natsu's abrupt confession and Lucy's mild panic, the awkward couple had a few more beers and decided to watch a movie to keep their minds occupied.

Action of course, since neither were in the mood for rom-coms right now.

Since Lucy was his guest Natsu gave her first choice of what to watch and her selection once again proved how right she was for him.

"Dragonheart?" he asked with an elated grin.

"Don't judge, but I absolutely loved this movie as a kid. I mean sure it made me cry like a total baby but its still a great story" she said with an embarrassed smile.

"Damn Lucy, you keep this up and I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself for much longer" muttered Natsu with a flustered expression.

Lucy's face went beet red. What did she say?! Why was he reacting like that?!

"W-why?! What- I mean… huh?!" she sputtered in embarrassment.

Natsu laughed at her reaction and plucked the movie from her now shaking hands.

"Out of all the movies you could have picked you managed to find my all-time favourite. I mean I love How to Train Your Dragon, but classics are classics for a reason" he said matter-of-factly.

Lucy's eyes were wide in shock. This could not be a coincidence right? What were the odds that they both loved the same movie? Next thing you know they'll find out they have the same taste in music as well.

She didn't want to test that, another shock might just make her pass out. The beers certainly weren't diminishing that possibility either.

"Let's just watch the movie before we find out any more weird stuff about each other" she said in exhaustion as she sat on his couch.

Natsu chuckled as he put the DVD in the machine, he got up when it went in and sat right next to Lucy. They were so close their thighs were touching, but Natsu had no problem with that at all. Lucy was a flustered mess but she didn't make a move to slide away from him. He figured that was a very good sign, right?

The movie started and they sat together in silence. Happy joined them eventually from wherever it was he had been, and sat on Lucy's lap, rubbing against her chest for attention.

Natsu glared at the cat with envy, he could have sworn Happy was just doing it to piss him off.

They were halfway through the movie when Lucy started to feel drowsy. The downside to drinking for her was that she tended to get tired really fast if she had more than one drink at a time. She felt herself start to nod off and she ended up losing her balance and falling sideways into Natsu's shoulder.

Flustered she immediately sat up, blushing and desperately trying to blink the exhaustion out of her eyes. Natsu looked at her in amusement as she tried to keep her eyes open with sheer willpower, sometimes he thought her cuteness should be a crime. How had other guys not seen how amazing she was, he was kinda glad she only ever met losers and posers, that way he at least had a fighting chance for her.

Pitying the tired woman Natsu wrapped his arm around her head and placed it on his shoulder softly. Lucy was confused by the sudden movement at first then tried to push herself off him out of sheer embarrassment, but he wasn't having any of that.

"Come on, you're tired right? Just relax" he said in a no-nonsense tone as he kept his hand on her head to make sure she couldn't move.

"But I can't sleep now, the movie's getting to the best part" she whined half-heartedly.

Natsu chuckled and rubbed her head softly, making Lucy feel even more tired as her eyes started to close uncontrollably.

"We can always watch it again tomorrow you know?" he said in a suggestive tone.

Lucy looked up at him from the corner of her eye and gave him a sceptical look.

"Hearing you say something like that in that tone makes me worry for my safety if I fall asleep" she said in a warning tone.

Natsu wore a mock offended look at her accusations "Why Lucy, I assure you I have nothing but your best interests at heart. And all I was suggesting was a second date, what were you thinking of?" he asked in a teasing tone.

Lucy scoffed with red cheeks and slapped his chest playfully, she had run out of energy to react to his teasing and flirting at this point.

"Knock it off you Dragon-boy. And I really shouldn't sleep over, I have a shift in the afternoon tomorrow. Plus if I show up at home in this outfit I don't think I'll be able to live through the teasing" she said as she looked at the screen blankly.

"So be a rebel and just not go" he said with a cheeky grin.

Lucy sighed reluctantly and sat up on the couch "As appealing as that sounds, Erza would literally beat the crap out of me for doing that. And I'm pretty sure she'd kill you for telling me to ditch" she said with a humorous smirk.

Natsu paled at the thought, that woman seriously needed to get a boyfriend.

Natsu groaned in defeat and reluctantly got up out of his seat and stopped the movie.

"Well if that's the case I guess I better take you home then" he said with his hands on his hips.

Lucy blinked in confusion at his offer "You don't have to go that far, I can just call a cab. It's how I got here in the first place" she argued as she got up from the couch.

"Nonsense. A gentleman always escorts a lady home after a date, especially since it's… huh, 1am" he said in a surprised tone.

"One?! That can't be right, have I really been here that long?!" she asked in shock.

"I heard that time flies when you're having fun, guess that was more true than I thought" said Natsu in mild surprise.

"I can't believe it, maybe the power outage affected my sense of time?" thought Lucy in confusion.

"Or maybe you were just having so much fun with me that you didn't care what the time is" said Natsu with a cheeky grin.

Lucy rolled her eyes and slapped his chest playfully which made Natsu chuckle.

"Guess we better get going then. You wait here in the front while I bring the bike out" he said as he walked towards his backdoor.

Lucy's eyes widened in panic "Bike?" she asked fearfully.

But Natsu was already out the door. Lucy was freaking out, she had never been on a bike before! Those things were scary and dangerous! She didn't care if she could fight fires, bikes were a whole different thing altogether.

She reluctantly walked out the front door and waited for Natsu to come around. She heard the roar of a loud engine approaching her and her deepest fears were realised.

This thing was huge! And of course he had to cover it with flames and have an engine that was as loud as a roaring dragon. She pretty much expected that.

Natsu seemed to have grabbed a leather jacket for himself and was holding a thick red hoodie in his arm. He propped his bike with the bike stand and went to the back again for some reason.

Lucy looked at the bike like it was a wild animal about to strike, was this safe? She trusted Natsu, but she didn't trust that bike.

"Here we go, two helmets. I have a black one and one with flames on it which one do you want Lucy?" Natsu asked oblivious to her inner turmoil.

"Natsu I'm not so sure about going on a bike…" she said fearfully.

Natsu looked at her in surprise and tilted his head in confusion "Why? You afraid of bikes or something?"

Lucy turned away from him to hide her flustered face "M-maybe just a little" she muttered softly.

Natsu grinned at her and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders "Don't worry Lucy, I'm a really good driver, plus he's more afraid of you than you are of him" he joked.

Lucy smacked his chest but couldn't help the smile that formed on her face "You are such a dork" she said with a giggle.

Natsu chuckled and squeezed her closer to him before letting go.

"So Lucy, you now have a life-changing decision to make… black or flames?" he asked with a serious look.

Lucy laughed at him and decided to opt for the black helmet, since she was sure the flame one was Natsu's favourite. Natsu nodded and put the helmet over her head.

"It's probably gonna be a little big for you, but it'll still function pretty much the same" he said closing the straps under her chin.

Lucy felt nervous as she walked towards the bike, but she took a deep calming breath and steeled her nerves.

'Just think of it as an adventure' she thought to herself.

"Oh and wear this, it gets pretty windy the faster we go" said Natsu as he handed her the hoodie she saw in his hands earlier.

Lucy grabbed it softly, noting that it was rather soft, and very thick. Without a second thought she put on the hoodie and zipped it up comfortably.

Natsu put his flame helmet on his head and mounted the bike in one smooth movement. Lucy was worried that trying to get on the bike would be like that one time she learnt how to ride a horse. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Natsu by falling before she got on.

Luckily she got on unscathed in pride intact.

"Okay, you better put your arms around me. Don't want ya falling off before we start moving really fast" teased Natsu.

Lucy couldn't see it but she knew he was grinning at her and it annoyed her to no end.

Sighing in exasperation she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. She certainly wasn't going to risk falling of this death machine.

Natsu stilled at the contact and felt his heart go wild in his chest.

'Oh man, her chest is pressing against my back' he thought in embarrassment.

Clearing his now dry throat Natsu took a deep breath and started the engine, making Lucy squeak and hold him even tighter.

Natsu chuckled at her reaction and placed a comforting hand over hers. The gesture was enough to calm Lucy down somewhat, so Natsu started moving forward.

Once he was sure she was in a better state of mind he picked up speed, then stopped suddenly making Lucy bump her head on his back.

"Ouch! Is something wrong?" she asked with worry.

"Uhm, well… where do you live exactly?" asked Natsu sheepishly.

Lucy blinked in confusion then found herself giggling "Oh, right. Guess you need to know where you're going" she said with a smile.

She told him her address, and he seemed to know where the general area was so they moved forward and drove down the road.

Lucy found that the drive there was not as terrifying as she thought it would be. In fact there was something almost freeing about the experience. She thought about her father, and how he would never have allowed her to go so much as five feet near a bike. She wondered if he had the chance to meet Natsu, would he have liked him? She was sure he would, after all he did have this way of connecting with people.

Finally they made it to Lucy's apartment. Was her place really this close? Or did she simply wish to spend more time with him like this, pressed against his warm protective back.

"Damn, I got us here a lot faster than I thought. I almost wish you lived further away" whined Natsu as he took his helmet of and put his hand out for Lucy to grab.

'How is it that we end up feeling and thinking the same things?' she thought as she took the helmet off her head.

Lucy took his hand and dismounted without any problems… not!

The second her leg touched the ground she tripped and fell right into Natsu's arms. He caught her without a problem, but now her face was pressed against his chest and his arms around her waist.

Being so close, Lucy could smell Natsu's cologne. He smelled like pine and cinnamon, she was surprised by how much she liked it.

She could hear Natsu's heartbeat, and how the longer she stayed pinned to him the louder and more frantically it beat. Realising the embarrassing position she was in she pushed herself away from Natsu with flushed cheeks.

She awkwardly cleared her throat and started walking towards her front door slowly, with Natsu following behind.

She took out her keys from her purse and unlocked the door before turning to Natsu.

"Thanks for the ride, and dinner. It was… fun" she said in embarrassment.

'Oh crap what the hell do I do now!? I've never had a guy walk me to my door before?! Do I hug him? Shake his hand? Do I kiss him?! Oh hell!' she thought inwardly panicking.

Natsu, oblivious to her internal strife, just smiled elatedly and placed his hands shyly in his pockets.

"It was my pleasure Lucy. Anything for you" he said in an unexpectedly husky tone that sent warm shivers down her spine. He was looking at her so intensely she thought his eyes would burn right through her very soul.

He stepped closer towards her and placed a hand on her cheek softly, making Lucy's cheeks burn like the sun.

"Lucy… can I… may I kiss you?" he asked with a desperate look in his eyes.

How could she say no to that face? Well not that she wanted to, he was gazing at her so heatedly she was contemplating inviting him inside and not letting him go till tomorrow afternoon. Lucy felt the butterflies in her stomach go crazy at the very thought. She was never like this, so eager to be intimate with another person, what was Natsu doing to her?

Unable to say anything Lucy simply nodded shyly at Natsu's request. That was all the boy needed before descending to her face and claiming her lips that had been haunting his mind for months.

His kiss was chaste and soft, like he was afraid she'd pull away if he went too far. Lucy wasn't having any of that. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, making him squeak in a very unmanly way.

That was all the confirmation he needed before deepening the kiss and pushing her against her front door, making Lucy moan softly, much to her embarrassment. Natsu probed her lips with his tongue, as if asking for permission. She put up no resistance.

She didn't know how long they had been making out, but she was finding it harder to breath and harder to keep it to just kissing. His hands on her back were like fire trails, and they only kept going down further and further to her backside.

She had to slow him down, or else she'd lose her mind.

She slowed down the kiss until they were just pecks and placed her hands on Natsu's shoulders to put some distance between them. She nearly laughed at the whine she heard coming from Natsu, but was pleased to see he wasn't forcing himself on her, he was letting her set the pace.

"I think that's enough for tonight" she said trying to catcher her breath and cool down her burning cheeks.

Natsu sighed and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Good call, I was three seconds away from grabbing your ass" he said with a mournful look, as if he was sad he didn't get the chance.

Lucy rolled her eyes and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

"Mister Dragneel, you are incorrigible" she said in a playful tone.

Natsu chuckled "I don't know what that means, but I'll take it as a compliment since I got you all hot and bothered" he said with a sly grin.

Lucy sputtered and smacked his chest in embarrassment "Stupid"

Natsu laughed and grabbed her hand before she went inside. He brought it to his lips and kissed it tenderly. Lucy blushed at his sinfully alluring behaviour and tugged her hand away in embarrassment.

"Okay, you need to leave before I do something to you" she said forcefully as she pushed him away.

Natsu laughed and turned to look at her "Like what?" he asked teasingly.

"Just go! I'll call you tomorrow alright?!" she yelled in embarrassment.

Natsu turned to her and put out his pinky "Promise?" he asked with a tender smile.

Lucy smiled at the gesture and locked their pinky's together.

"Promise"

Natsu had been longing for a person like Lucy for a long time.

She was the kind of girl he wanted to show off at his high school reunion.

Their admiration for each other was unparalleled and strong.

They had shared all their secrets and become closer than they ever imagined.

And while there will always be a struggle in a relationship, they will fight through it.

Their love is a never-ending climax and they will only grow closer as time passes.

And even when they reach old age and pass on to the next life, their love will never end.

Hope you all enjoyed the ride! Until next year! Oh, and leave a review if ya feel like it XP