heartbeat; it's not so easy to remain calm with the girl you love.

Lucy and Nastu were in her apartment, side by side on her oh so comfortable bed that Natsu can't get enough of. This was one of the rare times that Lucy actually let Natsu stay in her apartment. Whenever he comes over, it usually ends in a one sided heated argument that more often than not ends up with Lucy throwing her famous "Lucy Kick" and Natsu being kicked out of her apartment. He was ecstatic that she let him stay, and even more thrilled that she let him lay in her bed.

He was laying down next to her, shooting small fireballs in the air that thankfully dissipated before they hit anything, because let's face it, he would be dead in an instant if anything caught on fire. She was reading a romance novel, and occasionally reacted to the book, with small chuckles and gasps, and a few frowns here and there. It didn't go unnoticed by Natsu, it even made him fall in love with her even more, if that was even possible. He really isn't the dense idiot with the mind of a nine year old that everybody seems to think he is. He's in love with Lucy, and has been for years. If anything, she's the dense one for not realizing it yet.

Lucy sighed and put her book down, deciding that was enough reading for today. Her eyes were becoming sore from reading for so many hours. She curled her hands into small fists, rubbing her eyelids as she stretched. Lucy switched her position, so she was lying on her side, and laid her head on Natsu's chest.

"L-Luce? What are you doing?" He questioned, praying she doesn't see his face starting to blend with the color of his hair.

"I'm tired, so stay still and be quiet," She replied.

Lucy yawned against Natsu's chest, and snuggled up closer to him, and laid her hand on top of him, right in front of her face. Natsu's pulse quickened, what used to be a steady and slow heartbeat was out of the question now. He prayed she wouldn't notice, but he knew all too well that it would be mere moments until she—

"Natsu? Why is your heart beating so fast?"

"Wha- oh u-um, I-I uh, w-well u-um," He was going to try and lie by saying she was just imagining things, but all that came out were incomprehensible sounds and stutters that were supposed to be words. He internally groaned at himself for reacting like an idiot.

He silently cursed everything; Lucy for pointing out the obvious, his heartbeat for increasing its pace, and the damned words that failed him. He cursed Lucy for starting this whole mess by laying her head on his chest and making him so nervous. He cursed himself the most of all, for falling for the damn blonde. But he couldn't help it. She was so fucking perfect. She could even be covered in mud and still make him weak to his knees.

Lucy giggled at the fire mage's embarrassment, letting him know that she was only teasing. She desperately wanted to keep going, but decided to spare her partner the struggle. It made her excited that she could actually make the high and mighty Natsu Dragneel nervous. It didn't help that she noticed his face was now the color of a tomato after that stupid heartbeat conversation. They stayed in silence for minutes, and finally Natsu relaxed from his tense state and slung an arm over her waist. Lucy didn't seem to mind, or bother to make a comment, which made Natsu fill up with relief.

Lucy's breath eventually slowed and became a relaxed pace. Natsu figured that she fell asleep. He leaned over to look at her sleeping form, careful not to wake her. He admired her beauty, she looks so peaceful when she's asleep. He noticed little things about her, how that all of her wrinkles from stress about her rent disappeared, how her cherry blossom colored lips were slightly apart and had short breaths coming out every few seconds, how her eyelashes were actually brown, and how they're longer than average. He studied her for minutes, taking in every part of her. It was intoxicating, he could stare at her for hours and not get bored.

"If only you knew how much I love you," he whispered before laying back down.

And Lucy smiled.