Lucy never brought men home.

She'd never been one for letting potential creeps know where she lived (especially as a stripper), but when she'd taken custody of Wendy, she vowed to keep men far, far away from the sweet, innocent little girl. Any man to walk into her apartment would have to be someone that she trusted completely, more than she believed she could ever trust someone. So it was with no small amount of awe that she led Natsu across the threshold into her home.

As dense as he could be, the magnanimity of such a decision was not lost on the pink-haired man. It made him even more painfully aware of the fact that he couldn't take Lucy into his home the same way, as much as he wanted to. This was an act of trust that he couldn't return. He stood awkwardly in her doorway waiting for her to tell him where to go, not wanting to overstep any boundaries.

Lucy locked the door behind him and looked him over. The pair of them were dripping wet from a quick storm that had come out of nowhere only to hightail it somewhere else leaving them absolutely drenched to the bone. Lucy had been quick to seize the opportunity to suggest that he come over to her place to dry off before heading home. Turns out surprise storms make very good wingmen.

She watched curiously as Natsu entered her home and was greeted by Plue who was shaking his tail so hard his whole body wobbled back and forth in a little dance. He quickly bent down with a wide grin and started petting the dog, who seemed to warm up to him instantly. Lucy couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips as she thought that he looked good here, amongst all her things. She reached out and brushed his dripping hair lightly. His green eyes snapped to hers, as if he was asking whether or not he'd done something wrong. She just chuckled lightly.

"Let's go get you cleaned up," she said, dragging him reluctantly from the excited ball of white fluff and into her spacious bathroom. She shut the door and locked it before turning to the man in front of her. Without hesitation, she placed her hands on his chest, rubbing him through his wet shirt up to his neck. She took his face in her hands and pulled him down to her lips, kissing him lightly. To her disappointment, though, he pulled back.

"Um…uh…is…uh…isn't Wendy here?" he asked nervously, as if afraid that mentioning her ward would upset her.

Lucy, however, just laughed and shook her head.

"Erza wanted to have a girl's day with her. She's spending the night over there," she explained, but apparently the idea of Erza doing something that would qualify for a "girl's day" seemed to confuse the poor boy even more.

"Why do I get the sense that Erza's idea of a girl's day is taking her to a fight club?" Natsu asked.

"Because it probably is. But Wendy's a tough girl, she can put up with anything Erza will put her through," Lucy said confidently.

With the worry of her underage ward listening in on them assuaged, a fire seemed to spark in Natsu. He pushed her roughly against the wall and reattached his lips to hers. Lucy moaned under him, more than ready for whatever he was about to do to her.

She broke away for just a moment to turn the shower on before turning back to Natsu. Hooking her thumbs on the end of his shirt, she pulled the sopping material off as quickly as she could, causing him to stumble slightly with a giggle. Natsu smirked at the challenge and removed her dress in one fell swoop. If he was hoping to disarm the blonde, however, he was sorely mistaken. If anything, the plan backfired on him as Lucy stood there in a set of matching white lace underwear, made sinfully translucent by the rain water. He felt himself throb at the sight.

It was Lucy's turn to smirk as she stepped forward and pulled his pants down until he was completely naked before her. She nipped teasingly at the semi-hardened member, making it stiffen even more before standing back up and taking a step away from him. This time, she undressed herself, unhooking her bra and sliding her panties down her legs with all the show of a professional, never letting her eyes stray from his.

Natsu growled and stepped forward, pushing her back into the shower door. Their lips crashed together with a slight clang of teeth from the sheer neediness of it all. They were almost content to just stand there kissing all night until the pounding of the water drew Lucy's attention back.

"As much as I love your lips, we're wasting precious hot water here," she breathed against his mouth.

Natsu chuckled.

"Well we can't let good hot water just go down the drain, now can we?" he agreed, his voice low and husky.

Without even turning around, Lucy opened the door behind her and stepped in, Natsu never separating from her like a magnet. The hot water spilled across their naked bodies in a cascade of warmth making Lucy shiver slightly.

"You call this hot?" Natsu asked, as he walked in front of the stream of water so that it ran down his back.

"Of course it's hot, you freak! Look at all the steam!" Lucy returned, wondering – not for the first time – why exactly she liked this man.

"It's barely better than room temperature," he said.

"Just because you're abnormally hot..."

"You think I'm hot?" Natsu said, fluttering his eyelashes and smiling in mock bashfulness.

"Oh, shut up," Lucy smirked, pressing her lips against his once more. The heat from her kiss seemed to distract Natsu from the unsatisfyingly warm water instantly and he pressed back into her own mouth with passion.

Lucy let her hands run all over his bare skin, slick with water. He really was hot, both in looks and in body heat, and she loved having that heat pressed against her. Natsu, for his part, was thoroughly enjoying the way her fingers traced little patterns across his back and shoulders, down his sides and chest, and then back around again. It was both sensual and comforting in a way he'd never even been able to imagine before meeting her – in a way he couldn't imagine letting go of now.

While lost in thought – a rare event for the pink haired man – Natsu barely even noticed when Lucy pulled back and grabbed a bottle of shampoo. He stared at it for a moment before realizing that they were in the shower, and like the weirdo she was, Lucy actually intended to shower. He smirked at the blonde's ability to continuously surprise him.

Lucy picked up Natsu's hand and poured a dollop of warm vanilla scented shampoo into his palm, making the man frown slightly.

"I…uh…probably shouldn't use your shampoo. Think Lisanna will probably notice that…" he said awkwardly and Lucy tried to pretend she didn't feel her heart pinch at his words.

"Good thing it's not for you then," she said, turning her back to him and shaking her long wet hair at him.

Without any more hesitation, Natsu reached forward and began to work the shampoo into her hair. Sure, he'd washed Lisanna's hair a few times before, but hers was so short it was barely different from washing his own. Lucy's golden locks, however, spilled out of his hands as he rubbed the sweet soap into them. She tilted her head back, humming lightly as his rough fingers gently slid across her scalp leaving a tingly trail behind them. When the shampoo had been fully worked in, Natsu stepped back a bit, letting the stream of water hit the woman in front of him. He began stroking through her hair again, this time working the soap out until all that was left was a pleasing vanilla scent.

Satisfied with his work, Lucy shook her hair slightly and turned around to face him.

"Good boy," she purred at him, leaning in to kiss along his jaw. She felt Natsu's body shiver under her touch and praise, only making her grin more. "And you remember what happens to good boys, right?"

Natsu moaned lightly as one of her hands ran down his chest, lower and lower towards his hips. "Good boys get rewards?" he said, more as a question than an answer.

"Yes they do," she said, tracing maddening circles across his slender hipbones.

She turned once again and grabbed a washrag and a bar of ivory soap which would leave her temporary lover smelling nothing other than clean. She rubbed the soap against the rag, sensually gripping her hand around it as she pumped it back and forth. Natsu groaned slightly as he watched her tease him, his own erection untreated.

When the cloth was nice and soapy, she stepped back towards the eager young man and pressed it against his hard chest. It was easy, in the heat of things, to forget what a work of art Natsu's body was. He was that perfect balance of lean and muscular and his body felt almost sinful underneath her hand. His torso looked like it had been chiseled by the gods, all hard and smooth and strong. She walked around him, to his back and began to clean him there as well. Again, she could almost feel his strength beneath her hands, the tight, corded muscle that was such a contrast to her own softer curves.

And, of course, one shouldn't forget his taut, well-formed ass, which led down to equally well-shaped legs. She ran the cloth all the way down him, washing him in a way that was more than simply sexual, almost spiritual. No amount of soap and hot water, however, could cleanse them of the sins they committed together and of the lies they were nearly drowning in.

Lucy shook her head at her thoughts. Now wasn't the time for regret or reflection –they'd crossed that bridge and burnt it weeks ago. All they could do now was surrender.

Standing back up, Lucy walked around to Natsu's front, where his neglected cock strained for her attention. She leaned forward and kissed his lips, then his jaw, then his neck, and downward. Light, butterfly kisses littered his torso until she finally was on her knees in front of him. She gave one light kiss to the head of his cock before sliding her lips down the wet shaft and swallowing it whole. Above her, she heard Natsu moan in relief and smirked, loving the way she affected him.

She sucked him greedily. The taste of cock had always been barely tolerable to her, but something about Natsu tasted simply amazing, and she couldn't get enough. She licked up and down him, sucking and nipping almost desperately to please both him and herself. There was no time for fancy techniques or tricks – she just bobbed up and down on him, always sure to give a powerful suck on the head before going back down.

Natsu wound one hand in her hair while the other gripped onto the wall as he tried desperately to remain standing. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, instead watching her every movement as she ate him up. Within minutes he found himself shuddering with pleasure as he shot himself into her waiting mouth. Lucy didn't let up for even a moment, sucking harder and harder as if to get every drop he had, and he gave it to her until his tired cock could do nothing but hang in defeat and his knees nearly buckled.

Lucy finally pulled back with a satisfied pop and stood up. She moved to turn off the water, but before she could, Natsu cut her off, bending down to capture her lips. His tongue plunged into her mouth and he could taste himself on her, but he didn't care. This kiss was passionate, but not as heated and desperate as before. This kiss sought to say everything that he couldn't – that he felt it too and wished with all of his heart that things were different, that he could be hers.

And Lucy cried.

She made no noise, no gasping for breath - she didn't even break the kiss. She simply let the tears run down her face, mingling with the shower water, as she kissed the engaged man like the fool she was, wishing with all of her heart that things were different, that she could be his.