Chapter Text
The snow outside Lucy’s bedroom window muted the morning with white noise, each large flake tumbling and blurring with its sisters. Eerie as the weather was for Magnolia—it having a generally mild climate—the strongest omen that it was meant as a curse from the gods was its apparent culpability in the embarrassing situation Lucy currently found herself in.
“You can’t keep doing this, idiot.”
“Why not? I don’t see the problem with it. Plus, you were complainin’ yesterday that your heating unit went out. Good for you, good for me—what’s the big deal?”
Lucy stared, mouth agape, at Natsu’s blatant tomfoolery. She knew he was dense at times, but she didn’t realize he actually thought his midnight escapes into her bed were entirely above reproach. But his eyes were earnest, pink brows ruffled, adding a tone of true confusion to his hesitant smile. She supposed he always did try to laugh off her scolding, but he was likely coming to suspect this time would be different.
Because, to Lucy’s dismay, it seemed time for her to finally spell it out for him.
It wasn’t enough that he sneaked into her bed—such a thing was hardly rare, despite her complaints—but this morning, she had awoken to his constricting (albeit warm) arms wrapped unceremoniously around the tops of her thighs, clueless drool dribbling down her hipbone and onto the sheets. After giving him a nasty nosebleed with her heel (and helping him tend to it thereafter), she figured it was time to sit him down for a formal talk.
And it was going poorly, to say the least.
“You really don’t get it?” Lucy cringed, hoping he would come through at the last moment, like he so often did in battle, and save her from her predicament.
But he only waited with a quirked brow. “Get what?” he urged.
Lucy took a deep breath, angrily shielding her view from his face by clenching her eyes shut. “People will get the wrong idea about us, Natsu.”
“What wrong idea?”
God. She was going to have to say it. “Friends don’t sleep in the same bed together.”
“Sure they do,” he started incredulously. “Happy and I do it all the time!”
A beat. “Let me rephrase: human men and human women don’t share a bed together if they’re just friends. It’s…” she paused, tossing the word around with her tongue, “…intimate.”
“Hmm,” he considered. “Nah, I don’t see it.” He crossed his arms around his naked chest and raised his chin in subtle challenge. “It’s just sleeping. How’s that intimate? It’s not like we’re gettin’ all up in each other’s—“
“UGHHH!” Lucy groaned. “Are you seriously arguing with me about this? Why do you like sleeping in my bed so much, anyways? You can’t just claim you’re rescuing me from my broken heater when you’ve done it dozens of times before without that excuse.”
For a moment, it actually looked like Natsu was taken aback by her question. She couldn’t tell if he looked annoyed, hurt, or nervous. Most likely, he was just frustrated about having to defend himself for something he somehow saw as normal. He finally spoke, a strange lilt in his voice: “Because your bed is comfier than mine. It’s not complicated.”
Of course it wasn’t, not to him. Everything about the world was simple in his eyes. Lucy was his friend, and her bed was better. Why shouldn’t he be able to appropriate it? The ridiculousness made her laugh outwardly. She considered saying the quiet part out loud—that while he may be immune to misunderstandings, even she would eventually get confused about them if she let it continue. How could she tell him how hard it was waking up with his smoky smell on her sheets? With the heat of his body all but wrapped around her, even without his direct touch? When his intrusive habit first began years prior, she had to stomp down feelings of confused disappointment whenever he wasn’t in her bed on any given morning.
Indeed, it was the fact of his absolute nonchalance that made her so angry at his trespassing. In her heart of hearts, she knew that if he were to come with romantic intentions, she wouldn’t turn him away. But if he had no desire for her outside of friendship, then she would insist on the boundary—for her own protection.
Which is why she was not inclined to humor his next inquiry.
“Wanna make a bet?”
Natsu had taken a step toward her, his hands on his hips now. He bent toward her slightly, giving her a perfect view of his mischievous eyes. She knew he meant nothing malicious, the look natural to him when he smelled potential challenge.
But she hated that expression. Because it was cute and giddy, and she was putty.
She’d hear him out. “What is it now?”
“Don’t growl at me, it’s just a little game! I bet that we can sleep in the same bed for a week straight, and nothing will get ‘confusing’ or ‘intimate’. You’ll see you’re overthinkin’ this. Plus, this snow front isn’t ending anytime soon, so you’d have your own personal heater in the meantime!”
As if prompted, a shiver took over her frame. The room indeed was frigid—her thermostat read 45 degrees, and she knew it would only drop. But if she was being honest, Lucy knew the shiver had way more to do with the glint in her best friend’s sharp eyes.
Was she considering this even for a moment? Was she an absolute fool? Lucy scanned his face for any signs of jocularity, and found none. Always so honest. He truly believed that they were such sturdy friends that nothing could shake them. Perhaps she was overreacting; perhaps what she needed to defeat this unnamed fear was good-old-fashioned exposure therapy. Maybe his theory would prove correct, and she’d find herself more robust, more desensitized to his proximity.
And damn it, her toes were currently numb.
She made a decision. “What do I get if I win?”
Natsu smiled. “If things get weird for either of us…” (and here he nudged her shoulder with his pointer finger) “I’ll never sleep in your bed again. And I’ll let you pick the next five jobs we take.”
A hefty price for him. She felt impressed. “And if you win?”
His face split into a viciously boyish smile, all teeth. “Then I get to sleep with you whenever I want!” he started, and Lucy cringed at his diction. “And I get the next five jobs. Even-Steven.”
It was her last chance to back out. Before she realized, though, he was shaking her hand joyously.
“Alright! I gotta tell Happy that we get the five-star Lucy suite this week.” He found his vest and scarf and threw them on his person. “I’m heading to the guild. I’ll see you there?” But, antsy as always, he was out her window before she could even answer.
She screamed after him, “And stop going in and out through my window!”
.........
The day progressed as if Lucy wasn’t on the brink of a mental breakdown. What was she thinking?! There was no way in hell that this wouldn’t end up being the single most embarrassing week of her life.
She watched from across the guild as Natsu chatted up Erza and Gray near the job board, no doubt picking something that would only add to her stress.
Mira brought her out of her reverie. “Everything okay, Lucy? Why aren’t you helping them pick a job?”
Lucy sighed. “No reason, really. Just not really in the mood to watch Natsu and Gray duke it out over which monster we’re killing today.”
Mira laughed, “I can’t blame you there.”
Lucy should have known her resulting silence would tip her off that something deeper was amiss.
“You know,” Mira offered, “this blizzard is probably going to limit the number of jobs that are accessible. Probably won’t be any over-nighters, that’s for sure.”
Lucy knew she was only making conversation, but her observation hovered a little too close to the source of Lucy’s angst. So close, she momentarily lost common sense. “That’s what I’m worried about.”
“Why’s that?”
Still in her daze, Lucy only shrugged in response. She scooted off the stool and meandered her way toward her teammates, leaving Mira to ponder alone.
When she arrived by their sides, she found them quiet and dejected.
Ezra spoke for them: “Nothing of use. We’ll have to wait for the weather to turn.”
“Or for more weather-friendly jobs,” Gray added. “Such a shame, too. My magic is near unbeatable with all this ice.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Natsu piped in, visibly the most irritated of them all. “Sorry you won’t get to go frolickin’ in the snow. Guess we’ll check again tomorrow!”
“So…” Lucy spoke, breaking her silence. All three heads turned to her, all but Natsu seeming to notice her for the first time. She continued, “Does this mean we’re not doing anything today?”
“Afraid not,” said the older woman. “I’m sorry, Lucy. I hope this doesn’t sabotage you paying your rent.”
Lucy shrugged, having no spare stress to pour into such concerns for now. “I should be fine. They’re adjusting my rent this month anyways since the heating unit is out.”
Ezra gasped, “Oh, no! Do you need a place to stay?”
“No, I’m—“
“She’s fine. I’m staying with her till it’s fixed.”
Lucy gaped at Natsu’s idiotic admission. She smacked her hands to her face in annoyance, blushing bright. She held her breath, waiting for the onslaught of questions and teasing from her friends.
“Oh, how nice of him!”
“Glad to hear flamebrain’s good for something, I guess.”
And… that was all. No questions, no teasing. Gray had the audacity to change the conversation to dinner that night, and Lucy thought she’d explode. And worst of all, when she finally opened her eyes and looked at Natsu, meaning to scold him, his face held the most self-satisfied smirk she’d ever seen. Lucy could read his thoughts clear as day: See? No one else thinks it’s a weird thing for friends to do.
Huffing, Lucy scowled in response and turned to leave. He just earned himself a dose of the silent treatment. Never mind her beating heart that told her she was actually just running away—she could have spoken to him if she'd wanted, but this was his punishment!
Shrugging on her coat, Lucy left the guild hall and worked her way through the semi-plowed street homeward. Snowflakes still fluttered steadily, their soft kisses of chill on her skin incessant reminders of her predicament.
She unlocked her front door and made it inside. Keeping her coat on for the cold, Lucy looked at the clock. It was only three in the afternoon. The dreadful night approaching agonizingly slow, Lucy decided she needed a distraction. In her bedroom, she settled at her desk and began dabbling with her book. She halfheartedly worked for a few hours, cooked herself dinner, and then returned to the manuscript. Her stomach full and sun setting, she couldn’t help but feel her eyelids grow heavier by the moment.
———
Natsu actually knocked. On her window, true—but he knocked nonetheless. He could partly see her at her desk, though her entirety was hidden by the imperfect angle of the view. When she didn’t stir, he lifted the glass and edged inside.
As soon as he saw she was asleep, he regretted that Happy was not with him. The cat was back at his place, “house sitting,” as he called it. Natsu wasn’t entirely convinced that this decision was his own; he had seen him chatting with Mirajane that afternoon, and it was only moments later that Happy came to him with his plan. He would have killed to have a companion to entertain him while his host visited dreamland.
After a half hour of doing nothing, Natsu finally inspected her more closely. She had her head resting on her forearms, and he doubted the position was comfortable. It was now approaching eight o’clock, and he knew that if he let her rest much longer, her night of sleep would be ruined.
When he saw her shiver, he finally gave in, his hands finding purchase on her shoulders. “Lucy…” he sang. It took a few more tries, but she finally stirred.
Her voice was scratchier than normal. “What happened?”
“You fell asleep, silly. If you were that tired, you shoulda just laid down in the bed.”
Still groggy, Lucy stretched her arms high above her head. “Must have poured too much brain power into writing,” she mused, not yet turning to look at him. She reclined in the chair and stared silently out the window.
“Everything alright?” he asked finally.
This shook Lucy to the present. Swiveling her chair, she at last met his eyes. They seemed hesitant. Worried. It was a rare look: his brow scowled, his lips pursed, and his head turned slightly, almost as if to angle his ear for the most direct line of hearing should she speak. All in all, he almost looked pitiful.
Lucy sighed, and then a small but genuine smile graced her lips. “Yeah, I’m alright,” she decided. She could do this!
When the moment came to settle into the bed, Natsu gracelessly prioritized his own comfort and settled atop the sheets and sprawled his limbs haphazardly. His eyes were pleasantly closed, though she knew he wasn’t yet asleep. On the right side of the bed, Lucy crawled under the comforter after switching off the lamp and watched his rare calm form as she found her own stillness. She settled on her side and focused on the sound of his breathing until she found the peace to close her own eyes.
She could feel the heat from his body radiate toward her; it certainly helped, but she still found herself bringing her knees to her chest in an attempt to conserve heat. Perhaps after ten minutes of failing to warm up, Lucy reached out and tapped his shoulder.
“Natsu?” she asked.
He hardly stirred, but responded nonetheless: “Hmm?”
“Why don’t you get under the blanket? I’m not… feeling much of your body heat.”
Without hesitating, he shuffled himself under the sheets and mumbled one last “G’night.”
She hummed in response, already feeling the increased warmth.
Perhaps this would be alright, in the end.