Summary: Natsu and Lucy's monthly routine is interrupted by a seemingly harmless question.
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"Lucy?" Natsu scanned the room for his blonde teammate, a little hint of worry on his face.
Mira had told him about how she came into the guildhall incredibly grumpy that morning, and she's been cooped up in her apartment for the rest of the day.
The girls advised him to give her space for a bit, and while Happy decided to heed their warnings and lay low, Natsu knew good and well what was going on.
"I'm in the kitchen!" The sound of Lucy's voice was enough to prove that his suspicions were correct, she sounded so out of it right now.
Natsu poked his head into the kitchen, and gave a sad smile at the sight of Lucy hunched over on the counter. "You okay?"
"Do I look okay?" Lucy grumbled, "Where have you been?"
"We just got back from a job yesterday," Natsu rolled his eyes, "I was sleepin'."
"...Well, I need you. Now."
"I know it's early. Just be glad it's not while we were on the job. Now c'mon," Lucy held her arms up, Natsu quickly getting the hint and scooping her up to carry her.
Just as she requested, Natsu brought her to the comfort of her bed and gave her a moment to get situated amongst the pillows before he joined her in laying down.
The two wrestled with the comforter for a bit before ultimately deciding to go without it, and as patience began to run thin, Lucy pulled Natsu closer by his scarf, bringing his body flush against hers.
"You know what to do," She mumbled, earning a quiet growl in response.
"Yeah, I know," Natsu didn't like being rushed, but he knew she had good reason to be impatient. He wrapped his arms around her abdomen and warmed up his hands, Lucy immediately sighing in pure bliss from the feeling.
"Ah, yes…" She snuggled back into him, leaving no space between their bodies, "I've been waiting… all day for this."
Natsu frowned, had he known she was in pain, he would've came over sooner. "Sorry."
"Don't be. Like you said, it came early this month. Hit me like a ton of bricks, though."
"Then you should get something to warm your belly up when I'm not around…"
"I actually do have a heating pad," Lucy turned around to face him, making sure his hands didn't lose their place over the source of her pain, "But your hands are so much better."
Natsu couldn't deny that he really liked hearing her prefer his magic over something else, but a part of him still felt bad. He didn't mind doing this every month, it was the only time Lucy allowed him to not only be in her bed, but to also be this close to her while doing so.
It's nice to feel like she depends on him, and to be able to do something for her that no one else can. And their alone time during these days are always nice, sometimes she'll fall asleep in his arms, and other times they'll pass the time by just talking about any and everything.
But, he still hated that she had to be in pain for them to get this… close.
"Thanks for always doing this for me, Natsu," Lucy smiled. He couldn't help but smile back at her.
"'S not like I got something better to do."
"Mhm," She wrapped her arms around his middle, now each of them holding the other tightly, "You're the best. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Aw, that's sweet," Lucy laid her head against Natsu's chest, closed her eyes and took in the peaceful moment. It was amazing to think about how she'd been in so much agony this morning, only for him to show up and relieve so much of the pain in seconds. She considers herself quite fortunate to be close with a fire mage like this. "...Do you think you could do this for me forever?"
"Of course," Natsu couldn't see how that could even be a question. He'll always be here for her when she needs him.
"You sure? Forever is a long time…"
"Yeah, it's not like it's hard to lay here with my hand on your stomach."
Lucy let out a quiet giggle, "That's not just it, though. Like, would you do it even in the distant future? When we're older?"
"...I don't see why not."
"Okay, and even when we go off and get married?"
"Uh, obviously… C'mon, I thought you were smarter than this, Luce."
"What? Don't start with that," She rolled her eyes, "Do you actually think our future spouses would be okay with us cuddling once month?"
Natsu stared at her, and when she didn't get a response, Lucy pulled away from his embrace to look into his eyes. He seemed genuinely confused, like there was something he was silently trying to wrap his head around.
"Yeah? You're thinking pretty hard there-"
"Why wouldn't it be okay for us to cuddle once a month?"
"Oh, c'mon. You know why," Lucy's face began to flush. It was obvious that these moments were pretty intimate, she'd only been ignoring it because her cramps are too ruthless for her to be worrying about that sort of thing.
But for him to be so confused, it was like he hadn't even noticed how close they are, and how close they've been since he started being her personal heating pad not too long after they met. Lucy assumed being able to lay with him like this was great progress in the direction she wished to go with him, but perhaps it's not reciprocated.
"Actually, nevermind. Just forget I asked-"
"Wait, I don't get why you think I'll stop doing this for you when we're married…"
"When we're-" Lucy shook her head, choosing to ignore his choice of words and the way they sounded, "Look, my future husband may not like you in my bed, holding me like this."
"...Yes I would, though? And you just asked me to do this for you forever, why would that change when you're my wife?"
It took a full minute for Lucy to process what he just said, and then another minute for her to replay it over and over in her head to make sure he really just said that.
Her face was bright red, burning nearly as hot as his hands on her stomach. "N-Natsu…" She willed herself not to stutter, but it was impossible with the way he looked at her.
"I didn't mean we'd be married to each other..!"
"What? Why?" Natsu's face broke out into a pout, and it was just the cutest thing.
Now, Lucy's heart felt like it'd just explode. "Oh my gosh! You seriously- I- I don't even-" She was at a lost, she'd been harboring these feelings for so long, just for him to blatantly admit something like that. "You… you'd wanna marry me?"
"Uh, duh?" This whole conversation had Natsu so confused, "We're basically already married anyway."
"W-what!? No we are not..!"
"Oh…" Now the sadness on his face doubled, causing Lucy's heart to get tight.
"But…" She took in a deep breath. If he could say it so casually, she need to be upfront with him too, "I mean… I'm not opposed to being l-like… that with you…"
"Oh, so you're cool with it?"
"...Yeah, I'm c-cool with it."
"Cool. Now let's get married so you won't have to ask stupid questions like that!"
"Huh!?" Lucy squeaked when he began to sit up, stopping him before he could start carrying her, "Wait, lay back down!"
"Oh, right," He almost forgot about her current predicament, laying right back down and warming up his hands to offer her comfort. "We'll do it once you're done."
"Oh my gosh…" Lucy still wasn't convinced that this was real life right now, and that he was actually serious about this, "...We can't just go off and get married, Natsu."
"Huh? Says who?" Now he seemed to assume there was something coming in between them, the angry look on his face nearly making Lucy laugh.
"We aren't even dating yet…"
"So, we can't just get married when you haven't even… asked me on a date yet…" Lucy played with the loose ends of her hair, now refusing to look him in his eyes. It was easier to say these things knowing that he wants something like this, but it's still incredibly embarrassing.
The room fell back into silence, and Lucy let out an awkward cough when she realized he wasn't going to say anything more on the subject. "Uh, Natsu?"
"...We can't get married before we start dating…"
"...So, ask me on a date, silly!"
"Oh," Natsu had just assumed that was a rejection, he didn't know he could just ask like that, "Okay, uh, wanna go on a date?"
"I do!" As Lucy engulfed him in a big hug, Natsu's own heart began to flutter. She could be pretty confusing at times, but he was glad to have her right here.
"We can get married now, right?"
"Ugh," Lucy tightened the hug so she could hide her flushed face, "I don't know if you're doing this on purpose…"
He wasn't, but if it got her to react like this, he'd be sure to keep it up. "You're so weird."
"Me? You literally just assumed we'd get married! Imagine if I didn't feel the same…"
Natsu growled, he did not like imagining that. Besides, it was pretty obvious to him at this point, it's not like Lucy just let's anyone cuddle with her.
"And to answer your question- we can't get married now, that commitment takes time to think about."
"Eh? But I've had plenty of time…"
"...You've been thinking about it for that long?" Lucy's eyes sparkled, but she quickly brought herself back to reality, "I mean, no. That's something we'd need to discuss together in due time."
Still, Natsu couldn't understand why she'd want to wait so long, but if all she wants is time, he was willing to be patient. "Alright."
"Mhm. Leave it to you to wanna get married before we've even…"
"Hm? 'Before we've even' what?"
"C'mon, Lucy, I wanna know what else I gotta do."
"We, uh, we haven't had our first kiss…"
At the same time, they leaned back to gouge the other's expression, their eyes darting to each other's lips.
Lucy stifled an awkward laugh as she saw the look on Natsu's face, "Oh my gosh, are you blushing?"
He huffed, she was acting like her face isn't bright red right now. Before Lucy could convince herself that she shouldn't have said that, Natsu cupped her cheek and inched closer, her face heating up with each second.
Lucy knew he'd go for it as soon as she said that, and she fought the urge to cowar away when his lips came down to meet hers.
The kiss was quick and clumsy, but it had Natsu grinning against her lips and puffing out his chest in pride.
Lucy let herself giggle once they separated, she was overcome with giddiness and excitement. In her head, things would've been more romantic than an awkward confession in her bed while she's battling period cramps, but that doesn't matter right now.
"Can we kiss again?" Natsu mumbled, already leaning towards her lips.
Lucy answered by closing in the space between them, crashing her lips onto his and deepening the kiss.
Her hands ran along his body, feeling him up and down and enjoying every second before they had to separate for air.
"...Amazing," Lucy mumbled, though it wasn't like she had anything to base the kiss on.
Natsu was in the same boat, and he was actually more concerned about kissing her some more. "Yeah… Amazing."