Hey guys! I recently started rewatching Fairy Tail with my sister @Magicarasha and my younger sister, and just got so inspired to write for Fairy Tail and Nalu again so here you are! I hope you enjoy!

Edit: I literally just realized I had switched pronouns like a quarter of the way through the story, so here's me editing it so it's actually correct. Sorry about my scatter brain!

I groaned loudly, clutching her stomach, grimacing as the squeezing pains hit once more. 

I want to throw up.

I had really thought–or at least hoped–I could get through the day without the cramps since my period had only come yesterday, but clearly that wouldn't be the case. 

I closed the mascara I'd just opened and doubled over in my seat as another wave came, pain coming in small, successive explosions in my abdomen. I gritted her teeth together to keep from groaning again, hating the sound of it because I felt weak every time I did.

"Worst. Timing. Ever," I gritted out, involuntary tears stinging my eyes. 

"Luce, you ready yet?" a male voice called. 

"Shit." 

Natsu peeked his pink head into my room, and despite my cramps, I had to admire how good he looked. Natsu had definitely dressed for the occasion (at my insistence): he wore a button down shirt the same red as his tattoo with black slacks and dress shoes; his normally wild pink locks were swept to one side, his bangs hanging down on his forehead for once; and to top it off, two thick silver rings adorned the middle finger of each hand. 

Fuck me.

I couldn't tell if my uterus agreed with me or not, but a wave of pain flew threw me again, and a groan escaped me. 

Natsu was beside me in an instant, asking worriedly what was wrong directly in my ear. Damn his sexy voice.

Natsu Dragneel. My best friend for almost five years now, my roommate for a year, and the person I was desperately in love with. I know, great idea to live with your idiot of a love but not be together. But it just happened so naturally. Natsu ended up at my house some way or another like 90% of the time, and his cat Happy had somehow ended up permanently at my house at some point. So, it just didn't make sense for him to keep paying rent for his place if he was never there. Which also meant that I had butterflies and a rapidly beating heart literally all the time, especially when I woke up to find him in my bed. 

"Just period cramps, Natsu." Just my ass. "Nothing life-threatening. " I looked up at him regretfully. "But I don't think I can go tonight; I don't want to ruin Erza's engagement night."

"Then I'll stay with you," he declared, already reaching up to muss his hair. I grabbed his hand before he could wreck the masterpiece, and held it firmly.

"No, you should go. You've known Erza wayyy longer than I have–"

"Wha–that doesn't mean it's okay for you not to be there!" He began to protest.

"I know," I said. "I know very well that Erza wants me to be there, but I can't be there, so you'll have to be there for both of us. How do you think Erza will feel if both of us don't show up?" 

He frowned, looking me over. I was overly aware of his hand still in mine, holding mine tightly. 

"Seriously, Natsu. Go, I'll be fine. It's nothing I haven't dealt with before, alright? But I definitely can't go tonight because I will be in this position the entire time."

He still looked uncertain, but I stood as best I could and pushed him out my bedroom door. 

"Just go! I'll be fine, I've got Happy and my bed and the TV. And tell Erza and Jellal I'm so sorry I couldn't make it."

"But–" 

"And make sure to take lots of pictures and videos for me. Actually, I'll just text Levy about it; she's good with documenting stuff ever since she had Metallica."

We were almost at the front door now, and our blue feline Happy had woken from his nap to see what all the racket was. But before I could push my wonderfully dressed Natsu out the door, he grabbed me by the shoulders, forcing me to still for a moment. 

"Fine, I'll go, but if you need anything, or if you are just in a lot of pain and need me here, call me," he said firmly, eyes staring down into mine heatedly.

I nodded almost unconsciously, taken down by the smoldering intensity of Natsu worrying about me paired with his irresistibly dressed self.

Oh my God, what if some girl tries to make a move on him when he's there? He looks so good, women would kill for him! What–

My pinkette grinned and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. 

"Take care of yourself while I'm gone, Luce!"

His flashing pearly whites were the last things I saw before he was out the door, and I was left in a  heart-hammering daze touching my cheek like an idiot. I turned to Happy who was now watching me wide awake. 

"I am never washing this cheek again."

He meowed in reply, stalking away with his blue tail flicking back and forth.

The advil I'd taken had so far done nothing for my period cramps, and I was now lying folded in half in my bed, a hot water bottle and a purring feline pressed up against my abdomen. The pain was such that I couldn't even focus on the show playing on the large TV screen in front of me, the character's faces blurred with tears. The only thing currently distracting me was looking at the pictures and videos Levy was consistently sending–bless her soul. 

Erza and Jellal were absolutely beaming in every picture, though Erza looked distinctly happier when she was presented with a large strawberry shortcake. There were Gray and Juvia sitting together, Gray clearly embarrassed with his arm clasped firmly around Juvia. Gajeel had cleaned up nicely as well and wore matching colors with Levy as they had seemed to unconsciously do ever since they got together.  Cute little Wendy was blushing furiously beside an equally red Romeo, and Jellal's friends Melody and Ultear were radiant as always. 

I felt a pang of loneliness, followed by a pang of pain, and curled into myself further. We had been planning an epic engagement night for weeks, meticulously choosing the venue, ordering a cake, buying presents, and now I wasn't even there to celebrate with the people I considered family.

Happy meowed and moved up close to my face, nuzzling it. 

"That's true, I do have you, Happy, and they don't," I said, voice cracking. 

God damn it. 

"Screw you, period."

My uterus responded to my jab in equal measure, contracting tightly, causing me to whimper. I was extremely tempted to call Natsu and just ask him to cuddle with me, but I couldn't do that to him. I wouldn't do that to him. I wouldn't be that weak. I could do this. 

Keys jangled in the lock and I started, wiping tears away from my face. Happy meowed and stretched, jumping off my bed. The only person he'd do that for–

Pink hair poked through the doorway and my beautiful roommate came into full view, his cheeks tinged a bit red. He saw me and grinned, cocking his head. He came over to the bed and knelt beside me, wiping at my tear tracks. 

"It's a good thing I came home from the looks of it. Come on, move over."

I awkwardly shifted to make room for him, embarrassing tears of joy now streaming down my face. I watched him take off his shoes with some difficulty, then stumble into bed facing me. 

"Are you drunk?"

He grinned sluggishly, snuggling close. 

"Maybe a little."

I moved closer to his warmth, indulging shamelessly in the touch of his skin. 

"Why did you come back?" I whispered against his neck. 

"Mm, was worried about you," He murmured, inhaling deeply in my hair. 

My heart pounded in my ears, eclipsing momentarily the pain of my abdomen. 

"But Erza–"

"Told me to come. She was worried about you too. They all were."

My heart warmed. 

"Thank you," I said. 

He hummed in response. 

There was a moment of blissful silence despite my suffering in which we simply enjoyed each other's touch, and my heart felt ready to burst. 

Ah, damn you, Natsu Dragneel. 

I just wanted to kiss him silly and have him whisper sweet nothings to me and grab me by the hips and I wanted to kiss his neck and pull his hair. 

I don't know what foolish power pushed my body into action, but something akin to liquid courage suddenly coursed through my veins, powering my body as if to say, I've waited long enough.

My fingers found his the hair at the nape of his neck, and I pulled him down to me, pushing away any thoughts of the consequences that might soon follow, the awkward position we'd be in if he didn't respond. Natsu's lips were parted in surprise, which allowed me easy access to his mouth. His tongue responded immediately though his eyes were still wide open. They soon closed however, and his hands roamed my back, pulling me closer to him. 

It was what I'd dreamed of and more, my fantasies sprung to life. I felt like this was always meant to happen, that we'd just been overthinking idiots until this point because being with him was as natural as breathing. Any pain I felt was shoved away in a drawer to be experienced later, and I concentrated solely on the vigor of the moment, the electricity running under my skin.

But the moment was broken by Natsu pulling away, looking bewildered, and all my doubts and fears came crashing back down on me, an anvil crushing my hopes. 

"Why–Wha–How..." he faltered. "Not that I'm... I mean–what?"

The confusion in his tone ignited my panic, and a jumble of words and tears came rushing out of me.

"I've been wanting for so long and I can't stop it anymore and–hic–I just–hic–want to be with you so–hic–badly and I am so God damn in love with you that my heart can't take it anymore!"

I'd somehow ended up shouting by the end of it, but now I had gone back to whispering, "I love you, I love you, I love you, I just love you so much. Your voice, your hair, the way you look at me, your smile, your crazy goofiness, your protectiveness, your love for your friends, your tiny perverted side, the way you act with Happy, your stupid dragon figurines, your hugs and kisses and random moments where you hold my hand. I love it all." I took a deep breath, attempting to calm myself, voice breaking. "I love it all."

Natsu's expression, for perhaps the one time in his entire life, was indecipherable. He merely stared at me, the whites of his eyes on full display, lips parted like they were just a moment ago, arms slack at his sides. Then he smacked his lips together and spoke. 

"You–" he swallowed. "You love me?"

I nodded, wiping my cheeks. 

"Romantically?" 

"Yes," I managed. 

"Like with kissing and stuff?"

I rolled my eyes, frustration rearing its head. 

"Well, what did I just do, Natsu?" I asked indignantly.

The widest grin I'd ever seen split his face, his eyes shining brighter than a star. And then he pounced. 

"Agh," I yelled as I received his full weight. "What the hell are you–"

"I love you too, Luce!" He yelled in my ear. 

I froze. 

"What?"

"I love you too, hehe." He backed away from me, propping himself on his elbows so he could properly look me in the eyes. His voice dropped a little, as it usually did when he spoke seriously. "I love you, Luce."

It was my turn to be wide-eyed and speechless. 

"...No. No, it's not possible. You're just saying that."

Now, he rolled his eyes, indignant. 

"Do you think I'm the type to just say something like that for the hell of it?"

"Do you know what that means? That means you want to kiss me, and go out on dates with me, and... and stay with me forever." My voice was a squeak by the end, my cheeks hot with blush. 

He flushed a little too, the tips of his ears tinging red. 

"I know that... Why do you think I moved in with you?" His eyes bore into mine unflinchingly, and I squirmed a bit underneath him.

"Because it was convenient?" I suggested meekly. 

He shook his head, looking genuinely upset that I'd said such a thing.

"Why do you think I was here all the time, Luce? Why do you think all of Happy's stuff popped up at your apartment? Why do you think I'm with you 24/7?"

I shook my head, not trusting myself to respond.

"Because I love you, Lucy. I love you so much, it sucked when I was away from you. I want to be with you all the time. I wanna make you laugh. I wanna touch you. My life... my life means nothing without you now." 

I could see in his eyes that this was no lie, no trick, no fabrication of my imagination. This was real and true, and it was something he'd been wanting to say for a long time.

"I'm not nearly as eloquent as you, but I can try," he chuckled lightly. "I love your smile, I love your voice when you say my name, I love how you dance when you get out of the shower when you think no one is looking, I love how embarrassed and anxious you get when you show someone your writing, I love your extreme reactions to things and how easy you scare, I love how you're always by my side when I need you, I love how you know you're sexy, and I love the expressions you make when you're reading." He took a breath, his face getting closer and closer to mine until he was whispering against my lips. "I just love when you are you, and you are with me."

Our lips met again, tenderly this time, then a little rougher as he explored the inside of my mouth. 

We were both trying to make up for lost time, compensating for the years we could have been doing this exact thing and being with each other more completely. And yet, the years we'd spent under the guise of friends were also far too precious to our hearts to regret. 

"We're idiots aren't we?" I finally said once we'd parted. 

"Idiots in love," he sang happily, and I whacked him on his arm. 

"Dork." But I grinned at him nonetheless. "I guess I can never complain about my period again, huh?"

He seemed to think for a second before shrugging and winking at me. "I'll let you complain every now and then."

"Hmmm, how very generous of you," I hummed against his lips.

"Everyone is so gonna freak out when they find out," he murmured. 

"I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing some money being passed around," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He laughed and pressed his forehead to mine. "Let them. I'm glad they were right."

"Me too."

Leave your thoughts in the comments! And if you have any requests for pairings or prompts you'd like to see, then please don't hesitate to let me know! I'd love to write them!