Finished - April 17, 2020

Word Count - 1501

Music - Tartalo Music - Ballad of the Dragon(Bonus Track)

Summary:

A storm in brewing  just outside Lucy's apartment. Natsu, Happy and Lucy hunker down for the storm when the power goes out.

**********************************

Placing the last dish back into the cupboard, Lucy sighed happily. With a belly full and a content heart Lucy turned around to face her visitors on the other side of the kitchen counter.

"That was delicious!" Natsu pat his stomach merrily.

"Lushie is the best cook ever!" Happy agreed, laying face up on the table.

Lucy shook her head in the amusement of how easily pleased they were.

"Thanks for letting us have dinner with you, Luce!" Natsu rested his chin upon the counter and stared up at her.

"No problem, having you guys over is just an excuse for me to cook something nice. Besides, you two basically live here anyway." Lucy sat in the chair across from him.

A bright flash of light lit up the room for about a second, then disappeared almost instantly. The three inside directed their attention to the storm brewing just out the window.

Lucy closed her eyes and started to count, waiting for something. As she recited the numbers in her head, the silence was interrupted by a loud thunder. The noise started loud, crackled for a moment and then boomed louder than the first stroke. The noise made Lucy's chest tighten.

"Six. The storm is still six miles away." Lucy spoke her thoughts.

"Its getting closer though." Natsu looked out the window with a serious expression.

"Its supposed to be the largest storm of the year." Happy flopped himself over onto his stomach.

Secretly Lucy knew that this was the reason Natsu and Happy had insisted on having dinner with her. No matter how much they would deny it, she knew that they wanted to make sure she was safe during the storm. Of corse they knew that Lucy would be fine on her own, but something in Natsu needs to be with her.

"Well..." Lucy was about to say something but was once again interrupted, this time her windows shook violently. The rain pelted against the glass as the wind crashed the water against them furiously.

Before anyone could say another word, the room went dark. All present in the small apartment were surrounded by black.

"Oh no." Lucy groaned, not moving from her stop at the table. "Looks like the wind knocked out the magic energy lines."

Not even a second later another burst of light flashed. The brightness cast shadows around the room, illuminating the room for a moment. In this small second Lucy saw that Natsu was looking at her, not turning to watch the flash. The lightning subsided and returned them to darkness.

"Natsu?" Lucy wondered why he was looking at her, though now she could not see his expression.

A miniature flame bloomed from Natsu's hand, the warm light caught Lucy's eye in the darkness. The silhouette of Natsu's fingers contrasted greatly with the dancing sparks surrounding them.

"Well Happy, it looks like we aren't going home any time soon." The boy sighed, obviously not disappointed.

As they spoke another burst of thunder rattled the roof. Five miles.

"Come on, I have some candles in the closet. We don't want you to have to use your magic all night." Lucy stood from the table, with the help of Natsu's light she was able to find the correct box.

Bringing it into the living room, she placed it on the floor and started emptying. She didn't want to use too many candles, just enough to see. Happy and Lucy placed the wax  cylinders around the living room, making sure they were far enough away from anything flammable. Meanwhile, Natsu followed them and used his finger to light them.

Even with the storm outside, it set a peaceful mood. Just watching the tiny fires sway from side to side relaxed Lucy. Plus, the fact that Natsu had made them, made it even more special.

"Thanks Natsu." Lucy sat on her legs on the floor and looked up to him lighting the last candle.

"Whats that for all of a sudden?" He scoffed teasingly.

"Nothing I guess." Lucy sighed.

A large flash blinded the room and almost immediately following a great boom broke the silence. The storm was getting much closer now.

Lucy shivered at the sight, not that it scared her, but she was getting cold. Since they had no power the heater definitely wasn't on. How could it be chilly already? It must be colder outside than she thought.

Natsu noticed Lucy shake slightly and rub her arms. Therefore he grabbed the blanket from her bed and sat on the couch. "Come on." He patted the seat next to him.

A smile grew on Lucy's face as she joined him under the large duvet. Happy flew over and curled himself into a ball on Natsu's lap, snuggling into the covers.

Placing a hand over Happy's ears, Lucy scratched his head and earned a soft purr from the cat. However in doing so, Lucy placed herself very close to Natsu's side. Their legs were brushed against each other and Lucy's head was placed directly in front of his shoulder.

Lucy didn't seem to notice their close proximity, but Natsu did. He was hyper aware of the way her hair tickled his forearm and how strong her scent was.

The quiet scene was interrupted by a giant flash of lighting, the biggest one yet. The light enveloped the room and immediately thunder ripped through the area. It sounded as though lightning had struck just outside the window!

Lucy let out a surprised scream as rain beat upon the windows rapidly. By instinct, Natsu grabbed Lucy and pulled her close to him. The need to keep Lucy safe had been etched into his being, it was instinct at this point.

He could hear Lucy catching her breath from being startled as she gripped onto his arm tightly.

However, they both noticed their position and froze. But instead of swiftly pulling away, they both burst into laughter. Still holding each other close, they giggled their way out of the awkwardness.

Lucy laid her head against Natsu shoulder and took a deep breath. She could feel the heat radiating from him and tucked herself closer to it. She wrapped her hands around his arm and clutched it gently.

From her simple action, Natsu felt himself heat up more. She was so close to him! He needed something to take his mind off their situation or he wouldn't be able to compose himself.

"I bet I know more about you than you know about me." He teased.

"What?!" Lucy scoffed. "No way!"

"I know that you hide all of the desserts when we come over."

"Thats because you always eat them all!" She defended herself. "Plus, I know that you secretly like ice cream."

"I do not."

"You might want to double check the contents of your freezer."

"Why you little-" Natsu poked her sides, making her giggle and squirm beside him.

"I know you carry Aquarius key with you." Natsu set a more serious tone.

"I know you had bad dreams after you saw my future self die."

"I know you never feel strong enough."

"I know you feel the need to get stronger to help me." Lucy cast her eyes down.

"Do you know why I feel that way?" Natsu asked seriously.

Lucy turned up to look at him and shook her head no.

"You are right, I had nightmares almost every night after you died." Natsu seemed to hold her tighter. "I feel like I failed you. You died and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I can't let anything like that happen again. If it does, I need to be strong enough to do something about it."

A wave of emotion flooded over Lucy as she found herself completely speechless. She had no idea Natsu had felt that way, that he still felt that way.

"Natsu, I'm not going anywhere. I, too have gotten stronger and I don't want you to think that you always have to save me." She rubbed her thumb across his arm.

"I know that. Thats why it's silly for me to feel this way." Natsu looked down, ashamedly.

"It's not silly at all! If anything, it's sweet. Plus, I feel the same way about you." She confessed.

"No way." Natsu met her eyes with confusion.

"Yes way." She giggled. "You don't think I worry about you when you charge recklessly into dangerous situations?"

"I don't know...I guess."

"Of corse I worry about you!" Lucy laid her head back down unto his shoulder.

"Thanks Luce." Natsu rested his cheek against the crown of her hair.

With the storm finally subsiding and night approaching, the hero's relaxed and found themselves very tired. After a fun day at the guild and a lovely dinner they both fell asleep. Upon Lucy's couch; Natsu, Happy and Lucy slept through the night. Together as they always would be.