"He was...perfect, or so I thought. He was a popular bad boy and I was little miss nerdy who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He made me believe he cared for me; only to dump me for some girl in another country all together," My icy tone was sharp and just mentioning it reopened some wounds I'd prefer to leave buried and forgotten.

"He sounds like a douchebag," Natsu notes.

"Haven't you left girls like that too though?" I look over at him but his eyes don't leave the road as he sighs.

"I have, but the big difference between me and this Sting guy is that I don't lead girls to believe I have a real thing for them beforehand," he says defensively as he turns onto a different road.

"You're right, I'm sorry. The thought of him just pisses me off and I get...irrational," I rub the bridge of my nose.

"I take it you left out a majority of what happened, right?" I remove my hand from my nose and reach behind my head to pull my hair from its ponytail as Natsu talks.

"Yeah, I did," I reply shortly. I trace patterns over the top of my hand with my finger and return my gaze to the passing city scape. There where some things better left unsaid, and most things dealing with Sting fell into that category.

"Do you want to crash at my place tonight?" Natsu speaks up, breaking the empty silence.

"I'm not up for any sex tonight Natsu–" he reaches over and grabs my hand making me stop mid-sentence.

"I'm not asking for sex from you tonight, you can just stay there for the night," he assures me. I flick my gaze over at him with a look of questioning as this is what he wasn't normally like. "But you'll pay me back by letting me go extra rough on you next time," He smirks and I roll my eyes.

"There it is," I sigh and shake my head slightly, biting at my lip subconsciously.

"There what is?" He asks with his brow lifting upward as teasing and something I couldn't quite identify–joy maybe–flickered across his eyes.

"Your typical Natsu response," I tell him and reach over to poke him as I say, "that's what." He grins and chuckles. A smile tugs at my lips and I realize he still hasn't released my hand from when he grabbed it earlier.

His gaze shifts to me again and stays on me for a few seconds. The both of us don't say a thing and the silence feels neither awkward nor heavy. My cheeks began to heat up and I realized I felt like he was gazing at me; lovingly looking at me in the seat beside him with my small hand held in his larger one. His eyes returned to the road and mine to the buildings passing by in the darkening streets, our hands drifting apart.

I wonder who Natsu will get with after he's done with me. I look at him through my peripheral vision. He had his arm propped up on the door with his closed fist resting against his cheek. His other hand was obviously on the wheel and he seemed absorbed in his own thoughts as he drove. I'll miss this kind of thing with him.

"You're being awful quiet over there Luce," Natsu breaks the silence and startles me out of my thoughts.

"Well I was thinking, and I don't normally do that aloud," I tell him and he laughs softly.

"A penny for your thoughts?" He asks and I scoff.

"It's the twenty-first century, give me a five at least," I joke.

"Oh, those must be some expensive thoughts," Natsu grins.

"They are, too expensive for you even," I fold my arms.

"You think I couldn't pay you five dollars?" Natsu looks at me like I'm crazy.

"These thoughts are worth much for than five dollars," I say suddenly growing shy.

"I see..." he nods and turns the car into the parking garage.

"Sorry," I murmur as he parks the car. He looks over at me with a puzzled expression.

"Why are you apologizing?" He asks as we unbuckle. I get out and close the door with a slam. "Damn, no need to abuse my car..."

"This evening has put me in a really bad mood, so I'm sorry... It really shouldn't get to me like it does," I sigh.

"Lucy," Natsu walks around the car to me and he places his hand on the small of my back as he starts leading me to the elevator. "It's a touchy subject, I understand. I'll remember to not bring it up around you." I look at him and then back at the elevator walls as we stepped inside it. I pushed myself up on my tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"Thank you," I smile shyly and drop back down to be flat on my feet again. He didn't respond the entire way up to his apartment, and when the bell made its usual soft ding and the doors slid open we made our way out of the elevator. I started towards his room when his arm reached out and his hand snaked around my waist. He pulled me to him and I felt him press his lips against the nape of my neck making shivers run down my spine at his contact with the sensitive skin.

"Don't mention it Luce," he murmurs before releasing his hold on me. I realized I was holding my breath and I released the air caught in my throat. "Now head to bed, you've had a long day." He says as he starts undoing his suit jacket and cuffs. I nod slowly and shuffle into his room, my face flushing.

I grabbed some clothes from my duffle bag sitting on a chair at one end of the room. As I ducked into the bathroom I placed my hand over the nape of my neck. I dropped it and quickly changed, running my hand through my lose hair and brushing off my night clothes, a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt.

When I walked out of the bathroom I tossed my clothes near the chair with my duffle bag and I collapsed on his bed, barely noticing him in the room now. I didn't even have time to push my legs under the covers, I just closed my eyes and almost immediately fell asleep.