midnightstar | Happy Holidays Charlie Brown! .. oh wait wrong canon

Christmas and Thanksgiving were going to be difficult holidays for Regina and the kids. They had, for the most part, mended from the deaths of their friends, but this would also be the first Christmas slash Thanksgiving without them. So for that afternoon, she decided to let Natsu distract the kids and the dog for the time being. More than likely they were bundled up and jumping in piles of leaves outside, or begging Natsu for more demonstrations. As for herself, she went to help distract Regine with preparing food. Happily, Regina only took Lucy's bright smile for her natural demeanor and not for any other reasons.

On the other hand, Lucy hadn't been able to stop smiling since the night she and Natsu were.. er.. very intimate together. Assuming she didn't drift off into a dreamy spacey mode when she thought no one was looking. And if she actually saw him, forget it - it took everything she had not to grab him and hold him close. Heck, before that night she had difficulty keeping her eyes off him - it was more so now. SO it was probably for the best that she had something like cooking and entertaining Regine to occupy her attention.

If Regine noticed the way Lucy's conversation chatter kept turning to the topic of Natsu unconsciously, she didn't mention it, though she did seem amused for some reason. Currently the ladies were discussing options for the dinner - the kids wanted to start eating spicier food to - obviously - be more like Natsu after all.

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Well if that's the case then her clever idea of ducking under his arms to 'escape' wouldn't work out at all. Lucy chuckled slightly, "I'm just kidding. There's no real rush.." At the end of the day they were together. Like they should be.

"..well I think that would be excessively cruel to make you wait." That long. No sir, there were no complaints from her either, with as much as he wanted to look at her. It gave her the same opportunity to take advantage of watching him as much as she liked. And though she teased him earlier, she still felt the thrill of butterflies when he closed in with her, her hands drifting up to rest lightly against his side, her chin tilting up slightly as she smiled into the kiss.

Natsu felt her lips curve into a smile while he pressed them against her's just relishing that beautiful warmth and softness he always found in Lucy. He canted his head to the side and pushed up closer to her body, not wanting to miss even a moment of the delight of just feeling her form pressed up to his.

His hands slowly fell from the door and came to rest on Lucy's hips as a low rumbling noise started coming from Natsu as the kiss went on for longer and longer.

His closeness and warmth was always so addicting to her, she didn't think she'd ever get her fill. Her heart raced in circles and as he pressed up closer against her, she let her hands slip from his sides just enough that she could circle his waist with her arms. As if he was even thinking about moving away. She wanted him to stay close to her.

Although the longer the kiss lingered, the more that she was reminded she would need to catch a breath at some point. That was when her lips parted against his, gasping in a soft breath and -- well he's kind of got her against the door here so she couldn't very well lean back -- took a second or two to catch her breath, her eyes opening to look at him at the sound of that rumble. That .. noise just..she didn't know why it had the effect on her it did. It just appealed to her, that content noise.

He reluctantly pulled his lips away from Lucy's when she tried to take that breath she so direly needed. That being said he barely moved away from her even without that determined hold she had over him. He loved being held by LUcy. It didn't matter from where as long as it was nice and close.

"Mmmm now that's what I call an appetizer~" he purred softly, licking his own lips looking very happy with himself.

Lucy's smile only warmed that much more as she got her breathing back under control, and chuckled softly at how happy he looked. And why shouldn't he be happy? For the matter why shouldn't she be happy? She was probably the happiest she could ever be.

"Appetizer?" She echoed, when she managed to speak. "Didn't you already have dinner?" ... wait, what?

The correct answer would be she shouldn't not be happy. That was what drove him on the most ever since they met. It was a kind of requirement that just popped into existence without his conscious prompting.

Her response to his little flirting tease actually made him pause for a moment. Wasn't she supposed to be the writer with the wild imagination?

"I did but I'm talking about a different kind of meal."

It always takes her brain a little bit to restart once she got in close to him. More importantly...

IS THAT AN OPENING SHE SEES.

Well, whether it is or not, his explanation clues her in quickly, and she jumps at the chance to try to get a foot in the door of that opening. "Well in that case," she pulled him in closer, leaning up to brush her cheek against his, nuzzling against him with a purr of her own. "Wouldn't it be more accurate to say dessert?" She even nipped his ear a little, playfully.

An opening? Maybe. Natsu never prevented her from trying to fight back by attacking his own weaknesses. That being said he secretly enjoyed it quite a bit when she was the one doing the pulling. He loved seeing how much she wanted him closer to her than any other man had ever been with her.

The nuzzling left him speechless until the nip on his ear earned Lucy a rumbling noise of satisfaction.

"Well I suppose you're mmmm sweet enough to be a dessert~"

Either way she was taking advantage of it. And there was no question of how close she wanted him to her. She'd been too long holding herself back from wanting to hold him in her arms, she was never going to catch up to herself. But that was okay, she didn't want to.

And with him held close like this, she couldn't help but marvel at how perfectly she fit against him, nuzzling under his chin and against his neck affectionately. Being called sweet enough to be a dessert got a couple of giggles out of her, just on how silly it was, but she lifted her head with broad smile, shifting her arms from around his waist to around his neck in order to pull him closer still. "..mm..., Natsu...?" She hesitated a moment, sure he was going to laugh at her. "Do you believe in a thing like soulmates..?"

And he had no problem with it. Not if it gave him more of this delightful sensation. Just immersing himself in her presence and scent. The warmth she radiated that he could feel even with his own natural heat.

The temptation to just curl around Lucy as she nuzzled under him like that was so great it was a miracle he hadn't pulled her into a more comfortable place yet. Besides if that giggle was any clue, she was enjoying herself quite a bit right now. He blinked curiously and turned his head to a side a little to meet Lucy's eyes.

"Soul mates? Mmm~ I think I do now."

Natsu's restraint is legendary. If she could just live out her days cuddling against him, she would be perfectly happy. Of course she liked adventuring with him, and spending time with the children too much to let that eat up all of her time. Just 95% of it.

She glanced up to meet his gaze as he responded, and she grinned impossibly widely, thorougly pleased by the answer. "I didn't at first." And even after she met him, she denied it. "But meeting you, and being with you, there's no other way to describe it." Well, she knew she never wanted to be far from his side anyway. She leaned up to press her head against his forehead, holding the hug a moment before closing the space again for another kiss, pressing herself close enough to him that 'space' no longer existed in her vocabulary.

Live you their days cuddling. Now there was a concept he never expected to approve of as heartily as he did these days. Of course that was not really an option. They had plenty of other people to care for and live out their life with. But these moments were far more precious in their own way.

That grin on her face. So cheeky and happy at the same time. "That's the same for me~" He answered with a nod before she pulled him into another kiss. His strong arms looped around LUcy's back and actually lifted her up against him, making her feet leave the floor as he carried her away from, the door.

She made a muffled squeak of surprise when he lifted her up, but she didn't break the kiss any. If anything, she held him tighter, leaning into the kiss. Her legs, purely on instinct, shifted to wrap around his waist, ankles crossing behind his back as he carried her away from the door. Once she needed air again, she brought her lips away from his, taking a deep breath.
She definitely could never get enough of him.

Oh he liked that sensation very much. To know he was the only thing supporting her against him right now. To know she entrusted herself to him like this knowing full well he'd never let her fall. Well unless the bed was under her. Then he might just drop her to hear her squeak in surprise again. As it were he kept the kiss going for as long as she let him. When finally she managed to pull away he actually just lightly touched his forehead to Lucy's and watched her with such a radiant and content smile.

Her trust in him was absolute, after all. Although she wouldn't be surprised if he did drop her on the bed. In any case, if she didn't need to breath now and then she'd never break away from him. It was probably the best incentive for her to practice her breathing techniques, being able to kiss him for a longer period of time each time. She'd laugh at that to herself, but she didn't want to break the mood between them.

Feeling his forehead against hers was like wrapping herself in a blanket of the warmth that was natural to him. And that smile.. she loved it as much as his other smiles, be they mischievous, happy or confident. That warmed her up on the inside just as much, knowing he was so happy, and she gave him a radiant, adoring smile of her own in response, brushing her hand against the back of his head gently.

It had been like that for a while. After all would anyone throw themselves off of a tall tower with no palpable guarantee someone would be there to catch her? No. It was probably that point where it all really started taking shape between them. After all at the time he had been determined to charge right back into Phantom Lord's HQ and destroy everyone in there. But seeing her cry the way she did, that just derailed that thought completely.

But those were darker times and well in the past. This. This right here was better than any heaven in any world. Natsu smiled and lightly tilted his head to nuzzle at Lucy's cheek and then her neck.

"I just can't get enough of that look on your face you know~"

That was definitely the definitive point between them. Feeling him nuzzle against her, she made a faint purring noise herself, nuzzling back against him. "Hm?" She grinned, glancing towards him. "Is that so? Well good, because I'm never going to stop making it with you." She nuzzled under his chin with a sigh of contentment. "And there are plenty of things I can't get enough of with you too, while we're on the subject."

That noise was very dangerous. It made him want to hear it even more and something told him Lucy would have no problem complying. And she didn't given her words and that nuzzling he felt right under his chin making him chuckle.

"Oh really~ Tell me more~"

If he kept nuzzling against her like that, chances were she would be making that noise more often. Smiling to herself at the sound of his chuckle, she pondered his request. "Hm... I could, but that ego of yours..." She teased, "I don't know, should I really give you more reason to be smug?"

If she wanted more nuzzling he could comply. Just like he was doing right now, even teasing her skin with his breathing while she answered.

"Hmmm so you'd want me to try and not act smug in exchange?" Oh he's starting to catch on fast isn't he?

He -is- catching on fast. The fact actually made her grin even more - even if that meant she wouldn't be able to trick him as easily. Those continued nuzzles though, even that teasing feel of his breath on her skin - she shivered slightly, humming a soft purr that turned into a chuckle at the question. "Is something like that even possible?"

Well he might let her trick him. After all the loss wasn't always unpleasant. If someone had to best him he'd prefer it to be Lucy.

"Well I can try~ If the prize is good enough." Yes he was pretty much telling her she can bribe him. Not like he had to. Really.

Lucy stifled a laugh. Oh bribery hm? "Oh, really - well I'll have to think of a really good prize." She murmured, leaning in against him as if she was going to pull him into another kiss. Well, almost, since she stopped a short distance away from committing to the act. "Prizes... it's a little hard to pick something that I don't do for you already, you know." Almost impossible, really. HRMM. "I might have to think about this one." Yeah she definitely sounds amused.

"You're the writer. I'm sure you've got plenty of ideas for prizes swimming around inside that head of yours~" Natsu managed to get out as she leaned in close...only to stop so tortuously short of actually sealing the deal.

"Well maybe getting comfortable will help come up with something~" he proposed, wanting to get her in bed sooner rather than later.

She grinned impishly, "Oh I have plenty of ideas," she purred. "Deciding on one is the hard part." She even pretended to consider the proposal for a few seconds, "Mm, well I'm pretty comfortable like this." She teased. Heck, she was pretty much clinging to him like a koala while he was holding her in his arms like that. "But we can always be more comfortable." She added, leaning in the rest of the way to treat him with a few light kisses.