Routine

When Lucy woke up, the first thing she became conscious of was the heat at her back. Natsu. How many times have they been through this? How many times did she tell him to stay away from her bed? What did a girl have to do to get some privacy?

As if he heard her thoughts, the Dragon Slayer wrapped around her murmured something under his breath and buried his face further in her hair, and she felt hot puffs of air on the back of her neck.

A cursory inspection of her room showed an interesting lack on a blue, winged feline. Usually where Natsu went, Happy followed. Especially when Natsu came to Lucy's room. Lucy still couldn't really explain how Natsu had become so attached to her. Or why.

Not that she minded, really. He was a great guy, annoying sometimes, and a hazard to be around at others, but all in all she liked having him around. He valued her as a person. Her father's name meant less than nothing to Natsu, from the very day he saw Lucy as Lucy, nothing more, nothing less.

For a girl who'd become accustomed to men either lusting after her or her father's money, having someone like Natsu who just wanted to be around her, no expectations, was a revelation. And she couldn't deny that he was fun to be around. He was always so full of life and energy, always so positive and enthusiastic that he simply pulled you in his own rhythm and you're powerless to do anything but follow.

That was Natsu's charm. That and his endless capacity and trust in the people he cared about. There wasn't a suspicious bone in his body. Sure, it had taken a while for them to really start getting along, since Natsu wasn't exactly used to spending a lot of time with girls, especially a girly-girl like Lucy (Erza - enough said), but once they'd gotten used to each other Natsu trusted her implicitly. She could tell him that the sky was green, and the grass was blue, and he'd trust her.

He humbled her at time. And made her so mad she wanted to skin him alive at others. But he was Natsu, so she didn't really mind. Because, in the end she trusted him just as much as he trusted her. End of story.

He squirmed against her back, his breath hitched, and she realized he was waking up. So, she wiggled around in his vice-grip till she could turn to face him and wrapped her arms around him, trapping his face in her neck. He didn't seem to mind, simply tightened his own hold on her even more and gave that adorable little purr, he always did when she hugged him.

Life was good.

AN: I'm trying to get back to writing NaLu, this is my seventh attempt in three months, and I'm not happy. I can't seem to capture the characters and the emotions like I used to. Maybe re-watching would help. What do you guys think?