Nalu week day 5 Quirk

Who Was Saving Who?

"This is bullshit!" Lucy hears snapping and looks up from her studies. "Of course, it stops in the hottest month of the year!"

Her interests now peaked, she leaves her own bedroom and finds her roommate Natsu in his. When she peers through his cracked door, she sees him banging on the vent of the central air system. He was mumbling something about warm air, and she notes that it did feel a lot warmer than her room. Having known him for years, Lucy knew that his normal body temperature was higher than the average person, so if his vent was broken, the stifling room would make him miserable.

"Is something wrong Natsu?"

He turns to look at her with an exasperated groan, "my ac must be broken and it's so hot in here, I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight."

"Well I have a big enough bed. You can just bunk with me and call the super in the morning."

"Really?! Oh wow, you're a life saver Luce!"

She smiles and shrugs, "what are friends for. I'll just be studying in my room, whenever you're ready to go to bed is fine with me."

"Okay," Natsu smiles back. "Probably gonna shower and have a snack then turn in for the night."

Lucy nods and head back to her room leaving Natsu to complete his nightly routine. She goes back to her desk and tries to focus on her homework but after fifteen minutes of tapping her pen and reading the same paragraph four times it was clear she couldn't focus anymore. 'Stop it,' the blonde coaches herself, taking a deep breath and willing her heart to stop freaking out. It was nothing to it, he was just sharing the other half of her bed, no big deal.

Except it was a big deal that threatened to unravel a long burning torch she's held for her best friend. 'Pfft, you can behave just fine.' This wasn't exactly the first time they've slept on the same bed before. They've been friends through high school and now were halfway through college. How many times has their friend group hung out, bunking, and cramming into one or another's bedroom? "Ughhh!" She groans. But this was the first time they'd be alone and sharing a bed.

'One night,' Lucy tells herself. 'One night and hopefully the super can fix the problem; you can handle one night.' "I hope so…"

"You hope what?"

Lucy jumps out of her skin at the sound of Natsu's deep voice, but she quickly recovers before spinning on her desk chair to face him. "S-Sorry, I didn't realize you were there," she cracks a reassuring smile. "I was just talking to myself about this assignment." If she'd been a guy her Adams apple would be bobbing crazily with the amount of gulping, she was doing to swallow a surge of saliva building in her mouth. Did Natsu have to walk around shirtless with just a towel slung around his shoulders and a really lose pair of boxers?! With his hair still wet, it hung down around his face and damn did he look so hot in that moment! Literally and figuratively.

He chuckles, "You're so weird, I didn't know you talk to yourself."

"I think this subject is just making me crazy," she lies, playing it cool despite the uptick in her heartbeat. "Are you ready to sleep? I think I'm done for the night too."

"Yeah, just gonna throw on shorts, I'll be right back."

Oh, thank the stars for small favors. Lucy wasn't surprised he would want to sleep shirtless, but just boxers as a barrier, that was too much too soon.

She nods, "works for me."

By the time Natsu returns to the room, Lucy had already tidied up her desk and was sitting patiently on the edge of the bed with just the lamp next to it on.

"So," she starts off, "I just have one little quirk about me… I need to sleep with my back facing the wall."

Natsu tips his head in confusion. "Why?" He was so used to just falling into bed and falling asleep however he ended up. It was odd to him to have such a specific preference. He cracks up in laughter, "are you afraid of a ghost attacking or something? Need to see them coming?"

"Oof!" Lucy's hands fly to her hips and mouth dips into a pout. "You don't need to tease me about it!" She looks away, "I've had this ghost fear since I was little, okay?"

He deadpans. Crap! He'd just made that up, never in a million years thinking it would be true. Lucy was always so strong and sure of herself that to have a fear of ghosts seemed farfetched in his mind. It was that strength that drew him to her in the first place but finding out she actually had a weakness was kind of, cute.

"Wow, I'm sorry, Luce I didn't think…"

"I know it's weird."

"Nah." Natsu sits on the bed beside her. "Just gives me an opportunity to play protector. Come on," he prompts her, "lay down, let's get some sleep."

Lucy turns off the lamp and slips under the blankets, lying on her side. She feels Natsu slip in behind her, which only increases the blush that surely covered her cheeks. Thank goodness the lights were off because he was spooning her!

"See all protected," he whispers, "now you'll sleep soundly."

Sleep, Lucy scoffs in her head. Tell that to her racing heart!