Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the plot and Lina. Possibly some others...

A Fairy Tail Fan fic

How Dare You!

Written by NewMusic098

Chapter 1:

. ~...~ .

"Are we there yet?" the pink-haired dragon slayer whined.

He, along with his blonde partner were currently heading back to the guild. He was really tired from the last mission they took since it was to take care of a bunch of bandits. But who knew that the bandits had four more headquarters? They were told to take care of it for a raised portion of the reward. Lucy, who had been itching to pay her rent, forced Natsu to destroy all their bases. Natsu wasn't really in the mood in destroying things, which was weird because he's the literal spit-fire of the guild. No one could wash away his burning spirit, not even a very angry Erza.

"We're almost at Magnolia." Lucy cheered. "Come on, Natsu! You didn't do it all on your own. I helped you, didn't I?" she pouted. Natsu nodded lazily and yawned. Lucy kept her pout as she turned away from him, but was replaced with a worried look.

She wasn't really sure why, but when they were asked to take care of the other bases of the bandits, Natsu miraculously refused. But the increased reward means more rent money for her, and more food for him, right? So she begged him and forced him to come along. All he did was destroy the buildings, and Lucy took care of all the bandits with the help of Loke and Taurus. Lucy wondered what caused Natsu to be so... not Natsu. He had been refusing fights for the past few days, even with Gray. But not long before, he was the cause of a town being half-destroyed.

"Hey, Natsu?" Lucy called as they approached Magnolia's entrance.

"What?" Natsu asked. He had his hands behind his head as he stared absently at the blue sky. He was still tired, but it kept his mind off from the walk.

"Why are you so down these past few days?" she asked. Natsu hummed a bit, then silence settled between them. The walk became rather weird and awkward that anyone with them would feel out of place.

"... I don't know..." she heard Natsu say after minutes of silence. Lucy leaned to get a better look on his face. Then she sighed. He was just bored, or maybe even tired.

"Are you feeling a bit tired?" she asked him.

"Y-yeah..." he yawned. "I guess it's because of the training I've been doing."

"Training?" Lucy asked. "Why would you be training?" Natsu glanced at her and grinned.

"To become stronger, of course! You're such a weirdo." he laughed. Lucy's eye twitched and she looked away from him.

"If that's the case," she started. " Then why won't you fight with Gray and the others like usual?"

"Huh?" Natsu asked. "Oh yeah, that's because I haven't gotten any sleep for the past four days." Lucy snapped her head to him, a mix of shock and worry on her chocolate brown eyes.

"F-four days!" she exclaimed in surprise. Natsu nodded at her. "S-so that's why..." she said, recovering from the fright. She straightened herself and walked along side him.

"Hey, Natsu..." she called.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I'm sorry for forcing you to destroy the other bases of those bandits." she said. Natsu just shrugged, then turned to her.

"Nah." he replied. "It's no problem. I probably would have gone on a solo mission after we got back anyway." he grinned. "But I guess I don't need to. Thanks, Lucy!" Lucy smiled at him.

"Your welcome, I guess." she said. They continued their walk with a lighter silence. As they neared the guild, they passed by a small restaurant. Then Lucy heard Natsu's stomach rumble.

"Oh..." Natsu said as he rubbed his stomach. "Must be hungry then. Wanna eat?" he asked Lucy.

"Sure." she said. "I'm feeling a bit hungry myself." Natsu grinned at her and they went inside the restaurant.

.~...~.

Natsu ordered fire, which was uncommon, but luckily the owner knew him and specializes in his favorite meal. Lucy ordered salad and a glass of strawberry milkshake. They sat at a table near a window, allowing them to watch other people pass by and go in or out of the restaurant.

Lucy laid her elbow on the table to use it as support as she laid her head on her hand. She was staring outside as they waited for their food. She wondered why Natsu was training. She has no idea of any recent threats or events that would make him want to get stronger. Or maybe it's what guys just do. Sighing, she tore her gaze from the streets and looked at Natsu.

He was currently fidgeting in his seat, waiting for his flaming meal. Lucy smiled at his childish attitude. It looked good and natural to have him act like that again. Instead of the zombified Natsu that just slumps on the guild along with her and does nothing. He was looking at the counter so fiercely, you would think that his eyes can burn it. He had a huge and excited grin across his face as he kept glancing in every direction before turning back to the counter.

'He's such a kid.' Lucy thought to herself. Sure, he was a child at heart, but Lucy knew very well that he was mature enough. He would be willing to fight for his nakama and risk his life just to save theirs. He was even more than willing to bring and make new friends to the guild. He was the one who brought her to the guild of her dreams, Fairy Tail. And she felt that her dream would be a complete nightmare if he was not there.

Along the way, his protective nature and strong will rubbed off on her, making the once fragile and weak Lucy part of the strongest team in Fairy Tail, even Fiore. He made her into something she thought that she would never be. He made her stronger than she would ever dream. His entirety made her into an excellent wizard with compassion and heart that only few have truly. Lucky for them, they had a guild full of friends like that.

She was really grateful to him. From the very first day they met, she had never been able to stop thinking about him. Sure, she would deny it when people, specifically Mirajane, would ask her if she liked Natsu more than a friend, but deep down, she was just waiting for the right time to make the dragon slayer notice. Of course, there's that issue involving her with Lisanna as well.

She had become jealous of her close relationship with Natsu, even though Natsu knew nothing of it. She just tried to rationalize her brain and force it to say that they were just friends. Natsu would never, ever make a move on a girl. Not in his state of mind, at least. But that's one of the things that Lucy felt drawn to. He would never leave or forget about you, even if he wants to catch up with old friends, he'll find time to spend with you. He once tried to get her and Lisanna to form a team temporarily so they could get to know each other, but Lucy kindly declined the offer.

Lisanna resembled Mira's mischievous and intuitive nature. So teaming up with her might not be a good idea. They might end up talking about something that would potentially ruin their friendship. Yes, she is friends with Lisanna now. Even though she had that jealousy fit before, she accepted it since Natsu would never figure it out on his own, and both of them seem to have no intention of letting him find out.

A few minutes of silence from her, one of the waiters came by with a mug and pitcher filled with magical fire. In his other hand was a tray, holding Lucy's order of salad and strawberry milkshake.

"Finally!" Natsu exclaimed. The waiter bowed and apologized for the long wait, then set the pitcher and mug on Natsu's side of the table. He then placed the tray on the table and sorted everything for Lucy. He placed the fork and tissue on her left side and placed the strawberry milkshake on her left. The salad was placed in the middle. It looked really delicious, especially with the special dressing the restaurant had.

"Thank you." Lucy smiled at the waiter. The waiter smiled at her and nodded before leaving to take the orders of other customers. She saw Natsu lick his lips before chugging down the whole mug full of fire down his throat. He banged the mug lightly on the table and wiped his lips with his arm.

"Delicious!" he grinned. Lucy smiled at him and grabbed her fork so she could start eating, too. Natsu poured more fire from the pitcher to the mug. Then, he stopped and looked at the mug. Then at the pitcher, then back to the mug. He squinted his eyes after he finished pouring in the flames. Then, he let go of the mug and drank from the pitcher instead.

Lucy giggled at the sight. He just kept finding more and more ways to make her smile, even without him knowing. She pushed through the vegetables with her fork and stuffed it in her mouth. She chewed thoroughly, enjoying the taste of the dressing and the low calories the vegetables were giving her. After swallowing, she took a sip of the cold beverage she ordered. She hummed as the cold hit her mouth. It was the perfect blend for the salad, she thought. Then afterwards, she let her forked down and looked at Natsu, who was still consuming the fire from the pitcher, ignoring the fire he poured on the mug in the first place.

"Hey, Natsu?" she called. Natsu opened his eyes and let the pitcher down on the table.

"What is it, Lucy?" he asked. "Don't like your food?" Lucy shook her head and smiled.

"It's not that." she answered. "I just want to ask. Why are you training? What are you training for?"

"That?" he asked. "I told you, I just want to become stronger! To protect my nakama and the people I love!"

"R-really?" she stuttered and felt her cheeks get warmer when he mentioned the word 'love'.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed. "Even though we're considered the strongest team, along with Gray and Erza, Happy too if you want, I still want to be the strongest so no one could threaten our guild, our friends and all the people I love!" Lucy's cheeks gave a faint blush of pink as she heard Natsu's words. He was really maturing into someone you can really depend on. He was just that kind of guy. The guy who would never let you down, even in the toughest of times. The guy who would do anything and everything just to see you smile. The guy that Lucy knew made her heart beat faster.

She was about to say something. That something being that she was about to confess. She couldn't control herself. His words gave her a rush far from any other feeling she felt in battle. He's grin gave her the energy that would make all the other wizards bow their heads in shame. And her heart was beating so frantically that she couldn't focus on anything but him.

"Natsu!" she suddenly blurted out, catching his attention.

"W-what?" he asked, a bit surpirsed by her sudden burst. She sighed inwardly, her heart beating a thousand times faster than normal.

It was now or never. She opened her mouth, but she suddenly lost her voice. And it was eerily silent. The only things she could hear were the sound of her heartbeat and her suddenly fast and heavy breathing. She felt like she's suffocating from the tenseness the atmosphere acquired.

'Come on, Lucy!' she scolded herself. 'It's now, or never!' She took a deep breath, tightened her fist and placed it across her throbbing chest.

"I..." she muttered. Natsu leaned in closer and hummed in question.

"Huh?" Natsu asked. "What was that?"

"I-I..." she muttered again. She was screaming inwardly because of her lack of courage. Despite finding the courage to try and tell him, she couldn't do it. She just couldn't.

"I..." was all she said again.

"Huh?" Natsu asked. "What's wrong, Lucy? You look red." he said.

"I just wanted to say..!" she said with a slightly raised voice. "I..."

"Say... what?" Natsu asked.

"Wanted to say... I... I..." Suddenly, someone banged their hands on the table, startling both her and the pink-headed dragon slayer.

"Hey guys~!"

A/N: Yo! You know what guys? I thought this was going to be a one-shot... But no~! My stupid head had to come up with these crazy ideas, so there! XD Anyway, hope you like the first chapter of "How Dare You!" So sorry for the long wait~! XD

Ja~