AN: This was originally supposed to be a one-shot, until it decided to get a mind of its own. It got out of hand pretty fast, and I had to break it up. So it'll be multiple chapters. The way this is going I'm having a hard time seeing an end lol.
I hope you give this a chance and leave me a line or two to tell me what you thought of it.
Lately Team Natsu had been going from one S-class job to the next, working so much and actually getting paid that Lucy had managed to pay her rent a whole year in advance and accumulate a nice nest egg. The only problem was that with all the work they'd been doing she had absolutely no time to even think about spending money. But there were worse things.
Currently the five mages and two exceeds were on a SS-class job, a collaboration with Crime Sorciere to take a huge dark guild out. They had traveled for almost 6 days to reach their destination and once there had almost immediately started fighting. Their opponents were strong, stronger than they had anticipated and they had trouble in retaining the upper hand.
Luckily Jellal's quick thinking had drawn the fight away from the town and they had no fear of injuring innocent bystanders, but the forest they were in posed its own difficulties. Hampered movement was one thing, but the fear of setting the whole forest and them all on fire was seriously restricting Natsu. He could only fight at half power at best and had to keep a constant look out to avoid getting one of his own teammates injured.
His frustrations were quickly rising, especially since he and Grey had teamed up against the dark guild's ace, an almost scarily strong wizard who used Reflector magic. None of their attacks were hitting and Natsu was beginning to lose patience.
Not one to think in the midst of battle, but rather just trusting his instincts, Natsu gathered a formidable amount of his magic power in his lungs. Go big or don't go at all, that was Fairy Tail's motto after all. And Natsu was gonna go huge.
The dark wizard was busy with fending of Gray's ice arrows when Natsu jumped up and expelled a Fire Dragon's Roar that was as loud as it was hot. Everyone in the vicinity flinched from the sound and the sudden rise in temperature as a giant ball of flame sailed towards its target. But the enemy was just a fraction of a second faster and managed to dodge at the last possible moment. This left him open for Natsu to land a flaming fist in his face and end the fight.
Gray wasn't paying attention to their opponent or Natsu any longer. He was staring in terror as Natsu's roar went straight for Lucy who was involved in her own battle just a few feet from them. For a long, terrifying moment, Gray was frozen, his limbs wouldn't move and he couldn't get his throat to produce any sound. Then he heard Natsu land the deciding blow and he came unstuck. Not thinking about anything he lunged after the flames and towards Lucy, but he knew it was futile, he wouldn't be able to reach her in time, but maybe he could still save her.
Scorpio, who was fighting beside his summoner, noticed the fires heading towards them first. Lucy was oblivious though, she was too busy fending off three mages with her whip. Scorpio didn't think, he just acted.
With a shout of her name that drew everyone's attention, he threw himself between his mistress and the fire. It wasn't enough. The moment the flames hit him he was forced back to the Spirit Realm and the fire sailed unhindered towards Lucy.
By the time the flames reached Lucy everyone had seen the impending disaster and had all jumped into action. Natsu's shout of her name, nearly deafened them all as he jumped towards her, intent on eating his fire before it could do any damage. Erza re-quipped lightning fast into her Flame Empress Armor and raced towards the Celestial mage as well. Happy shot straight into max-speed mode and dove down towards Lucy.
But it was too late.
Before anyone could reach her, fire engulfed her.
As her terrified shriek broke through the forest everyone could just stare.
Something wasn't right. Lucy wasn't burning.
Natsu was the only one who didn't stop and reached Lucy just seconds after the flames hit her. He sucked them up in record time, even though eating his own fire was disgusting. After it was all gone, he crouched down beside his partner and started inspecting every single inch of her.
Lucy wasn't hurt. There was no single burn on her skin. Her clothes have been burned off partially, and the skin that had been under them was slightly red, but that was all. She was completely unharmed. Not even her hair had been damaged.
It wasn't possible. Natsu had used his full strength in that roar. He was glad, so very glad that Lucy was unharmed, but for all intents and purposes it should have burned her to a crisp. Or at least inflicted severe burns. She'd been hit with the full power of his fire, no one could come out of that unscathed.
Unless, of course she'd used the Aquarius star dress and shielded herself with the Water Barrier. Lucy could don her star dresses at the same speed Erza could change her armor, so it was possible.
"I'm glad you're alright, Luce. I don't know what I would have done, if something had happened to you," Natsu smiled at his partner who only stared blankly back at him. "Good thing for both of us you have that Water Barrier, huh?"
That seemed to jar Lucy out of her stupor and she got to her knees, arms wrapped around herself to conceal what her burned clothes exposed. Natsu had of course seen more of her naked body then she was comfortable with, but that didn't mean she had to put on a show for Crime Sorcière and their enemies too.
"What are you talking about, Natsu?" she whispered, her throat hoarse from her terrified scream. "I wasn't wearing Aquarius' star dress, I couldn't use the Water Barrier. Your fire hit me before I could react. I... I don't understand how I'm still alive."
A snippet from a long-forgotten conversation with Igneel flitted through Natsu's mind. But it couldn't actually be that. Igneel had said that it had never happened with humans, only dragons and Natsu was human, he'd destroyed both his dragon and demon seeds when the tumor had almost killed him.
He stared at Lucy with something akin to wonder and horror mixed together. But... Well, it could have happened before he'd destroyed the seeds. His dragon seed had never awoken thanks to Igneel, but it had been there. The potential to become a dragon had been there as well, just quelled and kept under control by Igneel who'd been in his body. The seed wasn't able to turn Natsu into an actual dragon, but it certainly could have done other things that would have been beyond Igneel's control. Still, Lucy was human, so it couldn't be.
All of that was way too high for him. He'd long since forgotten that particular talk with Igneel, because he couldn't really understand it. He was no closer to understanding it now.
"Natsu," Lucy's voice brought him back to present. "What are you thinking about?"
"I, ah... I'm trying to make sense of this. You should have third degree burns if you hadn't used the Water Barrier, at the very least. The fact that you're not either dead or in danger of dying is almost a miracle."
Wendy had reached the pair by then and was conducting her own inspection of Lucy. But there was no single burn on her. Wendy couldn't explain it either, unless...
"Natsu-san," the younger Dragon Slayer started quietly. "Could it be that?"
Lucy, who'd just went through the most terrifying experience of her life, wasn't in the mood for riddles. "Could it be what, Wendy?" she asked sharper than she'd intended and immediately felt bad when the younger girl flinched.
"Um..." Wendy muttered, turning bright red and started fiddling with her hands. "I think Natsu-san should explain this, Lucy-san."
"It can't be," Natsu cut in before Lucy could say anything. "Igneel said it only happened to dragons, it had never happened with a human. Even if the dragon seed could do it, it wouldn't work with Lucy. She's completely human, she has no Dragon Slayer magic."
"What could never happen with me?" Lucy interjected, irritated that she didn't know what was going on. "Natsu," she growled as much as her abused throat would let her. "Explain. Now."
Natsu wasn't stupid and he knew his partner well enough to know that Lucy was losing patience and fast. If he didn't tell her what she wanted to know immediately, there was no telling what she would do. As much as he made fun of her sometimes, he was also sometimes terrified of her. When she wanted to, she could be scarier than even Erza, and that was saying a lot.
"Well," he started haltingly, not really willing to tell Lucy what he suspected was going on, but also knowing that if he didn't, she'd put him through a world of pain. He just hoped she didn't think he'd done this on purpose. Lucy was hard to understand sometimes and as much as he loved her, he really didn't know how to act around her in certain situations. This was definitely one of them. "Igneel taught me a lot of things related to dragons. He told me all I needed to know about dragons as a Dragon Slayer. Once he told me about why there were so few dragons in the world. There were always more males than females amongst them and when dragons mated, they did it for life."
He paused there, taking a deep breath, but quickly continued before Lucy could get even more irritated.
"Dragons have different elements and thus different powers, and it's not that they can choose who they fall for, just like we can't. And they tend to choose dragons of other elements as their mates, rather than their own kind, Igneel explained why, but I've forgotten that, heh..." he trailed off and looked towards the sky. Damn but this wasn't getting any easier. Okay, just out with it and deal with the damage later.
"Anyway, when a dragon finds their mate, they become immune to each other's powers. Say if Igneel mated with a water dragon her power wouldn't affect him, nor would his affect her. What's happening here could be exactly that." There he'd said it.
"Oh, I see," Lucy murmured, obviously deep in thoughts. Natsu knew that the information hadn't completely sunk in yet. When it did... Well there was no telling, but judging by the way Wendy was slowly inching away from the Celestial mage... It wouldn't be good.
"Wait, wait, wait," she perked up and Natsu steeled himself. "Are you trying to tell me that your fire didn't affect me, because you think I'm your mate?"
Not knowing what to say, Natsu just nodded. So far so good.
"Natsu... That can't be," Lucy said shaking her head. "I'm not your mate. We've never done anything that could be even remotely considered mating. We've kissed each other on the cheek a couple of times, but that's it, and I certainly doubt something as colossal as choosing your life-mate could be done with a peck on the cheek."
She was taking this way better than he'd anticipated. But then again, Lucy was a smart girl, rational for the most part, and really, he should be giving her more credit.
"No, you're right, you're not my mate, the mating ritual of dragons is somewhat complicated and yeah, a kiss on the cheek isn't enough in any case. That's not the point."
Now Lucy just looked confused. "What's the point, then?"
"Rather than you being my mate, I think that my inner dragon or my dragon's seed has chosen you to be my mate." He really didn't know how to explain this. It's always the same, when it counted the most, words failed him.
"But, your dragon's seed is gone, isn't it?" asked Lucy, now completely perplexed.
"It is," Natsu nodded. "But a dragon's mate once chosen, can't be undone. It must have chosen you while I still had it, and that's it."
"Natsu..." she started slowly. "You're not making any sense."
Natsu laughed a little sheepishly, yeah he wasn't making any sense even to himself.
"Didn't you say that dragon mating also required love?"
"Yeah," he confirmed. "That's how the mate is chose. The dragons fall for each other."
"See?" Lucy grinned. "There you have it. This is something completely different. You and I are not in love, so I can't be chosen as your mate. Don't worry about it," she smiled warmly and hugged him. "We'll figure it out, not that it matters. I consider being immune to your fire a great thing."
There she was, his Lucy. Always optimistic and looking at the bright side and always ready to forgive him, no matter what kind of idiocy he's done.
It was the reason, he was certain, that she was his chosen mate. He was in love with her after all. But she didn't need to know that yet. He wasn't ready to admit something as huge as that. Not when she didn't feel the same. He was content being her best friend, even if he never would be anything more. Just having Luce near was enough.
He hugged her back tightly, burying his face in her hair and just letting her nearness sooth him. This was the best feeling in the world.
Lucy knowing his true feelings would destroy the relationship they had, and Natsu would never let that happen, so he'd never tell her.
"You're right," he finally said, with a wide grin. It wasn't even fake. "Whatever it is, it's a good thing. You being fire-proof is awesome!"
She grinned back, and for a brief while everything was alright in Natsu's world.
Seeing that her teammates were okay, Erza turned back to the business at hand, the dark guild. They still had to subdue them. Luckily while her team was worrying over Lucy, Jellal and Crime Sorciere had not let any of the dark mages escape. Now it was time to end this.
"Natsu, Lucy, if you're both unharmed, we still have a job to do," she called out, even if she hated doing it. But work was work.
"Right!" Natsu immediately jumped up and pulled Lucy up with him. "Time to kick some bad guys ass! I'm all fired up!"
Lucy giggled beside him, but nodded in determination. "Let's go!" Golden light engulfed her as she donned her Taurus star dress and Natsu grinned in appreciation. He loved it when his girl was ready to kick ass. "Open! Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!" Lucy summoned Taurus and Natsu grimaced. He hated that damn pervy cow.
With a deafening mooooo, Taurus appeared and immediately turned to Lucy. "Don't you look delicious, Miss Luuuucy," he drawled.
"Hey, Taurus," was Lucy's less than enthusiastic response. "Could you please take some of these guys out?" she indicated the dark mages, scattered around the forest.
Taurus nodded and hefted his battle axe. "Of couuuuurse. Can I get a smoooooch first?" he leaned towards Lucy's face and Natsu jumped up, thumping him on the head.
"No! Now do as you're told!"
Taurus glared at the Dragon Slayer but moved to do his Mistress' bidding. Damn that perverted cow.
"He'll never change," Lucy chuckled and Natsu grimaced.
"Your Spirits, Luce... I just don't get it."
"What?" she asked, cocking her hips.
"Nothing!" he exclaimed, sensing danger in her tone. "Let's get this over with, I'm getting hungry!"
Lucy sighed and shook her head. "Sure, sure."
With that they joined the rest of their team and this time the fight went along much faster. In a matter of fifteen minutes all dark mages were subdued and they were all just standing around waiting for the Magic Council people to come and get them. Jellal and his team had already vacated the premises and gone back to town to find them an Inn for the night.
The Council's detention team arrived quickly and as soon as the prisoners were loaded up for transport and they'd signed the documents needed for Erza to pick up the bounty in town, not to mention their rewards, they set off to find something to eat and a place to sleep.
Natsu and Happy stuck to Lucy the entire time, still a little bit freaked out about seeing her on fire, even though she'd gotten out unscathed. It was the first time since he'd heard about the dragon seed that Natsu was grateful for it.
Lucy had to be his chosen mate, there was no other explanation... Unless of course it was all just dumb luck that she hadn't burned. She'd been on fire for only a couple of seconds before he'd gotten rid of it after all. The best way to know for sure would be to test it out. They'd need privacy for that, and Natsu quickly decided that they should share a room, no matter what Erza thought about it. The red-head was usually insistent that she, Lucy and Wendy share a room and Natsu was always forced to share with Gray. Not tonight.
"Luce," he started softly and she looked up at him. They were ways behind the rest of their team, Natsu walking slowly while in deep thought and Lucy unconsciously keeping his pace. "We're gonna share a room tonight, I wanna try something."
Lucy looked puzzled and curious, but she didn't protest. They shared hotel rooms all the time when it was just the two of them on a job, and it wasn't like Natsu didn't spend the night regularly in her apartment. In her bed with her in it as well.
"Sure, Natsu," she agreed quietly and he grinned.
He knew that their guildmates didn't really understand their relationship and talked about it, often. Lucy was a popular topic for all of them. Guys thought she was hot, and were pissed because they didn't stand a chance with her and girls were catty because she got so much attention. Of course, not everyone felt this way, Lucy was generally liked by most guildmates, but people were strange creatures.
Natsu had heard so many stories about the two of them that if he was a stranger being fed that information, he'd think that Lucy was some sort of floozy, and that he absolutely couldn't keep it in his pants and that they were doing that every minute of every day. It was ridiculous. None of them knew what he and Lucy had.
They had a connection that most people would never understand. They trusted each other implicitly, there were no secrets between them. Well, no aside from Natsu's true feelings for Lucy, but that was neither here nor there. Nobody knew Natsu as well as Lucy, likewise nobody knew Lucy like he did.
Sure, she had a mean temper and a violent streak a mile long, and she came off as a whiny, arrogant heiress. It was the furthest thing from the truth. Lucy was sweet, she was kind, she was nice, full of warmth and love. She gave all that freely to those around her, most of all to Natsu and Happy.
She'd do anything he asked of her, wouldn't question him for a second, follow him to the ends of earth. He'd do the same for her. That's why their highly unusual relationship worked. Unwavering, unquestioning trust.
This was also the sole reason Natsu wanted to find out what was happening as fast as possible. If Lucy really was his chosen mate... Well, he'd think about that when and if it came to that.