Lucy lost sight of Natsu in the darkness of the forest. The monster that was attacking them was no longer behind her, either. Crap! Where'd they fricken go?! Lucy asked herself. She began to slow down, listening for Natsu. That was when she felt a warm hand clasp over her mouth, to keep her silent. She struggled and was forced to turn around and peer into dark onyx eyes. As Natsu removed his hand from her mouth, Lucy looked at him with a look that said What the heck?! Natsu just smirked at her. 'We need to split up. That way, we have a better chance of defeating that thing." Natsu whispered quietly. Lucy nodded, and they went opposite ways into the darkness.
After about 5 minutes, Lucy heard heavy footsteps a few yards ahead of her. She grasped her keys and listened carefully. Then, something heavy slammed into her stomach, sending her flying backwards and hitting a tree. She let out a moan as her vision went red. Must… stay… strong. For… Natsu! Lucy thought in a determined manner. "Open, gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" Lucy shouted, so that Natsu could hear her and join in on the fight.
Virgo came out instantly. "Punishment, Princess?" Virgo asked innocently. "Virgo, the monster!" Lucy shouted. Virgo nodded and jumped on top of the monster, pulled out her drill, and unleashed its fury on the monster. "Sorry, Princess. Nothing seems to be working. I go now. My apologies." Virgo said as she disappeared in a poof of smoke. Great. I can't find Natsu, and the monster is pissed! Lucy thought sourly. Can this get ANY worse?! Lucy asked herself. Apparently, it could. The monster grabbed Lucy with its hairy paw. It smelled like rotten meat. Lucy gagged. Now what am I going to do?
"Roar of the Fire Dragon!" shouted a familiar voice. Lucy was at first relieved, but then scared. The roar Natsu unleashed was meant for the monster. The monster was holding her in its grasp. See how this could go wrong? Just then, the monster threw Lucy into the air. Like, really high in the air. Lucy's eyes widened with horror as she went higher into the sky, then plummeted towards the ground. "Open, gate of the Ram, Aries!" Lucy screamed. Aries immediately came out and created a pink cloud for Lucy to land on. Landing safely, Lucy thanked Aries, who then disappeared. The monster was beaten, with Natsu standing by it triumphantly.
"Oh, there you are, Luce! Where were ya?" Natsu asked casually. Lucy answered with a glare. "Must you ask?!" She snarled. Natsu's eyes widened and then he looked as if a realization hit him. "Were you the object thrown into the air? I thought it was some sort of rag doll." Now Lucy fumed with anger. "Just grab the stupid necklace and let's go."
When Lucy and Natsu reached the client's house, the door swung open. The man who hired Natsu and Lucy stood in the doorway and invited them inside his warm house. Happy was laying on the couch, asleep. "Please, you must be tired. Stay here for the night." The man said kindly. Natsu looked at Lucy, who accepted the offer. "We need a place to stay the night. We can go back in the morning." Lucy said sleepily.
Lucy was so happy when the man of the house said that she could take a bath. She was hoping that the warmth of the water would wash away her worries, but when she sat down, she nearly yelped. The water was freezing! She quickly washed up and got out. She got dressed and went to her room. The sight she saw was shocking. There was only one bed. And Natsu was in it. Kill me now. She thought as she approached Natsu. "Natsu, move." No reply. He wasn't snoring as usual. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Then, Lucy spotted the glass on the floor next to the bed. Carefully, she bent over and examined the cup. It had a dark brown liquid in it. Sleeping potion. The door then slammed shut.
Lucy whirled around to see the client holding a cup out to her. "Are you thirsty?" asked the man. "What have you done? Why did you put my friend to sleep?" asked Lucy. The man smiled an insane smile towards her. "You are quite pretty, and I am such a lonely man. I need a young, pretty woman to mother my child." the man said in a creepy manner. "Now, be a good girl and come with me!" The man said, lunging at Lucy. Lucy dodged and whirled around.
Happy floated into the room, a look of confusion on his face. "What's going on?" He asked, sleepily. "Happy! Take Natsu and get out of here. Go straight to the police! Hurry!" Lucy exclaimed. Happy looked from her, to the crazed man, then to Natsu. Although confused, he nodded, grabbed Natsu, and left the house as fast as he could, which is pretty fast. The man, now angry, lept at Lucy, who wasn't fast enough to dodge. The man landed on her and pinned her down.
"Now you've done it, wench! I oughta kill you!" He shrieked. Lucy had to think - and fast! The sleeping potion! If I could only get him to drink some of it…! Kicking the man off of her, she darted for the cup by the bed. The man came at her fast, but not fast enough. Lucy pinned him down and poured the brown liquid down his throat. The man fell unconscious. Natsu, Happy, and the police bursted through the door. Natsu came over and bent down next to her as the police took away the unconscious man.
"Are you okay? What happened? One moment I was drinking tea, and the next I wake up at the police station!" Natsu exclaimed. Lucy just nodded, and looked up at his face. It was filled with worry and anxiety. "He llllllliiiikes youu!" Happy said suddenly. Natsu's face turned cherry red as he looked away. "Shut up, Happy." He said under his breath, threateningly. But, he didn't deny it!
Happy fell asleep in Natsu's arms as they walked home. (The job they did was in the town over.) Natsu walked Lucy home. The only light they had was a streetlamp. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you from that man..." Natsu said sadly. "It's okay, Natsu. I'm not a damsel in distress." Lucy said, putting her hand on his arm. "I can't take it anymore!" said Natsu, suddenly. He then reached down and kissed Lucy on the lips. "I didn't say you had to be a damsel in distress. I just want to protect you." he said.
Lucy blushed a rosy-red color. Where'd he learn to kiss like that? She reached up and kissed him on the lips. "Thank you, Natsu. I'll protect you too."