After fighting his way through an army of magic beasts, storming the evil castle and defeating King Jose he had finally found her, the lovely princess that he'd discovered collapsed in his forest all those months ago. The sight of her usually made his heart skip, a magical warmth spreading through his veins and lighting at his core but now those pleasant feelings seemed like a distant memory.

The castle was crumbling around them, reduced to the deteriorating husk that it had been before the dark wizard had used his magic's to reinforce the walls, and she was still trapped behind the invisible barrier of the cursed prison that he'd placed her in, unbreakable even by the maker's death. Chunks of stone rained down from the ceiling, making them both very aware of the pressing need to escape as they continued pounding on their respective sides of the detestable thing separating them.

Natsu was desperate, too crazed with the need to save her to think coherently and further losing his normal problem solving capabilities at the sight of her. Pale skin was marred with bruises and cuts, one particularly dark patch on her thigh and the way she kept her weight off that foot hinting at a much graver injury. Her clothing was torn and stained so badly that he couldn't even tell what the original design had been. The golden locks that were usually pulled up into a side pony tail or a pair of twin tails was down and matted, the color barely peeking through the grime that matched the layer of dirt covering her skin. As if that wasn't enough there was a horrible cut on her cheek, still bleeding, and the bright smile that he was used to, the one that always made her entire person seem to glow in an ethereal golden light and her eyes shine like stars in the nights sky, was absent, replaced by a deep sadness and tear tracks running a path down her dirty cheeks.

It made him want to kill the Dark King again for what he'd done to her. She was too pure, too good to have to suffer through anything like this and his instincts roared with the need to protect her, to breach this final barrier keeping them apart and take her back into his arms again. It had been nearly a week since he'd last seen her and the longing was almost unbearable.

The dragon pounded his fist more forcefully against the barrier, vaguely hearing another splintering crack behind him as a large chunk of the wall collapsed. Her lips were moving, she was screaming for him though he couldn't hear her through the invisible wall. Tears continued to cascade down her cheeks and she looked so sad, so pained and sad. His fist rammed into the barrier again, an angry cry tearing from his lips, fangs elongating as he added even more strength into his blows.

The fight to enter the castle and take down its master had exhausted him. He was burnt and cut in many places, only his pants were still fully there with the rest of his outfit having been almost completely obliterated during the course of the battle. None of that mattered to him now though; he couldn't have cared less about how tired or injured he was. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he landed a particularly hard strike, gratified when a series of spider web cracks appeared on its invisible surface.

One final strike was all it took before it broke, shards of the invisible wall raining down around them as Lucy threw herself at the dragon, who met her halfway. His arms wrapped around her, crushing her lithe body to him and running his hand through her messy locks. The chaos was still raging around them as one of the four walls caved in, making it difficult to hear her sobbed exclamations about how much she'd missed him and how sorry she was.

She had nothing to be sorry for in his opinion and under normal circumstances he would have told her so but at the moment all he could afford to think about was getting them both out of there. Pushing down the part of him that longed to continue embracing her he reluctantly pulled back, relinquishing bodily contact for the few brief moments that it took for him to slip an arm under her knees and hoist her into his arms. She looped her arms around his neck, the sobs still racking her body silencing the squeal of surprise she would normally have uttered.

Natsu carried her over to an opening in the wall and willed his wings to appear, sprouting from his back and elongating out to the sides before he jumped off the edge. The sound of the remainder of the building collapsing followed them as they soared over the treetops toward their forest home.

Neither had spoken during the ride and Natsu glided in for a smooth landing next to the familiar oak, kicking the door to his hut open unceremoniously with his foot before carrying her inside and placing her softly on the sofa in the center of the room. He tried to pull away but her tiny hands continued to hold onto him, face buried against his collar bone. The desire to fall back into her embrace was overwhelming, but the more protective side of him pointed out that she was still injured and he reluctantly removed her hands.

Once he was free he rushed to the water basin across the room, dipping a rag in the icy liquid and grabbing a jar of salve and some bandages from the nearby shelf before returning to her. Kneeling down his hands worked quickly, warming the rag to a more bearable temperature before running it over her face. She winced when he dabbed it against the cut and his anger returned, along with the desire to make the Dark King suffer for what he had done.

With the grime cleared away he spread salve over the cut and finished with a bandage. He did the same to the lacerations on her arms and legs, constantly having to bat her hands away as she attempted to treat his own injures, before turning his attention to the purple-yellow bruise on her thigh. Upon prodding it gently with his finger she hissed in pain, hands clutching the cushion and making him bite back an angry snarl at the sight of her pain.

"I should have ripped his throat out" Natsu mumbled as he wrapped the bandage around her leg, careful not to jar it too much. The salmon haired dragon was certainly not well suited for first aid and idly scribbled a mental note to take her to a human doctor as soon as possible, though the thought of her ever leaving this house again was displeasing.

"I'm fine, really, he didn't do much…"

The quaver in her voice betrayed her and he finished the bandaging, dropping his hands to the cushions on either side of her thighs and clutching them in his fists. "The hell he didn't."

His voice came out as a growl and she tensed. Natsu was normally very careful not to remind her that he wasn't human, it hadn't been very difficult so far considering that she always managed to bring out the humanity in him but when he was angry he couldn't suppress the dragon, the feral part of him that cried out for blood in retribution for what had been done to her.

Conscious that he was probably making her uncomfortable he withdrew, once again crossing the room to grab a wool blanket folded neatly on a shelf. He draped it over her shoulders, letting his hands linger a moment longer then was necessary.

"You need to get some rest, we'll take you to a human doctor in the morning to get your leg looked at" he said softly.

She reached out and snagged his wrist, staring at him with those huge doe eyes of hers. "What about you?" she asked "Your hurt too."

"It'll heal on its own soon enough."

She shook her head, regaining a bit of that defiant spark in her eyes as she pulled him closer and reached for the forgotten salve and bandages. He gripped her forearms gently in his hands, not wanting her to strain herself. She pulled against his soft hold in response and managed to grab the salve, flipping the lid off and dabbing it gently on the long cut across his chest before he could utter further protests.

Natsu's adams apple bobbed as he swallowed, enjoying the feeling of her soft hands despite himself. The temptation to hold her increased and the desire to kiss her suddenly surfaced. He had long thought of kissing her, what it would feel like to possess her and love her and be with her but she was human and he was a monster in the eyes of humans. Luck had shined down upon him when the universe had delivered her to him and further grace was granted when she'd decided to remain with him as his friend. To ask for more would be greedy and selfish. It would also probably result in her leaving him. Humans tended to fear his kind and she would no doubt be ostracized by her people if they were to ever find out that she knew him. He could never allow that to happen to her.

His hands slid from her arms and her fingers wrapped around his wrist, tugging him up so that he was sitting next to her on the sofa while her other hand continued to spread the salve on his injury. The scent of spring wafted up into his nostrils, mixed with blood and the lingering smell of the Dark King. Natsu's teeth clenched together to prevent another growl. The last thing that he wanted to smell was the bastard who had hurt her and to have that smell on her no less…

Dragon instinct told him that he should replace the smell with his own, mark her as his mate and ensure that no other male or danger would ever bother her again so long as he was breathing but he reigned in the urge. He loved her too much to do something like that, to bind her to him for the rest of their lives would mean that she could never leave him and there is no possible way that she would ever consent to such a thing.

"Natsu" she said softly, fingers lingering on the bandage that she'd finished wrapping around his torso "I'm so sorry that you got dragged into this."

She tilted her head down, letting her dirt-darkened hair drape over her shoulder and hide her face from his view. "If I hadn't run into your forest in the first place then Jose wouldn't have come looking for me, I'm so sorry about what they did to you and all this trouble…I never meant for you to get involved."

A humorless laugh escaped her throat and her hands dropped from the wound and onto the cushions between them. "Gods how pathetic am I? I couldn't protect you when it came down to it, I even drew you into my problems when all you ever were was nice to me how useless can a person get?"

The self-loathing in her tone didn't sit well with him and he took one of her hands in his without thinking. She tried to jerk it away but he held firm, using his other hand to brush the hair away from her face and tilt her chin up toward him. Tears were filling her eyes though they refused to spill over on her cheeks; she was purposely avoiding his eyes.

"And you came to save me…why? I've been nothing but trouble to you and you came to save me. Look at how hurt you are! It wasn't worth it to come and get me, you should have just left me there with him-"

"Never" he growled, once again forgetting to repress his dragon. Her gaze snapped up to meet his and she was surprised to see the raw emotion displayed on his face. Natsu's jaw was set and she could see a myriad of emotions reflected in his onyx orbs. Before she could begin to decipher any of them he pulled her into a fierce embrace, holding her like she was a lifeline.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, I never want to hear you apologize for something this stupid again, I came after you because I wanted to, I let you stay here because I want to and I'm nice to you because I want to be, nobody made me do anything and I don't want to hear you say those things about yourself ever again."

She could feel his hold on her tightening as he buried his nose into the crook of her neck, his breath ghosting over her collar bone as he spoke. The sensation would have made her shiver if she weren't listening so intently to his words. He sounded almost angry as he spoke, angry that she'd been talking about herself that way? She hadn't been expecting that reaction from him. After everything that he'd gone through she honestly thought that he was justified to throw her out right now and never give her a second glance but Natsu was too nice for that. Even if he did want her to leave there's no way that he'd ever say it no matter how bluntly honest he tended to be.

"Do you want me to leave?" she whispered.

He pulled back, keeping his hands on her shoulders and staring intently at her. Lucy had dropped her gaze to his throat, unable to look him in the eye as she continued. "I've been nothing but a bother and I know that you're too nice to say so, you'd probably be better without me so if you want me to leave then I will."

Natsu opened his mouth to rebuke when her soft fingers pressed against his lips. She lifted her head, a gentle smile gracing her features. It momentarily threw him off and allowed her to lean closer, meeting his onyx orbs with her own watery brown eyes. Then without any warning her fingers slid away from his lips, replaced by soft pressure. His eyes widened when he realized that she was kissing him, just a chaste peck, no more than a light brush really, but it was more than enough to send soft warmth trickling through his veins.

She pulled away quickly, far too quickly, the smile still in place.

"I'm sorry about that…It was selfish of me especially after all the trouble I've caused you but if I'm never going to see you again I wanted to try it at least once…" her voice got quiet and she dropped her gaze again, removing her hands from where they had been cupping his cheeks to run her fingers nervously through her hair.

Natsu was stunned, his mind could barely comprehend what had just happened and the lingering warmth on his lips wasn't helping his concentration. 'Was that…could she…'

Lucy cleared her throat and stood, his hands sliding off her shoulders as she started limping toward the door. "It's been nice knowing you Natsu, I'm sorry again for the trouble and…thank you, I had a really good time staying with you."

She had definitely overstepped her bounds with that kiss but her emotional turmoil had taken control and before she'd known it her lips were on his. The sensation was even more wonderful then she'd imagined it to be, so soft and warm and right but she was the only one that felt that. He had tensed when their lips had met and hadn't reacted at all. The shock in his face when she'd pulled back was all the confirmation she needed to tell her that it had been an unwelcomed invasion, which only strengthened her resolve to leave. She wasn't about to take advantage of his kindness and bring him any more trouble than she already had.

Lucy was halfway to the door when she felt someone embrace her from behind. The dragon had crossed the room and engulfed her in his arms, dropping his forehead onto her shoulder. Her heartbeat sped up and she had to remind herself of her resolve, remind herself not to accept any of his kindness. One of her hands came up to squeeze his wrist lightly, her body feeling numb and resigned.

"You don't have to do this you know…you've already been nice enough to me already and I can't morally accept any more of your generosity-"

Natsu spun her around in his arms and pressed their lips together. Lucy let out a small squeak of surprise as his arms wrapped solidly around her waist and shoulders, pressing them tightly together while his tongue began to trace her bottom lip. Her head was spinning and the wave of emotion that washed over her seemed to swallow her whole as her eyes slid closed and she resigned herself to the warmth of his hold. She felt light-headed, almost intoxicated, though she knew that no drug would ever be this inebriating.

Neither had any idea how long the kiss lasted but both would probably agree that it wasn't nearly long enough as the salmon haired dragon reluctantly broke the lip lock, gazing down at the beautiful blonde in the circle of his arms. Male pride shot through him when he saw her eyes half-lidded, cheeks stained an attractive crimson, looking as dazed as he felt. Unwilling to relinquish even a small bit of contact he leaned down and pecked her cheek, delving one hand into her hair before resting his forehead against hers and staring into her hooded chocolate orbs.

"If anyone's being selfish here it's me" he said.

A tingle ran up her spine at the sound of his voice, unusually deep and utterly enthralling, even as her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to protest. He silenced her with another kiss, a chaste peck that didn't last nearly as long as she wanted it to.

"To tell you the truth I'm not sure if I could really let you walk out that door. Being away from you for a week was bad enough I can't even imagine what the rest of my life would feel like" he said, one of his warm grins taking over his handsome face as he spoke.

"I told you right? I do things for you because I want to but that isn't the whole truth. I also do things for you because I…well…" he took a deep breath, looking straight into her chocolate orbs with an intensity that she would have once considered impossible of the easy-going dragon. Nerves clawed at his insides and he vaguely heard that small part of him that insisted that the kiss hadn't meant anything, that he was blowing things way out of proportion and she would run away screaming if he continued, whispering in the back of his mind.

But she would leave if he didn't say anything so what did he really have to lose?

"I love you…"

The confession was a whisper, an almost inaudible breath but Lucy heard it all the same. Her eyes widened and for a few silent moments all she could do is stare. Somewhere in the jumble of thoughts all wrestling for attention at the forefront of her mind she questioned her sanity, wondering for a brief moment if maybe she'd gone deaf or even died from PTSD. Natsu on the other hand nervously fidgeted under her unblinking gaze, cheeks coloring a light pink as he waited for her reaction, becoming more and more flustered every moment that he didn't get one until a small smile made its way onto her face.

She tilted her head down and touched her lips with her fingers, an attractive pink tint to her cheeks. It didn't take her long to get over the momentary shyness and peer at him through her dirty bangs, seeing that he was still awaiting her reply. Lucy's smile widened and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing herself even closer to him as she buried her face into his collar. A light shiver went through him at the contact, her warm breath tickling his skin.

"I love you too…" she whispered "Ever since I first woke up after you found me in the woods I think I've loved you."

An elated feeling rose in his chest and he suddenly felt like he was flying. She pulled back and stared into his eyes, which were sparkling with as much love and adoration as her own, before leaning in for another kiss. His eyes drooped as he parted his lips and coaxed her into a tongue war, which she consented to without hesitation. They both groaned into each other's lips, meeting in a series of seamless pecks that had their toes curling against the dirt floor. Her hands swept up the back of his neck and delved into his hair, making him growl lightly against her lips as her fingers ran through his messy locks. The vibration from the growl traveled through their lips and down the front of her form in the most pleasant of ways, making her moan in turn.

Somehow they ended up seated on the sofa with her sitting in his lap, then lying on the sofa with him hovering above her. They pulled back from the heated kiss, chests heaving as they attempted to regain their breath. Natsu, not wanting to separate from her, started kissing her jawline, moving his lips along the curve of her cheek before nipping at her earlobe. Searing warmth shot down her spine and she moaned, flushing in embarrassment at the unseemly sound that had escaped her throat unbidden.

The dragon was mildly surprised by the reaction and the gratified feeling that it built up inside him, he wanted to hear her do that again. Kissing a path down to her throat he picked the spot between her neck and shoulder, nipping and sucking on the exposed flesh.

Natsu's menstruations were driving her insane and she couldn't keep the moans from tumbling out of her parted lips as he continued his work. Within the minute he pulled back to admire the mark that he'd left on her throat, giving it a final lick before returning his gaze to Lucy. Her hair, still dark with filth, was cascaded around her head, substantial chest heaving as she recovered from the intense make-out session. What was left of the collar of her shirt had been pulled down to further expose her throat to him and her lips were swollen from intense kisses. What most entranced him though were her eyes, sparkling like stars in the nights sky and so full of love and adoration that he wanted to drop down to his knees and thank the gods for giving her to him. All of this combined made her the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen and his love for her seemed to grow hundredfold.

"Be my mate" he breathed, resting his weight on his knees and elbows as he stared down at the busty blonde beneath him.

A slow smile came to her face and she wrapped her arms around his neck, toying with the hair at the base of his skull. "Of course" she replied.

He smiled at her in return and leaned down for another kiss. Their lips met and the world caught on fire.

Natsu woke the next morning to the scent of spring and blinked deliriously for a moment before his eyes managed to focus in on the head of dirt-covered gold cuddled up to his chest. A wide grin spread across his face as it all came back to him; Lucy had agreed to be his mate.

The fire dragon hasn't had many moments of absolute, true, complete, pure and unspoilable happiness in his life but last night was definitely one of them. They had consummated their new relationship shortly after she'd accepted his proposal, making her truly his in every sense of the word. He had been especially gentle with her given that it had been her first time – much to his immense pleasure – and she was still injured.

His arms wrapped more tightly around her waist, drawing her bare form closer to him. Lucy was still asleep and her soft breaths brushed against his shoulder as he rested her head against his collar.

Mine.