I do not own Fairy Tail, but I totally want to be a member.

"Gray, don't you ever give it a rest?" a female voice cried.

"What, who said that? Ahh!"

"A real man never looks away in a fight."

"O yeah Elfman? A real man always looks away for a pretty lady!"

"What?"

"Ha! Got you!"

Elfman lied on the floor, stars circling his eyes. Gray was standing over him, triumphant in his underwear, as always. Natsu couldn't help but be a little upset over the outcome. Yeah girls were pretty, but was it really worth it to get so distracted that you lose a fight? The women here were beautiful, but Natsu had grown up with most of them. The ones older than him seemed like mothers and the ones his age were his sisters. He could see them completely naked and never think twice about it. It was almost like seeing Gray naked, which was a sight everyone in the guild had seen on many occasions. Na, Natsu just didn't understand why these guys got so worked up over the girls around here.

"Seriously, do you have to pick a fight every day? You have to be tired of getting your ass handed to you on a silver platter all the time."

"Oh come on Luce. You know I win the fights I am in. Especially against Natsu."

The sound of his name made Natsu's head shoot up. That's when he saw her. She was wearring the outfit she had when they first met, a white tank top with blue trim and a blue miniskirt. Her blonde hair was up on a half pony tail and tied to the side. Her face was contorted in a sigh, her hand rubbing her forehead. Okay, he had to admit, maybe there was one girl here that could distract him. He never would admit it, though.

"Did you hear me Natsu? I said I could kick your ass! Come over here and fight me!" Gray said, trying hard to taunt him into a fight. Natsu was feeling down, but seeing Lucy made him want to fight. Almost as if he needed to prove himself. He knew it was silly, but he didn't care. Getting out some energy would be good for him.

"Alright, if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" Nastu answered. He walked over to Gray and was about to throw a punch when a hand on his chest stopped him. His adrenaline blinded his vision, so he didn't notice at first who had moved to stop him. Once it wore off he was shocked to see Lucy's hand square on his chest. It took everything in his power to keep himself from blushing. As it was, he could feel a nosebleed coming on.

"No. You two are not fighting today. Natsu has been through enough in the past week. You can just cool it for a few days Gray. If you want to beat something up, I suggest you take a job that requires violence."

"Awe dammit Lucy. I've got all this pent up aggression and I need to get it out. Elfman was too easy a target. Natsu will give me a much better challenge."

"I don't care."

"Come on Natsu, you can get pass her. Just push her arm off of your chest and let's brawl!"

Natsu was barely aware that Gray was still challenging him. It wasn't like Lucy had never touched him before, it was just that, well, it was like a long buried need was surfacing. He looked at her face that was turned towards Gray's with a argument on her lips. Her lips were very red and very plump. He wondered what they felt like. He almost reached his hand up to feel them when he heard Gray's plea to remove Lucy's hand from his chest. He looked at the ice wizard and understood what he was saying. He thought it was Lucy's hand that kept him from fighting. But that wasn't it at all. It was Lucy herself. Her pleas for them to cool off were working on him. His aggression had died down at hearing her voice. He grabbed her wrist, letting his hand linger for a bit longer than was proper, and moved it off of his chest. With a sigh he spoke,

"Go get a job Gray. I am going to go rest. Lucy's right, its been a long week."

"What? The great Salamander, turning down a fight? I never thought I would see the day."

"I ain't turning down this fight. I'm rescheduling it. I'll let you know when I want to continue."

With that Natsu left the guild hall. He put his hands in his pockets and started the walk to the boy's dorm. He hated it there. Sure, there was always a man to punch, but it was killer at night when you wanted to sleep. That's why he snuck into Lucy's apartment so much. He could actually get sleep there. There was also the bonus of seeing her, but he never let her know that.

Natsu unlocked his dorm room and stepped in. There wasn't much going on in here. He had a bed and some weights. The only modification he had done was to put fireproof walls and furniture in the room. Last thing he needed was to cause the whole boy's dorm to go up in smoke. That would cause way too much work for him to clean up later. The way it was now if he started a fire, it wouldn't spread and he could eat it quickly. He really hadn't thought of the idea, master suggested it.

This day he was very grateful for the fireproofing. He seemed to be heating up at every tip of his body. He didn't know why this was. He grazed his fingers along a piece of paper on his desk and he could see the soot forming on the page. He always had control over his fire, but recently it seemed if he got worked up then the fire tried to break free. He tried meditation, but his mind would always wonder and he body lit up. He knew what thoughts were causing the heat, and it wasn't like they were unpleasant.

Nastu striped his bed of their sheets to reveal the fireproof mattress. He laid down and let his mind wander. He visualized his newest best friend in front of him, smiling just for him. She was in an over sized shirt, which he instantly recognized as one of his. She bent over, bringing her face ever so close to his. As soon as the gap was small enough Nastu leaned forward and felt her lips with his. Her room temperate lips reacted to his superheated ones, causing her to back away. His visual showed her looking repulsed and scared of him, calling him a monster.

At this point Natsu didn't want to hold the vision any longer, so he snapped his lids back open. Looking back at his bed he saw were his body had tried burn through. He didn't know if he caught completely on fire, but he was sure that if his vision had gotten any hotter he would have too.

Natsu found himself back at the guild, ready to have a drink. He usually didn't drink alcohol, but he had to get this (her) out of his mind. He wanted so bad to tell her what was going on, but he knew what her reaction would be. She didn't want to be burned, literally, any more than the next girl. Plus he wasn't willing to do that do her anyway. It was a lost cause. He was utterly depressed when his fellow dragon slayer sat beside him.

"You look terrible. Did someone shit in your cheerios?" Gajeel asked.

"What's it to you?"

"Nothing. Forget I asked."

The two sat there for five minutes in silence, both sipping on their drinks. Gajeel tried again at a conversation.

"So, I heard something interesting today."

"Oh yeah, what was that?"

"I heard your birthday is tomorrow."

"Damn, I thought no one knew about that."

"Yeah well, it's a good thing I found out."

"What the fuck does it matter to you when my birthday is?"

"You're going to be twenty-one, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, if you don't want to know what happens to a dragon slayer on their twenty-first birthday then I will be going."

His statement caught Natsu's attention. He spun around quickly and grabbed Gajeel's arm, turning him to face him. "Where can we talk?"

Out passed the border of Magnolia, two dragon slayers sat on a rock overlooking the town. The sitting platform had only recently been made thanks to a heated debated between a certain ice make wizard and an armored goddess. Natsu waited for Gajeel to speak, but when he said nothing the boy spoke.

"Do you know whats been going on with me?"

"It's not like I stalk you. But I have a pretty good guess."

"Take a shot."

"You're having a hard time controlling your fire, right?"

"Yep."

"And you also have a hard time controlling your mind, right?"

"Right on the money there."

"Same thing happened to me. Except with metal and not fire."

"Did you, um, well…"

"Fantasize?"

"Holy shit. What is happening?"

"Ha. That makes me feel better. I was hoping I wasn't the only freak in this guild. Ya, my mind was constantly on it too."

"Damn. Anyone specific?"

"Yeah. Levy."

"Seriously? I mean, I knew you two had feelings, but did you really?"

"Hell yeah. We try to keep it on the down low though. It seems rather awkward for her. Even though her partners seemed to have moved on when we were gone, she still senses that they still have feelings for her. She doesn't want to break their hearts."

"That's gotta suck for you."

"How do you figure?"

"Well, do you love her, or it just for the sex?"

"Well, at first I really need the sex, as you can tell for yourself. But I slowly realized that the reason I wanted her for it was because my soul was drawn to hers. Am I making any sense?"

"Yeah, you actually are. But there is a problem."

"What's that."

"Well, metal can crush things, but fire can burn. What if I hurt her? What if I burn her?"

"Don't fret. That is actually why it is important that you take care of something before tomorrow."

"What is that?"

"Dude, for lack of a better term, you gotta make fantasy a reality before your birthday. If not, then it will be extremely hard for you to every be able to control your fire magic again."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Have you noticed that whoever this girl is has a calming power over you yet?"

"Damn. Yeah."

"That is exactly what your spirit needs. The dragon slayer spirit gets more and more out of control the longer it is in a human, or so I think. Your 'soul mate' is the one who can keep this rage in check. At least, that is what I have experienced. If it weren't for Levy, I am pretty sure you would have to hold me in an indestructible cage for the rest of my life. Same will go for you."

"But how does having sex help the situation."

"Again I am guessing, but I think it has something to do with animal instincts. Kind of like mating to claim what is yours."

Natsu lowered his head into his hands. This was all too much to take in at once. He has to find a way to have sex with the love of his life before tomorrow, and do it with her consent. That was a hard enough task in and of itself, let alone the injury it could cause him if she took it the wrong way.

"Damn, this shit is deep. How the hell am I supposed to explain this all to her and get this done tonight? I mean, she has a choice in all of this. If she doesn't want me, who am I to tell her what to do?"

"Again, I don't know about whoever yours is, but it comes back to the soul mate thing. She should be drawn to you too. She may not even know it yet, but it should be there. It was with us."

"Alright dude. Thanks. I'm glad you got to me in time."

"No problem. Oh, and Natsu?"

"Yeah."

Natsu had no time to react when a punch came at his face. After taking a moment to gather his composure, he revved his hand back and sent a punch flying at Gajeel. The two kept up the fist fight until they were drawing some blood. At that point Gajeel started laughing.

"Ha, I think this will do."

"What the hell did you punch me for?"

"Cause we can't have people thinking we came all this way out into the middle of nowhere to have a heart to heart. No way man. I ain't taking the gossip that would start if they thought we wanted to be alone."

"Alright, alright. I get your point. Let's head back to Fairy Tail. I got a celestial wizard to see."

"I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"You want in Lucy's pants."