Wow ok so this one ended up being really long. I had so much I wanted to get in and I hope you all still love it anyway. As we were all expecting, Lucy's matchmaking begins! But also towards the end, content finally lives up to it's M rating so please be aware of that. I am once again blown away by how many people are now following this story! 87 people! 34 favourites! I'm completely honoured by this! Anyway I'll stop talking now and let you guys get to the good stuff! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Mashima is the genius, not me.

The next morning it was Lucy who was waking up Natsu, who was apparently still tired from his activities of the day before. He was groaning and batting her hand away as she shook his shoulder.

"Come on Natsu! It's time to get up. Lisanna and I have already had breakfast and waited as long as we could. It's after 10 already, we won't get to see much if we don't leave soon."

Natsu finally sighed and rolled over, his hair mussed from sleep and his eyes still half shut. "Alright, alright, I'm getting up. Don't have to yell."

She rolled her eyes and turned away from him. He was still in that towel and seeing all that skin did strange things to her insides. She waited in her room for him and when he was finally dressed and ready to go, another 20 minutes had passed. She picked up the small bag she had packed for the day and grabbed his arm, dragging him to where Lisanna waited at the front of the facility.

"About time! Did you have to douse him with water? I've had to do that before, especially when he overexerts himself the day before." Lisanna gave him a pointed look and he very childishly stuck his tongue out back at her.

Lucy watched the two of them interact and didn't know whether to be encouraged or deterred by their behaviour. They had grown up together and so it should be easier to get them together, since they knew everything about each other; and yet it may be harder for precisely the same reason. After a quick stop by the dining hall for Natsu, they started the day with a walking tour of some of the sights. They visited the huge Cathedral first, which Lucy adored because of all the stain glass windows. When they entered, as if by unspoken agreement, each of the women linked an arm with Natsu while they walked, he tried to pull away.

"What are you guys doing?" He asked as they held on tight.

"You have a tendency to break things" Lucy started.

"And this is a church" Lisanna added. "We're just... Making sure everything stays in one piece."

"And in the place it's supposed to be in." Lucy finished while Natsu glared at them both, but he quit fighting them.

The artwork was beautiful. Stain glass windows depicted both humans and dragons, as well as simple Earthland scenery. The colours were cast upon the stone floor as the sun filtered through them. The stonework was sculpted into swirling arcs and designs that made the whole Cathedral feel peaceful somehow, which of course would be exactly what was wanted by the Bishops. A few stone busts depicted deceased members of the church and were placed along a long hallway to the right of the main entrance. They didn't linger long here and when they left neither one of them let go of his arms.

"So where to next?" Lucy asked, all of them blinking in the sudden sunlight.

"Well we're fairly close to the magic council, we can't go into the building without a scheduled appointment but we can look at it if you want." Lisanna offered.

"Sure why not, sounds interesting." Lucy smiled over at her, but Natsu made a face.

"Those guys are a pain in the ass, why would you want to see where all of them are at once? They see me there they'll find something to yell at me for." He was muttering.

"Well maybe if you were a bit more careful on your jobs they wouldn't have reason to chastise you so often." Lisanna countered. This made Natsu scowl and the two of them started to bickering back and forth about the way he did his jobs. Lucy took this opportunity to slip her arm from Natsu's and lag behind a couple steps. They may be fighting but at least they're interacting with each other. Neither one noticed while they fought that she wasn't right beside them anymore. Lucy made sure to stick close to them but she looked around at everything. It was bigger than Magnolia, but some things were still the same. There were people everywhere, shops, children playing, even a few animals wound around the people as they searched out scraps of food that might be dropped. They arrived at the magic council building and she was amazed at the sight.

"It's kind of... Flashy." Lucy commented, staring up at the building. It had jewels and precious metals laid against the stone to depict epic scenes of the council as they deliberated all the goings on around Earthland. In the center, just above the entrance way was the huge crest of the council. Created in onyx, it resembled the Egyptian Ankh.

Lisanna laughed and Natsu rolled his eyes, "They're the council, they have to make a great show of wealth and power so people know not to cross them." Lisanna said as an explanation.

"Still... It could have been put to better use than showing us 6 dragons and 6 humans sitting around a giant orb." Lucy commented.

"That's the Lacrima they use to spy on everyone with." Natsu said as he glared up at the stone building.

"They don't spy... Well sort of. They more... Monitor." Lisanna said tactfully.

"That's what people who spy on you say." Natsu muttered.

Lucy laughed, "How about we move on. Where else is a good place to go around here?" They went to a few other places of interest, old shops, the open air food market and even a tavern. The city was amazing, so full of laughter and voices, but while she did enjoy it, she much preferred the peacefulness of Magnolia. As they exited the tavern Lisanna said.

"There's one more place I wanted to take you Luce before we go to the amusement park, it's not exactly exciting, but for Natsu it's an important place, and I figured it might interest you." She led them through the winding streets. The noise eventually lessened and the homes and stores got smaller, until it tapered off into greenery. Trees and bushes, flowers and little benches to sit on. It was a park, but the atmosphere was a little... Quieter than that. Lisanna led them to where a great stone marker lay, smaller ones were lining a few pathways surrounding it. Lucy read the inscription and her eyes widened.

This stone marker is to commemorate the lives lost in the battle of Earthland. We will not forget those, be they human or dragon, who fought for the peace we have in our lands today.

The date at the bottom told Lucy the war had raged for nearly 300 years. She looked up at Lisanna to find her watching Natsu, who had moved closer to the monument and was touching the inscription. Lisanna came over to her and said quietly,

"Because he was raised by Igneel, who lived through the dragon wars, he's heard stories about the battles that raged. He knows the cruelty that was done and received by both sides. I know he wishes he had been alive back then to help in the fight, but I'm glad he wasn't. Being who he is I'm sure he would have given his life to save either a human or a dragon. He won't tell us about what Igneel told him, says it's not something you want to know, but as long as he remembers, it won't be forgotten. If it comes to another war someday, he and the other slayers trained by dragons will lend their voice to those still alive today from that time, and try to work towards another peace."

They watched Natsu and for a long while he didn't move, she and Lisanna could tell he was remembering. Lucy could see a flicker of red move in and out of his eyes, like it was wavering. Frowning she said to Lisanna,

"I think we need to go, it's not good for him to dwell." The other woman nodded and moved forward to tell Natsu they were leaving.

Lucy turned from the marker and stepped right into someone, she nearly lost her balance but large hands came out and steadied her.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Lucy flushed slightly.

The man who smiled at her was around the same age, his hair was black and emerald green eyes sparkled with amusement, "It's not a problem, I'm used to ladies falling at my feet."

Lucy rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile. "I'm sure you are, that tends to happen when you bump into them."

"Excuse me, but you're the one who wasn't watching where they were going." He said laughing lightly.

"Well lets not play the blame game here, lets just both agree to watch where we're going next time alright?"

Grinning he replied, "Alright, I can agree to that."

The both stood around a little awkwardly for a moment before he asked, "Are you visiting for the first time too? I heard about the monument from the innkeeper and thought I'd come take a look."

Lucy looked over her shoulder to where Lisanna had her arm around Natsu, she was obviously trying to coax him into leaving. "Yeah, a friend of mine is taking me on a tour of the city." She turned back to him, "It's sad what happened, and for how long, before peace could be made between humans and dragons."

"Indeed it is, I'm glad for this time of peace and I hope it lasts, but both species are a bit fickle and... Well sometimes the slightest thing can set us all off."

Lucy was about to respond when Natsu appeared at her side.

"Who's this guy Lucy?" He asked, just a tad bit hostile.

"This is uh..." her brow furrowed, she hadn't asked his name.

"Alphonse" He bowed just slightly, "I caused the lady here to loose her balance, and she was soothing my ego by conversing with me."

Lucy laughed as Natsu scowled, "That's a polite way of saying I ran straight into him because I wasn't watching where I was going."

Alphonse shrugged, "I am nothing if not polite. It was a pleasure to meet you Lucy, I can see you and your friends are ready to move on. Enjoy the city." With a smile he moved around them and continued on up the steps to the monument.

Once he was out of earshot Lisanna commented, "Well he was handsome, look at you Lucy, flirting with random men."

Lucy flushed, "I wasn't flirting, just making conversation."

Lisanna's eyes sparkled, "I'm sure you were."

"Well I don't like him." Natsu said suddenly.

Both women looked at him but it was Lisanna who spoke, "He said all of two words to you, how can you decide whether or not you like him?"

"He smells weird and the way he talks... I don't like him." Natsu said, folding his arms across his chest.

Both women were exasperated and shook their heads, "Well I'm sure we'll never see him again so you don't have to like him now do you?" Lucy asked.

That seemed to make him happier because he smiled then. "Yeah, you're right. Come on, lets go to the amusement park!"

Both women followed him, they were getting their exercise today, it seemed that everywhere they wanted to go was on the opposite side of the city. Eventually they came upon the large red gates that proclaimed "Earthland Park". Dozens of people streamed through and up to the booths where you purchased your passes to both the amusement and water park. Lucy's eyes widened at the admission cost, but she paid for both herself and Natsu, glad that Lisanna had said she'd pay her own way.

It suddenly occurred to Lucy that they were about to go on rides, and that Natsu had motion sickness. Turning to where the two of them were putting on their day pass bracelets she asked,

"How does this work with Natsu's sickness?"

Natsu grinned and pointed to a decent sized tent behind her, "I go in there, the first aid tent. The nurse inside is there for minor injuries, but also for people like me. She casts Troya so we can enjoy the rides." He made his way over to the tent and came back out a few minutes later, giving them a thumbs up. "Good to go!"

They grabbed a map from the information kiosk and sat down on a bench to plot out where they were going to go. Lucy found it funny that even though he had a huge problem with motion sickness, Natsu's favourite rides were the roller coasters. As they discussed where they were going to go, Lucy's mind was also spinning with ways to push her two friends together. It had to be subtle, so she wasn't obvious, but she thought she'd figured out a fairly decent way to get them to spend a bunch of time together here at the park. With their course plotted out they folded the map and headed out.

Their first stop was a scary looking coaster, it had no track but the seats were visible and fit two. Lucy maneuvered behind her two friends so they were in one car while she was in the other. As soon as she was seated she started to freak out a little. Why was she doing this? There was no track, how did a roller coaster move without a track? As the ride started she gripped the safety bar, her heart was pounding and suddenly they were making a vertical ascent. Not like a normal coaster, but straight up. They hovered high above the park before the cars dipped to the right and started plummeting downward. Without knowing where the cars would go next it was absolutely terrifying, she was screaming her head off and clinging to the stranger next to her with a white knuckled grip. It went up and down, side to side, rolled and even did loops. By the time it came to an end she was glued to the seat and the girl next to her had to pry Lucy's hand away from her arm.

Lisanna and Natsu were laughing as they got out of their car and they looked back at her. Lisanna grinned, "I don't think she liked it too much."

Natsu threw his arm around Lucy and said, "Hey it wasn't that bad right? Not knowing where it's going to go makes it better!"

"Yeah, sure" Was all she could manage. The two of them wanted to ride it again and Lucy told them to go ahead, she would just wait over by the trees until they were done. She wanted them to spend more time together right? What better way than by riding a scary ass coaster? While they were gone she looked at the map, finding a few other things she wanted to see. There was a little oddities and rarities museum in the park with things from around Earthland many didn't get to see, or things no one could explain. There was also the prize booths, those were always romantic right? Win a stuffed animal for your sweetheart?

Lisanna and Natsu were back about 20 minutes later and let her pick where they went next. The next few hours were spent going on a bunch of rides. She was surprised to find out how many were like the ones back home. Of course they varied slightly, the teacups were mashed together with bumper cars where you got into turtle shells instead and you didn't control the spinning, you got spun and just ran into other shells until everyone stopped. They went on the Ferris wheel which was exactly the same, no matter the world you can't change a classic right? Every ride they went on she made sure that Natsu and Lisanna were paired together. She didn't think they noticed but every so often Natsu would give her a strange look. She either ignored it or asked him what was wrong, but he never replied.

She eventually convinced them to go into the rarity and oddity museum because she had never seen it. The place was amazing, she saw scales from a multi-hued dragon after a shedding. The shell of a golden dragon egg, they were endangered and fewer than 100 still existed. There were diaries from the war, letters too, from people on the front lines writing home. Books written in a language no one could read anymore, its secrets locked away forever. The oddities were pretty standard, a fish with three eyes, a mouse as big as a cat, but at the end of the exhibit there was a pedestal. People were crowded around it, the sign proclaimed, "Mystery object", and the description said it was found in the forests outside Hakobe mountain. There seemed to be buttons on it but they didn't do anything, and when the back of the object came off it looked like a maze. Lucy was curious as to what it was, but they had to wait for people to clear.

"This thing is freaky, it was found just about 2 years ago. No one knows what the hell it is." Lisanna said, she was standing on her toes and trying to get a look already.

"No one knows? Doesn't that seem a little strange? Surely it would have to be in some book or history somewhere right?" Lucy asked.

"No, they researched it for a while and no records could be found about it at all. Besides, it doesn't look aged at all. It's just... Weird." Natsu said, his eyes were lit up.

They got closer to it and Lucy was just about dying of curiosity, when they finally got up to the front she felt her excitement leap, but in about 3 seconds it was replaced with absolute astonishment. Without even thinking she said,

"A cell phone?" She was staring at it like it might jump out and bite her.

"Cell phone? What's a cell phone?" Lisanna asked, confusion in her voice.

"Lucy says the weirdest stuff sometimes. I don't know what goes on in her head, it's better just to ignore her ramblings." Natsu said as if he were the authority on such things.

Lucy was still staring at the cell phone, it was like white noise had drowned out everything around her. This was her world, one she had created, one that she alone had ever been to. Right? So how in the hell was she staring at a cell phone right now?

The people in line behind her started to protest that she was taking too long and the three of them had to move on. She decided to push her musings aside for another time and simply enjoy the rest of the day. Alone in bed tonight would be a better place to start freaking out. They went on to the game booths next. They were really cool, each game was different, but if you were a wizard the game was specially changed just for you. If the game was knocking down wooden blocks for someone without magic, someone with fire magic would then have one chance to unfreeze the block to win a prize. It worked against what you were able to do. Natsu asked Lucy what game they should play but she told Lisanna to pick instead. She picked one where you had to toss darts through a certain amount of rings to win a prize. When the vendor realized Natsu was a fire wizard he changed it up, Natsu now had to breath a hole through as many circles of ice as he could in 30 seconds. If he made more than 15 he won a prize, make more than 20 and you win the giant stuffed duck wearing a chef's hat.

Of course being Natsu, he took the challenge way too seriously and ended up blasting a hole through all 40 rings. For this the amazed vendor told him he could have the giant duck as well as the winged fish from the booth next to his. Grinning, a prize in each hand, he asked Lucy which one she wanted.

"Let Lisanna pick first!" Lucy said with a smile, Natsu's face showed his confusion again but he turned to let Lisanna pick.

"I'll take the fish, his wings look so floofy" She laughed.

Natsu presented the duck to her and as she was taking it he asked in a low voice, "Are you alright? You're acting weird today."

She raised a brow at him and pulled the duck from his grasp, "I'm fine, you're imagining things." He scowled at her but let it go.

From there they decided it was time to eat, they went to the food area where it housed so many booths from all around Earthland. Each place offering a dish unique to their corner of the world. Some of it was really gross, like the seafood with a million legs and eyes. Others were really yummy like the green fruit with little blue spots. They ate their fill and then decided to head over to the water park. She and Lisanna headed to the change room where they had stored their bag at the beginning of the day.

"Are you having fun Lucy? It feels like you're holding back a little today." Lisanna commented while they were changing.

"I'm having loads of fun! I just don't like roller coasters much it seems, especially ones with no track!" Lucy shuddered at the memory.

Lisanna grinned, "Well that's one of my favourites so I can't say I really understand it, but next time we won't go on that one. That thing in the museum really shook you. Did you actually recognize it?"

"What? No of course not, it's like nothing on Earthland right?" Lucy said with a little laugh, but the image of the cell phone lying in that case came back to her at that moment. It was really disturbing, not knowing where it came from. Who else could possibly be here?

Lisanna had to call her name a couple times before she heard it, her friend looked at her worriedly. "Are you absolutely sure you're ok? We can just head back if you're not up to it."

"No! No, I'm fine. Sorry, I was getting caught up in my own thoughts." She smiled sheepishly and the two of them walked out to find Natsu leaning against a tall tree near the beachy part of the water park.

"Finally!" He called, walking over to them. "Girls take forever to get changed." He glanced at Lucy and then at Lisanna before he turned and started marching towards the water. Lucy watched him as he went, there was all that skin again, and here were all those feelings she damn well shouldn't be having.

They followed him into the water, where he proceeded to swim and splash and be a general nuisance to everyone around him. The two women grabbed hold of him after he had splashed them and left them coughing up water. They each held one of his arms and dunked him under the water, dragging him backwards. He fought and kicked but they didn't let go until they ran out of air. They came up giggling while he came up sputtering.

"No fair! You can't gang up on me like that!" He shouted.

"Well stop splashing us then!" Lucy yelled back.

"It's a water park! You have to splash!" Natsu protested

"No you don't, you can just swim like a normal person" Lucy said, frustrated.

"You two are no fun" He crossed his arms, pouting.

"Why don't we go on some slides, that way you're basically splashing yourself when you get to the bottom." Lisanna suggested, they all agreed. The slides were fun, Lucy chose ones that dipped and curved rather than plummeted. Natsu and Lisanna went more on those ones. She felt a little left out as they ran up the steps to different slides than she did, laughing while they talked about the one they had just went on. It was what she wanted right? So why did it make her chest hurt?

She was suddenly getting tired when a voice behind her said,

"I'm giving you fair warning right now that I'm behind you, wouldn't want you falling at my feet again now would we?"

Lucy turned around to see Alphonse standing there with a smile. He was as soaked as everyone else around them and she couldn't help but smile back.

"It's almost like you're following me."

"Ah fair lady I am not, though I cannot say I am sorry to see you again. Where are your friends? Did they not come with you?" He looked above her on the stairs.

Lucy pointed to another set of stairs leading to the slide they called Mountain Drop. It was a sheer vertical slide where you were more or less falling with the occasional contact of the slide. Alphonse looked distinctly uncomfortable with the nature of the ride and she was amused at that.

"Yes well, I hope they enjoy it. This one is good enough for me. It's a doubles ride, care to be my partner?" He asked as they approached the top.

Lucy was relieved to have someone to go on a slide with and when they reached the top she sat in the back while he was in the front, making sure they went a bit faster. This slide was covered and for most of the ride it was pitch dark inside, their laughter and the echo of the water were the only sounds. Then suddenly colours burst forth, illuminating them as they descended. It was incredible.

When they reached the bottom he asked her if she wanted to go on another with him since Natsu and Lisanna were still waiting for their turn on the Mountain Drop. It was a popular one with thrill seekers and the line was long. Lucy said yes and they managed to go on three more before Lisanna and Natsu finally reached the bottom pool where they had just completed their own ride.

"Well look who you found!" Lisanna said with a smile.

Alphonse sketched a slight bow and smiled, "I was keeping Miss Lucy company while you two waited for your turn, but now that you have returned I am no longer needed and should be on my way."

Natsu had been scowling at the man ever since they realized who Lucy was with. He seemed pleased that Alphonse was about to leave, but then Lisanna said,

"No stay! I'm afraid Lucy's tastes in rides are a bit more tame than ours, but we were planning on heading to the lazy river now if you'd like to join us."

The man's gaze went over to Natsu, who was standing just behind the girls with a distinctly unfriendly look on his face. "I wish I could, but I'm afraid I've been away from my own party for too long already. They are likely to think I've drowned." He said in mock horror.

"Well thank you for keeping me company, and again it was nice to have met you. I hope you have a good stay!" Lucy said smiling at him.

Alphonse sketched them another bow, placing a kiss on the back of Lucy's hand before he departed. Natsu moved closer to Lucy the second the other man was gone and once again muttered.

"I don't like him..."

Both girls just rolled their eyes and they went to the Lazy river, all three of them floating along as they wound down. The sun was starting to set in the sky and they were all pretty tired from the day. Since Natsu still had Troya cast on him and it would last for the next couple hours at least, they opted to take the tram back instead of walking. Lucy was so used to doing it by this point in the day she didn't even think before dropping back to let Lisanna and Natsu sit together. He looked back over his shoulder at her and she knew the look meant he was going to have words for her once they were alone. She had been found out and wasn't really looking forward to that conversation.

They made it back to the dorm where Lisanna bid them goodnight from behind a yawn and disappeared into her room. Going a little further down the hall she and Natsu made it to their adjoining set and she wasn't surprised when he followed her into her side and shut the door.

"So, are you going to tell me what the hell was going on with you today? You acted like you didn't want to be there at all!" He accused, his face a touch of angry and hurt.

"Of course I wanted to be there Natsu, I wouldn't have suggested the trip if I didn't want to go!" She was frowning as she placed the duck in the corner of the room, it took up a lot of space. Carting it back to Magnolia would be fun.

"So it was the company you didn't want to be around then? You kept shoving Lisanna at me whenever I tried to do something with you and when I finally do what you seem to want me to you find that annoying guy and hang out with him instead! Were you really flirting with him? Like Lisanna said?" He was referring to Alphonse and looked extremely irritated at that fact.

"No! Natsu that's not it! You just don't see Lisanna that often and I thought you might want to have some time with her, get reacquainted with her..."

"Reacquainted?" Natsu interrupted her, "Why on earth would I need to get reacquainted with her? I see her at least twice a year. It's not like I haven't seen her in 10 years or something. I call bullshit on that as an excuse. You either didn't want to be there, or you didn't want to spend time with either of us, which in the end is kind of the same thing. So? Which is it? Should we just head home now? Tell Lisanna you don't like her and leave?" He was furious now.

"You damn well know I like Lisanna just fine! I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't!" She was angry now too. Her fists clenched at her side.

"Doing what? Acting like you'd rather be anywhere but around us?"

"No you idiot! I was trying to set you guys up!" She finally blurted out.

The comment made him pause, as if he was going over everything that had happened that day again in his head. She could see the anger start to bleed out of him and then suddenly he was laughing.

"You were... Trying to set me and Lisanna up? Wh... Why the hell would you do something like that?" He was amused now, grinning.

"Well... You told me that the two of you raised Happy together and she had wanted to be your wife one day... I thought maybe I could help you realize your feelings for each other." Lucy said defensively.

Natsu was shaking his head as he stepped closer to her. "Lisanna is like my sister, whatever happened then was just day dreaming that kids do. I don't see her that way at all now, she doesn't see me that way either."

"How do you know that? Maybe she has feelings for you!" Lucy grasped as she watched her whole plan dissolving.

"We talked about it a long time ago, neither one of us has unrequited feelings Luce, so I'm sorry to say but you're just going to have to forget about your big plans. Lisanna and I will never be a couple." He grinned at her a tugged a lock of hair. "Besides, if I was planning on dating anyone, you'd be the first one I asked."

Lucy was so completely shocked by his statement that she didn't realize he had walked away from her until she heard the connecting door snick shut. Apparently it was his way of telling her they were done talking since it hadn't been closed once in the few days they'd been here.

She had to sit down, numbly walking over to the bed she plopped down. This day had not gone anything like she had planned. She had been hoping that it would end with either Lisanna or Natsu talking to her about the other one, or maybe she would slip away while they talked late into the night. She had so completely misjudged everything that she hadn't even been aware that Natsu saw HER the way she had been trying to get him to see Lisanna. Was she really upset he hadn't seen the other woman that way? No not really, because if Lucy was finally being honest with herself... She liked Natsu, but he had said she would be the first one she asked, IF he was dating. So he wasn't dating... Why not? Her mind went to how strange he'd been acting lately and she wondered if that had anything to do with it. That itself was a whole other issue she had to get to the bottom of. She was worried about him. Something was going on, something that was a danger to not only Natsu but she was starting to fear for others as well. The only way to get to the bottom of it all was to catch him doing... Whatever it was he was doing.

Lucy went down to the end of the hall and took a shower, washing off the chlorine before she slipped into a comfortable pair of pants and a sweatshirt. She sat on the bed and waited, she didn't know if he went out every night, but if he did tonight. She'd follow him.

There was no movement inside the other room for a long time, hours. She had picked up a book from the bag she brought and started to read once the first hour mark had passed. It wasn't until around 2:30 the next morning that she heard something. A faint thump and then a low growl. She heard the door to his room open into the hallway and then his retreating footsteps. She waited a couple seconds and then followed after him.

Natsu was ahead of her about 100 yards. She hoped with his dragon ears and nose he couldn't tell she was following him, but he seemed more than a little preoccupied by whatever it was he was doing to pay much attention to anything around him. He left the dorm and went out across the common area, past the research center and then the nursery. He stopped in front of the nesting door before turning to go along the outside of the large barn like structure. Once he got out in to the open field she heard a loud growl and he took off running for the forest in the distance. She was afraid she was going to loose him, he was fast, and had much more stamina than she did. He disappeared into the trees and by the time she reached them she couldn't see, or hear him.

She stopped, waiting, listening. Long minutes passed before she heard a faint rustling in the trees and the cry of an animal, a sort of ripping sound followed it. She slowly made her way towards the sounds and what she saw shocked her to the core. An animal lie dead on it side, and a creature knelt beside it, eating. She could hear tearing flesh, the squishing of blood, the smell of copper. The hands she saw were scaled, short black wings expanded and retracted with the movements being made. She could hear her heart thudding in her chest, she was suddenly terrified. Terrified of being caught, terrified of Natsu being found by this creature... She must have made a sound because the creature snapped it's head around and red eyes pierced straight into her soul. Her worst fear had just been confirmed. It was Natsu who knelt over the animal. Black horns sprouted from hi hairline and large fangs had descended into his mouth. He dropped the piece of flesh he had been eating and stood up, a low growl emitting from his throat, he snapped his jaw at her and every instinct in her said to run. So she did, only making it two steps before he had grabbed the ends of her hair. Snarling he pulled her around to face him, one scaled hand went to her throat and squeezed as he leaned in, sniffing her. He was making a low, dangerous noise as he took in who she was, what she was. Lucy didn't think she'd ever been more terrified in all her life. She could feel her whole body shaking as she brought her hand up to touch the face of the man she had come to call friend.

"Natsu?" She said quietly, unable to keep a tremble from her voice.

He blinked, pulling back slightly from her, and then he snorted. The grip on her throat loosened and Lucy was encouraged by the small change.

"Natsu it's me... Lucy." She tried again.

The hand dropped from her throat and he staggered back. Bloody hands pressing into his equally bloody face as he doubled over. She watched as the horns began to shrink and disappear, the wings faded away. The scales smoothed out into his normal skin colour and when he looked up, it was only the red eyes that gave away what he had just been.

Lucy stepped forward and reached out a hand to him, taking it gently in her own. His eyes darted down to where their fingers linked and she watched as red gave way to gold. He was panting as he looked back up at her, a pained expression on his face.

"I never... Wanted you to see that..." His voice was harsh, not quite his yet.

"Natsu... I think it's time to tell me what's going on with you." She said gently.

"Yeah, I guess I can't hide it anymore."

Dun dun DUUUN! Well I've finally reached the point in the story where it's darker! How did I do? Did I peak your interest? I hope so, I've got a lot more planned. I know the matchmaking wasn't overly exciting or funny, but I thought it was wonderfully and subtly done. Also, I imagined Alphonse with an English accent. Did anyone else? Please, as always, let me know what you thought!

Thank you to those who reviewed last chapter!

aoutre: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I hope you continue to do so!

Askinsky: I didn't put a lot of conversation into the last chapter, I wanted to show everyone the facility and it ended up being a lot of description. I hope you didn't feel the same detatchment with this chapter :( I'm glad you liked the dragons though! It was fun coming up with all of the different kinds. Well he stopped being angsty, you happy now? :P

Aviend: Thank you! I love the original world and while I will of course change some things around to make it my own, I keep as close to Mashima's creations as possible. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

walkeabb000: Yay! I'm glad you like it! I've always been fascinated with the concept and writing it has been a lot of fun! Hope you liked this chapter!

calspirit15: Well she did, and he told her in a round about way he likes her to, but with what just happened, how will it go?

rawrlikerue: You make me blush with your reviews lol. We found out where the blood came from, and as to Cana and Levy... You'll just have to wait and see.

Crimsonlink310: I've given away a big part of that mystery! Next week comes the explanation. I hope you're not on pins and needles all week waiting for it. (ok I am hehe) I couldn't really think of a big way to try and have Lucy get them together so I just went with subtle and I think it went well, not sure if you or others agree though. :) I'm glad you enjoyed all the different dragon types. It was honestly so fun to write.

Until next time!

Lilith Mey