Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.

The Dragon Slayer Prophecy

Chapter 7: Private Matters

One bed. Double size. Enough for two people to sleep on.

That was all I thought of, totally disregarding the bigger picture of the predicament that we were all facing. I mean, it was understandable that the Edolas Fairy Tail was running out of rooms, but this was just a little too much. After all, it was Natsu whom I was going to…..

Natsu? Oh goodness! Why did it have to be him of all people? I mean, during lengthy quests, I wouldn't have minded sharing a bed with Carla, Lucy, or Erza if we had to stay the night at an inn. However, I wouldn't have dared tried asking to sleep with any of the guys. Honestly, that thought had never ran across my mind up until now, and currently, I was facing what seemed to be my biggest challenge in life so far, and it had nothing to do with physical endurance nor combat.

As I stood there, dumfounded and shocked, I could sense Natsu beside me, sweating like crazy. Was he just as nervous as I was? Oh no, I must've made him feel awkward! I wanted to speak with him about it, but I was too stunned to even utter a word. I guess I might have had too much information taken in today, and my senses were becoming null, as all I felt right now was this intense heartbeat that ceased to stop pounding against my chest.

However, it was Natsu who spoke first.

"Um Wendy? You can take the bed if you want. I can just sleep on the floor since, y'know, things like this and that…"

"Natsu-san?"

Natsu continued to mumble nonsense, which I interpreted as an excuse not to share a bed with me. While I did think it was chivalrous of him to think about how I felt, I didn't want him to suffer lying down on a hardwood floor. I guess it would be alright; it was just for one night, right?

"I…I…It's okay, N…N…Natsu-san…." I stuttered as I fidgeted with my hands behind my back. "I…I don't m…m…mind…"

"HUH?" Natsu staggered back a little, with a look of utter terror on his face. Well, that must have been a shocking revelation for him. I even surprised myself a little at Natsu's reaction. He normally wouldn't usually be so cautious around these matters, but here he was, just as shaky and uncomfortable at the fact that we might be forced to…. Ah geez, what was I thinking?

Natsu held his hands up in a surrendering kind of gesture. "No, no, it's fine!" He said as he paced back and forth around the room. "You don't have to worry yourself with this! I'll just find a nice soft piece of floor to…"

"I TOLD YOU IT'S OKAY!"

Natsu froze for a second while I stood there, confused as to why I had suddenly let out that outburst. What did I just do? What was I thinking? Was I really okay with this? More importantly, was Natsu okay with this? I know that deep down, I really liked this man, but sleeping in the same bed was going a bit too far. At least, that was what I thought.

"See, look here," I walked over to the bed and picked up one of the blankets. I started rolling it up, and then I placed it down the middle of the bed. "We can just keep it this way, right? I get this side of the bed, and you get that side. There, problem solved!" I tried to smile, but I felt like it was forced.

At first, Natsu didn't seem to understand what was going on. However, when it did get to him, he went back to his old cheery self. "There we go! Why couldn't I have thought of that?" He let out a sigh of relief before he continued, "That's why we have you on our team Wendy, because I wouldn't have know what to do in this situation, heh heh…"

I felt myself blush a little. Sure, it was a pretty stupid compliment for such a little thing really. However, it was Natsu we were talking about here. Any praise I got from him stung like a nettle through my heart.

There was a faint grumbling sound.

I didn't even need to figure out that it was Natsu's stomach rumbling. He clutched it, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Heh, who knew how hungry I was after all that? Y'know what? Why don't I try to find us something to eat? You wanna come along?"

"No, it's alright. I think I'll rest here for a bit. You go on ahead without me."

After politely declining, Natsu headed out, leaving me alone to collect my thoughts. I really needed to cool off somehow. Maybe a shower would help, I thought as I entered the bathroom.

I stared at myself in the mirror for a bit. How to describe myself in my current condition: a flustered young woman with blue pigtails who only looked cuter the more she felt insecure about himself. Gosh, why did I have to look like this? I never asked for this appearance, yet as I aged, I couldn't help but realize how much more feminine I've become. To think that these past few years that I had been on the receiving end of looks from various male residents of Magnolia…..

Taking off my clothes, I folded them neatly and put them on the floor by the door. Opening the shower stall, I slowly made my way in and turned it on. I felt a lush wave of cold water rinse down my back, slowly becoming warmer as I turned up the heat. I let out a sigh of relief as I let the water rain down upon my head and flow down through my hair.

Sometimes, a relaxing shower was worth it after a long day to soothe out all your troubles. The showers at Fairy Hills were nice enough, but there was something about this shower that made me feel enlightened; as though I had reached a whole new plane of existence. All the world's troubles forgotten, I continued to enjoy myself as I rinsed my hair with the sweet-smelling shampoo they had; brushing it along at the same time.

Grabbing a bar of lavender-scented soap, I let it glide down along my body, feeling its effects working down my pores; opening them up and cleansing my soul. Once again, I let the water flow down my body, completely exposing myself to the joy the shower had to offer me. And for once, I felt free, free to do whatever…..

CRASH!

"Sorry! Can't seem to find a bathroom anywhere! I….."

There he was. In the doorway. Facing my direction.

Here I was. In the shower. Completely exposed in every which way.

"KKKKKYYYYYYAAAAA!"

"I'm sorry!" Natsu yelled as he quickly ran out.

Quickly, I turned off the shower, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself. I stepped out cautiously, before collapsing against the wall, slowing moving into the sitting position. Never, in my whole life, have I ever been so….. No wait, actually I had been in these kinds of situations before. It was just that, this time, I couldn't have felt so…..

I got dressed as quickly as possible before heading out the bathroom and into the bedroom. Sure enough, Natsu was in the corner of the room, banging his head against the wall.

"Stupid! Stupid! Idiot! What! Was! I! Thinking?" Natsu shouted between every bang. "She's! Not! What! You! Think! You'll! Never! Be! Able! To!"

"Natsu-san?"

"WHA! WHAT! Oh….. Hey Wendy…. Um…..I…" Natsu turned around timidly, his face as red as the strawberries that were usually on Erza's cake, before kneeling on the floor, bowing in a mocking sort of fashion.

"I swear! I didn't see anything! If I did, Erza would kill me!"

"Natsu-san, it's okay, you don't have to worry about it. I won't tell Erza-san."

"Eh?" Natsu looked up at me like an innocent child. "You sure? You ain't mad at me?"

"Of course not, why would I be mad?" I said with a warm smile. "As long as it was just an accident, it'll be fine! Don't worry!"

A few years back, Erza had set up a regulation within the guild that moderated misconduct among the male members of the guild. The most common mishap was a male member peeking through the female baths, and anyone who was caught doing it was to receive a punishment so severe that no one dared talk about it. It was because of this that people like Natsu and Gray were no longer unaware about invading the privacy of women.

I could tell that Natsu was relieved, as he fell backwards and landed on the floor hard, a look of satisfaction on his face. He started giggling a little, making him look more and more like a little child who had just successfully got their parents to get something they wanted.

I managed to stifle a little laugh as I watched Natsu go about with his antics. Sure, he was immature for the most part, but over time, he had learned to be a bit more modest with things; although it would take him quite a while to completely cleanse his mind from all those naughty thoughts…

As Natsu finally composed himself, he got up, still looking cheerful; though I could tell he still had that feeling of guilt stuck inside of him.

"Look Wendy, I'm still sorry about what happened earlier, but since you've forgiven me, then I've got nothing to worry about, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded, feeling that faint blush creep up on my face again. However, the problem with sleeping together on the same bed still remained. Even though my idea seemed good enough to pass up on, there was still no denying that I was going to have someone of the opposite gender sleeping right next to me.

"Okay then. Whew! Now I'm totally wiped out. Let's get some sleep now, shall we?" Natsu stretched his arms before collapsing on the left side of the bed. Without a second to spare, he was soon fast asleep.

Well, there didn't seem to be anything to lose. Plus, I was getting pretty tired too. Yawning, I carefully made my way towards to other side of the bed and pulled the covers over myself. However, my curiosity got the better of me as I got up and snuck a glance at the other side. There he was, Natsu Dragneel, snoring away with his mouth agape, drooling.

He wasn't perfect. He wasn't even the type that most girls would swoon over. However, it was him that my heart had grown a liking to. It didn't matter what other people said, because I had made my choice, and there was no way I could falter away from it. Smiling at this lovable idiot, I felt my eyelids droop as I drifted off into darkness…..

"Natsu-san! Please stop! Don't hurt our friends!"

But he wouldn't listen. The demonic being punched through the crowds with his flaming fists, roaring in satisfaction as they all fell to his unstoppable rampage. I only watched in utter terror as people I knew, friends I have grown to love, lose their lives to this raging menace.

I tried to reach out to him. I tried in my best interests to restrain him. But he just plowed on through. And the worst was yet to come.

That blinding flash of light that struck through him.

That streak of crimson red that blinded my eyes.

That scene of him, the one I loved, falling to his death.

This sensation, it was driving me crazy. Fueled by both rage and sorrow, I felt myself change, both physically and mentally. I was becoming more than what I thought I was. I was…..

"Humans. Must be destroyed. At all costs…"

I screamed at the top of my lungs. I jerked myself awake, sweating like crazy as I sat there, breathing heavily. It was only a dream; it was only a dream for goodness sake!

But it just seemed so real! I never had felt this way towards a dream, and plus, this wasn't the first time I had succumbed to it. What if it really did have something to do with the prophecy? What if this was to really happen sometime in the near future? Was there any way in avoiding it? As questions continued to formulate in my head, my eyes began to water. Oh geez, why did I have to get so emotional over this? If only I…..

"Wendy?"

"Eh?"

Natsu was awake. Dear gods, why did this have to happen now? As I roughly tried to wipe away my tears, Natsu's arm reach out and grabbed my own. Confused, I looked beside me and saw this extremely rare, pained look on his face.

"You're crying."

"No, Natsu-san, I'm not! It's just that, um, I had….."

"Nightmares. Yeah, I get them to." Quite suddenly, Natsu tossed aside the blanket wedged between us and pulled me closer towards him, which caught me off guard. Whoa, what was going on here?

"Natsu-san!"

He wrapped his free arm around me as he pulled me in closer, exposing me to his body heat. Almost immediately, I began to warm up to his touch, and I couldn't even determine whether the burning sensation across my face was me blushing or from Natsu's warmth. I began to feel better, enlightened even, that I was being exposed to such intimacy. If only I could tell him now. If I could…..

"Wendy, if you ever cry again, I swear that whoever made you that way while be paid back tenfold! That's a promise I'm gonna keep. Count on it."

I replied with only a nod. I was too tired, yet I felt so good resting in his arms. Only time will tell how far I was willing to go in order to get what I wanted, but for now, this was good enough.

And I was going to find out that I really depended on him a lot sooner than expected.

A/N: Whew, another chapter done! Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have to go punish myself for writing out that little shower scene...

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