Author's Note: It's been a very long month for me, full of midterms (which I nearly failed even after hours of studying) and failed chemistry labs, but all your encouraging comments helped me pull through. Thank you to everyone who took a moment of their time to review. It really took some of the stress out of my life.

By the way, I attempted to participate in lit'ashe's Fairy Tail Writing Challenges and only had enough time to complete one round, but if you feel like reading a short and rather depressing Natsu x Lucy one-shot, check out my story Minutes.

On a happier note, it's another chapter! This one really gets the ball rolling, so prepare yourself! I hope it's worth how long you've all been waiting-and don't worry; this story is far from over. :)

Warning: Hotness lies ahead. ;D


Possession by HawkofNavarre

Chapter 9 – Creation Day


Stupid dragon traditions. Natsu didn't normally abhor them, but this upcoming day was not one he enjoyed in particular. Dancing on the New Year was fine and the Festival of Dragons was usually pretty fun. He just didn't understand why, amongst all things, dragons had a specific date to, well, up their libido.

Dragons mated for life and this day was no exception to the rule. It was just that males adopted a stronger sense of smell as well as an insane hormone boost, and females gave off a more powerful scent. Therefore, males would be more attracted to females leading unmated dragons to find partners. Of course, this often led to a night of love-making, thus giving the day the name of "Creation Day."

Unfortunately, if you were a dragon slayer who knew his partner was supposed to be and did not want to expose his feelings to this woman, you were screwed. Natsu knew this very well and had been putting off what he should do about it for weeks until today. With that wretched day being tomorrow, he couldn't put it off any longer. He needed Gajeel's help with this.

He had never had to worry about Creation Day until now. There was never a person that existed who he'd been attracted to and so the odd symptoms hadn't affected him much. Every girl smelled different and he hadn't felt drawn to any of them, including Lucy's. Now, however, the scent of her body drove him insane.

It occurred to him that the day she triggered his emotions was the day she pushed him into maturity. There was just no other way that any of this would make sense. He hadn't been ready for a woman before—physically, that is—but his body was now telling him he was. He couldn't take it! Mentally, this whole thing was causing him chaos! Boyfriend, girlfriend, life-long mate…no! He wasn't ready for this sort of thing!

Then again, his mind often told him otherwise. Natsu could imagine himself holding her hand as he walked her home at night or Lucy sneaking up on him to give him a hug… Man, did he love having her in his arms…

The dragon slayer was disgusted with himself. Was this what it was like to have feelings for another person? Thoughts of her would just randomly pop into his head? Well, he didn't like it. It was interrupting other important thoughts—like food…or which prank he would play on Gray next time.

Well, he knew now that there was something in Lucy that he didn't know about. She'd tried to kiss him that day in the snow, but stopped herself and never mentioned it afterwards. Natsu had gone over it a thousand times in his mind and still had no idea what she was feeling. Was it possible to be with her or was this just wishful thinking? Whichever it was, he'd spent far too much time trying to convince himself that this was something he didn't want. Somehow, being asexual just seemed like such a good idea. Too bad he'd gone past the point of no return a long time ago. Besides, the rose-haired dragon slayer had opened the door to a pleasure that was strangely addicting. He wasn't even sure if he could close that door anymore.

Natsu didn't understand how seeing one person happy could make him feel so good, especially if his actions had triggered that joy. It felt like he was being selfish, but he couldn't stop anymore. His heart soared when she smiled and broke when she cried.

There was something very wrong with him.

Whatever these feelings were doing to him, he simply couldn't avoid this anymore. Tomorrow was incapable of letting him.

"Happy, do you see Gajeel?" Natsu asked, eyes scanning the room quickly.

"He's sitting in that corner over there," the cat answered as he flew down to eye-level.

The fiery-haired mage nodded, rushing over to the table of solitude where his fellow dragon sat with Pantherlily. They were a bit of a strange duo, sitting in a content silence, but the fire-eater made his presence easily known by shoving his face up close to Gajeel's.

"I gotta know," the pyromaniac started determinedly, "what are you doing about tomorrow?"

"I have a mission lined up," the iron mage replied without blinking. "What are you doing about tomorrow?"

Natsu flinched and backed up, plopping down into a seat stubbornly. "I dunno, but it's too late to find a suitable mission and I need to be able to keep control."

"What's tomorrow?" asked the dark cat suspiciously.

"A day in Hell for any dragon," Gajeel answered without giving the feline much to go on. At that, Pantherlily shrugged and hopped off the table, walking off in indifference with Happy following.

"There is no way to avoid this," Natsu groaned in frustration. He slid a hand down his face, scolding himself for not facing this day earlier. Stupid, evil hormones. Stupid dragon traditions.

"Shit, she got you, didn't she?" Gajeel stated more than asked, grinning.

"Who?" he countered, playing dumb.

"Lucy, dumbass," the other laughed. Natsu didn't really take any joy in seeing his friend get a kick out of his troubles. "You realized that it's her."

"Shut up," the fire-eater muttered grumpily.

"Alright, alright, chill. I can help you."

"How?"

Gajeel rolled his eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Just stay home. As long as you don't catch her scent, you'll be fine…mostly."

"That's it?" the fire dragon slayer asked skeptically as he raised an eyebrow.

"That's it."

"Huh…" Natsu mumbled in thought. Could things possibly be that simple? Really?

Feeling rather stupid, the rose-haired mage stood up, nodded his thanks and began to walk home. He'd been worrying over this for nothing? The solution was far from complex. It would be nearly impossible to screw up this plan.


Damn you, Gajeel! I hate you, bastard!

These were the thoughts running through the dragon slayer's head as he lay on the couch in agony. His nose was dying, he couldn't focus on anything, and everything that was wrong and dirty invaded his mind. Great Mavis, he'd never regretted not cleaning his cushions so much before. They smelled like a combination of body odour and flatulence (which was probably not very far off from what really was in there). He was a pervert lying amongst the scent of a garbage dump.

And Gajeel was a filthy liar. Natsu was far from fine.

Natsu was genuinely afraid to close his eyes for fear of getting another seductive image of Lucy appearing there. Each time he did, she seemed to beckon him to who-knew-where, waggling her finger at him suggestively in attire that the fire mage found her most attractive in: a t-shirt and a pair of fitted shorts. He was honestly frightened by what might occur in his brain if he did anything more than blink. Fortunately, that was probably the worst thing about today. His heightened sense of smell was a pain when his house was clearly unsanitary, but it was child's play dealing with that compared to turning into a raging, hormonal lecher.

The silence, at least, offered a little comfort. Happy had gone to the guild hall by himself once the fire-breather had assured his companion that all was well. All, of course, was far from well, but Natsu knew the cat wanted to see Charle. Those two really had been doing a lot better since the winter festival. Besides, being alone meant nobody else had to see him like this—not that he'd known it was going to be this bad when he found his mate. It was quite shameful to be lying here so helplessly.

A knock on the door came and Natsu rolled over to sit up, pinching his nostrils together with one hand and wiping away the ever-building perspiration upon his brow with the other. Who the hell could it be? He really did not want to deal with visitors right now, especially if it was a female. He would die from the smell.

"What?" he demanded gruffly, his voice slightly off due to the nasal compression.

"It's Lucy! Are you okay?"

SHIT. Just when he thought his day could possibly get any worse…

"I-I'm fine! You don't need to be here!" he shot back hastily. Lucy could absolutely not get near him. Knowing she was on the other side of the door was bad enough!

"Yes I do! Happy said that you weren't feeling well, and I have a promise to keep. I can't just leave you by yourself!" she countered stubbornly, her voice half muffled by the piece of wood separating them.

"Yes you can," Natsu pushed ardently. Holy, when that woman was determined, she was really determined.

"No, I can't," the blonde persisted, now sounding a little annoyed. "Natsu, I'm not leaving! There's obviously something wrong. Your voice sounds weird! Either open this door or I'll break it down myself!"

Panicking, he leapt up, running to barricade the door. She wouldn't actually break it down, but she had plenty of spirits that were entirely capable of doing so. His fingers left his nose so as to retort in an undistorted voice and convince his partner that he was completely fine, but the scent that hit him rendered the fiery-haired male practically useless. Something potent and wonderful was seeping through the cracks of his door. It was like flowers and mangoes, soft and yet it sent chills throughout his body. It was hypnotizing, so beautiful that any rational thought crept right under the fence away from him. He was losing his mind and he was losing control.

…But what did control matter? Natsu just wanted to open the door. Whatever was emitting that smell, he wanted. It was just in his instinct to forget who was out there. All he knew was that it was female and she was what he wanted.

Mechanically, he turned the doorknob and the rest of the contraption flew open. The dragon slayer faced an irritated Lucy with a face of indifference as he drank in her appearance. She was slightly flushed, hair in her signature style with a side tied up. She looked to be breathing heavily as she stood there, hands on her hips, as if she'd been running a moment ago. The key-user looked casual today, clad in a pink t-shirt and a white pair of shorts, a small bag strapped across her body.

All this was to his liking. Oh yes, she was definitely to his liking.

She looked at him quizzically. "What's with that face? You don't really look sick, but you're kind of—"

In one swift movement, Natsu pulled her forward with one arm, shut the door with the other, and pushed her back against it with the rest of his body. He had a knee between her legs and both his hands gripping her waist now so that she wouldn't escape, but with the way she was frozen, it really didn't seem like the spirit mage had any intention of trying to. He leaned his head into the side of her neck, taking in the beautiful aroma she was radiating. He could see that her eyes were closed as she released slow, shaky breaths and it only drove him crazier.

His impulse was to kiss those sweet lips of hers, but the human inside him overrode that instinct and told him to cherish this moment. He was still in no way clear-minded. It was just that the emotional part of him needed to feel close to her in a way that wasn't just physical. Right now, he could hear her heart beating next to his, and that was what the man inside truly wanted. Natsu wanted to wake up beside her in the mornings. He wanted to know that that heart was only his to hear and not some weakling pretty boy's who Gray could probably beat up.

The dragon slayer let out a low snarl. No, Lucy was his. She belonged to him and nobody else.

Defiantly, he claimed her lips, right hand now firmly on her back and the left on her cheek. Natsu rarely felt hot, but at this moment, his whole body was on fire. Her skin was like static to him, every movement of his lips electric and exhilarating…if only because she was kissing him back.

Her arms, before limp from shock, were now around the fire-eater's neck as she fell against him to deepen the kiss, skilled tongue darting into his mouth. He moved his own arms around her torso to support her body, growling when her hand grasped at his hair. This was what pure pleasure was and this was the only thing that could possibly satisfy him right now.

When he moved his mouth to her neck, Lucy let out a delightful little squeal that pleased him more than it probably should have. He nipped at a piece of her flesh gently, then sucked on it roughly as to mark her as his own.

"N-Natsu…" she moaned as he worked. "I… I…"

He lifted his mouth off her skin, marvelling at the small, red signature he'd left on her. Yes…

"I…"

Natsu kissed the spot tenderly, possessively.

"I…"

He raised his head to kiss the side of her chin.

"What the hell am I doing?" Lucy suddenly screamed, wrenching herself from his arms. Her eyes were wide from horror and Natsu's brain was still too fogged to bother wondering if it was horror at him or at herself. He didn't care. He just wanted to be kissing her again.

He stared at her, still stuck in a trance. "You…belong to me."

"Wha—what the heck is wrong with you? You're looking at me like I'm a piece of flaming meat!" she shouted in anxiety, ducking away from the door-trap she'd been in.

The hypnotized male said nothing and moved toward her again, her scent coursing through his nostrils. He wanted that smell. She was his and he would have her back.

"Natsu, stop now!" she warned him, pressing her hand first to her empty hip on reflex before sticking her hand in her side bag. She cursed softly as she rummaged through it with her eyes never leaving him, stepping backward every step he took.

He didn't even hear her warning. He was so close to her, so intoxicated by her smell that he rushed forward to take her again when he was sprayed in the face with a liquid that stung his eyes and absolutely murdered his nose. He fell to his knees, holding his neck as he hacked madly, the powerful stench burning his air passageways. His eyes were shut tight, but they were in far less pain than his nose and throat. What in the…?

A glass of water found its way into his hand and he drank it desperately without objections. Who…? What…?

"You'll be fine in a minute if you're done being a pervert. I just sprayed a little perfume in your face, although believe me, Natsu; if you were anyone else, it would be a lot worse."

"L-Lucy…?" he rasped out in confusion. Everything was so hazy. He tried to remember what had happened, but he simply couldn't come up with memories from only minutes ago. He'd gotten so high off Lucy's smell that he couldn't even remotely recall what had occurred. "You—you were at the door…"

"Yeah, I was, but that's hardly what I'm concerned with right about now."

"You wanted to come inside," the dragon slayer recollected, blinking rapidly as some healing tears formed in the corners of his eyes.

"I kind of wish I hadn't."

"Did…I open the door?" he asked in anticipation. Everything after that time was foggy in his mind. His vision was returning now at least and it was fairly evident that Lucy was not very happy with whatever he'd just done.

She let out an exasperated sigh and Natsu felt this familiar sense of déjà vu when he looked at her. He ripped his gaze away when he saw what she was wearing today. He had a feeling that he'd already thought about how gorgeous she was when his dragon instinct took over.

Natsu was scared. He was sure he'd kissed her. He could still taste the strawberry from her lip gloss pretty well, and if that hickey was any indication that he'd been necking her, the rose-haired mage would not be surprised. No, it wasn't a surprise, but hell yes was this terrifying.

Everything he'd held back from in those last few months were in vain. This would complicate things. This would make her hate him. This would break their friendship. Holy Edolas, how could he even blame her? He'd violated her like a man with no respect for her. It sickened him…

The worse part? He couldn't remember any of it. If Natsu was going to lose his best friend over this, he at least wished that he could remember the fulfillment of something he wanted so badly. At least then…he'd have something left.

"Alright, Natsu, what exactly just happened?" the blonde asked him patiently from the couch.

He shot her a disbelieving look. Lucy was giving him a chance to explain? No, no, no, that wasn't right. She never gave him a chance to say his piece. There was always a quick verbal explosion before he even managed to get a word in!

Well…he had a chance. He might as well use it. "It's Creation Day on the dragon calendar. Guys kind of…look for a partner whose smell suits them." And who he wants to be with forever, Natsu wisely chose to leave out.

"…Are you being serious?" She asked hesitantly, giving him a skeptic glance.

He shot her another look. What do youthink?

"Right, so dragons have a day of…horniness?"

Natsu wished he had a small hole to crawl into at that time, grimacing at the dirty word. If he'd ever been embarrassed, this was definitely the worst time ever. It was worse than accidentally melting a snow monster torso and worse than professing love to Gray in the presence of Juvia. Instead, he simply nodded with this disgusting churning feeling in his stomach. He hated that the word described his situation so accurately.

"And you only snapped out of it because…"

"That stuff you sprayed in my face. It stinks," the humiliated mage mumbled, staring at the ground in shame.

He watched her carefully in his peripheral vision. The stellar spirit mage appeared to be a little stressed and he really didn't blame her. Her brow was furrow in thought though her eyes were closed, resting her head in her hand and her elbow on her thigh. She looked so troubled…and he'd caused it.

It was probably wrong that he wished he remembered, despite the shame that was eating at him, but then he considered what could have happened. What if he'd done something to hurt her? He was only sure of the kissing and the necking, but those were the only things with evidence. There were things he could've done…

"Look, Natsu, I don't want us to be weird because of this—"

"Why aren't you mad?" the dragon slayer interjected hoarsely. "You should be mad."

She looked shocked this time. "You don't think it's my fault too? I mean, I didn't exactly…discourage…it…"

"Huh?"

"You don't remember?"

"I don't remember anything," Natsu conceded, struggling to figure out what was going on. How did the world turn upside down when he had only lost consciousness for a few minutes?

"Oh my gosh," the summoner gasped in some sort of revelation. She shot up off the couch and began to pace back and forth in turmoil. "You didn't even know what you were doing; you were just acting on pure instinct!"

What exactly was she getting at? "I know, and I'm sorry… It just kind of took over…"

"No, no, no!" she exploded frenetically. "You don't get it! That means I…"

"I…?" he echoed questioningly. He was getting more and more confused.

Lucy flushed darkly. "I took advantage of you."

He blinked at her thrice with wide-eyes. "I don't get it."

Natsu wasn't quite sure, but he thought he saw relief on her horror-stricken face. Precisely what had she taken advantage of? It wasn't like they were in a battle where he didn't have magic and she did. He was seriously never going to understand this. The universe was full of paradoxes today. Things that should have happened were going in the exact opposite direction.

The blonde got up, seemingly traumatized by this whole ordeal. She took him by the hand and led the bewildered male to the sofa. Sitting down, Natsu felt a tad uneasy. Things were far too calm. She should be jumping to conclusions and condemning him for the way he violated her, so why did she look so conflicted?

"Natsu, you're forgiven."

He stared at her incredulously. "What?"

Lucy sighed as she ran a hand through her silky tresses, looking just as guilty and shameful as he did. He could feel his brain exploding from the amount of information he was taking in that made no sense.

"You may not remember what I did, but I was wrong too, so I'm sorry too," she told him softly. "I…shouldn't have come. I shouldn't have disturbed you."

"You were worried. You were just being a good…friend," he replied, the last word making him feel a little nauseous. He still wasn't sure what the other part meant. "You were just keeping your promise."

Lucy smiled at him gratefully. "I don't want this to make us weird."

"How would this make us weird? We're either friends or we're not."

"Of course it's that black and white for you," she laughed lightly as she stood up, tension in the room finally falling through a bit. "Well, it's not like anyone else is gunna know about this anyway. Do you need this?" The summoner offered him the perfume she'd attacked him with earlier.

He shook his head. That stuff was nasty. "No, I'll be fine if I'm just home alone. The smell is stuck in my nose anyway."

Shrugging, she tucked it away and walked toward the door. "I'm glad you're okay," she spoke sincerely.

"Yeah, and I'm sorry for…that," Natsu apologized again, another blush working up his cheeks.

Again, she laughed and he admired how easily she was shaking this off. Things were looking up, strangely enough. "It's fine, Natsu. No harm done." The door clicked open and she looked back at him. "Just…maybe give me a warning next time."

"Sure," he coughed awkwardly before she gave a wave and walked out.

Tired from all the commotion and no longer willing to think of such events, Natsu fell back onto the couch until the stink of his sofa breached the flowery scent that had stuck in his sinuses. He let out a hiss of frustration as he jerked the cushion beneath him violently from its place and stalked off angrily to go wash it in the bathroom.

Stupid, evil hormones. Stupid dragon traditions.