Natsu regained consciousness surrounded by soft, warm sheets. He still felt too weak to crack his eyelids so he scented the air, catching the lingering scents of all of his comrades, but realizing that no one was in the room. He waited, letting strength seep back into his limbs before he decided to open his eyes and view his surroundings. He found himself back in his hotel room at the Akane Resort, the orange tinged sunlight of sunset streaming through the curtains.
Natsu smiled thinking, 'Good, they found us. If they hadn't I'm not sure I would have woken up.'
He waited another few minutes before he felt strong enough to try moving. When he did, he carefully slipped his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He was pleased to find that he could move around as long as he was careful. He searched the room until he found his clothes and sword, and put them on. He felt his stomach growling at him and grumbled, "They could have at least left some food for me."
He walked out of the room and down to the restaurant, letting his nose guide him. The waiter had barely asked him what he wanted when he said, "Two of the biggest steaks you have, and some ale."
The sputtering waiter walked away but Natsu didn't pay attention to him. He instead watched the commotion that was going on outside the restaurant. He saw Mirajane run past with Lucy right behind her, apparently in search of something. He grinned, 'They must have found that I'm not in the room. Well, I'm going to have my food and then I'll go back.'
His food was brought out and he calmly tucked in, eating just fast enough to satisfy his need for food, but not so fast that his body would reject it. Natsu had nursed himself back from plenty of injuries and knew exactly how to do it.
He had stopped to take a sip of the ale when the chair across from him was filled by a beautiful blonde woman, whom he happened to know as Lucy. She glared at him, "What are you doing? You shouldn't be leaving your room without someone!"
Natsu snorted, "I'm perfectly fine, if I waited around for you guys I'd starve to death."
Lucy looked down at his food and said weakly, "Are you sure you should be eating that? It seems a bit heavy."
Natsu laughed, "Well I don't have to watch my figure so I think I'll be fine."
Lucy groaned, "And here I was worried about you."
Natsu smiled, pushing his plate away as he was done with his meal. He asked, "So, how long was I out?"
The blonde woman scowled at him, "You were unconscious for a week. Apparently eating the Etherion was bad for you."
He just grinned, "Yeah yeah, it all turned out okay, so don't look so angry. How's Erza?"
His question drew a surprised look from the blonde girl. She answered him after a moment's pause, "She's fine, her injuries weren't as bad as yours."
Natsu frowned, "What's that look for?"
Lucy smiled softly at him, "I think that's the first time you've actually said her name."
Natsu snorted and downed the last of his ale, "I must be going soft then."
He stood up to go and reached into his pockets for some jewels, but found them sadly empty. He looked sheepishly at Lucy, "So I may not have any money on me, you mind paying?"
She glared at him and he said, "Hey I just defeated one of the most powerful dark mages in the world, don't I deserve a break?"
She sighed and pulled out the jewels and left them on the table. They made their way back to Natsus room. The Salamander was feeling much better after his large meal and so the weakness he'd felt on the way down was gone on the way back. He was in the process of trying to cheer Lucy up after she'd just spent the last of her money on him when they entered his room. As they entered, his face was met with a gauntleted fist and he promptly exited again.
Natsu groaned as he sat against the wall, recognizing the fist that had punched him in the face without seeing its owner. He stood up rubbing his face and calmly walked into the room to face a fuming Erza. He walked in and noticed the rest of the group in there as well, all looking at Erza with expressions of shock. The scarlet haired knight had her arms crossed and an infuriated expression on her face and when he re-entered she launched into her tirade, "Where the hell did you go! You can't just get up and leave with how severe your injuries are! You could have hurt yourself!"
Natsu interrupted her and said, "I'm going to stop saving your life if this is how you say thank you."
His statement made her jaw clack shut and a slight blush come to her face. He ignored her and turned to Gray, "So what happened while I was out?"
He had a nonchalant look on his face as he summarized, "Well we found you and Erza on the beach passed out, that was a week ago. We brought you guys back here and fixed you up as best we could. Erza woke up about two days after that. Then we just kind of waited around for you to wake up, took you long enough. We were out on the beach saying goodbye to Sho, Milliana, and Wally when you woke up so that's why none of us were here."
Natsu listened calmly to Gray's explanation, ignoring Erza who looked like she was about to beat him to within an inch of his life. When he was finished Natsu said, "Alright, now if everyone wouldn't mind, I think I'm going to go back to sleep, I should be fine tomorrow and then we can leave."
Everyone except Erza nodded and left. The scarlet haired woman ignored him and stood still as the others filed past her. Gray was the last out and he closed the door, knowing that Erza wouldn't be following him. Natsu went about his business, taking off his sword and placing it next to the bed for easy access, waiting for Erza to speak first. She did and said angrily, "Why would you leave without telling any of us?"
Natsu gave her a condescending look, "There was no one here to tell, and seeing as how I haven't eaten for a week, I felt the need for some food."
She snarled at him, "Don't be such an ass, we were worried!"
He sighed and flopped down on the bed, "I can take care of myself you know, I've been doing it for most of my life, and it's not like I'm going to ditch you guys."
She gave him a sharp look, "You needed some help taking care of yourself this time didn't you."
He laughed bitterly, "You're right, because I spent more time taking care of you than myself and I suffered for it."
He could feel the anger go out of her as she sat down heavily on the bed and bent over, putting her head in her hands. He sighed, wishing that Igneel hadn't passed down some things to him, and sat up, moving over until he was sitting next to her. He placed a hand on her back and even through her armor he could feel her body sobbing, even if he couldn't hear it. He said quietly, "I don't regret anything I did. My only regret is that you had to face Jellal alone."
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "I thought you were leaving after seeing how weak I was. I thought you would be exactly like Jellal."
Natsu sighed again, "Erza, I hate to say this because I really hate Jellal, but I think he was being manipulated. If what you said about your childhood with him is true, there's no way that he would have gone crazy from what happened to him. This whole thing smells like Ultear to me. Seeing her with Siegrain on the council, well, if you put it all together then I think he was a puppet with Ultear pulling the strings."
She looked at him in astonishment, forgetting about the tears spilling out of her eyes, "Ho… How do you know?"
He shrugged, "I don't. It's a pretty good guess though. It's her style. Remember how she was manipulating Lyon on Galuna Island? It looks a lot like that, just more destructive of the people around the guy being manipulated."
Her tears were drying fast, "So, Jellal wasn't really evil?"
He scowled, "Probably not, but it doesn't make me like him anymore."
She looked puzzled, "Why? If he wasn't really evil, then how can you blame everything on him?"
Natsu stood up suddenly, and walked around the bed to look out the window, "For a variety of reasons, most of which are personal."
He could hear her stand up as well and her rather heated reply came, "How can your reasons be personal? You don't even know the real Jellal!"
Natsu turned and directed a searing gaze at her, "You're a much more important person in this world than you give yourself Erza. Don't you remember what I said to you on the beach? There are many things that you aren't aware of, and those are the reasons I dislike Jellal." He could see her nod when he mentioned his words on the beach, but he could also see the confusion in her eyes. He snorted and turned back to looking out the window.
He asked her, "Do you know why I helped you that day in the train station?"
She answered quietly, "I figured you didn't want to fight Lucy and I at the same time and were biding your time to betray us."
Natsu snorted, "No, it's because I saw you, and my dragon instincts told me that I should. I just didn't understand why and deceived myself with the other reasons I gave you."
He could almost see the confusion on her face as she asked, "Dragon instincts?"
"As you know I was raised by the fire dragon, Igneel. As a Dragon Slayer, I take on certain characteristics of dragons. You saw that when I ate Etherion during my fight with Jellal, and my body took on the characteristics of a dragon. I also take on some non-physical characteristics of dragons. I don't fall in love like a normal human. When I find the one I just know, my dragon instincts tell me that she's the one that I will spend my life with. The only problem ironically is that we dragon slayers don't know if we'll be loved back."
He turned and gazed at her, a dawning look of understanding coming over her face. His voice began rising with all of the passion he had suppressed, "We don't know if the one our instincts tell us to love will love us. It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that my mate hated me from the moment she met me, although I guess with my past I wasn't doing myself any favors. I decided I was going to do everything in my power to have you fall in love with me. You Erza, my mate. That's why I hate Jellal. Because you love him and can look past his past, but I love you and you can't look past mine, as mild as it is compared to his. I wanted to let you believe that he was evil, that he truly was going to sacrifice you, but I couldn't, because I love you, and I never want to see your tears again."
His voice dropped to a barely perceptible whisper, "That's why I hate him. He stands between me and everything that will complete my life."
He stared into her brown eyes waiting for an answer. Seconds ticked by, and then minutes as he impatiently waited for her to say something. She finally said quietly, "How can you love me. You hardly even know me."
Natsu replied just as quietly, "It's instinctual, you're the perfect mate for a dragon: strong, independent, beautiful. I love you because I can't not love you. And you're right; I don't know you very well, because you don't take your armor off, ever. But I've seen your passion, your drive, and your love of Fairy Tail. I know the important things. I know what makes you who you are."
Tears began to form in her eyes again, "Why now?"
He shrugged, "Now wasn't exactly the best time, but I'm exhausted, and I'm tired of holding it in."
He stepped forward and raised his hand to cup her cheek, wiping away the tears that only came out of one of her eyes. He smiled at her, "I know this is a lot, and I know that you might not like it, but just think about it. Unlike Jellal, I'm not going anywhere."
He lowered his hand and moved passed her, grabbing his sword from its place next to the bed. He walked to the door and opened it, turning back to see her staring at him wordlessly. He smiled, "I'm going to take a walk. I'll be back in a while."
He quietly closed the door and padded through the silent hallways, down through the entry foyer, and out the door. It only took him five minutes to walk down to the beach and the moonlight that beamed around him calmed him. He made his way down to the edge of the water and crouched down, staring at the waves that washed in inches from his feet. He sighed, speaking aloud, "Igneel, I've really got myself into it this time. I don't think I can fight my way out of this one either."
He let himself lean back and fell to a sitting position in the soft sand with a chuckle, "If you could see me you'd kick my ass. I've done a lot of things you probably wouldn't be very proud of, and now it's all coming back to bite me."
He shook his head and jerked upright, "Bah. That's enough feeling sorry for myself. If I find Igneel with this sad story he'll just tell me to shut up and then throw me all the way back to Magnolia."
Natsu set off down the beach, humming a jaunty tune as he strolled along. He walked along, just enjoying the salty air and the sound of the waves gently washing up on shore. After an hour of strolling the beach he decided that he should get some sleep before tomorrow, because he was going to have to ride the train. He felt mildly queasy at the thought. Natsu made his way back to the room, determining that it was sometime near midnight.
He opened the door to a surprisingly dark room, and the strong scent of a certain scarlet haired knight still pervaded the room. He stepped in and shut the door, glancing at the bed. He could just make out a shape under the blankets on his bed. He unbuckled his sword and carefully laid it next to the bed and leaned over to see who it was. There was Erza, lying on her back with a peaceful expression on her face, her hair lying wild across the pillow.
Natsu cursed internally, 'Insufferable woman. I bet if I decide to sleep in my own bed she'll get angry that I was so forward. Well, it's my bed, and I need some sleep, she'll get over it.'
He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the couch, the place he probably should have slept. He carefully climbed into the bed and found a comfortable spot on his side of the bed. He lay with his back facing Erza, one arm up beneath his pillow and the other down at his side, being careful not to disturb the woman sleeping next to him. His efforts were in vain though, as he heard her make a soft noise and felt the bed shift. Suddenly an arm was draped around his waist and he could feel Erza's breath against his bare shoulder.
He stiffened as she snuggled closer to him. Natsu thought to himself as he began to nod off, 'Screw it, this is nice. I'll deal with it in the morning.'
Natsu woke up with sunlight streaming through the window and hitting his eyes. He cracked those eyes open and all he saw was scarlet hair in front of his eyes. He then noticed that he had one arm around somebody's waist, and the other was being used as a pillow by the scarlet haired person. It took him a moment to process the fact that he had pulled himself snug against Erza sometime during the night. Natsu could feel the strong muscles of her back through her pajamas, and his lower body was snug against hers, only the thin material of his pants and her pajamas separating them. He had only a few moments to think, 'She is about to be so pissed.'
He felt her shift and she gave a small groan. He quickly removed his arm around her waist but his other arm was trapped under her head and all he could do was wait. She slowly rolled over with a soft smile on her face until she was inches away from his face. He watched her open her eyes and they went from contentment to utter shock before he could do anything. She gave a loud, "KYAAH!" and a ringing slap was delivered to his face that sent him flying off the bed and crashing unceremoniously to the ground. He rubbed his face and muttered from where he lay, "Damn woman has the nerve to kick me out of my own bed."
He stood up still rubbing his smarting face and looked to where Erza was standing; her fists clenched in rage but her face a deep red. She yelled at him, "What the hell are you doing in my bed?"
He grimaced and said, "It's my damn bed. You never left my room last night and apparently decided that you were going to sleep in my bed. I came back from my walk and you were already asleep. I didn't want to wake you so I just went to sleep too."
He could see her fists loosen but her blush remained as she said, "Well you should have taken the couch, like a gentleman."
He grinned at that, "Now when have I ever pretended to be a gentleman? Besides, my bed, my rules."
He was confused when her blush deepened and she refused to meet his eyes. It took him a moment but his grin got broader as he said, "Now that you know it's my bed we could always go back to it." He winked at her for added effect.
In a moment she had requiped out of her pajamas and into her standard breastplate and blue skirt and had a sword held to his throat, "I cannot allow you to suggest such indecent things!"
His grin never wavered as he casually knocked the sword away, stepping closer to wrap an arm around her waist to pull her against him and feeling the cold metal of her breastplate against his bare chest, "I was only suggesting what was on your mind Scarlet."
He placed his other arm on the side of her neck and pulled her in for a gentle kiss. She stiffened when their lips connected but after a moment relaxed into him. Closing his eyes, Natsu continued to kiss her, feeling her arms drop the sword and come up to wrap around his neck. He desperately wanted to deepen the kiss and let her feel his passion, but knew that it wasn't the time. So, he gently pulled his lips away from hers and opened his eyes, finding that hers were open, staring into his.
He smiled and said softly, "See, I'm not so bad am I?"
He could see her attempting to glower at him as she unwrapped her arms from around his neck and stepped back, "I'll admit you're attractive in a physical sense," He could see her checking out his bare chest, "But only a rogue sneaks into bed with a woman at night."
He grinned and stretched his arms upwards, giving her an eyeful, "There's nothing wrong with being a rogue. Now, I feel the need for a shower, and unless you'd like to join me," He winked at her again, "Then you probably want to go back to your own room to get ready."
She blushed at his outrageous suggestions but held her head high as she strode out of the room. Natsu shook his head at his ridiculous luck and went to the bathroom to take a shower. He turned on the water to the hottest setting and stripped out of the rest of his clothes. He stepped under the near boiling water and felt it relax his body. The hot water hit his shoulders as he relived the short morning in his head.
Natsu grinned, hardly believing that Erza had softened to him so much. He laughed out loud, "I guess getting all messed up fighting Jellal was worth it. She finally saw me for who I can actually be."
He cleaned his body and go out of the shower, instantly drying himself in a small burst of flame. He went out to get clean clothes out of his bag and found Gray lounging around on his bed in his usual boxers. Gray looked at him as he came out of the bathroom, and averted his eyes away from Natsu wasn't wearing anything. Natsu ignored him and began dressing, waiting for him to talk.
Gray started with, "So what did you and Erza talk about last night?"
Natsu shrugged, "She yelled, I yelled, I left, she left."
Gray grinned, "You sure about that? I saw her in the hallway, she looked pretty happy coming from the direction of your room."
Natsu whirled around while trying to put on his pants and fell to the ground. This didn't deter him from spouting out, "What do you mean she looked happy!"
Gray began laughing so hard that he fell off the bed. Natsu glowered at him and finished dressing. Gray finally calmed down and said, "Man, I didn't see her at all this morning, but you sure gave the game away."
Natsu could only gape at him as he continued laughing, "So how did last night really go flame brain?"
Natsu rushed at Gray, drawing his sword that sat near the bed in a flash and putting it to the ice mage's throat. He growled, "If you think you can blackmail me with this, well, I still know plenty of people in the dark guilds and it would be a shame if I had to deprive the new girl of your company."
Gray looked shocked and said, "Wait? How do you know about me and Juvia?"
Natsu grinned, "Hah! Now who's given the game away?"
Gray growled, "Fine, damn sneaky bastard. You keep quiet and I'll keep quiet, okay?"
Natsu lowered his sword and said, "Okay. Now let's go, don't want to miss the train."
Gray left to grab his stuff as Natsu buckled his sword onto his back and grabbed his bag. He slung it over the opposite shoulder of his sword and left the room. He met Mirajane and Lucy coming down the hall and said, "Good morning ladies, how was your night?"
They both smiled and said that they had had fine nights after they had left. Lucy got a worried look on her face, "Are you okay? Did Erza hurt you any more?"
Natsu laughed, "No, we had a pretty heated argument but she didn't resort to physical violence this time."
Lucy nodded and said, "Good, we don't want to have to bandage you up again."
He scowled at her as they walked, "How do you know you wouldn't be bandaging her eh?"
Mirajane laughed at that, "Tin head would probably kick your ass from here to Magnolia if you guys fought."
Natsu growled at her, "Hey, we're one and one in serious fights, and I only lost because I got cocky!"
They reached the foyer as Mirajane looked at him curiously, "When did you beat her? You guys haven't seriously fought since the fight for you to join the guild."
Natsu cursed inwardly, not meaning to reveal the other time they'd fought and said evasively, "Well, she got mad, I got mad, we fought, and I won. It was after we finished the mission on Galuna Island."
Mirajane nodded as if this was something normal, "Well, I'm glad you put a beating on that moron. If she wasn't so mean and temperamental she'd have a boyfriend by now."
Natsu was saved from having to explain the guilty look that flashed across is face by the arrival of Erza and Gray. The girls began talking but Gray noticed the look on Natsu's face and deduced where it came from. He grinned widely, but it was quickly wiped from his face when Natsu gave him meaningful look. They both stared at each other and then nodded, coming to a silent agreement to both shut up.
They all made their way to the train station, the girls chatting and laughing, and occasionally Mirajane and Erza having to be separated. Natsu and Gray followed them stoically, carrying all of the shopping that Mirajane had done in the week Natsu was out. Gray grunted, "You sure you couldn't have woken up earlier? This is way too much."
Natsu only growled back, "Why don't you eat Etherion, beat up a wizard saint, and then teleport two people a hundred miles away. Do that and then talk to me about sleeping for a week."
Gray scoffed, "It was more like 95 miles."
They both heard Mirajane yelling at them from ahead, "Just shut up and don't drop anything!"
They both grumbled and but kept going until they were able to dump everything off in the extra seat in the train compartment. Carrying everything had kept Natsu from feeling motion sickness, but he was still standing up when the train began moving and he sat down heavily next to Erza. His face turned green and he could see three sympathetic faces across from him. He turned to lie down away from Erza, but realized that Mirajane's packages were in the way.
He sat up straight knowing that he was going to have a miserable ride back to Magnolia. He was surprised when he felt a gauntleted fist in his stomach and he was bent over and found his head resting on Erza's lap. Her hand was tangled in his hair, stroking his head as she said, "Don't get used to it. This is a one-time only thing because you saved my life." Natsu could see the shocked faces of Lucy and Mirajane, but the knowing face of Gray as he drifted off to part unconsciousness, part sleep.