Act 3

WARNING: NSFW

If you wish to skip it, watch out for the purity marks '###'

37

The Princess Bride

"As you wish..."

― William Goldman, The Princess Bride

"Natsu! Lucy!" Wendy exclaimed happily as the pair strolled back up to the guild and rushed up to greet them, "You're back early! How did the job go?"

"The usual." Lucy replied in amusement, "It snowballed into complete chaos, but we managed to get it done." She grinned, "And I came out with three new spirits in the bargain."

"Really?" Gray asked curiously, having shamelessly been listening from where he and Juvia were curled up together, "How'd you manage that?"

"They were Angel's spirits." Lucy explained, "Gemini, Scorpio, and Aries decided they didn't want to renew their contracts with her and were apparently trying to find me ever since then." She blushed a bit sheepishly, "I wish I'd known, but it turned out it was just as well I didn't. I'm not sure we could've pulled the job off if they hadn't been there to help."

"Did you find out what was causing it?" Juvia asked curiously, aware that nothing natural could cause disappearances like that.

"Yeah. It was some kind of angry mermaid spirit." Lucy shrugged, "She even managed to get hold of Natsu, but thanks to Aquarius and the others we got her. Last I saw Aquarius was taking her to the Spirit King."

"Wow..." Wendy breathed in awe, "That sounds amazing!" She exclaimed, "Do you think our next job will be that exciting?"

"I hope not!" Lucy laughed, "I could use a break!"

"No kidding!" Natsu piped up with a big yawn, and grinned at his little sister, "Lucy and I were thinking of heading to the festival town early to relax for a couple days before we got to work. You wanna come?" His grin widened to practically take up his whole face, "Rumor has it they've got some really awesome sights!"

"Yes!" Wendy agreed enthusiastically, clasping her hands together and looking between the two of them eagerly, "I wasn't expecting you two back for a little while yet, so I'm not packed. Give me a couple of minutes to get everything together!"

Natsu looked up to see Gajeel over by the request board, chewing on a bolt as he looked at his options.

"Oi, you coming too metal head? A festival is plenty of time for fun! Get a job later!" He shouted towards the iron dragon.

Gajeel huffed and glared at him over his shoulder, "Eh, and what do you know about that? You just got back from a job!"

However he took one look at Wendy's pleading face, standing next to Natsu, and promptly collapsed into a soft-hearted pile of scrap metal.

Lucy smothered a smirk as Gajeel reluctantly agreed to go for a couple of days and then leave on his next job. The brilliant smile on Wendy's face made it all worth it.

"Sounds fun," Gray grinned and stretched out, "Why don't we all go? The festival is on the outskirts of Magnolia. It's close so we can all put up for the night in the same place."

"Ew, I don't want your stinkin' face getting in my way," Natsu growled at the ice mage.

Gray shoved his way back into Natsu's personal space, his eyes icy and irritated, "Oh yeah? Not like I wanna hang out with you anyway! It's just a great place for me and Juvia to go!"

"No way! I called dibs!"

"You can't call dibs on a festival you jerk!"

"Watch me, I just did!"

"Aw, c'mon you two!" Lucy tried to soothe, "It's not like we have to stick together the whole festival or anything! And we won't all be staying in the same room right?"

"Yeah." Levy agreed, "Lucy's right. We'll just go to enjoy the festival." She glanced at Lucy, "Ah, that is, if you don't mind?"

Lucy laughed and shook her head, "Of course not! The whole point is to relax a little." She grinned at Natsu, "It'll be fun!"

Natsu blew out a hot sigh, and crossed his arms, "If you say so." He grumbled as what seemed like most of the guild started talking excitedly and it seemed a whole bunch were now wanting to go.

Great. Just great.

He'd been hoping for some alone time with his nest and Lucy.

But then again, Lucy was right. It wasn't like they had to stick with anyone once they got there. They could still get some time just them and the nest. He just had a greater chance of running into the likes of Gray was all.

Maybe Juvia would keep him busy or something.

A slim hope, but there it was.

Wendy gasped excitedly and rushed over to hug first Natsu and then Lucy, "This is going to be great!" She exclaimed, "Let me go pack! I'll be right back!"

Lucy smiled a bit as Wendy took off and sat down across from Levy to wait.

"You sure you don't mind us all descending on this?" Levy asked, a hint of worry on her face as she registered how exhausted Lucy really looked, but Lucy just shook her head with a smile.

"Nah. I'm not sure I'm up to rooming with everyone or anything, but it'll be nice to hang out for a couple days without a job hanging over our heads." She grinned, "I used to travel a lot back in my birth world, and the one thing I always wished for was a bunch of friends to share the sights with."

"Sooo," Cana hummed as she swayed up to Lucy. She dropped an elbow on her shoulder and leaned in close, "Anything fun happen on your last mission together?"

The wiggling of her eyebrows made Lucy swallow hard. She couldn't mean -

"Oh just the usual," Lucy shrugged dismissively, trying not to remember just how close she and Natsu had come just an hour earlier.

She bit the inside of her cheek to hide her secretive smile, but the glint in Cana's eyes was proof she hadn't been fooled.

Uh oh.

For whatever reason, Cana looked positively flustered over something, while Mira's gentle smile seemed to grow even wider.

Was she missing something here?

She couldn't ask Natsu if he caught anything, because he was already looking away, distracted by something else.

Specifically a giant tankard of alcohol he was speed chugging alongside Elfman.

She thought he was tired!

Not knowing where Natsu found his fathomless energy, Lucy resorted to sitting down and relaxing a little with happy before they, as a guild descended on the festival grounds.

-::-

A few hours, and one cart ride, later they finally arrived at their destination. It was a sleepy little farming town that supplied a fair number of the crops and other produce Magnolia used. It was quiet and relaxed without much to recommend it besides it's peace, charm, and a truly wonderful spa situated to show off some spectacular views of the countryside.

In short, it was everything a bunch of overworked wizards could possibly want to relax.

"Wow this is nice!" Lucy exclaimed, as they collectively invaded the spa and inn, "I'm surprised people don't come here just for this alone!"

"Most don't know about us miss." One of the attendants smiled, "We're not as big and flashy as other places and mostly cater to the local countryside."

Lucy shook her head, "Well, that just leaves more for us then!"

"No kidding!" Levy agreed with a laugh, "I've lived in Magnolia my whole life and had no idea this place was here!" She stretched, "It sure is nice to get out of the city for a little."

She grinned wickedly at Lucy, "What do you say we leave getting the rooms to the boys and go get a massage or something?"

"Yeah-" Lucy began only for the rest of the women to start sounding their own agreement, and in moments she was being pulled along by the others towards the back. She shot Natsu a helpless look and shrugged slightly apologetically for stranding him.

At least he would be able to join them once rooms were sorted out.

Natsu just shrugged, not seeing the point in worrying about it like Lucy seemed to. Of course he was pretty bad at ordering things in a way that didn't involve terrifying people - and he was still reluctant to part with his hard earned jewel.

But it annoyed Lucy whenever 'he acted like a caveman' or whatever it was that meant, so he behaved for the most part now.

Lucy usually took care of handling their room situation when they were on the road, but how hard could it be?

The answer to that was harder than expected.

There were so many options and suites, that Natsu was left staring at the list and trying to understand what the difference between singles, doubles, and couples meant.

Although he did have a slight inkling what the couples room probably was referring to.

Gajeel looked to be struggling as well, and the two of them conspired together as they tried to understand what was happening.

However they were saved when Jellal approached them, an easy smile on his face that helped disarm the two dragons and their natural suspicions when it came to spending money.

"Having trouble?" He gently prodded.

Natsu looked up, pink hair sticking in every direction.

"I just want a room!" He hissed, "Y'know, one with four walls and a roof? How hard could that be?"

Jellal pushed the two dragon's up to the desk, where the confused clerk was waiting. Making the decision for them, he ordered each a single room with a balcony window in the direction of the meadows.

Seeing how relieved they were, Jellal hid his smirk and shepherded the two trusting fools off in the direction of the rooms he set up for them.

Gray blinked and slid up to Jellal, "So."

"Yes?" Jellal asked, with just a trace of smugness.

"I thought you put your evil mastermind days behind you."

"Erza has a take in this ongoing bet, losing is unacceptable," Jellal chuckled.

"Man, that's just cold," Gray shivered, which earned him a smirk of ever growing pride on Jellal's face.

"Coming from you, that's quite the compliment."

Gray snorted and shook his head, "I ever tell you I'm happy you're on our side now?" He drawled.

"Not half as happy as I am to be here." Jellal replied smoothly and stepped back up to the counter with an equally smooth smile to order one of the couples rooms for himself and Erza.

He had a magic ring in his pocket that he was sincerely hoping would be adorning his Titania's finger by the end of their stay, and would result in her moving out of Fairy Hills and into the house he'd built for them.

It had taken a long time, but he was finally ready.

It felt really good.

Gray's lips twitched upwards as he shamelessly listened in, and slung his bag over his shoulder to head to his and Juvia's room. It sometimes boggled his mind that of all people they were the first to tie the knot.

He tried to ignore the sound of Gajeel cackling as he realized what Jellal had done as he passed, mentally confirming what everyone had already suspected, and smirked broadly at Natsu's loud, "Dammit Jellal! Where's the other bed?!"

He hoped, for all their sakes, that Lucy knew what to do with such a setup. Because from the sounds of it... Natsu had no clue.

-::-

To say the room had been a debacle was saying it lightly. Natsu had been more embarrassed to find out Jellal had tricked him as opposed to Lucy, who was just mortified. Although Natsu didn't see why.

They shared a bed all the time. Whether that was with a sleeping bag or a single room. For whatever reason though, the fact that the guild seemed to know about that was the large cause of her embarrassment.

Natsu didn't get it. He really didn't. Curling up next to Lucy was actually something he found immense pleasure in.

Lucy for her part was doing her best to look at everything but Natsu as she puttered around their shared room. She didn't have a lot on herself, just a nightie. After her bath and massage with the girls, she had been absolutely shocked to find out Natsu had gotten them a room with just a single bed in front of the whole guild.

As much as she wouldn't mind sharing the bed with him, it really confused her over everything since... there was most definitely something between them.

"C'mon Lucy, what're you being all weird over? We sleep together all the time," Natsu said flippantly.

Lucy whirled around, her cheeks burning bright red. The way he has phrased it made it seem like-

The thought died like it had been taken out back and shot the moment she laid eyes on him. He had taken advantage of her pacing, and had stripped himself completely down to his boxers.

No matter how many times she saw all that tan, carved muscle, it still had the effect of pulling her up short. Perhaps it was because it was so rare to see a man like Natsu in her world- but she really could not get used to it.

And despite the fact she had seen him almost completely shirtless in the past, his favored vest having been what he donned in the early days of their partnership, she hadn't seen that in some time.

And now she was treated to Natsu with almost no clothes on, pulling back the covers of their shared bed.

Perhaps if she just laid back and thought of England she would be able to handle crawling into bed with him?

Lucy snorted to herself over the ridiculous thought. Crawling into bed with Natsu was in no way comparable to that. It had helped distract her a little though. For which she was grateful. Ever since that moment on the train she'd been hyper aware of him.

Though she'd struggled not to show it for reasons that no longer mattered thanks to Jellal.

She would have to get him back for this.

Maybe Jell-O in his boots or something? She was pretty sure Natsu and Happy would be thrilled to help her prank him considering how often they liked to prank others.

Seriously, for a badass dragon Natsu tended to act more like a mischievous, cackling, five year old. It was kind of cute when it wasn't directed at her.

She blinked a little as it suddenly dawned on her that Natsu was a dragon. And as such he should've never gotten caught in the mermaid's spell. According to Gemini anyway.

She cocked her head curiously as she slid in next to him, her brain too busy turning over this new puzzle to be distracted by a mostly naked Natsu within arms reach.

"Natsu, can I ask you something?"

He blushed a bit as he wrenched his eyes away from her chest, grateful she'd appeared distracted and hadn't noticed him staring, "Sure. What's up?"

Lucy looked at him, mild confusion on her face, "I just realized that the mermaid's spell didn't affect you at first, but then she captured you. How did that happen?"

His mouth dropped open, brow furrowing as he looked at her, "What do you mean how? She just captured me?" He replied, uncomprehending of her question.

He yelped a bit when Lucy tugged on a few locks of his bangs, pulling his face down towards hers, "Ow what!"

"You shouldn't have been able to be taken," Lucy puffed her cheeks out at him. He gave her a curious look.

"Why couldn't I have been?" Natsu asked, almost looking offended that he wasn't supposed to be the target of being spirited away. Which was ridiculous, but of course Natsu would take offense to something as insane as that.

"Because- well," Lucy stammered as her thoughts raced to the men in the village, "All of the other ones were lured away by the creature. I mean you weren't, right? You just fought her, I don't really see you losing to her."

She watched his expression clear and grow thoughtful, his eyes lifting up towards a spot over her shoulder, as if hoping the wall would give him an answer.

But then his gaze dropped level, back to her and she felt herself locking into space, Natsu's eyes boring into hers.

"I-... It's nothing, just..." Natsu's cheeks turned red.

He mumbled something she couldn't quite hear and she leveled an exasperated look at him.

"I saw you okay?" He huffed more loudly, matching her look for look, "I couldn't hear her stupid singing or whatever, but she came out of the mist looking just like you. She even had your new keys and stuff, so I thought she was you."

He shrugged uncomfortably, "It was a good enough distraction she caught me."

Oh.

She hadn't considered that as a possibility.

It certainly made sense, but part of her couldn't help but wonder if that counted as a lure or not.

Oh who was she kidding? She was hoping it did.

She'd already acknowledge how she felt about Natsu, and she couldn't help sniffing around looking for clues that he felt the same way.

Granted, she already knew he desired her at least thanks to that near kiss on the train. She just wished she knew if he loved her or if it was more of a friends with benefits thing.

Of course, knowing him, he wouldn't even see the difference.

Not for the first time she cursed his complete rejection from society, and the damage that had caused his emotional growth.

She pushed that thought to the side for the moment though, "Oh. I didn't realize she could do that."

Which seemed a bit silly in retrospect, but there it was.

"Yeah, well it came to a surprise to me as well," Natsu grumbled, his arm resting heavily across Lucy's waist. He looked sour at the reminder of his failure in the mission, but his expression was strangely... conflicted.

Lucy's intuition flared and she squirmed to free am arm between their bodies, her hand rising to tap lightly at his nose.

Green eyes crossed at the motion and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"I just don't get it," Lucy knew she was fishing, trying to get some kind of information out of Natsu which could be determined as something on the useful side of things.

"Sure I could see her getting the drop on you by copying me, but dragging you into her harem? She must have distracted you really well," Lucy snorted.

That was when she saw it. In the widening of Natsu's eyes, the sheer panic he tried to hide, and the way his cheeks turned the color of Erza's hair.

Lucy frowned.

"What is it? What happened?" She demanded.

Natsu squirmed again, his knees brushing against the top of her thighs, his throat swallowing thickly.

"You could say that," Natsu murmured reluctantly, a flash of fear echoing in the back of his eyes as he looked at Lucy. But it seemed his need to always tell her the truth overlooked his personal feelings on the matter.

"I-... I kissed her," Natsu looked pale, his eyes casting down at the pillow. His lips barely moved and he froze, as if expecting Lucy to recoil from him in disgust or rage.

Lucy was stunned to say the least.

Natsu had kissed the spirit?

She doubted there was any way that an image of her looking like a drowned cat in the middle of the woods would send Natsu into a frenzy of lust. Which meant...

He'd done it because he had feelings for her.

The thought filled her with warmth and happiness. Enough it felt like her heart was going to burst.

He had feelings for her.

Okay, so it wasn't exactly a declaration of love, but it was more than enough to know he cared for her as more than a friend. She could work on love later.

She smiled broadly at the thought, though he didn't see it, and in fact seemed to be curling up into a miserable ball.

It took her a moment to realize he must be interpreting her silence as disgust or something, and a trickle of anger washed through her. That was most definitely not the case.

Though she was more than a little annoyed that the spirit had been the one to get the kiss instead of her.

A deliciously wicked thought crossed her mind and she shifted as she rubbed her hands over Natsu's shoulders, ignoring the way he jumped a little at the contact.

"Is that so?" She purred into his ear, heat and anticipation coiling in her at the bold move, "Somehow I doubt that snake was able to do justice to my kissing."

She pressed her lips lightly against his neck, just behind his ear, "Would you like me to prove it?"

Corded muscles jumped against her mouth, Natsu's breath blowing hot against her neck. She had the pleasure of feeling Natsu stiffen in shock, but slowly relax, turning his head enough for them to separate.

His wide eyes locked onto her, and Natsu looked like he was struggling not to swallow his own tongue.

"Prove...?" He breathed out, barely seeming to comprehend what she was saying. But that was fine, Lucy hadn't expected his shell-shocked mind to be able to.

Hoisting herself up onto her elbow, her heart racing with a mad rush of adrenaline, she pressed her hand against his jaw experimentally.

When Natsu didn't pull away, his eyes flickering down her face and a hesitant smile tugging at his lips, Lucy knew she was in the clear.

Natsu's self-doubt would be the death of him one of these days. How quickly had he forgotten about their near-kiss on the train? Or had he been afraid she was going to smack him for kissing the spirit instead of her.

Lucy was tempted, but considering it wasn't really his fault, she could give him a pass.

"You're going to drive me crazy one of these days Mr. Dragneel," Lucy whispered, and pressed her lips against his warm ones.

Natsu squeaked a little in surprise at the sensation, but it quickly turned into a groan of pure pleasure as her lips caressed his. The feel of her lips against his was not like it was before. Soft and hesitant, but with heat and hunger, with enough contact it was like electricity was jumping through his veins.

It wasn't the fiery kiss he'd shared with the spirit. Or even the heat of the almost kiss from their trip back. This was different. Softer. Gentler. And somehow that made it even better.

Heat he understood.

Gentle was still often a foreign concept.

And that was so very Lucy that his heart was ready to burst. This was his Lucy. Despite her boldness she didn't demand. She simply did as she'd always done and gently showed him the way. She never took.

But he surprised himself when he realized he wanted her to.

He curled his arms around her and pulled her a little closer, shivering at the feel of her pressing against him in such a way, and tentatively deepened the kiss.

He was still afraid of asking for too much, despite how much he wanted it, but he was rewarded with a happy noise from her as she gently coaxed his mouth open and shocked the life out of him by slipping her tongue inside.

This was a kind of kissing he'd never heard about before, but oh he liked it! Heat exploded through him at the sensations she was producing, and he growled softly as he returned the kiss with growing hunger.

She giggled against his lips at his sudden ferocity, but moaned happily as they lost themselves to the pleasure until air became a necessity.

"Where did you learn to kiss like that?" Lucy panted softly, her eyes glazed and dark in a way that had him growling in pleasure. He definitely liked that look on her face.

Her hands trailed down his chest, fingers traveling down the ridges of his stomach. Every brushing touch made it feel like his skin was jumping, jolting awake in new ways he had never been able to experience before.

Sure, he knew what was happening and had even done a bit of exploration in his past. But her hands were completely different from his own, and every press of her skin against his had more of his blood pounding south.

"Just now," Natsu replied dizzily, melting back into her kiss when her mouth descended on him once more. It was addicting, fun, and gods did it feel great.

It was completely unlike the water spirit too. Natsu could feel their history in every tangle of his hair in her fingers, in every nip of his teeth against her lower lip.

He could feel it in the air they shared when they took greedy breaths between their kisses.

His heart chanted her name to the rhythm of an erratic beat. Natsu's hand lifted to fist his fingers into her golden hair, unable to stop himself from playing with the finely spun treasure.

"Gyah!" He jerked out, the embarrassing noise escaping him when he felt Lucy's clever hands rake her nails across his sides. His eyes flew open wide, cheeks burning from the sharp pleasure which had taken control of him, making him far more vocal in his surprise than he predicted.

He hadn't realized he was so sensitive.

Chest heaving, he growled against Lucy's giggling mouth. Her hips wiggled closer, taunting him with their inviting press near his groin.

"L-Lucy-" Natsu's voice gasped, eyes glazed and lips fighting to catch her elusive ones, "What're you-...?"

The questioned died on his lips when he got a good look at her face. Her honey brown eyes were dark. The way she gnawed on her lower lip was inviting, and the pull of her hands around him made the air rush from his lungs.

He suddenly knew what she wanted. To finish this new adventure they'd started.

####

The thought nearly had fire erupting from him as he realized suddenly they were alone in the room, sharing a bed, and barely clothed.

His mouth went dry at the half understood implications, and a hot growl rumbled in his chest. It was answered by a wicked grin from Lucy as she pressed against him, and this time there was much less preventing him from feeling every inch of her soft curves. Or to prevent her from feeling what the sensation was doing to him.

He leaned closer, once more letting her pull him in, and this time there was no Happy to interrupt.

His heart thundered in his chest in anticipation and he simultaneously tried to explode and melt as her petal soft lips finally met his. He could never tire of it. He groaned softly and pulled her closer, his hand sliding over her panty clad bottom and instinctively pulling her hips against his.

Something within him nearly burst with absurd pride when he was rewarded with an approving sound he urgently wanted to hear from her again. Many times. Her back bowed, his fingers skimming across the arch of her spine, and he had just enough time to marvel at the response before her mouth robbed him of the air in his lungs.

Their kisses deepened into something that was darker and more primal than anything he'd experienced before. It was dizzying, and it made all of his sides desperate for more. Demon, dragon, or human, all of him smelted down into one burning core under her onslaught. For once in his life though he didn't try to lead the way.

Despite his heat he was still nervous about pushing beyond what she wanted. Instead he followed her guidance and quickly realized that while he didn't know much about what he was doing... she did. She was skilled in fact. Perhaps enough for both of them.

More importantly, it assured him she did want more.

With that thought he pulled reluctantly away, aware he needed to let her know this despite his brain threatening to melt. His first kiss with the mermaid had been nothing like this, and now he was having trouble thinking much less responding, "Luce..." He panted, "I don't...I've never..."

Understanding at once flashed across Lucy's face and she smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry." She purred, "I'll show you."

Show him-? Before he had time to comprehend what that even meant, Lucy was guiding him onto his back, her leg stretching over his hips as she settled down on his lap. This time however, without the bulk of clothes between them it was like a surge of electricity jolted through him. It shuddered through him, setting him ablaze.

"Lucy," He growled thickly, smoke rising out from the corners of his mouth, fire burning in his chest and causing the temperature to spike between them. The woman against him didn't seem to mind any of these things.

She slid the straps of her nightie down her shoulders, inviting in the way they draped against her arms.

Lucy guided his face back towards her and pressed her mouth eagerly against his smoky lips. The heady grunt he made against Lucy caused her to sigh with delight and instinctively her hips rolled against his.

Natsu's spine went rigid, and Lucy felt his muscles tense, rippling under her touch at the unfamiliar sensation. It took a moment for him to relax again and open his dark green eyes, but once he did, Lucy knew precisely what he wanted.

Growing bolder with each passing second, Natsu gripped her arm, the other hand sliding up to cradle the back of her head and fist a handful of her hair. He dragged her into a devouring kiss, fangs biting punishingly into lips and leaving their mark. It was a little clumsy, but it did not lack in passion. Natsu was practically brimming with it.

She pulled away enough to lift Natsu's hand on her arm, guiding his burning palm to her chest. Lucy squirmed at the first touch of his large hand gripping her, his thumb just grazing her through her shirt.

He froze at the new movement, his eyes on his hand as it discovered new territory. Lucy watched the gears clinking together in his head, his other rising to join its brother. Keening softly at the sensation of him gripping her, Lucy arched her hips forward to encourage him, her hands resting on top of his scarred knuckles and squeezing his fingers for him so he could take the hint.

Natsu surged to life at that encouragement, his pelvis lifting up in an instinctive buck to grind up into Lucy's circling hips. Slowly his hands squeezed her breasts, cautiously fondling his prize to see what she would enjoy.

He wanted to hear more of her noises. Each one that parted her swelling lips was just as encouraging as the last, and they were oddly drugging. The power they held over him was absolute.

"Natsu..." Lucy moaned, the feel of him caressing her and rocking against her making her brain melt. It had been a long time since she'd done even this much and she hadn't realized just how hungry she was for it.

She rocked her hips eagerly against his, crying out softly in pleasure when he grazed a particularly sensitive spot and wished she dared to pull his shorts down and show him everything. But even if she'd been ready for that step she was pretty sure he would literally explode.

This was quite enough though.

She leaned eagerly into his touch for several moments before getting impatient and tugging her night shirt down enough to free her breasts for his enjoyment.

This seemed to open up whole new options as suddenly he was rubbing his hot, calloused, thumb against her painful nipples directly and her brain went hazy with pleasure. Another long moan pulled from her lips as she shivered under his touch.

It was glorious.

It wasn't enough.

The friction was delicious, but it wasn't quite enough. She needed a little more. Desperate now, she slid a free hand down into her panties to rub eagerly at her clit.

She didn't expect him to notice the movement.

She expected him to follow even less.

But Natsu had always been good at surprising her, and only moments after she'd done it, his hot fingers followed inquisitively.

The result was an explosion of pleasure as his scorching hands replaced hers and she wildly manipulated them until he was stroking her himself.

"God Natsu..." She groaned, moving against him, leaning over to pull him into another desperate kiss.

It was easily the most beautiful thing Natsu had ever seen in his life.

He'd never dreamed something like this could happen to him, and now that it was he couldn't get enough of the look of passion on her face. The way her eyes were dark and glazed with pleasure. Pleasure he was giving her.

It was as intoxicating as the noises she made, and twice as addictive.

He quickly found though that her perched on him like that was not conducive to him being able to reach all of her easily. Something he quickly found he didn't like. So he curled his hands around her hips and rolled her onto her back with a dark growl.

This was much better! Now he could properly pay attention to everything she wanted him to do.

He immediately missed the sensation of her hips grinding down against his, but with as tense and coiled as his body was, he knew he probably wasn't going to last long anyway. There was heat throbbing in his groin that neared levels of discomfort and screamed for relief. He ignored it for the moment though, and set his hands on her knees to part her legs with his broad shoulders.

Eyes raking across her, his breath seized in his chest at the sight of her flushed, squirming body beneath him. Slowly he lowered his head, kissing a light line from her belly button up her ribs.

The whole time he moved, his eyes were focused on Lucy's face. Hair clung to her cheeks and shoulders, long locks falling over her breasts. Impatient, he brushed them away one hand coming to sink into her mound.

His mouth covered the other, his tongue circling with curious exploration around her nipple, eyes drawn on Lucy's face. Lucy bit her lips at the intensity in which he watched her, like understanding her body was a battle he wanted to win.

It was the same devilish, instinctual focus he used while fighting, sleuthing out what made his opponent go weak. And in this case, despite his clumsy moments, Natsu was learning.

It seemed the only thing he was using as his guide, were Lucy's occasional corrections, along with the sounds of her breathing and heart.

He left shallow bite marks over her chest, his hand squeezing and filling itself with her heavy breasts. His other hand snuck between her legs, re-discovering that one spot on Lucy that seemed to make her see stars.

Rewarded by the sudden, harsh moan that came from her, Natsu felt her legs squeeze around her shoulders to prevent him from leaving. As if he would do that.

A moment later though, Lucy pushed her legs away from him, causing Natsu to freeze as ice-cold terror washed over him. Afraid he had done something wrong, he held absolutely still.

But his fears were unfounded when a moment later Lucy ripped her panties and nightie off and threw them somewhere over his head.

"More!" Lucy panted, and Natsu felt himself throb hotly in response.

Taking his cue from her he pulled his own underwear off, groaning softly as he was freed from his confinement, and descended on her again.

"Lucy..." He growled thickly and pulled her into a hungry kiss as his fingers found their purchase against her again. This time, she bucked wildly as he slipped and slid his fingers against her soaked folds. Her movements became more fevered with every stroke, and while he was tempted to pull away and savor the sight, the way she clung to him told him he knew better than to stop.

Besides... she was even more beautiful now.

Her arousal was thick and heavy in the air and it made him throb desperately with want, and a distant part of him wondered if she tasted as good as she smelled. The thought made him twitch and tighten even more, and he felt as if he was poised to explode at any moment.

He leaned up to capture her swollen lips again, rocking his hips eagerly against hers, and nearly crying from the sensation of her rubbing against him directly.

It seemed that was all she needed as Lucy suddenly froze again, and there was a moment of complete stillness before she suddenly arched her back and screamed his name as she shattered beneath him.

The sight, sound, and feel of her like that, completely helpless, and lost to her pleasure, had the tight coil in his own belly suddenly snapping and his roar joined hers as pleasure unlike any he'd ever dreamed of tore through him with the force of an explosion.

Natsu barely caught himself on shaky forearms, his eyes hazy with pleasure. He let out a rough gasp, feeling himself empty between their rutting bodies and grow soft.

He was forced to ride the wave of his pleasure, his jaw locking and tensing at the feel of her laying under him, soft, sweet and so lax. Rolling onto his side, he avoided crushing Lucy, twisting his waist and hips so he was panting, lying on his back with Lucy's head pillowed against his bicep.

Panting, he stared up at the ceiling lazily, mouth parted and heart racing.

Slowly, the fever in his blood began to calm, his need simmering down to something manageable. Natsu turned his head to peer over at Lucy. She watched him with such a sweet smile on her face, Natsu thought his heart would explode.

"That was..." He swallowed.

Lucy's hand skittered across his chest, her every touch feeling like fire against his sensitive skin. Natsu's breath caught as she curled in close to him, bringing along the intoxicating scent of their coupling.

####

It wasn't necessarily the scent of what they did, more so of what it had meant. Natsu's heart felt very full, like he was filled with affection for only this woman. Which, he already knew, he was.

"Yeah," Lucy murmured against his neck, curling up against him for warmth. Now that they were done, he realized they had kicked the blanket to the foot of the bed at some point.

He shifted to get it, dragging it up to his waist, but unable to tug it any higher thanks to their tangled bodies. Unwilling to let go of Lucy, he ignored the task and wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm.

The understanding in her eyes, and the contented smile on her face made giddiness run through him. This was good..? right?

He didn't know what it all meant. But- it had to mean something.

Cautiously, he pressed a gentle kiss against the crown of her head. She snuggled in closer to him.

"Night Lucy."

"G'night Natsu."

...See you soon Natsu...

I honestly don't have anything to say other than an evil laugh. You should thank Kytrin though. this was originally split into two chapters. I wanted to drag out your torment just a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle while longer, but she wanted to have mercy on you all since the first part of the chapter was just too short.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! We had an incredible amount of reviews!

Guest responses - Animallover (You're very welcome! Yes it makes me happy to see Natsu's development as a character too. You think we're still cruel? Well I guess the jury is still out on that!) - Guest (kissblocker extraordinaire) -Lkityan02 (Thanks!) Eden (Aw, don't hold it against Happy, he's adorable!) - Avengerika (Don't worry, I'm fine! I hope this chapter satisfied you!)

SNEAK PEEK BELOW!

There was no room for doubt now. She was well and truly in love with her ferocious dragonslayer.

She bit back a giggle as he rolled over a bit and began drooling on his pillow. Yep. That was her prince charming.

But really she wouldn't have it any other way.

She glanced at the time and stretched a bit as she gently disentangled herself from him. She didn't have the heart to wake him, so she was going to tiptoe off for a shower. At least that was her plan, but no sooner had she sat up than sleepy green eyes fluttered open.

"Lucy?" Natsu mumbled, raising his head a little to blink at her, "Whatcha doing?"