Chapter One: Headache
April 794
A year into their Century Quest, Lucy started to notice small but powerful changes in her partner and fellow teammate, Natsu. To anyone else those changes wouldn't have garnered much attention but to her, they were drastic steps away from her dragon slayer's personality.
The first one came in the form of the man's eating habits. Natsu was known for putting away enough food in the amount of his body weight twice over. But for some reason, that spring, his appetite had taken a noticeable dive. What made it concern, was the fact that he started giving his share to her! Natsu. Giving food. AWAY! It was inconceivable but still only mildly worrying. It's not like he stopped eating a lot, he just started making sure that they were all fed. He even made it a point to watch her eat, in what she was sure he thought were surreptitious glances. After she was done, he'd flash her his patented full toothed grin and for all purposes looked like the cat that got the cream.
Present
After returning from their quest Natsu's new little habits took a back burner to the all the craziness that was constantly happening inside of Fairy Tail. If anyone else noticed, they didn't say and that was enough to make Lucy believe that maybe she was just overreacting or that maybe Natsu was just growing as a person and so his capacity for serious had increased. The thought made her snort in disbelief. In any case, she put the weirdness out of her mind as she strolled into the guildhall.
A beaming smile crossed her lips at the sight of one of her closest friends, Levy, sitting beside a forever scowling iron dragon slayer, and waving to her madly. As she approached the table, the celestial mage couldn't help but wonder about those two. They still didn't have a concrete relationship status, but she was pretty sure that Gajeel leveled the last sucker whose eyes strayed to Levy's ass for too long. As far as she knew, no steps had been taken to make them official, much to her friend's frustration. Apparently, something was holding the slayer back from claiming his woman, but he wouldn't say what.
Their situation was confusing to say the least but at least they had a situation. Her mouth twisted into a shadow of a frown as she thought of her own nonexistent situation with a certain pink-haired dragon slayer. Natsu had the emotional capacity of a 4-year-old, where romantic (not to mention sexual) relationships were concerned. None of her efforts to seduce or talk to him about it had yielded any fruit.
Just last week she'd gone to bed in a sheer baby doll that barely covered her ass and had her nipples lewdly imprinted on the material. Her panties were a matching pink, barely-there lace piece, the cut designed to favorably shape what little of her lower ass cheeks that were visible. Her intention was to surprise him with that vision of sexiness and declare her intentions when he inevitably broke into her place to eat her out of house and home. He'd come in while she was preparing to slide into bed, Happy mysteriously absent as he was wont to do these days. And for a moment she'd thought that her plan to catch his eye had worked, as his gaze roved over her body. She'd smiled sweetly as his eyes met hers.
"What the hell are you wearing, Lucy?"
Her face and spirits had promptly fallen as he quirked a confused eyebrow.
"Won't you get cold in that? Doesn't really matter I guess; I breathe fire so I'm pretty hot. I'll keep you warm."
His words, while sensual in content, had lacked the necessary to heat to indicate that he had any interest at all. Instead he'd sounded almost resolved and annoyed as he scratched at his thick skull and wandered off into her kitchen to steal her food.
"Got anything to eat?"
How embarrassing.
Not to mention all the times before that where she'd dressed up for him or tried to get him alone on a mission, or that one time she'd shown up at his house to cook for him. Sure, he was appreciative but not in the way she wanted him to be. He responded the way he did to everything- in a typical Natsu way- with a bright grin and a Thanks Luce! You're the best! All of which did wonderful things for her ego but nothing for her slowly withering heart. The celestial mage was coming to accept that Natsu just wasn't the type to care about anything but food, family and fighting, and he probably never would be.
The busty blonde bombshell had failed so epically at trying to entice the young man that she'd begun to question her own sexual appeal. It was hard to not notice that Natsu had gotten even more handsome over the years. He'd shot up several inches in the last year alone and his wild pink hair had gotten even wilder. But instead of taking on the bird's nest look, he just constantly looked like he'd just rolled out of bed after a week-long sex marathon. It was so effortlessly alluring. More and more women started noticing when he was around. His presence just filled up any space entirely. It also helped that he was pretty much famous after the grand magic games.
Strength, good looks, and loyal to fault, she was understandably questioning if she was even in Natsu's league. Sure, she was pretty. People told her that all time. She, apparently, had a cute face and a body that 'wouldn't quit'. But what did all that matter if the one guy she liked had zero interest in her that way. Just thinking about it was equally frustrating and exhausting.
Lucy realized with a jolt that she'd stopped in the middle of her trek to Levy's table to daydream over the oblivious fire dragon slayer. She brushed off the distraction of those thoughts and continued to her friend.
"Hey Levy!"
"Lucy!" the petite bluenette popped up from her seat to throw her arms around the taller girl. Lucy returned the hug with just as much vigor and took a seat across from the not-couple.
"Hey Gajeel," she greeted the iron dragon slayer a bit more reservedly.
"Sup Blondie." She wasn't very fond of the nick name but learned years ago that Gajeel, like Natsu, wasn't very good with names and while she was sure that he knew hers by now, once they dubbed you thus, you had better work with it for the sake of your own sanity. It was both rude and strangely endearing. Come to think of it, the only polite Dragon Slayer she knew was Wendy. Huh.
She's distracted from her minor displeasure by Levy's palpable excitement.
"I finished reading your manuscript for Adventures of Iris Book 2 and I have to say, I see another Kemu Zaleon award in your future," she practically bounced on the spot, Gajeel nonchalantly throwing an arm over her shoulders to pin her in place. The solid script mage went pink for a moment but sat still.
Gajeel didn't move his arm.
Damn, they were cute.
"Thanks Levy. I still need to do some minor editing, grammar and spell checks, stuff like that"
They went on to discuss foreshadowing techniques and Iris' growth as a character in enthusiastic animated gestures and expressions.
Apparently seeking reprieve from their 'nerdiness', Gajeel stood.
"Need anything shrimp? I'm heading over to the bar," Cheeks still pinked in delight, Levy responded with a sweet, "Thanks Gajeel, the usual please"
He turned his head in Lucy's direction, "Blondie?"
A little shocked at his gentlemanly gesture, Lucy sat dumbstruck for a few seconds, "Who, me?"
"No, the blonde leprechaun on your shoulder," he responded without any real bite. It might've been because of the slight tinge of pink across his cheeks. Lucy gave him a proud smile, "A strawberry milkshake, thanks"
The giant of a man stalked off to get their orders as both women watched him go with enchanted and surprised smiles.
"Lulu," Levy drew back her attention, "I really need some advice." The previously peppy mage's face morphed into an expression of one-part dread, one-part enthusiasm and 100% panic.
A bit worried by the sudden change, Lucy leaned onto the table, her hands folded neatly, supporting her incredible chest.
"What's wrong Levy?"
The smaller girl bit at her bottom lip nervously before spilling all her problems in one long breath of jumbled words, "Gajeelsaidthathehereallyreallywantstomakemehiswomanbuthehadtoknowforsureifwewerematesorsomethingandsincewearehe'sreadyforthefinalstepinourrelationship"
The celestial mage went over them in her head and finally picked out sentences from the confused mess.
"Shut the front door!" she almost yelled. At her friend's panicked look in Gajeel's direction, she lowered her voice in a fierce whisper, "He said that?"
At Levy's jerky nod, she threw her hand up in celebration, "That's great Levy!" the blonde whisper shouted. "That means you're official… I just don't get the whole mate part though. The heck does that mean?"
Lucy caught the other girl glancing ever so often in her kinda-boyfriend's direction, most likely trying to glean if he'd overheard. Considering his impressive dragon slayer senses, if he focused enough, she was sure he could pick out their conversation even in the noisy guildhall.
"From what Gajeel tells me, basically Dragons mate for life and his instincts are telling him that I am his mate. Lulu, he basically wants to get married- and soon! He was waiting for his body to catch up from the 7 year gap to like, fully mature," here the bluenette turned an interesting shade of red, "H-his body is mature now so he knows for sure that I'm the One"
Despite Levy's distress, Lucy thought that the whole thing was absolutely freakin' amazing. Imagine knowing for sure that she was the 'one and only' for the guy she loved. Her mind flashed to Natsu and her. She took a Crocus minute to imagine making cute little pink haired dragon slayer babies with her partner. The thought made her face heat up. Especially, when she thought about how they would make those babies.
But back to Levy. Her fears and nervousness were justified. In Lucy's case, she was so gone on Natsu that she would take any crumb of affection that he'd give. Much less a freakin' proposal.
The blonde smiled understandingly at her friend. The pressure of this decision was the source of Levy's angst. But once she removed all the technicalities, it really only came down to one thing. She told the other mage as much.
"What's that?"
"Do you love him?" the blonde asked softly.
Levy nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, yes, of course. I'd do anything for him,"
"Then stop panicking," Lucy poked her in the forehead, "That's all that matters. You love each other and it isn't some flimsy infatuation so go for it."
The bluenette, considerably calmer now, smiled in gratitude. "Thanks Luce I knew I could count on you to pull my head out of my butt"
As if on cue, Gajeel strolled over with their drinks and gave Levy the happiest freakin' grin either girl had ever seen on his face. This served to properly cement the fact that he did hear every word. Though she was embarrassed, Levy smiled beatifically at her man as he turned to walk away.
"I'm sure you and Blondie have some more girly shit to talk about so I'm gonna chill at the bar with Mira for a while," he waved in parting as his mate-to-be sighed dreamily with a muttered okay.
Levy turned back to Lucy who graciously waved off her friend's questions about her own progress -or lack thereof- with Natsu.
"You two should be together right now. You're taking such a huge step with each other. Go celebrate it," she waved her hand around coolly, "We can always catch up later,"
Levy stood so quickly that the sturdy table almost flipped over. They parted with a quick but warm hug and plans to meet up for lunch and manis the next day.
After Levy's big news, Lucy somehow found it hard to remain in the guildhall with the loving couple. So, she headed out towards the east forest. Surprisingly, despite the creepy forest Vulcans, the place was peaceful and enchanting.
It wasn't that she's envious of Levy's happiness but rather sorry for herself as it served as a reminder that she and Natsu were never going to be together. From Gajeel's explanation, dragons only had one mate and the young blonde was starting to feel that she wasn't it for Natsu. The thought made her feel sad and defeated. To not even have a chance of winning before she even got into the game. That sucked.
On the bright side, she knew that he would always be her loveable, moronic partner. She knew that, no matter what, they would always protect and love each other even if it was just platonically. And she suspected that her heart would have to be satisfied with knowing that he was safe and happy.
For, what was certainly not first time, Lucy wondered if she was being selfish by putting their friendship on the line in hopes for more. She'd often wondered if just being his friend was so bad. But then she'd remember how much she ached for him and so every time he touched her, she squirmed away, afraid to alert him to her filthy thoughts. In that way, her love had already started taking its toll on their relationship because he'd made it a point to stop touching her so much now.
May 794
A week later she was presented with the second sign. They were about 3 days from the coast of Galapagos island where they were searching for the fabled Red Diorite Jewel. Having retrieved the item, thus cutting down their quest time by 99 years, they were headed towards their chartered boat that would take them to the port of Hargeon. Erza and Lucy led their little expedition to the island's edge while Natsu, Wendy and Happy lagged behind Gray. The Dragon slayers' motion sickness was no doubt the reason for their sluggish movement towards their transportation home. Both girls were heavily engaged in a conversation that, if asked now, Lucy couldn't recall what it was about. And because of said riveting parler, both missed the massive reptile crossing their path. Erza, out of ingrained warrior's instinct or perhaps just good luck, stepped over the creature even without noticing its presence. Lucy, however, had no such luck. Her foot landed just below the snake's large head, which in hindsight was probably what saved her from a swift bite in retaliation. It still attempted to strike at her from its restrained position beneath her heel. The blonde screeched and fell back by several paces with her heart in her throat. Just as quickly, Natsu was in front of her. He was always quick to come to her defense, but his reaction time was downright freaky. The subvocal growl he let out was even more so and as far as she knew, it was a completely new sound. It was out of place coming from the mellow pinkette but strangely fitting considering his draconic heritage. The snake having heard this sound, instantly knew that this man was not to be fucked with and promptly continued on its way out of this obviously stronger predator's sight.
"Wow Natsu, that was a- amazing. Thank you," she murmured in shock.
The rest of their team just looked on in surprise especially, little Wendy, who didn't think that her pseudo big brother had a threatening bone in his body- until now. They hadn't seen the snake and for a moment had wondered where that dangerous aura was coming from and why. Erza noticed the reptile slinking away beneath the foliage and placed a hand on her hip and sent a proud smile in Natsu's direction.
"Good Job, Natsu. None of us even sensed it"
Even Gray and Carla looked mildly impressed but more so of the slayer's response than the threat itself.
Happy alone seemed untroubled by this and flew forward to perch on top of his best friend's head.
In typical Natsu fashion he brushed it off. "No problem, Luce. C'mon guys, let's head home."
"Aye Sir!" the blue exceed replied.
With that said, the shock that had previously fallen over the group, was lifted and the wizards continued on with their journey to Magnolia.
May 794
The third and final sign that something was off came only a few hours upon them boarding their boat to Hargeon. As expected, the dragon slayers were having a tough time travelling. Poor Wendy huddled up in the corner of the deck with an iron bucket permanently perched on her raised knees and Carla's gentle petting and soothing 'There, There child' s.
Lucy had developed a habit for petting Natsu on their train rides while he was passed out on her lap. She supposed it was comforting because he unsteadily made his way over to her 15 minutes later with a green face and tired eyes. He fell to his knees beside her on the floor and faceplanted into her bosom.
"Hey! Watch it, perv!" she forwent the Lucy Kick in light of him already looking half dead and instead prepared to give him a lecture about how presumptuous it was of him to place his head on a girls breasts without permission.
Her rant was stopped before it even started as the Dragon slayer seemed to be sniffing at her subtly. Apparently, he liked what he smelled because a goofy smile spread across his face as his eyes dropped closed.
"Mmm, Nice smelling…Lucy,"
Lucy leaned down to hear him as his words were soft and incoherent. When he snuggled even deeper into her breasts, she was going to deck him- motion sickness or not. She's stopped by the realization that his face wasn't pinched in constant queasiness and he hadn't thrown up in the last 10 minutes or so. Whatever 'scent' he was smelling from her made him less sick. So, she would make the sacrifice and let him remain. Not that it was much of a sacrifice when she actually wanted him there. It was just embarrassing with a smirking Gray and Happy looking on while the cat snickered 'He llliiiiikes you' behind his paw. His motion sickness was so terrible that she wanted to bring him any measure of peace that she could. So, she decided not to skin the exceed taunting her and remained in place with a gentle hand carding through pink locks.
His arms wound around her waist mid-nap and he stroked along her side to hip murmuring 'Lucy, Lucy'. The distressed blonde held back a groan. Happy was never going to let her live this down.