The ever so faint sound of thumping wood yanked Erza from her slumber, her senses taking a few moments to reboot and restart before she finally peeled open her eyes. The rhythmic knocking came again, still as hushed as ever.
Blinking furiously, the redheaded woman traced the noise to her door, which then prompted her to sneak a glance through her window. The midnight starry sky was there to greet Erza.
Visitors? This late?
When the knocking persisted, the scarlet knight finally slid out from beneath her covers with slow ginger movements. Her body, while largely recovered from her getting stomped by Gray, was still none too happy with Erza for its current condition.
Shivering as comparatively cold air hugged bare skin, Erza's red brows furrowed as she crept to her door, groaning irritably.
With a huff, she turned the knob and pulled it open.
Just beyond stood Natsu of all people.
For a split second, Erza believed herself to be delirious, rubbing her eyes with her palms in an attempt to will what should be dream Natsu away.
The dragon slayer remained there, real as can be.
"N-natsu?" Erza whispered groggily, her tongue rough as sandpaper in her throat, "What are you doing here?"
It took the scarlet knight a bit to register what his presence meant, staring at the now grinning dragon slayer with befuddled frustration.
"This is a girl's only building, Natsu!" she hissed, leaning forward to send glances to her left and right. Thankfully, no one had awoken. The pinkette could move faster than the human eye in his sleep, so moving undetected was child's play.
A dorkish grin opened up across his face, shifting the deep lashes over features. Onyx pearls gleamed in the darkness with the ominousness of a prowling predator as Natsu announced quietly, "Come on, I got something to show you!"
Digging the sleep from her eye sockets with the knuckle of finger, she prayed for patience,
"In the middle of the night?! You seriously woke me up for one of your middle school pranks?"
The taller male hummed in confirmation, "It ain't a prank, now come on!"
Inhaling sharply, she clenched her teeth, still too sleepy to realize this wasn't the past, the Natsu standing before her was the Natsu who had defeated gods. The Natsu who didn't have anything in his eyes. Natsu was acting with the energy of his late teenage self.
Scoffing to herself for agreeing, she agreed, body shivering, "Alright, alright, lead the way you manchild. But I swear Natsu, if this is one of your little stunts, I will…. I will….uh….."
Erza's mouth slowly closed as she realized there was nothing she could do to Natsu anymore. It was him who held the power in their relationship.
Natsu looked the smaller woman up and down before remarking, "You wanna put some clothes on first? Don't have to, but it be brisky out there"
Following the dragon slayer's eyes, Erza was finally made aware of her complete lack of dress. She stood nude as the day she was born, thin arms not even wrapped around the physical signs of her being female.
Erza grumbled yet again, a bright mystical flash quick to cover her nudeness as she requipped into a blouse and skirt.
She knew Natsu wouldn't react in any salacious way, seeing as she used to drag him into the girl's bathroom every time the water needed to be heated further.
All the dragon slayer ever did was sigh as if his time was being wasted, despite being capable of boiling water with just a stare. It had gotten to a point where the girls of the guild did not bother reacting when he appeared, with Lucy being the only one who continued to cover herself.
"Can't believe I'm walking into this one. Fine! Let's get this over with." she jabbed a finger at him as she brushed past him, voice still restrained to avoid reaching a distressing decibel,
"But we are not stopping for snacks!"
Erza awoke. Again.
The familiar protective warmth of Natsu surrounded her, his arms holding her smaller frame to his chest bridal style. With a lethargic hum, Erza yet again opened her eyes, and yet again, the serenade of black that was the night sky was there to meet her.
"Hey, you're finally awake."
Natsu's rumble pleasantly tickled her eardrums, his smoky scent brushing her nose. Soft fabric hugged her neck, Erza instantly recognizing its texture as the dragon slayer's beloved scarf.
The redheaded woman looked around, recognizing the gravelly brook that surrounded the same lake Natsu's cabin was built next to. The dense treelines nearby grew less and less dense, as he walked, scattering to make room for boulder filled prairies.
Where exactly was he taking her?
"W-wha?" she mewled, yawning wide, "I-i fell asleep, didn't I?"
The pink haired mage chuckled, the chest Erza was curled up against vibrating in response, "I picked you up, remember? You were complaining about all the walking."
Erza flushed red and buried her face in his shoulder, sheepishly retorting,
"I'm not the one waking people up in the middle of the night to drag them out to the boonies."
"Aw, don't get your panties inna bunch, we're almost there!"
The scarlet knight fell silent, the fact he had given her his scarf, the fact he had carried her all this way, fueling the fire that was her blush.
"D-did you really carry me all this way?"
"Course I did." Natsu grunted softly.
Erza hugged her arms to her chest consciously, mumbling, "H-heavy. Aren't I-"
He scoffed, "Erza, just the other day I held together two tectonic plates. You weigh like what? A buck twenty soaking wet?"
"I swear, what's with all you girls worrying about your weight? Lisanna, then Lucy, then Juvia, now you. I've pet dogs bigger than you ladies."
The redheaded woman didn't have a reply to that, nestling her face into the crook of his neck appreciatively. Even when drained of his joy for life, Natsu's kindness remained.
The clacking of Natsu's footfalls against loose terrain was all that could be heard as comfortable silence draped itself over them both.
"Yo, over here!" a voice, youthful and masculine, pierced the nighttime slumber, alerting Erza to the presence of another on the lakeside.
Reluctantly withdrawing from the safety of Natsu's neck, she turned, almond eyes squinting as attempted to make out the figure that stood a dozen meters away. Being gently set down, Erza's knees were shocked into awakening, almost causing the rest of her to stumble.
Airy puffing tides of mist rolled across the ground from the lake, brushing against calves of the two Fairy Tail mages as they closed the distance.
Erza's eyes widened as she finally recognized the figure the voice belonged to.
"S-sting?"
Bristles of mischievous blonde hair swayed as Sting nodded in greeting, offering a two finger salute as he grinned brighter than the roaming fireflies infecting the air.
"Sup you guys!"
Resisting the urge to reach out and pinch the Sabertooth guild master on his bicep, Erza's neck swiveled as she looked to Natsu for more context.
What in Earthland was going on? Why was Sting, of all people, out here, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night?
"Good, you're here." Natsu observed, to which the light dragon slayer gestured to a nearby washed up log.
Sting clapped his hands excitedly, "Yep, 3:30 sharp."
"H-hold on, what are you doing here Sting?" Erza threw in, lines of confusion drawn along her forehead.
Sting shrugged, "Dunno."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I don't know. Natsu didn't tell me what I was doing."
"And you still agreed to it?!"
Sting reasoned, "Basically. It's Natsu, figured whatever is going has gotta be a good time."
She eyed the two dragon slayers distrustfully, glancing at her surroundings before giving a listless grumble.
"Alright, whatever prank you wanna pull, get it over with." she stated, waving her arms out, "I'm right here and vulnerable."
"Bah, it ain't anything like that, just stay put." Natsu reassured as his attention drifted to the lakeshore, nudging aside a moss encrusted log with his foot.
He grinned, "I'll be right back." was all he left them with before he gave a mighty leap into the lake. With the gracefulness of a dead whale, Natsu sent a buckshot of water every which way before submerging completely.
Erza allowed herself to sling a string of PG curses, immediately scrambling behind Sting to avoid being drenched. The remaining dragon slayer merely stood expectantly, unfazed by Natsu's shenanigans.
"So we are just supposed to sit here and wait for him to take a dip?" Erza said, peeking over Sting's higher shoulder to ensure the coast was clear.
As she circled him, Sting responded peppily, "Uh huh."
"Do you really not know what he wants you here for?"
"Nope."
"Do you have anything better to do?"
"Nope."
Her nostrils whistled as she exhaled, folding her arms over her chest before settling.
Erza couldn't last 30 seconds staring at the shore before looking up and clearing her throat, awkwardly asking, "S-so...uhm… how are things? How is Sabertooth getting on?"
"Quite frankly, boring. For a few weeks after everything ended, it was difficult getting back into the groove of normal life."
"I can empathize with that." she shared, rubbing her bare arm.
Sting rested his hands on his hips, "But, I would honestly take boring over constantly fearing the sake of the world. Busy work being a guildmaster is greatly preferable to having Acnologia seconds away from blowing away the planet."
Erza gave a light laugh, agreeing, "Yeah. Speaking of the guild, how is everyone?"
"Just fine, seems I'm the only one itching for something to happen though. The most entertaining thing that happens on the daily is watching Rogue try to flirt with Minerva."
Her head snapped up and over, "Those two being soft on one another? Really?"
"Weirder things have occured. Minerva has changed for the better, cleaned up her act, all of us have. With Sorano joining, it's a much livelier place."
"Yukino's sister? Good for her." Erza reached up to run her thumb over Natsu's scarf over and over, "How is she? None of the other girls have gotten together with her as of late."
"Eh, she has got her hands more than full with me." Sting waved off.
"R-really?" Once again, Erza's eyebrows curled, the expansion motivated by a new rush of surprise.
She bumbled over her words in a feeble attempt to formulate shock, "I-i had no idea th-that you two… y'know….were uh…."
Sting snickered, a finger rubbing the space beneath his nose, "Well, I'm a real lucky guy though, Lector won't let me forget that."
"C-congratulations."
"Well, I guess you could say things only got real official today when I got Natsu's seal of approval."
She tilted her head, dark red hair tousled by a playful breeze, "What?"
Sting bowed his head, chuckling sheepishly, "Me and her were tryna have private time, as a boy and girl who like each other do, when all the sudden Natsu barges in."
"He sees me and Yukino….bonding….and in less than a millisecond, I'm on my ass with a hand around my throat and fist inches from my nose. I hadn't seen the guy in like what, a month? First thing I get from him is an almost trip to the pearly gates."
He scoffed to himself, "The nerve of that guy. Do you see me trying to beat him up when he is canoodling with Lucy?"
Erza's jaw went slack, "You're kidding."
Sting nodded in confirmation, "No, dead serious. Yukino had to explain to him that we were a thing before he punched me back in time or something like that. He apologized and all, but gave me the 'if you hurt her' talk shortly afterwards before telling me he needed a favor."
Sting shifted, cortling to himself, "Truth be told, I had no idea Natsu and Yukino were that close."
"After she was kicked from Sabertooth back during the Grand Magic Games, Natsu was the first one she came across. You should know what happened after that."
Scratching an eyebrow with the back of his thumbnail, he muttered, grimacing "Figures."
A fond smile played at Erza's lips, "He felt that she was his responsibility after that. He had a lot on his plate at the time, but he still found enough energy to be protective of a girl he barely knew."
"He has always been more attuned with his draconian instincts than the rest of us. Dragons are protective of females, their young even more so."
"That's Natsu, oh so protective."
Sting laced his fingers behind his head, recalling,
"Heh, that's for sure. One time Frosh got lost, and Rogue was freaking out. We ran into Wendy, and let's just say he didn't ask for help in the most polite of ways, i.e, grabbing the little thing's shoulders and yelling in her face. I didn't even get to sock him before Natsu came out of nowhere and almost sent him into orbit."
Erza added, "I remember that, I was-"
She was cut off when a sizable triangular object broke the lake's still rippling surface, disturbing its already disturbed reflection of the moon above. The object eventually landed nearby with a heavy thud, lightly rattling the shore.
"What is that?"
Sting narrowed his eyes, brows knitting, "That's….that's…."
She nudged the dragon slayer with an elbow, "Spit it out, what is it?"
"A Dragon's tooth." he answered, in awe.
"Dad's tooth, specifically." Natsu's voice chimed in, the sounds of sloshing water almost overpowering it as he made landfall, soaking wet and covered with over-exuberant sea life.
Yanking a squirming trout off his head, he smiled wide at the two gobsmacked mages.
"Dad wasn't paying attention and smacked into the cave wall. Normally, that wouldn't hurt him, but he was kinda clumsy."
Shaking himself off, Natsu quietly hummed a laugh, "He was still an old fart, King or not." he said, moreso to himself, as he pried a dangling snapping turtle from his forearm.
"It's been here this entire time?" Erza prompted, "You could have shown this to us to prove Dragons were real way back then. B-but... but you didn't. W-why?"
"I was saving this for a special occasion."
Sting, who had already approached it, walked circles around the tooth, whistling appreciatively.
"Man, Igneel musta been a big sucker, wasn't he?"
"Fire dragons are naturally the biggest type of dragon, so yeah, my old man was jacked." Natsu said, tossing the hissing snapping turtle in his hands back into the lake.
Erza had crept close, running her bare fingers along the tooth's glistening untouched ivory surface, its texture betraying the years of wear it had been subjected to at the bottom of a lake.
"Looks untouched, don't it?" Natsu chimed in, "Could've left that old thing in there for a thousand years, and it would still look brand spankin' new."
Sting threw in, "So whaddya gonna do with it?"
"How accurate did you say you were with your light magic?" the fire mage prompted, squeezing out excess liquid from his tail of his duster, showering the ground with unsteady crystal downpour.
"I could castrate a honey bee from a mile away." Sting responded without missing a beat.
The grimace on Erza's pale features was a stark contrast to Natsu's nod of approval.
"Good, cause you're going to carve something out of it."
Both Erza and Sting felt their heads buck in surprise, sending each other unsure glances.
"I need something precise n' powerful for the job, so you came to mind. I can't touch it, fire won't work against the tooth of a fire dragon." Natsu announced before either of them could elaborate on their concerns, digging through his pockets before pulling something out.
Sting scratched the inside of his wrist nervously, but relented, "Aight, what exactly am I carving though? "
Flapping a wet piece of paper in the air in hopes of drying it, Natsu held it by its top corners and beckoned his fellow dragon slayer with his chin.
"Okay, several questions." Erza groused, stepping away from the tooth, "First one being, what does any of this have to do with me?"
Sting narrowed his eyes as he leaned in to inspect the dripping paper, stare switching between whatever it held and the man who held it.
"I think I get the jist of what you want." At that, Natsu gave a dim yet delighted smile, ignoring Erza's request.
"You up for it?"
Sting shrugged, cracking his knuckles as he stepped towards the tooth in question, "Sure, not sure I can dent something that came from freakin' Igneel, but I'll give it a whirl."
When Erza crept over to spy on what was so important, Natsu held it up and away from her, "Hey, no peeks."
The scarlet knight looked away and shook her head, scoffing, "You're a child, you know that? Show me the freaking piece of paper."
"Nope." Natsu reaffirmed, popping the 'p'. Erza pursed her lips and reached for it again, only for the taller male to ball it up in his palm and dangle it just outside her reach.
She furthered her efforts, quickly pressing herself against him and standing on her toes, her hands shooting up to try and snatch it away, "Natsu, give it here!"
"Uh-uh."
Erza growled, attempting to drag his wrist down only to quickly be reminded she was hilariously overpowered when he didn't budge. "Stop fooling around and give me the blasted thing!"
"You woke and dragged me into a different timezone, I at the very least deserve to know what you're up to!" even after hanging onto his one arm with the intention of dragging it down with her weight, Erza's efforts bore no fruit.
"Erza, I don't think you wanna get into a wrestling match with me." a strong scarred hand gripped the back of her blouse and pulled Erza away, holding her out like she was a disobedient puppy.
Before desperation forced Erza into biting Natsu's arm, a bright magnificent flash of light used the lake's reflective blues and greens as its chandelier.
The two mages turned to see a thin yet radiant beam of pure white coming from one of Sting's fingers, meeting its end against the surface of Igneel's tooth.
After a few seconds, the beam of light thickened as draconian magical energy pushed down on the air, Sting's teeth gnashing against each other as he poured more and more power into it. Both him and Natsu could see it wasn't even making a dent against the ivory surface, no matter how long or slow the beam was dragged this way and that.
After a minute of increasingly strenuous effort, Sting ceased his efforts and stepped back.
He breathed out, "Jeez, it ain't budging. I can't even scratch the paint."
As Erza rubbed her sore retinas, Natsu simply suggested, "Take it to the next level."
Doubt flashed across Sting's youthful features as he gave an unsure whine, "Natsu, bud, I don't think I'm strong enough to do anything to it. Old tooth or not, it came from freakin' Igneel, and it's gonna take me a few more lifetimes to reach that level."
"Hell no you ain't quitting on me." Natsu stated bluntly, voice firming and jaw setting.
"Plant your feet, grit your teeth, and eat that horse!"
A giant blinking question mark could practically be seen floating over Sting's head as he blinked dumbly. Even Erza massaged her temples, patience wearing thin.
Natsu coughed into a fist, "Sorry, wrong motivational speech."
"What I meant to say was power up, and get back at it. Doubt kills far more than failure does, that's a lesson even I still struggle learning." he gestured to the unscathed tooth with his chin, encouraging, "Don't give up, again."
At that, Sting's gaze sharpened as his brows creased with conviction. He stepped forward, puffing his lungs with air before unlocking the cage that held a dragon slayer's power.
Erza noticed that the same determined untempered fire that lit Sting's eyes ablaze once called Natsu's own pupils years ago. As she felt a forceful rise of magical energy make a resurgence, she discreetly took a sideways glance at her guildmate.
The scarlet knight couldn't remember how long it had been since she had seen Natsu wear that excited look of someone genuinely eager to push themselves. Nowadays, intensity like that had to be provoked from him, his enemies had to earn his burning defiant glares.
She was plucked from her thoughts when a ballooning shockwave smashed into her, dazzling magical streaks of white balleting around Sting's form before a second sun was created before her.
Wind rushed past both Erza and Natsu as the ambient shine moors itself to the velvet dark of night. The commotion was quick to fade, allowing the two to see Sting standing there, body coursing with the strength of the Dragon Force transformation.
White angelic scales messily lined the sides of his face and arms, pulsating with jocund magical potential as the mystical ambience surrounding Sting calmed itself.
"You two might wanna look away." Sting suggested gruffly, voice deeper and tone rougher.
Erza immediately did as asked, wishing to spare her retina's from whatever was going to happen. Natsu reluctantly followed suit, trusting his fellow dragon slayer to the task.
For a solid minute, the energetic hum of Sting utilizing his light magic to create a pin point laser rang out, much greater than intensity compared to before.
The shine that ignited their surroundings anew as if tainted by heaven's ether ceased, the temporary daytime that had been created retreating.
"Think I got it." Sting rasped out after a brief second.
Natsu turned, "Great. Erza, don't look." he pulled his scarf up from Erza's neck to tie it over her eyes, batting away protesting hands. "Keep this on."
"Natsu, I don't think I wanna know what the surprise is anymore." the redheaded woman's voice wavered as she heard incessant shuffling close behind her, the two men quietly murmuring things she could pick up.
She went unheard as Natsu whispered a little too loud, "Did you bring the thing-a-majig?"
"You mean the goober?" Sting requested an elaboration.
"No! The thingy, I told you specifically."
"Oh, oh, oh, I get it. Yeah, I brought it."
"Kay Sting, do the thing."
"Which one dude? The pink or the blue?"
"First off, it's salmon, not pink. Secondly, yeah use the pink one."
The frustratingly vague snippets Erza could pick up left her with more questions than answers.
After what seemed like an eternity, she heard Natsu loudly clear his throat behind her, "Aight, you can take it off."
Gulping nervously, expecting to get a pie shoved in her face or a bucket of water dumped on her, the scarlet knight pulled the scarf down and swiveled on a heel.
She made eye contact with a very proud looking Natsu holding something out to her.
That something turned out to be a sword, a double edged straight sword to be specific. The blade, composed of a very familiar ivory material, still had wisps of steam permeating from its surface. Edges finely tapered, the saber's grip was composed of a light pink metal, scarlet wrappings weaving its way down to the hilt. Right where one's palm would rest, a name had been etched into the steel. Her name.
Eyes as wide as saucers, Erza switched between the sword and Natsu several times, mouth slowly falling open.
"I couldn't stand by and let you fall down the same path I did. I wanted to show you that despite everything that had happened, I still love you, and always will." he gently pushed the sword into her trembling hands.
"Think of it as Igneel watching over you. It's probably stronger than every metal on the planet, so ya got yourself a sharp blade there.
His rough palm encompassed her much smaller one, a hand that told of years of grievous injury brushing against flawless porcelain skin as Natsu wrapped his, and her fingers around the grip.
He continued to fill the speechless silence, the fire mage's voice straining from overuse, "So uh, despite the fact I never, ever, held a grudge against you, considering this me saying water under the bridge."
Erza's teary eyes flickered down to closely inspect the elegant blade, a sword composed of something that was immensely precious to Natsu. It was one of the few physical reminders that he had to remember his father. And he decided to share a piece of it with her.
Despite everything she had done to him over the years, intentional or not, with good intentions or not, Natsu still chose her to give this sacred gift to.
Meanwhile, Natsu sent a quick glance over his shoulder to check up on Sting, his fellow dragon slayer back to his base state. Mouthing a 'thank you' to him, he got a dismissive hand wave in reply, a nonverbal 'don't mention it'.
"So….. You like i-"
A weeping Erza attached herself to Natsu's muscular chest, lithe arms circling his neck to squeeze tight.
Chanting sniffling 'thank you's' over and over, her rush of affection took the form of tears as they stained the fire mage's duster. Erza could hardly believe he would do for her, that she would be given the privilege of receiving a gift such as this.
Natsu returned the embrace with his signature gentle protectiveness, tucking her head under his chin as he rubbed soothing circles in her back.
"Hey, hey, hey, please don't cry! What's wrong? D-did Sting mess up!?"
"Why you gotta do me like that man? You just said thanks!"
Natsu was quick to hush Sting.
In the form of babbling mewls, Erza voiced her feeling of unworthiness through jumbled words. She was the one that was supposed to be making things up to him, not vice versa. Yet, even with all that was going on, all the strenuous burden Natsu dragged around with him, he was still giving.
That was Natsu, always giving.
Erza felt herself calming as she was tenderly rocked back and forth in place. She was wearing Natsu's scarf, holding his sword, both of which were composed of things his late father had left behind.
Nuzzling the side of his face, she confessed squeakily, "H-how? How w-will I ever be able to thank you?"
"Don't need to. I just wanna cheer you up." Natsu rumbled, scarred lips quirking upwards, "So, how did I do? Ya like it?"
Not wanting to step away from the hug, Erza looked past his shoulder and held up the dragon tooth saber, resting comfortably in one hand.
"I-i love it." the scarlet knight answered honestly, watching it disappear to nothingness as she requipped it away for the safest of keeping. "And I can't thank you enough Natsu."
He chuckled, "Yeah, yeah, I love you too."
"Hey guys." the meaningful moment broken, both Natsu and Erza turned to look at Sting, who pointed to the sky,
"Wanna watch me carve my name into the moon?"
