Fairy Tail: A Dragon's Heart

Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima

Story and OCs © Me

Summary- Sometime after the Phantom Lord war, Natsu begins to act strangely around Lucy. Could it be that he's developing a crush? Or will a past relationship prevent him from opening his heart, again?

Ch. 1- Strange Feelings

It had been about a week-and-a-half since the war between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord, and since then, things have returned mostly to normal in Magnolia. The Fairy Tail Guild was still in the middle of rebuilding, but the good news was they had their bar and request board set up again, meaning they could finally take jobs. It was a good thing, too, because Lucy's monthly rent was about to be due in a few days.

As Lucy was getting ready to make herself breakfast, though...

"NATSU DRAGNEEL!"

...Disaster.

The moment she entered her kitchen, what did she find? Natsu, lying on the floor with his belly as big and round as a balloon, giving out groggy moans, and surrounded by bones, fruit rinds, empty chip bags, and other litter. Her fridge, meanwhile, was totally empty, along with her pantry, and all an exasperated Lucy could do was stand there, gaping in disbelief.

"Ugh..." Natsu groaned as he sat up. "Oh... hey, Luce!" He then gave a loud belch before he sighed and patted his bloated stomach. "Didn't mean to wake ya. I just helped myself to some breakfast-"

"Some?!" Lucy questioned. "YOU ATE ALL MY FOOD!"

"Not all of it!" Natsu argued. "I left you a pudding cup!"

"I can't eat just pudding for breakfast, you selfish glutton!" Lucy barked. "What were you even thinking?! Did you forget that I have to eat, too?!"

"Duh, that's why I saved you the pudding cup," Natsu countered. "Jeez, you're so weird..."

"I'm weird?!" Lucy questioned. "You're the weirdo, always sneaking into my apartment and barging in unannounced! Your sister has better manners! At least she has the decency to knock, unlike you!"

As Lucy kept ranting, Natsu just sat there, staring at her... and he could feel his insides start making all these strange squirming motions, like he swallowed a live snake or something. Not only that, but he felt his cheeks going a little warm to the point where they had a bit of a pinkish hue to them that matched his hair, and as if that wasn't strange enough, his heart was throbbing so fast that it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. This actually happened earlier today... and it happened again, yesterday and even the day before that. He thought that maybe stuffing himself to the point where he looked like a balloon would quell this odd wriggling sensation in his belly and stop his cheeks from getting hot, and yet it came back, again.

Even weirder was that it always happened whenever he was looking at Lucy. Hell, even thinking about her seemed to set his stomach off. It just felt so weird and he just didn't like it... and yet...

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted, causing him to blink at her. "Have you even been listening to a single word I said?!"

"...Huh?" Natsu muttered. "You say somethin'?"

Lucy groaned as she grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulders.

"Forget it!" she said as she stormed out. "I'm going to the guild! Not only do I have to get money for rent, but now, I need to make extra for groceries to replace all the food you inhaled!"

With that, she soon stormed out, grumbling to herself as she walked down the street near the canal. As she walked, though...

"You know, you really shouldn't stand near the canal, weirdo."

"AAH!" Lucy shrieked as she nearly tripped and fell into the river, only for a hand to catch her by the wrist, causing her to look up and see a now slimmed-down Natsu, who had his hand clasped around her wrist, preventing her from falling. She blinked in surprise as he pulled her back up onto her feet, his eyes staring owlishly into hers.

"You can let go of my hand, now," he said, causing her to scoff before she yanked her wrist out of his grip.

"You're the one who grabbed mine!" she countered as she walked away. "Why are you even following me?! You know I'm still mad at you!"

"Uh... you're welcome, first off," Natsu quipped. "Second, I'm not following you. I just have to go to the guild, too." He then chuckled. "You're such a weirdo, Luce."

"Whatever!" Lucy spat as she kept walking with the Fire Dragon Slayer trailing behind her with his hands shoved down his pockets... and yet, despite how casually he was walking, his stomach was still squirming, his face still felt hot, and his heart kept pounding.

'...What's wrong with me?' he thought.

You're in love, Natsu, that's what! XD

Review, please!