CHAPTER 23
A week later, now free from her punishment, Lucy was walking with a spring in her step with a laughing Levy trailing next to her. Levy had let her drive today, much to Natsu's ever mounting displeasure, not that he had been in a particularly good mood since the ritual anyway.
They had decided unanimously that Natsu simply needed to get out of the house. Demons didn't do well when they were cooped up inside, and he was a particularly active one.
Still, dragging him along to go prom dress shopping made it clear he was about to start driving nails through his eyes at any moment. Lucy stuck her head through a curtain and pouted at him as she tried on her fifth dress.
"Are you going to pay attention this time? I need a guys opinion okay?" Lucy said hotly to Natsu, who gave her a sullen look.
"Why?" He whined, sprawling back on the cushions the store had lined out for the families waiting and looking as if he were going to disappear into the whole pile, "I'm not good at this sort of thing."
"Oh please, like you don't like making sure all your stuff matches and looks nice," Levy smirked at Natsu, who flushed and looked away with a pout, "it's a demon thing. You guys have to look good. It's like your thing. You should see how Gajeel is about counting. That's hilarious. And awful"
"What counting thing?" Natsu asked, a bit of mischief glowing in his eyes for the first time since before his parents left.
"Oh you're not getting any more fuel from me mister, you can torment Gajeel on your own time," Levy poked the teenagers mutinous cheek.
"Guys!" Lucy whined loud, catching their attention, "are you ready?"
"Yes! Come out!" Levy said eagerly and clapped her hands together while Natsu grunted.
Lucy slid out from behind the curtain, a flush on her cheeks as she tugged at her gown in several places to adjust it. Levy let out a gasp of awe and Natsu went very still.
The fabric was a shimmering blue, cutting a shapely figure as it clung to her waist and hips. A long slit in the side gave a glimpse to flashes of creamy skin beneath, and Natsu felt an odd clench in his stomach along with that weirdly familiar burn in his chest
"Oh Lucy! You look beautiful," Levy gasped and crossed over to squeeze her into a tight hug, "you're going to be the center of attention for sure!"
"Really?" Lucy asked hopefully, a shy smile poking free from a curtain of blond hair that fell in her face. She looked over Levy to Natsu, whose mouth was hanging open a little.
"Natsu?" She gave him a smile which spoke of shaky self-confidence and his eyes snapped up to hers.
There was an odd fog to his brain that he was having trouble shaking. His throat felt dry, and that odd burn was stretching through his belly.
"You look, uh... good?" Natsu rasped, tongue feeling too dry and big for his mouth. He blinked in confusion and tried to swallow, "Yeah Luce, you look great!"
She looked relieved at Natsu's approval and smoothed her hands along her hips.
"Oh good!" Lucy smiled at Levy, "if everything goes well at the wedding, I was hoping to ask Gray if he'll come with me to prom!"
At once Natsu felt like that heat in his gut had been doused with ice water. It startled him and his throat worked hard around the sudden lump he felt there.
"Oh, you and Gray hm?" Levy smiled at her mischievously, "you'll have to tell me when that happened! And here I was thinking you would be going to prom with Natsu!"
"Well it's not really his scene, and Natsu was only going so I wouldn't be by myself," Lucy gave him a grateful smile, "So I feel bad about making Natsu come with me when he hates the idea of even getting in a tie."
"If Gray will come with me, then that would free up Natsu's night and I'll have a date!" Lucy said excitedly.
Natsu felt something twist horribly in his chest and he had to fight consciously to stop himself from punching his fingers through the cushions from gripping so hard.
Lucy going with Gray...
He supposed that was a good thing. Gray wasn't a total loser, and even if he himself didn't get all the fuss humans had about dating and stuff he knew it was important to Lucy. And she could do worse than icicle dick he guessed. At least the jerk wasn't some soul sucking imp.
It just... bothered him.
He couldn't even explain why. Just the whole idea of seeing Lucy get kissy face with Gray made him nauseous.
And the idea that Gray would cut into time that used to be exclusively theirs made him want to growl territorial.
He kept his mouth shut though. Lucy hadn't even considered a date since the imp, something that had irritated the male population of their school as she'd turned down every single offer during their two month long fight, so he couldn't let his stupid mouth ruin this for her.
That didn't make him like it though.
"Surely your first date with Gray won't be the wedding itself?" Levy asked, drawing Natsu's attention back, "Lucy, that's not the kind of thing you do for a first date!"
"Well..." Lucy blushed, "He kinda did ask me to go to the fair with him once I was off punishment. I just haven't let him know I'm free yet."
"Oh no Lu!" Levy laughed, "That won't do at all! Give him a call now and see if he's still interested! I'll take care of your dress!"
Lucy smiled and ducked back into the changing room. A few minutes later she re-emerged in her regular clothes and handed the dress to Levy. Natsu watched as she eagerly fished her phone out of her purse and dialed Gray's number, heading for the front door as she did. Not that it mattered to him. He could hear her practically halfway across the city these days.
"Hey!" She exclaimed breathlessly, and Natsu felt his stomach churn, "I hope I didn't interrupt anything?"
He scowled as he extracted himself from the cushion pile before he accidentally set fire to it and grumbled his way over to Levy.
"Well..." Lucy continued, "I'm actually out shopping with Levy and Natsu. Our punishment ended today and... yes! Absolutely! When? Okay I'll be ready then! See you tomorrow!"
The knot in his stomach grew as Lucy skipped back inside looking happier than he could remember in a long time, "Tomorrow!" She told them breathlessly, "He's going to pick me up at one so we can get a whole afternoon in and watch the fireworks after dark!"
"That sounds great Lu!" Levy exclaimed excitedly, "I'm jealous!" She laughed, "I guess I'll just have to drag Gajeel out sometime before it ends!"
Natsu tuned out the rest of the conversation. He was not interested in hearing them chatter about it anymore, and privately resolved to be as far away from home as he could be when Gray came by. Maybe he could go play with Bisca and Alzack's hatchling?
And if he was honest with himself he knew that part of the reason why he had such an issue with her happiness was because he had not been able to bring it to her himself.
In truth, he told himself that so long as she was happy with Gray then he had nothing to complain about. He did not own her time, and he would not become like Acnologia.
Natsu didn't care, her smile was worth a little irritation. He would learn to share.
Gray wouldn't hurt her. Natsu could trust him to make her happy and protect her when he couldn't. This was a good thing.
He repeated that to himself, and he hoped he might believe it soon.
Still, he was going to avoid the source of his irritation for as long as possible if he could.
So when Levy carted then back home, Natsu didn't even complain when he had to go in the car. But he was more than happy to jump out of it when they pulled in front of their home.
He had an idea though, and he didn't see any harm in it either.
"Hey Luce?" He asked When they finally got settled. She looked up at him, having finished looking over her brand new dress.
"Movie night?" He asked hopefully.
Her expression lit up in a brilliant smile that overtook her face and Natsu felt his heart seize in his chest. He knew he had her in that moment.
"Absolutely! Let me just get my pajamas on," Lucy said excitedly. She bounced off to her room and Natsu smiled after her as she left.
He went to his own room to get ready, a bubble of happiness swelling within him over her easy acceptance. She and Gray might go a romantic way together, but he would still have quiet moments with her. He still had her friendship
Natsu stripped off his shirt as he got into his room, walking over to his dresser to grab a tank top to pull on. It caused him to stride past his closet where a mirror hung over the back, and something different caught his eye.
Natsu blinked as he craned his head towards the mirror. The tattoo his father gave him was dark over his tanned skin, but that wasn't the only thing that he noticed.
As he turned, he spotted some black markings dotting along his spine. They were barely there, but enough that he could notice. Natsu's mouth went dry as he craned his head towards them, trying to get a better look.
Igneel had warned him, that shortly before his adult surges began, he would get the markings all male dragons got when they reached adulthood.
Natsu's eyes went wide and his heart sank into his belly as he rubbed a hand against his skin to see if maybe it was just dirt and he could smear it off.
The markings were small, but undoubtedly permanent.
"Natsu?" Lucy's voice came from his door and Natsu spun, quickly grabbing a tank top and yanking it on just as she opened the door.
She stood at his door, her long hair tousled and piled high on her head in a bun. She wore a pajama shirt with a weird dog on it with small shorts that were decorated with lollipops.
Cute.
Natsu cleared his throat and turned towards his drawers, hoping his tank top covered the sudden appearance of his markings. He knew he couldn't hide them for long but he wanted to buy himself more time.
He just lost his parents, he didn't want to lose his new family for three more years.
"What's up Luce?" He asked, grabbing a pair of sweat pants. He pulled off his pants, causing her to squeak and turn around. Natsu rolled his eyes at her squeamishness about nudity and quickly drew on his sweat pants.
"Nothing, I was just wondering why it was taking you so long," Lucy pouted when Natsu stepped next to her, properly dressed.
"I was just looking at something." He grinned cheerfully and grabbed her hand, "C'mon!" He tugged her hand, "It's your turn to pick!"
Lucy laughed, thoroughly distracted from what he might've been looking at, and stumbled after him, "Alright slow down! I'll go pick!" She pulled her hand out of his and nudged him towards the kitchen, "Go get the food!"
He grinned jauntily and saluted as she turned to start looking over the movies, his eyes briefly trailing over the lines of her form before he pulled himself away and darted into the kitchen to grab the mandatory snacks.
He had every intention of enjoying every moment of this movie night.
-::-
Gray tried not let his nerves show as he walked up to the door and rang the bell.
Being nervous was stupid. He already knew Lucy and they were already well on their way to being friends. What did he have to be nervous about?
Maybe the fact that he liked her, and was interested in maybe being more than just friends?
His breath caught a little as the door opened and he was momentarily stunned at the vision of Lucy standing there in an adorable ensemble of white and blue that showed off all her considerable curves.
He grinned broadly at her and held out the bouquet of flowers he was holding, "Hey. You look beautiful."
She blushed prettily as she took the flowers and breathed in their scent, "Thanks." She smiled at him and stepped back, "C'mon in. I just need to grab my purse."
Gray stepped in and told himself it would be stupid to fidget. He was an ice devil slayer for gods sake! He knew how to be cool and collected! Somehow that was very difficult to remember in the moment though with Gajeel torn between smirking at him and glowering. Levy, however, beamed as she stepped forward to take Lucy's flowers.
"Oh you have lovely taste Gray." She gushed, "I'll get a vase for them."
He flashed her a grin, "Thanks." He glanced at Gajeel, "Um, any ground rules I should know about?"
Gajeel smirked at that, "See she has a good time, respect her limits, an' if she's not back by ten tonight I'm huntin' you both down."
Well he could certainly abide by that.
He nodded his acceptance and held out a slip of paper, "Erza's phone number." He explained, "I know you already have mine, but she still sometimes forgets."
His attention was diverted again as Lucy stepped back out looking ready to go, "Sorry that took so long." She apologized, "Had some slight technical difficulties."
"No problem." Gray replied and held out his hand, "Shall we?"
He wondered vaguely where Lucy's demon-shaped shadow was, but decided not to focus on it for the time being and simply enjoy his date with Lucy in the meantime.
Waving goodbye to her family one last time, Gray left with Lucy so they could have fun together
—::—
The summer heat was blaring down on them all, and Natsu found himself boiling hot and hungry. Lucy had gone to the pool with Gray, and Natsu knew Levy's wedding was just in one more week. They were all trying to have fun and blow off steam until they had to stuff themselves into gaudy outfits.
He was contemplating himself to join them at the pool. His own stubbornness had made him hesitate, coming up with an excuse that he needed to hunt before he went swimming.
In truth he was hungry but not enough to make him worried about it. No, what did concern him was the constant ache in his gut.
It was one that spoke of a different kind of heat. Of a fire that refused to be quelled by the strokes of his own flame.
It only soothed itself for a few moments when Natsu's hand crept down between his legs in the better part of the night. Only then when the air was filled with his soft, hungry pants and the steady thrum of pleasure humming through him, was he able to get some rest.
But he wanted the real thing. A person, who wanted him and—and—... well he didn't know what.
But Natsu knew what he wanted.
He stopped mid-step, head draining by himself when he spotted a woman just ahead of him and looking like she could use some company as well.
Something in him purred at the thought, and on instinct he began moving again, his stride adjusting into less of a sulky stomp and into more of a panther prowl.
It was a move that caught the woman's attention, and Natsu felt his heat spike at the way she raked her eyes over him. A wicked sharp smirk crept over his face as he sidled up to her, "Hey." He rumbled, "I hope you don't mind me joining you, but you were looking a little lonely..."
"Oh?" She purred at him, and Natsu had to bite back a groan at the intoxicating scent of her arousal, "And you thought you could keep me company?"
"I thought I'd give it a try. Unless you've got other plans?" He smirked, wondering in the back of his mind just where he was getting this. He'd never, ever, had any of the so called moves his classmates had. He'd never cared and hadn't paid any attention.
But now it was coming as naturally as eating fire.
"I don't specifically have plans." She replied with a coy look he somehow knew was definitely interested, "What did you have in mind?"
His grin widened and he cocked his head, "Well I guess that depends on you huh?" He shifted a little closer to her, "What do you think would entertain you for the day?"
"Mmmm…" She hummed with an answering smirk, "I can think of a few things." She tugged lightly at his shirt to pull him closer, "Maybe we could start by getting out of this awful heat?"
"Sounds good to me." He rumbled, and politely offered her his elbow, "Lead the way m'lady?"
"Oooh a gentleman." She cooed as she took his elbow, "I like it. C'mon then. I know just the place."
He let himself get pulled away by the stranger, wondering if he would catch her name.
—::—
The answer was no.
Natsu came back home in a bit of a daze, feeling whole heartedly relaxed and pleasantly buzzing the whole time. It was late. Late enough that Lucy and the others would probably be heading back from the pool soon, but not late enough that he was going to get killed by Gajeel.
At least that was what he thought until he opened the door and saw Gajeel standing there in the hallway and looking like there was murder in his eyes.
Natsu did a quick tally of all the things he could possibly be in trouble for and couldn't remember the last time he had set something on fire inside the house.
However when Gajeel's eyes scanned over him and promptly went wide, he had a moment to register what looked like shock taking place over the anger...
... before it blew right over into fury.
Natsu gulped and took a reflexive step back, caution in his eyes as Gajeel's stalked towards him and grabbed him by the wrist.
"Uh, Gajeel wait—"
"Lucy called me to let me know you weren't going to the pool with them because you had to hunt," Gajeel interrupted and yanked him inside and slammed the door shut, "when I know you fed last night already so that only means you lied to Lucy about where you really were."
Oh.
Natsu shifted guiltily, not knowing exactly what to say.
"But—," Gajeel gestured to all of Natsu, pointing to his rumpled clothes and the hair that was in more of a disarray than usual, "this tells a different story."
"When did this start?" Gajeel asked shortly. At Natsu's innocently blank face, Gajeel growled, "Feeding for sex. When did that start?"
Natsu's shoulders hunched and he folded his arms over his chest. Trust Gajeel to pick up on it immediately.
"Today, alright?" Natsu growled impatiently back at him, "I didn't hurt her I swear! It was—It was—"
It was exactly what he needed, and still somehow not what he truly wanted.
He felt happy, full, and like electricity was humming through his veins. He knew happily that the girl he fed on had felt the same way. He had felt her pleasure as they came together, when he fed on her. When he experimentally sampled her soul while she was crying out underneath him.
He shivered at the reminder of her taste on the back of his tongue.
"Listen runt, you're an adult now. I can't tell you what you can or can't do," Gajeel sighed at Natsu's mutinous look, "But you cant go around keeping secrets from me and your mistress."
"But I was feeding!" Natsu protested.
Gajeel's eyes narrowed on Natsu, "I'm talkin' about the tattoos that started to appear on your back runt."
Natsu froze, glancing down at his shirt to where it had ridden up and exposed his secret. He quickly yanked it down, but the damage had been done.
"Relax, I didn't need to see the marks to know what you've been doin'," Gajeel grunted, "Dragons only start feedin' on sex when their adult markings show up. Which means to me that your power surges will begin soon and you're trying to hide it."
Natsu flushed a little at that and ducked his head, "I don't wanna hide it forever." He mumbled, "I just..." He rubbed his face, "Gajeel I just lost my mom and dad all over again. I don't wanna lose Lucy and everyone else now! Especially not Lucy, and not before you and Levy get married! It's..."
He was cut off from saying any more by Gajeel slapping his hand over his mouth with a surprising gentleness.
"Enough runt." The vampire growled, his expression softening into something wry and understanding, "I get it." He shook his head, "More than you might think. How long've the marks been there?"
Natsu shifted a little, "Since a week after the ritual."
Gajeel sighed, "Alright runt... this is what we're gonna do... c'mon."
Gajeel slung a heavy arm around Natsu's shoulders and guided him through the door where Levy, Lucy, and Gray were waiting, "Runt's got an announcement." He said before Lucy's expression could do more than light up in relief at seeing him, "His adult markings have started showing up."
Lucy's eyes widened in surprise, "Really? They showed up today?"
Natsu shuffled a little and shook his head, "Since the last movie night." He mumbled, "That's when I noticed them. I just didn't want to say anything yet."
"Stupid, but not surprisin'." Gajeel snorted, "Lucky for us we got some leeway. So here's the plan. Salamander's gonna stay here through the weddin' and honeymoon after." He thumped Natsu's chest, "You start surging while Levy an' I are away and you take yourself to the windmill. No argument and no exceptions. Once she an' I get back you and I will start that training journey of yours."
He nodded at his wife-to-be, "In the meantime, Lev'll set up an international lacrima phone so you an' Lucy can keep in touch, and we'll make arrangements for supplies, tickets, money, and everything else we need for the next three years." He met the slightly stunned demon's eyes firmly, "You didn't seriously think we'd dump you somewhere for 3 years to wait out your surging did you?"
His lips curled into a fangy smirk, "Think again runt. You're gonna learn more about the world than you ever dreamed of knowing."
Natsu gave him a grateful look and swallowed a bit tightly. He nodded, hands falling to his sides as he allowed the knowledge that these people were considering his feelings in all of this. He was being so dumb by hiding a secret that could potentially hurt the people he cared about.
"I'm sorry Gajeel," he mumbled, the vampire slinging a heavy arm around his shoulders and ruffling his hair.
"Quit yer mopin' Salamander, it don't suit you," Gajeel grinned at him and Natsu felt his own smile returning.
He snuck a glance at Lucy, who looked disappointed he would be leaving, but not as devastated as before when she first found out about it. She was leaned into the crook of Gray's arm, who was teasing Natsu about something he was only-half paying attention to.
Luckily he was able to form enough of a half-witted response that left Gray hawking and the others laughing.
Natsu felt that familiar stab in his chest whenever Lucy cling onto Gray's shoulder, laughing hard at whatever Natsu had just said.
Perhaps it would be good for him to get away from his friends for a little while, center himself and recover from his parents. He would miss his nest and friends to be sure, but this could be a good thing for a while.
And with time, he was certain everything would be okay.
"Now go shower up runt, you stink," Gajeel said pointedly and shoved Natsu towards his room, "we'll hammer out particulars in a bit. But I've gotta get stuff in order with Heartfilia rails when we take our trip."
"And you and I need to go over some other stuff," Gajeel grunted, giving Natsu a pointed glare. Which Natsu took to mean he was about to get the talk. The demonic talk.
Blushing, Natsu nodded and slunk away, ignoring the curious looks of his friends. He rushed off into the shower and cranked the temperature up several degrees past boiling hot and climbed in to wash away the remnants of his misadventures.
Steam rose up from his shoulders and he grinned a little as his thoughts wandered back towards the very reason why he was going to have an uncomfortable talk with Gajeel.
The girl was pretty, perhaps a year older than him but with a sweet smile. He had never caught her name, but it hardly mattered. They didn't talk much, which was probably why Gajeel had an issue with how he had hunted. The vampire was an old school romantic like that and the idea of Natsu picking up a one-night stand on a whim like that probably put a sour taste in his mouth. But Natsu had been a gentleman.
And he got to explore and learn...
Natsu huffed a bit in surprise when his thoughts wandered back to the girl, but her features seemed to blur before his thoughts in an unimportant way. Her hair became a silky blond and blue eyes were chocolatey brown. His eyelids fluttered as the heat in the bathroom began to build, losing himself in the fantasy he was building. Of him with a mysterious blond, her curvy body pressing into his and her voice whispering soft pleas into his ear.
He blinked and snapped himself out of the daydream before it could deepen into something he had to act on. He licked his lips and huffed out a heavy breath, body already beginning to feel tight with want.
Ugh, this was going to be a pain in the ass. He could already tell.
