Chapter 4

Something is touching her and Lucy's eyes flutter open, resting on a pinkette looking back at her. She's lying on her back while he's on his right side, propped up on his arm. His left hand was gently stroking her face, brushing hair aside.

He softly smiles at her. "G'morning, Luce."

"Good morning." Memories from last flash through her mind and she blushes. She holds the blanket closer to her, making sure she's covered.

He chuckles. "You're just so cute." Then he leans forward to smooch her forehead.

"And you're a dork," she comments, flipping onto her left side to face him.

Scooting closer so their skin is touching once more, Natsu nuzzles his face against her hair and wraps his arms around her. "But I'm you're dork."

The blonde giggles in delight and looks up, finding his face right in front of hers. Her expression softens as she takes in his up-close features. She focuses on his mesmerizing shade of dark green orbs.

The pinkette cocks his head to one side. "Do I got something on my face?"

Without a word, she leans forward to kiss him on the lips. When she pulls away, she notices his eyes are glazed over with lust. "Oh no. I get a break from last night."

"Buuut, Luceee," he whines, already kissing her neck.

She playfully shoves him away, but his mouth goes right back to her skin. His left hand snakes down her skin and grabs her ass firmly. "Natsu!" the blonde squeaks.

He doesn't bother reply because his mouth is too busy leaving a trail of kisses.

"No more sex if you keep it up," she threatens.

He stops immediately and looks at her, bewilderment written on his face. "But we're mates!"

She blushes. "M-mates?" Lucy definitely wasn't expecting him to say something like that.

"I told ya last night you're gonna be stuck with me." The pinkette smiles softly. "You're my mate and I'm your mate."

"Who even uses that word?" she questions, still somewhat flustered.

"That's what Igneel taught me. He said I'd find somebody I wanna spend the rest of my life with and I'd wanna make her my mate. Of course, he didn't go into too much detail about the process since he was talking to a kid."

"Process? We didn't do anything special."

"Sex, Luce," he clarifies. "We had sex."

Her face heats up. "Oh…"

"What are ya blushing for?" Natsu chuckles.

"You and I… We had…" Something dawns on her. "I have to take a potion real quick!" The blonde gets out of bed, feeling sore between her legs. She walks over to her dresser to drink a pregnancy preventive potion.

"Potion?" he asks, sitting up to look at her as the blankets pool around his hips.

"I don't plan on having a baby nine months from now." She uncaps the bottle and drinks from the vial.

"Did ya save that just for last night?" he jokes.

"If I needed it, then I had it."

"Have ya ever needed to use that kinda potion before… ?" the pinkette questions, venturing into unknown territory. Since they met, he knows she hasn't had sex with anyone. But that doesn't mean she did before he knew she existed.

"I've never had a reason until last night."

He sighs in relief.

Lucy sets the empty bottle down on her dresser and walks over to her bed. "Aww, are you worried someone claimed me before you had the chance?"

His cheeks turn pink and he mutters, "No."

It hits her that she's naked and standing in front of her new mate in her apartment. She uses her hands to cover her breasts the best she can. "Um, I think I'm going to take a bath…"

Natsu waggles his eyebrows. "I'll join ya."

She starts walking away.

"Was that a no?"

Feeling playful, the blonde glances over her shoulder. "I don't think I ever said no…"

He grins from ear to ear. "I'm all fired up!"

x-X-x

The couple is back at their guild, sitting down at a table. The pinkette is scarfing down food like he hasn't eaten in days while Lucy is casually talking with her petite friend who is seated across from her. Everything is normal between the duo. They want to lie low and keep their relationship a secret. However, the other three dragon slayers know what happened. Their noses don't deceive them. It's clear to them the partners have traded scents. The trio haven't breathed a word to anyone about what they know.

"The game got so dirty after the two of you left," the short-haired bluenette says.

Natsu snorts, probably thinking of the dirty things they did last night.

The blonde kicks him underneath the table without anyone noticing. "I'm sure Cana made it really dirty."

Laughing, Levy nods. "And Juvia! But she was making it dirty because of Gray."

Lucy notices the certain dark-haired guy making his way over to them. "Speaking of him…"

He sits down on her right side, slinging an arm around her. "You have to help me! Juvia is–"

"Hey!" the pinkette shouts, jumping to his feet. "Get your filthy hand of my mate, ya bastard!" He winds up his left arm and throws a flaming punch.

It hits Gray right in the face and he falls off his seat and onto his ass, looking up with wide eyes. He shows no sign he's hurt, like he's oblivious to the pain.

Normally the guild would pay no attention to a brawl between the friendly rivals. But because of the pinkette's words, every single member there is silent and staring.

Knowing their secret is out with no chance of covering it up, Natsu speaks. "Oi, listen up because I'm gonna say this once!" Then he takes a deep breath and points at the blonde. "Luce is my mate and nobody else can have her! I love her so back off!" Then he takes his seat, sitting right next Lucy so they are touching.

She facepalms, wishing their announcement happened a different way. Or even later so they had more alone time.

Suddenly, the guildhall erupts into loud cheers of celebration.

Cana raises her drink. "Woo, attaboy, Natsu!" she says before chugging it down.

"Took ya long enough, Salamander!" the iron dragon slayer shouts.

"Hey, Lug Nuts, at least I had the guts to make a move!" he taunts, knowing all about his crush on a certain short-haired bluenette.

"Behave!" the blonde scolds.

He merely cracks up. "He had it coming."

She rolls her eyes.

The dark-haired guy finally stands up. "Wow. So you guys, huh?" He grins with excitement. "Alright, everybody, pay up!" Then he walks off to collect his money.

The new couple looks at each other with confusion. "Pay up?" Natsu questions.

"We placed bets after you two left," Levy explains.

Lucy is shocked. "What?!"

A reckoning force with a dark aura is suddenly standing behind the pinkette. "Natsu…" Erza growls.

He flinches and looks behind him, keeping close to the blonde for protection.

"If you ever hurt Lucy–" she begins.

"I'd never hurt her!" he interrupts, not meaning to be rude. "She's my mate and I'll take care of her. I've taken care of her even before we were together!"

The requip mage is all smiles when she looks at the blonde. "Congratulations. I have always been rooting for the two of you."

She blushes. "Th-thank you, Erza."

When she walks away, Mirajane swings by the table with drinks and sets them down. "On the house," she says sweetly. "And congratulations to the both of you!"

The pinkette grins. "Thanks!"

"I'm hoping see children soon," she adds before walking away to tend to her other duties. "I want to be a godmother!"

"It's too soon, Mirajane!" Lucy sputters.

"We still need to talk about how many kids we want!" Natsu gasps.

The blonde nearly chokes on her drink. "T-too soon."

"Juvia has one less love rival to worry about for her darling Gray-sama," the water mage gushes happily from nearby.

Lisanna laughs at her. "I don't think you have anyone to worry about. You're the only one after him."

The pinkette nudges his mate. "Hey, Luce."

She looks at him. "Yes?"

He smiles. "I love ya."

She can't help but smile at his adorableness. "I love you too."

A/N: Annnd done! I like this as an ending so I'm gonna keep it that way :) Thank you all for reading! I appreciate all of the Reviews, Favs, and Follows! :3

Opal-Wings1002: OC in most ways, but I think he says/does some things that are like him XD But thank you!

SantaKitty: Thank ya :D (Grrr, I try my best proof reading before I post. I might be super dyslexic, but I like doing my best when it comes to writing! Always feel free to point out the mistakes so I can correct them!)

Nora (Guest): *hands tissues*

Rainbowpoptartcat: Oh yeah, he did! I mean, why wouldn't he? Haha XD

Isabell3: Aye, sir! But now that this is over, I get to focus on my other fics!

EddingsFan: Not a bad ending I think! :)