Lucy woke up feeling tired. She felt completely unrested and irritable. She was on edge and she had no idea why or what she could do about it.
Truth be told she still could not for the life of her even begin to wrap her head around this whole "mating season" bullshit.
She was going to accept Natsu that much was obvious to her, what choice did she have? She couldn't just let him die. Still.. she needed time.
It positively irked her that her entire life had been decided for her. There was a reason that she had never had sex before, she wanted to fall in love first. Now that just wouldn't be an option for her. She loved Natsu, but she wasn't in love with him or at least not the way she should be. Still she had to lose her virginity to him, have children to him and spend the rest of her life with him.
Part of her was glad it was her when she found out, that had to count for something right? But that was before she knew all the details it involved!
Natsu said it was fate that decided who his mate would be, well if Lucy ever meets fate then fate will be getting a swift, hard kick to the chest and that much was certain.
She couldn't let Natsu die, she would never do that. She just wished that they had not been forced to do this. If Natsu had asked her on a date before any of this happened she would have said yes. They could have dated and spent time together as a couple then maybe fall in love and start building a future together. Now she just felt robbed of that.
She also knew it was unfair not to tell Natsu that she was going to accept him, but she couldn't do that without starting the "mating and bonding" bullshit and after that the short time they had before she would have to take her panties off for him would become even shorter.
But with Natsu getting more and more on edge as the days become weeks and the weeks turned into more then a month... how much longer did she really have?
Six months until he dies but how long before he starts going insane or something? He already wouldn't leave her alone, oh sure he thought her was real sneaky especially since happy hadn't been around preferring to steer clear of Natsu during this time. Sneakiness only gets you so far when you refuse to be more then like fifty feet away.
She also noticed him trying to smell her all the time. He again tried to be sneaky about this but subtlety was not Natsu's strong suit.
How much worse would this dragon behaviour get?
Still none of this was the reason Lucy was so tired, she was tired because she had only been managing a few hours of sleep a night. Every night she woke up with her chest aching. Every night she woke up feeling cold, despite the fact she had been stacking more and more blankets onto her bed.
She couldn't sleep and she hated it. She also hated herself, for not adjusting to this situation.
Natsu had but he also said he loved her, yet another concept she struggled with.
How could she ever be certain that he actually loved her? That it wasn't some dragon mating magic or some shit forcing him to?
'Well maybe ill just have to ask him'
She stood up from bed while trying to ignore her tired muscles which ached in protest. Took a deep breath and walked into the living room where she knew Natsu would be.
The first this she noticed was that her couch had changed colour...and style...and material.
"Natsu what happened to my couch?" She said through grinted teeth
"Umm well.. it's a dragon thing... and claws... and ripped... and present" were the only parts of his rambling she managed to understand.
"Okay okay fine! At least you picked a nice replacement so thankyou for that but I have some questions" she said moving to sit next to him.
The moment she sat on the couch she felt her body relax, it felt like all the tension in her muscles had disappeared. He must have picked the most comfortable couch it the store.
"Okay Lucy, what's up?" He said nervously.
"Well I just wanted to know what other dragon like behaviours I should be expecting? And maybe a few things I can do to make it easier on you?" She tried to stifle the yawn as she spoke but it came out anyway, she felt so exhausted and comfortable.
"Well there's the protectiveness as you already know but as time goes I'll most likely start acting weird, truth is I'm not sure what to expect besides my mannerisms become slightly more animalistic. Some ways to make me more comfortable would be basically just letting me be close to you, mates complete each other and your presence sooths me. Letting me touch you whenever I wanted would also be amazing but I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable". He mumbled the last bit and Lucy wasn't sure if he'd intended for her not to hear it.
"Okay well I will agree to both those things if you promise not to take advantage deal?" She almost giggled at Natsu's shocked expression and she started to lean into him.
"Really?" He looked like a child on Christmas day when he said this.
"Really.. and one more question. Natsu, why are not so okay with this whole thing? Your future has been decided for you, you will never get the chance to pick a wife for yourself or decide if you even want kids or even date...why are you so cool with that? Are you not angry at all?" Again she had to stifle a yawn, she felt so warm and just so peaceful. Like nothing could hurt her. She was too tired to contemplate why.
"Because you are my soul mate Lucy, our souls were made for each other. That's why fate chose you to be my mate, because in a deeper level you already were. You would have always been my soul mate regardless of if I was a dragon slayer, I just never would have known. My soul was made to follow yours through every lifetime. My soul speaks a language only yours can understand".
"I'm glad... that now I at least know, you are not being forced to love me" she said sleepily, laying into Natsu with closed eyes.
"Sleep Lucy, you need it". Lucy could hear the smile and calmness in his voice. She was faintly aware of him kissing her on the forehead but she was too far gone to be able to react to it.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Lucy slept comfortably and Natsu didn't remove his arms from around her the entire time. He also didn't stop smiling in contentment the entire time he got to hold her.