.

.

Looks like a girl, but she's a flame

So bright, she can burn your eyes

Better look the other way

You can try but you'll never forget her name

She's on top of the world

Hottest of the hottest girls say

Oh, we got our feet on the ground

And we're burning it down

Oh, got our head in the clouds

And we're not coming down

-Alicia Keys, "Girl On Fire"

(:)(A)(:)

Ignite

Chapter 11: Oxidation

(:)(A)(:)

Lucy knew that she had her blonde moments, but she wasn't blind.

She had always recognized that her partner was attractive. From the first day she met him, he had grabbed her eye with that boyish grin of his (and held it with the generous view of his chest and abs). So, yeah, Natsu was handsome – Fairy Tail was blessed with several fine specimens of the male variety. It wasn't like she fixated on it or anything, it was just a simple fact. Though, she will admit that he made things a heck of a lot easier for her once he got rid of that stupid vest and got himself an actual shirt (now if they could just get Gray's stripping habit under control).

Natsu was very good looking, hot even. She had no issues admitting that. No, her problems only started later. Knowing her partner was attractive was one thing, but actively being attracted to him was another.

Looking back, she realized it was really such a stupid, simple thing that started it all... He had tucked the tag of her shirt in for her, the callused tips of his fingers brushing against the sensitive skin on the back of her neck and causing her to shiver even as a rush of heat flushed through her. It was ridiculously innocent on his part, and after all the times he'd managed to grab her breasts she should have been able to shrug it off like everything else. Except she couldn't. To this day, she didn't know how or why such a simple touch managed to effect her so drastically. There was really no explanation for it. All she knew was that it did.

Suddenly she found her eyes lingering a little bit longer on the well defined line of his shoulders, sliding along the sinewy muscles of his back. Occasionally she dreamt about him – not too often, but often enough – and when she woke up she would groan and tell herself she was a fool. Natsu was her partner, her best friend, and lusting after him was all kinds of wrong. Especially since there wasn't anything even remotely romantic between them... Judging by the way he didn't even give her a second glance that night she'd dressed her best for their 'not-date', Natsu didn't even see her as a woman. Then again, she hadn't seen him look at any girl like that. The single fact soothed her bruised ego and cemented her decision to squash down the budding attraction she felt for him.

It took her a while, but eventually she tramped it down until it was more or less under control. Sometimes she still caught herself staring just a little too long to be appropriate, but she was in control and, more importantly, she didn't let it effect their relationship. If Fairy Tail had taught her anything in the past few years it was the value of friendship, and she wasn't willing to risk the close bond she shared with Natsu for the sake of appeasing her hormones.

Truth was, she wouldn't risk what they had for anything. Natsu had become so entangled in her life, so vital to her happiness, that there was little she wouldn't do for the fire breather. He was her best friend, and the thought of him not being by her side was just ... wrong.

Which was why the last few weeks had been absolute hell for her.

She couldn't really pinpoint when it started, but Natsu had been slowly drawing away from her. He still gave her those too bright grins, was still loud and overall obnoxious, but she couldn't help but notice that he didn't seem to stand as close as before. Sometimes she would swear that he was scowling in her direction, but whenever she turned to confirm there was no trace of it. The most noticeable, though perhaps not the most unwelcome, change was that he had stopped breaking into her room in the middle of the night.

She was surprised at how much those little changes stung her, but she distracted herself from the issue. Each time she found herself dwelling on it she made excuse after excuse for his behavior. Perhaps it was the smell of her perfume that kept him from standing too close? When she stopped dabbing the floral scented extract on her skin and achieved little to no results for her efforts, she thought that perhaps it was her shampoo or body wash. On the occasions that she thought she found him scowling, she chalked it up to her imagination. When he stopped coming to her at night she told herself that she must have finally gotten through to him (and good riddance).

Then they went up against that dream mage, and Lucy realized that she had been so, so wrong.

She had defended his behavior, made excuses for it, when she should have been trying to figure out the cause. Something was bothering her best friend, and instead of helping him deal with it, she had consciously turned a blind eye to his suffering.

She had failed him.

A little piece of her heart broke every time she went to his home only to find the door locked and the dragon slayer silent, but she forced herself to keep visiting. She owed it to him, and she knew that if their roles were reversed that he would never in a million years abandon her. Knowing him, he probably would have just broken the door down and forced his way in. She couldn't deny that it was a tempting strategy, but somehow she knew it wouldn't help. She had never seen him shut himself off like that – not ever – and when she discussed it with Mira the take over mage admitted that she hadn't either ... not even when they thought Lisanna died.

She hadn't realized how angry she was at him for shutting her out, not until she had opened the door to her apartment and found him standing there for Mavis only knows how long. All she knew in that moment was that she wanted him to understand how much he had hurt her, how him shoving her away tore at her heart, but when her palm connected with his cheek she felt no sense of satisfaction – no sense of justice. Instead, she just felt so utterly drained. She had cried plenty, but it was only when she felt him return her embrace that they were from relief. After, when she came back from the store with a fish she didn't need, he had greeted her with a grin that was so him that she had to choke down a fresh batch of tears.

He was still different, though. There was a seriousness to him that wasn't there before, but he was at least there. Even though his smiles weren't as wide they still held his signature warmth, and at the moment it was enough to relieve the worry weighing on her heart. When he finally left it was with the excuse of letting her sleep. Happy had already passed out on one of her pillows, but she hadn't even realized it had become dark outside.

She had to bite back the urge to invite him to stay.

Now, after having tossed and turned all night, she almost wished she hadn't. Anxiety was eating away at her, prodding her to reevaluate every little action. Had it been strange that he didn't ask to stay? Should she take it as a sign of there still being something wrong? Was he waiting to see if she offered? It wouldn't leave her alone. Her only consolation was that Natsu had promised to see her at the guild in the morning.

So, naturally, when she entered the guild it was in hopes of finding the fire dragon slayer. Instead she was greeted with a brand of chaos that was loud even for Fairy Tail's standards. Erza and Gray seemed to be in some sort of stand off, their bodies tense as they stared each other down. A large portion of the guild stood on either side of them, throwing in their two cents between their bickering.

"How much time do you expect me to give him?" Erza snapped. Even from the entry way, Lucy could see the way the older woman's hands itched to hit something. The fact that she wasn't just punching Gray's lights out in order to win whatever disagreement they were having, and the fact that Gray wasn't standing down in the face of her irritation, was telling. Lucy felt a chill creep up her spine. Whatever they were debating, it was serious.

"I don't know!" Gray said, throwing his hands in the air. "But I'm telling you, barging in there isn't going to fucking fix this!"

"I agree with Gray," Cana chimed, for once nursing her mug instead of downing it in one go. "Usually I'm all for just going and getting things done, but he needs to figure this out." From the back of the guild Lucy heard Elfman shout, "Yeah, let him be a man!" He was promptly quieted in the face of Evergreen's glare.

Mira and Lisanna shared a look, before the younger of the two spoke up. "But he's cut himself off from everyone ... How are we suppose to help him if he won't let us?"

Suddenly Lucy had a sinking feeling she knew exactly what they were debating. "Are you guys talking about Natsu?"

Immediately the entire guild went silent, their eyes snapping to hers so quickly that she almost felt dizzy. She didn't miss the guilty grimaces that some of her guild mates gave at the sight of her. For a long moment they all just stared at her, expressions mirroring varying levels of guilt, until Gajeel's graveled voice rang out from his table in corner (where he and Lily seemed to be quite content staying out of the debate). "Oi, why doncha just let bunny girl decide? I'm sick of hearing about what to do about Salamander's hissy fit."

One moment, maybe two, and suddenly she was being pulled over to the bar and surrounded. Everyone was talking at once, each trying to sway her one way or the other, and she couldn't make heads or tails out of any one person's words but she quickly determined one thing. "Natsu hasn't been by the guild?" she asked, surprise and no small amount of concern coloring her voice. She had expected that he would have already been by. He had said that he planned to. What changed?

A hush fell over them, and Erza gave the blonde a contemplating look. "He hasn't come out at all. I believe it is time to forcibly drag him out."

Beside her, Gray scoffed. "And I still say that ain't going to do even a bit of good."

Lucy held her hands up in a placating gesture, feeling that their argument was about to escalate out of control again. "You guys, I saw Natsu yesterday." A collective gasp of 'what!' and 'really?!' surrounded her.

Levy gently grabbed the blonde by her shoulders, spinning her so that they faced each other, her brown eyes hopeful. "He opened the door for you?"

She hesitated, feeling the weight of their stares. "Uh, no. He came to my apartment..." She glanced around at their faces. "He really hasn't been by?"

At the bar, Cana laughed and finished off her drink. "Shoulda known. You see? Lucy's got things covered." She raised an eyebrow at the celestial mage, her lips curling into a suggestive smirk. "Did you get to use that present I got you?"

Lucy flushed approximately ten shades of red, embarrassed by the brunette's implications even if no one else understood. "Of course not!" she snapped. The gold bracelet at her wrist felt heavy against her skin, but she resisted the urge to fiddle with it. Cana had all but forced it on her a week after the guild's trip to the beach with the excuse of it being a gift in honor of her first date. The older woman had given her a lecherous grin and whispered in her ear about the benefits of being prepared in the heat of the moment, and 'you don't want to ruin that body of yours by getting pregnant do you?' Lucy had been mortified. She appreciated the thoughtfulness in the gesture, she really did, but one (terrible) date didn't mean she had a need for a charmed bracelet to ward off pregnancy. And she sure as hell wouldn't need it for someone as dense as Natsu.

Cana rolled her eyes. "Why the hell not?"

Lucy was saved from reiterating (for what had to be the billionth time) that they were just friends, when Mira shook her head and directed them back to the matter at hand. "None of us have seen him. Lisanna and I went to bring him some food this morning but he refused open the door."

Wait. Not only had he not come by, but he refused to open the door when his friends came to him? Dread, cold and heavy, settled in her stomach. "Are you sure he was home?" she asked hopefully. She could tell the answer just from the look on their faces.

"He told us to go away..." Lisanna murmured, hurt evident in her voice.

Oh no. Oh hell no. The dread burned away beneath the hot anger that was now making her skin flush dangerously. Her fists clenched at her sides. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it," she said tightly through gritted teeth. She was going to go give that fire breathing moron a piece of her mind! What the hell did he think he was doing?!

Before she could turn and march out the doors, Mira shoved something into her hands – what looked like a food container. "It's chicken curry soup," she explained, giving a somber smile. "We thought it might give him some comfort."

Lucy nodded, tramping down her anger enough to return the smile. "I'll make sure he gets it." In fact, she was going to pour it down his stupid throat, and damn it he was going to like it. Had it not been for the burning rage coursing through her she may have found the nervous quiet that saturated the guild eerie, however she easily dismissed it in favor of stomping her way to the large exit doors.

He had promised. He had stood there and promised her that he was done shutting people out. Less than twenty-four hours ago. She seethed, her feet slapping angrily against the pathway to the fire breather's home. She could hear her pulse pounding in her ears. It was a good thing she had decided on wearing her sneakers instead of her cute summer sandals – the heel may have broken clean off by now.

By the time his little cabin was in sight, she forced herself to take a deep, calming breath. She knocked, none too gently, on his door while balancing the container of soup on her opposite hip. It felt good to hit something, and Lucy made a mental note to tell Erza that she was starting to understand her tendency for violence. "Natsu!"

Through the thick slab of wood she heard a muffled groan. "Please, just go home, Luce."

Yeah, that was a big fat hell no. She kicked the door, surprised by how easily it buckled and swung open at an awkward angle. Looked like one of the hinges broke, but she hardly paused to confirm. She made three angry strides before pausing at the sight of the dragon slayer. He was huddled up on his couch, blanket wrapped around him so thoroughly that only his face peeked out. His features were twisted into a grimace, his brow clammy with sweat and his complexion pale.

He gave her a glare, but it weakened by glossy look in his eyes and the miserable sniff he gave. "And you say I never listen," he muttered. The nasally whine to his voice confirmed what she already suspected.

He was sick.

AN: Well, for those of you who read To the Flame you already have heard the news, but for those of you who don't here it is:

I'm pregnant.

This means that by the end of August my writing time is likely to dwindle considerably, so I'm going to be pushing to try to get my fics finished before then (hopeful thinking, but hey – girl can hope). To the Flame will have priority because it has farther to go and it is a story that I wish to rewrite into an original once it has been completed. In an ideal world I would have a couple months before the baby's born to start the rewriting/editing process, but we will see. Ignite will still be getting updates, though they will probably be every 3-4 weeks.

Also, I just want to forewarn everyone that in my desperate push to get my writing done I probably won't have a lot of time to respond back to your guys' reviews. Some of you may have already noticed this, and I just want to let you all know that even if I don't respond, your words of encouragement and support are being read and appreciated. I just don't have the energy to go around right now … fingers crossed this improves once I hit the glorified second trimester. Until next time, just know that your words are probably one of the few things making me feel better in my 'all day' sickness!

As always, a big thank you to madartiste for being my beta! And another big thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! I hope you enjoyed the first look into Lucy's POV. :)