Celestial Dragon

by Silken Ink

What if – instead of Natsu bringing Lucy into Fairy Tail, it's the other way around? This is the story of a Fairy Tail celestial mage who stumbles across a red burning key…one that summons a celestial fire dragon. Nalu pairing. It will be a slow burn romance with eventual fiery lemons. ;D

45. Chapter 45

Author's Note:

Alright! It's Sunday! That means a new chapter for the Grand Magic Games. ;D

As always, a huge, colorful explosion of happy thanks to all my fantastic wonderful reviewers. You're all awesome! Big hugs and kisses to my repeat reviewers: Lunar13, Firefly9917, TheJSmooth, valerioux, SunnieDayys, Donthedarkdragon26, quidditchChick6, Leomae2.0, Anna5939, The Age of Awesomeness, stranger1999.

Equally big hugs and kisses to my newest reviewers: The Unknown Side Of Me, FranFranWriter, and DropChat.

Also, guest reviewer said something about the rabbit spirit Lepus being called Pikachu, and just in case other people had the same concern or question about it, I figured I'd clear it up real quick. Lepus is the technical name for this spirit, it's a rabbit constellation, but Lucy calls him Pikachu because of the sounds he makes, and the spirit seems to like it. She has been known to name spirits before (Plue) and there are some silver keys that have multiples and need to be named, so I figured it wasn't too out of the box. And yes, as I'm sure you're all aware, Pikachu is a Pokemon character. I have a habit of bringing in my favorite characters from other fandoms (Amy and Bartholomeo are both brought in from other fandoms) So that's the story behind the spirit. I hope this cleared up any confusion about the character that anyone might have had. ;D

Alrighty then! On with the show! And stay tuned till the end for the sneak peek of next chapter. ;D

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The second day of the Grand Magic Games started with Fairy Tail in dead last. Spirits were a bit low and everyone was still concerned about what had happened yesterday, but Team A and Team B were both fired up and determined to turn things around today. Both Natsu and Gajeel signed up to participate in the first challenge… which turned out to be a fantastic idea.

NOT.

"Oh…I'm gonna puke…" Natsu squeaked, and Gajeel heaved next to him.

Up in the stands, Lucy groaned and heard the rest of her teammates do the same as they watched their fiery companion crawl across the train of moving wooden carts that turned out to be the first challenge of the day. Perhaps the fact that it was called, "Chariots," should have clued them in, but despite their misgivings about it, Natsu had insisted he wanted to go.

As for Lucy, she both felt sorry for her boyfriend/mate, and also kind of wanted to smack him for being an idiot and not listening to them. So much for making any points in this game…the other contenders were already way ahead, while Natsu and Gajeel were literally crawling along on their bellies. She could already tell this was going to take a very, very long time to finish.

Naturally the crowd went wild with jeering and boos directed at the Fairy Tail wizards, and a few random bits of debris were tossed in their direction as they rounded various corners in the course.

Unsurprisingly, Orga from Sabertooth finished first, bringing their score up to 28 points, which tied them with Raven Tail whose contender finished second. Surprisingly Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus actually managed to finish third, and then Ichiya from Blue Pegasus, Yuka from Lamia Scale, and finally Risley from Mermaid Heel took fourth, fifth, and sixth places. Gajeel managed to inch past the finish line a few seconds before Natsu, so he nabbed one point, while Team A got a big fat zero.

The final scores were put up on the board for everyone to see, and all the Fairy Tail mages heaved a collective sigh of irritation as they looked at it.

Saber Tooth: 28 points – Raven Tail: 28 points – Lamia Scale: 19 points– Blue Pegasus: 18 points – Quatro Cerberus: 9 points – Mermaid Heel: 5 points – FT Team B: 1 points – FT Team A: 1 points

After that painfully slow performance was a round of two battles. Lucy missed the first one though, because she was rushing down to help Natsu. She found him passed out just inside the gate leading to the arena, and quickly hopped over to squat next to him and shake his shoulder.

"Natsu, hey, are you alright?"

He 'erped,' which she took as a good sign.

Since moving him would just make his recovery slower, she decided to sit down next to him and just rubbed his back until he eventually revived. It took a while, but soon enough she felt his soft pink hair tickle her leg as he shifted and crawled on his belly closer to her so he could rest his head in her lap with a slightly pathetic whimper. That at least let her know he was starting to come around, and she aided in the process as best she could by threading her fingers through his hair and gently rubbing his scalp.

Thankfully, before the first round of the battle matches had finished, he stirred and pushed himself up onto hands and knees with a groan.

"You ready to head back upstairs?"

"Yeah…I think so."

"Okay then."

She helped him to his feet by pulling his arm over her shoulders. Before they had gone halfway, he had recovered enough to make it without her help, though he still wobbled a tiny bit as they went.

When they got back, they were updated as to what they'd missed. Apparently the first fight had been between Black Snake from Raven Tail and that dog-like guy from Lamia Scale. Erza was still boiling mad over something about a sock…which Lucy didn't really understand, but she let it slide and instead decided to focus on the score board as it popped up. It showed that Raven Tail had now hopped up to 38 points, which made her skin itch in irritation.

None of the others were overly pleased either, but they didn't have too much time to stew on it though, because the next battle round was between Team A and Quatro Cerberus.

"Our next fight will be between…Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus and Erza from Fairy Tail!" Mato shouted into the microphone, and cheers erupted in the stands. They were probably for Bacchus, who was a crowd favorite, and they were likely looking forward to him fighting Erza and putting her down.

Fairy Tail on the other hand, were all cheering because they knew that they were finally about to get some points on the board.

Erza was still all fired up about whatever had happened between Raven Tail and Lamia Scale, so she had a murderous aura around her as she stalked down to the arena.

"That guy's gonna get murdered…" Gray said, almost sounding sorry for the guy.

Natsu laughed. "Yeah!"

"So…what happened to make her so mad again?" Lucy asked as they watched Erza emerge from the gates down below.

"Um…Black Snake made a wager with Toby when they fought. If Toby won, Black Snake was going to tell him his true name. If Black Snake won, Toby was going to tell him some secret. Of course Raven Tail won, and so Toby told Black Snake about his 'favorite sock' and how he had lost it…. and it turned out to be around his neck on a chain. Black Snake pointed it out, and Toby freaked out and started to cry with happiness. Then Black Snake tore up the sock, and Erza blew a gasket."

Juvia explained all this in a rush and Lucy barely caught it all – and understood it even less – but since Erza and Bacchus were now squaring off, she just let it go at that.

Down in the ring, another wager was taking place.

"Hey there… you're pretty… hot." Bacchus said with a sly tone of voice that almost had a hiss in it.

Erza scowled. "Your point is?"

"Since the last pair made a wager, how 'bout we make it a theme? If I win, you keep me company all night tonight."

"That's a very bold proposition." Erza responded with a growl that said she'd just been mightily offended.

Lucy risked a look at the other balcony where Team B was watching the proceedings… and she saw a certain masked and hooded man clenching the balcony rail with both hands and visibly fuming. Jellal was positively livid from the looks of it.

"Fine." Everyone's heads snapped back to Erza and more than one jaw dropped in shock at her agreement. "But…. If you lose, your guild has to change its name to Quatro Puppy."

There was an eruption of sounds from the stands, and it was Bacchus's turn to look pissed. Then he grinned a sharp sort of grin that said he was now taking this battle very seriously.

"Deal."

As soon as the gong sounded, both combatants went all out. Bacchus guzzled his entire bottle of alcohol – which Erza had explained during the race competition, increased his power. Bacchus was a strange mage who specialized in the drunken fist style, and apparently the drunker he was, the more dangerous.

Simultaneously, Erza reequipped into her heaven's wheel armor. Right as Bacchus was finishing off the last of his drink, Erza sent a hundred swords flying at him. To everyone's shock, he managed to dodge and block every one with just his bare palms and metal armor plated arms. At that, Erza reequipped into her flight armor. Lucy had always wondered if it was supposed to be based on a hyena or a cheetah. A cheetah would make the most sense, given that it was an armor built for speed, but Lucy had always thought it looked more like a hyena with the long hair tail that looked like a horse's rather than a cat's. Whatever the case, it was a smart move, because with Bacchus's weird style, speed would be necessary.

Despite being drunk as a skunk, it didn't make him any slower. In fact, he was faster and bent at impossible languid angles as he bowed this way and that to avoid all her attacks. Then he bounced back up and swung at her with his whole body, landing more than one powerful hit. To counter him, she began to switch armor and equipment at lightning speed. Her demon wing armor popped out to sweep her out of the way of his attacks, and then she switched back to her flight armor to dart in and kick him in the back with a spiked boot. When he dodged, she summoned her lightning staff and zapped him with bolts of electricity.

He dodged most of those but a couple managed to sting him in the butt. She took full advantage of the few strikes she landed and followed them up swiftly with more attacks, some physical, some magical. As the fight progressed, she managed to land more blows and he began to slow down, but he also managed to land blows and injure her as well.

Bacchus truly was a formidable adversary if he was giving Erza this much trouble, but it was only a matter of time before she got the upper hand. It was through the use of a spiky shield employed at the last second before his hit landed. When his fist smashed into her shield at full impact, he recoiled with a shout as he was met with spikes. As he cringed back in shock, she disposed of the shield and replaced it with two swords. Her first hit landed and destroyed the armor across one shoulder and arm in one blow. He was tossed back and landed on the dirt with a bang and a puff of dust.

The Fairy Tail section erupted in cheers as Erza dashed in and pinned him with a sword to the throat, indisputably ending the match.

"And that's 10 points to Fairy Tail Team A!" Mato shouted over them all, and if possible their guild got even louder.

After finally getting some points on the board, they were all so pumped that they were more than ready for the next challenge.

Speaking loudly into the microphone once again, Mato announced, "And that concludes our first battle round! Next up we have another game! The name is… 'Food Wars!' Please choose your competitors wisely, Pumpkins! You must have two this time!"

"Oh yeah! I'm fired up now!"

Natsu turned and looked like he was about to run down into the arena, but Gray held his arm out and clotheslined him. With an, 'erp,' the dragon was brought to an instant halt as his neck hit Gray's forearm and he tilted backward before falling on his butt. He was back on his feet in a split-second and in Gray's face the next.

"Oi! What was that for?! You wanna fight?!"

"No dumbass! You already went today! It's not your fucking turn!" Gray yelled back in his face, and for a long moment it looked like they were going to get into a brawl.

"Um, guys? Now is not the time for this." Lucy said dryly, and stepped forwards to grab the tail of Natsu's scarf to use like a leash or reigns. He felt the tension and looked back at her, pouting like a disappointed child.

"Let's go Darling. We don't want to keep them waiting…" Juvia urged and grabbed Gray's hand before leading him off… grumbling the whole way.

They emerged out into the arena at the same time that Erza appeared back in their booth.

"Wow, that was fast." Lucy commented, blinking at her bandages. "You've already been to the infirmary?"

"Yes, of course. Porlyusica was only too happy to get me fixed as quickly as possible and out of her hair."

Natsu snorted, and his good mood returned in a flash as he turned and leaned against the rail to eagerly watch the competitors down below. Team B chose Mira and Laxus, Lamia Scale chose Lyon and Sherry, Blue Pegasus chose Ren and Eve, Sabertooth chose Rufus and Sting, Quatro Puppy chose Rocker and Warcry, and Raven Tail chose Nullpudding and Flare. The big shocker though – for Erza at least – was when Mermaid Heel chose their competitors.

They picked Beth and a hooded girl whose face had been hidden this whole time. When she removed the hood though and her name was announced as Milliana, Erza gasped with shock and leaned forwards against the railing to get a better look.

"Milliana?" she whispered, sounding amazed and happy.

The girl with cat ears turned and waved in their direction. From this distance her call of, "High there Erzi-werzy!" was faint, but it still made Erza's eyes tear up. "It really is her."

"You know her?" Lucy asked, not recognizing the other girl but realizing that she must be a very important friend to Erza for her to respond in such a way.

"Yes…she was one of my friends from the Tower of Heaven."

That made the celestial mage suck in her breath. No wonder Erza was so moved. She hadn't seen any of her friends from the Tower of Heaven since it was destroyed years ago – aside from Jellal of course.

They didn't have time to talk further about it though, because Mato had just popped onto the field and was speaking into the lacrima microphone. "Alright Pumpkins! Has everyone been chosen? Good! Now, our esteemed guest judge, Yajima, will explain the rules of this game! As an owner of his own restaurant, it's only fair!"

With a clearing of his throat, the old ex-councilmember crackled onto the speakers. "As the name might have suggested, this game is a cooking competition! The rules are simple. Make a single dish… it can be anything you like, but you have to use your magic to cook, handle the food, and prepare it. You can touch the food with your bare hands and your magic, but there will be no utensils or cooking supplies provided aside from ingredients and bowls for mixing and measuring. Teams will of course be ranked on how tasty their dish is according to our judges. Good luck!"

The gong sounded and each team dashed to a cooking station, which all appeared as soon as Yajima had finished his explanation of the rules. Shelves of produce, dairy, spices, meat, and every other sort of food or food product also flashed into existence. As teams started to figure out what they were going to make, they started running to grab their ingredients off the shelves.

Each team reacted differently to the challenge of course. Sabertooth's Rufus seemed calm and collected, while Sting didn't seem to know what to do with himself. Rufus was quick to decide on something and started ordering Sting to collect various food-stuffs as he got cooking, using many different strange magics to cook and prepare the food. All Sting could do was heat stuff up with a light beam, although he also managed to peel and cut some vegetables and fruits with a laser.

Similarly, Mermaid Heel had one team member who seemed to know something about what to do in the kitchen, Beth, and one who looked a little wild-eyed and worried, Milliana. Beth seemed to be the one in charge and directed Milliana to grab ingredients off the shelves, which she did with what looked like long furry whips. That let them stay at their work station and grab ingredients at the same time. Plus, apparently Beth had some sort of vegetable magic, because she could simply create certain kinds of veggies out of thin air, which cut down on their gathering time as well. They immediately began cutting up those vegetables, which Milliana did with her cat claws, and they also started preparing some meat.

Meanwhile, both members of Blue Pegasus were smooth, cool, and collected, which didn't surprise Lucy at all considering that they were essentially a host club. Of course they would know how to cook. They were one of the first teams to decide on a dish and start cooking, and they worked together flawlessly. They were also able to grab ingredients from the shelves without leaving their work station – by using Ren's wind magic to levitate them right over – which put them on par with Mermaid Heel. Based on all the sugar, flour, fruit, and cream they had collected, they would be making some sort of dessert. And with Eve's snow magic, they could chill anything they wanted with a great amount of ease.

In sharp contrast, Lyon and Sherry took longer to figure out what they were going to make, and even seemed to get into a heated argument about it at the start, but eventually they decided on something. It looked like Sherry had won their argument, because Lyon didn't appear too happy about what they were making. Still, they worked together relatively well, and made up for their late start in a pretty spectacular way. Lyon used his ice make magic to create all sorts of spoons, spatulas, and whatever else they needed, and Sherry used her puppet magic to animate them all to cook autonomously. Their station probably had the most and least amount of movement at once.

The last team to start cooking was Quatro Puppy, and neither Warcry or Rocker seemed to really know what to do with themselves. Eventually they started scrambling for ingredients and began cooking something, though it still didn't look like they had a clear plan for a dish. Still, they were able to use their magic to make it – Rocker rotated his hand at high speeds to use as a beater and shred ingredients as well, and Warcry produced copious amounts of tears…which they used instead of water. Lucy cringed when she noted that and felt sorry for the judges who would have to be eating it.

Almost as far behind were Flare and Nullpudding, who obviously didn't know diddly squat about cooking. Flare at least seemed to figure something out, and of course with her long red hair they were able to grab ingredients without moving as well. She was also able to cook ingredients in her hair – though she didn't seem overly pleased about it. Lucy had no sympathy for the other woman as various foodstuffs coated her hair. In fact, she felt rather pleased about it. As for Nullpudding, he simply transformed his hands into purple puffer balls with spikes and worked on pulverizing various ingredients.

Of course, most of her attention was focused on their two teams and cheering them on.

Team B had Mira, who was legendary in the kitchen, so they were doing just fine. The only problem they ran into was how to use Laxus's lightning magic to cook. In the end, he settled for something like Sting, where he simply heated up ingredients with his lightning or flash fried them. Mira naturally made good use of it though, because she was nothing if not inventive. And of course with her transformation magic, she could accessorize herself with claws, a tail, and any other number of appendages that helped to cut, peel, stir, and beat the ingredients.

Meanwhile, Gray and Juvia were having some trouble. Neither of them was great in the kitchen, although Juvia had improved significantly since the days where she blew up her kitchen on a regular basis trying to cook for Gray. She had mastered, mostly, how to use her water as a small cyclone to mix ingredients, and could also use it to grab ingredients off the shelves. Meanwhile, Gray made any utensils that she couldn't make with her water – similar to what Lyon was doing – and also used his ice to flash freeze items and keep things cool.

The challenge lasted one hour, and by the end, every team had something to present, although some dishes looked significantly more edible than others. The judges all descended from their box and took seats at a temporary table down in the arena. As soon as they were seated, numbers suddenly magically appeared above each cooking station and Mato hopped down to join them.

"Hello Pumpkins! It's tasting time! As you can see, you each now have a number above your cooking stations. These numbers will determine what order you will present your dishes. So…. number one! Please step forwards and present your plate to the judges!"

The number one had appeared over Sabertooth's station, so Rufus elegantly picked up his dish and took it to the judges. It was beautiful, like something from a fine dining restaurant, with a small circle of meat that lay on several perfectly caramelized asparagus. A delicate latticework of caramelized sugar hung in a half dome over the dish like a protective shield and drops of sauce decorated one edge of the plate. The judges naturally looked very eager to try it and dug in with relish.

All of them swooned and spouted praise, which made Lucy groan and pinch her nose. It looked like Sabertooth was going to be getting the top spot once again. They got a perfect score; each judge gave them ten points for a perfect 30 out of 30.

The next dish to be presented was in sharp contrast to the first. Quatro Puppy offered some sort of…mash. It kind of looked like grits…or maybe mashed potatoes…or…honestly Lucy couldn't tell from this distance. But it certainly didn't look appetizing. None of the judges seemed too eager to taste it either, and it was with a good deal of nose-scrunching that they finally did. None of them vomited or spat it back out, which was a good sign, but none of them seemed overly happy either. Only one judge took pity on them and gave them a 1, but that still left their total score at a 1.

After that disaster, Mermaid Heel's dish looked like mana from heaven. It was a traditional country meal – buttered soft baby carrots, mashed potatoes with pepper and brown gravy, and a country fried steak with white gravy. The judges all dug in with gusto, probably to erase the bad taste Quatro Puppy must have left in their mouths. They all seemed pleased, but did comment that the dish was heavy on the gravy and a little heavy over all. So Mermaid Heel received a score of 15 out of 30. So far, that put them in second place.

Blue Pegasus was up next, and it was clear to see that their dish was superior to Mermaid Heel's. Instead of a full meal, they presented a single small cake to each judge, perfectly iced and presented with drops of pink sauce around the edges of the plate. A strawberry perched on top, and Lucy could practically feel Erza salivating next to her. This was her kind of cake, and if this was any other setting, the redhead would have already made a beeline for the sweets and ordered one for herself. The fact that she couldn't was obviously driving her up the wall, and she began to fidget.

The judges were all enchanted with the confection and gave super high scores once again. They each ranked it a 9 out of ten, to give it a total score of 27.

Following that fairy-like cake, was Raven Tail's dish…which was less than delicate. They presented a plate that had what looked like a huge hunk of meat on it, stuffed with something. The meat had been tenderized with Nullpudding's fists, so it was sort of lumpy and torn up. Apparently it was stuffed with burned onions and garlic, which might have been tasty, except all the judges began to cough a little. Their comments were consistent. The dish was both too cooked and not cooked enough. The meat was too rare and the onion/garlic mash was burned and also way too overpowering. Two judges gave them a one, which put them at 2 points total.

Team B was up next, and Mira presented a beautiful dish of chicken and waffles. They weren't just plain chicken and waffles though, they were fancy and presented in a fine dining sort of way. It wasn't quite as refined as Blue Pegasus or Sabertooth, but it was pretty damn close. She had made small waffles, which weren't precisely waffles since she hadn't had a waffle iron. They were more like biscuits which she had molded into the shape of waffles while they were still dough, and then Laxus had flash fried them with his lightning. To combat the heaviness of the dough, she had enhanced them with a dose of honey and rum that seeped in and got absorbed, leaving the biscuit-waffles soft and gooey with sweetness. For the chicken, she had made small pieces that fit perfectly on the small waffles, and coated them in a sweet/savory breading that incorporated a little honey, pepper, and sweetened soy sauce. On top she had grated orange zest to give it a little acidity and pop, and then garnished with a twig of rosemary.

The judges all went gaga again and gave her the third highest score. At 26, she almost tied with Blue Pegasus.

Lamia Scale was up next, and they presented an exceptionally simple dish. It was a rice omelet…the sort you would get at a diner, and all the judges seemed somewhat bored by it. However, Sherry then stepped forwards and – wielding three bottles of ketchup at the same time with her puppet magic – she drew hearts on the omelets and the word, 'love,' while twirling around theatrically and then bent over to blow them a kiss. At that point, Lucy did a face-palm and snickered into her hand at the cliché maid café scene. When she risked a glance, all the judges seemed equally amused, while Lyon was standing at their cooking station with a red face and disgruntled expression. Suddenly she knew why he had seemed so grumpy the whole time they'd been cooking. Too bad for him.

They almost tied with Mermaid Heel, but made a 14 instead of 15, and Lucy had the distinct impression that a large part of the score was simply their amusement at Sherry's cute little act.

Directly after them was Team A, and Gray smirked at Lyon as he carried up their dish. They had capitalized on Gray's ability with ice and had created a fancy looking sorbet in a delicate crystal-clear fluted glass that Gray had created out of ice. The sorbet itself was brightly colored and looked fruity and refreshing. Some sort of fruit peel had been curled delicately and laid on top of the sorbet as well, along with chipped chocolate. Over all, it screamed more of Juvia's romantic style than Gray's – much like Sherry and Lyon's situation before – but the main difference was that it also carried plenty of Gray in it as well. The delicate nature of the glass and the extensive details spoke of his attention to detail and perfectionism when it came to his ice make magic.

The judges really seemed to like it as well, but not quite as much as Team B, so Team A got a 25 instead. Still, that landed them in 4th place and gave them 4 points, so it was better than nothing.

At the conclusion of that game all the competitors vacated the arena and all the shelves of produce and cooking stations disappeared with a puff as the judges relocated back to their booth.

"How exciting! I don't know about you, but that made me hungry!" Mato said as he popped back into the arena. Then with a little twirl, he chirped, "The final scores are now up on the board!"

Everyone glanced up at the lacrima board that consistently displayed everyone's score and their lineup.

It read: Raven Tail: 39 points – Sabertooth: 38 points – Blue Pegasus: 26 points – Lamia Scale: 21 points –Team A: 15 points – Quatro Puppy: 9 points – Mermaid Heel: 8 points – Team B: 7 points

After the cooking battle, it seemed strangely appropriate for the next battle to be between Mira and Jenny from Blue Pegasus. Apparently they had agreed to doing a pose-off instead of a traditional battle, which Lucy hadn't known about until they both walked out onto the field in bikinis and started striking poses. It was like a beauty pageant really, and was both funny and slightly embarrassing to watch.

Then, out of nowhere, all three girls from Mermaid Heel dropped down into the arena and joined in, apparently fired up and not wanting to be left out. Lucy just gaped at them… not that she wasn't already somewhat in a state of shock from watching Mira and Jenny sex it up out there in their teeny bikinis. Things just spiraled downhill from there, because - predictably - Sherry from Lamia Scale jumped down and joined in too, saying something along the lines of, "What's beauty without looove?"

It wasn't exactly surprising when Raven Tail and Sabertooth didn't deign to join in, they were both way too serious for something as silly as this.

However… when the first master popped up in front of their balcony, Lucy had the sinking feeling that Fairy Tail wasn't going to be taking the high road on this one.

"What are you waiting for?! Go down there and fight for Fairy Tail!" she exclaimed, sounding cheerful and spunky and way too happy about all this.

"Um…we don't have bikinis." Lucy pointed out.

"Those two do." Mavis pointed at Juvia and Erza, who could both change their clothing at will. "As for you…I've got you covered!"

The little blond master gestured, and Lucy suddenly felt a breeze as her clothing mostly disappeared, to be replaced with a teeny bikini like the other girls.

"Well, it seems we have no choice." Erza announced, sounding less long-suffering and more like she'd just been waiting for an excuse to go down there.

With a groan Lucy followed, and they all hopped down into the arena full of scantily clad women. She could only imagine that other magic users had provided the others with their bikinis, much like Mavis had done for her. The Team B girls also hopped down into the ring… meaning Wendy, who looked like she was about to pass out.

From there, things just predictably got weirder. The judges all announced the next outfit they would like to see, and everyone switched from bikinis to school uniforms…which Lucy thought was just bizarre. Honestly, she didn't understand why any guy would be interested in school-girl outfits, but a good amount of hooting and hollering could be heard from the crowd, so she let it go. She had no say in the matter. After all, her outfit was solely under the control of Fairy Tail's first master.

Next was leotards, thigh highs, and high heels. Erza picked a bunny costume, and Lucy ended up in a leopard print leotard with black thigh highs. It was a good thing she had been in beauty pageants before and photo shoots for Sorcerer Weekly – not to mention working in an adult venue – so this wasn't exactly humiliating for her. The only difference here was that there were a lot more people watching, thousands in fact… so that was a little unnerving. The level of noise coming from the crowd was enough to shake even her.

At least she could pick her own poses, and chose cute but not super sexual ones, unlike Jenny and Mira who were still going all out in the center of the action. This was their fight after all… the rest of them were just pretty decoration.

The next get-up was cat costumes, which wasn't a huge step up from leotards. In fact, her outfit suddenly only comprised of a bustier and short shorts, paired with ears, a tail, boots, and big cat-paw gloves. Hers was black and pink, while Erza sported a white one and Mira put on tiger print.

And then things just got worse as the next set was bondage gear. When she heard that one, Lucy was sure her eyes were going to pop out of her head. This was a whole new level of weird, and she wasn't sure if she was as okay about it all as before.

The scariest thing perhaps, was the idea of Mira and Erza in bondage gear, because she'd seen that before and knew just how terrifying they were when they got in character. Thankfully she didn't see either in her immediate vicinity.

Unfortunately though, she still felt her own clothing shift, and looked down to see her outfit change once again. It actually wasn't too much different from the cat costume – she still had a lace-up bustier up top, this time in black leather, and black leather short shorts…really they weren't even shorts anymore. Below that were fishnet stockings and over-the-knee black boots with five-inch spiked heels. A black whip appeared on her hip, and for the first time since this whole ordeal started, she grinned. This, at least, she knew what to do with.

Her momentary glee was postponed though when Sherry approached, strutting in a red leather outfit similar to hers. At the sight of her rival, Lucy's mood soured significantly, and she scowled at the other woman – who strutted right up to her with that prissy taunting expression she always directed at the celestial mage.

"So Lucy…who has the most LOVE now?" Sherry challenged, striking a sexy and sort of dominant pose with her boobs out and her chin up, looking down her nose at Lucy.

At that point, she could feel a blood vessel start to pound in her forehead and her eyebrow ticked in irritation. This bitch… even now she was trying to compete with her. Normally, she would have just gritted her teeth and ignored her, but this time Lucy just couldn't resist. This was supposed to be a pose off for bondage gear right? Surely getting into character was acceptable.

Her hand deftly grabbed the whip on her hip and uncoiled it with a snap. Sherry scoffed, because for all the times that they'd fought, Lucy had never used her whip against the other woman. There had been no need to. Now though, it was a different matter entirely.

Sherry had no idea that Lucy actually knew how to use it and sneered. "Oh please… like a mere prop could scare me. That's just pathetic."

Lucy just grinned, and then, with a practiced snap of her wrist, she sent the tail flicking through the air to pop with a loud crack mere millimeters in front of Sherry's nose. "It's not just a prop."

Sherry shrieked and staggered back a step. "What the hell?! You could have taken my nose off with that!"

"I could have, if I wanted to. But this thing won't go anywhere I don't tell it to."

Sherry's eyes narrowed. "Are you telling me that you know how to use a whip? You?! You're way too goody-two-shoes for something that edgy."

"Then why do I always carry one?"

"Oh that thing? Pshh, I've always just assumed it was decoration."

"I'm insulted." Unraveling her whip again, Lucy grinned, glanced down, and then announced, "Above your right foot."

"Huh? Do I have something on me?" Sherry glanced down, and Lucy cracked her whip in the air right over Sherry's right foot as she watched.

Once again, she shrieked and stumbled back. Getting a little too into it now, Lucy followed, popping the whip directly in front of her toes on each foot, right, left, then right again as Sherry staggered backwards. She never actually hit her, only popping the air bare inches from her skin while advancing.

Finally her pink-haired opponent fell over backwards, landing on her behind, and she squealed, "Alright! Alright! I was wrong! Stop it please!"

At that, Lucy stopped, still grinning. "Fine. And now maybe you'll drop this stupid competition with me. It's gotten really old."

"I've still got more LOVE than you!" she yelled, and then promptly ran off.

Lucy just shook her head and rolled her eyes, amused and disgruntled at the stupid confrontation.

And then a voice from behind her made her freeze. "Lucy…"

"Oh no." She risked a glance over her shoulder and spied Erza.

It came as no surprise when she ended up hogtied on the ground.

Thankfully the costumes switched then, so she was released from her bindings – which was good, because it was kind of a painful position to be put in.

In direct contrast to the last outfit, the next one was blushing brides, which meant donning a big fluffy white dress. It was a refreshing switch to make, she had to admit. Even she'd been getting tired of skimpy outfits – and that was saying a lot.

It also involved grabbing a 'lucky' guy…. but Lucy wasn't sure the guys that got snagged and dragged into this little misadventure could be classified as lucky. A few volunteered though, like Jellal who flashed down next to Erza. Otherwise, girls began running off to find their significant others. Juvia dragged Gray down from the balcony, Sherry similarly tugged a reluctant Ren along behind her, Mira seemed to bribe Laxus to get him to participate, and Jenny crooked her finger for Hibiki. A blushing Romeo was pushed down to join Wendy by his dad.

However, Lucy didn't really bother to pay attention to anyone else, because Natsu had puffed into existence next to her with a spark and lick of fire that made her afraid he was going to set her dress on fire.

"Watch it!" she yelped and patted out a smoking part of the white material before it could actual light.

"Sorry!" he said cheerfully with a completely unapologetic grin.

She was then distracted by his clothes, which consisted of a white suit, and she stared in shock at the sight of him in something formal like that. To be honest… he looked good. Really good in fact.

Shortly after that, the festivities were put to an end by the master of Lamia Scale, who turned out to be a little old granny, and when she jumped down to participate – wearing a bikini – everyone suddenly lost all the wind in their sails. Anyone who wasn't supposed to be there left, and the only two mages to remain in the arena were Mira and Jenny.

At that point, things heated up as Jenny suggested they also make a wager, and the loser would pose naked for Sorcerer Weekly. Mira agreed, then transformed into one of her Satan Soul forms and beat Jenny through brute force.

10 points were given to Team B of Fairy Tail, which brought them up to 17 points total.

After that, the last event of the day was a battle round between Kagura from Mermaid Heel and Yukino from Sabertooth. They also made a wager, that the loser's life would belong to the winner.

In that particular fight, the entire audience was shocked by the show of power as Kagura put her impressive arsenal of sword skills on display – without ever drawing her sword – and exposed the fact that she had gravity magic as well. Yukino used her celestial keys and turned out to possess the other two members of the zodiac, as well as Ophiuchus, and both Lucy and Natsu cheered her on from the stands.

No matter what the celestial mage threw at her though, Kagura was able to deflect it with ease using her sheathed sword and gravity magic, even cutting through Ophiuchus's huge snake form – which was quite frankly utterly terrifying. The entire sky grew dark and purple as smoke filled the arena, masking some of the massive black serpent – which only made it more terrifying somehow. Lucy thought for sure Yukino would win with that one, but Kagura cut through even that attack without drawing her sword, adding insult to injury.

In the end, Kagura won solidly, and everyone waited with bated breath to see if she would take Yukino's life – since it was now forfeit. Thankfully she didn't, and Lucy breathed a deep sigh of relief when all the other woman did was point her sheath at Yukino and say, "Remember, your life belongs to me now…" Then she walked away without another word – leaving the white-haired celestial mage on her knees in the middle of the arena.

"Ouch…that was harsh…" Lucy whispered, cringing in sympathy at her new friend's humiliation and utter defeat. It was painful to watch.

Natsu and Happy just nodded

When the final scores for the day were put up on the board, they read: Raven Tail: 39 points – Sabertooth: 38 points – Blue Pegasus: 26 points – Lamia Scale: 21 points – Mermaid Heel: 18 points – Team B: 17 points –Team A: 12 points – Quatro Cerberus: 9 points

It wasn't much, but at least they'd gotten some points on the board, so they left the arena feeling a little more pumped than yesterday.

…

Several hours later ~

It was strange, one wouldn't have thought that the newly dubbed Quatro Puppy would want to hang out with Fairy Tail after being forced to change their name over a bet…. but as it turned out, that was precisely what happened. Much later that evening, they all found themselves at a random pub drinking together and talking and laughing like old buddies.

Erza and Bacchus had made up, and he'd made another pass at her – this time somewhat serious – but that had been put to a halt by two different parties. Jellal had stepped in and made it perfectly clear – with body language only – that the redheaded mage was not available. Shortly after that, Cana had joined them and challenged Bacchus to a drinking competition, and Lucy saw an instant shift in his attention as he took some serious notice of her. She wasn't actually sure if they'd ever met before, but as far as she could tell, they were a match made in heaven… Greek heaven anyways. She could totally see the two of them in togas frolicking in some huge lake made of wine surrounded by clouds and stuff. It was such a funny thought that she started laughing to herself, and Natsu gave her that look that said he thought maybe she'd had enough to drink. It was mostly amused.

Happy just laughed at her hijinks and landed on her head. "Luuushy. I think you're drunk."

"No I'm not!" she protested, and then promptly hiccupped, which had nothing to do with being drunk, but it was still so stereotypically funny that the two of them began laughing again.

Team B was located at the next table, and Carla flew over to socialize with Happy, which distracted him from making fun of Lucy. So, as they flew off together, Lucy turned her attention back to people-watching. She sighed and lay her head down on her crossed arms to watch the hilarity of Bacchus and Cana trying to drink each other under the table. They were both already halfway there and were practically on top of each other. A few minutes later, they were on top of each other as Cana parked her butt in Bacchus's lap – which he didn't have any complaints about whatsoever.

With a snicker, Lucy took a break from watching them and turned her attention to the rest of the room. Maybe it was the wine, but she was seeing couples everywhere.

Erza and Jellal had disappeared entirely, rather conspicuously so, and Lucy wondered if she should be worried about going back to their room. She'd rather not walk in on anything she shouldn't.

Meanwhile, Levy was spending some time with Gajeel at the bar, and they seemed to be having a pretty good time. Lucy could only hope that maybe they'd finally get up the courage to do something about their giant crushes for each other with some alcohol in their systems. It looked pretty promising from where she was sitting, and she found herself rooting for the two as they seemed to lean closer and closer together.

Then, her attention was distracted yet again by the sight of Panther Lilly and Frosch hanging out. With a buzzed brain, Lucy now found herself wondering if they might have another couple like Happy and Carla on their hands, and what exactly that would entail. Maybe in a few years they'd have blue and white kittens running around with green and black kittens in their guildhall. That thought was so strange that Lucy shook her head and forced her mind to a different subject.

Only a short way away from Fro was her wizard and Mira, and Lucy saw yet another potential couple in the way those two were conversing. Maybe Mira was rubbing off on her, to be seeing so many couples, but she just couldn't help but wonder if there were some revenge prospects in setting up Mira and Laxus. After all the times that Mira had tried to set her up on dates, the white-haired mage deserved a little retribution. To be honest, they made a great couple, and kind of a terrifying one too if she really thought about it. Two S-Class wizards…would they even be able to do it without destroying a bedroom?

A weird image crossed her mind – one involving a demonic Mira tying up Laxus… which quickly flipped when she tried to imagine Laxus going along with that. She snickered at the thought, and then shuddered a little too for good measure. Personally, she'd like a little warning if something like that was going to go down anywhere in her vicinity, because she was pretty sure they'd need to evacuate.

Her train of thought went off-rail again though when Freed joined the two S-Class mages, and neatly inserted himself between Mira and Laxus with almost a surly expression on his face. Apparently he'd noticed the same thing as Lucy and wasn't happy about it. New ideas popped into her head as she tried to fit him into her little imaginary scenario. Picturing him and Laxus together was much more pleasant… at least it didn't run the risk of wiping an entire building off the map. And then the random image of all three of them manifested strangely. Once she started contemplating how that might go down – Mira trying to dominate Laxus, Freed stepping in and fighting Mira, Laxus losing his temper and fucking them both – she had to concede that it was time to stop sipping on her strawberry daiquiri.

"Natsu… I think I have sex on the brain. And I think maybe I'm done with this." she said calmly while pushing her drink away from her with a narrow-eyed gaze that said it was all the alcohol's fault.

There was a long pause, and then Natsu busted out laughing before wrapping an arm around her. "Oh really? Then I guess you don't mind if I do this?" he chuckled and then took advantage of the situation by tightening his arm around her middle and hoisting her easily into his lap.

She plopped there with no resistance and just let herself rest back into his strong chest with a content sigh. "Nope."

From her perch on Bacchus's lap, Cana slurred, "All right! Join the party Luuushy! Everyone! Get on a guy's lap!"

Lucy could only laugh and be thankful that she wasn't actually drunk… only mildly buzzed. In fact, she was mostly just feeling sort of sleepy now and relaxed, which might have to do with her new warm seat. It felt so nice to be cuddled up to Natsu… especially after the mostly sleepless nights she had recently endured without him.

"I'm okay with that!" Juvia chimed in from nearby, and parked herself on Gray's lap, much to his chagrin and embarrassment.

"Juvia!" he exclaimed with a slightly irritated tone of voice, but the arm he wrapped around her middle told a different story.

It was so funny to watch them sometimes. Even after being together for so long, they still had their quirks. Mostly Juvia initiated the PDA – and had an amazing amount of confidence in doing so – while Gray tended to react to her public advances with irritation or embarrassment. However, the few times that Lucy had seen him initiate cuddling or contact of any kind, Juvia had reacted entirely differently and blushed every shade of red under the sun while spluttering some nonsense. In those cases, Gray hadn't exactly seemed comfortable with the PDA even though he was initiating it, but as soon as Juvia got flustered he would laugh at her and instantly cheer up.

Right now, it was definitely scenario number one, but after a while Lucy could see that Gray gradually began to relax (maybe thanks to the beer he was downing rather swiftly.) That whole scene changed though, when Lyon suddenly walked into the bar. As soon as he spotted them, the Lamia Scale mage instantly came over.

Lucy hadn't been present for their first meeting a few days ago, but according to Juvia, Lyon had taken quite a shine to her, and Gray clearly did not like it. In private, Juvia had told her that she was thrilled by the sight of Gray being possessive and jealous, which Lucy found hysterical.

At the scene that erupted, Natsu and Lucy moved back a bit to give Gray and Lyon room, because things very quickly turned into a fist fight as Lyon made some rather forward advances. Juvia stepped back and watched with hearts in her eyes as her boyfriend fought for her.

Of course, those two almost always got into a fight whenever they met, no matter the circumstances and even before Lyon had sparked a crush on Juvia. Honestly, they were like brothers, and Lucy had always thought they acted like it. In other words… they were often absolutely ridiculous and stupid when it came to each other.

"If we win the Grand Magic Games, then Juvia will become part of Lamia Scale!" Lyon announced loudly, and Gray shouted back, "No freaking way, man! She ain't going to be part of your guild! Get that through your thick scull!"

After a little while, Lucy completely relocated to the bar, leaving the two ice mages to duke it out. Natsu stayed behind for a little while, since Gray had been thrown into him, and he was now throwing a few punches of his own. With a sigh, Lucy ordered a new drink at the bar. Hers had been tipped over, and she'd momentarily forgotten the fact that she wasn't drinking any more. A little of the buzz had worn off thanks to the fight and an order of fries she had downed a few minutes ago.

While she was waiting for her drink, she spun on the bar stool to face the rest of the pub and watch the mayhem, snorting to herself in amusement as Natsu punched both Gray and Lyon at the same time, which prompted Gray to yell, "You have nothing to do with this fight! Butt out, Ash Breath!"

"You made me part of it when you parked your icy butt in my face, ya damn Popsicle!"

Her attention was diverted though when an arm was thrown around her shoulders and a slightly slurred voice spoke in her ear. "Hey there pretty lady…how 'bout I buy you a drink?"

Cringing a little, she shrugged the guy's arm off and shot him down. "No thanks."

"Ah cum'on…don' be like that. I'll get'ya as many drinks as you want."

"I'm good."

In his drunken state, he was apparently incapable of understanding common terms of phrase. "Yeah… I bet yer good. Ya'look like you'd be reeeaaal good. Instead'uva drink, how 'bout I rent us a room for a couple'uh hours…they do tha' here ya know…"

The information was intriguing to say the least, and her eyes cut sideways towards Natsu. He wasn't in the fight anymore though, and with a frown she glanced around to try and find her errant boyfriend. He found her first.

A solid, heated arm landed around her waist, pulling her into a familiar embrace, but he didn't address her. "No kidding? Good to know." he said to the guy who had been hitting on her.

"An' who're you?"

"Her boyfriend. So back off." Natsu growled, his tone taking a turn for the darker and more possessive.

The drunk peered at Natsu through blurry eyes. "I dunno…I think you're just tryin' ta steal her from under me…. Hey Lady, ya wanna ditch this guy and come with me? I promise I'll show'ya a good time."

A blast of heat from Natsu washed over Lucy and made the drink she just got start to boil in her cup. She grimaced and put it down, just in case the glass exploded. A terrifying sound came from her dragon's throat and he took a step forward, crowding into the guy's personal space.

"She's mine…so get your ass out of here before I incinerate it."

Thankfully the guy finally got Natsu's message, and after falling off the stool he was sitting on, he staggered out of the pub at high speeds.

"Damn…that was hot." a new tipsy voice commented, and both Lucy and Natsu swung their heads to look over at Cana – who had parked herself near them at the bar. Bacchus had temporarily disappeared, probably to the bathroom. "Why don't you two get a room for a couple hours… looks like you need it."

Lucy flushed and pursed her lips, but seriously contemplated the idea. After a moment she spun on her stool and addressed the bar tender. "Excuse me, but if I wanted to rent a room for a couple of hours, how would I go about doing that?"

The guy grinned and looked her up and down. "Well miss, you'd just have to tell me how long you wanted it for and then I'd tell you the price, you'd give me the money, and I'd give you the key."

It sounded simple enough, and she resolutely ignored Cana wolf whistling and saying something along the lines of, "That's right Lucy! You take advantage of your nine point five!"

"So how much would two hours be?"

"That would be 4000 jewel."

"Wow…that's cheap." Lucy muttered, still thinking in terms of overnight hotels, which ran upwards of 10000 a night.

"Well it IS only for two hours…" Natsu pointed out.

"True."

"Why two hours anyways? Why not three or four…or five…or six?" Natsu asked, cocking his head a little more to the side with each number.

Cana nearly choked on her wine and Lucy was pretty sure she blew some out of her nose. The bartender's eyes also widened and his jaw dropped a few inches.

Lucy flushed a little warmer and felt her ears tingling a little as she scowled at Natsu. Keeping her voice to a soft growl, she whispered, "Because I'm not up for a marathon!"

"Oh what's the harm, why not go have fun?" Cana teased from her spot nearby, and Lucy sent her a slightly exasperated look.

"Because I'll need the ability to walk tomorrow."

Cana's mouthed popped open into an 'o' and then she burst into drunk laughter.

Lucy turned back to the bartender and slapped down 4000 jewel, trading it for a key with a room number, and the bartender silently pointed at some stairs leading up to a second story. Resolutely, she grabbed Natsu's hand and dragged him behind her up the stairs, before hunting down their room number.

As soon as they tumbled in together, Natsu slammed the door shut behind them – probably a little too hard – and then yanked her close. She fell back into his chest, then turned and wrapped one arm around his neck, using their momentum to press him up against the door so her other hand could fumble along the wall for the light switch. Her fingers found it, but when she flipped it nothing happened, the room remained dark as it had before.

She pulled away, separating herself a little from Natsu's mouth, which had found her neck. "Wait a minute, hold on…Natsu! Just…hey! Give me a second! The light switch isn't working!" she protested as he followed her, not allowing her to squirm away and investigate the issue with their illumination.

At first he didn't listen to her protests…in fact it just made him bite down on her in an obvious rebuttal. The painful pleasure made her huff a groan, but she still shoved at him to get her point across. With a gruff sigh, he finally unwrapped his arms from around her, but his tail looped around her thigh and squeezed, reminding her of his presence as she stepped over to the light and poked at it. After a minute – or less – Natsu lost his patience and tugged her back to him using his tail.

"Just leave it Luce. We can do it like this."

"But I can't see!" she protested, squinting into the dark room and looking back at where she knew he was based off his grip on her. It was true, she couldn't see much of anything at all in the pitch black room…maybe just the barest of outlines, but even that was sketchy.

"I can." he responded, and she could tell from his tone that he was probably smirking.

"Well good for you…" she grumbled, crossing her arms and huffing. "But that doesn't really help me."

"Oh come on…" There was a pause, and she could practically hear the gears in his head working. When his tail silently slithered off, leaving her alone in the dark, she turned to where she thought he was and frowned questioningly.

"Natsu?"

Silence met her, and her frown deepened. "Natsu what's going on?"

She reached out to where she had been sure he was, but only grabbed air and stumbled forwards a step in surprise. "Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Actually…this could be fun…" His voice came from behind her, and she spun around, glaring in that direction.

"What are you talking about?"

"You not being able to see."

"Yeah I figured that's what you meant, but how could that possibly be fun?!" she groused, not amused. His tone did nothing to put her in a better mood either, the laughter in it just pissed her off.

When silence met her question, she growled and turned to stomp to where she thought the door was, ready to throw it open and shed some light on this ridiculous situation. She bounced off a dresser with a grunt, and a snort from one side alerted her to Natsu's location. She lashed out in that direction, reaching to try and grab his clothes, but once again she just met empty air and another irritated sound escaped her chest.

When a finger ran across the back of her neck, she jumped and squeaked, spinning in that direction and staring wide-eyed into the dark, wondering when he got behind her. She'd thought the dresser was behind her. Her outstretched hand did indeed bump into the expected furniture, which made no sense to her turned around mind.

A loud yelp escaped her when a pair of hands suddenly hooked under her shirt and dragged it over her head, forcing her arms up along the way. She received a mouthful of fabric, which was then yanked out of her mouth as it passed over her head. Cool air accosted her skin and she shivered, crossing her arms over her chest as a weird sense of shyness and discomfort overtook her. This was so different and new that it made her nervous about being undressed, and she was left a little off-balance as she glared into the dark.

"Just what do you think you're doing Natsu?! This isn't funny!"

A deep chuckle was the only thing that met her, and she was mildly shocked that he was able to control his impulsive nature enough to even do this. Normally he would've been all over her by now. But instead, he was…. it was like he was stalking her, an activity she never would have expected him capable of doing, given his short patience. The only times he could remain patient were when he was thoroughly entertained – which didn't really bode well for her, and she found herself utterly unnerved by the situation. It was so unlike him that it suddenly felt like she was with someone else, which was extremely strange when she couldn't actually see him.

"Natsu?"

He answered by opening the snap of her bra, making it go slack over her arms, and she gasped and jumped, spinning to face that direction. "Hey! Come on!"

She strained her ears to try and hear him…but he did possess the ability to be absolutely silent when he really wanted to be – despite the fact that he normally sounded like an ox in a china shop. So she didn't expect it when her skirt was suddenly yanked down her legs along with her underwear. When she yelped and jumped forwards a step, she tripped on the material and strong hands locked onto her hips to stabilize her.

"Watch it Luce, don't fall." Natsu teased, his voice full of mirth and sex. It was a good combination – not that she'd admit it at this particular moment since she was still irritated at him.

"I wouldn't if I could see." she growled back, and he laughed.

"You seem to be enjoying it a little…" he taunted, and she could hear his deep sniff.

Strangely, she hadn't actually noticed that she'd been getting excited – until he drew attention to it like that – and she frowned, not exactly sure why she was turned on.

"I guess…but I don't have any idea why…" she grumbled, taking a step out of her garments as Natsu nudged her forwards with his hands.

He just chuckled and helped her out of her shoes too. With his hands on her and his voice in the air, she relaxed a little and let her bra drop to the floor as well. Then his hands disappeared once again and she was left looking around wondering where he went. Her hands went to her hips and she looked around blindly, feeling tingles shiver down her spine.

Now that her irritation had dispersed somewhat, she started to understand what her body had already been telling her. Without her sight, all her other senses were on high alert, and she wondered where he was going to touch her next, and how. The anticipate made her breathing pick up a notch.

"Natsu?" she called once again when her patience ran out – probably the only time it had done so before Natsu's – and she only got quiet chuckles in response. She felt another shiver work down her body, making goosebumps erupt on her skin.

The very light touch of his tail slithered around her leg, sliding over her much lighter than normal as he coiled and then slipped away before she could grab him. She turned in the direction it had come from and then stayed still, waiting for his next touch with nerves on edge. When a palm swept down her back from neck to butt, she spun again and reached to grab him, but missed.

Her lips twitched in amusement now as she suddenly realized they were playing a game of cat and mouse…or cat and cat perhaps. She might not be able to see, but she was still trying to catch him, while he attempted to not get caught as he groped her. With that new knowledge, she also suddenly realized why Natsu was being so patient…he was playing. She'd seen him sit still and play board games for extended periods of time before, and this was probably much more entertaining than that.

When hot breath brushed against the back of her neck, she reached over her shoulder to try and grab a handful of hair without even turning, and her fingertips brushed soft strands before he jerked back. This time it was her who laughed.

"I will get you..."

An answering laugh sounded through the blackness of the room. "Good to know you're finally getting it. Challenge accepted Luce, give it your best shot."

The next touch was a pinch to her nipple, which made her yelp and jump about a foot in the air, not expecting something so bold. It sent a shard of pleasure across her nerves too, which also shocked her system.

Natsu laughed loudly at her reaction – which probably was pretty funny, to be fair – and she spun to try and grab him based off the sound of his voice. Unfortunately, her feet got wrapped up in the cloth on the ground, and she tripped over her clothes. Her flailing arms were grabbed – around her wrists so she couldn't grab back – and Natsu stopped her fall before walking her backwards a few paces.

"Whoops, sorry. Hang on a sec." she heard a soft 'whump' which suggested he had disposed of her clothes into some obscure corner of the room. "There, all taken care of."

"Thanks." she said, and then grinned and tried to wrap a leg around his, attempting to capture him. He laughed and danced back out of reach before releasing her wrists.

"Damn." she grumbled, pouting a little at missing such a perfect opportunity, and heard yet another chuckle come from Natsu. He seemed to be getting a real kick out of this, and she grew even more determined to catch him.

A nip landed on her rear, but when she reached back his head ducked out of reach and he licked her calf instead. She attempted to capture his neck between her ankles using her other leg, but he slipped out, batting her hand away easily when she grabbed for him again. He finished with a smack to her butt that had her squawking in indignation.

She settled in and let her arms go limp at her sides, deciding not to grab for him anymore, biding her time, knowing it wouldn't take long for Natsu to probably tire of this game and become bolder. If she just stood here and didn't react, he would try harder to get a response, and eventually he would slip up. That was how she could use his short patience against him. A smirk curled her lips for a moment but she straightened her features, not wanting to clue him in to her plan.

When a finger trailed up the crack of her ass, she sucked in her breath and shivered, but nothing more. The tip of his finger rested in the little hollow at the base of her spine, pausing as if to wait for her to grab for him. When she didn't, he trailed back down and grabbed her thigh. With another brief smirk, she widened her stance a little, already thinking about how she was going to catch his hand.

Sure enough, he pulled back when she moved, but after only a short absence his touch returned, trailing up the inside of her thigh and eventually reaching her lips. He played with her, keeping his touch maddeningly light, trying to tease her into grabbing for him. It wasn't enough though, she knew as soon as she made a move he would pull away easily. She had to wait for him to get closer, touch more firmly, and if possible maybe even slide a finger up inside. Then she had him.

It was insanely hard to hold still though as he tickled her lower set of lips, and she gritted her teeth, hoping he would run out of patience soon – otherwise she would go insane.

Meanwhile, Natsu was indeed growing frustrated at her lack of response. The game wasn't nearly as fun with her just standing there, and he very nearly fell into her trap. With a growl, he slid a finger up inside her and reached around to pinch a nipple. Her legs slammed shut around his hand, trapping it, and both her hands snapped into action. One went for his hand between her legs and the other went for his hand on her breast.

With a shocked bark of laughter, he yanked back, his hand on the front easily escaping before she could grab him, but he had to be a little more careful about how he pulled out the one between her legs. He didn't wanna hurt her. She managed to snag his wrist right as he pulled down and out, and her grip on him was strong. She spun around and yanked him to her. His lips spread in a wide smile as he grabbed her other wrist, which left them at a bit of a stalemate. Of course he could easily free himself, but he decided to let her think she'd won for now and went to her when she pulled him closer. He couldn't resist ducking his head down to lock his mouth over hers, and fire spilled out of his lips as soon as they touched hers.

She moaned into the kiss as her lips parted and he felt a silent growl shake his chest. He loved that she accepted his fire so eagerly. It was probably one of the biggest turn-ons ever for a dragon.

After a bit of kissing he pulled away, easily freeing himself and getting his wrist out of her slightly loose grip. She gasped and groaned, then pouted and looked around blindly again. He watched her glazed eyes try to locate him, and he got stuck between a moan and a chuckle, loving the look on her face and wanting to kiss her again. But this was too much fun.

Licking his lips, he decided to change things up a bit and tease her in a different way. His mind scrambled for something to use and latched onto something that was said earlier as inspiration.

"Hey Luce?"

"Huh?" Her head swung in his direction and he quietly shifted around her.

"What did Cana mean by, 'enjoy your nine point five?'"

Once again she turned to face him and he changed positions. By the look on her face and the flush that darkened her cheeks, he knew he'd accidentally landed on something good.

"Uh…w-well…you see…"

When she didn't answer right away, he slid in and sucked on one of her nipples, which got her to flinch and make another high-pitched squeaky sound of surprise. He ducked out of the way and tauntingly nipped at her fingers when she flailed to try and grab his head.

She growled and he couldn't help but laugh at the irritated expression that crossed her face for a second.

"Yes?" he prompted, and she groaned, seeming to remember that she was supposed to answer a question.

"We uh…had some…gossip the other night and Cana might have asked what I would rate you on a scale of ten…"

"Rating what? Looks?"

"No…sex."

He felt his eyebrows shoot up his forehead and wondered what the hell they'd been talking about. Instantly his curiosity was peaked, and he wanted to know everything that'd been said. Above all though, why was his score a nine point five and not a ten?

"And why isn't my score a ten?" he asked, reaching out to yank lightly on her little triangle of pubic hair.

She jumped and squeaked again, flinching back from the slightly rough touch and swatting at him, before remembering that she was supposed to grab.

"Because you do some crazy things!" she protested. "Like this! And wanting to have sex while flying! Sometimes you take it a little overboard. What's it matter? Your score is almost perfect."

Something about that little point five really pissed him off though, acting like a big neon challenge sign that he couldn't ignore. He could feel how the grin pulled at his lips nearly viciously as he decided to change her mind about it.

"Don't care…you still issued a challenge Luce. Hope you're ready to deal with the consequences."

She shivered, apparently hearing the change in his tone, and she looked a little worried.

Letting her stew for a bit, he rounded behind her and then crouched, aiming for the little gap between her thighs. He blew some fire there, getting a fantastic response from her as she made some sort of loud sound that was a cross between a yelp, a moan, and some sort of protest. Her body didn't seem to know what to do – first her back arched and her legs twitched apart to show off her pussy, but then she jerked and clenched her thighs shut with a growl.

"No fair!" she barked, sounding very out of breath.

Another laugh rumbled up his throat, coming out raspy and slightly dark as he grinned and narrowed his eyes at her. She was so much fun to tease.

After a moment, he decided to continue his line of questioning. He slid around back to her front and asked, "Sooo…what else did you talk about?"

She winced and then sighed. "Uh…they wanted to know what your fire felt like…after I told them it didn't burn me."

"And what did you tell them?" he asked with a grin, crouching in front of her now.

"…that it felt good." she admitted after a moment, and his grin widened.

"And how good does it feel Luce?" he asked, and then dipped to blow fire across her slit in the front, under the neat point of curls. It was so nice that she kept herself bare, and he'd told her on multiple occasions that he loved it.

She let out another loud sound of pleasure and bucked, her hands blindly reaching for him. This time he let her grab his hair, and growled when her fingers slid across his horns, but did his best to control the reaction. If he let himself partially shift, his eyes would glow, and that would make it easy to find him.

Her grip on his hair tried to force his mouth against her and she lifted one thigh over his shoulder, presenting him with her pussy – which was dripping by this point – and he grinned into her thigh, feeling happy lust bubble up inside him. He'd never get tired of being with her, smelling her, seeing her, feeling her, and tasting her. She was his everything, and he loved her with every fiber of his being…and absolutely fucking loved making love to her. He was kinda addicted to it actually, and he had no problem admitting that.

Unable to resist the sight and smell of her, he ducked in and slid his tongue over her, lapping up the juices and listening to her sighs and soft sounds of satisfaction above him. Normally she was pretty quiet, which made him incredibly happy to have such sensitive ears, so he could pick up on every little breath, gasp, hitch, pant, and soft moan. Still, he kinda missed the loud sounds he'd been able to shock out of her before.

She hissed as he swiped his tongue across her folds, staying away from the little spot on top that he knew she really wanted him to lick and touch. He wasn't quite done teasing her. When he pulled back, her hands gripped his hair painfully tight, but the sting set his blood on fire. When she tried to buck up into his mouth, he tightened his grip on her hips, holding her back.

He wanted to play a little more, though he didn't know how long he could keep it up before his self-control cracked. As fun as this was, his own lust was getting a little out of control and he knew he'd snap soon.

Still, while he could, he was going to keep teasing her. "Anything else you talked about?"

She groaned – loudly – obviously not in the mood to talk, and he muffled his laugh in her thigh as she yanked on his hair in punishment.

"Naaatsuuuu," she whined, in a way he was pretty sure he'd never heard her do before. She must be really worked up if she was making sounds like that, and he felt his dick jump. He wanted to hear her make more sounds like that.

"Yes Luuuucyyyy?" he sing-songed back, and she growled at him. "Come on, tell me what you told the others about me…I'm curious."

"Damnit Natsu, you're going to kill me!" she protested, and he decided to flick her clit with his tongue, getting a sharp groan and buck in response.

"Just answer the question Luce." he growled, wondering how she would respond to him taking such a bossy tone in bed.

She shivered and then groaned again. "Fine…damn stubborn dragon. I told them we had sex in the sky, Cana figured out that I liked you blowing fire on my v-zone all on her own, they asked how you were in bed, I said nine point five, we talked about them and their boyfriends, we drank a lot of wine, and I don't remember everything we talked about! There, you happy?!"

He was in fact very happy and felt himself puff up a little in pride that she'd told the others good things about him. It just made him want to give her more good things to tell them. He ducked back in between her thighs and licked, before sliding up to the top and finally giving her clit the attention she obviously wanted. He gave it super light, teasing licks, getting heavy breathing from above as she bucked into him, obviously trying to get more pressure. Instead of doing that though, he kept his touches light, until she whined deep in her throat, sounding desperate. The sound went straight to his dick and he groaned, his control finally snapping.

Fire spilled out of his lips, completely out of his control, and Lucy moaned, pressing him tight to her. Within seconds she was falling apart, her pussy pulsing against his lips and dripping down his chin, and he had to tighten his hold on her hips to keep her from falling over. Her hands latched onto his horns, which had grown out about the same time he lost control of his fire, and he felt a zap of pleasure tingle through his skull at the sensation.

The one leg she had supporting her weight gave out and he was suddenly holding her up, which he did easily, but decided it was probably a good idea to move somewhere else, otherwise his grip on her hips was going to leave some pretty dark bruises. Sliding up her body, he picked her up and then took the couple of steps necessary to reach the bed, before tossing her on it. She weakly squeaked and protested the rough treatment, but her body was still limp from the orgasm. It was kinda funny to watch her struggling to her elbows and attempt to glare at him through heavy lidded blurry eyes.

"Rude! Be more gentle Natsu!" she scolded, and he grinned.

Her gaze suddenly sharpened and she was staring right at him, her eyes wide and slightly shocked.

That was because Lucy suddenly realized that she could now see him. It was… she honestly didn't know what to think as she stared up at him. His eyes glowed gold in the dark like some sort of monster from a horror story. The glow barely illuminated his face, leaving his eyes to look like two glowing lamps. It was creepy and unnerving and sent shivers down her spine.

"Natsu…your, uh, your eyes are glowing."

"Yeah. You know they do that." he responded with a grin, and she caught little glints of his fangs when the light of his eyes reached them.

"I've just never seen them in a dark room before, but…"

Those eyes got closer as he hopped on the bed and crawled up over her. The closer they got, the more she could see subtle details of his face illuminated. In a way, they were actually pretty, despite the creep factor. She found herself caught in that gaze, like a deer in the headlights. The way he was looking at her was almost predatory, although that could just be the unusual setting twisting her perception of it. She probably would have been mildly freaked out if she couldn't also see softness in those golden depths.

Instead, she just felt her gut clench, and he grinned before ducking down to her breasts and kissing them. His eyes closed, plunging them back into darkness for a moment, until the fire spilling out of his mouth lit up their space. She watched, fascinated and turned on, as little licks of flames escaped the corners of his mouth, playing across her breasts and illuminating his face. It was a surprisingly arousing sight, and she arched up into his mouth, feeling the sensation of his fire and tongue and lips searing her nerves and turning her mind to putty. When he pulled up, everything went black again, until he grinned and a tongue of flame escaped between his teeth. And then of course his eyes blinked open again.

As one hand slid down her body, his tail coiled up around her. It looped around her upper thigh and slid up along her side until it crossed over her chest, and then it coiled up around her arm, which was above her head with her hand gripping the pillow.

"You were so hot today, in that competition." Natsu randomly announced, and Lucy blinked at the sudden declaration.

"Um, thanks? You mean the beauty pageant thing?"

"Oh yeah…" He licked his lips and she shivered at the look in his eyes.

"Any part in particular?"

His eyes flicked up to where his tail was coiled around her arm, and then he glanced back down to meet her gaze. A toothy grin spread his lips. "All of it was hot, but especially the bondage gear."

Getting a sudden thought, she pulled on her arm, only to realize that it was successfully immobilized above her head with his tail. Biting her lip, she wasn't sure how she felt about this current situation, but felt heat build in her stomach.

"Uh, which one? Where I was the dominant one or when Erza tied me up?" she questioned, curious.

"Honestly? Both." he murmured, and leaned into her, his lips sealing over hers and stealing her breath.

While she was thoroughly distracted, his hand found her free arm and dragged it up above her head too so his tail could loop around that wrist as well. When he pulled back she was panting, and didn't realize what he'd done until he said, "But since I've got you here, I'd like to try this first."

With a gasp she suddenly became aware that both hands were out of commission, and she yanked on them experimentally with absolutely no success. It was a little odd, but she was okay with giving it a try if he wanted to. It was certainly in line with the sex games they'd already been playing so far, and that'd turned out very fun, so she was certainly open to the idea. Thinking this, she relaxed and let him take the lead, watching curiously.

"Is this okay?" he asked, gently squeezing her wrists to identify what he was talking about, and she melted a little, grinning up at him.

"Yeah, it's fine. I don't know if I'm into it, but it could be sexy I suppose."

"Well, I guess we'll find out if you like it." he responded with an eager grin, and ducked to nip at her collarbone.

She arched into it and instantly forgot what they were just talking about, her arms immediately pulling as she instinctually wanted to bury her hands in his hair – but his tail held fast and reminded her what was going on. It was slightly maddening, but kind of sexy too…as she'd told him. Having to just lay there and take whatever he decided to give her was an intriguing thought, and the more it sunk in, the warmer she grew.

His fingers tickled her around her groin and hips and she bucked, giggling and twisting away from the touch a little. He snorted in amusement, a little flash of fire spitting from his nose, and then his fingers sunk between her thighs. She'd mostly recovered from her first orgasm, but her clit was still very sensitive, so when his fingers lightly brushed against her she jerked, trying to close her legs a little to blunt the sensation.

He backed off, but growled, and the loop of his tail around her thigh pulled tight, yanking that thigh open. His fingers dipped lower and slid inside, easily finding plenty of lubrication. One, then two, and she arched into it. It felt good, but then suddenly blasted into amazing when she felt fire light her up inside. It surprised her, and she let loose with a loud groan and bucked sharply. Her fingers clenched and unclenched on air and she yanked on her arms again, wanting to grab him or just grip onto something.

The fire licking inside her shot her arousal through the roof, and she squirmed, bucking and writhing, wondering if it was possible to just come from that without any clitoral stimulation. It felt so good and she just didn't quite know what to do with herself. Her body didn't seem able to figure it out either, clenching spastically as if she was gearing up for an orgasm, and a coil of tension wound tighter and tighter inside. It pushed her right to the edge and she felt like she should fall off any second into it – but she'd never orgasmed just from her vagina and stalled out just short of it… as if her body didn't know how to do it. She needed something, just a tiny push, the lightest brush against her clit would probably do it, but nothing was there to give her that relief.

Once again, she found herself unconsciously fighting Natsu's tail, trying to get free so she could provide that last little bit of pressure or friction where she needed it, but he held fast, and she suddenly realized at least part of why people apparently liked this. It was pure torture, but delicious at the same time, even as she found herself thrashing and making a few sounds she never had before.

And Natsu's words weren't doing anything to help her wind down. As usual he was speaking whatever happened to cross his mind, and was slowly twisting her into a pretzel while he did it.

"Damn…Luce…you're so fucking hot… fuck, you're thrashing around so much… does it feel good? Yeah? It must for you to make those sounds…shit…I might cum just from watching and listening to you…better not though…. I can't believe I never thought about using fire inside you before…I should have done this a long time ago…. Think you can cum without me touching your clit? Just from this?"

"I-I don't know…I can't…just…please let me…damnit Natsu you're driving me insane!" she cried, cussing and getting more and more flustered.

"Good. I love watching you go insane…. I could sit here and watch you all day…forever, fuck Luce…I wanna watch you come apart again. It's amazing…. Shit, listen to how fast your heart's pounding…and you're so damn sweaty…and super wet down here too. Gods, I bet you're making a mess of the sheets… I can feel you just soaking my fingers….. Can smell you too…you smell so fucking amazing. I wanna lick you again…damn it, my mouth's watering."

"Natsu please…touch me! Do something! I'm so close!" Lucy whined, squirming under his hand and wishing she could kick him or something.

"Touch you where?"

"My clit you idiot! Where do you think?!" she almost screeched, reaching the end of her rope.

"Fuck Luce, you've gotten so loud. I love it. Alright, how's this?"

His fingers twisted and curled, hitting a spot inside her that made her see white. He dug into the spot, thrusting his fingers and rubbing her, but still avoiding her clit. It didn't matter though. Her rope coiled once too tight and snapped, her body flooding with pleasure as she orgasmed from deep inside, feeling the sensation blast all her senses to smithereens. She cried out something that sounded kind of like a very loud moan mixed with a sob, and arched, then curled up, the spasms in her stomach making her want to go into a fetal position. Of course with her arms still above her head, that wasn't happening, and all she could do was spasm in his hold as he covered her lips with his and swallowed her cries.

And then Natsu apparently decided he wanted to completely fuck her over, because his thumb came up and covered her clit, bursting into flames as well and rubbing her lightly. She was shockingly sensitive, but not painfully so since her clit hadn't actually been touched to make her cum, and the unexpected touch made her nearly come off the bed as she shrieked into his mouth.

For a moment it was way too much, and she scrambled to try and get away, but of course failed. Her protests were swallowed with her cries, and very soon everything did an abrupt reversal and wound tight again, the touch on her clit suddenly feeling blisteringly good. Unsurprisingly she came again, even harder this time, and she felt something in her shoulder pop as she twisted in his grip violently. He immediately stilled and pulled back some.

Naturally as soon as his lips left hers, his mouth started running again.

"Shit Luce… easy. Don't hurt yourself. Fuck…you're amazing…so damn hot, so pretty. Beautiful. I love watching you cum…can't get enough of it. The way you clench on my fingers is making my dick twitch… crap…I don't think I can hold back anymore…. I gotta feel you around me."

When he finally pulled his hand from between her thighs, she collapsed, whimpering just a little in exhaustion. But as soon as his tail released her arms, slithering down her form to massage her breasts and thighs, she reached up to grab onto his horns, dragging him in for a kiss as he slid inside her.

They both moaned, loving the sensation of being locked together like this, and then he started a nearly wild pace, plastering her to the bed as he lost control of his hips. It was amazing, as always, and Lucy lost herself in the feeling of loving Natsu.

When he seized up on top of her and flames blasted over his form, she arched to meet him, crying out yet again as he forced her into another orgasm. He didn't quit though, he rushed through another two rounds before coming down from the worked-up state he'd gotten himself in by touching and playing with her for so long prior to fucking.

By the end of it, Lucy couldn't walk.

---

Sneak Peek

Both parties fall back onto their butts, Lucy's hand being ripped from Natsu's rather roughly. After wincing and muttering, "I'm fine," to a perturbed Natsu, she looked over to see Yukino sitting across from her…and she looked like she'd been crying.

"Oh, hey Yukino. Sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going…. uh, are you okay?"

"It's okay. It was my fault…I'm sorry…" Yukino sniffed and wiped her eyes, doing a really bad job of hiding her tears.