Hello! I'm back. I never really expected this story to get very far so I'm very glad that you guys are supporting this story and reviewing. I can speak for all writers and tell you that we appreciate it very much.

Anyway, enjoy chapter three!

Gajeel had warned him that these stages weren't all going to be physical. He didn't think anything of it, but he should of saw it coming. But he acted ignorant like he always did so when these thoughts hit him, it felt like a damn truck. He just wanted to sleep, they had just set up camp out in the woods. Lucy had been tired from all the walking and complained until they settled down to sleep. Natsu was slightly annoyed at first, but it couldn't be helped. She wasn't too used to the walking like he was.

"Natsu, I think I hear a waterfall a ways down. I'm going to see if i can take a bath." Lucy dug through her bag and pulled out a towel, shampoo, and conditioner that she brought along with her. Natsu looked up from the fire he was currently trying to make and nodded at Lucy.

"Okay, just don't stay in too long or I'll have to come find you." Natsu said as he felt a smirk sneak it's way onto his lips. He watched as her cheeks became red and saw her fingers twitch.

"Shut up! I'll be back in twenty minutes or so so don't come looking for me!" She stomped away as he cackled at her embarrassment. He felt himself die down when Happy fell asleep. Getting the fire started, he leaned back on the log he was sitting on and went deep into thought. His mind made it's way to Lucy, making the dragon slayer blush. Usually his thoughts of the blonde were family friendly, him thinking about her eyes or her hair. Maybe wanting to hold her hand even.

But right now, they were all but friendly. Natsu held his head as more images came to his mind, where did all of this come from?! He was so glad that Happy was asleep because if he saw him like this, he wouldn't ever let the slayer live it down. He thought back to where Lucy went. She went to go take a bath. He growled, thinking of how water drops from the lake would be slowly drifting down her body, getting closer and closer to...

"Okay! That's enough for one day!" Natsu yelled as he stood up.

"What's enough for one day?" He heard a girly voice say from behind him. He visibly jumped and turned around to find Lucy in nothing but a towel, trying to dry her hair. She stepped forward slightly which made Natsu step back.

"L-Lucy, what are you doing here?"

"I told you I'd be back in twenty minutes or so," she walked forward some more and grabbed some clothing. "I forgot to grab some pajamas to the waterfall so I had to some all the way back here to grab some." He watched her silently as she stepped passed him. "I'm going to go change behind a tree somewhere. Promise I'll be back quick." He nodded and sat back down. He released a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"Mavis, what the hell is happening to me?" He asked, desperate to know what was going on. If he was around Lucy any longer, he was sure he was going to do something he'd regret. Just the mere image of Lucy in nothing but a flimsy towel had him wanting to see more, feel more. He told himself that one night that he wasn't ready, but he wasn't so sure anymore. Maybe he was?

"I'm back!" Lucy said. She came out from behind a far away tree, in a pair of short shorts and a tank top. Her outfit did little to stop his M-rated thoughts. He just quickly looked away from the blonde haired teen. She grabbed a sleeping bag and threw it to him while she set up her own on the ground. She grabbed Happy from his sleeping spot and pulled him to her. Natsu watched as she did all of this. "Night Natsu..." She said, finally

"N-Night." He said quietly. He turned away from her with a worried look in his eyes. Just don't think about it, Just don't think about it, just don't think...Fuck!

He knew he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

Morning

Natsu grunted as he opened his eyes, the sunlight blinding him as he did so. He sat up and wiggled out of his sleeping bad, folding it up and placing it by Lucy's bag. He doused the fire out with water and started to stretch, feeling his muscles pull and become less stiff. He cracked his back and looked towards his partner, Lucy. She was still asleep, Happy snuggling into her chest. Natsu felt himself grow annoyed by the blue cat. How come he gets to snuggle his head into her chest, unfair! Natsu thought to himself.

He then realized what he just thought and mentally slapped himself. How idiotic had he'd become in the last day. Sighing, he decided to wake both of them up. He crouched down on his knees and shook her awake. She groaned and tried to swat his arms away. "Go away." She said simply and turned around. He rolled his eyes and ripped her out of her sleeping bag, startling her. "Ah!" She looked tired, but stunned. She sat on her butt for minutes before standing and hitting Natsu on his chest.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"For waking me up like that! Ya jerk!" She picked happy up and craddled him. He rubbed his eyes and slowly blinked them awake.

"Jeez Natsu...we're tired." Happy yawned. Natsu just scoffed and rolled up Lucy's sleeping bag and stuffed both his and hers in their bag. He threw Lucy some of her clothes.

"We gotta hurry, we have a job to do so get dressed." Lucy held her lips in a thin line, annoyed by him. She set down happy and hurred behind the same tree. It only took her five minutes, but she got dressed quickly. She wore one if her usual outfits, the one she wore during the key of the starry heavens ordeal. Natsu felt himself staring as she stocked up to him.

"Natsu!" She snapped her fingers in front of his face to capture his attention. He shook his head and travel his eyes up to her own. "You okay, you were staring." He felt himself blush at being caught and he turned away, apologizing. She frowned but didn't press the issue. They walked in silence for a few minutes before happy piped up.

"When we finish the mission, what're we going to wish for? I was thinking fish." Lucy scoffed.

"You always have fish in the mind. I was thinking we would just ask for money, so much that I wouldn't ever have to worry about rent again!"

"That's pretty greedy of you Lucy." Natsu laughed. Happy agreed and laughed at the blonde mage. She huffed and crossed her arms.

After for what seemed like hours, they made it to Hargeon. "Ah, there's the clearing!" Lucy pointed. She grabbed both Happy and Natsu and led them through the small patch of trees. They finally stepped down onto the road and Lucy smiled. "Ah, you guys! It's the same spot where we met. I can remember it like it was yesterday."

"Lucy's being weird again, Natsu." Natsu snickered when Lucy twisted her body around to tell his blue buddy to shut up.

"Hmph! You guys may not care but this is the spot where my life was changed forever. This is the spot where i met you two, my best friends in the whole wide world." He watched as her cheeks turned red at the memory, making his own flare. He gave Happy a sideways glance and saw that Happy gave him a look of slight guilt.

"Lucy! Of course we care. We wouldn't be anything without our favorite celestial mage. Now come on, let's go find our client." Natsu slung his arm around her and guided her to where their client was located. It was a large mansion on the outskirts of Hargeon. They climbed a steep hill to get there and once they made it to the top, they were stopped by guards.

"Halt and state your business!" One said formally, holding up a spear. Lucy stood up straight and placed her hand in front of her body so they wouldn't suspect they had any weapons on them.

"I am Lucy," she stated but then pointed to Natsu and Happy. "And these are my partners, Natsu and Happy. We came here to take the job that a client had sent to Fairy Tail." Both guards lowered their weapons and looked at each other.

"Alright, follow us." They followed the two men into the mansion. Both guards led them through several hallways before stopping to one particular room. The guards motioned the mages in and stood outside the door. All three of them walked in and found a small man sitting on what seemed to be a throne. Lucy raised her brow at this.

"So you're the mages that were sent to complete my request? Hm..." He was round, with white hair that was covered by a crown. His beard was long and curled toward the end. He wore an outfit that was one of a kings. He looked to be stuck up as he practically glared at Happy, probably disappointed that a cat was sent. Natsu held back the urge to glare at his client. Lucy stepped forward.

"Would you mind explaining more in depth about the job, we would like to know what you're asking of us exactly." The man's eyes widened upon gazing at Lucy. It was a look Natsu has seen of other despicable men. Natsu clenched his fist in anger. The man was staring at Lucy's chest, a chest that belonged to him.

"Ah, yes. Excuse me miss, would you like to come closer so that I could tell you?"

"That won't be necessary. I have pretty good hearing and I'll hear you just fine from here." Natsu said slowly, getting in front of Lucy. The man glared at Natsu and stood, he only looked to be five feet.

"Do you know who I am, young man?"

"Don't care."

"I am Count Hargeon. This town was named after my family, I am the last known Hargeon." Natsu felt his eye twitch in irritation. He then felt a hand being placed on shoulder.

"Natsu, don't cost us this job." Lucy whispered. She stepped in front of him and bowed to the count. "I'm sorry about my team mate. He's not being himself. Please pay no mind to him." She didn't notice how the short man stared into her cleavage. Natsu felt himself burn in anger. Lucy belonged to him and no one was to look at her. She was his! The man cleared his throat and nodded.

"An outburst like his could cost you the ring, but maybe there's a way I can forgive you..." That's when Lucy stood up and stepped back when she felt a hand on her backside. She squeaked and ran behind Natsu.

"U-Uh, we have enough information for the job. Thank you and we'll see you again when we finish. H-Have a good day, sir." Lucy, Natsu and Happy fled the mansion in hurry. Lucy's face was still beet red as they left the property. "N-Natsu?" Natsu grunted, still angry about what happened.

"Yeah Luce?"

"I'm sorry I stopped you before. Shoukd of let you beat the shit out of him." He gave her a sideways glance and instinctively pulled her closer.

"I would of if we weren't on a job and he wasn't the client. Maybe once we finish I'll kill him." She gazed up at him in worry and saw that Natsu was bearing his sharp canines. She put a hand on his chest.

"You okay?" He looked back down at her. He felt a possessive streak run through his veins. His eyes narrowed into slits, like a dragon. He always knew how to keep his animalistic side at bay, but recently it's been getting harder and harder for him to do.

"Nothing, I'm just angry that he touched something that was mine." Lucy searched his face for any sign that he was kidding. That he was going to smile and tell her he was just pulling her leg. But he didn't...he was completely serious. Even happy looked shocked by what came out of the fire dragon slayer's mouth. Lucy felt herself short circuit for a moment.

He said that she was his.

That she was his.

His.

Lucy exploded with a blush and hid herself in his vest, confusing him. He heard her heartbeat speed up and he could feel the heat that radiated off her skin. He looked at Happy and watched as Happy snickered towards the blonde. He started to tease her which made the situation worse. She swiped at the cat and yelled at him. That's when they heard rustling just up ahead.

They froze, Lucy stepped away from him and grabbed a key from her pouch. It was Cancer. Out came the demon they were sent to defeat. He was some sort of pig demon with barbaric like clothing and he was wielding a simple axe. He looked like something straight out of a video game. Natsu and Lucy didn't care to question it as they saw the ring squeezed on his ring index finger. He snorted and swung up his axe. Lucy quickly put away Cancer and took out Taurus.

"Open, gate of the golden bull: Taurus!" Taurus poofed out of the celestial realm, and made a perverted comment at Lucy. Lucy rolled her eyes and took out her whip. "C'mon Taurus, let's take this piggy." He mooed and ran towards the demon. Natsu ran right after him. Taurus had swung his axe, but the demon deflected it with his own. Since Taurus was keeping him busy, it gave Natsu a chance to attack.

"Fire Dragon: Iron fist!" He punched the pig right across the face, throwing him off guard. The demon stepped back with a squeal. Lucy grabbed her whip and grabbed the demon by his throat, making him squeal longer. She pulled on the her whip and let him go, making him spin out of control. Thus making him incredibly dizzy. Natsu smirked and had happy lift him up in the sky. He sucked in his breath. "Fire Dragon: Roar!" The demon made a sound of agony as he burned under Natsu's hot flames. Once the fire died down, the demon just fainted. Lucy sent Taurus back and put away her whip.

"That was surprisingly easy." Lucy said happily. She searched the pig demon and found the ring, slipping it off his finger. Natsu hauled the demon on his back. The count said, before they ran out of the mansion, that he wanted to keep the demon for reasons unknown. Natsu and Lucy started to walk back up the hill to the mansion, but his thoughts drifted towards his blonde mage.

When he wasn't fighting, he was too busy gawking at her fight. For some reason, the thought of her fighting that demon was...hot. He didn't exactly know how to describe it, but it turned this sort of switch on in him, making him stare at her in awe. Did he have some sort if weird kink? He liked watching women dominant? Nah, he only felt that way towards Lucy. The mere thought of Erza or Mira fight sent chills down his back, and they were not from pleasure. The kind of chills that ran down his back when Lucy fought were ones of excitement. Like how she used her whip. He wondered what else she would use that whip for...and there i go again, being a fucking creep, he thought to himself.

"Hey Lucy?" He caught up to her when he realized he was trailing behind.

"Yes?"

"We should spar sometime." He expected her to either glare at him or call him crazy and that he would kill her, but all she did was give him a look of determination. Pumping her fist, she grinned.

"Hell yeah we should. I've gotten stronger and I was looking for a guinea pig to try out some new spells i learned." He gave her a look of surprise.

"You learned new spells?" Her grin turned into a soft smile and she nodded.

"Yup, not only have I learned star dress over your one year away," he flinched when he heard some venom laced within her voice. "I've also learned some new spells. Of course I'm not going to tell you until we actually spar, but I bet you'll be excited." He froze mildly for a second.

Excited...yeah. He knew she meant something totally different, but he couldn't help but think of something entirely different with the word. Yeah, he'll be excited all right...in more ways than one. He just hopes she doesn't notice. He's been pretty good at hiding his off thoughts so far, but Lucy was a bit innocent and an air head at times. He smiled fondly, thinking of her again. They finally crawled their way back up the hill and we're let in quickly. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were about to step in the door that led to the count when Natsu grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"No." He said, his voice low and husky. His voice demanding.

"Natsu, the hell? Let me go!" She struggled in his grip and used her other arm to try and get him to let go. He only held on tighter, but not so tight he'd hurt her.

"I refeuse to let you go in there again and get assaulted. Remember what I said before. You. Are. Mine. Nobody can touch you." Lucy paused as her face went as pink as his hair. He felt himself swell in pride, happy he could make her blush with one sentence.

"I'm not waiting out here because I agree with you. One, I don't want to get harassed again and two, I'm just going to humor you." She crossed her arms with a puff of her cheeks. His stern look transformed into a softer one. Patting her head, he turned to happy and told him to stay with Lucy. He wanted to deal with this asshole alone.

"Aye sir..." Happy gave him a worried look, but followed his orders. Natsu readjusted the demon on his shoulder and kicked open the door, probably startling count Hargeon. Natsu walked in and glared at the man. He ungracefully dropped the demon on the tiled floor, dirtying it.

"Hm, you...where's that cat and the beautiful maiden?" Natsu growled possessively.

"That "beautiful maiden" is mine. So don't refer to her in such a way." Count Hargeon scoffed and stood. He was a foot shorter than Natsu, but he sure did talk like he was taller. Natsu could literally drop kick his ass. He chuckled at the thought.

"Yours, you say? Are you two an item?" Natsu felt himself go red.

"No, but that doesn't matter to me because sooner or later we will be. Us not being and "item" isn't going to stop me from beating up men trying to perv on her." Natsu felt half of his body go up in flames in anger and in an attempt to intimidate the shorter male.

"You're going to scare her away and when you do, she'll come running to me because she knows I'm not a ruffian like yourself."

Snap.

Natsu used a flaming fist to punch the count so far, he slammed up against the wall. "Hear me and hear me good," Natsu paused, giving the man a moment to focus his attention on him. "She is mine and will always be mine. She would never run to someone like you who would take advantage of her body, the body that belongs to me. If you ever try to get in contact with her again, I, Natsu Dragneel of Fairy tail, will hunt you down. You'll see what a real fight is like."

"You can't do this, it's unethical!" Natsu ignored him and walked back to the doorway.

"And we're taking the ring." He opened and slammed the door shut once he made his way through. Lucy and Happy shared a look of confusion and followed Natsu. He stomped his way down the hill. He was so pissed, he didn't realize he got three tickets for the train. Lucy and Happy followed him on watched as his angry demeanor changed instantly to one that was sickly. Lucy felt herself giggle at his silliness.

"Mavis, you're a freak..." Her voice held no anger or resentment though. Only held tenderness and fondness for the pink headed mage. The took their seat and Natsu immediately laid his head on her lap. It was a habit sorts now. That's what they always did when they boarded a train. Instead if Erza knocking him out, Lucy just ran her fingers through his hair until he eventually was lulled to sleep.

"Natsu, what happened in there?" Happy asked him, perching on Lucy's shoulder. Natsu opened his mouth but slapped a hand over it when he was about to barf. He swallowed his vomit and tried to answer the question.

"I told him...to ba-ack off...on Lucy...the nerve of that g-guy." Lucy giggled quietly and dug her fingers in his hair, making him realise a moan of pleasure, one he didn't want to realise. They felt as if time froze, shocked at what came out of Natsu's mouth. He instantly went bright red and moaned, but this time out of embarrassment. Lucy felt the need to hear his first moan again, but she ignored that desire. Instead, she just smirked mischievously.

"Oh, did that feel good hmm? What? Am I..." She leaned down slightly and whispered in his ear. "Turning you on." Now the tables have turned, Natsu. I'm getting the most out of this for as long as I can, she thought with a grin. He suddenly went shy and turned inward, digging his face into her stomach in a futile attempt to hide his blush. She supposed she wasn't as mean as him, since she felt a bit bad for embarrassing him. She just pat his head and tried to change the subject. "Me and Happy heard a lot of noises in that room, you didn't do anything to the guy did you?" Suddenly, Natsu's face twisted into one of irritation. His blush almost subsided.

"He was talking bullshit about how once you ran away from me that you would go him because he wasn't a rufus."

"A what? Rufus?" She paused for a moment before smacking her forehead. "You mean ruffian?"

"Yeah...that!" He gagged. "Anyway, I told him to never get in contact with you and that you're mine."

"Oooo, he liiiiiikes her!"

"Jeez Natsu, don't say that so casually."

"I shouldn't have to say it at all, it should be common knowledge by now."

"According to who?!"

Ha, sorry it took two days to get this one out. I was super sidetracked yesterday and by the time I was ready to finish it, it was like 12pm. Anyways, I really hoped you enjoyed. I know I enjoyed writing this chapter in particular. I have no idea what I'm going to do for chapter four but I'm sure I'll come up with something.