SEPTEMBER 10TH — COMFORT/BLANKET

"I'm Your Dragon"

"Dummy!" Lucy threw her doll at Natsu's head. He caught it and sent her a wolfish grin as he dangled Michelle by her right foot.

"No, this doll's the dummy. Just like her owner." A pink blush covered her cheeks and she leapt at him.

"Give her back!" He sidestepped the move and raised his eyebrows.

"You threw her at me, you don't want her. Happy'll love to eat her for dinner—"

"Mama!" she suddenly wailed, wiping the smile from Natsu's face. He put out his lip and stomped his foot.

"No fair! Daddy!"

Layla came in first, sweeping Lucy into her arms. Lucy nestled her face in Layla's chest with a sniffle. "Mama, Natsu took my dolly."

"Nuh-uh! She threw it at me!" he complained, raising his fists. He felt a big hand clamp around them, then an arm go around his waist, lifting him in the air. "Lemme go, dammit!"

"Oh, boy, I should really start watching what I say around you, huh?" Daddy sighed as he took the doll from Natsu's grip easily. Natsu shouted up a storm but went ignored as Daddy turned to Lucy. "He didn't damage your doll, did he?"

"Nuh-uh, Mr. Igneel," she said nicely. (Why didn't she ever talk to him that nicely? Grr.)

"You know, Lucy, Natsu only teases you so much because he likes you," Layla smiled. Lucy gasped while Natsu snorted loudly.

"As if! She's a girl!" he said to explain. Daddy, for some reason, found it funny.

"Girls are typically who boys like. Of course, I wouldn't care much if you didn't follow that standard—" He stopped when Natsu started squirming and he set Natsu down.

"Can we go outside already? It stopped raining hours ago."

"Layla, should we punish insubordination?" Daddy asked her, but he was holding back laughs when he did.

"I suppose..." She gasped as Lucy wriggled from her arms and set her down, where she and Natsu ran laughing to the back door. "Don't get too dirty!" she warned.

"Natsu, get the lock," Lucy grumbled, her little hands just missing it by a few inches. He grinned wide as he stood on his toes and pulled it out, then shoved the door open. They were greeted by the backyard in its wet glory, plants shining in the sun and mud puddles as far as the eye can see. Lucy bent over to undo her shiny black shoes while Natsu leapt off the deck and into the closest one he saw, which went as deep as half of him. A big wave jumped when he did it and Lucy cried out at the cold temperature.

"Move faster, weirdo!" he said, getting to his feet. He was absolutely caked in brown and black mud and could care less. (Or couldn't? Daddy said he could never get it right.) Lucy finally kicked off her shoe and stood straight, giving Natsu a devious (adult word!) look that went against her cutesy look.

"Cannon ball!" she shouted as she jumped into the puddle, throwing up a second wave. He put out his hands to protect his face and ignored Daddy's upset groan as he grinned at Lucy, taking her hand in his.

"Come on, let's keep going!"

They jumped and splashed around in the mud, tossing thick balls of it at each other and crawling under the blackberry bush to snatch and eat the clean ones. Then, because Lucy asked and he felt like doing it, they went to smell the still-wet flowers around the fence, and he even allowed her to stick some into his hair. He never liked to comb it or anything because it already looked girly enough by itself, let alone decorate it, even if Daddy offered him to pick dinner, but if Lucy wanted to...hmm, it wasn't too bad, he supposed.

"Now you're the fairy prince!" she declared, poking his neck with a stick. He spun around and threw his fists in the air.

"I'm not a fairy, I'm a dragon!" She pouted and folded her arms across her once-blue dress.

"Nuh-uh! Cuz I'm the fairy princess, and you can't be in the castle too unless you're the prince!"

"Fine! I fly around outside, keeping you locked up," he grinned, raising his hands with his fingers bent into claws. Lucy huffed and turned away.

"Natsu wouldn't do that. And I'd be all alone if you weren't in there too." He frowned when she said that and his arms fell to his sides.

"I'm a dragon," he repeated, getting annoyed. "But not the mean one. Daddy told me dragons are no-ble and nice and brave. I'm the one that watches for bad guys so's I can kick their ass, and so's you can be safe." She blushed a little beneath all the mud on her face and pushed his shoulder with a wide smile.

"Okay, that's fine."

"I know it is."

"Okay, you mud monsters, get in here so you can eat," Daddy called from the door.

"Great, 'm starvin'!" Natsu declared, trudging past the mess they made to the smell of chicken in the air. Suddenly a blonde blur came zipping by him.

"Race ya!" Lucy said. Natsu grinned and chased after her across the yard. He slowed when he noticed Daddy, instead of smiling or shaking his head, looked worried. Why worried?

"Lucy, wait, the mud is slipper—"

Lucy came to the deck and was about to jump the six-inch difference, but she slid on the mud and fell forward. Daddy reached down but he didn't catch her before her head bounced against the wood. There was a second of silence before Lucy's crying, loud and pained, filled the air, and Natsu hated the sound with all his heart. It made his stomach go cold and funny and clouded his head.

"Lucy!" Layla came running and dropped to her knees, her jeans getting dirty from all the splashed mud, and she pulled Lucy's back on her lap. Natsu moved forward and saw a nasty bruise growing on her forehead, and she was still wailing at the top of her lungs. Layla whispered to her and held her and pushed her muddy hair from her face. "At least it's not bleeding," she muttered. Then she stood up with Lucy. "Sorry, Igneel, Natsu, but we'll be heading ho—"

"No!" Natsu cried before she could finish, even though Daddy taught him it was rude to interrupt. He jumped to the deck and tugged on the bottom of Lucy's dress. "Don't go, don't go!"

"Natsu, Lucy's hurt, I think she'd like to be at her home," Daddy said, putting his hand on Natsu's shoulder. Natsu pulled away and tugged harder, feeling his eyes get hot and itchy.

"No, nonono!" And even though he was older and a boy, the brave dragon, he burst into tears. Because he didn't protect Lucy like a dragon would, and because he couldn't make her stop crying. Daddy put his hand on Natsu's head and Natsu let him. He buried his face in Daddy's stomach and gripped his legs as hard as he could, sobbing into his shirt. Him and Layla said something he couldn't hear, then Daddy picked Natsu up and took him inside. Daddy set him on the couch and Layla set Lucy next to him. Natsu turned to her and saw she wasn't crying as hard, but she was still sniffling and shaking. He grabbed Daddy's blanket that was thrown over the back of the couch and put it around her, then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"N-Natsu?" she said, her big brown eyes looking up at him. He held her tighter.

"'m a dragon. I protect the princess," he muttered seriously. "And the princess doesn't get to cry while I'm around." She sniffed harder, then reached around and gripped the back of his shirt. Daddy came close with a wet rag (when did he leave?) and gently cleaned both their faces before dropping next to them and turning Lucy's face.

"It'll heal in a few weeks," he said after a second.

"Well, I suppose you're the cuts and bruises expert," Layla said thoughtfully. Daddy grumbled.

"What's that s'posed to mean?"

Natsu ignored them because he heard Lucy making a little hurting noise. He turned her around so they sat shoulder to shoulder, and slowly, she pushed the blanket until it covered both of them. She wasn't crying anymore as she crawled into Natsu's side, pulling up her knees and letting her short hair tickle his arm.

"You're really nice, Natsu," she muttered.

"Dragons are nice."

"But you're not this nice. You like to pull my hair and take Michelle and tell me I'm weird."

"...Nah, you're still weird," he said loudly. "But...eh...'s not that bad."

The rain started up again, and the peaceful noise made Lucy relax more against him. Natsu, too, had a tough time keeping his eyes open. The last thing he saw was Daddy grinning in his face.

"Don't like her, do you?" he teased. Natsu made a face and moved a little so Lucy could be more comfortable.

"Nope." Daddy's laughter chased him into his dreams.