Chapter 4

Sitting at his usual place at the bar Natsu sat in deep whole concept of mates was lost on Natsu. It was a basic dragon instinct to find your other half and feel complete but that was the thing, he didn't feel incomplete. He had his guild and nakama, and someday he would find Igneel and everything would be in place. What was the point in finding a female who would ruin all that? The way Igneel had talked about Temeraire made it seem as if there was nothing more precious in a dragon's life as their mate, it had somehow made Natsu excited at the possibility of having someone in his life like that. That was until he was introduced to female humans. With the combination of Erza and Mira tormenting the remainder of his childhood years Natsu was thoroughly put off the idea. Of course not all the females were as demonic as Erza and Mira, there was Lisanna who had been there at the hatching of Happy. Lisanna was sweet and kind, but Natsu felt no special dragon lure towards her. When Natsu had thought her dead he felt immense sorrow, but it seemed like nothing in comparison to Igneel's pain when he had discussed his mate with Natsu. Of course Igneel had explained that for a dragon slayer there feelings for their mate would gradually surface, but Natsu had known the females of Fairy Tail for years now, so he highly doubted that his mate was among them. Of course with the exception of Lucy, but Lucy was his best friend and certainly not his mate. So with all the Fairy Tail mate candidates ruled out, Natsu concluded he was not going to search for his mate and stay content at his guild. Besides he had a first row seat to what happened to a dragon slayer when he found his mate. It had been just a few months since Gajeel's instinct had kicked in and he had realised the Levy was his mate.

From his place at the bar and covered by his bustling guild mates Natsu quickly stole a glance towards the iron-studded dragon slayer. With no surprise Gajeel was with Levy, as he had been for the past few months. It was more unusual now to find the separated than together. The majority of the guild gave them a wide berth, only Jet and Droy sat within the proximity of the two both with sullen looks at their teammate with Gajeel. When Gajeel had very boldly announced to everyone that Levy was his mate and he would kill any male that was near her, Jet and Droy had very loudly complained trying to drag their teammate away from the iron dragon slayer. It only took one look from Gajeel for them to let got of Levy and retreat. The intent and message was clear in his black eyes. If any male touched his mate again that would be the last thing they did. Since that incident Jet and Droy kept their distance, and the rest of the guild didn't dare go near Gajeel or Levy. Of course the majority of the guild thought it was just Gajeel being possessive and his usual scary self but Natsu and Wendy knew better and the full extent of their relationship wasn't just some passing crush. Gajeel had found his mate, his soul was now complete. They would be together for the rest of their lives. Looking at them now Natsu couldn't see why everyone was so petrified of Gajeel. As usual he was with Levy. Typically she was sat with a large book in her hands that Natsu didn't want to comprehend was about. Gajeel however was doing nothing except staring at thing was he didn't even look bored. He looked completely fascinated. It was one of the gentlest expressions Natsu had seen on Gajeel. He looked completely blissful and every now and again a faint smile crossed his lips. How was watching someone read fun? Natsu would take the usual scowl Gajeel wore on his face anyday over the creepy loving smile he had now.

It was only when Natsu heard the clunk of a plate next to he and the mouth watering aromas encircling his senses that Natsu snapped out of his observation. He turned back in his seat to face Mira who was currently placing down two more plates of food in front of Natsu.

'Natsu have you seen where Lucy got off to?' Mirajane asked the mage diverting him from devouring the food in front of him.

'I think she went home , I guess' his eyes still fixated on the food.

'Oh, well could you take this to her' she asked, gesturing to the food.

'And Natsu don't you dare touch that food it is for Lucy ,after a certain fire mage decided to ruin her oven' she narrowed her eyes at Natsu.

'Hey! It wasn't my fault , I was being nice and cooking for her when she was ill!' he defended. Thinking back at the incident made Natsu smile to himself. Lucy had not come to the guild that day so Natsu went to her apartment to see where she was. He found her bundled in a mass of blankets looking like a blonde egg roll. She told him to leave but seeing her in such a vulnerable state made him want to take care of her. Of course Natsu didn't know the first thing about looking after a sick person, or how to cook something without just using his fire magic to just instantly cook it. With Happy advising him that the cat had remembered that Mira gave him porridge when he ate a bad fish and it made him feel better Natsu decided that was exactly what he was going to do. Sometime later Natsu had managed to get angry with the stupid cooker thing Lucy used and ended up setting fire to the majority of the kitchen. It hadn't spread because Natsu had just ate the fire but the oven thing had turned to a black charred mess. Somehow Lucy had forgotten about her illness and she leapt from her bed to chase Natsu around her apartment, with her blonde hair standing on end. Natsu laughed quietly to himself, he could always count on Lucy to make him laugh, whether she meant to or not.

'Say Natsu? What do you think of Lucy?' Mira asked bringing his attention back out of his memory. He was taken aback by the question. However thinking upon it he summarised mentally that Lucy was an amazing person, so selfless and brave. The way she cared for her celestial spirits too, amazed Natsu. She was funny, most of the time not meaning to be and she was downright weird too. Natsu wouldn't deny that she was beautiful too. Everything about her seemed perfect, but Natsu's favourite thing about her was her eyes. Natsu could read every expression and feeling behind those eyes. He knew her reactions as well as his own. But he had a feeling he should divulge all this to Mira, she would probably tell Lucy and Lucy would just find him weird, so instead he simply replied.

'I guess she is a great nakama and mage!'.

Mira gave a exasperated look at the pink haired mage but quickly composed her features into understanding.

"Yes, but I mean as a women, what do you think of Lucy?' she asked leaning her elbows on the counter to support her head.

As a women? Natsu obviously knew that she was female but in his mind she was just his weird best friend. She was the best person to tease and someone he would always go to for enjoyment. Natsu himself had seen Lucy's naked body plenty of times but more than seeing a woman's naked body Natsu found more enjoyment in her over the top reactions. Of course Lucy was a women and Natsu wasn't dense enough to notice that a lot of the guilds males knew that too. Although he knew Lucy wouldn't be with any of them. However a sudden realization dawned on him that someday there would be a male she would want to be with. A slight bubble of anger at the thought surfaced and Natsu clenched his fist at his side. What did he have to be angry about? Was it because he wanted his best friend to himself and didn't want some stupid puffed up male thinking that he had claim over Lucy. Realising Mira was still waiting for his answer he replied,

"Well ... I guess she is smart, a little scary but most of the time friendly and caring to everyone' he respond. Mira's face broke into a smile making Natsu regret his words.

'Okay thanks Natsu! You can go take the food to Lucy now, and remember don't eat it !'. Mira practically threw him out the guild and shut the doors in his face. He stood there with the boxes of food in his hands, confused at what just happened. Sighing to himself he turned sniffing the air for Lucy's scent. Her scent was easily enough found .Lucy's scent of vanilla and strawberries was the one of the distinguishable scents in his life now. Just as he had thought it lead from the guild straight to her house along the canal. However much to Natsu's surprise, her scent stopped at the door, and Natsu could tell she was not inside. Inhaling deeply again Natsu picked up her scent but he could also smell another scent intertwining with her's, a unfamiliar males scent. He could easily to climb into her apartment as he always did and leave her food there but curiosity got the better of the Dragon Slayer and the chance to play Ninja as he followed the scents.

It didn't take long for the scents to lead to Lucy's destination. She had only diverted five minutes away to the park amidst the cherry blossoms. She was alone, no sign on the strange male who's the scent belonged to. She was sitting on a bench looking towards the sky, there was a slight breeze that blew her golden around her. Natsu's mischievous side surfaced and decided that it would be amusing to sneak up on the celestial mage. It looked like the only way he could approach unseen was through the treetops. Clambering up through the branches was easy enough, and with the advantage that his hair matched the cherry coloured blossoms Natsu was sure he could not been seen. He peered down and could see the figure of his blonde friend still in her seat. Minutes passed as he sat observing her debating the perfect time to scare her. Boredom and the uncomfortable position he was in quickly made him eager to pounce but just as he made his move to go he heard Lucy mutter something to herself. It was only thanks to his acute Dragon senses that he heard her say 'Mama'. Natsu instantly felt the need to go to her. He wasn't the best person at comforting someone but he wanted Lucy to know she wasn't on her own. Lucy very rarely mentioned her mother, the only thing Natsu knew was that they looked strikingly similar thanks to the picture Lucy kept on her desk and that she was also a Celestial spirit mage. What had caused her to think of her Mother in the period between now and leaving the guild Natsu mentally questioned. Quickly making his way back down the tree he reached the soft dirt below and made his approach to Lucy. He had only taken two steps before he realised someone else was already approaching Lucy and she had rose to her feet to meet that person. A gentle breeze blew across the park and it recognized the other scent that had been with Lucy and he was now staring at its source. The male that now stood before Lucy had dark hair and his expression was a mask of concern as he looked at the blonde mage before him. Natsu heard the other male quietly say Lucy's name before he wrapped his arms around Lucy. Natsu half hoped she would shove him off but she instead wrapped her arms around his waist and in turn the male tightened his grip around her. Natsu's grip also tightened on the tree branch he was currently crushing in his hand. It seemed like an eternity that they stayed in their embrace before the let go of each other and laughed. Lucy was happy again. Her smile had returned and Natsu had not been the one to put it there. He decided he didn't want or need to see anymore and quickly turned on his with his fist full of crushed wood chips from the tree. Why was he so furious he kept asking himself. It made no sense to him that he should be angry of another male hugging Lucy. Guildmates hugged Lucy all the time,even Gray and Loke and it never bothered him. It must have been because it was a stranger to Natsu. Of course he wouldn't be happy with some person he didn't know hugging his best friend, and with that conclusion Natsu decided he would make his way back to the guild hoping that a fight with Gray was exactly the distraction he needed.