~ The Dragon & The Knight ~

The hall was large and spacious but wherever the pink-haired boy looked he only saw black and white. Black pews. White walls. Black clothes. White flowers.

Black casket.

The people in the room towered over him as he walked down the aisle. He grew uneasy under their furtively pointed fingers, the weight of their contemptuous stares and the disquiet of unwelcoming whispers; he stuck close to his father.

When they were at the front, the boy saw the rectangular case up-close but was not tall enough to see what was within… who was within. He looked up at his father who was looking down into the wooden box. The stoic look on his face was incomprehensible to the ten-year-old; the boy could not understand what was going on or why he was here.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…!"

A heart-wrenching wail ripped through the air and the boy jumped, startled. He looked around frantically, trying to find where it came from. He noticed a curiously ajar door nearby and subconsciously moved toward it. With a gentle push, the door swung open to reveal a small room. And in that small room, he saw a girl with hair the colour of sunflowers curled up on the floor, her small body wracked with sobs.

Anxious, he was about to rush up to her when all of a sudden, a shadow was cast over him and a tall man stood in his way. The man began shouting but the boy couldn't hear what he was saying - the sound of the girl's cries drowned everything out.

The man furiously lashed out at the boy and the young child found himself slowly backing away. Yet, his eyes never left the girl the whole time. He had never heard a sound so torn with grief that it made his little heart ache. He wanted to go up to her and give her a hug, ask her what was wrong and tell her that everything would be alright.

He took a step toward the girl. It was an action that seemed to anger the man even more. Exasperated, the man shoved the boy out and slammed the door in his face.

And Natsu would never know what happened next for that was when he awoke from the dream.

"Y-You… You took a train two weeks ago?" The ebony-haired woman looked up in surprise.

"Ah, yeah," the pink-headed teen replied.

"By yourself?!" Her tone was incredulous.

"Yeaaa…" He drawled out the syllable while he slowly moved his head up and down in a nod.

"What in the world… What were you thinking? I mean, what for? What was so important that you had to go out of your way to be there?"

"Eh… Just a dance ball." Natsu nervously scratched his cheek and looked away.

"'Just a dance ball'? I thought you didn't like ballroom dancing."

"Heh." Natsu rigidly brought the corners of his lips up in- what was meant to be- a smile.

"Must've been one hell of a dance ball, and the girl you went to see must be one hell of an enchantress."

"Geh–!" The teen tensed up in his seat at her spot-on accusation. "…Damn mind-reader," he muttered under his breath and glared at the name plate on the desk nearby that read 'Dr. Ultear Milkovich'.

"I heard that," she said. "I'm a psychiatrist, not a mind-reader. How many times do I have to repeat myself?"

"Keh!"

"So? Clearly you're fine after the whole ordeal. Why the sudden visit?"

"The motion sickness pills I took for that round-trip were the last two in the bottle; I need more. Oh, and that dream came back."

Ultear frowned at that last part of his answer and at his nonchalant tone. "When did it return?"

"Last night."

"…You should've mentioned that first." The woman wrote something down in her notepad.

Natsu shrugged.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked.

"There's nothing I haven't already told you before."

"Then… Any big changes in your life lately?"

"No," he said, without much thought, then added, "I just transferred back to Fairy Tail Academy though."

"I presume that's where you met the girl you hopped onto a train for…" The young doctor didn't look up from her notepad.

"She doesn't have anything to do with this."

"You'd be surprised." Ultear looked up and saw Natsu sulking in his seat like a five-year-old.

"Just gimme what I came for so I can be on my way already. I have to take another trip soon so I need it."

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

"Natsu," she said his name sternly. "I know I said you have to get over your phobia of transport - and I'll help you with that - but taking a train every other week is not the way to do it. The problem is more deeply-rooted than you are aware. I mean, given your condition right now I'm not even sure you should be going on any form of transport."

"…I don't like it either, okay? But I wanna go on the school trip."

"Extreme motion sickness aside, every time you step onto a bus or a car, you get a panic attack and your heart rate rapidly increases to a dangerous level. And each time that happens, you are putting your life in danger–"

"Yes, yes, I know. I could get a heart attack and die, right?"

"If you already know that, then why…? Why do that to yourself when you can avoid it?"

"Phobia or whatever… letting it decide what I can and cannot do, is that any way to live? I don't want to run away. Plus, I completely KO whenever I take those pills so it's fine."

She gave a resigned sigh. "I can't stop you huh?"

The dark-haired woman then stood up and, bringing her pen with her, went behind the desk. She retrieved a different notepad from one of the drawers and began writing something on it. She tore the first sheet off and then went back to Natsu.

"Don't keep using the pills; or the effectiveness will wear off," she reminded him as she handed the prescription over to him.

He took the piece of paper from her, folded it into quarter-size and shoved it into the back pocket of his jeans. Then he stood to leave.

"Everything I need in Magnolia is within walking distance," he said. "I only take them when I have to get out of town."

"Just make sure Gray or somebody is there to accompany you, alright? And come back if the dream resurfaces."

"Bye!" He gave a careless wave as his other hand turned the doorknob and then walked out of the office.

When the school group checked into the resort and the usual gang went up to their assigned suite, Lucy and Juvia found themselves roommates again. Except this time, Juvia had other plans in mind.

"Please, Lucy! Pleeeeeeeeeaaase!" The two of them were alone in their room and Juvia was grovelling on her knees.

"No, Juvia," the blonde said firmly. "I'm not switching rooms with Gray."

"PLEASE, LUCY, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! PLEAAAAAAAAAASE!" Juvia's pleas increased in intensity.

"No! I know you and Gray have something going on but no means no!"

"WHY?!" The blunette grabbed the hem of Lucy's skirt and tugged to stop her from walking away. "Lucy, could it be–? Are you interested in Gray-sama too?! Does Lucy intend to be Juvia's rival?!"

"What-?! NO." That was the most ridiculous thing Lucy had heard since Natsu asked her why Van Gogh cut off an ear and not a nose during art history lesson two weeks ago.

"No! Juvia doesn't believe you!"

"I'm NOT interested in Gray!"

"Then switch rooms!"

"No, Juvia! Let go of me! And get up from the floor!"

"Juvia refuses! Juvia will not get up until Lucy agrees!"

"Juvia, please."

"Why won't Lucy swap rooms with Gray-sama?!"

"Because," Lucy emphasized on the word. "I don't want to share a room with Natsu!"

"What's wrong with rooming with Natsu-san? Juvia thought Natsu-san is ok now."

"He is," Lucy affirmed what Juvia just said. "But he's still– It's just that–" What was she supposed to say?

Although Natsu somewhat toned down on his advances during these past two weeks, he didn't stop hitting on Lucy altogether. He just didn't do so every chance he got anymore and she eventually came to see him as a friend. His sunny presence gradually grew on the rest of the gang and they came to accept him as well.

But… considering what happened the last time we shared a room, Lucy thought back on that scandalous night. I really don't think it's such a good idea…

"Lucyyyyyyyy!" The blue-haired girl whined some more. "Help Juvia out with Gray-sama! Pleeeeeeease."

"What about Loke?"

"Loke didn't pick Akane Resort right?"

For the fall school trip, students of Fairy Tail Academy were given a choice. It was between Akane Resort, Ryuzetsu Land or camping at Tenroujima and Lucy picked Akane Resort.

"That's even worse! What are people going to think if they find out?" Lucy shrieked. "It's gonna look like I cheated on Loke!"

"Juvia swears not to mention a word to anyone else and Juvia will explain eeeeverything to Loke for you!"

Lucy sighed. "Alright, fine," she begrudgingly gave in.

"YAYYYYY!" Juvia jumped up from the floor and pulled Lucy into a big hug.

It was noon when the group of (30 or so) students assembled at the hotel lobby again. School trips of Fairy Tail Academy were unlike the usual. They weren't primarily for educational purposes but, rather, served as a break. Master Makarov decreed that they be an avenue for relaxation, a fun vacation in the middle of semester to let students wind down.

"If anyone needs to look for me, I will be in the coffee lounge," Reedus Jonah, the only teacher chaperone on this trip, announced. "The pre-booked buffet dinner at the restaurant is at 7pm. I will be taking attendance at dinner. That's all I have to say, go and have fun!"

The students broke into excited chatter as they automatically grouped up and dispersed.

"Yosh! Let's go to the beach!" Natsu pumped a fist into the air and exclaimed.

"Who goes to the beach in autumn?!" Lucy yelled.

"That doesn't sound like such a bad idea actually," Jellal said.

"Nice and windy eh? Maybe I can try windsurfing." Gray already looked like he was headed for the beach with the way his unbuttoned flower-print shirt hung open on his frame.

"Juvia wants to try windsurfing too!"

"Hmm, I was thinking of going to the casino actually," Erza said.

"C-Casino?" Lucy remembered the ruckus Erza caused the last time she stepped into one of those places. Until now, she never found out why the redhead had been wearing a bunny suit and terrorizing people with a baton.

"Then, I'll go with you," Jellal said. His face displayed a look of concern, probably because he was remembering the same thing.

"What about you two?" Gray looked to Gajeel and Levy.

Levy turned to her heavily-pierced boyfriend who merely shrugged his indifference; it didn't matter to him where they went.

"I don't mind going to the beach," Levy answered.

"Let's go, let's go!" Natsu shouted impatiently and ran ahead like a kid.

Erza and Jellal split from the group. Lucy complained that she didn't have a swimsuit and was about to go with them but Natsu wouldn't have it. With large hurried strides, he walked back to the blonde, wrapped a strong arm around her waist, lifted her up and hoisted her over his shoulder. It happened so fast that Lucy didn't even have time to react; before she knew it, she was swept off her feet and being carried by Natsu, like a sack of grains slung over a worker's shoulder.

"Put me down!" The girl flailed about pointlessly.

"Come on, let's go," Natsu said to the rest of the group, ignoring Lucy's distressed shriek, and began walking toward the beach.

"NATSU!" She screamed. "Put me down now! Or else."

Lucy had probably meant to sound threatening, but knowing that it was an empty threat, Natsu didn't feel intimidated in the least.

"Just keep still until we get there," he said. Then with a loud smack, his other hand went down on her butt and stayed there, partly to keep her stable, partly to keep her short skirt from fluttering up and partly to annoy her more.

But the girl only felt annoyed and she screamed.

"NATSU DRAGNEEEEEEEL!"

The group of six was greeted by strong winds when they arrived at the beach. Lucy was still screaming at Natsu to put her down, only now she was really beginning to get angry. She kicked violently in the air, sending her loosely-tied sandals flying off her feet. Natsu eventually set her down.

Lucy felt the sand squish in between her toes as her bare feet landed on the beach. That was when she realized that they had reached and she looked up, casting her eyes far into the distance, studying the stretch of coastal shore. She was a little surprised to find that they weren't the only people there.

"Here," a voice she recognized broke her out of her momentary daze. She re-focused her eyes on the figure that was right in front of her now and saw Natsu holding up a pair of sandals, her sandals; he had retrieved them for her.

"Thanks," she mumbled, then took them from him and slipped them back on.

Another sea breeze blew in their direction and Lucy found her vision suddenly obscured by strands of hair. The chilling wind smarted against her exposed shoulders causing her to shudder but she was more worried about her skirt and her hands instinctively moved to keep it down.

I'm so not dressed for this, she thought. The girl was wearing a sweetheart-cut halter-neck top and a tiered miniskirt.

When the breeze passed, she tucked her stray blond hair behind her ears and looked back at the group, only to discover that it had now become a group of four.

"Where did Juvia go?"

"Windsurfing with Gray," Levy replied.

When did they leave? Lucy wondered.

"Last one in is a rotten egg and has to buy everyone drinks!" Natsu declared and dashed for the sea, stripping his shirt off and tossing it aside carelessly along the way. His white scarf was secured around his head like a bandana.

Gajeel, easily goaded by the challenge, took off behind him. Levy squealed when the cold water splashed around her calves as she ran in, third.

"Hah! First!" Natsu proudly claimed his victory.

"Damn! You shouted after you already began running! This doesn't count!" Gajeel shouted.

"Lucy, you're last! Hurry up and come in!" The blunette called out to her best friend, waving cheerfully with a wide smile.

The blonde stubbornly stood some distance away from the water, making sure to stay dry. She stared at Levy in her orange one-piece. Well, at least her dress somewhat resembles a sundress, she thought.

"Lucy, get your ass in here before I dunk you myself!" Natsu shouted.

"I'll go buy us some drinks!" She yelled across the distance and turned on her heel, escaping toward the convenience store. She'd rather be a rotten egg than soaking wet on a windy day.

Five minutes later, she returned with four cans of soda and a few beach towels. She called them over before she spread one out over the sand and sat down. As they walked over, she could hear the two boys arguing.

"That was not counted!" It was Natsu who protested now.

"It was," Gajeel said otherwise.

"Was not, metal head!"

"I said it was, you damn lizard! I won fair and square in that one! Levy was watching. Right?"

"What are they talking about?" Lucy asked Levy who was bent over, drying her legs off with a towel.

"They competed to see who could hold their breath longer underwater."

Lucy rolled her eyes and went back to observing them bicker.

"Fine! It's 1:1 now! What do you say we settle this with beach volleyball? Or are you too scared of losing to me again?" Natsu taunted.

"What did you say?! Who's scared of who? Bring it on!"

Levy sighed.

"We don't even have a volleyball," Lucy pointed out.

"We don't?!" Natsu's tone conveyed genuine surprise.

"I suppose we can buy one from a store around here," Levy said.

"Ok, let's go," Gajeel put an arm around her shoulder and steered her away from Natsu and Lucy.

"Eh-?! I'm coming too?" Lucy heard Levy yell from a distance.

"Well, I don't know where the store is so yea," a gruff voice replied.

Natsu popped open a can and sat himself down on the beach towel, next to Lucy.

"Ahhh–!" He let out a sound of satisfaction after gulping down some soda.

Lucy paid no attention to him as she looked out at the vast sea. She watched two silhouettes in the distance riding the waves on boards, the wind blowing in their sails and in their hair. They made it look so easy and effortless– the way they zipped smoothly across the surface of the water– but Lucy knew that if she tried, she'd probably fall flat into the sea.

Several minutes later, Gajeel and Levy returned with a volleyball in hand and, not long after, Lucy found herself standing on a volleyball court with a net dividing her and Natsu from Gajeel and Levy. How the hell did I get dragged into this? She asked herself. She didn't care about winning, that's Natsu's childish feud with Gajeel. No, her mind was preoccupied by her main goal, which was to not get hit in the face by the ball.

"Lucy, spike the ball!" Natsu yelled as he received the ball from the other side of the net and bumped it back up high into the air.

"WHAT–?! I can't do that!" She looked up just in time to watch the volleyball make an arc in the air as it soared across the sky. Is it supposed to do that? She wondered.

The white, yellow and blue ball flew waaaaay out of the court.

"I'll go get it," Lucy said, walking off.

The volleyball hit the ground hard the first time, then it skipped once across the sand before hitting the heels of some passerby couple and coming to a stop. The boy lazily bent down to pick it up.

Her eyes were on the ball the whole time and seeing that someone had been hit, Lucy's languorous walk turned into a half-run. She took the ball from the guy's hands but when she looked up to thank him, she froze.

Loke.

The orange-haired male stood there, mouth opened and gaping, yet unable to speak a word. He had been stunned the moment he saw that it was Lucy who was running over for the ball.

The blonde was the same, speechless and agape. She thought she was seeing things but she knew those hazel eyes, azure-tinted behind sunglasses each time she saw them. Slowly recovering her ability to move, she turned to look at the girl that accompanied him. She was pretty, with peach-coloured skin and cotton candy pink hair. She had curves in all the right places but Lucy could tell she wasn't like all the other girls Loke had played with before (which was usually slutty or bitchy or both). Looking at her facial expression and her body language now, the girl seemed timid and apologetic. And looking at Loke's face now, he seemed anxious and guilty.

Didn't you pick Ryuzetsu Land? What are you doing here? These questions formed in Lucy's head and she wanted to ask, but she had known Loke for a while now and she more or less understood why he'd lied to her; she roughly guessed what was going on. Lucy knew she should be angry at him, yet she wasn't. She just wished he had told her sooner.

The corners of the blonde's lips curved up in a slight smile and she said, "Well? Aren't you going to introduce her to me?"

Loke's eyes widened fractionally at Lucy's unexpected response.

"Lucy, I–"

"It's okay," she cut him off.

"No, it's not," Loke hastily supplemented. "I've been an absolute asshole lately and it's not fair to you. I know I should've just said something but–"

"Lucyyy–!" A loud voice that came from behind interrupted their talk and Lucy didn't have to turn around to know who it belonged to.

Natsu strode over in his black T-shirt and orange beach shorts. "Lucy, what's taking so lo– you…!"

His face contorted into an angry scowl the second he saw Loke. His eyes flickered briefly to the other girl behind him. From the way Loke and Lucy were standing, he somewhat interpreted the situation. Involuntarily, an indescribable heat rose in his chest. It simmered in his veins and made his blood boil with anger. He glared at Loke.

"You know–" When he spoke, his voice was unnaturally calm, like the thin layer of ice that froze over a lake during winter. "For a boyfriend, you really suck."

Without an ounce of hesitation, Natsu struck out with his fist, throwing a punch at Loke's face. The other spiky-haired male did not see that coming and he felt the full impact on his jaw. Natsu had really put his weight behind that blow; the brute force caused Loke to stumble back and fall onto the sandy ground with a soft thud.

"Oh my God, are you alright?" Lucy reflexively scurried over to Loke. The pink-haired girl made to go forward as well but hesitated when she saw that Lucy was quicker.

Natsu had wanted to do that for a while now and it should have allowed his anger to subside but the sight of Lucy fussing over Loke was not helping.

Some sand fell from his orange hair as Loke sat up with some support from the blonde.

"I'm fine, Lucy," he said. "I deserved that."

"No, you didn't," she argued. Then she turned to Natsu and yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What– Me?! You're asking what the hell is wrong with me?" Her question evoked a great amount of shock and disbelief in him, and it was the last straw.

"You're asking what the hell is wrong with me?!" Natsu erupted. "Why don't you ask what the hell is wrong with him?! He's a complete asshole! He's going out with other girls behind your back!"

Then he turned to Loke. "What kind of shit boyfriend are you?! If you really like Lucy, then stop treating her like trash!"

"I never thought of her as trash," Loke spoke in a steely voice. "Why are you going on and on as if you know everything? You've known Lucy for what– a month? What do you even know about her?"

Reality smacked him hard and Natsu flinched. It's true that he hadn't known Lucy as long as Loke had, but he wasn't about to back down.

"Fine. So you've known her longer than I have and you're her boyfriend," he conceded. "But some boyfriend you've been. If you really like her, why didn't you hunt me down and kill me when you heard that I touched her on my first day of school? If you really think of yourself as her boyfriend, why did you introduce yourself as 'the boyfriend' the first time you met me? If you really cared about her, then why haven't you taken her out for a dinner or a date on any of the weekends during this past month?!"

"You think I haven't noticed? Do you have any idea how bored she is on weekends? She has nothing to do! She stays in her room re-reading books over and over again! Her copy of A Midnight Summer's Dream is all worn-out because of you. And that's not all– Did you know that, when you hug her close or touch her hair lightly, she immediately turns pink? Have you seen the way her eyes sparkle whenever she smiles or whenever she talks about something she really likes? Do you know that they fill with happiness and sadness whenever she talks about her mama? Do you even know that she still spends some time each night writing letters to her mama? And do you know," he emphasised. "How many times I've been there for her in the past month when you weren't?"

Loke was stupefied. The pink-haired girl who had been watching everything was stupefied.

"…It's A Midsummer's Night Dream," was the only thing Lucy managed to say in response before a period of silence fell upon them.

The memories were racing through her mind. She remembered everything, of course. She recalled how Natsu kept bothering her during the weekends and it dawned on her– He was just trying to entertain me.

She knew she'd mentioned her mother to him precisely once, and only once. It was on the day of Lisanna's death anniversary. And he remembered. But how did he know about the letters?

She thought of how he had made his moves on her countless times. From what he'd just spilled, she realized that he hadn't just been doing it for kicks. He's been watching me, really watching me…

Lucy regarded him with an unremarkable expression, absolutely dumbfounded.

Natsu had enough of this soundless standstill. He took Lucy by the hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Let's go," he said as he yanked her away from the beach.

02 Aug 2014 is 8 years since the first chapter of FT was released. That was also when NaLu first met right? Just wanted to post something for this special day ^^ (but I have already planned out the next 3 chapters in a random burst of inspiration to be honest :X)

4am here right now ugh! I shall edit this chapter tmr.

*UPDATE 03/08/2014 - I changed the chapter title to 'The Dragon & The Knight'.