AN: Ok, so I guess it's just the excitement of having a first story ready and posted, but seeing that I've got a follow and a favorite just made my day. I know, it's silly, but there it is. So to try and cater to this excitement I'm going to just post the whole darned thing! It's ready, so why the heck not?!

I also realize only now after already putting up my first two chapters that I never stated in the beginning that this story is written, as many fanfictions are, with the assumption that my readers already are familiar with the fandom, at least to some extent, so I have not made much in the way of descriptions on the physical appearances of the characters. If this ends up being a detractor to the story for some, I will consider adding such in. There is a little language in this chapter, if anyone things that this or later occurrences suggest a change in rating, please let me know, but it seemed this was not too bad for teen and higher. I try, however, to keep things no worse than they would be in the anime itself, and sometimes tone it a little from the way I'd imagine certain characters might speak just cause I don't much like swearing.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I wouldn't mind some reviews, if anyone feels like it.

Chapter 3:

Natsu laid down on Lucy's bed on top of the covers, staring up at the ceiling. Lucy had a point. He had been acting a bit as though she was not strong enough to protect herself. She been through a lot since he brought her to join the guild. She'd endured pain, hardship and nearly ceased to be during the Infinity Clock business. She was a tough cookie and he knew that, and yet he couldn't stop this need to protect her. There was a pervading fear that if he was not diligent he could lose her again. How could he satisfy his need to keep her safe but still maintain confidence in her abilities and keep from angering her again?

The Infinity Clock incident alone spoke to the young woman's strength. She'd managed to reverse the body link magic on a large number of Celestial Spirit Wizards and had accepted the possible risks inherent in the action. Sure, she would complain sometimes, but when it really counted and they needed her she was very reliable and unfailingly loyal. She was also very loving to her guild family. Yet even with her capabilities the sheer uniqueness of her magic and the number of keys she possessed made her more of a target than the average wizard. She was perhaps more rare as a wizard even than Dragon Slayers.

What could he do that would assure her safety and not infringe upon her independence? Making sure they took jobs together was one thing and a good start. Although she almost never took solo jobs anyway. But neither did he, for that matter, since they had teamed up after he brought her to the guild. There didn't seem like there was much more that he could do without risking upsetting her, though. He had gotten distracted and hurt because of it, and she was right that such things could not always be the case. He wasn't particularly concerned about getting hurt but it had worried Lucy and he felt guilty for it. He supposed he'd just have to deal with things as they came and try to rein in some of his worry. Not much of a plan, but he wasn't much of a planner.

He turned his head so he could better take in the scent of her from her bedding, sweet and calming, filling his mind and banishing some of his worry. With his mind a bit calmer he slipped easily into sleep. Anything more could wait until tomorrow.

Lucy got out of the bath, dried off and dressed for bed. When she came out she saw Natsu asleep on her bed. Instead of being frustrated as usual, she smiled softly.

Before bed she wrote a bit more in her book before giving up and slipping under the covers of her bed. Sleep came easily and without any memorable dreams. Unfortunately, such was not the case for poor Natsu. Sometime after midnight Natsu sat bolt upright and yelled out "LUCY! NO!"

She fought off the remains of sleep and clawed her way up into consciousness. Once awake she looked at him, seeing him panting and looking terrified. She touched his shoulder gently. "Natsu?" His gaze shot over to her and he grabbed her roughly, holding her against him, her head tucked under his chin. Lucy blushed lightly and was grateful for the dark to hide it. He was trembling and she put her arms around him to try and calm him down. "Natsu? I'm here."

He was silent for so long she was becoming really worried. "Natsu. Please. Tell me."

Natsu took in a long and ragged breath, then pushed her back a bit, still holding onto her arms firmly. She watched him with concern written on her face as he stared at her. It was almost as if he was convincing himself that she were real. "I thought I'd lost you for good this time."

"It was just a dream, Natsu. I'm here." She lifted her hands to the sides of his face and pulled his forehead to touch hers as she comforted him. Just as he had done to the future Lucy to comfort her. "It was just a dream."

Natsu grabbed her tightly again and buried his face in her hair. "I am not gonna let anyone take you away from me like that again!" he growled.

"We changed that future, Natsu. Because of you! That future doesn't come to be. I know that it was hard on all of us to witness a death like that, but we avoided it. In the end I know our future selves will be happy and well."

She stroked his hair gently and slowly he began to calm down and relax. He continued to breathe in her scent and she found herself blushing again. But her embarrassment was less important than making Natsu feel better. Finally, after a few minutes more he seemed much calmer.

"Natsu, let's get some more sleep. You need the rest." But he didn't let up his hold on her.

"I don't want to sleep again," he grumbled. Lucy understood. He didn't want to risk having a dream like that again.

"Ok. How about some food?"

Natsu smiled into her hair. "I'm always ready to eat," he said in a lively voice as he let her go.

"Of course you are," she muttered and rolled her eyes. To which Natsu responded by grinning that stupidly contagious grin of his that so defined his character.

Happy that she'd managed to calm him somewhat, she got up and headed to her little kitchen to prepare some food for the ever ravenous Dragon Slayer and some tea for herself.

Natsu was grateful for Lucy's calming presence and her attempt to cheer him up with food. Even though his appetite was low (for him) from the dream, it was a gesture he'd be glad to accept. In fact what had so far helped most was being able to breathe in her scent. Something about Lucy's scent always had an effect on him, whether it made him happy, calmed him down or simply just filled his senses. If he would have stopped to think about it, he might have realized that part of the reason he liked Lucy's place so much was that it smelled like her, and that affected him much more deeply than he realized.

The dream tonight had been awful. He'd first seen the Lucy from the future dead before him. Then he had turned to watch as one of the attacking dragons swiped his Lucy aside causing fatal damage to her before he could even register what was about to happen. He'd gathered her up in his arms, received one last sweet smile and watched the life drain from her eyes. That was when he'd finally woke. Wait a minute….my Lucy? Eh, whatever, of course I'd think of her as my Lucy, she's my best friend.

This was not the first such nightmare he'd had since the Games had ended, either. Each one was a bit different. In some Natsu had not managed to stop Rogue. In some Lucy hadn't been able to close the Eclipse portal and a dragon horde had come through. When those dreams came he either wasn't able to protect Lucy from the dragons or had become too crazed from overuse of his Dragon Slayer magic and the defeat of too many dragons and had caused Lucy's death. They always seemed incredibly real and he was beginning to lose needed rest because of them.

When Lucy had finished in the kitchen she brought him out some eggs and sausage, as well as a tiny bowl with a bit of oil that she set on fire with a handy match. Natsu beamed at her and devoured first the fire and then the food as she sipped at a cup of tea. She smiled at him and he grinned back. "That hit the spot, Luce!"

"I'm glad," she replied. "Now, I'm not kicking you out, but maybe you should get back to Happy, since you aren't going to sleep any more tonight anyway."

Natsu gave her a sheepish look, almost a pout, but nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Luce." He stood and stretched. "See you at the guild today?"

"Of course!" She smiled and something in his chest felt tight for a brief moment and he didn't know why.

"All right, see ya!" he called as he left through the window, per usual. He grinned to himself as he heard her yell behind him to use the door like a normal person.

In the dark of the pre-dawn morning a presence watched the home of Lucy Heartfilia, perhaps the strongest Celestial Spirit Wizard left in this generation. When the Dragon Slayer left, and was well beyond sight or sound of the building, a figure separated itself from the shadows and grinned in a disturbing manner. Plans that had been held off for seven years could now be brought back into play. It was, perhaps, a shame that she was not powerful enough to have all of the twelve Zodiac keys, but the plan was not contingent upon the number of keys she possessed, but instead on her magical power. And since that was quite significant, she would do just fine.

It was just past mid-day at the guild and as usual Gray and Natsu were just beginning another shouting match that would inevitably turn into a fight.

"WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM, FLAME BRAIN!" yelled the ice-make wizard.

"YOU, YA PERVY POPSICLE! YOU'RE PISSIN' ME OFF!" shouted the Dragon Slayer.

"HOT HEAD!"

"STRIPPER!"

"FIERY MOUTH BREATHER!"

"ICE PRINCESS!"

"THAT'S IT!" they yelled together and started throwing punches.

The fight continued for several minutes before Levy, who'd gone to see Lucy, came running in. Levy didn't usual appear panting and exhausted so everyone looked over at her, concerned. Even Natsu and Gray stopped their fight briefly to pay attention to what was happening. Gajeel was at her side out of nowhere. "What's wrong, Shrimp?"

"Lucy…" she gasped and Natsu was immediately intent upon her. "Her apartment was open and some things in her place were all knocked around. She's not there, either!"

"Calm down, Shrimp. Maybe Bunny Girl just went out for a while," Gajeel said, trying to calm her.

"NO, Gajeel! She'd never leave her home unlocked, open and in such a state. So many things knocked over and broken, that's not like her. Something is wrong!"

Natsu didn't wait to hear anything more. "Happy!" he shouted and ran to the guildhall doors.

"Aye, sir!" Happy called and cast Aera, shooting out the door to pick up Natsu and carry him fast and directly to Lucy's home.

When they arrived, they found exactly what Levy had said they would. Oh, Mavis! I shouldn't have left her last night. I should have stayed here! He sniffed the air. He easily picked up Lucy's scent. Her lightly sweet smell of roses and honey. The smell of honey was simply a part of her scent and the roses was the soap she'd always used. But along with her scent there was another. It was musky and spicy, but in a most unpleasant way. And it was strong enough that he knew it had come after he'd left Lucy. Someone else had been in Lucy's place, of that we was positive. And he would bet money that person had taken Lucy away.

"Levy was right, Natsu," said Happy, mournfully. "Lushy isn't this messy, something happened."

His expression grew more fierce as he realized that Lucy's sweet scent was marred by an undertone of fear and that pissed him off as nothing else could. Gray and Erza had not been far behind him and entered Lucy's rooms to survey the scene.

"Someone else was here. Sometime after 3 this morning but probably not much after," he said. He was confident in pinpointing the time based on his departure and how strong the lingering scent still was as it would dissipate over time. "I can probably still follow Lucy's scent, it has been less than 12 hours and it shouldn't have become too weak to follow. But Lucy didn't just leave. That's obvious."

Erza nodded her agreement of his assessment.

"Ok," Gray spoke up. "How do we want to handle this?"

Natsu punched one hand with the other, fire surrounding his hands. "We track down the bastard that took her and pay him back 10 times over for any harm he's done to her. I'm fired up and ready to kick some ass once we've saved her."

"Agreed," Erza said, her expression just as fierce as Natsu's.

Gray nodded and they all left Lucy's place, Natsu sniffing the air to pick up traces of the missing girl's scent as well as that of the unknown person. As they left the building others from the guild ran up. Levy, Gajeel, Pantherlily, Wendy, Carla, Cana and Mirajane were all there. They passed on what they'd found and asked Wendy to come in case Lucy was hurt. Of course Wendy agreed. Then Levy piped up that Lucy was her best friend and she'd come as well, which led to Gajeel joining them since he wasn't going to let Levy go into a possibly dangerous situation without him. Carla and Lily would obviously be accompanying their Slayers.

Cana handed Levy a card they could use for communication and she and Mira said they'd go inform Master Makarov and the guild of what was going on. Gajeel and Wendy briefly went into Lucy's place to get a familiarity with the scent of the intruder.

That done, Natsu led the way following Lucy's scent out of Magnolia. He didn't know who was doing this, or why, but he was going to make them pay.