The group went back to the hotel, to the girls' room to relax, have privacy away from strangers that may eavesdrop, and to come up with a plan of action tonight.
Lucy and Erza were sat on their beds while the guys took the sofa as they discussed their attack tonight.
"So how are we gunna do this?" Gray asked glancing at Natsu, the pink haired mage had his eyes on Lucy unknowingly as Gray asked, suddenly tearing his gaze away when Gray nudged his arm with his elbow. Natsu blinked before clearing his throat "Ummm… Well when they come to town we destroy them" he nodded seeming proud with his plan, but the others simply rolled their eyes "W-What?" Natsu looked around at everyone confused.
"We can't destroy them, we need to know how to wake the girls up" Erza clarified.
"We also need to figure out a way to find them, I doubt they want to be found" Lucy added, she glanced at Natsu and noticed that his eyes were locked on to hers, this intense look in Natsu's eyes made Lucy shiver and look away, not out of disgust or neglect but out of light embarrassment and fluster.
After a few moments of thinking and occasional glances between Natsu and Lucy, Happy spoke up "I can fly around tonight and see if I can spot them? My cat Exceed eye's work well in darkness~" he spoke proudly, Erza and Lucy smiled and nodded.
"Good idea, you can carry a communication lacrima with you to let us know their location, we should split up into pairs if they decide to spit up, Lucy and I will take one, Natsu and Gray, you take the other one, okay?" Erza planned and ordered. The boys just nodded their heads, not wanting to oppose Erza's orders.
With that, the boys left to prepare and freshen up before the battle, meanwhile the girls had decided to take a bath together, as the tub was huge, big enough to fit both. They sat in the bubbly, hot water and soaked in silence.
Erza was the first to break that silence "Hey Lucy, have you noticed the way Natsu's been lately, especially around you?" she asked, curious if Lucy had noticed or not.
Lucy blushed faintly and looked down a little before nodding "Yeah… I've noticed… I mean he's always been protective of his friends and cares for them… but lately, especially after Extalia… He's been looking at me intensely, like he is looking for an answer he desperately needs and the answer is somewhere on my face…" she answered before looking up at Erza who was nodding and combing out her red locks with her fingers.
"Yes… not only that but he has been protecting you to a greater extent lately and checking up on you, it's like he feels agitated if he leaves your side" she chuckles, Lucy pouts, clearly embarrassed. Lucy wasn't stupid, the thought of Natsu having feelings for her had gone through her mind a few times but she didn't want to make herself believe it… As last time she thought that it backfired terribly…
Erza could see that Lucy had the same inkling as her but was restraining it "Hmm… Well Natsu did mention that you were close to being executed in Extalia… Maybe the thought of you dying put him on edge?" she tried to reason, not wanting to just express that Natsu loved Lucy. The last thing Erza wanted was to have Lucy distracted in her own thoughts later tonight, that could put Lucy and herself in danger, but more so Lucy. And if her womanly instincts were correct, Natsu would surely regress to depression if anything were to happen to the blonde mage.
Meanwhile, in the boys' room, Gray had been watching Natsu for 20 minutes. Gray was ready for the battle, so he'd just turned on the TV and sat back, glancing at Natsu now and then. Happy had decided to take a nap before the battle and was curled up on the bed.
Natsu, however, after washing up and changing, just paced back and forth as if in deep thought and as if something was agitating him intensely.
"Dude!..." Gray called out to the pink haired dragon slayer, to get his attention and to have him stop pacing. "Seriously Natsu, what's wrong with you? You look like you're in pain when you think" Gray smirked. Natsu looked at the ice wizard and just scowled at his remark before pacing again "Maybe I should go and check up on the girls to see if they are ready or not" Natsu suggested, hoping Gray would think it was a good idea.
He did not.
Gray turned off the TV and sat up in his chair "Okay Natsu, what the hell is going on with you?" he asked, fully ready to have a once in a life time guy to guy chat.
Natsu looked at him, his arms crossed and fidgeting with his sleeve "What do you mean?"
"I mean, we left the girls 20 minutes ago, the battle won't begin for another 2 hours… and you've been super agitated ever since we left Erza and Lucy" He told him, noticing Natsu's flinch at Lucy's name. "Is there something you wanna get off your chest Natsu? Seriously, no joke, no games, no fights, If you wanna talk then I'm all ears" Gray said in a soft voice, wanting to know what's been going on, having a faint idea but wanting to hear it from Natsu.
After a few more paces Natsu finally sat still on the edge of his bed and looked down as he played with his scarf, not want to look at his rival as he spoke from the heart.
"Levy and Gajeel spoke to me yesterday… they had a similar question…" he started, Gray nodded silently in return and waited for Natsu to continue "They explained to me how Gajeel's dragon instincts work and how Levy was his life time mate… How dragons have only one romantic partner in their lifetime…" he spoke nervously, his face becoming hotter and redder by the second.
"And… Well…" Natsu didn't have time to finish before Gray spoke for him.
"Lucy is your mate?" the room became silent, so much so you could cut the air with a knife. After a moment Natsu nodded his head making Gray smile happily "Well that's great isn't it? I could see the way you look at Lucy and how you've become unable to be apart from her" he said enthusiastically finally knowing the truth about his buddy and rival.
Except, Natsu didn't look happy…
"What is it that's bothering you if not that? Do you not want her and this dragon instinct is making you feel something you don't want to feel?" Gray asked, trying to figure it out as he guessed Natsu wasn't open to sharing much more.
The fire Dragon Slayer shook his head "No… I really like Lucy… Gajeel told me that when you see your mate for the first time a heat washes over you… that happened to me when I met her… and the closer our bond becomes the more protective I feel over her… I love her Gray" he finally admitted looking up at the smiling ice wizard.
"That's great buddy! But that doesn't answer my first question… What has you so agitated?" he asked once more, letting Natsu take a breath and clear his throat.
"I just… I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't feel the same way… I mean… If she doesn't then okay, I just want her to have the happiest life possible! And if that means staying her friend then so be it" He explained "But… When I saw Gajeel and Levy… Gajeel had mark her as his own… he was at the happiest place a dragon slayer could be at… and well…" He sighed and looked down; again Gray finished his sentence.
"You want that feeling too…"
Natsu nodded and sighed "Gajeel said that he felt complete… when they… well… when he marked her, but also when she returned his feelings"
"Well you never know Natsu, Lucy might feel the same way about you" Gray exclaim trying to cheer up his roommate. Natsu shook his head "I've seen the way she looks at guys she's interested in… her heart beats faster, her face heats up… she looked at Laxus and you, and had those reactions… but never towards me…"
Gray didn't know how to respond, Laxus he understood; he was an attractive man and physically very fit. But himself?! That didn't sound right… "Natsu, I think you're wrong buddy… Lucy would never look at me that way, she's like a little sister to me, and Laxus I get, but she has only spoken to him once" he tried to convey and comfort.
Natsu only nods still disappointed.
"Natsu… Look at me" Gray finally said after a moment, Natsu complied "You'll never know how she feels about you until you ask her, after this mission, I suggest you find a quiet place and take her there, and discuss what you've discussed with me, you may be surprised, and to be honest, I think you'll like what you find" Gray smirks "I've seen the way she looks at you when you're not looking, I have a feeling she likes you too"
"But how can you know that?" Natsu asks sceptically looking at the ice wizard.
"Because, that's the way Juvia looks at me, when she's not being overly obsessive of course" he chuckled and finally got a smile and chuckle out of Natsu "There you go~ now stop worrying and get yourself pumped up for this battle! Its gunna be a good one!"
Natsu nodded his head and stood up with a big grin on his face "I'm fired up now!~"
Chapter 3 people 0-0 how did you like it? Not much action yet but lots of unacquainted love feels with NaLu~
Review and tell me your thoughts! Also fav if you wanna know when the next chapter is available! It shall be soon 0-0