Lucy sat next to Natsu sitting on the ledge, their legs dangling, their toes dipping in the water. To go with the spirit of it being a date, Happy had stayed at the guild hall with Carla and Pantherlily. Lucy couldn't remember ever hanging out with Natsu it being just the two of them, she was pretty sure it had never happened.
Surprisingly their day had been wonderful and not awkward. He was a different Natsu, while at the same time not changing at all. He still had his dense moments, sometimes yelled when there was no reason for it, and ate like an animal. But there were small things that were different. He seemed to pay more attention to the fact that Lucy was a girl, and maybe not a friend on the same level as everyone else. He also would touch her differently. Resting his hand on her lower back as they walked, or lightly touching her arm as they waited in line.
Lucy sighed happily and looked up at the night sky. Looking at the patterns the stars made caused her to think about her Celestial spirits. She hadn't been in a battle since Bone Crusher, so she hadn't seen any of them for awhile, except for Plue her Nicola spirit because he was her pet, and Loke, who every so often would drop by just to make sure she didn't forget about him. Then again ever since Loke went back to the Spirit Realm he did check in on Fairy Tail regularly, since he was still technically a member of the guild, while also being Leo the Lion of the Zodiac spirits. Lucy looked over at Natsu and playfully splashed his legs using her feet. He laughed and splashed her back.
"Easy Lucy, if you turn this into a fight I will win!" Natsu laughed, splashing her harder.
"Oh yeah? Is that a challenge?" Lucy flirted.
They started splashing each other more and more, pretty soon they were both almost soaking wet. They didn't notice though, because they were having fun. Lucy decided to take it a step further and reached her hand down to touch the water, planning on taking a big scoopful and getting Natsu right in the face. But this didn't work the way she wanted it to. She lost her balance and fell into the water, on instinct she grabbed Natsu to try and catch herself but only ended up pulling him in with her.
She splashed into the water and opened her eyes. She looked up and could see the blurry light of the moon. Kicking her feet and pumping her arms she swam for the surface. She broke the water's surface with a gasp and started laughing, but she didn't see Natsu.
"Natsu?" She called out, frantically looking around. "Oh my gosh, can he not swim?!"
She felt something grab her foot, and then she was pulled under. Nasty tasting water went into her mouth and down her throat. Opening her eyes she got startled, Natsu was right in front of her face with a huge smile on his. He waved at her, pushed her away, and then swam up. Lucy blew bubbles out of her nose and chased after him.
Natsu was already laughing when Lucy surfaced. She started coughing because of the water she had swallowed. Once her coughing fit had ended and she caught her breath she started laughing too. She used her arm to skim the top of the water and force a wave in Natsu's face. He looked at her, his pink hair falling in front of his eyes, a sly smirk on his face. She put her arms up to guard herself, assuming he would get her back with more water.
He looked at her, and in that moment it felt right. He reached his arms out beneath the water and grabbed Lucy by the waist, pulling her against him. He kissed her, and this time he did it more naturally. It wasn't forced, it wasn't awkward. She didn't pull away at all, allowing her hands to find the back of his head, holding him there. He pressed his hands into her lower back pressing her into him until there was no more space. Men on a passing boat whistled and clapped at them.
They stopped kissing and looked towards the boat, waving and smiling at the men. Torn out of the moment they got themselves out of the water, their clothes drenched. Lucy started to shiver, the night hair mixing with the water on her skin and giving her goosebumps. Natsu looked over at her and noticed her shivering, and noticed the redness in her face.
"Want me to dry you off?" He smiled.
"No, I'm pretty sure you would burn me." She laughed.
"Oh, that's right." Natsu chuckled.
Lucy cleared her throat and stood up. She didn't know what to do next. Natsu stood up as well and turned to her. He looked as easy going and friendly as always. As if what had just happened in the water was nothing. Lucy didn't know if he was just good at hiding what he was really feeling, or if he wasn't as flustered and turned on as she was. She had never felt this way before. It was new to her. Then again, she had never been so close to a guy before either. Her body tingled all over, her face felt warm. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she felt like she had butterflies in her stomach.
"Uhm, I think I'm going to go home. Get out of these wet clothes." Lucy said shyly.
"Okay. I had a lot of fun today. See you tomorrow?" Natsu smiled.
"Of course. I had fun too. Goodnight Natsu." Lucy smiled back.
He gave her a hug goodbye and they parted ways. Lucy started her walk home, shivering in her wet clothes, not turning back to watch as Natsu left even though she really wanted to. She wished he had asked to come home with her, even if it made her feel embarrassed that she felt that way. She also wished that he had kissed her goodbye, instead of just giving her a friendly hug. Natsu was almost as unpredictable as the fire he used to fuel himself. His touch also made Lucy feel like she was bathed in flames.
"Geez Lucy, snap yourself out of it." Lucy laughed at herself.
000000000000000000000000000000
Levy and Ember sat at the breakfast table at Ember's place, scanning through numerous books and taking down notes if they deemed it fit to do so. So far they had found nothing. There wasn't anything in any of the books that hinted towards why the dragon slayers were getting a weird feeling from the air. And if there was anything, the girls couldn't find it. And if they couldn't find it, then the guys wouldn't be able to either. Laxus and Gajeel had gone out into the night, taking Nunu with them. They both enjoyed the hellhound, and probably felt tough hanging out with one, at least that's what Levy thought. But she did think it was cute. Gajeel acted tough all the time, but when it came to animals he seemed to have a soft side.
"Levy, this is just useless!" Ember whined, slamming her hands down on the table.
"I know. But this is all we can do. Right?" Levy sighed, leaning back in her chair.
"Yeah. I can't think of anything else. Can you?"
"Nope."
The girls sat there, staring down at the books, at the paper with random scribblings all over it. They couldn't make sense of anything. They couldn't find any hidden meaning. They were snapped out of their trance when water splashed everywhere. The books were wet, the paper was wet and now the writing smudged, their faces were wet. They gasped and jumped out of their chairs in shock having no idea what had happened.
On the table was Natsu, dripping water from every inch of his body. The top of the table was now a giant puddle. There were water marks on the window that he had come in through. Levy looked at Natsu in awe, having no idea why he would be soaking wet. Ember didn't even know how to react. She was angry that the books were wet and all their notes, but at the same time seeing Natsu in his current state made her want to laugh.
"Why in the world are you all wet?" Ember asked.
"Stop trying not to laugh. You can laugh." Natsu said. Ember and Levy immediately started laughing. Natsu sat and waited until they were done. "done?"
"Yes, sorry Natsu." Levy giggled, wiping her eyes.
"Let me get you something to put on." Ember said, still laughing.
She went over to her dresser and opened the bottom drawer. She didn't know if she even had anything she could put Natsu in. He was smaller than she was. Oh well, she figured, at least it was dry. She took out a plain shirt and a pair of plain shorts and tossed them at Natsu. He caught them and jumped off the table.
"They will probably be big on you." Ember said.
"That's fine. At least they are dry." Natsu smiled.
"Exactly!" Ember laughed.
Then Natsu started to strip. Levy and Ember turned red in the face and both turned their backs to him as fast as they could. At the same time, Gajeel and Laxus walked through the door with Nunu. The large beast ran at Ember, jumping up and licking her face. Then he jumped down and circled Levy, panting and nudging her hand so she would pet him. The girls could feel the tension in the room. They side glanced over at the door, Gajeel and Laxus standing frozen in place, looking between the half naked Natsu and the embarrassed girls. Natsu finished getting changed and threw his wet clothes in a corner.
"What….are….YOU DOING?" Laxus yelled.
"I'm going to beat your ass!" Gajeel growled.
"Ember just gave me a change of clothes. Mine were all wet. " Natsu said in a calm voice. He clearly didn't understand what he just did and why it could be a problem.
"Then change in the bathroom!" Laxus gasped. "Are you that dense? No. Don't answer that."
" Oh! Sorry!" Natsu laughed, finally realizing that he had just stripped his clothes off in front of Ember and Levy.
"You can turn around girls. He's dressed." Gajeel huffed, walking over to the table.
The girls turned around and both reached towards Gajeel as if in an effort to stop him, just as he sat on a chair that was wet from Natsu's entrance. He jumped up with a shout, grabbing his now wet butt. He looked around confused.
"W-Why is the chair wet? Why is there water everywhere?" He shouted.
"Natsu came in the window soaking wet. Got water everywhere." Levy giggled.
"You really need to start using the door, punk." Laxus said to Natsu as he walked over to the bed and sat down.
"WHY WERE YOU SO WET?" Gajeel yelled at Natsu.
"Oh yeah about that. Please, do tell. And while you are at it, at least hang your wet clothes out the window." Ember said.
Natsu nodded at Ember and grabbed his wet clothes from the corner, and then hung them out the window. Gajeel had found a dry chair and was now sitting down. Levy jumped on his lap. Ember went and laid down on her bed, putting her legs over Laxus's lap, Nunu jumping up and joining them, almost taking up the entire bed. They were all sitting and waiting for Natsu's explanation.
"Me and Lucy fell in the river." He said.
"How did THAT happen?" Ember gasped.
"Well we went out on that date we had to go on, cause of that game Gramps made us play. And we were splashing each other just messing around and then we fell in." He shrugged.
"Aww that's cute!" Levy chirped.
"Cute?" Gajeel just looked at her.
"Is that all?" Ember asked suspiciously.
"Yeah." Natsu lied. Ember knew he was lying, but she didn't push it.
"Well guys, I think it's time everyone went home. I'm ready for bed." Ember yawned.
No one argued with her. They all gathered their things, said their goodnights, and then left. Gajeel and Levy through the door, Natsu through the window. Ember shoved Nunu off the bed and looked at Laxus. He tackled her and she let out a loud laugh.
00000000000000000000000000000000
"Mira, can I get some breakfast?" Ember asked as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with her knuckles.
She had woken up and came right to the guild hall. She didn't have any specific reason, she just had felt like it. She dragged herself onto a stool and put her head down on the bar. She wasn't even fully awake yet. She didn't even have Nunu turn into a scythe and come with her. He was curled up on the bed at Laxus's feet still. Laxus probably still snoring.
"Why are you here so early? And where is Laxus?" Mira asked laughing.
"I don't know why I am here. It's like I'm on autopilot. And he's at my place sleeping next to my dog." Ember said.
"Aw that's sweet. But it's kind of weird, you aren't the only one to show up like this." Mira said, looking out at the tables.
Ember lifted her head off the bar and followed Mira's eyes. While some of her guild mates were wide awake and going about their normal daily routines, there were a couple in the same state as she was. Wendy was sitting at a table nodding off, obviously having a hard time waking up. Gajeel was sitting across from her yawning. But Levy, Carla, and Pantherlily were nowhere to be seen.
"It seems to only be you dragon slayers. But, not all of you." Mira nodded.
Just then someone else walked in. But it wasn't a dragon slayer. It was Gray. He was rubbing at his eyes and dragging his feet. He sat down at a table and put his face in his hands, not even looking around.
"I guess not just dragon slayers." Ember said in a low voice.
"Mm. This is odd." Mira said, and then went off to grab Ember some breakfast.
000000000000000000000000000000
"Hey Lucy wait up!"
Lucy turned around to see Natsu and Happy coming after her. She stopped and waited in the street, smiling at them both. They finally caught up with her and they continued walking to the guild hall. Both of them had woken up to a telepathic communication from Warren, telling them to go there as soon as they could. They had already been awake when the message came through, so they had taken their time getting ready and then headed out. It was only coincidence that they would run into each other.
They walked together in silence, not saying anything about what happened the night before. It was very heavily on Lucy's mind but she didn't want to be annoying about it. Natsu didn't look like he had been up all night in distress, so she figured saying anything might not be a good idea anyways.
When they arrived they noticed a lot of other people had already gathered, and Master Makarov was at his usual place on top of the bar. He had a drink in his hand and watched them as they went and joined Gray and Juvia at a table. Apparently Lucy and Natsu were not the only guild members to get Warren's message. Juvia had gotten it to. Gray said he didn't, but he woke up with a weird feeling to just go to the guild hall, so he practically slept walk there. This made Natsu point and laugh at him.
"Shut up fire for brains. I'm not in the mood for your crap today." Gray growled.
"Ooh is Gray being a little ice brat today?" Natsu laughed.
Gray jumped across the table and got in Natsu's face. They started bickering as usual, and the girls just ignored them. Happy cheered Natsu on from the edge of the table.
After some time had passed and pretty much all guild members had made their way into the guild hall, Makarov knocked his staff on the bar to get everyones attention. He had a grave look on his face, and this made people uneasy. He waited until everyone was giving all of their attention to him and not a single person was left talking.
"Good morning, I am glad to see you all finally made it." He said, breaking the silence. "I had Warren send out a message with his telepathy to all guild members within Magnolia. Some of you got it while you were sleeping and this caused you to instinctively come here, even though you were still half asleep. I hope you are all awake now. The rest of you got the message when you fully woke up. That's why I assume everyone kept showing up at different times. This is important, so I need all of you to pay attention."
Ember, Wendy, Gajeel and Gray were all finally fully awake. But they didn't like the sound of this. Why would the Master have to send out a telepathic communication? And so early in the morning? All of the wizards were pretty much on the edge of their seats. The group of dragon slayers tensed up, since they had been feeling something wrong lately. Lucy and Levy got tense too, seeings how they knew of the dragon slayers feelings after the meeting in Ember's room. Erza was sitting at the Master's side, her arms crossed over her chest and a serious look on her face. If Warren's message didn't hint to something serious going on, the look on Erza's face definitely did.
"Don't toy with us gramps," Natsu said.
"Yeah, just spit it out. The tension is making me uncomfortable." Gray nodded.
"Bone Crusher has been found. And there is also another enemy. He is responsible for this other enemy, but they are not at the same location. Both of them must be defeated before they can go any farther with whatever they have planned. Fairy Tail isn't working alone on this. Other help will be at the location when you arrive. Two different groups will be sent out, and I have thought very carefully about how these groups were put together and why. No one is to argue with me about it." The Master said in a very serious voice.
"Bone Crusher? Not again!" Lucy cried out.
The guild hall erupted into panicked murmurs. Everyone was talking at once and it started getting loud. Makarov made his fist large with his giant magic and slammed it down on the bar hard enough to make everyone jump. Silence resumed, and their attention was back on him.
"The team that will go out to Bone Crusher's location is Erza, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, and Juvia. Freed will set a barrier of runes that will specifically not allow anyone seen as an enemy by those inside to enter the barrier. This will allow battle from a distance. Juvia can turn into water, so she can leave the barrier without the risk of having her bones crushed. This is a huge advantage. The Thunder Legion works amazingly well together and are close to impossible to beat when they are united. This is why I chose this team. Erza is going because she simply refuses to stay behind."
"I refuse to stay behind! I want to go beat this guy!" Gray shouted.
"Me too!" Natsu yelled, his fist in the air.
"Gray, anyone else injured by Bone Crusher will not be going. Only Erza. Natsu, you will be going to the other location." Makarov said.
"Juvia will get revenge for you Gray." Juvia said in a low voice. She seemed timid, but in reality she was ready to kill the man that had hurt Gray. She wouldn't stop fighting until she did.
"The second group will be going to the other location and fighting a very dangerous enemy. I cannot stress this enough. Gajeel, Laxus, Natsu, Wendy, and Ember."
"All the dragon slayers?" Levy asked. This set off a torrent of people asking questions all at the same time. Makarov slammed his fist down again. Silence.
"Master. Is there a dragon?" Mira asked, her hands over her chest.
"Don't ignore her Master! Answer her!" Cana shouted.
"I'm taking your silence as a yes, Gramps. There is a dragon." Laxus sighed.
"It's not a definite. But it's a huge possibility. If the evidence is correct, then yes, there is a dragon." Makarov sighed.
"WHAT IF IT'S IGNEEL?" Natsu shouted at the top of his lungs.
"It is not Igneel. This dragon is our enemy. This is not a dragon that raised you." Makarov answered.
"Master…..Acnologia…." Lucy whined.
"What?" Ember gasped.
"It's possible." Makarov sighed.
"No. Why? Why would it be?" Ember asked frantically.
"The only dragon that has been seen by anyone in recent years is Acnologia. Not including the ones that came from 400 years ago at the Magic Games. They were sent back." Freed explained.
"But….he wouldn't be working with this Bone Crusher guy. He hates humans, he won't work with them. And he's only summoned by Zeref." Ember said, her fists shaking.
"Maybe Zeref summoned him again, to work with this guy." Gray suggested.
"No. I'm telling you, it's not my dad. Trust me." Ember cried, tears spilling down her face.
"But you all need to be prepared incase it is Acnologia. He is the biggest threat we have ever seen. And even when Laxus, Wendy, Gajeel, and Natsu fought him on Tenrou Island, it had almost no effect." Makarov said in a stern voice.
"So what makes you think it will have an effect now?" Lisanna whimpered.
"Like I said, more help will be meeting you at the location. I believe the teamwork of a large team of dragon slayers can defeat any dragon. A properly conducted unison raid could mean the difference between victory and defeat. Pair that with the chance that at least one of you will utilize Dragon Force. And I think we have a good chance." Makarov said, a hint of hope in his eyes.
"No." Ember said. She was shaking. Tears still flowing. Laxus tried to grab her in his arms but she smacked him away.
"Ember…." Laxus gasped.
"It's not….my dad." She choked. And with that she ran out of the guild hall.
"Laxus. Now is not the time to let people just run off on their own. Go after her. Don't let a rift come between you now." Makarov said sadly. Laxus nodded and ran after her.
The Master looked out at everyone and jumped off the bar. Him and Erza walked up to the second floor and left everyone to brainstorm and discuss the scenario. A lot of hearts were breaking.
"I can't believe I am stuck here." Gray snarled.
"I am too, Gray. But maybe it's for the best." Lucy sighed.
She couldn't get bad thoughts out of her head. She was scared to death. While her, Gray, and all the others were sitting safe at the guild hall one group of their friends were going to battle the man that nearly killed some of them not to long ago. And the other group of friends was possibly going to fight a dragon, which could turn out to be Acnologia. In Lucy's heart, she knew if it was Acnologia, that not everyone was coming home.
She turned to talk to Natsu, but he had already left.
0000000000000000000000000000
"Ember, please, wait!" Laxus called after Ember as she ran further into the woods.
She was out of breath, she had been for a long time, and she felt like she was going to drop gasping for air any second, but she was pushing herself. She knew Laxus was behind her, but she didn't want to stop. She didn't want to face him and explain her feelings, her reaction. It was better if she just got out of town. She would go back and get Nunu later.
"Ember dammit!Don't make me strike you down with lightning!" Laxus yelled.
"That will be the biggest mistake you ever make Laxus!" Ember called over her shoulder.
"Please, stop running. Talk to me."
She didn't stop running. But Laxus did. He yelled after her, "Fine. But I won't chase you. I didn't chase my father when he ran, and I won't chase you if you keep running. Because when you love someone, you don't force that love on them. You just force yourself to let them go."
His words hit her like a hundred swords. She stopped running, and in that moment she felt her entire body go weak. She had no energy left. She could barely take in a breath. Her heart pounded so hard she swore it was going to burst out of her chest. She felt like she was going to die for real, and she started to panic. But she pushed it aside. She turned around and used the last shred of her energy to run to Laxus. When she reached him she fell into him and he wrapped his arms around her, both of them dropping to the ground. Her entire body shivered violently as she tried to catch her breath. He buried his face in her hair and held her tightly. She took in his scent, the smell of a forming thunderstorm, clouds ready to burst with rain, the smell of electricity in the air, and she let it slowly calm her.
"Ssshh calm down. Breath Ember, breath. If it ends up being Acnologia, I won't fight him. If that's what you want. Even if it means I won't be fighting alongside my comrades. I won't fight your dad." He whispered into her hair.
"I would never…..ask you…..to do that." She gasped, still trying to breathe.
"I've turned my back on my comrades before. I was exiled. I wasn't always the person I am now. But I will do it for you. I will do fucking anything for you." Laxus said gritting his teeth, for the first time in a long while a tear dripped down his cheek.
"No. I still could never do that. This guild is my family too. Fairy Tail is everything to me. It gave me friends, a real family. You misunderstand my sorrow."
"What do you mean?"
Ember pulled away from him gently. She finally had her breath back. She wiped the tears from her eyes and grabbed Laxus's hand, holding it against her face. She kissed it, tears still streaming down her face. He looked down at her, not able to remember ever feeling this type of pain. His father had run off when Makarov had exiled him from Fairy Tail when Laxus was younger, and that caused him a lot of pain. Anything having to do with his father caused him pain. Seeing his guild in trouble now caused his heart to hurt, as did anyone hurting his grandfather. But this was different. Seeing Ember in so much pain made his heart break, it made him want to take down who or whatever was responsible for her tears. His body shook.
"If we have to fight Acnologia, Laxus. Not all of us will come back alive." She said quietly, and then collapsed back into his arms.
0000000000000000000000000000000000
Natsu sat watching the horizon from his and Lisanna's old spot from when they were kids. Happy was curled up next to him snoring. A dragon. He hoped from the bottom of his heart that it was Igneel, and that once Igneel and Natsu reunited there would be no fight. No one would get hurt, and he would see his dad again. But his gut told him differently. He knew it wouldn't be Igneel, because his dad would never align himself with someone like Bone Crusher. He wouldn't show up again to cause anyone harm. That wasn't Igneel. Natsu wasn't scared of dragons, he was confident in his strength and the strength of the other dragon slayers. He knew they could defeat a dragon. But he was honestly afraid that it would be Acnologia. Because if it was, he knew someone would either not return home to the guild, or would come home in really bad shape. Losing his friends, his family, that scared him.
He heard rustling in the trees behind him and stood up. When he turned around he saw Lisanna standing there, sweat dripping down her face, crying, and out of breath. She walked slowly towards him, and the look on her face made him feel his own sadness.
"Lisanna, what's wrong?" He asked, meeting her halfway.
"I'm scared….Natsu." She breathed.
"Of what?"
"That you won't come back."
He walked closer to her and grabbed her in a hug. She hugged him back tightly crying into his shoulder. The smell of her reached his nose. She smelled of honeysuckles and a summer breeze.
"I'm going to come back. We all are. Trust me." He said gently.
"But….what if….what if you don't" she cried.
"Lisanna. When you disappeared and we all thought you were dead, you came back. You came back to me. And I will always come back to you."
She pulled away and looked him in the eyes. He gave her the sweetest smile, and rose buds bloomed on her cheeks. She felt his fingers gently grip her chin and lift her face up, and then once again his lips were touching hers. But this time it was different. She threw her arms around his neck and he held her face in his hands. It was only her and him, the world disappeared.
Natsu finally knew what Ember was talking about. The feeling that you get, and that you will know it. His skin lit up like a thousand dancing flames. He had thought it was Lucy he would have felt this way with when he kissed her that time in the river, but he had been wrong. Of course he had some feelings where Lucy was concerned, but not on the same level as with Lisanna. She had been gone for a long time, and when she first returned he didn't think his feelings had returned with her. Not until recently. And at that moment, her face in his hands and nothing between them but their own skin, he now knew. He would come home to Fairy Tail. He would come home to Lisanna.