Natsu laid still on the small mattress of the Fairy Tail Advanced Medical Center on-call room. Man, had he drawn the short straw tonight. After a long 6 hours in the OR listening to Gray and Gajeel go on and on about stupid shit during surgery, Natsu was stuck on-call for the night. Being on-call wasn't all bad. As long as he wasn't needed to perform any emergency surgeries he was able to sleep in a small, dark room just outside of the emergency wing. Unfortunately, sleep was rather difficult with the fluorescent lights spilling in under the crack of the door, and the high pitched noises of various medical technology pricking at your ears. Tonight, it wasn't the incessant beeping keeping Natsu awake, but the words of his fellow surgeons racking up anger and worry in his brain.

Natsu was sick of listening to those bastards lecture him about his relationship. Like they could talk! Stupid Lug Nuts was too scared to admit to a certain petite lab technician how he felt, and the two were practically inseparable at this point. And then there was that exhibitionist who was too chicken to either accept or reject the nurse who threw herself at him everyday. At least Natsu finally admitted his feelings to Lucy and asked her out on a proper date. Sure, it hadn't gone as planned, but he improvised. The past six months of their relationship were going quite well. He considered himself to be a pretty romantic guy when it came to courting his best friend, so he didn't understand why those two losers were telling him he would mess it up.

Flame Brain is too destructive to treat a woman delicately. He's gonna hurt her. True, Natsu has been known to get carried away and break equipment and maybe punch open the occasional wall when he's a little too fired up. Thankfully the Chief of Surgery, Gildarts, makes Natsu's destruction look mild. But Natsu could never hurt Lucy. When he was younger he might have had trouble being careful with people, but raising Happy from a newborn forced Natsu to learn how to be delicate. He may go overboard with inanimate objects, but he knew how to restrain himself with living creatures. Especially those he cared about.

Salamander is so stupid he probably doesn't even know where to stick it. Sure, Natsu was not the most experienced guy at FTAMC, but he knew about sex. He was taught extemporaneously by older males, same as any young man. Heck, there was a certain brunette nurse who would gladly tell anyone more than they wanted to know about female pleasure. I'm a surgeon for crying out loud, he thought, I don't think I would have passed medical school without a healthy understanding of human sexuality. He didn't understand why that pierced asshole was giving him shit for this. Just because wasn't a manwhore like Gray and Loke had been in college doesn't mean he's stupid. He just didn't understand the point in sex if there was no connection.

Speaking of a certain orange-haired oncologist, the worst of this bullshit came from Loke. The man really had no faith in the pink haired surgeon. Lisanna told Natsu she overheard Loke express to Lucy that he didn't believe Natsu could be serious enough for a real relationship. That had been back around their first date, and it seemed like his sister's death only made it worse. Loke seemed to take it upon himself to become Lucy's protector. Months later, the lion-faced playboy continued to lecture Natsu about "how to treat a woman" whenever they ran into each other. He criticized Natsu slyly with the little "lessons" he liked to dish out in the hall or cafeteria.

The ladies like their men to be smooth. Natsu knew he may not be the most sophisticated man, but he had his charms. He knew how to make her smile, and how to make her laugh. Their connection was too deep to be ruined by his goofiness. They had been best friends for years. Lucy was completely comfortable with him. He didn't have to worry that he would say the wrong thing or doing the wrong action. They would always be able to laugh it off.

You're too childish. She's your girlfriend, not your mom. Natsu never had a mom, so he couldn't really understand what Loke meant. As far as he knew, Lucy loved his child-like spirit. She said it was refreshing that Natsu could look at the world through the eyes of a child. She admired his purity, as if he was untainted by the strife they witnessed daily in their profession. Natsu could also be very mature and serious if he needed to. He knew what this world was like and had experienced more than his fair share of hardships. He just chose to focus on the wonder, adventure, and simplicity in life.

A princess deserves a knight in shining armor. Now this was something Natsu had heard many times throughout his life but never believed. He had watched movies and read fantasy books as a kid to know the dragons were the real heroes. Noble creatures who were charged with the sacred task of watching over a beautiful treasure. Knights looked after nothing but their ego, every dragon they slayed and princess they rescued was just another conquest. Dragons wanted to preserve the beauty of the princess, to keep her pure and unharmed. Natsu would never do anything to hurt Lucy. He would protect her with his life if he needed to. He would be there for her through anything.

Natsu's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the on-call room door. His furrowed brow softened and he sat up as the door opened to reveal the compassionate blonde who haunted his mind. "Hey, I was hoping you were asleep. I wanted to surprise you." She whispered with a smile as she entered the small room, quietly closing the door behind her. It was dark, but Natsu could see she was still dressed in her silk pajama set. "I was having a bad dream and I missed you. I thought seeing you would help settle my mind so I could go back to sleep." The blonde's tone was sheepish, almost like she was afraid to admit her desire to seek his comfort for a something as small as a bad dream.

"I, uh... was having a bad dream, too." Natsu rubbed the back of his neck before reaching a hand out to grasp her wrist, pulling her onto the small bed with him.

"Did your dream also involve an anthropomorphic bull and a half-man half-horse?" Natsu wasn't surprised that her tone was completely serious. That was just his Luce. He laughed at her before bending his neck to kiss her clothed shoulder. "What? You know those kinds of things creep me out." Her body shivered.

"You're such a weirdo." Natsu shook his head at his girlfriend. She stuck her tongue out at him childishly. "But I wouldn't have it any other way. I guess I can be a bit of a weirdo too." She giggled and pushed him back to a laying position. The couple had to curl up in order to fit together on such a small bed, but they managed to find a comfortable position as sleep began ascend their bodies.

"I mean, he wasn't even like a centaur, Natsu. The creature literally had the body of a man and a human face, but then he had a horse head on top of his own head. He even had hooves. It was like a bad mascot that came to life!" Lucy yawned, still clearly bothered by her strange dream. Natsu just smiled at her concerns and kissed the back of her head. He was amazed how his every worry was wiped away by the innocence of her presence. She had a bad dream and sought him out. She drove across Magnolia to sleep next to him in a tiny twin bed. There was no more doubting that the pair was perfect for each other. Natsu smiled, closed his eyes, and pulled his arms around her tightly. Not another word was said as the couple drifted off, sleeping peacefully.

An hour or so later a loud beeping woke the pair up as Natsu was being paged for an emergency surgery. He carefully maneuvered out of the bed to find out more information, trying not to disturb her form. He slid out the door to the nurses station to find out what he was needed for before turning back to the on-call room to check on Lucy. She was curled up in a little ball. Her eyes opened as the door let more light into the room, but Natsu could see she was hardly awake. "What's the matter, Natsu?"

"It's just an appendectomy, Luce. Why don't you keep sleeping? By the time I'm done it will be time to leave. I'll wake you then." Natsu suggested.

"That sounds good. Then we can start our day off. I think I'm probably going to require more cuddling." The blonde closed her eyes and turned away from the door.

"Aye, sir."