Once again, I thank all of your for your reviews and feedback! I love it so much! Hearing from you guys really feeds my motivation to give you more of these two!

As promised (but not requested), the plot is returning - or, at least, finally showing up. Don't hate me, though! This story isn't over yet!

"Come on, Lucy, I think it's time to really try to get into the dating game."

"Try? Do you guys think I haven't been trying?" Lucy asked incredulously. The girls at the table just shrugged and mumbled, not making direct eye contact with the blonde. Lucy sighed and picked up her water, taking a drink of it.

"What about Natsu? I mean, it's been, what, about four months since you guys slept together that one time? I'm sure that -" Levy said, but Lucy shook her head quickly, nearly choking on her water.

"No… Um…" What am I supposed to say? 'No, sorry, I don't want to ruin the friendship we have, but, get this, we're actually still sleeping together!' Yeah. Right. "We finally got past what happened and are moving on from it. I don't want to compromise our… friendship."

"You won't even give it a chance? I know he's not the brightest, but you two already care for each other quite a bit," Erza said.

"Yeah, as friends. Like I said, I don't want to risk anything," Lucy said, casting her eyes downward. She really hated keeping such a big secret from her friends, but if she told them, things would be blown out of proportion, word would get out, and eventually, everyone would know that she and Natsu were, well, fuck buddies. But… has it really already been four months that they were sleeping together? Well, it's like they say - time flies when you're having fun.

"You won't get far in life without taking risks," Erza said, and damn, Lucy knew she was right.

"I know, and I do take risks, but this isn't one I want to take right now. Natsu and I are friends. Great friends, actually."

"Okay, so not Natsu," Juvia said, and Lucy wanted to grab her in a tight hug and thank her repeatedly for getting off the Natsu-topic. "But Juvia will kill you if you go after her Gray."

"I'm not interested in him!"

"Of the years you've been here you've met so many new people. Surely one of them has caught your interest," Levy said.

"Any of the guys here, perhaps? Freed?" Mira added. She had not initially heard about her and Natsu, but she somehow had her ways of finding things out. This happened to be one of the things.

"Um… He's a little… strange. Plus I don't know if I could go on dates and listen to him talk about how much he idolizes Laxus. Really, though, I couldn't date any of the guys here. It would just be too weird, especially if we were to break up," Lucy said.

"So someone from another guild..." Levy said, tapping her chin in thought.

Natsu's jaw clenched so hard it was a wonder his teeth didn't crack against each other. It's not like he was trying to eavesdrop on the conversation all of the girls were having… It's just that for some reason now all of his senses were heightened when it came to Lucy and he wasn't sure why, so he couldn't exactly drown the conversation out even if he wanted to.

Natsu glanced up and over at the women sitting at another table, only to make direct eye contact with Cana's sharp, violet eyes. He swallowed thickly and looked away, quickly trying to engage in a conversation with Gray to appear as though he wasn't eavesdropping.

"I know," he heard Cana say when she turned back to the ladies, "how about about Hibiki?" Natsu promptly choked on the piece of bread he had just eaten, quickly trying to wash it down with the mug sitting in front of Gajeel, who, luckily, was turned away for the time being. But when he turned back to a mug empty of beer, he cast a dark glare at the fire dragon slayer.

"Hibiki? No way, all of those men from Blue Pegasus are total flirts. I don't know if I'd be able to trust him to be loyal," Lucy said.

"I'm sure that when he wants to settle down, he can. Maybe it's worth a shot?" Levy suggested with a shrug.

"Besides, he's pretty great in bed," Cana said, and Natsu saw her wink at Lucy. He didn't realize his hands were burning the table until Gray shouted at him and stopped the flames from spreading with ice.

"Cana!" Lucy shouted, her face burning bright red. "How would you even know that?"

"Grand Magic Games," was all she said with a shrug, taking a drink. "He's very attentive to a woman's needs."

"Still… I don't know. I'm okay with how things are right now," she said.

"One date," Cana said. "See how it goes. And if the date doesn't go well, you can still fall back on a night of sex. It's a win-win situation, if you ask me."

"Well…" Lucy said thoughtfully, then remained silent for a moment, and it was all Natsu needed.

"I just remembered something I needed to do," he muttered to the two men who were paying him no mind anyway, then abruptly stood from the table and stormed out of Fairy Tail, not caring how loud the door slammed behind him.

Lucy had jumped at the sound, turning around. The table she knew Natsu was sitting at was now empty of him, only leaving Gajeel and Gray, who didn't really seem phased.

Where did he run off to?

"W-was it really worth causing such a scene for this?"

"Are you really asking me that?" Lucy let out a breathy laugh at his response, leaning back to place her hands on Natsu's thighs as she rolled her hips on top of his, moaning at the feeling of him penetrating so deeply within her.

"All I'm - fuck - saying is that you raised a few eyebrows."

"I'm sure I'd have raised more than a few if I stood up and told everyone that I was gonna be waiting for you at your place so we could fuck," Natsu grunted, his head falling back against the pillows of her bed, his eyes dragging up her body. He was gripping her hips, dragging her back and forth over his cock as she also rose and fell on him.

His hands were rougher than they had been in a while as they slid up her body and grabbed onto her breasts, and it sent relief through Lucy. She had scolded him the last few times for being too soft on her, and once it even sent the two into an argument (one that didn't end in sex). Natsu got dressed and said he wasn't feeling quite himself, and left. Lucy chalked it up to exhaustion, as they had just gotten back from a tedious quest.

"It still wasn't quite like you to leave like that."

"Guess I just wanted to leave you to your date-planning," Natsu said through his teeth. Lucy's eyes widened and she straightened, her hands flying to her mouth as she flushed bright red.

"Oh my god, you heard that?"

"Not like I could help it."

"The girls, uh... seem to think I need a boyfriend..."

"And Hibiki's the answer?" Her face flushed further.

"Why are we even having this conversation?"

"I'm a curious guy," Natus said with a shrug, then thrust upwards when she wasn't moving as much as she had been.

"C-Cana thinks it is, but I'm not so sure. I'm f-fine with how things are right now."

"Probably cause you got a giant dick in you."

"Oh, shut up," Lucy said with a roll of her eyes, placing her hands on his chest and moving harder against him. He groaned, and she was pleased with the response. Natsu then twist his hips and flipped them over, a yelp sounding from Lucy. When she landed on her back, she stared up at him with wide eyes that soon narrowed, and she slapped his bicep.

"Don't do that! You scared the shit out of m- ahh!" Lucy threw her head back against the pillows when he began thrusting into her at an unforgiving pace, his hands still grasping at her breasts. He leaned down to her ear and bit at her earlobe.

"You think a pretty boy like that will be able to fuck you like this?" he growled, giving a hard pinch to her nipple. Lucy gasped, her back arching in pleasure, but her eyes narrowed at him and how seemingly possessive he had become. "You think he can give it to you hard and dirty the way you like it?"

"That doesn't matter," Lucy snapped, her nails digging into his back.

"Just answer the question, sweetheart."

"I'm not -" Natsu pulled back to look at her face and grabbed her jaw in a tight grasp.

"Humor me," he growled through clenched teeth, then crashed his lips to hers in a rough kiss that melted Lucy to the core, her eyes falling closed. Natsu didn't linger, though, and pulled his mouth from hers.

"No!" Lucy gasped immediately after he had pulled away, her eyes closed tight as her back arched, breasts pressing against his chest. Natsu moved harder against her.

"No what?"

"N-no, he couldn't! Fuck, I'm gonna cum!" A feral noise sounded from Natsu's throat and he buried his face in her neck, gripping at the sheets on either side of her as he moved faster and harder, seemingly no longer in control of his body; overcome with an animalistic desire to claim the woman below him and make her scream his name.

And scream she did, though it wasn't exactly coherent enough to be his name, but he knew it was implied, and she clenched tightly around him as she came undone. Natsu wasn't slowing down, though, and kept at his uncontrolled pace, unable to register the sound of the bed scraping against the floor with each powerful thrust that shifted the structure.

Finally, Natsu was nearing the end and he bit down hard behind her ear, causing her to cry out again. He buried himself within her to the hilt, and released all he had, then fell over her, but was there for only a moment before he pulled himself up and got off her bed, straightening his clothes.

Lucy raised a hand to where he had bit her, touching the tender area and propping herself up on her elbow to look at him. He met her eyes only for a brief moment, then turned away, leaving her apartment without another word.

What the hell was that all about? Where she normally preferred for the two of them to part shortly after their coupling, there was just something off about this time. Natsu seemed… different. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. He was rough with her, yes, but it wasn't the first time. He also had a thing about marking her, but normally did it below the collar. And while she could easily hide this mark with her hair, it, again, just seemed different.

Then there was that look in his eyes that she couldn't identify. Pain? Anger? Indifference?

Doesn't matter. Why am I even bothering to look into it? Lucy stood and went into the bathroom to clean herself up before slipping beneath her covers and turning to face the window, looking out into the darkening sky before letting the exhaustion settle in.

A week later and Natsu was still trying to figure out what the hell happened to him the last time he and Lucy were together. It was like some weird, out-of-body experience and he knew that he wouldn't have been able to control himself even if he wanted to. It was like some strange, all-consuming desire to just take Lucy and use her for his own pleasure.

He didn't exactly like the thought of that - using her for his personal gain in such a way. Though, she certainly seemed to enjoy it, even if the memory of it all was somewhat foggy to his lucid mind.

Was it jealousy? Yeah, he hated the idea of Lucy being with some other guy, but he was normally so much better at keeping his feelings at bay if need be, or masking them with something else. In that moment, though, it was like everything broke free, and he had no way of stopping it.

Natsu shook his head. It shouldn't matter, though. He and Lucy had sex, and he left - as per their agreement. It would happen again and again until…

Until what? We get tired of each other? We find someone else? A sickening feeling settled in his gut. He didn't like that idea, either. Though, Lucy's made it pretty clear she wants nothing more from me than sex and a friendship. Right. That won't make things difficult at all.

Almost five months ago, he thought that entering into this agreement with her was the best idea he had ever had. Now, though, he was hating himself for it. He'd rather not have had her any more than those three times than to have her and lose her all at the same time.

"Natsu! Great job on the mission! It's been a while since we fought together," someone said, tearing Natsu from his thoughts, and he turned to see Macao grinning at him. Natsu flashed him his signature smile.

"Yeah! It was a nice refresher!" Lately, Makarov had decided to have a little fun and assign a few wizards to a mission at his choosing, or their volunteering. The rule was that, for the missions he chose, you couldn't fight with someone who you had already formed a team with. Makarov explained that this was to help people become familiar with others and their magic, so that if they were ever caught in a situation with people they didn't normally fight with, they would still have somewhat of a strategy on how to fight the threat together.

And so, few days ago, Natsu, Macao, and Evergreen were singled out for a mission dealing with some bandits that had been harrassing the villagers in a nearby town, and the three had managed to find them and take them down within three days. It wouldn't have taken nearly that long if he were with his regular team, but this was exactly Makarov's point.

Macao waved at him before disappearing inside the guild hall, but Natsu didn't follow; instead he continued walking, hoping to ease his mind a little.

What happened the other night didn't leave Natsu and Lucy on bad terms, and the two were teasing each other the very next day - like always, as though nothing was going on between them. Right now, he wanted to see her, though not for the reasons of their agreement. He liked having her friendship and being near her, teasing and talking like they normally did. It just sounded nice and comforting right now.

And it wasn't long before he picked up her scent, a smile crossing his lips as he began to follow it further into town. Soon enough, he even picked up the sound of her laughter, following it to Magnolia's market area.

In hindsight, Natsu realized he should have focused more on the surrounding scents and voices. Perhaps it could have prepared him for what was around the corner he was turning.

There Lucy stood, a smile on her lips and a laugh on her tongue, her chocolate eyes twinkling as she stared up at the person currently handing her a rose in a very theatrical manner.

Hibiki Lates.

Immediately, Natsu wanted to brush it off as a random encounter, but really, what would someone from Blue Pegasus be doing here? Surely he'd have heard if there were anything going on that Magnolia needed them and Fairy Tail for.

And Lucy doesn't just curl her hair in loose waves and dress herself up in that black and white dress of hers just for a casual outing.

Lucy had taken Cana's advice, after all.

Like I said, don't hate me! I needed to throw in a little something-something to give this story a side of plot with the porn! (Also, why Hibiki? Idk. Blame Cana). Let me know what you guys think (unless you're gonna yell at me, cause I know I did a dirty with this chapter)! Love you all!