Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, nor anything else associated with Fairy Tail. I only own the plot of the following story and my OCs who help move the story along. (Of course, some of the ideas for my OCs come from research on certain things, or if I found nothing on that, I created it for the sole purpose of this fanfic.)

Author's Note: Two chapters in one week. O.O Well, maybe I'll have some more out. So I hope you guys like this. It's starting to show more of Vesper and what his intents are. OH! and it's NaLu time. :3 This chapter was pretty fun. But we might not even see these two next chapter. Vesper is truly taking a form of his own. I hate when OC's do this... And sorry if Natsu seems very ooc. It's pretty hard for me to determine how he'd act and what he'd be thinking for parts of this. Well, I hope you enjoy. Comments are always welcome. :)

Chapter 6

"Natsu..." A gentle, caring tone floated through the air.

"We should be safe here."

Safe, Lucy though. Were they truly safe?

Vesper snapped his fingers, Natsu's flames vanished, and some of Vesper's henchmen appeared. Lucy felt herself being dragged to a different room. Where were these people taking her? What were they going to do with Natsu? They handed her a silk dress, willing her to put it on. It was simple enough, yet very open up top. They forced her to put the dress on, dressing her themselves.

She sat in there for what seemed to be an eternity, on a vanity bed surrounded by rose petals. Lucy deemed this attempt despicable, when Vesper entered the room.

"Thank god we lost them..." A shudder engulfed her entire body. Even though it was the middle of summer, the night air felt cold against Lucy's skin, causing goosebumps to form. She leaned against the wall of the cave/hut, her arms wrapped around her knees, tucked up against her chest.

"Natsu is it?" Vesper flicked his wrist, Lucy was taken, and Natsu was surrounded. "I think we'll play a little game."

"Let Lucy go! Or you'll pay." Natsu leered at Vesper.

"Well, Natsu. You seem to like her, quite a bit. We're going to have a little fun, Lucy and I. You'll get to watch the whole thing, from a separate room." Vesper turned around and strolled to the door. "Take him by any means necessary to the room."

"I'm gonna kill him. " Natsu stood close to the entrance, his forehead pressing his left arm up against the wall.

Natsu glared at Vesper through the glass. His blood began to boil, yet Natsu couldn't move. Vesper's men had knocked him out before tying him up. His chains appeared weak to him but Natsu had no choice but to watch the scene that began to unfold before him, for he was surrounded by Vesper's men.

Lucy sat silently. She slightly understood his anger. He would have acted this way had any other friends been the target of a vicious lecher, yet there was something there that Lucy couldn't exactly pinpoint. A different air wafted about him, almost a protective one.

As he approached, Lucy crept back until she hit something hard. Vesper leered at her and climbed onto the bed pinning Lucy between him and the wall. His face rested only a few inches away from hers. He turned his head towards a mirror. "Let's have a little fun, shall we?"

"That bastard..." Natsu's voice fell to a low murmur.

Vesper's eyes locked with hers. He grabbed her arms and put them above her head, against the wall. He leaned in and kissed her. He moved down to her neck. Lucy struggled to get away. She gathered up enough energy to push him off her. As she attempted to jump off the bed, Vesper grabbed her waist and pulled her back. He chained her hands to the bed. Lucy struggled to move and Vesper began to pull at her dress, ripping it.

He crawled on top of her. "You shall be mine."

Lucy rested her head against her knees. She closed her eyes, attempting to rest unsuccessfully.

Footsteps from Natsu slowly approached Lucy. Natsu stopped directly in front of her, softening his gaze. He himself had been bewildered by what had occurred. The moment Vesper had begun to touch Lucy... No! The look that Vesper had given her, full of lust, had lit a flame somewhere inside him. He had stopped thinking and let his emotions take over. He truly couldn't understand why he felt like this.

"Lucy..."

"Hmm?" She looked up at him with tired eyes.

"I..." His face turned bright red.

"Sit down." Lucy smiled softly to him. "You have to be tired after all that running and carrying me."

"You weren't exactly a light load. Haha."

Lucy glared at him briefly before putting her head back on her knees. Natsu sat down next to her.

Natsu's clothes remained tattered and torn. Lucy couldn't stand the outfit she was in. Having been torn partially by Vesper and their escape, she had managed to turn it into a top and skirt. If Lucy could have, she would have summoned Virgo and asked her to bring them some new clothes, but the her anklet continued to drain the majority of her magical energy.

Natsu's glowed bright red, having had to overcompensate for his sporadic behavior.

"Do you think Happy found everyone?" Lucy turned her head to look at Natsu.

Natsu nodded.

"Think they're searching for us?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course they're looking for us!"

"But will the find us?"

"Sooner or later."

Natsu's behavior surprised Lucy a bit. He was usually so fun, so very optimistic and energetic. "I guess the anklet and the fight left you drained, huh?"

Natsu remained silent.

"I'm sure it did." Lucy lifted her head, resting it against the wall behind her. "I don't even have enough magic energy to summon Virgo to get us clothes that don't look like rags." Sigh. "Natsu...thanks for getting me out of there."

Natsu flipped over onto his hands and knees in front of Lucy in a flash. He looked deep into her eyes. "Since when do I need to be thanked?" He blushed a bit. "You normally just smile at me. A smile is enough."

Lucy smiled, her cheeks turning red.

"Like that." Natsu sat back. "A smile is enough."

There was a long, content silence before Lucy said, "Since when are you so serious? Hmm?"

"Heh heh..." Natsu looked up at the ceiling, scratching the back of his head.

"And so overprotective of me?"

Natsu froze. "I..."

"Natsu..." Lucy looked to her right, away from him. "I have a question." Silence. "Do you li..."

On impulse, Natsu kissed Lucy. He didn't want her to finish that sentence. He was struggling with this understanding, yet why did he kiss her?!

Lucy sat shocked, her eyes wide, before she kissed him back. When Natsu pulled away, Lucy hugged him, her arms around his waist, her head buried into his muffler and neck.

Natsu wrapped his arms around her. "Maybe..." He buried his own face in her hair. "Maybe I do," he murmured.

Natsu noticed her breathing slow, felt her grow heavier. He pushed her away from him, only to pull her close once he lay down on the ground, his muffler now around Lucy for the night had grown colder. He rested her head on his chest, letting her take as much warmth from him as she could. That was one thing the anklet didn't affect.