Hello everyone!
Once again, thanks to all of you who reviewed, faved, and alerted the story. I love reading your reviews and knowing that you are liking the story. To those of you I can't pm:
Derrick - I love Sitri Mira, too. I think her strongest Take-over is badass, and I had to make some mention of it. Glad that you liked that part.
Betta Fische - I hope there is enough fluff in this chapter for your liking. You'll probably hate me for cutting it off when I did, but I promise there will be more on chapter 4.
Shadow & Olly - Thanks for your all your enthusiastic love. I hoe you like chapter 3 too.
I've gone back to chapter 2 and fixed some typos I missed last time.
This chapter kind of wrote itself. Levy is finally making her debut, the two dragon-slayers are ready to make their moves, and Happy is back to his cheerful self and causing mischief again.
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.
"A Favor"
Chapter 3:
Natsu entered Lucy's apartment looking for his furry friend. He hadn't seen Happy at home when he returned from Gajeel's that morning, and he had worried for a moment. He assumed the blue cat would have preferred to stay with Lucy than to wait for him at their house, Lucy's was like their second home anyways, and that's why he had rapidly taken a shower and changed his clothes before heading to the apartment on Strawberry Street himself. Besides, he couldn't wait to see his mate either; he had some words he needed to get off his chest. Finally.
Both dragon-slayers had stayed up all night working on Lucy's ring. In fact, they were still working on it this morning, since they had to use their very intimidating gazes to persuade one of Magnolia's jewelers to sell them a raw diamond. Natsu preferred the unpolished stone better, and once they had convinced – or threatened, but who cared to correct him – the storeowner to sell them one of his best pieces, Gajeel had taken out the ring and secured the stone in place. The jeweler gawked at the iron mage's handiwork, "Did you make that ring, young man? It is absolutely stunning." The iron dragon-slayer turned to look at the elder, "That I did," he stated with pride, "but the cocky pink-haired idiot over there designed it," he concluded, as he pointed to a smugly smirking Natsu, who was resting his body on one of the store's white walls. See, I knew I had good taste, Natsu mentally complimented himself.
The storeowner now redirected his gaze towards the fire mage, "I think I remember you. It is for your mage girlfriend, right?" Natsu scowled, he hated the word "girlfriend" when applied to his relationship. What he had with Lucy was much more serious and long-lasting, "girlfriend" barely even began to describe it. Furthermore, the word only spoke of common human interactions, and, although he had no problem with the way most humans related to one another, he was damn proud of his dragon background. Igneel would always be his father, blood related or not. Being the son of a dragon comprised an important part of who he was, and dragons didn't doubt or have fleeting flings, they were determinate and had long-term commitments. Lucy was not his girlfriend; she was his mate.
Natsu would have preferred not to answer the nosy salesman's question; Magnolia was a small town and word spread quickly. However, he knew it would be stupid to deny it. "It is," he finally answered, not caring to correct the man for calling Lucy his girlfriend, and never dropping his menacing tone or his intense glare that, if anything, only intensified as he spoke, "and I'd appreciate it if you would keep this to yourself, old man. I really don't want anyone finding out before she does, or even worse, anyone sharing the information before I get I chance to tell her myself. I don't know what I might do if that happens…" The jeweler gulped; that kid had the most terrifying stare he had ever seen, and he had no intention of experiencing firsthand what "The Salamander of Fairy Tail" could do. He had heard and read enough to take the dragon-slayer's threat seriously, "N-No Wo-worries, yo-your secret is sa-sa-safe with me."
Gajeel watched the scene amusedly. He had never seen this side of the fire mage before, but he decided right then and there he would just have to take this other Natsu out to town for a night of fun one day. Lilly had accompanied him on a few occasions, but Gajeel knew the cat didn't find the activity as entertaining as he did. However, that look the other dragon-slayer had right now as he watched the jeweler quivering in fear told Gajeel everything he needed to know. That pink-haired bastard is enjoying this, gi hee!
When Natsu entered the apartment, he found Happy still sleeping soundly on Lucy's bed. He decided against waking him up, and instead made his way to where the heavenly smell of Lucy's French toast was coming from – the kitchen.
He found his mate already waiting for him, standing next to the kitchen's table that was set for three. Natsu wasted no time in getting her into his arms and kissed her deeply. He was in an unbelievably good mood this morning and his emotions overflowed into his lovemaking actions, making his burning kiss aggressive, lustful, and passionate from the moment his lips touched hers. They broke apart shortly after, both panting from the intense exchange. "I can see you had a good night," Lucy said, once she had steadied her breathing. The fire mage grinned, "Good morning to you, too. And, yes, I did."
He sat down on one of the chairs and pulled the stellar mage with him and onto his lap, still not ready to let go. "Happy slept here last night?", he asked.
Lucy nodded, "He did. In fact, he came back to my apartment last night to ask me if I knew why you and Gajeel were hanging out lately." Natsu was still looking at her, trying to keep his emotions in check. This woman could read him to perfection, and he couldn't let his expressions betray him at such a critical moment. "Really?", he asked, raising a quizzical brow, but keeping his smile. The blond giggled, "Yes, apparently, since I'm the queen of the weirdos, I'm supposed to know why others are acting weirdly, too." The dragon-slayer could tell the girl was actually amused by the entire situation, and that helped him relax. Now, he just needed to know what she had told his furry friend. "So, what did you tell him?", he asked, grinning slightly.
Lucy moved into a more comfortable position on the fire mage's lap, straddling him so she could look him straightly in the eye. "I told him the truth," she said, playing with the locks of pink hair on the nape of Natsu's head. "And that is…?", he pressed further, softly caressing her waist and enjoying her playing with his hair. "That you and Gajeel are better friends that you let on," came her soft reply. The dragon-slayer laughed, She really does know me better than anyone else, myself included.
Knowing his secret was still safe, Natsu felt ready to rekindle the fire from their previous make out session. However, before he could capture her lips once more, Lucy stopped him, placing a steady finger on his own lips, "Just talk to him, Natsu. He's lonely." As Natsu nodded his agreement, said little animal flew into the kitchen screaming a joyous "French toast!", which made both mages turn to look at him and greet him with a smile, "Good morning, Happy." The trio then sat down to eat their breakfast and enjoy their morning together.
Almost instantaneously after finishing his breakfast, Happy burst out of his chair and flew into Lucy's bosom. The amused blond wrapped her arms around the little blue fur ball and petted his little head. "Thanks, Lucy. That was the best! Almost as good as fish," she heard him say in a muffled voice. She giggled, "You're welcome, Happy." However, the Exceed barely enjoyed the embrace, since just as he heard the stellar mage's words leaving her mouth, he felt the telltale warmer hands of his foster father removing him from one of his favorite places in all of Earthland.
"Oh no, Happy, after that stunt you pulled the other day at the guild, there's no way you're getting anywhere near that special place," Natsu told the blue cat with a fake serious expression. Be strong, Natsu! You can do this!
"But Natsuuuu~!", Happy whined, trying to free himself from the fire mage's hold, now wearing what Lucy could clearly identify as a knowingly mischievous smile.
"No buts, fury traitor," Natsu countered, maintaining his serious façade and tightening his hold on the cat to prevent him from flying away. "You know what you did. Do you know how long is going to take me to repair the damage you caused?", the fire mage continued, trying to get his point across to the blue hairball he had for a son, and who seemed to absolutely not care one bit about the entire situation.
Lucy, who had been watching the two partners' exchange amusedly, decided to interrupt, "What exactly did he do, Natsu?" The dragon-slayer turned his attention to the stellar mage for a moment and then returned it to the Exceed in his hands, "Why don't you tell her, Happy?"
Lucy watched as the little creature turned to look at her with one of the most sinister smiles she had ever seen on him yet, "When you sent me to get Natsu for our mission the other day, I told the guild you refused to do his laundry, even if his flame underwear was 'adorably and ridiculously cute.' Aye!", Happy stated proudly. The stellar mage tried really hard to contain her laughter, especially when she saw the dragon-slayer getting embarrassed all over again. So that's why he was giving his laundry bag those dirty looks. She tried, but failed. Lucy let little sounds of laugher escape her mouth, which made Happy guffaw with pleasure, reveling in the further embarrassment of his foster father.
"Lucy!", Natsu whined. "You're supposed to be on my side!", he said, as he adopted one of his more childish personas. The blond only laughed harder. "I'm sorry, Natsu, but it's true. Your underwear is adorably and ridiculously cute," she managed to say between laughs. Happy felt the fire mage's hands relax as he redirected his attention to his life partner who continued to laugh. Taking this opportunity, he freed himself from the loosened embrace. He immediately activated his Aera and flew out of the dragon-slayer's reach. "I'm going to the guild to look for Charle and eat some fish while you cool off Natsu, see you later," he yelled, as he disappeared into Lucy's room.
Lucy's face suddenly got serious again. "Don't you dare take one of my ribbons again, you damned cat!", Happy heard Lucy yell as he made his way towards her window. "Too late," he replied as he flew out of there as fast as he could, grinning manically. His day had started so well today.
Back at the apartment, a pouting dragon-slayer stared at the giggling blond. "Do you know what Happy's comment did to my reputation, Lucy? I'm supposed to be fucking manly, respected, feared! I'm Fairy Tail's Salamander, salamanders aren't cute. I'm the freaking son of a dragon for Mavis's sake, I can't be cute!" Natsu insisted. The stellar mage continued to laugh at the dragon-slayer's tantrum, "Yes, yes, Elfman, whatever you say," she taunted. Male egos, she thought as she rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious, Lucy! You do know that if Happy tells that Ice-freak, he's never, ever, going to let it go, right?" And my day had start so well, Natsu sighted, Thanks a lot, Happy!
Lucy locked eyes with him and approached him, "But they are cute and adorable, fire dragon-slayer Natsu Dragneel," she said, in what Natsu recognized as a rather seducing tone. The stellar mage caressed his clothed chest, making her way down his body. When she reached his hips, she slid her hand through the fire mage's pants, letting her fingers play teasingly as they hung from his underwear's elastic band and moved from side to side, "And you know what?" she continued, "I absolutely love them."
The dragon-slayer growled, and wasted no time in lifting the girl up and carrying her back into her room, full grin back into his face. And it is looking up again! Have I thanked that devious cat yet? Extra-chubby fish for Happy!
Happy flew into the guild and went straightly to Mira's bar. He needed to stack on his fish supply fast, before Natsu had a chance to warn everyone about his so-called "punishment." He knew the dragon-slayer wouldn't be too hard on him; being "tough" on his own son was practically impossible for his foster father, and Happy knew this way too well. When he thought about Natsu starting a family of his own, he was sure that if it weren't for Lucy, their children would be the most spoiled kids ever… Kind of like me, he chuckled. As things stood right now, he was looking at a maximum of one week of having to smuggle contraband fish from the guild and of snuggling on Lucy's chest when the fire mage wasn't looking. He grinned; Mira would definitely help him, and Lucy would find the entire thing amusing. Hee, hee, I win!
"You're in a rather good mood today, Happy. I'm glad to see you're back to your old self," the beautiful bartender greeted him.
"Aye! I managed to annoy both Natsu and Lucy this morning!", Happy replied, without ever losing his joyful smile as he played with the blue ribbon he had stolen just minutes ago. Mira watched him amusedly, "So, I guess you're not upset about yesterday anymore?" The blue feline sat down on the bar's counter shaking his head, "Nope, I talked to Lucy last night and she explained the situation to me." The eldest Take-over sibling was elated, she could finally get some Intel on the Gajeel-Natsu mystery! "So, what is it?", she avidly asked the Exceed, eyes shinning with excitement. Happy looked up at her, "Lucy said Gajeel and Natsu are good friends, but they would rather die a thousand social and physical deaths before accepting it."
Mira stared back at the cat that, true to his name, was glowing with happiness. Lucy had a point, perhaps she had blown the entire episode out of proportion, perhaps the two dragon-slayers talking to each other wasn't such a big deal after all, perhaps she should apologize to Gajeel. At that moment, a flashback of the iron dragon-slayer's mocking smirk played in her mind… Perhaps not... He's just lucky I love my job.
Gajeel left the guild cursing under his breath as an oblivious blue fur ball almost crashed onto his face as it passed through the doors. Fucking cat is too fucking… happy. He scowled at his lack of vocabulary to describe the flying cat. Fucking Salamander, couldn't you name your cat with a less common word?
He should've tried to find Levy's scent before even entering the mad chaos that was known as Fairy Tail that morning. Apparently, the Rain Woman had gotten carried away with her emotions when she saw that her Gray-sama was feeling better from the injuries he got on his last mission (albeit not knowing most of them had been caused by one of his teammates). She had at least been crying non-stop tears of joy for fifteen minutes straight, getting a vast majority of the guild's floor wet. The Ice-princess, trying to escape the water mage's rather suffocating affection, had slipped when he accidentally stepped onto one of the little puddles of tears. He landed on Erza, who was about to eat a piece of cake, which, as a result of their collision, had ended up crashing unceremoniously onto the floor. It was safe to say that if it had not been for another of those little puddles of tears, Gray would had probably needed surgery to recover from the Requip mage's ensuing anger. Upon standing up, the redhead had slipped too and knocked herself out with one of the tables. When Gajeel came into the guild, two unconscious bodies were lying on the guildhall's floor, and he knew the moment the red-haired demon awoke from her slumber things weren't going to be pretty. It took him five seconds to figure out what had happened, and in the process of doing that, he had realized the person he was looking for hadn't arrived yet. With no incentive to stay, and at least two possible ones that guaranteed him a beating – those being a still pissed-off Mira, who had given him an ugly scowl when he came in, and the soon to wreak havoc Titania –, he opted to leave Fairy Tail and go find his little solid script mage instead.
Gajeel found the person he was searching for coming out of Magnolia's biggest bookstore thirty minutes after he had left Fairy Tail. He had already checked Fairy Hills and the girl hadn't been there. For a second, he feared that he had missed her on her way to the guild and he would be forced to go back there. Fretting the possibility of having to deal with two female demons, he had decided to walk around town and check some of the other places the script mage frequented before returning to Fairy Tail. He was glad he did, telling himself it had been his superb instinct what had led him to avoid the guild and not his latent fear for the two female mages suffering from possible psychotic rage.
Levy was just leaving the store with a small bag on her left hand and a big smile on her face. "Thanks Mr. Daisuke, I really appreciate you getting this for me," he heard her say, as she closed the door behind her and exited the place. He took in her appearance. She was wearing her usual mid-thigh, yellow dress with the white linings and bow at the front. Her hair was pulled up in a loose bun, and a wrapped white bandana finished the look. He particularly loved when she wore this type of dresses; they emphasized all of the rights spots of her beautiful body, in a feminine yet childish sort of way. Gajeel took a deep breath as he approached the script mage. It was now or never. Common, Gajeel, you can do this, you can do this, you can d…
"Gajeel?" He heard a sweet voice cut through his mental monologue. "Gajeel? Are you okay?" the voice repeated. The iron dragon-slayer's focus switched entirely to the blue-haired girl that was now in front of him and staring sternly at him. When did she get so close?
"Yeah, I'm fine," he finally replied, as his red eyes met his soon-to-be-mate's brown orbs. Levy's gaze, however, remained questioning, still doubting his words, "Are you sure? I mean, it's rare to find you in this part of town at this hour, and it is really not like you to be so distracted." The dragon-slayer smiled at her as he moved his right hand to pat her head, "Yeah, yeah, as I said, I'm fine, Shrimp," he tauntingly said, "Were you worried about me?" The girl seemed rather annoyed by the male's usual way of teasing her, but she didn't move out of his reach. "Whatever, Gajeel," she countered, "What are you doing here then?" The iron mage knew the girl always put up with his particular – or rather irritating – way of showing affection. He had, at first, wondered how long it would take her to yell for him to stop, or force him to do so, but that day had never come. Now, he simply suspected she probably enjoyed his awkward ministrations. Hell, he enjoyed them too. His big, calloused hands on her soft head reminded him of how small and delicate she was, of how much he wanted to protect her; and this form of contact was better than no contact at all. He took a step closer towards her, "I was actually looking for you, Shorty. Would you mind going somewhere with me?" he asked in a soft voice. Gajeel watched as the girl's eyes momentarily widened in shock at his rather uncharacteristic tone, but they quickly reverted back to its original size as she replied, "Sure, lead the way."
Lucy watched the frantic form of the fire dragon-slayer move around her apartment. He was trying to find something amidst the mess they had just made of her room, while she amusedly stared at the underwear he was wearing that day – black boxer-briefs with a flying red dragons print. Wrapping herself in one of her sheets, she chuckled, Cute.
She heard the mage scream a joyous "Aha! Found you!", successfully bringing her out of her reverie. Shortly after, the object of her thoughts came crashing back into bed, dragging her with him and pulling her onto his lap. Trying to figure out where this boy got all his energy from proved to be an impossible task. It baffled her, she would never understand. Then again, he wasn't a normal guy, and if she had to use one word to describe him, it would be "wild;" and "wild" didn't do "calmed," or "relaxed," "wild" was necessarily "restless."
She giggled, "You're crazy, you know that, right?" She fixed her gaze on the dragon-slayer's and moved her hands to play with his pink locks of hair again. She loved the feeling of his soft tresses flowing through her fingers. Natsu cupped Lucy's cheek with his left hand and smiled as she leaned into it, "I know, and I love every second of it. But what I love even more is that you are crazy with me." The girl smiled back, "Of course, I couldn't let you have all the fun, now could I?", she said, mimicking the soft yet serious tone the fire mage was using. "And you know I'd rather be next to you than anywhere else, Natsu, so that automatically labels me insane, since who in their right mind would purposely want to do that?"
The dragon-slayer let a light chuckle leave his mouth. "Forever, Lucy?" he asked after a brief silence, "Would you run mad with me forever?"
The iron dragon-slayer had taken Levy to a rarely transited area of Magnolia's park. They were sitting at one of the wooden benches, farther away from each other than he would've liked. The walk there had been somewhat awkward, and the little conversation they had had on the way, had revolved around his fury black partner who had been sick for the past week and staying at Fairy Hills with Wendy.
"So, why are we here, Gajeel?" Levy asked, tired of the awkward silence that had invaded the two mages' space since they had left the bookstore. She liked the iron mage, too much for her own good, probably; and today she didn't feel like dealing with her conflicted emotions. Gajeel was somewhat of a mystery to her, she never knew what to expect from him. Sometimes, he went out of his way to make her feel like she was the only girl in the world to those red eyes of him, like every time he chose to tease her, in which his full attention rested on her and she could distinguish a small flickering light in his eyes that was usually not there. But other times, it was like she didn't exist at all, and not only did he avoid her completely, but he also barely directed one glance towards her, even if he knew she was close by.
How she had found herself in this emotional turmoil was also a mystery to her. She had always been proud to call herself a rational person, thinking and analyzing through every situation she faced in order to find the best solution. She blamed Gajeel and his secretive ways and trust issues for the mess she currently liked to call herself. It is not like she hadn't made it clear that she was interested in him, or at least that's what she thought. She couldn't remember how many words she had wasted talking to Lucy about it, not only was she her best friend but she was also a dragon-slayer's mate. If anyone could understand what she was going through, it was Lucy. However, the stellar mage would always give her the same reply with a sympathetic smile, "You'll figure it out soon, Levy-chan." Whatever that meant! Between Gajeel's mixed signals and Lucy's cryptic answers, Levy remained confused. Strangely, she felt so comfortable whenever she was with the iron dragon-slayer, like it was just natural for her to be by his side, but she also feared just how intense those feelings could get. Sometimes, her emotions got the best of her, and she showed more interest than she was willing to display without any confirmation on his part. However, she was glad for those moments of weakness, where she would scream or hug the deadlights out of the idiotic iron mage; they were better than no interactions at all.
"Levy, I…" Gajeel began. The script mage just waited, somewhat shocked that he had called her by her first name and not one of the many nicknames he had for her. In a way, she felt like it didn't fit him to call her "Levy," but, then again, she did like how her name sounded when it came out of his mouth. I'm such a contradiction sometimes.
Levy watched as the iron dragon-slayer fidgeted uncomfortably on the park's bench. Something was bothering him, but she couldn't figure out what. He combed his unruly hair with his left hand as he turned back to look at her with newfound determination. "Yes… Gajeel, what's goi…"
The dragon-slayer didn't let her finish, "Ah, fuck this!", he yelled frustrated. "It's simple, I like you, I've had for a while, and I can't keep it to myself anymore," he said, as he slid himself along the wooden bench, getting closer to her and enveloping her with his arms. "I want you to let me claim you as my mate," he finished stating, his face inches away from hers, and never breaking eye contact. With those last words, he closed the gap between them, bringing his raspy lips to touch her soft ones for the fist time. The solid script mage had expected anything to happen when she woke up that morning, anything except for this. She, however, recuperated from her shock quickly, embracing the dragon-slayer as she buried her fingers in his unruly mane, and returned his kiss with a passion she didn't know she possessed. The kiss was rash and wild, their tongues dancing with each other fiercely and harmoniously. It was a tango where neither side dominated, both playing on an equal plane of fast and arousing movements that brought each other to experience emotions with an intensity they had never felt before.
It felt like heaven, and the iron mage berated himself for taking so long in acting on what his instincts had told him an innumerable amount of times before. The girl fitted so perfectly in his arms, and she had responded in such synchronicity, that he wondered just how he could have ever believed that things wouldn't turn out this way. He must be the most stupid idiot out there to not have realized sooner that this girl was meant to be his and only his, and judging from her reaction, she seemed to agree with him.
They broke away due to that accursed need for air, but neither loosened the embrace they had locked each other in. Gajeel rested his forehead on Levy's, "So, what do you say? Will you let me claim you?", he whispered to her, still breathing heavily.
Levy giggled, "Isn't it obvious, idiot? If I didn't want to be yours, I wouldn't have let you kiss me like that." The iron dragon-slayer growled, as he lifted the petite girl and placed her on his lap, reveling on the close contact and not planning on letting go any time soon. He nuzzled the bluenette's neck, taking in her scent at his leisure, and finding himself lost in it. He felt at home, and for a moment, an image of the Salamander cuddling with the Bunny Girl came to mind. I must look as pathetic as that idiot does whenever he's close to her… But I can't say I mind it at all... And I can't say I wouldn't like to see the Shrimp in some of my over-stretched t-shirts either. Gi hee!
Thinking about the fire dragon-slayer made him remember why he was here in the first place. Yes, the plan was to get Levy to agree to be his mate – Check –, after he had given her the necklace he had made for her – No check –. Well, he was never a man who followed the rules, or who liked to do things in order, for that matter. Gajeel took one of his hands away from her hips and lifted himself up from the bench so he could get the jewelry out of his pant's side pocket.
The movement startled the girl sitting oh-so-comfortably on top of him, "Gajeel?" she muttered.
"Just give me a second, Shrimp," the iron mage replied. Levy straightened herself to give the dragon-slayer more room to move, watching him intently as he pulled a white box out of his pocket. She gasped as he placed a beautiful golden chain in her hands, tossing the box somewhere behind him, "I made this for you, Levy."
So, what do you all think?
I know some of you might want to kill me for cutting things when I did, especially the Natsu and Lucy scene, but I promise next chapter will have the mates' reactions and a full description of Lucy's ring.