Chapter 2
"Natsu is so stupid," Gray muttered as he sat by himself in Natsu's room. "He ate etherion and now he's sick. Baka. Now I'm wasting my time looking at his ugly face instead of swimming at the beach."
"Well Gray, it's my turn to watch Natsu, you can-" the Ice Make mage was out the door before Erza could finish her statement. Shrugging Gray's actions off, she sat in the chair next to Natsu's bed and scooted it forward so she was sitting perpendicular to his chest. With a fond smile Erza looked at Natsu. I'm not talking about the " he's ok for now look". I'm saying she really looked at him. As her eyes past his bandaged head and snoring face she studied the way his chest rose and fell, as if carving them into her memory for all eternity. In a much less poetic sense-she was checking him out. His abs were like a steel washboard, perfectly symmetrical and so toned that if you hit them with a mallet you would probably be able to hear the sound it made. Our unshakable knight's face burst into several shades of red as she went through a series of emotions. It was like watching a mood ring. As she made her way past his chest to his pelvic region her face once again matched her hair. 'No, bad Erza, no checking out that part of Natsu!' Erza thought to herself as she pulled her eyes away so they could finish their rounds of his body. His arms were muscular but not overly muscular, and his legs were lean from all the jumping and running required by missions. All in all he was the perfect specimen of male physique. And to put the strawberry on the cheesecake his attitude was amazing. Yes, he was naïve but he had a heart of gold. He loved his nakama and he would defend them to his last breath. Even Gray. He never held a grudge and he always saw the best in people. He was amazing. Erza was startled out of her thought process when she heard the bed cream and then, "See anything you like?"
She snapped her head up and discovered that Natsu was wide awake and had donned a smirk as big as his face. "Um...w-what makes you say that?" She asked unsteadily as she felt her blush return full force. "Oh just the fact that you were checking me out," Natsu responded slyly. 'Damn, he noticed.' Erza thought while frantically racking her brain for an excuse that was believable. "I wasn't checking you out; I was just checking you for more injuries!" She exclaimed hurriedly. "Sure you were. You don't have to be embarrassed; I check you out all the time." Natsu admitted innocently. The scarlet knight's eyes widened followed by her brow furrowing. "...I don't know whether to be angry or flattered," she muttered questioningly. "Be flattered because it means you're really hot. And we're dating, so you shouldn't be angry. Speaking of dating, are we gonna tell the guild?" Natsu asked. "No, we will not tell the guild. As much as I want to prove to everybody that you are mine, the guild thinks that inter team relationships disturb the balance of the team and I don't want them to separate us. We will tell them eventually but not now." Erza replied. "Ok" Natsu agreed. "How are you feeling?" Erza asked concerned as she notices him wince slightly. "Eh...considering I ate pure magic with all the elements in it I would say, pretty good. I've stopped yakking up blood and now all I have is a stomachs ache and occasionally dry heaves. Other than that I feel like a million jewels." Only then did he notice that Erza's face was turned away, her shoulders were trembling, and tears were silently streaming down her face. Alarmed Natsu bolted upright and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" "I did this to you; a-all those things that you said, are happening because of m-me. If you hadn't had to save me you wouldn't be sick r-right now!" Erza sobbed as she clutched the sheets even tighter. Suddenly she heard, "Erza...hit me." "Wha...?" When she looked up Erza saw Natsu shaking, eyes shadowed by his locks of pink hair. "I said hit me! Dammit! I promised that no one would make you cry anymore and now I'm the one who made you cry! Erza, I don't want you to cry anymore ok? I'm glad I'm sick. You know why? Cause if I wasn't sick that would mean that I didn't save you. That would mean that you would be dead, and I wouldn't have been able to live. Erza, I love you with all my heart. From the moment I met you I knew you were the only one for me. Did you know that dragons mate for life? If you were gone I wouldn't be able to go on. The only thing that kept me going all the time without fail was you. All those years that I went looking for Igneel, the only reason I made sure to come back was so that I could see you face, smell your strawberry-metallic scent, and to feel your warmth when I held your hand crossing the street. So please don't cry; because I'm alive, you're alive and that's all that matters." With that Natsu gathered Erza in his arms and layer her body next to his on the bed. He stroked her hair and rubbed we back, soothing her as her tears slowly subsided. When she finally stopped trembling he wrapped his arms tightly around her and said, "You should try to get some sleep now because tonight, we're going to go to the beach; just you and me ok?" Natsu said as he turned his body heat up. "Sure," Erza replied as she snuggled a little deeper into Natsu's chest. "Love you Erza," Natsu said once more as he closed his eyes. "Love you too Natsu," Erza responded quietly as sleep started to take her.
In the Evening
"Juvia wonders where Erza is. Juvia hasn't seen her all day. Have you seen her Gray-sama?" Juvia asked as she looked around the table in the dining hall of their hotel. "Last I saw she was taking my shift watching Natsu. Did anyone have a shift after her?" When nobody raised their hand Gray visibly paled and shakily muttered, "She's gonna kill us! Nobody relived her of her shift. "Juvia will go replace Erza now!" Juvia determinably said as she stood up from the table and practically ran in the direction of Natsu's room. As soon as it came into view Juvia doubled her speed as if it would save her from Erza's wrath. As soon as she entered the room she skidded to a stop, jaw dropping to the floor with an audible thunk. There on the bed were Natsu and Erza. Together! Snuggling! With each passing moment the look on Juvia's face grew more and more outrageous. Suddenly she realized that she was essentially spying on the "Titania" of Fairy Tail. She was so dead! Ever so carefully she backed up in the direction of the door in the hopes of not being noticed. Sadly, all hopes of escaping with her life were dashed as soon as she stepped on what seemed to be the squeakiest floorboard in the whole building. The water mage froze (no pun intended) and slowly turned to face the door in a desperate attempt to leave before Erza opened her eyes. As she took her first step she felt a dark aura fill the room to the brim. The poor mage was drowning (pun intended) in the unrestrained darkness, and the only way she thought she could survive was to talk some sense in the product of this thickness, Erza "Titania" Scarlet. 'Juvia is so dead!' The bluenette thought as she slowly twisted her neck to face the cause of her terror and temporary paralysis. "O-oh h-hi Erz-za! I d-didn't see you the-ere!" Juvia managed to for out between her chattering teeth. Seeing Erza's face darken and her hair all in front of her eyes the stalker thought it would be a good idea to reassure the knight before bodily harm was inflicted on her. "You know that Juvia doesn't care if you like Natsu or not right? For Kami's sake Juvia stalks Gray and collects his fallen clothes…he looks so good without his clothes…ahh…" Juvia had started to fade into her own world when she heard a small sigh coming from Erza. "Thanks Juvia. I've never actually dated anyone before. Everybody was either too scared or wanted to use me for fame. It's nice that you're not going to judge me." Erza confessed quietly. "Can you do me a favor though? Can you keep this a secret please? Natsu and I both agreed it would be beneficial to us if we keep working together without anybody feeling that because of our relationship we will be more concerned about each other as opposed to the mission." "Juvia will keep it a secret. Nothing will get past Juvia's lips. Not even if…Gray-sama*sigh* asks me!" "Thanks Juvia you're a real friend. So why did you come here in the first place?" Erza inquires. "Oh, Gray-sama realized that no one replaced you to watch Natsu so I came to replace you, but Juvia will go back and say you weren't hungry ok?" "Perfect. Thanks again!" Erza called out as Juvia walked out the door taking care to avoid the creaky board this time around. When Erza saw Juvia turn the corner she turned back to the bed only to discover that Natsu was wide awake. "So since you're up ready to go to the beach?" Natsu yawned out as he stretched his arms making his muscles ripple and draw Erza's slightly glazed over stare. Chuckling lightly Natsu took her silence as a yes and threw her over one shoulder before jumping out of their second floor window. "Natsu put me down!" Erza screams as Natsu rockets towards the black ocean. "Never, you're mine," Natsu responds as he finds a good spot and sits down settling her comfortably in his lap. Feeling solid ground beneath her feet Erza eventually relaxed into Natsu's broad chest, adjusting her head so it was in the crook of his neck. "I love you Natsu. I know you will probably get tired of hearing it but-"Before Erza could finish her sentence Natsu had captured her lips in a hungry kiss, almost as if he was starving and her lips were the only source of fire left in the world. When he released her lip she noticed that while they were preoccupied fireworks had been lit in the distance, lighting up the sky and water alike. With one last peck both mages silently turned towards the light show just enjoying the others presence. "I'll never get tired of you saying you love me, I promise" Natsu whispered into Erza's ear before sealing his pledge with a tender kiss just as the last firework disappeared from the sky.