Hey Lovlies! I missed you. I think you smell nice.

MINOR NOTE: Cana is not sexist! LAXUS is! Lol. She was only reciprocating his mannerisms in an attempt to give him a taste of his own medicine. Cana is definitely one of my favorite Fairytail wizards, and I would never portray her in that manner. She is tough as nails tho and will play the hand she is dealt. Which is GREAT cuz she's a card wizard and all. Hehe.

Rated M.

M is for MATURE people.

If I can pretend to be, then you can too.

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING! *sob* However sometimes I wonder if Mashima-sama used to follow me around and take character ideas from my friends and I.

At least let a girl dream!

Dance in the rain next time the water falls.

Chapter 6

Fairytail Wizards

Never Break a Promise

From the moment she got that last look into Natsu's eyes, this game lost its Hide and Seek innocence and transformed into a primal game of cat and mouse—and Lucy hated to loose. She knew Natsu would be relying mostly on smell, so she zigged over here and zagged over there in an attempt to spread out her scent. She ran til her legs burned and ran some more. Her heart lodged into her throat when she thought of him catching her. She could do this! Just had to spread her scent in a wide enough area and bunker down somewhere in the middle of the it.

Twigs and branches scraped her constantly as she practically flew through the forest. The spirit summoner did not fear getting lost, if she managed to loose herself, perhaps her predator would loose her as well. Lucy jumped over a fallen log, but her legs turned to jello as soon as she landed and collapsed from underneath her. She yelped and immediately cursed herself for the sound that she'd made and rolled to a stop.

This is it. I can't go much further! Crap I think my leg is bleeding!

She ignored the pain in her leg and the burning sensation lodged in her chest, now crouched and sneaking back the direction she had come, looking for a satisfactory spot to settle down to assess her damage. She wondered if Natsu was even searching yet. Maybe he's still counting and I don't have to crawl around like this.

Veering westward from her original direction, the mage came across a small stream. This is great! If I stay near here, he may just pass me by, smelling the water instead of me! She followed the stream for a little ways downhill until she came to a slightly larger gathering of water and sat down with her boots in the shallow water. Lucy proceeded to scoop up some of the soothing liquid and clean the gash she'd inflicted on her leg.

"I'm coming Luce! You can't hide for long!"

Lucy jumped when she heard his voice off in the distance. How far away was that? Was he coming from the southeast? It was hard to tell, these trees had their own version of acoustics. Then the poor Astral conjuror bit down on her tongue HARD to keep from yelping when she saw a feminine hand rise from the ground beside her. Virgo had scared the daylight out of her! *Heheh! Lucy's afraid of zooooombieeees!*

"Are you going to punish me for interrupting your game, Princess?" The spirit whispered, only her raised hand and head sticking above the ground.

Lucy blinked at her, not wanting to speak at all.

"I brought you some cream and bandages for your injury. Big brother says that he worries you will loose too much energy out here alone and bleeding."

Lucy sweatdropped as Loke's message implied that he was unhappy she was out here running around like a crazy person. Well, it's not how I had thought I'd be spending the day either. She allowed Virgo to treat her leg, then asked her to wrap up her arms as well; that way she could be at least a little shielded from the unyielding woods. Virgo looked at all the tiny scrapes on her upper appendages, smiled and told her master that she could do better than that, vanishing and reappearing in just a moment's time. The spirit had brought her a form fitting long sleeved camo top made of very thin but strong material that stretched over her hips. "I made sure the clothes were dragged through the dirt with me a bit just now so that they would smell like the earth. I could not find adequate bottoms to match. Should I be punished now?"

Lucy shook her head, then smiled in thanks and the spirit vanished back to her world. She felt a little weird wearing this top with her blue pleated skirt, but if she could beat the dragon at his own game, it'd be worth it. Once Lucy was doing the final touch of hooking her thumbs though her sleeve's thumb holes, she froze again at the sound of his voice.

"I can smell you Luce," he spoke softly but firmly, "won't be long now."

Ok... he's definitely coming from the southwest now...with a huge creep factor...what do I do? He sounds so much closer!

The Celestial mage's heart started beating fast. It felt as though she could feel the beats thumping all the way up to her ears. His voice has sounded off. It wasn't the voice of someone playing a game. She started breathing heavier as she pictured him stalking through the forest, confidently heading right to her with a predatory smile on his face.

"I see you." His voice was menacingly low. Lucy gasped as her eyes followed the sound of his tantalizingly alluring voice. Up on a branch, five or six trees down.

"No!" Lucy cried and took off running again. She could hear him laughing from behind her at the attempt to escape. The warmth rising within her, she confused for fear. Lucy was a very talented liar when it came to her own feelings and emotions. Truth be told, she was not scared at all—quite the contrary. Regardless, being an expert at falsely defining her own feelings, she simply wrote them off as signs of a panic attack.

^.^

It was the faint remnants of the aloe vera she must have applied this morning that made her scent so easy to follow. He had tucked that new scent away in his memory last night and was glad for it. Not in a thousand years would he have thought that specific smell would come in so much handy. The dragon slayer watched as she took off in another sprint, comparing her swift motions to that of the gracefulness of a frightened doe.

This is is so much better than sitting in there listening to Mira.

He jumped down from his crouched position in the tree and calmly walked over to where his partner had rested. He scooped up some water from the stream and drank. He was startled when he tasted the faint metallic taste of blood. She's hurt... she wasn't supposed to get hurt. She didn't look hurt. He frowned, then breathed in the air. He smelled the fresh scent of Virgo, typically a faint dusty smell. He smelled medicine and bandages, and most importantly, the dragon smelled a slightly new scent covering Lucy's scent, clever Luce, clever. It's not going to work though, and his new go to smell: the blood stain on whatever kind of bandage Virgo must have supplied..

Natsu looked through the trees' canopy to try and get a grip on what time it was. Perhaps two hours or so after lunchtime. He thought randomly about Lucy being hungry. He might have to find something for her to eat, they were not going to be leaving this forest anytime soon.

You generously gave me the rest of your day Luce. This is just me cashing in on the promise. Natsu briefly dropped his predatory attitude to mock something his friend said earlier. "Fairytail wizards NEVER break a promise!"

^.^

Two more times, Natsu had found her and allowed her to run off again. Our resident star maiden was exhausted. The second time he had found her she had been sitting against a huge fallen log, looking to the way she had last heard his voice. He wasn't holding his tongue like she was. Natsu would call out for her teasingly or remark on how her smell was like strawberries—and she was the only strawberry in these woods. And the WAY he said it! Like she was something delicious that he couldn't wait to eat up. She blushed furiously just thinking about it. Well, she had her back to the broken log, panting as quietly as she could, looking in the direction she was SURE she had heard his voice come from. Watching and waiting for the next time she had to sprint away. If it truly was like Hide and Seek, he would have to tag her to win, and she couldn't let that happen.

Then she had heard his voice from behind her.

"There you are Luce."

She'd whipped her head around and saw as a dragon stood only a couple dozen steps from her, confident and powerful. Lucy glared at him, puffed out her cheeks stubbornly and took off running again.

The third time, he had been right behind her, whispering in her ear, "Told you I'd find you." She had screamed and jumped away from him, and turned to look him right in the eyes. Natsu's hands had been in his pockets and his grin displayed much conviction, not once looking away from her gaze. It was when he took a step toward her that signaled her to bolt again.

He was like a cat that played with his prey. Dragon's Hide and Seek was an intense game of cat and mouse.

Lucy was hopelessly lost in a infinite sea of trees. Everything began to take on an orange tint that enabled her to discern that the sun was setting. Mavis but she was tired. She stopped and bent over resting her hands on her knees in a brief attempt to catch her breath. Natsu was relentless. If he was tired then he had never displayed it.

Why couldn't he have just let me cheer him up by taking him out to eat and going to see a play or something? Dragonslayers are so weird! Wasn't that the very reason she liked him so much though? She shook her head, still bent over and breathing hard. As a partner, of course. His unyielding determination and spirit is what sets him above the rest. True, as a fact, Fairytail wizards never give up... which is why I'm still running around out here when he's made it ABUNDANTLY clear that I'm not going to win... but Natsu...

"Natsu..." Lucy stood up straight again and attempted to pop her back, there will never be a day in his life that he will ever even consider giving up. Is it because of his dragon heritage? Her hair shadowed her eyes as a soft smile graced her lips, hugging her arms to chase away the chills that suddenly gripped her arms. Or is it just because... "he's Natsu..."

"Did you call?" his voice purred from above her.

For maybe the 100th time, Lucy jumped at his voice breaking the forest's natural chorus. She looked up and saw him perched up in the tree she had taken refuge under. Her blond hair whipped right and left as she backed away from him, considering her next move.

"The game's almost over Luce." Natsu grinned devilishly yet again. "I'm coming to get you."

Shit! What do I do now?! I'm not gonna make it easy for the cocky bastard, but there's no way I can outrun him anymore. I should've done more stamina training exercises with Erza. It would've been really handy right about now...

Natsu dropped down from the tree and started walking towards her. She started to grow frantic, backing away from his advances. This made him smile wider, "I love that about you Luce. You never give up." He stopped and tilted his head, popping his neck. "but you still aren't going to win."

Should I summon a spirit...?

Suddenly Natsu lunged at her and she barely dodged him. Lucy turned around and as quick as she could started to scale a tree.

"Nope!" Natsu pulled her out of the tree before she was hardly three paces high and tried to hike her over his shoulder but her protests made him loose his balance and she fell to the leaf covered ground, him on top of her, barely catching himself with his palms. The mages locked eyes, feeling the other's breath on their flushed faces. Natsu leaned down on top of her so that his lips were barely grazing her ear and spoke softly, "I win."

Heat rushed all throughout Lucy's body. Her back arched and she moaned when she felt the ghost touches from his lips on her ear, the heat from his breath stirring both her sense of touch and sound, the sound! The sound of his voice when he spoke in such a way that no other creature in the forest could have heard his proclamation but her sent her mind reeling!

"Na, Natsu..." Lucy was breathing hard.

He lifted himself off of her but stayed at a crouch. "Yea Luce?"

She was too tired to bother to move, "I hate loosing."

Natsu grinned widely. "I know, Luce, I know."

"Let's go!" he popped his fingers and lifted her off the ground and hiked her over his shoulder just as he had tried earlier.

"Natsu!" Lucy groaned, "put me down!"

"No can do Luce. I caught you fair and square. I got you almost where we need to be. Trust me."

Where we need to be?

Less than a minute later, they came to a clearing. It was the first time since the game started that Lucy could see the sky clearly. Her partner walked to nearly the middle of the treeless circle, and gently laid her down. The ground was soft here, Lucy propped herself up by her elbows and realized he had laid her on a large flower bed. The stems grew only to be a finger tall, yet blossomed into a huge purple and green flower. The pedals were extremely soft, and Lucy briefly wondered if this feeling was why Natsu seemed to like her bed so much. She plucked one of them and laid her head back down. She smelled it while she stared at the darkening sky. The rich maroon color reminded her of the fabric Mira had found for Lucy's gypsy costume. The fabric that Natsu had retrieved for her.

"Hey Luce, are you hungry?"

The spirit summoner tilted her chin up to look at the man that had caused her to be so completely exhausted.

She sat up with a groan and Natsu seated himself next to her and handed her a peach. Lucy smiled in thanks and bit into it hungrily. It was so refreshingly juicy that it quenched her thirst as well as her hunger. She had no idea that her face melted into a pout when she saw that she had already finished the hole thing. Only left with the core.

Natsu saw her though. Never being the kind of guy to hold in a laugh, he chuckled at her and started tossing another peach in the air. "Don't be sad Luce, I have another one for you."

"You don't want it?" She tilted her head curiously.

"Nah, I've been finding these things all day." He grinned, "I'm not hungry at all!"

"In that case, I'll gladly take it!" She reached out for it.

"Hey!" Natsu pulled it back away from her reaching hand, "you have to say please!"

"Are you kidding?!" Lucy looked over at him, "you said it was for me!"

"Yea," Natsu grinned again, but this time mischievously, "but you still have to say please!"

"No way! Natsu give it to me!" She reached out for it again.

"No!"

"Yes!" Lucy was on her knees now, trying to capture it from Natsu's grasp.

Natsu laughed out another, "No!"

Lucy attempted another approach and captured his arm and leaned down on it, practically crawling over his lap to pin his hand down to the ground. Natsu stammered as her side and hip was pushed into his face as she slammed his peach wielding hand onto the ground. After reclaiming his wits, he growled and wrapped his free arm around Lucy's waist, securing her in place and performed a backwards somersault. Lucy yelped as he made her land on her back with him on top of her again. This time however, she just winked and spit her tongue out at him bringing her peach next to her cheek, ensuring that he saw that SHE had it.

"I win."

Natsu couldn't help but grin, then with a closed smile he placed his forehead onto hers, "Just this once." He opened his eyes again and looked deep into her's. "So if the peach is your prize, then what's my prize?"

Lucy blushed and bit her lower lip in thought, then smiled at him-which stirred a fire in Natsu's soul that only grew when he was with her-and plucked a flower from the ground and held it between their faces. The dragon looked at the offering, scrutinizing it's value. Dragons were serious about their treasure after all.

He nodded and excepted it. Though his REAL prize had been keeping Lucy all to himself for nearly half a day, a momento is nice too.

The dragon slayer then stood up and looked up at the sky. The brightest of stars could be seen twinkling through the approaching night sky. "How deep into the forest are we anyway?" Lucy asked between the bites of fruit.

He answered her without looking away from the sky, "It's a two hour walk back to Magnolia."

…...Well, could be worse. Lucy thought.

"We won't be making it back tonight."

"What? Why not?"

Natsu turned and squatted down in front of her. "You don't know? Come on Luce! You're one of the smartest people I know!"

"Well I'm not going to stay out here all night!"

"Yup. That's the plan." Natsu stared into her eyes.

"Natsuuu! WHY?!"

Natsu sighed and plopped onto the flower bed, sitting directly in front of her. "One: You are too tired for a two hour walk and I'm not carrying you that far. Two: You leg is leg is hurt!"

"What, THIS?! It's just a scratch-"

The fire wizard placed a finger on her lips. "Three: You promised me the rest of the day. That means until you wake up tomorrow."

"You can't be serious..."

"Fairytale wizards never break a promise." Natsu stated. His eyes flickered to her lips and he couldn't keep from falling short of breath. He traced the back of his index finger from her chin to her lips, getting a tiny piece of fruit off of her pale skin. He looked back into her deep brown eyes and ate it off his finger. "May as well get comfy Luce." He winked "I caught you fair and square."

Lucy let herself fall back on her back with a heavy sigh. Allowing the blush to come over her face now that he wasn't staring at her and closed her eyes.

"Hold up a sec Luce." Natsu lifted up her head, and placed his now folded up scarf under her head. "There."

"Thanks Natsu." the Celestial mage was already dozing off.

Natsu watched as her eyes slowly drifted closed, "Your welcome Luce."

If you do not know of the incredible poem, A Dream Deferred, do yourself a favor and look it up. The incredibly simple poem is well worth the effort. Until next time! Your reviews and absolutely loved. It's what fuels my insomnia. :D

Much love

and naughty things,

like lollipops.

Seri!