I uploaded Chapter 18 and got countless reviews! Thanks! I ADORE all of you! Poll is still open and will close 24 hours after Chapter 20 is posted. And… *sigh* sorry to all those guests who voted fairly but, I have decided that only poll votes will count. Guests can vote more than once and I have no way of knowing if it's been done fairly or not. Sorry again. This is the order of the most votes.

Sting

Rogue

Natsu

Laxus

-Lucy-

I groan and pace the room, thinking of things I already knew and theories that I had. 1) Mating season has started. 2) It's making Sting all horny. 3) Two months ago Natsu kissed me and left a mark that mixed my scent with his. 4) He didn't know about my mission. 5) That means he didn't know that I'd be around other Dragon Slayers. 6) Laxus thinks Natsu wanted to mate with me so he forged the 'brother/sister' bond. 7) Laxus will kick Sting's ass if he comes near me again because he knows what Sting'll do to me. 8) Loke will kick Sting's ass if he comes near me again because he knows what Sting'll do to me. 9) Lily will kick Sting's ass if he comes near me again because he knows what Sting'll do to me. 10) Natsu marked me because….? Why? Why did he?

He liiiiiikkkes you!

SHUT UP HAPPY-ISH VOICE! I throw myself on the bed and bury my face in my pillow. There is no way… He couldn't know girls are more than nakama. He wouldn't know, it was an accident. I bring my head up out of the pillow, I was suffocating and when I turned I saw a very familiar crop of blue hair.

"Levy!" I shriek. I leap off the bed and hug her so tightly I think I heard her bones snapping. She laughs and hugs me back. I seriously needed her sanity right now.

"Why are you…" I see the scales on her neck and freeze. They were grey. "HOLY SHIT!" I scream. She giggles and flushes. I grab her hand and march her out of the room.

"Loke!" I call. Sting, Rogue and Laxus are sitting on the couch talking to Gajeel who has the biggest smirk plastered on his face. Happy is munching on a fish and Lector and Fro are missing. Loke's head pops around the corner.

"Levy and I are going out." I tell them. "Sit!" I add as Gajeel makes to get up. "You are not coming." He growls.

"It's okay." Levy says. He stares at her and nods. I put on my cloak and gloves and leave, Levy following close behind.

After a few minutes we arrive at the lake. I gotta say, this place was the best for thinking things through. We sit in silence for a moment.

"Gajeel marked you?" I say, though it comes out more as a question. She turns to me face lit up with excitement and pure joy.

"Yes!" She laughs. I notice her teeth are pointed. It should surprise me but after finding out that I'll be living with horny perverted Dragon Slayers for six months, nothing surprises me anymore. Then she turns serious and stares at me. Instinctively, I cover my torso with my arms.

"What?" She leans over and I edge away. She continues her advances towards me and I keep shifting away. "What are you doing?" Eventually she grabs hold of my hair and tugs on it. She pulls it away from my neck and stares with amber eyes. After a few seconds of intense scrutiny she sighs.

"What the hell Levy?" I demand. She leans against the tree in disappointment.

"Natsu said he claimed you." She tells me. She picks up a leaf and twirls it in her fingers with lighting fast speed. I watch the leaf-blur for a moment before the words sunk in.

"Why?" I say.

"You don't seem surprised." She notes. I clutch her arm.

"You have to help me. I don't know what's going on."

"What do you mean, help you? Just wait for Natsu to show and let him claim you."

"ARE YOU NUTS?" I shout in her ear. She winces and smacks me, hard.

"Ears, remember?" She says. I still and tip my head to the side.

"Ears?"

She crosses her arms. "Have you even been reading the book I gave you?" She asks crossly.

"I have!" I tell her. "I know about mating season and marking and other stuff!"

"You know Lucy…" She says quietly. "If you don't let Natsu claim you…" She stares into my eyes, amber into brown. "One of the others will."

"It's just because of mating season. They'd never claim or mark of their own free will right?"

Levy shakes her head. "You don't understand. Mating season… It doesn't change their mindset completely, it only brings their feelings to the forefront of their minds. But, The more they are around their desired mate the more they change. Like, Gajeel is a lot more reserved than he was. You see? He's changed a little, to complement me. He still likes to fight but he tends to hesitate for a fraction of a second before he fights. He reads and the like." She pauses. "I'm not explaining things very well am I?"

I shake my head. "You've lost me."

Her eyebrows knit together while she thinks, the leaf still twirling in her fingers. "You know how Natsu kissed you a while back?" She begins. I nod. Well, duh, I was kind of the person he was making out with. "He liked you back then, but he didn't know how to go about it. So he let instincts take over and he just did it. Now, due to mating season, he's a bit more grown up, he understands what you want, why you do certain things, how to talk to you, how to act, and how identify when you're um…"

"What?"

She flushes scarlet. "Turned on." Her voice is barely above a whisper. I blush to match her and slap her on the arm.

"Why are you even saying things like that?" I screech, she winces then grins showing off her new dangerous looking canines.

"Because…" She says, she sees my mortified and confused face then laughs harder. "When they gotta do it, they do it!" She finishes. My face heats up with shock and embarrassment. Who thought Levy would say this kind of stuff? These conversations are usually held with Cana not Levy. I watch my best friend turn red from lack of air, she was laughing so hard that I thought she would suffocate.

"You should see your face!" She giggles, finally calming down.

"So you weren't being serious?"

Her face becomes solemn at once. "No. I was telling the truth." Her eyes narrow. "Are you sure you read that book?"

"Parts of it." I admit sheepishly. She groans and slaps her forehead comically. "Can we talk about normal things now?" I ask her. She frowns again then claps.

"Gray proposed to Juvia~!" She sings happily. I nod.

"I helped him pick the ring." I say.

"Aw… I wanted to pick one." She says.

I laugh. "You can pick Mirajane's!"

"Oh, Mavis no! She'd pick her own whether Freed liked it or not!"

We both laugh as we remember when he had tried to get the two of them together. At first it was a joke, to give Mira a taste of her own medicine, but they actually got along really well. After about two weeks they officially started dating and that was when Lisanna and Bixlow had fessed up to secretly be dating-though we all knew-and Evergreen and Elfman were still 'not interested' in one another. There were other little flings going around the guild and I was still in shock that Jet and Droy had hooked up. Jet and Droy of all people! The ones who had fawned over Levy were bisexual! (A/N: I have nothing against yaoi/yuri inclined people. I have gay friends and they are awesome!) It was kind of… Weird. But, I look over at Levy, that mark on her neck… It's like it was supposed to be there, as if she was complete now. I look away and an unbidden image floats across my mind. Me standing with Natsu his red scales on my neck, his arms around me in a tender embrace. I shake my head to clear the thoughts. I can't be thinking of these things now. We talk for a while about things of no real importance, my novel, missions she went on, books and songs, and the guilds latest antics.

"Levy, if you want to catch the next train you'd better go to the station now. The next one doesn't leave until the morning."

I look up. What the hell? We can't have been here for three hours! But I see he's telling the truth. The sun is set low in the sky and pink is streaked across the sky. I hug Levy and, with a promise of regular letters, leave Gajeel to walk her to the station.

When I get back Rogue had finished preparing dinner, Sting had already eaten, Loke and Cobra were nowhere to be seen, the Exceeds were curled up together watching a movie, Carla and Fro seated in Wendy's lap, and Laxus was sitting on the floor drying his hair. I pick at some of the leftovers and decide I'm too tired to have a shower today. I creep into bed and as it grows darker the Dragon Slayers and Exceeds climb into their respective beds one by one. Gajeel returns later, hair disheveled, lips red and face flushed, but I feign sleep. The darkness envelops me and I can hear the sleeping noises of the Dragon Slayers snores, snuffles and the occasional groan of the bed as one turns over in his sleep. My mind is racing and I am too cold, I steel myself for a long night. Animals outside are making noises, distracting me, eventually my mind slows but I'm still to cold and jumpy to sleep. It's laughable, I was afraid but nothing in the world could even touch me while the boys were here. A loud snapping noise from outside frightens me, I throw the blanket over my head and curl into a ball and a small whimper escapes my lips. After a few minutes of whimpering and shivering I feel the blanket being pulled back. I screw my eyes shut and gasp slightly as the bed sags under the weight of someone sliding in beside me. Strong arms wrap around my waist and stroke my hair soothingly. The blanket is replaced and I tuck my head under his chin. I breath in his scent, slightly smokey hints of musk and he actually kind of smells like my house.

"Natsu, why do you smell like my house?"

He laughs lightly and his chest rumbles against my ear. "I was there the whole time you were away." I snuggle into his chest, soaking in his warmth.

"You better have kept it clean."

"Mmm." He nuzzles my neck and I feel more relaxed than I have in days. "Sleep Luce." He murmurs. I wrap my arm around his neck and rest the other on his chest. My eyes slide shut, obeying his request and I drift off to sleep dreaming of Natsu and his kisses.

Phew! Done. I had major writers block with this chapter, that's why I was a bit slow. Sorry my lovelies! As always read and review! Because I love reviews! :D

Much love,

Rose-chan