Oh well crap. This one is long too.
22
The Time Machine
"Face this world. Learn its ways, watch it, be careful of too hasty guesses at its meaning. In the end you will find clues to it all."
― H.G. Wells, The Time Machine
Lucy tried not to let her nerves show as she stood in front of Leo. This was their fifth gate building session since their job on Mt. Hakobe, and so far she'd managed to teleport herself and Natsu to several places other than her intended destination. Places that included Oak Town and Harjeon. Suffice to say, Jura had been pleased to see them, as had some of the other members of Lamia Scale, but it had still been embarrassing.
And she didn't even want to think about Oak Town.
She'd managed to gate them right into the middle of the guild there, Phantom Lord, and they'd proved, very abundantly, that not even all 'light' guilds were friendly. They'd taken one look at their guild marks had sparked derisive comments which had, very quickly, gotten Natsu's back up and the ensuing fight had been nothing short of devastating.
She counted her lucky stars that the guild didn't seem inclined to retaliate any, so far, and their strongest members weren't around. She just hoped Master Makarov was able to successfully smooth everything over with it being a training accident.
"Try to relax Lucy." Leo said soothingly, a calming smile on his face, "It's not a disaster if it doesn't work or you get it wrong. We have contingency plans in place, so you'll be fine. Just close your eyes and try to focus on the door you want to go through. Remember, it doesn't matter what it looks like. All you need is intent behind it. You have to feel where you want it to go, and feel it so completely that it can't help but take you there."
Lucy nodded and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and started building the image in her mind. More often lately her door tended to look like the Fairy Tail guild hall door. It had become her representation of her gateway to the most happiness and excitement she'd felt since before her mother died.
And, truly, she was happy. Despite the dangers and the mishaps and everything else, she was genuinely happy here. She hadn't told anyone, but Earthland was rapidly becoming more of a home to her than Earth had ever been.
Leo, oblivious to her thoughts, smiled approvingly as the magic around her swelled, "Very good." He purred, "Now, try to imagine opening that door and finding yourself next to the gate to the guild."
Lucy nodded, and carefully reached out mentally to open the door. She stepped through just as carefully, and... screamed as she nearly walked off the bell tower.
It was a good thing Natsu was dragged through the gates with her wherever she went, because one tottering step later and he was lunging forward catch her by the back of her shirt before she could fall over.
He looked as if he was in the midst of having a heart attack by how fast his breathing was coming in. The gates made him a little travel sick, but they were so blessedly short they didn't last long enough to give his stomach more than an uncomfortable lurch.
"Ugh! Lucy, you suck at this!" Natsu protested, swinging his arm back to steady her onto the narrow ledge. They both flattened their backs against the wall and he gave her a heated glare, "You wanna try not to get us both dead at some point? It's getting really old!"
"It's not like I do it on purpose!" Lucy responded back hotly, but squeaked when the wind howled, "Okay lets just get down from here!"
Natsu leaned forward over the edge boldly, blinking as Lucy grabbed onto his shoulders to try and tug him back towards safety. He didn't even seem to notice after a moment, just giving her a curious look and then turning back towards the large drop down.
"We could jump?" He suggested.
"Not on your life!"
Natsu pouted when she dragged him back, his head thunking onto the wall behind him, "Don't be a chicken. I'll just hold onto you tight and drop down! You'll barely even feel it!"
He was tugged by the scarf again, pulling his face towards hers until their foreheads knocked together. Natsu grumbled and rubbed his head under his bangs, giving her a grumpy look.
"What do you mean by 'barely'?" Lucy demanded.
Natsu at least that the grace to look a little embarrassed. It seemed he hadn't intended on Lucy catching the slip of his tongue, "You'll be fine! Probably."
"Probably."
"Yep."
"No way."
"Aw, Lucy, come on…"
Lucy shook her head and glared into the pair of green eyes that were trying to do their best impression of a puppy dog, "Absolutely not. I'm not having you haul me over your shoulder and then just drop to the ground in the hopes we remain in one piece!"
Natsu threw his hands up, "Then our only other option is if you gate us out of here, because I'm sure as hell not seeing any stairs off this place!"
Opening her mouth to protest, Lucy promptly closed it when she realized he had a point. They had left Leo somewhere behind, and no doubt he was trying to figure out a way to get to them without accidentally knocking them off the ledge.
She didn't know how to open a gate that wouldn't lead them somewhere worse again.
Natsu huffed and flopped down on the ledge with far more daring than she felt he should be showing. Still, he didn't even seem to notice with the relaxed way his body sank, almost into the stone itself.
A hand propped itself onto his knee, his eyes turned outwards towards the horizon. His scarf fluttered in the air, scales catching the light and gleaming. Strange, Lucy remembered it used to be so much dirtier, but she never saw Natsu clean it.
Hesitantly, she sat down next to him, blinking when he raised a hand and steadied her arm for her to sit down next to him without having to turn away from where he was looking. Lucy hid a smile and watched him. Natsu was a little strange, but she liked him.
"Leo's lessons suck," He announced to her, flashing his gaze towards her and giving her a victorious grin, "You've spent so much time here, do you even remember what your world is like?"
Lucy blinked and she tugged on her sleeves as she thought about his question. Of course she remembered but… it wasn't the easiest to think about. The more she fell in love with this world, the harder she imagined it would be to go back to the one she came from.
"Yeah I remember what it's like," She admitted, "But it's nothing like this one."
Natsu's head tilted and his elbow rose to lightly nudge her arm. He gave her a wry smirk and his eyes glittered in amusement, "Bunch of weirdos like you wandering around? I knew it."
"Haha," Lucy response came dry, "You're hilarious, but no. There's no one quite like me in my world, that might be why it's hard for me to go back."
Natsu's curiosity burned into her and she smiled as a way of explanation, "I'm kind of an oddball there."
"You're weird here too," a lazy smirk flashed over his face and before she could get too offended by his off hand comment, he stretched his legs out in front of him, "but it's better than being boring."
Lucy's face softened and she relaxed, realizing that was his way of saying he liked all the strange things about her. Even if he struggled to admit such a thing.
Silence drew between them, the sun beginning to set heavily in the horizon. It sank over rooftops and began to spill the town of Magnolia with beautiful hues of gold and red. Lucy took a moment to admire it and remember how sunsets back in her world looked so similar to this one.
"At least some things don't change," Lucy grinned and at Natsu's questioning look she gestured towards their private show, "The sun rises and sets the exact same way - no matter where we are."
"Be kinda weird if it didn't!" Natsu raised an eyebrow at that. He snickered a little and eyed her curiously, "So what's different?"
"There's a lot," she admitted. Lucy thought for a moment, "Magic doesn't exist in my world for one. At least not like it does here. We have to do everything by science."
She giggled at Natsu's look of complete horror over the idea of not having magic in her world,
"Come on...it's not all that bad." She grinned, "We have a lot of really interesting inventions there, and can do things this world hasn't come up with yet."
Natsu cocked his head expectantly and Lucy groped for an example he would understand, "Like, for example, everyone can drive cars. They don't run on magic they run on gas, so everyone can use them." Her lips twitched, "You probably wouldn't like them though. The exhaust stinks even to my nose."
She pursed her lips a little, "There's other things too. For example, it seems we have an easier time printing books. They're mass produced in my world, and most of the ones here aren't." She smiled softly, "My favorite place to go was the bookstore. I actually have a collection that would rival Levy's. Except, you know, I have the space to store it."
She thought about visiting Barnes and Noble and other bookstores or libraries. About how at home she felt in them. Books were the friends she'd never had in her world, and while she wouldn't trade her new friends for them she had to admit she kind of missed them.
She shook her head a little and glanced at him, "I wish I could show you." She confessed, "I think you would like exploring my homeworld, even without the magic." She grinned, "I know you'd love trying the different things to eat!"
Natsu's expression brightened at the mention of food. It wasn't hard to convince him of something when the prospect of eating was involved.
Still, the idea that she wanted to show him her world was a little surprising and a trickle of something fuzzy wrapped itself in the gaps of his ribcage.
His first impulse was to brush it off in favor of saying something derisive. Probably something along the lines over her home world smelling as bad as she did. Only he didn't really think she smelled bad.
He sorta liked the way she smelled. Like honey and strawberries dipped in cream. Strange sugary confections that humans liked to eat. Natsu didn't have much of a sweet tooth himself, but the scent was still very nice.
His thought choked off at the root and he dropped his hands to the sides of the ledge, bracing himself there. Swinging his head towards Lucy and fixing her with an interested look, he rolled his shoulders.
"I'd want to see your world I think," He admitted to her.
Seeing the shocked look practically overtake her face, Natsu's cheeks burned. Sheepishly he looked away and grumbled to hide his rosy face.
Lucy smiled at the back of his head, amused at how the red crept over the back of his neck too. He was kinda adorable when he did that.
Biting back a tease that would probably ruin the moment, Lucy murmured, "I'd like that too."
She glanced down at the ground with a sigh when he didn't respond and only hunched his shoulders further down. Just like a child trying to act tough. It was cute, "Alright, let's see if I can build a gate to the ground."
Building her magic back up again was easy, but her mind wasn't really on getting them back to the ground. It kept flickering back to Natsu's admission, and every time it did a warm feeling suffused her. She really did want to take him to see it one day now. She could just imagine him enjoying traveling around different places with her, maybe even nausea free if she got some medicine for him, and trying local cuisines.
She'd traveled a lot before being landed here, purely for fun, but while she'd enjoyed herself there was no question travel was a lot more fun when you had someone to enjoy it with. Maybe she'd start local, and work her way out...it would be so much fun! And Levy would probably love to see it too. She would go nuts over the bookstore there. They might not get her out again.
Lucy smiled at the thought and, in a flash, just as she was visualizing opening the door to get them back to the ground, the image shifted to the Barnes and Noble door.
She squawked with surprise at the shift as she tumbled through, Natsu right beside her.
They did not reappear on the ground.
Natsu for his part felt something very strange pass straight through him the moment he tumbled through the gate after Lucy. He slammed forward and his chin dragged across some thin kind of carpet.
He groaned and set up, scowling furiously up at white lighting, blinding overhead in white tubes. There was strange humming all around him, and bright colors, washed out under the weird lights.
Natsu felt cold all of a sudden, his body's natural temperature dropping radically down in a way that made him feel almost sick. He groaned low in the back of his throat and pushed himself upright, blinking as he watched Lucy, who had landed on his back of all places, slide off and onto the carpet.
She looked around herself in shock, her jaw practically detaching itself and slamming onto the floor.
"Oh my god," She breathed out and grabbed a hold of his arm, giving him an body-shaking jerk, "Natsu! I'm back!"
"Back where?" Natsu groaned, rubbing a hand against his forehead.
Why did he feel so lousy all of a sudden?
"Back in my world!" Lucy hissed, trying not to be overheard, and moved over to help him up, "This is the bookstore I was telling you about!"
She frowned a little at Natsu's pale complexion and tugged on his arm, "C'mon. Let's get back to my place. You don't look so good." And getting sick here would mean a lot of attention, not to mention people possibly trying to call an ambulance or something if it was bad enough. Not something she wanted at all.
She steered him gently, but firmly, out the door, the look on his face alone enough to have people giving them a wide berth, and began guiding him back to her condo. With any luck nothing will have gone wrong while she was away, and the dust layer wouldn't be too thick.
Mercifully she didn't keep any pets, so she didn't have to worry about that at least. And all her bills were paid automatically. Odds were excellent that except for a big pile of mail no one would have even noticed she was gone.
How ironic that something that would've depressed her two months ago was now a relief.
At least it was still hot out. It seemed to help revive Natsu some. Though the look on his face when she led him out into the parking lot was absolutely priceless. It made her wish he wasn't sick and she had a camera so she could capture it properly.
Natsu went green as soon as he stepped foot outside, clapping a hand over his nose and mouth. His eyes watered and he looked around in bewilderment. The smog was thick in the air, but at least it was hot outside. That did leaps and bounds in making him feel better at the very least.
He grunted and waved a hand in front of his face to breathe past the exhaust no one seemed to notice and glanced at Lucy. What kind of badass lungs did she have to be able to inhale this shit in all the time?
He at least was a dragon. He could breathe this stuff in without worrying about it. But her? He wondered if he should give her a respirator. This stuff couldn't be good for her flimsy lungs.
Neither Natsu or Lucy noticed the shocked pair of eyes that followed them out of the Barnes and Noble. Or the way the man watching, ducked into the back room to make a phone call.
Natsu was too busy whipping his head around at everything that was going on around him, sensory overload imminent as he pointed around him at the strange inventions that didn't exist in his world.
And then a plane flew overhead and Natsu practically lost it.
He swore and grabbed onto Lucy, dragging her backwards into a bush.
"Lucy is that a dragon?" He hissed into her ear, "Why isn't it moving its wings? Is it dead?"
His eyes went comically wide and Lucy stared back at Natsu, who looked like he was having trouble wrapping his brain around everything.
"Have your people managed to capture dragons and use their carcasses as transportation?" He sounded truly horrified.
Lucy gawked at him for a moment, and opened her mouth to tell him it was a plane not a dragon, when a sense of mischief slammed into her and she grinned wickedly. Here was the perfect chance for a little bit of payback for every time he laughed at her over the last couple months.
He still had his eyes glued to the sky, which was perfect, "Yes Natsu." She purred, trying very hard not to laugh, "That's exactly what we've done. Now behave yourself before I turn you into a carriage."
The horrified look Natsu was sending her proved to be too much for her composure and she dissolved into a fit of giggles, "C'mon." She told him, tugging him towards her condo again, "Let's get out of public."
He let her pull him along, though she could tell he was stuck between being horrified and angry over her answer, "They're not dragons." She sighed in an undertone, and shot him an amused look, "As far as I know dragons don't exist in my world. They're mechanical objects called planes."
Thankfully, while it was early in the day, it wasn't rush hour, so there weren't many people around to overhear her. Just as well. She didn't need someone being overly noisy and demanding to know why she was explaining planes to Natsu.
They probably already looked crazy enough.
The expression on Natsu's face crossed from confused to pouty in an instant the moment he realized Lucy had been teasing him. He huffed and blew a raspberry at her while they made the relatively short walk back to the condo.
A few more distractions interrupted the trip, but soon they were clomping into Lucy's condo.
There was a distinct smell around the house, as if no one had been in there for quite some time. Lucy tested a lightswitch and sighed in relief when her lamps flickered on. It was clear she was concerned there wouldn't be much in the way of power.
Natsu groaned and shivered, rubbing his hands over his arms. It was freezing!
He lifted his hands to his face and tried to breath fire over his fingertips, but stopped when he couldn't feel that strange tickle of magic in the back of his throat.
There were no flames, no heat - nothing.
That was right, he thought with dawning horror, there was no magic in this world!
Still, his strength and senses seemed to remain intact. But his active magic was all but gone. Natsu whined and swayed on his spot, "Lucy I'm cold!"
Lucy blinked at him in confusion, "What? You're never cold..." Her eyes widened as it suddenly hit her why he was suddenly so cold. He didn't have access to his magic, so of course his flames wouldn't respond!
"Right, sit down." She pointed to the sofa and ran over to her linen closet to pull out some heavy blankets for him, turning up the air a little on the way. She'd almost forgotten the bliss that was air conditioning during her time in Earthland, and honestly was kind of cold herself.
She moved back to the sofa and wrapped the first comforter around his shoulders, "Here. Pile these up. That will help."
Thank god for being prepared for snow and ice storms.
She helped get him tucked into a cocoon as best she could, "Sorry." She murmured as she moved to rub her fingers through his hair soothingly, "I forgot all about the air conditioning. It's not something that's been invented in Earthland yet."
At least it shouldn't be as bad on his senses in here. Especially with the air purifiers running. Though they certainly didn't help the temperature any.
Natsu looked at her in confusion, "What's air conditioning?" He asked, wondering how you would even condition air. Was it like the stuff Lucy used on her hair?
Lucy smiled a little at him, "It's a mechanism for heating or cooling the air inside." She explained, "Something that's generally important with as far south as I live. And before you ask, no I can't turn the heat on right now. It might make things comfortable for you, but I'd bake and get sick."
She smiled at his pout, "I did turn it up some though so it won't be as cold."
He grumbled a little over being coddled as he was and slid sideways down onto the couch cushions, buried in his blankets, "I'll get used to it."
From where Lucy stood, it sounded as if his voice was disembodied, coming only from the mounds of blankets. She laughed and reached over to him to mess with the pink spikes of hair that extended out of the folds by themselves.
"It probably doesn't help that you're not actually dressed right for my world," Lucy explained, "You'll be warmer if you wear a shirt that y'know... covers you."
His head poked out, just his eyes peering over the blanket and narrowing onto Lucy with skepticism, "What's wrong with the way I dress? I look cool."
Not having known Natsu to be a bit of a fashionista, Lucy choked a bit in amusement and tugged at his thin pants.
"No. Right now you look freezing. For one, you don't wear shoes. That can be a bit of a problem."
"So can burning rubber to the soles of my feet," he shot back with a smirk, "Next."
Lucy rolled her eyes, "At the moment you can't light a candle, let alone burn rubber into your soles." She pointed out, "So shoes won't be a problem for you."
She smirked back at him, "And who knows, maybe you'll like them. I'm sure steel toed combat boots would be just your thing."
"Besides that though, you need a shirt. Just wearing a vest doesn't cut it in my world, and can see you get kicked out of a lot of places. Just like no shoes." She eyed him for a moment and got up, "I have a decent idea of your size, so I'll go pick up a couple things for you to wear for now, and we can go shopping properly later okay?"
Natsu stared up at her blankly, "But Lucy, we can't afford that."
Lucy stared at him for a moment and then burst into laughter, "Oh Natsu!" She gasped, "I'm not poor in this world!" She grinned, "In this world I have enough money I could practically buy Magnolia if I wanted to. Don't worry about it."
She ruffled his head, not noticing his growing shock as he mentally tallied just how wealthy that would make her, and grabbed her things, "I'll be back in about an hour okay? Try to get some sleep. The time shift between worlds is brutal."
Lucy huffed a little as she headed out, but did hurry her steps. She really didn't want to leave him alone for long, but also didn't want to deal with him being puke faced when he stepped outside until he was more used to the smog.
Not that she could talk. She was a little nauseated by it after so long breathing in Magnolia's clean air.
Thankfully, her car had managed to survive sitting around for a couple of months without any problem, and with it being mid-morning on a Tuesday, she had no problem getting to the mall for some shopping.
She quickly raided a couple of places for some generic jeans, underwear, and socks, hoping she got the sizes right when she did before making a beeline for a selection of t-shirts and anything else she thought Natsu might like.
She particularly hoped he would like the red dragon print shirt she grabbed, but unfortunately she was rushing a little so she kind of picked up whatever caught her eye and moved on.
No doubt there would be a few returns since she didn't have much to go on as far as his taste was concerned.
As much as she loved shopping, and had done her best to cram as much of it in as quickly as she could, she really didn't want to leave Natsu alone any longer than she had to. More than that though, she was quickly running out of steam herself. The time change really was brutal.
Chances were a good long nap would be in order once she got back.
By the time Lucy returned, heaving a bag over her shoulder and dragging in her haul of clothes back to the condo, it was getting later in the day.
She was about to nod off herself, when she made it into her house and locked the door behind her.
"Natsu?" She called out, checking the couch to see if he had done as she asked and taken a nap.
No such luck.
Of course not.
There was rummaging in her room, and Lucy dropped the bag in the hallway to see Natsu, still draped in his stolen comforters and rooting through the drawers in her dresser.
A pile of underwear was lying discarded on the floor, although he was looking at one pair with a certain expression of confusion and fascination.
"When would you even wear something like this?" Natsu asked no one in particular. He scratched his head with a blanket-covered hand, "When you're eating?"
"Definitely not!" Lucy shrieked and grabbed the edge of the blanket from him, ripping it sideways and off his shoulders.
Natsu stumbled in surprise and squawked, landing face first in the small pile of her lacy-undergarments. Lucy tried not to think about the injured pride she felt over how he didn't pay even a lick of attention to them.
"What was that for Lucy! Gimmie back my blanket!" He demanded.
"Excuse you, this is my blanket!" Lucy screeched back at him and pointed at the mess he made, "What were you thinking rooting through my drawers like some kind of pervert!"
Natsu's eyes were fixated on the blanket, a growl building in his chest as he watched it move just out of his grasp.
"I was bored, you were taking too long!" Natsu shot back at her before lunging for it. He pounced just like a cat would, managing to capture the edge between his hands.
"What're you so mad about?" Natsu asked her, smothering a jaw cracking yawn into the blanket. He had clearly struggled to stay awake, waiting for her to return, "Not like I found anything bad right?"
Lucy blinked as he leaned his shoulders against the foot of her bed, a quiet sigh escaping him and his face relaxing just a bit.
Damnit, why did he have to be so adorable when he looked like that? She was supposed to be mad at him for invading her privacy, not feeling all warm and fuzzy because he'd obviously stayed up waiting for her.
She sighed a little and nudged him a little, "That stuff is private Natsu." She tried to explain only to shake her head at his blank look, "C'mon...either crawl into bed, or let me show you what I got for you."
Natsu let out another jaw popping yawn and crawled into bed, tugging her with him, to her complete surprise, "Look later. Sleep now."
Lucy blushed as Natsu sleepily tried to snuggle close to her warmth and just barely managed to wriggle out of his grasp, "I'm not sleeping in this." She told him and grabbed some sleep clothes before heading into the bathroom to change.
She didn't even bother suggesting he sleep on the couch or anything. She knew nothing short of an earthquake would move him now, and she wasn't minded to give up her bed to him. Assuming he even let her.
They'd gotten used to sleeping in the same room and it would feel really strange to change that now.
She headed back to bed to discover he'd burrowed under the covers and to all appearances was already asleep.
She rolled her eyes a little and crawled in beside him. It wasn't the first time they'd done this and wouldn't be the last.
Sometimes when they went on jobs together, she'd scoot in close to his sleeping bag and he'd toss an arm over her to keep away the chill of the night. It made for a cozy sleeping arrangement when they were sleeping under the stars.
There was a certain kind of security Lucy felt whenever he pulled her to him. Whether it was in battle, or just popping up behind her at the guild. He was a makeshift sort of security blanket.
Which was very strange to think about considering his reputation.
He should have been the exact opposite. Natsu was the villainous dragon, not a charming prince after all.
Lucy's breath caught in her throat the moment she slid into bed with him. Not asleep as Lucy originally thought, Natsu's hand blindly reached out, sitting first on her thigh and sliding up her hip until it flattened against her stomach.
For Natsu, there was likely nothing intimate about the touch, but Lucy couldn't help the warm shudder that trembled through her at the feel of his rough palm against her bare skin. It was a sensation that surprised her, but she shook her head as the feeling faded.
He mumbled something sleepily into her hair in protest of her movements and tugged her backwards into his chest. His nose bumped downward to rest at the crook of her shoulder and neck, scooting in as close as possible to her.
He was cuddling her.
Had Lucy's heart not jumped straight upwards into her throat at the first, sleepy caresses to her thigh and hip, she would have laughed hysterically at the idea of Natsu snuggling with anything.
Perhaps she should consider getting him a cat?
Still, sleep was suddenly far too distant a thought. Natsu was curled around her back. He fit so well against her, Lucy had never felt so comfortable in the arms of a man before.
She blushed a little at the thought, but had neither the energy to pull her thoughts onto a different track, nor the inclination to pull away. It was nice snuggling up like this. It made her feel safe and protected, and right now that was far more important to her than his potentially distracting caresses.
Besides, it was comfortable, and as potentially embarrassing as it was, it was also a positive sign from Natsu. She would take as many of those as she could get. She might not know much about nest dynamics after all, but she could guess that snuggling was probably part of it. That Natsu would snuggle up with her, even unconsciously, had to be a good sign that something in him was healing.
So she did the only thing she really could under the circumstances. She settled in comfortably and let her eyes slide closed. It had been a very long day and she was more than ready for a few hours of sleep.
Oh man guys. Shit is officially getting real. ALSO. I will be illustrating an upcoming chapter soon. You'll be able to find it on tumblr when it's done. Probably. Also the GAJEVY oneshot turned into a twoshot.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED - OgaxHilda - Flame Ray - BlessYourStar21 - DraGonS3aL (Yes. This story will definitely have lemons) - Little Red (I answered this last chapter :D ) - shvartzit (Ohoho, I can promise you, the last chapter was veeeery important) - Snavej ( I think I mentioned in an earlier A/N that Wendy appears later) - Sara lovelymusic (I think I got it!) - CrimsonLightKey (I hope this nalu helped satisfy that itch just a little? :D ) - bluebirdeyes (Bacon is like currency) - the-clumsy-one (Oh it's easy to update fast when we have FIFTY CHAPTERS WRITTEN *dies* ) - equastar (oh yes "understanding" ) - HalfBlackWolfDemon (last time I checked we weren't!) - FairyAsia (Maybe a lil' of both?) - Musicality - Angel T-chan Nekoi (Hey, we had to break him down to build him up :D Oh we definitely saw the vampire Natsu! Hahaha, and I can promise you. Lord of the Rings will get a chapter. We're just saving it hohoho) - BakaFangirl (Awww don't cry *rocks you* ) - Amelia Loves Anime (Oh I'd definitely agree to why we study history.) - kirby42280 - SakuraPetal91 - Kaycha - AJ Drakes (Reverse psychology is basically the only thing that would work on Natsu haha.) - Dark-Angel-of-Wicked-Chaos17 - Thalia24 (oh man, take the fic one step at a time! HAhah it's a marathon, not a sprint! Kytrin and I thank you!) - CurlyBookWriter94 (welcome to the den! We update once every two days so we hope you'll swing by again!) - Guest (The magic council just saw a threat to them that could be eliminated. Sucks for Igneel and Natsu though) - ThatOneExoticPotato (THANK YOU FOR LIKING THE FICS! WE WORK HARD MY POTATO FRIEND) - emeraldlily56 (oh my god. You didn't. Yes, much of the conflict from this fic comes from Natsu's own emotional growth) - Guest - Twishadowhunter (Oh man, yeah Natsu's protective desire over Lucy is definitely starting to make its appearence) - Crash8573 - Glitter Spires (Yes, we mean Asuka. Kytrin watches a different version of the show than I do, and the manga translates differently. So we just stick with one name and run with it. You'll see it when we get to Grandine as well.) - Avengerika (Oh shit don't tell me I have to give you chest compressions. I hope you liked this chapter!) - re (Well Trial by Fire was a different situation that was developed around those settings) - Wonderwomanbatmanfan - The-Rosette-Wolf ( Oh I loved her new star dress! Thank you for the compliment and I am glad you like our updates!) - Ilulabelle (Well don't worry! We update this fic a lot! So hopefully you don't have to wait long) - Animallover (muahaha... we have plans. Yis. All the plans. The mugger just has some roadrash on his face hahaha ouch. Yeah we know about Asuka. Kytrin and I watch different versions and it's spelled Asca there. Naked sulky bby Natsu is my fave. Hahaha) - Princessatj (Why would we kill anyone? We would never do such a thing. Just... a little death. A teensy bit.) - wishyouweremedontya (Don't worry about it! I always encourage people to look at characters and situations with tolerance and patience. I understand how annoying that Lisanna trope can be, so there's no need to apologize! Omg. He knows how to read hahaha. ALSO. WE DID NOT PLAN THE GATE JUMP. YOU ARE PSYCHIC) - Pixelbow (I'm glad this still remains one of your favorites! *blows kisses* He definitely went overboard. He was basically going to torture the guy. Natsu and Lucy are cut from the same cloth, so their stories kind of parallel one another.) - Saracasim (You'll find out C; ) - TrollalaX (YES THIS IS A SLOW BURN. SUFFER WITH US. WE'RE WRITING THE DERN THING. Natsu's insecurities are things that have built up from being alone for hundreds of years. It's hard to just let go of all the bad stuff. He might start to trust Lucy, but that's it) - eternalstarrlight (Oh yes. This is their married life. Definitely. Hahaha I kind of want to see Natsu as a half-naked sulky child myself. Natsu's an old dog, but he can be taught new tricks! Natsu is like a beansprout. Maybe even a sunflower as he evolves! )