Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews. Sorry I keep doing cliff hangers, but I get a sadistic pleasure from doing it, so I'm only a little sorry since I hate it when an author does it to me :) Over 100 reviews, and over 20,000 views, what a great feeling.

In other news this Sunday, the 20th is my 31st birthday :) Yes I'm an old fuddy duddy. So my gift to you, an extra-long smexy, chapter! Go me! If you'd like to give me a b-day gift in return, please leave a review. Help me reach 200 sometime in the near future.

This Chapter has several POV's. I've marked them for you.

As usual, Hiro Mashima is the sole owner of Fairy Tail. Though he really is a freakin troll. The last chapter with the hot springs (#355)?

(SPOILER ALERT!)

There is no way straight teenage guys would be so flippant over naked hot chicks. Seriously, Natsu wanted to go peep on Lucy in the shower during the Magic Games and now he's all like "Seen it once seen it a thousand times". Starting to give some credence to the YAOI I see written on this site. And Erza and Natsu washing each other's back? Damn. Bet Jellal would have a few words about that. But boy, I can't complain about how much of Natsu we got to see. Mashima is pushing the ecchi boundaries hard. That final panel, with Erza all bent over was so wrong. Too bad we didn't see any jealous Lucy faces. Definitely a chapter just filled with "plot".

(SPOILER DONE)

A Blue Forgotten Night

Chapter 8 cont.

Natsu's POV

Natsu was trapped on the couch with a very frisky Lucy straddling him. She suddenly smirked at him, "I don't like your shirt." She randomly stated.

He raised an eyebrow at that; wasn't she the one that made him wear it? He placed his hands on her waist, and was about to lift her off of him, when she reached out and started unzipping his shirt. His hands stilled at her actions. She pushed it off his shoulders, so that it rested at the pit of his elbows, leaving his shoulders, entire chest and abs exposed. She stared very intensely at his chest for several long seconds; making Natsu feel a little uncomfortable but not unhappy.

"Natsu I'm hot." She said with a pout. Her cheeks were pink.

Clearing his throat he said with a husky voice, "You should probably take off your coat then."

"You do it." She said still pouting cutely.

Swallowing again, he slowly pulled down the zipper of his coat that she wore. She sat there passively as he pushed both jackets off her shoulders, allowing them to fall to the ground behind them. And he gently unwrapped his scarf from her lovely neck, and put it next to him on the couch. "Better?" He quietly asked. Looking in her eyes.

"No…I'm still hot."

His hands were resting on her legs and he was unconsciously rubbing her in the areas her smooth skin was exposed. He brought his eyes down, and hesitantly thought "Surely she doesn't really mean for me to…remove anything else." His eyes went wider as he watched her hands came to the front of her leather top. And slowly, achingly so, she pulled the zipper down, fully freeing her breasts. Dropping her top down, it too joined the jackets on the floor.

His hands instinctively tightened on her legs as he stared. He couldn't believe what was right in front of him. One taste won't hurt. He rationalized. Slowly he leaned forward and slowly stroked her breast with his tongue. Starting from the center bottom, he dragged his tongue upwards over her pert nipple to the top swell. He looked up at her, making sure he wasn't about to get hit. Her eyes were closed and when he heard her quietly moan he brought his hands up and cupped both breasts and started squeezing them. Oh God, they felt beyond wonderful. He felt her nipples harden under his palms.

He wrapped one arm behind her waist and pulled her closer and took a nipple in his mouth and at first gently suckled it, but when Lucy grabbed his hair, he lost a hold on his control and sucked it hard. "Aah!" She let out while arching her back. He kneaded the neglected breast firmly with his rough hand. Then his mouth switched to her other nipple and pressed her more firmly against him. Her flat stomach pressed against his chest.

He kissed down her stomach and back up to her breasts. Licking and sucking as he went. He especially liked the area right between her tits; her scent was strongest there. He sucked on the side of her left tit, leaving a satisfying purple mark on her skin. Mine.

He had no conscience thought of doing it, but he suddenly pressed his hips against her core. She responded with more moans of pleasure and started rocking back and forth over his erection. Pleasure he had never known started coursing through his body. He grabbed her ass and pushed her more firmly against him. "Nat-su!" She cried out, scratching his shoulders painfully.

He picked her up, with her legs wrapped around his waist, and quickly took her over to the bed. And practically fell in to the bed on top of her. Frantically kissing her neck, and breasts. More, he wanted so much more. His hard on was so bad it was almost painful.

He sat up and was trying to undo his pants, when an annoying thought entered his head. "No." It said. Fuck that. He argued back. "You need to stop." FUCK! Stupid ass conscience had decided to wake up. He got off the bed leaving a perplexed Lucy there, "Natsu?"

"I'll be right back, stay here, okay?" At her nod, he made his escape to the bathroom. Fuck, shit, damn, son of a bitch, life fuckin sucks! God it hurts! He'd never suffered a case of blue balls before. He'd heard of it, and had even laughed at others for their suffering, but now karma was biting him in the ass.

He heard that if he didn't cum it'd hurt even worse. He'd heard that it could hurt for hours. With a final longing thought for the blond in the other room, he took his dick in his hand and manually dealt with it. So unsatisfying. He almost wanted to cry. So damn close. He poured cold water over his head and face, trying to calm down.

Part of him, a huge part of him was pissed at himself because he had stopped. She was the one who instigated. He had told her to stop several times. Why did he have to suffer? But the other, more responsible, part was relieved he had. He wanted Lucy to want him, not make some random choice while she was drunk. He wanted her body badly, but that wasn't all he wanted. And he knew that if he had gone through with what he had wanted tonight, Lucy would never trust him again. But fuck, did she have to tempt him to his breaking point?

He looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes looked a little dilated. And then he noticed a large splotch on his neck. What the? He didn't remember getting hit in the neck by those idiots… Oh, right. Lucy did it. And then he saw…blood on his shoulder? He looked over and 4 deep scratch marks marred his skin on both sides. Shit, Lucy is a freak. Not that he had really minded.

Rubbing his hands over his face, he sat down on the bathroom floor. Feeling utterly frustrated and more than a little tired. Too bad Gildarts wasn't around, he had some confusion happening in his brain, and it was giving him a head ache. He crossed his arms over his knees and rested his head on them. Waiting for his bad mood, and sexual frustration to go away.

He was a little tired of this constant struggle he seemed to be suffering from when it came to Lucy. He partially wished to go back to the way things were before, but after tonight there was really no chance of that happening. For him at least, things had truly changed to a point where he could never go back to just a platonic friendship. He knew he loved her; more than just a guild mate or missions partner or teammate.

He was most happy when he was with her. For him, where she is, that is home. He wanted to wake up every morning, like this morning, with her snugly in his arms. Sleep every night in the same bed as her. Eat together, go fishing, do tons of missions together. He wanted what Alzack and Bisca had. Hell he even had thoughts of mini Lucy's and mini hims running around.

Sitting on the bathroom floor, of an overpriced hotel, in a city full of idiots, he had an epiphany. He wanted to marry Lucy. When the hell did that happen!? And what did she think about him? Besides that he was a destructive idiot.

His feelings started brightening up. "She never pushed me away tonight, so perhaps she likes me back. Actually tonight has been a pretty good night, I won a drinking contest, got to dance with Lucy, kissed her, beat up a bunch of people and almost had sex. And I did the responsible, mature thing. Lucy has gotta love me now. I've proven I'm not an irresponsible idiot."

Feeling significantly better, and no longer in pain, he decided to go ahead and shower while he was in the bathroom. He was hoping Lucy would zonk out and be asleep by the time he got out.

He quietly exited the bathroom. And sure enough, she was asleep on the bed. She still had on her shoes, pants and belt. That can't be comfortable, but decided it would be in his best interest to not pursue that line of thought. He was about to crawl into bed when he suddenly remembered. Crap, forgot about the ice block. He quickly got re-dressed and went to go deal with it. He wanted out of this town first thing tomorrow.

This night really doesn't want to end does it?

Almost an hour later, he was finally able to crawl into bed. He pulled his drunken goof close to him and fell asleep with her in his arms for a second night.

Lucy's POV

"What do you mean you don't remember anything? Not a single thing?!"

"Natsu, if you don't shut up, I'm gonna have Aries shove wool down your throat."

"But, but"

"Knock it off!" I yelled and stomped towards the train station. What the hell is his problem? God my head feels like crap. Today is just gonna suck. And Natsu has been acting even stupider than usual. Ever since I've woken up he's been bugging me. First was having to beat the octopus off of me so I could go to the bathroom. Luckily I didn't have to pray to the porcelain bowl, but it doesn't mean it's all sunshine and roses. Second I wasn't wearing a damn top. Seriously did Natsu strip me in the middle of the night? And my chest and stomach were covered in little purple bruises with a giant one on my left boob. Plus the damn belt had dug into my stomach, leaving marks from that as well. Third was the sudden realization that I did not have a single clue what happened last night.

I looked in the mirror for several minutes trying in vain to figure out what went on last night. I remembered going to the club. I made a bet with Natsu which based on how he doesn't seem to be suffering at all, I guess I lost. I think some dick grabbed me, but not completely sure. Loud music. Did I fly at some point? That's just stupid. I had no idea how I got back to the hotel room.

When I exited the bathroom, Natsu was acting all mother hen like, which was way too damn weird to deal with that early in the morning. Asking me what I wanted to eat, and how I was feeling. Seriously has he been possessed? I had to wear some huge baggy sweater to cover up all the random markings on my body. I wanted to know where they came from but was too embarrassed to ask. My hair wasn't co-operating, I had bags too large to cover with make-up and my eyes were blood shot. I really felt un-cute, which did nothing to improve my demeanor.

And to top it all off, on the way to the train Natsu was still pestering me. Talking about some fight he had last night. "Remember how I knocked one guy through a wall! He dodged my punch but I got him with a round house kick to the stomach and he just flew!"

"Actually Natsu, I don't remember one damn thing, so please shut up."

Which is where I find myself stomping to the train station. I still needed to deal with the ice block. God, this train ride is going to majorly suck. I'm upgrading us to a sleeper car, because I just want to sleep this misery away.

When we got there the ice block was already gone. "Natsu, did you remove the ice already?" I said slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, last night while you were passed out."

Great I have literally done nothing to earn any part of the reward money. "Damn it Natsu, I was supposed to remove the ice."

"Why?" He said with a very confused expression.

"So I could earn my part of the reward money. Now I don't deserve any of it."

"What are you talking about Lucy, we're partners." By his tone he sounded a little annoyed.

"How can I justify taking any amount when I haven't done shit to earn it?!"

"Lucy, We. Are. Partners. You get half, and that's it." Now sounding angry.

"I can't do that Natsu. You get all of it." Why is he making this so difficult?

"You will either take an equal half, or I'm dumping all of it in the middle of the street." He threatened. "I don't give a shit about how much you think you did or didn't do to 'earn' it. We're partners. When we go out together, we spilt everything together. Do I make myself fuckin clear?" And without waiting for a response he went over to the ticket booth.

Well damn, talk about getting put in my place. Natsu used to try and weasel all of the reward money from the missions, now he's forcing me to take half even if I willingly say I didn't earn it. How times change. "Hey Natsu, get a sleeper car, I don't want to be awake for this ride. I'm gonna go sit down on the bench."

I had my head in my hands. It's cold, I hurt, this sucks, everything just sucks. I'm tired. Natsu came over and sat next to me. If I knew the ice had already been taken care of, we could have left an hour later. Stupid Natsu. Yelling at me when my head hurts. I just want to.."Ack" Natsu had suddenly grabbed me and laid my head on his lap. "Wha..what!"

"Shhh. You're head hurts and you're cold, just rest. I'll let you know when our train arrives." He was using his very warm hands to rub small circles on my back. I could feel my face turn bright red. What is with this position? Usually it's Natsu needing my lap for comfort … But it is really comfortable. Maybe that's why Natsu…

I had fallen asleep.

Natsu POV

Instead of waking her up when the train arrived, he managed to balance all the bags and just carried her on. He laid her down on the bed and secured their luggage. He put a Do Not Disturb sign on the door, and locked it. He sat down and watched her sleep for a few minutes.

How could she not remember anything? After everything that happened, and everything we did, she didn't remember any of it? She didn't remember kissing me, or all the... things we did at the hotel room? Or that dancing? To say he was disappointed would be an understatement.

He could tell she wasn't in the best of moods this morning, and nothing he did seemed to cheer her up. In fact his efforts just seemed to annoy her. And he had assumed it was because of what happened last night, and she was regretting it all, and was rejecting him. He could feel his heart hurting when he had thought that was the case. So he was relieved that, that wasn't the case. But he wasn't sure how he should feel about the memory loss. He had wanted her to remember, and for them to officially get together. But he would rather her forget everything than reject him.

He felt toyed with. He remembered everything clearly, and vividly. And she remembered nothing. Maybe after resting a little longer, and the after effects of the hangover where's off she'll remember more, and hopefully be in a better mood. The little evil Natsu, which ironically sounded a lot like Gray for some strange ass reason, was chastising him for stopping even more now, especially since she didn't remember anything.

He crawled into the bed next to her, and wrapped his arms around her sleeping form. She is to be protected, and cherished. Not used. He told his evil self harshly. "Virgin" It mocked him before going away. How do you kick the ass of your own mind? He wondered. I'll just beat the shit out of the Popsicle Princess when I get back. And fell asleep as well.

3rd person POV

It was a relatively peaceful ride. They just slept the whole 6 hours there. A couple of times they came close to consciousness but felt the movement of the train and just fell back asleep. Natsu especially was unwilling to wake up, since all that would mean was pain and agony.

They were awakened by loud knocking on their door. Natsu reacted first of course. And opened it. "What?"

""Sir we have reached your stop."

"Oh. Thanks, we'll be right off." And gave the conductor a big grin.

"Yo, Lucy, time to wake up." He bent down and shook her.

"Hmmm, what Natsu?"

"We're here. Time to head to the village with the monster issues."

Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she got up and stretched. Grabbing their bags, Natsu still carrying her larger heavier one, and exited. It was a sunny afternoon, in the heart of Iceberg. But seriously cold. Lucy started digging though her bags, and pulled out her large parka. Natsu opted to wear his new leather jacket, though he didn't need it. He just thought it was cool looking, and matched well with his scarf.

"When did we get on the train?""

"I just carried you on. You were out cold."

Blushing she said, "Baka. You should have woken me up!"

"Why?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

"Because it's embarrassing!"

"Weirdo, you were asleep. How were you embarrassed?"

"Let's just go get instructions to the village." Typical Lucy changing the topic when the conversation doesn't go her way.

They walked in silence, looking for someone to give them directions. Lucy was feeling better. But not great.

"Hey Lucy, can we stop for lunch before heading out. I'm smelling something delicious."

"Sure, I'm hungry too. Lead the way."

He led them to a ramen shop. They sat down, and of course Natsu ordered the entire menu. In the middle of eating Natsu tentatively asked, "Lucy do you really not remember anything that happened last night?"

"Sorry Natsu, I don't remember your fight, but I'm sure you were awesome."

"I'm not talking about that. I mean everything else?"

"Like what?" She watched as his ears and cheeks turned bright red.

What would be the safest thing to say he wondered. Telling her she straddled me and stripped would probably be a bad choice. "Us dancing?" Dancing is safe, though maybe he had been a little more into it than was appropriate.

"WE danced? Like You, Natsu, danced with, Me, Lucy? You actually danced with me? How can I not remember this?" She closed her eyes and scrunched up her face trying hard to remember it. 'How could I forget such a rare occurrence? Did I have to drag you kicking and screaming?"

He pouted at that. "No, actually I asked you."

"Really? Wow. Sorry Natsu, I kind of vaguely remember being on the dance floor, but not with you specifically."

He tried not to let his disappointment show.

"Anything else?" Lucy asked. "Maybe I'll remember something if you give me a couple of more events."

He looked at her with a fairly intense face for a few seconds, but then just looked away again, scratching his chin. What could he say? He wanted to tell her the truth but at the same time, he didn't want her to hate him. "I won our bet." He said staying with safe options. "Even if you claim to forget it, your still have to honor it."

"Could you remind me?" She didn't doubt him. She vaguely remembered it. She remembered it had to do with drinking, which is why she was so screwed up to begin with. "Wait, slave for a day?"

He grinned, "Yup. And I had to carry your drunken butt, back to the hotel. So when do I get my prize?"

"Not today please, my head still feels sucky."

"Sure we'll wait till you're 100%. Now let's go see someone about killing some monsters"

"Alright!"

She pulled out the flyer and asked a few people where the village was located. An older man said, "EdenPeak? Sure I know where EdenPeak is. You need to head up North towards the mountains. Right now you're about center of the country, a little closer to Stella in the south. So what you want to do is take a sleigh about 4 hours due North. It's a fairly straight shot. They've got lacrima lanterns along the road so you won't get lost."

"Thank you very much sir" Lucy said again "Could I trouble you for directions to one more location?" She asked pulling out the other flyer.

"Ah, heading to the Mogami mansion for the wedding?"

"Yes sir, they're hiring mages to be body guards for the wedding."

"I see, well you're still gonna head North toward EdenPeak and then almost due east from that village. It's fairly close to the border of the Pergrande Kingdom. Unfortunately it's a little hard to find someone to travel to the mansion. They've got a lot of wild monsters between that village and the Mansion, so the Mogami's tend to get there supplies from Pergrande instead of Iceberg."

"Sir, you have been so helpful, thank you very much. Could I buy you some tea for your time."

"Nah, getting to talk to a pretty girl at my age is all I need. Have a good day." He said with a tip of his hat.

"Hey Natsu, got some bad news for you."

Did I love him? Is this what love is? I felt so scared and confused. I definitely thought he was hot, fun, smart, sweet, kind, patient. He liked me a lot too. Probably loved me. Was I ready for something like that? I wasn't even 19 yet. Is a 19 year old even capable of really loving someone? The Bible has a pretty good description of what love is.

2 Corinthians 13:4-8

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails…

I knew one thing for completely certain. I didn't want to lose him, and I didn't want to be without him. I felt whole when we were together, and missed him terribly when we were apart. I didn't want to imagine my life without him. I didn't tell him my feelings. I promised him I wouldn't say it unless I truly meant it. And I was so conflicted. I wasn't going to be one of those stupid girls who frivolously said they loved their boyfriends but then stupidly break up a week later.

For our 1 year anniversary we went and saw the live performance of "Les Miserables". (I highly recommend it so amazing) It was our fanciest non-prom date yet. I dressed up in a pretty dress and he wore a suit. We went to a nice restaurant and then to the theatre. It was a beautiful night. Everything had been great, and perfect.

Went back to my place, and were making out on my bed. He stopped kissing me, and sat up on his elbows. Then he put his hand on the side of my face and looked me in the eyes. He gently said "I love you." With a slight shake in his voice. And I paused, while looking him in the eyes as well, and finally said "I love you too."