Hey guys, I'm sorry for the delay is posting this chapter as I was busy with other works irl ^^ here is chapter 5 ^^ Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it :) (Also, I use Carla like in the Manga instead of Charles)

After about 15 minutes, Mira had completed treating Lucy's wound, it wasn't as effective as Wendy's treatment, but this will have to do for the time being as Wendy was out doing missions with Romeo. It was a simple mission and so they had all agreed to let just Wendy and Romeo go on the mission, along with Carla of course.

"This will do for now, Wendy should be returning tomorrow, you can get the wound treated by her so that you don't have any scars remaining" Mira said, examining Lucy for any other wounds or scratches.

"I don't mind the scars Mira" Lucy said as she gave Mira a small smile and Mira smiled back with a nod and exited the infirmary while Natsu stood up from the chair he was seated at and walked towards where Lucy stood.

"But I do mind the scars" Natsu said softly but loud enough for Lucy to hear while Happy happily dozed off on the infirmary bed peacefully with slight occasional snores every now and then.

"What!" Lucy exclaimed as she was startled by his sudden appearance and turned around to see Natsu with a light pink blush sitting on his cheeks.

"I said -" Natsu said as he lightly placed his hand on Lucy's bandaged back "I don't want the wound to leave a scar" he said as he rubbed her bare skin on top of the bandage making Lucy shiver slightly at his actions.

Lucy was now blushing as Natsu absent mindedly stroked her back in a way that made Lucy feel shivers run down her spine. Confused by what Natsu said, Lucy looked at him quizzically. Never before had Natsu minded Lucy having scars, he had even preached about how having scars were like having rewards granted for a job well done.

Seeing Lucy's quizzical gaze, Natsu gulped before stopping his ministrations and held Lucy's hand. "These scars might mean that you fought well, but they will become a constant reminder to remind me that I was weak and failed at protecting you" Natsu said after which he let go of Lucy's hand and whispered at a low voice "It's a reminder that'll keep reminding me that I'm useless."

"Natsu..." Lucy said as she didn't know Natsu felt that way so she slapped his right arm lightly before hugging Natsu. "You always protect me, you always have and always will, I know that. If it wasn't for you, no one would have been able to find me today, if you hadn't taken out one of the two Sirens, I don't think I'd have been able to fight against Elina. If you hadn't asked Happy to get Mira for back up, I'm not sure how this would have ended. So please don't say such nonsense" Lucy said, a few stray tears escaping her eyes and flowing down her cheeks.

Hearing what Lucy said made Natsu feel better, sure he still felt like he could have done so much better, but for now knowing that he had helped her somehow was enough to stop from being down in the dumps. Giving a big sigh of relief, Natsu carefully tightened his hold on Lucy.

"Thank you, you always know what to say to make me feel better" Natsu whispered into Lucy's hair as he placed his chin on top of her crown, in return to it Lucy placed a light kiss on Natsu's chest, where her head was placed before.

The action startled both the mages. Lucy didn't know why she did it, Natsu had been so touchy and emotional lately that she had failed to realize what she had done and now it was too late. Natsu felt his heart skip a beat and his stomach felt like it was swarmed with butterflies, at that moment, Natsu wanted to do nothing but to kiss Lucy on the lips and hold her tight.

Lucy let go of Natsu as both the mages had bright red blushes decorating their cheeks. Lucy fake coughed and Natsu rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Both the mages refused to look at each other in the eyes.

"S-sorry, I- ah, I don't know w-why I did it, sorry" Lucy said as she looked at her feet, blush still present on her cheeks.

Natsu looked at Lucy and his gaze softened. He couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at Lucy, who looked so adorable as she looked down, playing with her fingers.

"It's alright Luce, we can make it even" Natsu said and Lucy looked up at him confused, but before Lucy could ask him what he meant Natsu leant down and rubbed his nose on Lucy's nose affectionately before placing a kiss on her forehead.

Lucy was frozen on the spot. She didn't know what had happened and if what happened was real. Did Natsu really do what she thought he did? Lucy just blankly looked at Natsu not knowing what to do or say.

"You don't have to look at me like that Luce, like I said, let's get you back to your home, shall we?" Natsu said as he held out his hand for Lucy to take as he smiled at her.

Lucy looked at Natsu and then at his hand. Lately Natsu had been behaving slightly different around Lucy, but not the way that made her uncomfortable, instead he made her become hopeful, hopeful that he might also have feelings for her just the way she has feelings for him.

Sighing, Lucy decided to not question about anything and took Natsu's hand, giving him a big smile albeit still blushing like crazy. Natsu gave her a big grin in return and they both exited the infirmary, along with Happy of course, who was now still asleep and cradled in Lucy's free arm. Saying their goodbyes to Mira, they started walking back to Lucy's apartment.

Natsu's P.O.V

As we walked hand in hand, I couldn't shake of the feeling that someone was watching us. I was on alert but didn't show it on my face.

We finally reached Lucy's apartment and went in, Lucy placed Happy on the bed, beside her pillow and went back to the room while I went to the kitchen to fetch myself a glass of water.

After I was done drinking the water, I walked back to the hall to see Lucy sitting on the sofa with a worried expression.

"What's wrong Luce" I asked as I sat next to her. She looked at me and asked "Do you have my Zodiac keys?" I shook my head.

"No, don't you have them?" I asked and Lucy said No.

"I must have left it at the infirmary when Mira was dressing my wound" Lucy said before going in and coming back with the communication lacrima in her hands.

"I'll call Mira and ask her to check" She said and I nodded.

We called Mira and Mira informed us that Lucy's keys were safe and that she will keep them with her tonight and return it to Lucy when Lucy goes to the guild.

Lucy was happy to know that the keys were safe and then she turned towards me.

"Thank you for everything that you did today and for everything that you've done so far for me, Natsu" Lucy said as she smiled softly.

"No problem at all Luce" I said, 'I'll do anything and everything for you' I thought before giving her a huge grin.

Lucy gave me a thankful look and turned around and started to gather her towel and clothes.

"I'll take a shower, you can go back, thank you for walking me home" Lucy said as she gave me a small smile and went to take a shower.

"As if" I grumbled to myself. It had been weeks since I had come to her apartment, the solo missions had kept us busy, if I was back in town, Lucy would be on a mission and vice versa.

I walked to her bed and leapt on it. Looking at the ceiling, I thought back to what Elina had said. Even though the twins had said that they had kidnapped Lucy in order to lure a dragon slayer, Elina had made it clear that she didn't want to harm Lucy.

So they definitely were after Lucy. I had to tell gramps what had happened and get his insight on this matter.

"You're still here? " Lucy asked as she walked towards the bed. She was wearing her pajamas with a towel wrapped around her head.

"I'm sleeping here tonight" I said simply, and Lucy glared at me.

"Natsu, I'm tired, all I want to do is sleep in my own bed" She groaned as she stood next to the bed. I rolled my eyes at her before rolling over to the other side of the bed and patting the now empty space.

"Here! you have enough space to sleep comfortably" I said and Lucy sighed.

"Natsu.." she started but then sighed again and flopped on the bed.

"I'm too tired to argue now, just go to sleep, we'll talk tomorrow" she said and turned away from me. That is when I saw the blood stain on the back of her shirt.

I slowly reached out my hand to touch her stained back before sitting up straight.

"Luce!" I shouted and grabber her in one swoop, making her sit right beside me. Lucy gave me startled look before it turned into one of confusion.

"What?! Are you alright? Is your body aching anywhere? Do you feel dizzy again?" Lucy questioned as she gave me a once-over. trying to see if I was hurt.

"I'm alright Luce" I said as I took her hand and shifted so that I was now sitting opposite to her.

"Your wound's bleeding" I said and I held her shoulders and made her turn slightly in order to look at the blood staining her pajama shirt.

"The shower must have worsened it, it's alright I can ask for Mira's help in the morning" Lucy said as she went back to sleep.

I looked at her and then at her back before sighing and standing up.

"Get up Luce, I'll treat the wound and dress it up for you" I said as I went into her bathroom to grab the first-aid kit.

"No! I'm fine, Mira or Virgo will treat it in the morning" Lucy said in a slightly panicky voice as she sat at the edge of the bed. Happy stirred at Lucy's voice before going back to sleep.

"Nah-uh! The wound might get infected" I said as I sat next to Lucy and made her turn towards me. She looked at me and then at the first aid kit in my hand.

"Do you even know how to dress up the wound?" She asked and I chuckled. "I'm not that dumb Luce, of course I know how to dress up the wound" I said and then patted her head for reassurance.

Lucy looked at me skeptically for a few seconds before giving up and turned around.

I scooted closer to Lucy and watched as Lucy removed her pajama shirt, revealing her pink bra and turned around. My heart started beating faster and my hands shook in nervousness as I slowly undid the bandages.

With still shaking hands, I cleaned her wound, applied the ointment and bandaged her wound all the while my heart was beating wildly. Satisfied with my work, I asked Lucy to check if I dressed up the wound properly. She did and turned around, her cheeks were tinted pink as she gave a small smile.

"Thank you Natsu, I didn't know you were good at this" she said, and I returned her smile. I kept the first aid kit back to where it belonged and got into the bed beside Lucy.

When I was comfortable in my spot and was about to doze off, I felt the bed shift, I opened my eyes to see Lucy leaning above me. Just as I was about to ask her what she was doing, Lucy leaned in and pecked my cheeks, making me freeze.

"Wh-What was that...?" I asked as I was flabbergasted and blushed heavily.

Lucy giggled softly before she whispered "A thank you gift" she said and moved back to her spot.

I smiled to myself and gave out a sigh of satisfaction, I was ready to risk it all and just scoop in for a kiss but then decided against it as I really wanted our moment to be special. What can be more special than the moment when I emerge victorious as a S-class mage, so I decided to just treasure this moment and go back to sleep.

"Good night Luce" I said as I closed my eyes, before I could drift off into the world of dreams, I heard Lucy's whispered good night which was so quiet, I'm pretty sure a normal person would have missed it and just like that I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

3rd Person's P.O.V

A shadowy figure silently watched all the interactions between Natsu and Lucy while they made sure to keep a safe distance so that Natsu doesn't catch a whiff of their scent.

"Enjoy while you can, these happy days are going to come to an end sooner than you think" The shadowy figure whispered as they turned around and walked off into the night.

That's it for this chapter guys, see you'll in the next one ^^ Don't forget to read and review :)