Hello kiddo's I posted this for shits and giggles because??? That's right kids, I wrote this HIGH AS A KITE!! Enjoy :) keeping in mind I don't own fairy tail.
Natsu and Lucy hadn't been together long, yet just as Lucy had predicted when the dragon slayer had first asked her out to begin with, something just had to go wrong.
Well-
Not- Necessarily- wrong per se- but definitely weird, and not normal. Well as close to normal as you could get with Natsu.
He was never the particularly lovey dovey type, always opting to go for more subtle displays of affection in public. Holding hands, maybe a kiss on the cheek or a quick I love you before a mission. But that was about as sappy Natsu got in public, not that Lucy ever minded. She respected his want to keep their relationship subtle in front of their guild mates, it was one of the things she loved about him actually, don't be mistaken both Natsu and Lucy loved their guild mates, they were family. But she wasn't gonna complain about being able to keep that softer side of him all to herself.
However their private life was much different than the wholesome front they put on in front of their friends. Their banter and conversations were still pretty much the same as they'd always been, with the only real change being a few dirty comments Natsu would throw in here and there, either to get Lucy riled up or to embarrass her she still hasn't figured it out.
But Natsu pretty much followed her around everywhere in her home-
except the bathroom, she'd been very firm on that boundary.
And he LOVED to hold her, it was practically his favorite thing, (sometimes she suspected he enjoyed it more than their sex life, but that a was highly debatable-) And Natsu never missed an opportunity either, wrapping his arms around her waist while on the rare occasion she would cook, having her sit against his chest while she wrote her novel, cuddling up with her and happy on the couch watching the snow fall outside.
He was always right there over her shoulder ready to taste test her cooking, to massage her shoulders when they got sore, and to count slow flakes together.
And he also loved saying 'I love you' he didn't say it excessively or anything, but he at least said it once a day. Natsu was never good with words they were to complicated for his style, but those three words were never to complicated for him and they said it all, and she knew he meant it. She loved it.
No-
She loved him.
Which is why she was freaking out right now. Because there was something wrong with Natsu and she didn't know WHAT it could be. Natsu was a fire mage he couldn't really get fevers, and any other disease or sickness he could've had would shown other physical symptoms. She had taken him to see Master Makarov but he had simply said he hadn't the slightest clue what was wrong with him.
And Wendy's healing magic didn't change anything either, she had even been gone to Porlyusica, but all she did after hearing about her problem was roll her eyes exhaustedly and slam her door in her face so naturally she went to Levy. Walking up to her, she dramatically wailed-
"Levy, I need your help with a certain dragon slayer issue I'm having."
Levy snapped up from her slouching position she had just been resting her head in and manically turned her head around towards Lucy.
"Luce, it's happening to you too!?"
Lucy cocked her head in confusion stopping in her tracks, stunned.
"Eh?"
Lucy oh, so eloquently stated.
"Sorry Luce, I guess I should've been more specific- Gajeel's, just been driving me nuts."
Levy sighed
"Lately he's been, obsessive- following me everywhere, the only reason he isn't here with me now is cause he went on a job, he should be back in a couple hours- but! When I asked if I could go with him? He practically looked like I'd asked him to kill a kitten or something and when I asked to see what job he took, he wouldn't even let me look at the flyer and said "sorry shortie" and he ATE the damn flyer!-"
Levy sighed and rubbed at her temples, Lucy of course felt sympathy for her friend, she was in the same boat after all. But the image of Gajeel being so desperate to hide a flyer from levy that he'd go so far as to EAT it had Lucy struggling not to laugh.
"-THEN when I told him I'd just go on my own job, he practically begged me not to go saying he 'needed' me to be here, I saw how upset he was getting so I dropped it and he left, promising he'd be back soon with more of his trinkets for me."
Levy finished with an exasperated huff maneuvering the book bag beside her so Lucy could see inside.
Inside of the book bag were countless little iron figurines, some more complex then others. All being not much bigger than a key chain, some of them being of Levy, some of panther lily, some of himself and levy, some of them were just heart shapes or various variations of the word love or one she saw that read
'GajeelloveloveloveLevy'
Lucy bit back a giggle, it didn't seem appropriate.
"He's been giving them to me for 3 weeks!, waking me up morning, noon and night just to give them to me! I'm gonna run outta places to put all of them soon." Levy said closing her bag, while Lucy sat beside her while both simultaneously being relieved and confused at the same time listening to her friend mirroring her seemingly unique situation back at her, she was relieved she wasn't alone in her struggles but confused as well.
Natsu for the past few weeks, has been way more clingy physically, always needing to be attached to her hip. Much like how Gajeel had been acting with Levy.
Even in the bathroom, much to her dismay.
But not only that but he's been overly affectionate lately too, kissing her every chance he got regardless of whether or not they were in public and not mere peck kisses either.
Barely letting her get up in the morning with his newest habit he'd gotten into lately, of strong arming Lucy into agreeing to cuddling the day away with him, lying in bed holding her well into the afternoon or they spent their day in bed doing other bed related activities together. Either way, the only time they really got up was to go to the bathroom or grab food, which they also usually ended up eating in bed anyways.
Brushing her hair, washing her body in the bath, nibbling her neck when he got bored, Smelling her clothes when he thought she wasn't looking, the list goes on and on, and the sweet talk.
God.
That was by far the worst of his new habits.
Ever since this whole clingy faze started she hasn't been able to get Natsu to shut up about how much he loves her, and why.
"Lucy, I love your hair, it's so soft and smells so good, and it's gold and shiny like treasure. Hey! That means you're kinda like MY treasure!"
"Lucy you're so nice, thanks for putting up with me all the time you're incredible"
"Hey Lucy, I saw this pretty flower on the way back from a job it reminded me of you!"
"Lucy, you smell like home, you make me feel so happy"
"Your eyes are so big and beautiful Lucy! I just love em'!"
She honestly couldn't believe this was the same Natsu that only months prior had struggled to tell her she was attractive much less beautiful and when he HAD he'd run away blushing and giggling like a child. She didn't know how he even knew he could say stuff like that! Normally she's the one who uses her words, but now she can't help but feel her already pudding heart, melt just a little bit more whenever he said stuff like that.
Couple that with how criminally adorable Natsu could be whenever she dared get even slightly annoyed with his clinging.
Like a sad sick kicked puppy.
And it was a definite recipe for disaster, if he made the right face at her Lucy would crack in an instant. And although she never thought she'd see the day she was thankful for it, luckily, she had ran out of rent money. And after swiftly shutting down the idea of her moving in with Natsu after only 8 months of dating.
He was convinced to go on a short job that would pay just enough to cover Lucy's rent. Similarly to Gajeel, he wasn't letting her tag along either, only taking Happy with him promising to be back soon. He'd been gone for only a day, with the job taking an estimated 5 days to complete according to the flyer. Lucy wasn't sure how much time she had to find out what was wrong with him before he came back , and while normally she'd look into this regardless if Natsu had been here or not. Every time Lucy had brought up the topic she was either brushed off or Natsu just said something along the lines of
"What? No way Lucy- I just love ya, that's all."
Or
"Don't blame me, you're just really cute!"
So she had to figure this out herself, which was no biggie- she'd figured out way bigger mysteries than this, with even less information to go off of. Surely a love sick dragon couldn't change that, she had been hoping maybe Levy would've known something as fairy tail's resident expert in just about anything,
but so much for that.
She sighed, sitting down along side Levy.
She felt herself finally letting go of all her built up distress telling Levy about what had been happening with Natsu. Feeling the tension leaving her shoulders more and more as she complained explained. And just as she always had, Levy listened until she was finished leaning back on her seat Levy sighed before speaking.
"Well, whatever is happening to them it seems to be dragon slayer related, seeing as it's only seemingly been affecting Gajeel and Natsu." Levy concluded
Lucy nodded "I wonder-" Lucy paused. "-if any of the other dragon slayers are being affected by this?" Lucy asked
Levy looked around the guild hall her eyes landing on Mirajane talking to Freed before grabbing Lucy's arm.
"Let's go find out!" She said dragging Lucy behind her, Lucy silently struggling against Levy's hold on her as she was dragged towards a devastatingly awkward conversation with her guild seniors by her now former, best friend. Who seemingly was too sleep deprived to care about socialites. Waved over to Mirajane and Freed "Hey Mira! Freed!" Levy shouted causing both Mirajane and Freed look over curiously.
"Hey guys, sorry to shout-" Levy started.
"-Oh don't worry about that, it's always loud around this guild isn't it?" Mira finished.
Levy giggled "Yeah I guess you're right, but that aside, me and Lucy have a question about Laxus-" at the mention of Laxus both parties seemed to become audibly more interested "-for the past couple weeks Gajeel and Natsu have been acting- weird- to say the least, and we were wondering if Laxus was too, given that all three are dragon slayers and whatever this is seemingly is only affecting them."
Both Freed and Mira exchanged looks before both seemingly pondering the question for a moment before Freed continued.
"No Laxus hasn't expressed any new or different behaviors that I can think of, although I must ask that if you think whatever is afflicting Natsu and Gajeel is contagious you kindly keep them away from Laxus-" Freed spoke firmly before Mirajane joyfully cut in "-I unfortunately also don't have any clue as to what you're talking about, Laxus hasn't been acting any differently around me either" Mira shrugged
"Hmm, well it could maybe be only affecting first generation dragon slayers" Levy paused turning to Lucy
"is Wendy?" Levy asked
"No, I saw her just yesterday when I took Natsu to see her and she seemed fine, plus ever since whatever this is started Happy has been spending more time over with Wendy and Carla to avoid Natsu and he hasn't said anything about her acting like him either." Lucy sighed, Levy grumbled slightly displeased at her theory being wrong
"While we're on the subject-" Mirajane raised her hand "How exactly have Natsu and Gajeel been acting weird lately?" She asked with a slightly teasing tone, causing both Lucy and Levy to blush and look anywhere but at Mirajane all but confirming her theories but she that day decided to spare them, giving them one last teasing glance before continuing "Right, well you don't have to tell me-"
they absolutely would be forced to tell her everything later.
"-but there could be something about it in Fairy Tail's extensive library collection" Mirajane said with a smile, both Lucy and Levy decided it was worth a shot and both thanked Mirajane as they walked away seeming to forget how not even 30 seconds ago, she had managed to make them both go red and pale in the face.
She had that affect on people.
Freed merely observing, let out a slight huff of amusement before returning to his drink.
—
The library had ended up being a dead end, with the only books about dragons being a small section in a literal fairy tail book. Not that Levy had been surprised, she'd practically read every book in that library twice and never once did she come an across a book about dragons or dragon slayers. The creatures themselves were already such a rarity that most didn't believe they even existed. Much less a person who knew anything about them enough to write any of it down, but she had been desperate enough to look twice. But as she'd feared, nothing.
"Well, I guess we could try and find a book about dragons in a different library, but I doubt our results will be any different. I've read practically every book in this town's libraries and never once have I seen a book about dragons." Levy sighed and leaned forward, she was so tired, admittedly all she wanted to was go home and snuggle with Gajeel.
Levy and Gajeel had been the first of the dragon slayers pairings to begin dating, in fact they got together about 4 months before Lucy and Natsu did. A whole year flew by like nothing, but Levy supposed that just happens when you were really happy with someone. She felt herself grabbing the locket around her neck, It had been what kicked off Gajeel's incessant need to give her little iron trinkets. He'd given it to her about a month ago, for their one year anniversary it was a iron little heart locket he'd made with a engraved picture of himself holding panther lily, carved inside of the lid of the locket was an inscription written in his hand writing.
"My Love, My Lily, My Levy"
She'd cried like a baby when Gajeel had given it to her, causing him to think she didn't like it and try to take it back but Levy grabbed onto it and kept it on her neck ever since. He had a matching one with her holding panther lily inside and every time she felt it in her hands she could practically feel him, and practically ever since then he's given her at least one trinket a day. Every spare surface of all her work spaces was covered in them, they lined all her book shelves and window sills. She only dared to make the mistake of throwing one out one time, when she had tried?
Gajeel looked like he's heart split in two, and it nearly killed her so Levy kept every single one of them since, even digging the one she'd been stupid enough to throw away out of the trash and proudly displaying it on her desk.
That and a few apology kisses was all it took for him to forgive her, for her heinous actions.
Eventually it became such a regular occurrence for him to give them so frequently, that she'd been having to carry a book bag everywhere so she had somewhere to put them all when he gives them to her which satisfied him enough. And he'd also been singing to her a lot more, not outwardly loud and jazzy like his usual singing but softer almost a lullaby tone sometimes he would just hum a tune and run his fingers through Levy's hair it was so uncharacteristically sweet.
"Hey! I think I know someone we can ask!" Lucy stated, causing Levy to quickly be pulled from her lovely daydream.
"OPEN GATE OF THE CRUMUDGEON, GRANDPA CRUX!"
Levy smiled fondly at the spirit, she remembered when she had been brought to the celestial world to celebrate their return from Tenrou island. He'd shared with her his massive collection of books, it had been even bigger than hers, apparently some had been from the spirit world while others had been gifts or souvenirs of previous wizards he'd been contacted with, maybe HE knew something.
"Grandpa Crux I hope you can help us, we're looking for any information on dragon slayers- anything-"
The old spirit hummed before he seemed to be sleeping for a moment then-
"YAHOO!!!" Grandpa Crux shouted startling Levy, before speaking
"hmm. Well it seems like the celestial spirits knowledge of dragon slayers is limited, however a long time ago one of my previous wizards that I had been fortunate enough to have a contract with, gave me this book-"
the spirit held out his hand, a flash of light later and in his hand was a small, very worn book.
"-although it mostly consists of actual dragon knowledge, their is a small 10 page subsection about dragon slayers in it" Lucy and Levy both perked up.
"This book is from my personal collection so I'm using my own magic to bring it here, I can't keep it here long, you'll have to read through it quickly-"
grandpa Crux finished before falling asleep dropping the book into Lucy's hands.
"Alright! Thank you Grandpa Crux you're a life saver!"
Lucy thanked deaf ears, while Levy had taken out her wind reader glasses and grabbed the book from Lucy's hands very quickly opening it and scanning through the pages it took only about a 30 seconds for Levy to finish the small book using her glasses absorbing its knowledge before closing it and the book, glowing again before disappearing. When it did, Grandpa crux spoke.
"You have my apologies ladies, I'm no leader of the zodiac, I can't keep things from the spirit world on this mortal plane for very long." Crux spoke disappointingly
Levy smiled taking off her glasses "No need for apologies, I know exactly what's going on now, thank you grandpa Crux" the spirit smiled before his gate closed sending him back to the celestial world.
Lucy impatiently nudged Levy.
"So what did grandpa Crux's book say?"
Levy turned to Lucy "well from what I read? Not much but from what I can gather essentially, first generation dragon slayers are actually part dragon, which is why it doesn't affect Laxus because his dragon slayer magic comes from the lacrima implanted inside him. However Natsu and Gajeel, having been both raised and physically altered by the magic of real dragons, they can absorb magic energy from the natural ethernano around them using their altered bodies as kind of like a filter, for that raw energy to be shot back out in the form of dragon attacks, and apparently the filtering process part of their dragon magic takes a lot of energy to do and using that much energy has a big payout, the more they use their dragon slayer magic the more it causes them to subconsciously rely on their dragon instincts, which is to hoard, protect, nest and- ahem- mate" Levy managed to squeak out her face flushing at the last part while she still- attempted to looked serious.
"But get this, the book says that they only become susceptible to their more hormonal based instincts, once they find whoever their instincts tell them is their forever mate. And then they go through a courtship faze where they feel an overwhelming need to provide for and protect their partner. Which is probably why Wendy isn't effected and why this seems to only be happening now."
Lucy pondered for a moment, what did this mean? For her and Natsu, she didn't wanna be hoarded away like treasure! And that was no doubly what he had been doing in trying to keep her in bed with him knowing damn well, that she had things to do! Not that she was complaining about this more clingy side of Natsu, make no mistake Lucy loved Natsu every part of him including his clingy side, but she couldn't live like this for much longer! But even so she couldn't help but still feel a little better knowing that he instinctually wanted to protect her because he really loved Lucy, and not because he was sick or cursed or something.
"So what do we do?" Lucy asked
Levy sighed and explained "there are only really two choices, the book says that dragons typically only get this hormonal and protective after finding their mate and that the effect eventually wears off as their bodies adjust to the new amount of regular magic usage, but we don't know how long it'll take them and there is a chance, for dragons according to the book at least, that it can take up to a year-"
Lucy felt a shiver run up her spine, she'd only been living with this clingy Natsu for 3 weeks and she was already at her wits end! She couldn't imagine what a year of this would do to her, hesitating she asked-
"Or?"
Levy cocked her eyebrow at Lucy before smirking "-OR we let them pair bond with us." Lucy was afraid to ask but-
"W-what's pair bonding?"
Levy smiled before continuing "Well it's essentially when they claim you as a forever mate like I said earlier, the book describes it as 'becoming their everything' it's a kind of enchantment that lasts literally forever, apparently even in death somehow, and it's done by leaving a mark on you called a 'dragon bond' once it's done the dragon slayer instincts should die down, after that their instinctively driven clingy behavior should only become an issue once a year for only about a week at a time. But it would also mean that they can't mate with anyone else for life."
As soon as Levy had said that, a somber tone had taken over the room "And there's more, if we DO ignore this, there's a chance we could lose the chance to pair with them at all, ever."
both girls felt a pang in their chests, their choices didn't leave them with a lot of options that were necessarily fair to their lovers. They could either A, doom themselves by letting their instincts wear off naturally, possibly losing the chance to mate with them forever. Or B, pair bond with them, and have the two dragon slayers be stuck with them forever, whether they liked it or not.
After a few moments of silence Lucy spoke-
"Well, if it affects them this much it should be their decision. Right?" Lucy concluded, Levy nodded in agreement, before they both got up and started walking back into the main guildhall.
—
As they walked back into the guild from the library both devilishly giggling before Levy saw Gajeel and lily looking around the hall for her, she patted Lucy's arm wishing her the best of luck.
Before Gajeels eyes zeroed in on her before he practically ran over to her, Lily following close behind. Lucy watched as Levy, with a newfound appreciation for her iron dragon walked over to him and hugged him sweetly, the hardened ex dark guild member- returned the hug with gusto before pulling back to hand Levy a little iron version of what seemed to be the monster he'd been sent to exterminate, Levy grabbed the little trinket admiring it contently before gently placing in her book bag with the others, she used her hand pulling his head down gently and kissed his cheek.
"Gihi." Gajeel quietly chuckled before the two of them walked out of the guild together hand in hand, Lucy smiled as she watched them together.
It made her miss Natsu.
—
It was hardly another 7 hours before Natsu got home, just as she suspected he had finished a week long request in only 2 days, technically 1 and 1/2.
Lucy had been cooking dinner for herself when she felt two familiar warm arms slip around her waist and a familiar chin fall on her shoulder. She didn't have to check, she knew it was him.
"Whatcha makin? Stew? Lucy, you damn goddess, you make the tastiest food."
the dragon slayer dipped his finger into the pot, disregarding its boiling temperature before Lucy slapped his hand away.
"Keep your claws outta my food! If you wanna try some all you have to do is ask."
she scooped up a spoonful of stew with her ladle before spoon feeding the whiney dragon on her shoulder. Licking his lips the dragon slayer nuzzled his face into her neck and giving it a quick kiss.
"Just as I thought, it's delicious! Lucy, can I have some? I worked up a big appetite completing that last job"
'Yeah, I bet.' Lucy thought to herself
He looked up at her with those sad sick doughy eyes before Lucy sighed, if he looked at her like that she'd do just about anything, not that she'd ever tell him that.
"Luckily enough for you, I made more than enough for two."
She had had a feeling he'd be home soon anyways, and it wasn't like the dragon slayer wouldn't be hungry when he came home.
Natsu reached around her waist and turning the stove off, grabbed her hips spinning her around seemingly getting tired of talking to her back rather then her face, before wrapping his arms around her kissing her gently.
kissing Natsu was probably her favorite pastimes, she'd had a lot of practice learning what Natsu liked. Which was anything and everything but she knew if this continued it would take the opposite turn of where she wanted this particular conversation to go.
Pumping the brakes, she gently pulled away from his lips pulling him into a hug which he happily gave back before the two of them ended up just holding each other, swaying back and forth in comfortable silence before Natsu spoke again.
"I really missed you Luce."
She smiled feeling his heartbeat against her ear, she gave it a quick kiss before she humorously replied.
"But you just saw me less than two days ago? How could you miss me that much?"Lucy said giggling to herself, now that she knows why he's been extra clingy she couldn't help but find it oddly endearing. He grumbled pouting at her teasing "I miss you, whenever you get out of bed just to change your clothes…" he mumbled against her shoulder
"Speaking of-" Lucy started "I wanted to talk to you about that." Lucy said looking up at him hesitantly, Natsu tilted his head at Lucy's question? Talk about what?
"Okay Lucy, what's up?"
Lucy took a breath not knowing how Natsu would react "I-I went to the guild today-"
Natsu quickly became noticeable anxious "don't worry, I didn't take a job." She deadpanned while his face became noticeably more relaxed
she sighed and continued "Anyways, I saw Levy today she was free because Gajeel had taken a mission and didn't let her come with him, just like you didn't let me tag along with you and happy on this last mission"
Natsu seemed to be following, although he was a little annoyed at the sound of that metal heads name coming out of Lucy's mouth
"And it turns out that, Gajeel has been pretty clingy lately-" Natsu laughed.
"Of course he's acting like a clingy baby, he sure fights like one!"
Lucy continued-
"-well she and I decided to look into it, so we tried to find any information on dragons and dragon slayers in the guilds library-"
Natsu again interrupted "I tried that years ago when Ezra first taught me how to read and was still looking for Igneel, I didn't find anything though." A pause "Did you?"
Lucy bit her lip "W-Well, not at first- but after we searched the library and found nothing, I asked one of my celestial spirits, Grandpa Crux and he gave me and Levy this book about dragons one of his old celestial wizards had given him." Natsu nodded "And in it there was a uh, small section about dragon slayers in it, and in it, it said that because 1st generation dragon slayers like you Gajeel and Wendy, are actually part dragon and that sometimes without noticing, dragon slayers can start to act on their more primal dragon instincts…" Lucy counted off her fingers "L-Like to hoard, to protect, to nest, and uhm- m-mate." She blushed hoping Natsu wasn't too thick to understand what she was implying.
A long awkward silence over took the atmosphere before Natsu let go of Lucy turned around, awkwardly shuffling away into the bathroom and locked it behind him. Lucy could see from where she was standing as he walked off, the bright pink blush oh both his ears as he walked away, he'd been practically steaming and she's sure if she could see his face it would be just as pink as his hair. And if she had to guess she'd say Lucy herself probably wasn't that much better off.
Lucy had been expecting an adverse reaction from Natsu, I mean the guy has always been a loose canon, but this? Lucy wasn't quite sure what she should do. After a moment she turned back towards the stew on the stove that was still bubbling, she got an idea.
—
Natsu Might've been the most embarrassed he's ever been in his whole life. This doesn't even compare to the time Happy had walked in on him with one hand down his pants, and a photo of Lucy's sorcerer weekly interview picture in the other!
He was sure his face had to be glowing pink but couldn't bear to look in the mirror, how could he have been so STUPID!? Igneel had given him the dragon equivalent to the birds and the bees talk, but he was just a snot nosed little kid so he didn't pay much attention. But when Lucy said all that stuff about dragons and mating it all came flooding back at once,
no wonder Lucy seemed extra smart, funny and sexy these past few weeks and why her scent was so intoxicating lately! He saw her as his pair bond!, his other half, quite literally his soulmate. and yet somehow, he was the last to know!? And now he'd been trying to court her for who knows how long and he didn't even notice, he HATED that Lucy found this out before he did.
He didn't know what was in that book, how detailed had it been? What does she know? God. What if she wanted to break up over this!? That thought had Natsu immediately spiraling into panic, the thought of being with someone forever, quite literally intertwining each others souls together, he understood it was difficult concept for people to understand, but it was a different story for dragons. Mating or Pair bonding for life means more than just your existence on this mortal plain but even in death- that's why there were very few dragons actually had mates a lot of dragons spend their whole lives never mating out of fear of accidentally pairing with a dragon that wasn't compatible.
And until he met Lucy, he had thought he was just like those dragons, not needing a mate nor wanting one. But now that he had her he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do if she left.
Honestly?
Probably shrivel up and die in a hole somewhere.
Just as he was about to feel the tears that had welled up in his eyes begin to fall, there was a soft knocking from the door.
"Natsu?"
Even though he was now aware of what his body was doing to him he still felt himself reluctantly instinctively relaxing at the sound of her voice.
"Listen Natsu, I- I know you probably have some kind of wild fantasy built up in your head about this but I promise we can talk this out, together…. I brought you some stew, if you wanna eat it with me."
"Wow." Natsu thought "she is really smart"
After a few moments of wiping his moist eyes and splashing some cold water on his face, he walked out of Lucy's bathroom and sat with her at the table. She'd placed his steaming bowl of stew directly in front of her own, as she was already eating spoonfuls of her food not looking up at him. He sat down silently picked up his own spoon and began gobbling down like a man starved, if this could end up being the last love filled meal Lucy ever cooked for him, he wanted to remember how good it tasted.
Lucy stared down at her stew, she'd managed to lure him outta the bathroom with food, but now what? Should she bring it up later? No, she'd put this off long enough and she didn't think prolonging this kind weird tension with the love of her life was good for her health. Natsu had always been the blunt type, 'I should just be honest, he always is, and he deserves that much at least-' she thought.
She put her spoon down and took a breath while Natsu sat in front of her, still scarfing his bowl of stew- she spoke.
"Natsu, I wanna be your pair bond!" She blurted out her face flaming pink.
Natsu choked on his stew.
—
Did-
Did he hear her right!?
Natsu had to have been hearing things because he could've just sworn the most wonderful woman ever, just said she wanted to be HIS pair bond.
HIS.
Natsu could feel his rapid excitement building quickly, even now- as he was currently choking on that delicious stew that same wonderful woman had made, worrying her to death in the process. Even as he tried to remind himself to calm down so he could get through this conversation without smiling the whole time like an idiot, but still couldn't help the grin he was covering up with his hand. As he finished coughing up the last of the stew that had gotten lodged in his throat.
"Lucy, I would love to make you my soulmate for life more than anything in the world! But do you really know what it means to be pair bonded with a dragon slayer?" Natsu hesitantly asked, he wouldn't force it on Lucy if she didn't fully understand it or if she wasn't 100% serious about it.
Lucy bit at her lip anxiously before speaking "I mean, yeah I- I'm not aware of all the details, and I do have requests that would make it easier for me going forward, but I wanna be with you for the rest of this life and whatever ones come after this one, THAT I'm am sure of."
Natsu took a long deep breath stomping down on his excitement and immeasurable urge to grab Lucy and pair bond them together right now. He was now gripping his leg to keep it from bouncing excitedly, knowing he must've been grinning like crazy giving Lucy 150% of his attention.
"F-for starters-" Lucy continued proceeding with caution as she saw how rapidly fast she could see the wheels in Natsu's head spinning. Becoming acutely aware of just how fired up Natsu was getting. "I don't wanna be treated like a trophy wife or like treasure, I still wanna go on jobs and adventures with you and happy and our friends, I'm not made of glass." Natsu nodded agreeing before she continued talking "A-and just because we become pair bonded doesn't mean I don't still wanna get married!" She slammed down on the table before Natsu cut in
"Perfect! If we have a wedding everyone will know we're gonna be together forever!" Natsu added practically bouncing in his seat while Lucy looked down at him from where she was now standing
giggling once again she's finding herself seeing his blunt nature endearing and adorable rather than embarrassing like she might've thought it would be.
"I also have a question about the bond mark itself u-uhm-" she stuttered "does it hurt?"
Natsu grinned devilishly before standing up rounding the table and hugging her waist before speaking "A little, the actual mark itself made by both of us biting into each other hard enough for the skin to break." He began raking his hands up and down her back while he talked a known particular favorite of Lucy's while he continued on speaking
"It's not like a guild mark though, you can't pick where you put it, a dragons bond mark only goes on one place-"
Natsu looked at Lucy with those sultry eyes and toothy smirk she knew could only mean trouble, as he leaned in impossibly closer there noses barely touching driving Lucy's guard down. Then quickly plunging down into her neck blowing a fat loud raspberry onto her skin, causing her to squeal and try to push Natsu away. But he held onto her firmly as she squirmed in his arms. Frankly, after the mini heart attack she'd just given him he needed a pick me up, and hearing Lucy laugh would always be one of the few things that could change his mood in an instant. So he continued, with his assault of raspberries and kisses into Lucy's neck, causing her to thrash and giggle. While Natsu took advantage of her being distracted to put his hands down the back pockets of her shorts grabbing a generous handful, grinning wickedly as Lucy once again, let out another yelp as Natsu's wondering hands kneaded her through her shorts before she'd finally had enough.
Whack!
Natsu let go of her butt to rub at the quickly growing lump on his forehead.
"Moron." Lucy huffed
"Listen Natsu like I said earlier I have some requests if we are gonna be uhm,
'm-mates' but for now I just wanna make sure, are you absolutely sure that you wanna paid bond with me? I mean if you do you won't be able to with anyone else ever. And I won't be mad if that's what you choose! I understand how big a commitment this is."
Natsu looked back slack jawed, he was just about to say the same thing.
——
Lucy ran her fingers over the bandage on her neck for what must've been the 50th time tonight. After she and Natsu had a heart to heart conversation about becoming each other's pair bond, what that meant for them and their future. She'd never felt so secure in her relationship with Natsu. What had started off as a nerve wracking conversation where each of them had been afraid the other would break things off between them, had turned into a deep heartfelt conversation. They had talked for hours Natsu doing his best to answer Lucy's questions clearly and honestly. He agreed to every request she'd asked of him saying he wanted her to be comfortable with him. And boy, was she.
After their conversation she'd finally, confidently, given Natsu permission to leave his mark on her, breaking what little self control Natsu still had been using. which led her into being man handled by a horny dragon for what must've been hours, given the fact that it was dark outside when they had started and it was now early morning. not that she was necessarily complaining…
The mark hadn't been what she was expecting, Natsu said it was made by the two of them biting each other. But rather than a large bite mark, he'd nicked her using only two of his teeth leaving behind a small bite behind her left ear that sort of resembled a semi colon, she thought.
It was small enough to hide much to her relief, the one she had given was less inconspicuous it being slightly bigger than the one he'd left on her. The small mark on the side of his neck had filled Natsu with pride, with him boldly claiming that now everyone would know they belonged to each other. Not regarding that the majority of people didn't know about dragons, and wouldn't recognize what that mark was.
She smiled as she leaned against Natsu, after everything the two had done in the last couple of hours they both mutually agreed they needed a bath so they had decided to take one together, it was a
not-so-secret, secret guilty pleasure of Lucy's to bathe with Natsu. She liked having nice long hot baths and with Natsu with her the water never got cold, plus she liked the quiet close intimacy of it. They had already both washed themselves and each other, now only sitting in the warm water of the bath enjoying each others presence. Lucy was so comfortable and so warm she could feel herself fighting back sleep, having to shake her head to wake herself up.
Natsu thought it was incredibly adorable, he was so happy right now. Happier than he could ever remember himself being ever before. She was his, and he was hers forever he was beaming, he was holding Lucy while she was leaning against him currently using his chest as a pillow, lazily fighting of sleep curled into a ball in his lap criminally adorable.
He was so relaxed, he wanted to stay here forever just him and his Luce.
Lucy closed her eyes letting out a content hum, almost succumbing to sleep before she heard it.
A soft quiet rumbling, she felt her eyes widen in excitement before she subtly looked up at him.
Natsu not seemingly noticing the noise nor her growing excitement, continued laying back as his throat vibrated and Lucy started wildly, her face now sporting a beaming grin.
"Natsu, you're purring!" She excitedly exclaimed
Natsu immediately sat up immediately realizing that she was correct he was in fact purring. his face becoming redder than she'd ever seen it, as he awkwardly covered his mouth with his hand attempting to fake cough to try to stop his throat from betraying him. But the sound of his soft rumbles still reverberated throughout the bathroom, as Lucy stared with a wicked grin on her face and stars in her eyes like a cat that just caught a canary. As Natsu desperately tried to cover up the noise his body was producing, he turned away from Lucy but she wasn't having that. Grabbing his face and bringing it to hers gently pulling their lips together, making Natsu forget in a split second why'd he'd been trying to hide away in the first place. Before quickly being reminded, as Lucy pulled back from the kiss and looked at him with a knowing smile at the now louder rumbling sound coming from him, echoing through the room. He sighed dejectedly, silently admitting defeat, the cat was out of the bag, no hiding it now.
Lucy giggled at his defeat taking pity on him as she allowed him to hide himself in her neck
"So, you knew about this then?" Natsu asked knowingly
"Yeah, me and Levy talked about it the entire walk back from the library to the guild earlier." She admitted
"The book called it 'dragon rumbles' we both thought it was adorable~"
Natsu let out a groan, she was NEVER gonna let him live this down. Lucy could see the realization slowly beginning to dawn on Natsu's face before she continued.
"I'm sure the rest of the guild will think so too." Lucy giggled
Natsu's face went from being red to white in an instant as he felt an entire new kind of dress over take him.
Lucy smiled, she had that affect on people.
--
Some where in magnolia*
"L-Levy what's that humming noise?"