Pink + Red


Natsu always finds himself pacing in front of Gem-N-I. The store presented itself as yet another metaphysical shop. A tourist attraction. It was just a cover of course, every mage or witch worth their black salt knew this was the perfect place to find exactly what you needed to give your magic a power boost. Natsu had heard all the praises sung about this shop and the duo that had it running so smoothly. It wasn't until Erza recommended that he come in here to find something with which her fiancé could use to build something for him that he'd finally made his way here. While people said how amazing the owner was no one had told him how attractive she was and that was the problem. So here he was, pacing outside of her store front again. Natsu couldn't help looking through the window at her. Lucy. Luce. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail as she inspected some stones from Levy no doubt. One of the best geologists the Witching world had, she found things people could only dream of. Her and Lucy made an incredible team and ran the local crystal market. Natsu could picture the two light pink rune tattoos she had behind her ears – he could recognize Cana's work anywhere. She'd done his fingers – designed his runes specifically for his magic and apparently had done so for Lucy. Natsu mused that he'd probably have missed her tattoos if he didn't study her so hard, he couldn't seem to take his eyes off her.

It had been two weeks since he'd told her he'd be back in a week with a few stories and a gift. He was stressed that he'd come on too strong. Just because he'd found himself infatuated with her didn't mean she felt the same. "I've only spent eight weeks daydreaming about her," Natsu mumbled under his breath while studying the bag in his hand. Maybe this wasn't his best idea. Just 'cause she expressed interest in monsters didn't mean she'd want...Natsu's eyes flicked up and caught Lucy's through the glass. Her smile turned her eyes to caramel and evaporated his doubt. She seemed happy to see him, so he took a deep breath, smiled right back at her, and flung open the door to her shop. "Heya Luce! I'm back and guess what I brought!"

"More stories for making me wait an extra week?" She'd giggled at his greeting. She'd also kept track of how long he'd been gone. He was honestly just happy that she had wanted to see him again. His stomach grew hot.

"Something even better," Natsu countered while holding up the large velvet bag that contained a gift he'd been debating on giving her. It was priceless but he didn't bring it for her to sell it. He wanted her to like it enough that she kept it, maybe even use it in her own house. "And your stories of course."

"You actually brought me something? You didn't have to Natsu." Lucy's voice was soft and Natsu watched as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. Maybe he had messed up. Natsu opened his mouth, intent on fixing the situation but she gasped and leaned across the counter she was always behind. Her fingers gently skimmed across a newly healing scar that marred the side of his throat. It still kind of hurt when he touched it, so he was surprised when her fingers felt cool. Too bad his face threatened to catch fire. "Natsu, what happened? Are you okay?"

"This isn't anything Luce, I had to exterminate a pack of rabid werewolves. Was a few more than I thought there'd be, but I came out on top." Natsu found himself bragging. He didn't need her thinking he couldn't take care of himself.

"A pack of werewolves? I didn't know they ran in packs…" The pink haired mage seized the opportunity to talk about what he knew best.

"To be fair they're more often in packs then not but loners aren't too uncommon either," Natsu commented while thunking the velvet bag onto the glass counter. Lucy eyed it curiously before lifting her eyes back to his face, waiting for him to say more. "It isn't unusual for Fairy Tail to get a request regarding more than one magical monster, it was just my turn to take it." Continued with a shrug. It was a part of everyday life in a Hunters guild. Nothing that was too difficult for most.

"Fairy Tail?!"

"I told ya I'd tell ya what guild I was in when I came back didn't I?"

"Well yes but," Natsu found himself standing straighter when her eyes racked him from head to toe, "You aren't…arrogant. I didn't think…you must be strong." She finished off, her teeth worrying her bottom lip again. "How many werewolves did you face?"

"Arrogant? No one in Fairy Tail is arrogant!" Natsu found himself laughing, trying to defuse her nerves. She'd probably thought she'd offended him.

"I've met Laxus."

"He doesn't count." Natsu was quick to counter before sobering up and leaning toward Lucy like he had a secret to tell her. He had to fight a smile when she leaned closer, a light blush dusting up her cheeks at their proximity. "I was told on the ad for the job that there would be only five," Natsu lowered his voice even more and finished conspiratorially, "there were ten."

"TEN?!" Lucy's voice shot up a couple of octaves and sounded strained. She'd jerked back, her eyes locking on his throat.

"Ten," Natsu agreed seriously before laughing. He couldn't help himself, the look on Lucy's face was hilarious. She looked like she ate something too spicy, her skin leeching of color and a slightly clammy shine coming to her skin. "How they missed five bloodthirsty werewolves I'll never know but after the surprise it was easy enough to take them out. Plus, it opened up to be the perfect opportunity to grab your gift." Natsu managed to choke out after he finished laughing. He pushed the velvet bag closer to Lucy, trying to take her mind off the fact that he'd still gotten hurt. He thought it better not to mention that it was almost game over.

"My gift..?" The blonde sounded like she was struggling to wrap her mind around what he'd just said.

"Yes, your gift weirdo. Open it already!"

"Oh, okay," Lucy whispered after blinking twice. Natsu found himself excited to see her reaction, couldn't sit still. He shifted from foot to foot as her hands smoothed over the velvet, he sucked in a breath when she untied the draw string and her present finally hit the shop light. Her hand shook a little as she reached forward almost tentatively, her pointer finger connecting with smooth white bone before trailing down the elongated, deformed bridge. "Is this…?"

"A werewolf skull. Killed it myself." Natsu beamed. "Whatcha think?" He wanted her to like it. The more she stared at it the more anxious he became.

"I've never actually gotten to come close to one. I've only read what they look like in textbooks and from Witch accounts. They look…kind of more human than dog, at least in skeletal structure? The nose and mouth area is wrong though. The skull is larger than I thought it would be, Natsu…and is it missing a tooth?" Lucy's volley of questions were laced with wonder. He could feel his chest puffing up in pride.

"Oh, the tooth fell out when I punched it," Natsu snickered and indicated that it was in the bottom of the velvet bag. He watched Lucy peer in and then look at him with her mouth slightly open.

"Did…you say you punched it?"

"Yes."

"I mean like…punch as in hit. In the face?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you punch it?!"

"It's the best way to use the magic that energy creates. Or at least it can be the fastest way to get a job done when I have to deal with a lot of pests at once. Makes my movements stronger, which works perfect for an extermination request." Another casual shrug while Lucy tried to process everything. Natsu could practically see the wheels turning in her brain. Her pointer finger continued to fiddle with the removed tooth. It was huge in her hand, taking up half her palm.

"Can I ask about your magical ability then? I'm a little curious…since you used it while punching a werewolf in the face. I've heard and read that they're sturdy creatures. You don't have to tell me if you don't want too of course," Lucy finished on a rush. She pushed a stray hair from her forehead and looked at him almost excitedly.

"Why wouldn't I tell you? I'm in a guild, you could just look it up yourself anyway," Natsu managed to get out around a bark of laughter. She was so weird. "My magical affinity is emotional energy manipulation. More specifically I deal in anger and rage: the more my opponent feels the stronger I get. The more energy I can convert into magic, the more explosive my abilities manifestation is."

"What does it manifest as?"

"Heat. Fire. Once it was lightening but that was an extreme case and I technically almost died during the fight so I'm not going to count that." Natsu rambled on before falling back into line, "I've always visualized anger as something red hot, so that's what my magic has learned to manifest. It's pretty cool but can be hard to contain."

"Still doesn't explain why punching would be affective if it can be hard to contain." Lucy mumbled causing Natsu to smile widely before digging into his pockets looking for his current favorite weapon.

"It's easier to focus the heat onto my hands because of the runes, I know you've seen them before" the pink-haired man flashed his pointer, middle, ring fingers on each hand quickly before placing two silver looking brass knuckles onto the counters surface for Lucy to inspect, "The runes along with the knuckles help my skin prolong a sort of heat resistance, doesn't last forever but usually gives me enough time to beat up some monsters before my hands burn. The knuckles themselves help me concentrate more energy into my punches, more energy means harder hits. These have saved my hands from breaking on a few occasions."

"I thought it was steel, but they feel a little...different, Is this a mix?"

"Titanium and Tungsten – they can take the heat my hands throw off when converting energy and are pretty durable due to the overall tensile strength of them. The rubies lining the inner section that touches my palm acts as my focusing tool. Rubies make my fire burn bright."

"A stone ruled by fire huh?" Lucy smiled, "And here I thought you were going to be another meat head. You know a little about astrological geology and a lot about chemistry it seems."

"I'm a man of many talents, Luce." He failed at sounding snotty about it. Her face had his mouth quirking into a smile.

"What do your runes protect you from…er…what words do they come from," Lucy corrected, sitting down his brass knuckle and tentatively motioning to his hands. "I've never seen so many on one mage before."

"How about I tell you about mine if you tell me about yours?" Natsu threw out, he was curious about her own magical affinity. He wanted to say she couldn't possibly have offensive powers but saying she could solely be defensive didn't sit right with him either. There was something about the way she carried herself, with her shoulders back and the confidence she radiated. She walked like she knew she could handle herself.

"Uhm, this one," Lucy motioned to the rune by her right ear that was down low, closer to her neck, "was derived from the word Listen."

"It kind of looks like a house with an incomplete chimney smoking in the wrong direction," Natsu threw in to get a laugh out of her. It worked. Everyone's runes looked a little funky. A combination of capital letters and calligraphy tended to make little pictures.

"This one," she continued after calming down her laughter and pointing to the rune slightly higher behind her left ear, "derived from the word Sight." It sat in line with her eyes. "What's this one look like to you?"

"A road that started off all squiggly and then branched out into a cul-de-sac and then an intersection?"

"Are you insinuating that I'm walking around with a map on my head?" Natsu felt his mouth twitch with that one but tried to keep a straight face.

"I'm not the one that said that."

"NATSU!"

He really couldn't help but pick at her, loving the shade of pink she always turned. It made him feel like he was sitting in front of a campfire, a soft pink flame the center of attention.