The sun was beginning to set as Natsu, Lucy, and Happy made their way to the meeting spot the council had chosen for the night. A cool breeze blew through Lucy's hair, making her shiver both from the cold and the anticipation of what lied ahead of them. Happy was a river of chatter, Natsu keeping up with all his jokes and questions. But Lucy could see how the smile on her partner's face never seemed to reach his eyes.

Whether he would admit it or not, Natsu wasn't very confident in the plan the council had set. He didn't like being kept out of the fight, but more than that he didn't like all of his friends fighting to protect him. It was much easier for him to be the one fighting for them.

They had arrived early thanks to Lucy, who said Erza would be upset if the person to protect was late. It was a given that Erza would be there before the rest of the guild. As they got closer, Lucy saw the requip mage talking with Gray and Cana, while a few others were spread out having separate conversations.

Natsu and Lucy joined Erza's group as she once again relayed the plan to everybody, eyes especially focusing on Natsu. He just rolled his eyes, mumbling a 'I get it' every time she said something important and paused to look at him.

"You sure we can't switch up a team or two? I mean why's Lucy on the outside anyway? And next to stripper of all people," Natsu groaned.

"He does have a point," Cana said, looking Gray up and down.

The ice wizard looked at himself, bewildered at the sight of him only in his boxers.

"Why does this keep happening?!"

"Gray, my love, Juvia brought your pants you took off a while ago," Juvia said, always within earshot of Gray as she handed him his pants.

"You're just now giving them to me? Well thanks anyway," he said as he put them on.

Natsu still waited for an answer from Erza, foot tapping impatiently. Erza pondered his question for a moment before responding.

"No, I think it's best we trust the council's intuition. Lucy can handle herself, Natsu."

"Thank you, Erza," Lucy smiled, then turned to Natsu with an annoyed look, sarcasm thick in her voice. "It's good to know that someone believes in me."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Natsu said, arms crossing over his body.

"He looooves you," Happy teased as he flew past the group, covering his giggles with his paws.

"Can it, cat!"

A few more minutes passed before everyone had arrived. Erza was pleased with how serious the guild was seeming to take this threat, instructing them to take their places and stay on guard.

"Remember your promise, Natsu," Lucy said to him before she took her position. "Be careful."

He nodded, adding a quick, "you too."

She smiled at him before going with her group. Natsu rolled his eyes at the sight of Gray next to Lucy, but he shrugged it off. They had more important things to deal with right now.

The dragon slayer watched as the rest of the guild dispersed across the forest, noting how he could sort of make out most of the teams within the first and second rings, but everyone on the furthest ring from him were out of sight.

He lost sight of Lucy, who probably made it to her position with Gray and Elfman right now. The sun had disappeared from the sky, and minutes ticked by as the light continued to dim. Minutes turned to hours, the moon casting a light glow over the woods, and still no sight of anyone.

It was hard to stay constantly focused when nothing was happening. His dragon slayer ears weren't picking up anything unusual, and his nose wasn't smelling any foreign scents either. A part of him hoped the council was wrong and that they weren't after him, that they weren't planning on attacking tonight. How did they know they'd be in the middle of the woods anyway?

The more he thought about it, the more it didn't make sense. Fairy Tail was never regarded highly within their eyes, so why were they entrusting such a heavy responsibility on the guild? And what intel did they have that suggested the group was going to attack tonight?

Just then, a loud explosion rang through the forest, pulling Natsu from his thoughts. His ears were ringing as his head snapped in the direction of the boom. Was it north or west?

Despite the slight deafness that overtook him, Natsu planted his feet, readying himself for battle if it was necessary. The explosion was big, but that was all that happened. No more chaos followed it, and the flames died out, leaving only smoke in its stead.

Natsu spun, fists tightened as he waited for the next attack. Would it be another explosion? Did they already break through their formation? He tried listening, but the ringing wouldn't go away, so he settled for keeping his eyes fixed on his surroundings.

He saw how his guild mates closest to him had the same look in their eyes, stances similar to his and ready to fight at a moment's notice. Time passed, and nothing happened. It had only been a few minutes since the first explosion, but it seemed as if it was too silent.

And then Natsu felt a vibration in his pocket, pulling out the magic card Cana had given him. His ears were still ringing too loudly to hear what the person on the other end was saying. He looked up, seeing Erza, Laxus, Mira, and Juvia, each holding the card out as they ran up to him, maintaining their circle around him.

He kept turning, watching as the rest of the guild met up in the middle. Slowly, his hearing came back to him. With a shake of his head and a few smacks to his ear, he finally regained his ability to hear. He'd never realized how much he took it for granted.

"What's going on?" He asked Mira, figuring she'd be the quickest to answer.

"Warren couldn't use his telepathy because he was close to the explosion. Gray called out on Cana's card and said they were already gone and we needed to meet back here."

Natsu nodded, eyes scanning as the members who were placed in the outer ring were beginning to show up. They were gone already? What was the point of the explosion then? He saw team Shadowgear arrive before hearing Erza call out to Gray.

"What do you mean they left? Why did you call for us to meet back here?!" She demanded.

Natsu turned, seeing Gray trying his best to remain on his feet. He had burn marks on one side of his body, and he was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath before he responded. Elfman answered for him, not looking nearly as injured as Gray.

"It was a trap!"

Immediately Natsu's eyes searched for the last person of Gray's team. The explosion must have gone off right by their group. Gray was there. Wounded, but there. Elfman was there. That only left…

"Hold on," Natsu announced before they could continue. "Where's Lucy?"

X

A slightly obvious plot twist (someone guessed it in a review so way to go!). I'm rewatching FT with my husband right now and can you guys believe he doesn't ship Natsu and Lucy? We're all the way through 280 episodes and he prefers NaLi :(