Lucy shifted, eyes twitching open at the light flooding the room. She wasn't sure how long she'd slept, moving to pull the covers off her when she felt an unfamiliar weight hanging over her stomach. Her eyes moved to the source as the memories of last night came running back to her. Heat rose to her cheeks at the thought of her sleeping with Natsu.

She picked his hand up off of her, placing it gently on her bed and trying not to wake him. Taking soft steps to the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror, noticing the red shade her face had become. She splashed some cool water on herself as she tried to make it go away. It wasn't like this was the first time Natsu had stayed the night. It wasn't the first time they slept in the same bed either. So why did this time feel so different? Sure, she'd never woken up with Natsu holding onto her, but that couldn't really be the reason, could it?

Squeezing toothpaste onto her toothbrush, Lucy began brushing her teeth furiously, as if the motion would also clear away her flustered feelings. This was Natsu, after all. While Lucy was questioning her feelings, wondering if she liked Natsu more than she let on or not, he probably didn't think anything of it. He just wanted to be reassured by her presence. Meanwhile she was viewing his vulnerability as his attempts to make some sort of move on her. Like Natsu even knew the definition of dating.

Just as she was rinsing her mouth, she heard the movement from her bedroom, signaling that Natsu had also woken up. She looked up to see him in the mirror's reflection, a panting mess as he leaned against the door frame. His eyes still looked tired as if he were only half awake.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked, turning to face him.

He relaxed at the sight of her. "Yeah, just woke up and you weren't there."

She wondered if he had another nightmare again. Had he woken up worried when he saw she wasn't there? Despite the situation, she smiled at the thought. He was sweet when he was protective. Lucy reached for her brush, running it through her hair.

"I was going to make some breakfast for us, but since you're awake we can just grab something at the guild," Lucy said.

Natsu let out a noise that sounded like a small whine. "But then I have to pay for it."

"If it makes you feel better I'll let you buy my breakfast too."

"How would that make me feel better?"

"I'm just teasing you, Natsu. I have an assortment of your clothes that you keep leaving here when you drop by unannounced. You can find something to wear in there, and then you need to take the rest home. Get ready, we can leave in five."

He looked Lucy up and down, noting how she'd just woken up and was still in her pajamas. His eyes wandered to the assortment of hair styling tools near her sink, three different bottles of product that he didn't know the names of, then back at Lucy who had just finished brushing her hair.

"What?" Lucy asked, seeing the look on his face.

"Ugh," Natsu grumbled, "Girls are never ready in five minutes!"

Lucy smirked at him, seizing her opportunity to poke fun back at him. "Who said anything about minutes?"

Fifteen minutes later, Lucy and Natsu left for the guild. Natsu's stomach rumbled, reminding Lucy of her own hunger. Except her body didn't alert anyone within a ten foot radius of how empty it was. A few moments later, and the pair arrived.

Pushing the doors open, Lucy couldn't help but immediately feel at peace among the smells and sounds of liveliness in the guild hall. They walked up to the bar, greeted by a cheerful Mirajane. Natsu ordered a big breakfast for himself, while Lucy was content on just ordering an omelette.

"You can put it all on my tab," Natsu told Mira.

"You're actually buying me breakfast?" Lucy asked, shocked.

"I thought you said I had to. If you didn't mean it then why'd you say it?" Natsu asked, then cupped his hand over his mouth as he shouted out, "Hey Mira! I take it back, Lucy isn't—"

Lucy shoved her foot on top of Natsu's, silencing him as she spoke over top of him. "Can I get an orange juice with that omelette?"

Mira nodded sweetly at her. There was a crafty look in the silver headed mage's eyes that Lucy didn't like. One that said 'We are so talking about this later.' It made Lucy regret letting Natsu buy her breakfast. No matter how hard she tried, Lucy couldn't silence the rumors and predictions that her and Natsu were dating. She got so used to shutting them down that when the time came where she wondered if she actually might have feelings for the dragon slayer, it was her built in response to deny that too.

Lucy's eyes trailed to Natsu, who found little Asuka and was teasing her. He stood on one side of her, reaching behind her back to tap the shoulder furthest away from him, then grinning and trying not to laugh like an idiot when she looked the other direction. Lucy smiled warmly at the sight. She'd told everyone a relationship between him and her would never happen, so she'd just have to suck it up until her feelings went away, right?

She looked to see who else was here today, noting how a majority of her guild mates had now gathered around Levy, whose nose was stuck in a book and was undoubtedly spouting off facts and theories. Lucy decided to join the group while she waited for her food. Immediately surrounding Levy was Gray, Juvia (a given considering Gray was there), Erza, Wendy, and Happy. Scooting her way towards her friend, Lucy found herself next to Gray.

"What's going on?" She asked him in a quiet voice while Levy continued her rant.

"Some museum was completely destroyed last night, and whoever did it supposedly stole some kinda staff." He said in an unimpressed voice, arms crossed and his clothes discarded, save his pants.

"Not just any staff," Levy spoke up, turning her book over so Lucy could see the contents of its pages. Her finger pointed to different pictures as she continued. "This staff was said to have once been capable of freezing or reversing time. It required a counterpart to work, which was this magic orb, called the Omnicore. The ancient story says that the orb was presumably sealed away by an ice dragon. Decades have passed since the orb was last seen. The magic council suspects that whoever stole the staff is also in search of the orb. What their intent to use the staff on is not yet known, but it can't be good news."

Natsu seemed to materialize like he normally does, a giggling Asuka on his shoulders. He appeared to have overheard Levy's short spiel. "Hold on, the magic council?"

Happy jumped at the sight of Natsu, his eyes darting back and forth between him and Lucy, asking in a very suggesting voice, "There you are! Where where did you go last night, Natsu?"

Before he or anyone could put two and two together, Erza cut in, voice serious as she cleared up Natsu's confusion.

"That's right, the magic council. Listen carefully, especially you, Natsu." Erza gave a pointed look at dragon slayer. "Because it was an ice dragon's magic that sealed away the orb, and because Natsu's fire dragon slayer magic was on full display during the games, the council suspects that they may be after you, Natsu. The council believes these thieves intend to use your fire magic to melt away the seal."

"Yeah right, like I'd ever do that for them!" Natsu said, grabbing Asuka and placing her back down.

"You might not have to," a small voice squeaked, all eyes turning on its user. Wendy continued, "Remember Edolas?"

Natsu's mind flashed back, remembering how he and Wendy were bound as their magic was drained from their bodies. He remembered the immense pain that came with it, the cries from Wendy that he couldn't stop, the way he pleaded for them to leave her alone. The small girl was right, if they wanted to utilize his magic, it wasn't like they needed his consent to use it.

"Wendy's right. The council thinks they have methods to obtain your magic. They'll likely do whatever it takes to get what they want," Gray said.

"So what? Are they going to help us protect Natsu then?" Lucy asked, her heart racing at the thought of having just come off of saving the world and now Natsu's life was potentially already at risk.

Erza shook her head firmly. "While I wish that were the case, the magic council has only speculated that these thieves may plan to attack tonight. We are to be on guard, keeping our defenses up and ready to fight at any moments notice. Our top priority will be to ensure Natsu's safety throughout all of this."

"We can't let these guys have access to something as powerful as messing with time," Levy stated.

The surrounding guild mates nodded their heads grimly, not at all liking the idea of one of their own being targeted. Mira called Lucy and Natsu over once their food was finished, and they sat in silence while they ate. It was an unusual sight to see Natsu be so quiet. Lucy couldn't blame him, but she did wish she could cheer him up.

One thing was for sure, though. If whoever stole the staff also had the orb and was planning to take Natsu by force, they'd have to go through the entire guild before they got to him. No way in hell was Lucy going to let them take him away from her.

X

Hi friends! Stay tuned for the next chapter! Thank you for reading and I hope you all have a great week ◡̈