#nalu three-shot

[ssukidesu]

what friends do

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Pairing: Nalu

Rating: T

Nalu Week 2024 ( @allaboutnalu @thenaluarchive )

Summary: Lucy gets a little too happy and does something (maybe not) regrettable.

Chapter 6: what counts as a cheap shot (injury)

Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5

Read on AO3

Read under the cut

1… 2… 3… 4…

Shit, shit, shit!

Lucy’s mind raced through her options and found them limited, to say the very least.

The man pinning her front to the floor was laughing cruelly. His knee was on the center of her back, and her hands were pinned together beneath it, right on the meat of his calf. She felt a bead of sweat drip onto her neck from above.

5… 6… 7…

Options… options… what were her options? She could try to dig her nails into his hands, but that almost never worked. She could try to buck him off, but she could tell he was pushing almost all his body weight onto her back—she had no shot. She could…

Aha!

He was leaning on her from her right side, and the leg that wasn’t digging into her back had to be bracing somewhere for balance. From what she could tell, it was probably somewhere by the bottom half of her legs. If she could just…

8… 9…

In one movement, Lucy bent her right knee and swung back her foot—and prayed. Thankfully, her toes clipped his shin, and she managed to sweep his leg off the ground, throwing off his balance. Immediately, the weight on her back lessened, and she rolled onto her back. He still had her hands gripped together, but the momentum of her movement ruined his balance even more, and she landed her knee right into his stomach.

With the wind knocked out of him, she could yank her hands free and scramble back to her feet.

Fists poised near her face, Lucy bounced on her toes.

And smiled.

“Damn, Lucy… really thought I had ya there,” said her sparring partner, Natsu, who was flicking the sweat off his bangs and shaking loose his stiff fingers. “And at the last second, too!”

“What can I say?” she bragged. “I’m getting better.”

Natsu and Lucy began to circle each other again, both trying to spy an opportunity to lunge.

This scene was becoming a more frequent one lately. No magic, no tricks—just pure, hand-to-hand sparring. It was Lucy’s idea; Natsu was always asking her to fight him, but she knew she had no shot in hell if it was a real spar with magic. So, after coming up with some stipulations, she proposed this compromise.

While the rules were appropriately adjusted for a male-versus-female fight, she knew he’d never go easy on her. Yes, the requirements were that he had to pin her for ten seconds while she only had to pin him for three—but no one would be fooled to think that he was being nice.

The evidence?

…She had never won.

Don’t misunderstand—she’d gotten close, a few times. But it was just like him to pull through in the last moment and, if anything, manipulate his previous vulnerability into being an advantage in the very next moment. She’d complain about it, but, well… would she love him if he were any different than how he was?

Lucy pursed her lips and blew a puff of air upward to get her bangs out of her eyes. She knew he’d come at her any second, and that would be her moment to attack. There’d be no openings until then.

His expression was concentrated��it was confident and competitive. He knew he had the upper hand, as he always did, but Lucy recognized that Natsu truly did find joy in making her stronger—in testing to see if this time was when she’d finally beat him.

He lunged. He went for her middle, his shoulder lowering so that he could get her around the waist. He was fast, but she was hoping he’d make this move; it was one with which he’d defeated her many times before.

Yes—this time, she was ready for it.

She went lower. She was almost on the ground; if he was a taller man, she wouldn’t have to sweep so close to the floor to avoid his arms. She passed by him on the left, clipped his foot with hers, and reveled in the sound of his body thunking heavily on the mat. His momentum had already been moving forward—he’d normally be too sturdy to trip outright, but his own shifting body weight worked against him.

Now behind him, she moved like lightning to grab his right leg. She gripped his ankle with her right hand, then threw her entire body over his shirtless back so that his ankle would be lodged over her shoulder. She had no hope of holding it with just her hand, but if she could manage to keep her own body down, she might be able to hold him in place.

Her left hand perhaps pulled a cheap shot—but those were allowed for her (with obvious exceptions, such as his eyes and his family jewels). She tangled her fingers into his hair at the base and clenched her fist. She wasn’t mean enough to pull his hair, but this, she hoped, would provide a big enough distraction from the rest of his body that the three seconds could pass.

1…

Since his hands were free, his first instinct was to grope at the hand in his hair. He was muttering all the while, “Shit… Lucy—” in a gritty voice that might have made her stomach flip.

2…

But he was a quick thinker. Noticing the mobility he still had with both hands, he pushed his torso off the ground—much like a regular push up—and to get his leg and back free of her, he tucked to crash down on his left side. Lucy went with him, of course—and unfortunately, it jostled her off his back.

Ugh! So close—!

But she couldn’t dwell on that now: she was still on the ground, and he’d be a fool not to take advantage. She was propped up on her side, but as he flung himself to grab her, she learned that he was set on forcing her on her back. In a flash, he had her wrists in his left hand, her hips pressed down under his right forearm, and her two legs raised so that her hamstrings were pinned under his thighs. She could move them slightly and straighten her knees, but that sort of thing didn’t matter. With her hips pinned down, she wouldn’t be able to buck him off.

Well, she thought—his hot, panting breaths washing over her face—this is a new one.

1…

There’s no way I can get out of this one, she thought, trying desperately to wrench her wrists from his grip. He smiled pridefully at her fruitless efforts.

2… 3…

He’s so close. Their eyes were locked—hers wide in panic, his half-mast in arrogance. If I wanted to, I could…

Wait.

…That might work.

Let it be known that, for the record, there was a lot of blood pumping into Lucy’s brain at that moment, and whether this idea was a reasonable one would be an object of her own future scrutiny.

“I really do appreciate this, Natsu,” she muttered, her lungs tight from her raised arms.

4… 5…

He blinked, pupils dilating. Their faces might have been three inches apart. “‘Course,” he said amiably, though his brow quirked in suspicion.

6…

“I’m happy that I’m getting stronger because of you,” she mused.

His breathing halted. His eyes widened, and he froze.

7…

Her blond hair was splayed out beneath her. It had shaken so loose from its ponytail that it might as well have not been tied at all. With the little mobility she had, she raised her chin and lifted her head off the ground. His eyes widened further, but he didn’t pull himself away.

8…

Her lips pressed against his cheek, close to his jaw. It was covered in sweat, but not the kind that made his skin slick. It was sticky, and the tender skin of her lips clung to the touch in a way that made the action seem even more intimate than it was.

Or maybe that was due to the fact that he was pressed quite thoroughly against her in a manner that was more than a little suggestive.

9…

She pulled away, and his half-lidded eyes were fixated on her mouth.

She felt his grip on her wrists weaken.

In one mighty test of strength, Lucy jerked her hands from his hold, placed them on his head for leverage, and pushed herself upward just enough that her legs were freed from the hold of his own. She gripped the wrist of the arm that had been below her stomach, hooked the underside of her knee around his torso, and heaved until she’d flipped them both. At the end of it, he was on his back, and she had his right arm bent behind his back—just shy of the point of dislocation. Her legs were on either side of him; she’d sat herself just below his groin.

Lucy was relieved to be free, but she knew her success would be short-lived; there was no way she could keep him in this hold. Other than her body weight on top of him and his one (much stronger) hand in the grip of her own, she had no way to secure him.

So why wasn’t he moving?

1…

Natsu was just staring up at her, lips parted and brows furrowed. His left hand, which was completely free, was splayed out to the side, motionless.

2…

Lucy wondered if she’d hurt him in the movement somehow—but she scratched away the thought just as quickly. This guy could take a boulder to the skull and break the boulder; surely there was nothing she did in that tussle that hurt him.

Well, except maybe one thing…

“Three,” she breathed.

Neither moved. She watched a couple different emotions flash over his face; first, confusion—as if he wasn’t sure what she was talking about; then, self-abhorring displeasure. He exhaled loudly through his nose and let his head drop an inch to rest fully on the ground.

His lip curled, and his eyes narrowed. “Ouch.”

Lucy released a single laugh. She let go of his arm and brought both of hers to brace on his chest. “What, did I hurt you somewhere?” she asked doubtfully.

“Nope,” he huffed. “Just my pride.”

She smiled with her tongue between her teeth. “Finally,” she giggled against his skin. “I finally won!”

Natsu scoffed, but he brought his newly-freed hand to play with her hair, which had devolved into tangles around the elastic band. He fumbled to loosen it, but gave up after figuring it was a lost cause.

Lucy rolled off of him and stood before offering him a hand. He took it despondently, and they made their way to the bench.

“I think we should add that to the list of cheap shots you aren’t allowed to take,” he grumbled, chugging from his water bottle.

“Don’t be a sore loser,” she drawled. “I was just thanking you for all your help. What’s cheap about that?”

He gave her a flat look that seemed to say, You know exactly what was cheap about it.

Lucy shrugged. “I guess I might have been hoping it’d throw you off…”

“Hoping? Lucy, it wasn’t fair! You’d be saying the same thing if I’d done it to you!”

Lucy had to take care not to choke on her water as she took a sip. The image of him kissing her on the cheek in the middle of any of the positions he’d had her in before…

Well. She supposed she understood his point.

She watched him tug his shirt back on, and she threw the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Natsu,” she began, as cute as she could manage. She walked backwards to look at him as she led the way out of the gym. “What can I do to make it up to you?”

Natsu always liked questions like that. His lips tilted into a smirk. “Cook me dinner.”

She should have known he’d say that. Rolling her eyes, she turned her back to him and pushed open the door. “Fine,” she said sulkily.

But the stubborn grin on her face wouldn’t go away.

[sstargoldens]

Chapter 1 - Before Fairy Tail, Lucy Heartfilia

Summary: One-shots focused on Lucy Heartfilia and with nuances of NALU Since joining Fairy Tail, Lucy never spoke much about her past as inheriting Heartfilia, details of her upbringing and how she managed to escape from her mansion were never told. Sometimes Lucy remembers them with pain and nostalgia, other times the guild has the opportunity to learn things they did not know about the celestial mage.

Chapter 1: Music

It all started that afternoon when Natsu, Happy and Lucy had returned from their last mission. Everything had gone well despite some damage caused by the fire mage, they still managed to get 80% of the reward. And yes it was a good reward because even after the discount, there was a huge sum left ,that meant that she no longer had to worry about paying the rent for about three months. This relieved the celestial mage, her income was a constant concern, a reminder that she was an adult woman with responsibility and bills to pay, the stage of her life where she had money and no worries was over long ago. Little did Lucy miss that life, perhaps sometimes she thought it would be easier not to have to worry about making certain mount of money every month and avoid being left on the street, but within seconds of that thought she denied it, although it was true that it was hard not to have a stable finantial situation, this same one demonstrated an autonomy that never thought that she could get to obtain. Freedom was a feeling that Lucy wouldn't change for anything, less to return to her life as heir to the Heartfilia clan.

She and Natsu entered the guild with a great shout "We're back" while Happy flew straight to the bar asking Mirajane for a big fish. Lucy sat in her regular stall and Natsu sat next to her while Mira served him a large amount of food. The white haired woman, after serving her companions, handed her a strawberry milkshake, although Lucy hadn't ordered it yet, she thanked her for her gesture with a smile.

The star mage stared at her in the void, thinking about rent and her old lifestyle brought back bittersweet memories. There were so many things that she had suffered in her mansion, her loneliness was one of her main torturers. Lucy spoke little of her old home, she didn't like to recall those times when Lucy from Fairy Tail didn't exist, only a sad and immature girl. Her companions never asked or interrogated, they always knew how to respect that, they all knew well that there are secrets about the past, they themselves were the proof themselves. Each Fairy Tail magician had their history and a past, a before that they hardly exposed to light.

Of course they knew who her father was and they knew that she had run away from home, Fairy Tail knew the big picture but without any clue of the details that led the blonde to escape from home. Lucy smiled sadly at the thought of her, memories of her having skyrocketed. Her heart jerked in pain, Natsu who, as he would have felt that, detached himself from his food and looked at her, smiling at her and giving her a squeeze on the arm. This brought Lucy out of her reverie and thanking him with her gaze she smiled at him. Satisfied by her response, Natsu returned attention to the plate in front of him, eating like a savage, typical of Natsu.

Through the guild gate came a new group of wizards consisting of Erza, Gray, Wendy, and Charle. The sky dragon slayer had decided to go on her first mission by herself but Erza who was overprotective almost like a mother dictated that she had to accompany her to supervise and dragged Gray with her. Of course, the guild accepted this as long as the adult wizards didn't intervene in the mission and will let Wendy carry it out on her own. Natsu and Lucy weren't present when the rest of their team left so they didn't have the opportunity to accompany them and since Lucy still needed the money, they went on a mission without the full equip.

Wendy walked to the center of the guild, a beaming smile on her young and childish face, hinting that her mission was completed with complete success. Charle followed her closely with a proud smile on her face, just like a mother who boasts of the first steps of her son. The little blue haired girl addressed the pair of magicians at the bar, she felt her emotion through her pores, Erza and Gray walked joining the rest of the team. All its members were gathered at the bar listening as Wendy related the mission to Lucy, Natsu and Happy.

- And in the end, together with Charle, we got rid of the burrow, we took the rabbit rats to another more extensive and beautiful field. The client was so happy that she gave me some of her work. - Wendy told excitedly

- That's right, Wendy did a very good job. - Charle said with a proud smile.

-That's great Wendy, you're a magician in all her letters. - Lucy encouraged the girl.

- Wendy that's great, I would have set those monsters on fire. - Natsu shouted excitedly, lighting one or another chair.

- It's true, we are all very proud of Wendy. Erza said slapping the dragon slayer on the head.

- By the way Wendy, I see that since you arrived you have that case on your back. What is it? Fish? -she asked with saliva in mouth Happy, almost tasting the fish.

- How is that going to be? Dumb cat. - said Charle

At the question, the entire guild attracted attention to the group, since the magicians had arrived, they all wondered what the maiden of heaven was bringing but no one had had the courage to ask her despite their curiosity. Lucy who through her mind in clouds of her hadn't noticed the case that the minor magician brought, she was surprised to notice that it was something that she knew very well, something that reminded her of the past.

Erza and Gray already knew what it was and they only smiled at the curiosity of the guild, the reward of the mission was a very beautiful instrument and little seen in the environment of the magicians. Natsu was also interested when he heard the question from his little feline friend and began to imagine that it could be, different types of artifacts or weapons passed through his mind.

Wendy, excited by the question, proceeded to remove case from her back and began to open it.

-The truth is that the lady who hired me was a manufacturer of musical instruments, she had many types of things that i didn't knew and among them was this. - she said unpacking what appeared to be a white violin with a blue flower design.

The violin was beautiful, Lucy who was very attentive to the situation could see that it was a high quality and elegant instrument. This brought back memories of her to all those afternoons of her childhood where she spent hours practicing that instrument.

Lucy felt a certain rejection at the sight of the violin despite recognizing her value and admiring those who practiced that art, her history with him provoked rejection. Lucy was forced by her father to learn the violin, she had one of the best teachers money could pay but Lucy simply didn't have a passion for music. At first little Heartfilia enjoyed it a bit, she showed a bit of talent and she learned songs that she liked. But everything changed drastically when for her father and her teacher it wasn't enough, they demanded a rigor and discipline that her little and not enough talented hands couldn't reach. She was told over and over again that a lady had to master an instrument and as heir to the Heartfilia Konzern she had to be the best of her. She even got multiple injuries to her hands and her free time was cut off every time she failed her violin teacher's tests. It was all over when they were both satisfied with her level, Lucy could perfectly play various classical and complex pieces by heart. Although that for years now, she still brought a bitter taste to the celestial mage.

- The truth is I was very happy that she gave it to me, I would like to learn how to play it. The lady told me that it is called a violin and it is used mainly in high society. - Wendy counted with a sheepish smile. Lucy concentrated on her.

- How weird is that, let me hold it. - Natsu asked anxious about something unknown.

- Don't give it to flames, it will destroy it. I will take better care of it. -said Gray provoking his rival.

- What did you say cooler with legs? - Natsu and Gray started fighting. The entire guild got upset and started their own fights.

- Stop there. - Erza hit the two idiots and stopped the guild. - We need to find a tutor for Wendy, does anyone know anything about this violin?

Several curious hands made the gesture of wanting to play the instrument but Charle didn't allow it.

- If it's a manly thing, I can play it like a man. - Elfman said.

- What is someone like you going to know to treat something small and fragile? - Evergreen replied.

- Ara, ara, I have no idea, sorry Wendy-chan. - Mirajane said with her sweet smile.

- I read something about it, maybe I can help you. - Levy offered kindly with a grumpy Gajeel behind her.

- Thank you Levy-san. - Wendy said.

The entire guild look how the writing magician approached the white violin and observed it carefully, examining it most carefully. Levy take the bow that came with the violin in her hands, all eyes focused on her, no one had heard or seen her use that before. Levy raised the violin with his other hand and made a gesture to bring the bow closer to the strings, inches from touching the strings a shout was heard throughout the guild.

- STOP! - cried Lucy. She from the beginning had set out to stand aside, she was sorry that Wendy didn't have a guild mentor but she wasn't ready to reveal her ability caused by years of abusive training. But when she saw her reading friend improperly treat the instrument and about to break the bowstrings, she couldn't stay away from it and do anything. She didn't want to see such a valuable instrument damaged, much less Wendy felt sad.

Levy was stopped by the scream of the Heartfilia with a little jump by the unexpectedness of the request and by the amazement. All the fairies had their gaze on the blonde, questioning and confused. A little embarrassed Lucy walked over to where Levy, the rest of his team and the instrument were.

- If you touch it like that, you will damage the arc. The bow strings will break, first you have to tighten it to be able to play and you also have to tune the violin. -said the magician of celestial spirits with a tone of nostalgia and surrendered to the fact that they knew that she knew how to play.

- Oh I didn't know, sorry. You stopped me just in time. - Levy said with flushed cheeks and a little embarrassed.

The entire guild processed the information, it made sense but they wondered how Lucy could possibly know how to handle that instrument. No one dared to ask except one person who got straight to the point.

- How do you know that Luce? - Natsu asked with an expectant look at Lucy, a look from a child who found a new toy.

- I learned it when I was still living like my father. - Lucy said sincerely but not wanting to reveal more information. Natsu who used to be perceptive with her friends saw in Lucy's eyes that there was something else but didn't ask. He knew Lucy would tell him when she was ready.

- That's great Lu-chan, no wonder you know about this. - Levy handed the violin to Lucy who welcomed it.

- Maybe you could teach Wendy a little. - Gray pointed out who had a Juvia hanging on his arm.

-Love rival tries to impress Gray-sama with a rare instrument. - Juvia said looking badly at the star mage.

- It's not like that Juvia. - They all said with a drop of sweat on their forehead

- I think I could teach a little if Wendy agrees. - Lucy said with a brighter smile. The guild took it well and no one questioned her about it any more.

- Really Lucy-san? I would really appreciate it. Wendy said with a look of illusion in her eyes.

Lucy was glad to see Wendy with such passion about an instrument unknown to her, the violin perfectly suited Wendy's personality and surely the dragon slayer would become an incredible violinist. For the blonde, her positivism arose, if she could help one of her guild mates with everything she learned, she would do it with happiness and she wouldn't let her sadness spread to her teammate, she wouldn't suffer like her, she would be happy learning, Lucy would take care of it.

Natsu watched Lucy as she tuned and adjusted the violin, the instrument seemed something of her own in her hands almost a custom as if she had done it hundreds of times. The expertise of the blonde with the violin surprised the dragon slayer, he hoped that Lucy knew how to handle it but he didn't expect her to be so expert considering that in all the years being with her adventure partner , he had never seen her near that instrument . Natsu actually had no idea that she could play music, this surprised him so much but he understood that everyone kept secrets.

When Lucy finished the preparations for Wendy's instrument, she noticed that everyone was looking at her expectantly especially the little dragon slayer, it seemed as if everyone expected her to play.

- Do you want me to play something? - Lucy asked with a droplet on her forehead, the guild was very obvious, even the master seemed interested in hearing her.

-Yes, please Luce / Lu-chan / Lucy / Lucy-san / Love rival / Bunny girl. - were heard throughout the guild as they exploded with excitement.

Lucy sighed until Laxus and the lightning tribe had come down from the second floor interested in the violin, she took the correct posture as taught by her childhood teacher, little memories of reproaches and corrections came to her mind. . Even so, the violin in her hands felt like an old friend, nostalgia settled in her chest, she was thinking of playing a song she knew by heart, something her tutor had insisted that anyone who considers themselves a violinist had to know without fail. But before she started playing the star magician decided that she would play something that brought back better memories and wasn't as boring as what she had been forced to memorize.

A / N: The song would be the main theme of Fairy Tail but on violin in case you want to look for it c:

With closed eyes and a melancholy smile Lucy began to play, a strong and slow melody began to emerge, the guild was quietly concentrated on that music. While she let herself be guided by her memory and heard from her, the blonde fulfilled each note, her years without her practice were hardly noticeable but there were small flaws. Lucy enjoyed every measure, that song was one of the few that Lucy secretly learned from her teacher and father, who had told her that it was just a melody without an author and therefore useless that was accompanied by silly tales of mythological beings and magical creatures. But for the blonde it was special, it was a melody that her mother hummed for her, she learned it in order to feel closer to her and above all it was a song that reminded her of Fairy Tail, her great family.

In the change of melody to a faster and stronger rhythm, she strongly attracted those she listened to, at first they had felt sadness and then warmth. The wizards experienced a sense of hope and strength in their hearts, it felt so Fairy Tail. At the end of the song she returned to a fast but gentle rhythm, Lucy changed to different expressions with her talented interpretation, all the feelings in the environment could be felt and no one could take their eyes off the celestial mage. It was like a spell that caught them, it was magic. In the end she returned to a slow pace similar to the calm that you get after a fight and one returns to her companions. With the last bars Lucy finished her performance, opening her eyes with a smile of tranquility and peace, she was surprised by the sight.

Some of them were delighted looking at her with small tears in their eyes and others were directly crying, this moved Lucy but before processing Natsu wrapped his arm around her shoulders while Happy perched on her head.

- That was great Luce / Lucy. -They congratulated her with a big smile on their faces. This broke the mood and the guild erupted in congratulations.

- Let's celebrate for our talented Lucy. - the master cried. The whole guild forgetting their sadness and celebrating the presentation.

Lucy just smiled at the environment, feeling happy to have a family as warm as Fairy Tail. Being there made her forget all the bad things about the past, she had her friends by her side and only love surrounded her.

While Juvia cried in Gray's arms, Erza congratulated her blonde partner while Lucy taught Wendy the basics, Natsu sneaked out of the guild for a moment taking advantage of Happy's distraction with Charle. Already hidden by the darkness because it was night and with the cold that didn't affect him, the dragon slayer dropped some small tears that he had endured, Lucy's performance had affected him more than he would like to admit, painful memories also they arrested but above all the power to feel the pain and melancholy of his companion affected him more. He knew that Lucy didn't live in a paradise in her childhood despite the irony that she lived in a money paradise but he could feel how that song was different for her, he didn't know how to explain it. The song was hopeful almost as if Lucy expressed what she once felt while she was secluded in her mansion and that caused him anger, thinking about everything that had happened and he wasn't t even there for her, and she was all alone . Sometimes Natsu despite his dense and idiotic facade when reflected he wished that he had met Lucy before, she brought so much light to his life and vice versa, at least he hoped.

[fox-buried-in-maple-leaves]

Autober #1 Food & Beverage

Prompt List Found Here

Eiji belongs to @ha-ule-nalu

Taglist: @cerasus--flores

I love a coffee shop au

Eiji didn’t need the beverage by any means, it wasn’t necessary. But it was a welcome stop to his routine. It had quickly become just something that he did. 

The bell jingled when the cafe door opened and he stepped over the raised threshold, the cafe smelled as lovely as ever. The aroma of cinnamon and apple filled his nose. The autumn signature muffins that the cafe promoted. 

He was always tempted, but it was merely another thing he didn’t need. His stomach was hollow, made of synthetic tissue and mechanical bits. It churned at the smell of burnt coffee, sang at the scent of fresh apple crumble. But it had no use for sustenance.

He could eat, of course, if he wanted to. But it was a waste of money. A precious resource.

Eiji walked up to the counter, it was early, the only staff members were the baker in the back and a peculiar man that always greeted him with a wide smile and shiny eyes.

Before Eiji could even open his mouth, the man spoke for him.

“One large black coffee?” 

“Yes..”

Two tails topped with hairnets swished behind him and Eiji wanted to smile, it was cute, the way he wore the utterly useless hairnets on his tails. His nametag read Katsumi and the felisine puppet realised this was the first time he ever even looked at it.

It had a little star shape drawn beside it, with a smiley face at the beginning of his name.

Katsumi picked up a cup, scribbling on the lid. “This is how you spell your name, right, Eh-Jey?” 

“Eiji. Yes, that’s how it's spelled.”

Had he really encountered the kitsune so many times he remembered how to spell his name, but Eiji himself hadn’t even read his nametag? He felt a tad embarrassed, mechanical heart whirring uncomfortably in his chest.

His name and his order.

Eiji pulled the change from his pocket, three fanes exactly, he remembered. He placed the coins down on the counter and Katsumi took them, placing them in the cash register.

Katsumi turned, blond and brown tails swishing as he filled the cup up with the coffee pot. Eiji’s own tail stood less still, the purple appendage swished absently, but not in the same way the canine’s did. 

He moved to stand at the counter labeled pick up, taking his phone out for a moment as Katsumi’s coworker made a comment to him. No texts, no calls. There never was any, he made sure of that. But it was always safer to check.

Mismatched eyes looked up and widened slightly in surprise, his cup was already placed on the pick up counter. But more importantly, beside it was a small brown baggie, the smell was undeniable. It was the coveted muffin that represented why the cafe was still in business.

“Have a good day, Eiji!” Katsumi waved from nearby.

Eiji opened his mouth to thank him, or say, anything, really. But he was cut off by the bell of the door jingling, another customer. He’d never stayed long enough to see another customer, but then, he’d never made a habit of greeting the kitsune or talking to him.

The man reached up, grabbing the black coffee and muffin, he then stepped behind the new customer. A tall woman with dark greyish blue hair and brown eyes. 

“Hi Nanami!”

“Hello, Kats. Apple cider with a shot of vanilla please.”

Eiji left the coffee shop with his haul in hand, already thinking back to the kitsune’s friendly blue-green eyes and sharp smile. 

He looked down at his cup to open the mouth piece, stopping in the middle of the road when he saw a number jotted down on top of it.

A car horn honked and he was quick to move. But his eyes remained on the phone number.

He turned, looking back at the cafe now across the street. Then down at the cup again.

Ah…

[oulkheir]

hi ! i'm dua, french, 18, nice to meet you and i hate capital letters !

i'm into fairy tail and given since enough years to have read it and seen it a hundred times. random thoughts, analyses, fanfictions, fanarts, debates, are all things i take too seriously. but i'm friendly, i promise :) you might be a bit scared about how i'm dying for fictional characters and how i ship them with heart. but i'm friendly, i promise :)

ao3 - wattpad - pinterest - tiktok

fairy tail content

mostly fanarts, because i used to write a lot about fairy tail back when i was too young, and i'm so done with that -

nalu week 2024 : day one • day two • day three • day four • day five • day six • day seven

small comics : gray's thoughts • nalu first kiss • gray is jealous • nashi is a lesbian - post-tartaros trauma

other : messy stingue • natsu day • gray n lipstick • nalu pic • drunk natsu n gray

and also ramblings

given content

to this day, i've written a lot of one-shots about given pairs all in one work -

mafuyama : the judgement • the tee-shirt • the breakfast • the homework • the name

akiharu : the piercings • the cigarette • the stars

shizuragi : the picture • the confession • the movie • the comment • the reward

akigetsu : the rain • the love or the lie

mafuyuki : the chocolate • the smile

mafuragi : the nail polish • the yukata

yayoi x take : the hand

but also short fics -

what are the limits for cheating? (or, ritsuka doubts his self-confidence regarding his relationship)

through their eye (or, shizusumi and hiiragi discuss their sexuality)

a tiny issue (or, hiiragi is annoying the whole planet for a gift)

and a series of x reader

and analyses/discussions about the characters -

why given among all other romances ?

ritsuka isn't as complex as the other characters (and it's okay)

hiiragi has reasons to feel confused and guilty

why hiiragi and shizu aren't the worst

akihiko was worse than i thought

shizusumi's devotion not equal to gentlemanness (?)

other headcanon and stuff

you'll also find my replies to other people's analyses if you're lucky :) and my reblogs are from people i think of talented (jk who am i)

i'm also in other fandoms such as horimiya, mha, jjk, yubiren, kaguya-sama, mlb, onk... so feel free to take a look at my likes :)

have fun !

xx

[theguildawards]

Term 1 2023 Fanart Winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the first term 2023 hosted by The Guild Awards! The mod-team is excited to see so much amazing fanwork and their creators recognized, as well as the love shown for this fandom!

Without further delay, here we are!

Click here for Fanfiction Winners

Fanart Winners of The Guild Awards for Term 1 2023!

Best Action/Adventure Artwork: "Erza Scarlet" by @thearcanearts

Best Alternate Universe/Reality Artwork: "Band AU things and the what not" by @heartonxions

Best Canon Artwork: "Let's Dance, Lucy!" by @tsushi-talks

Best Angst Artwork: "Untitled" by @4stralfairy

Best Dark Artwork: "It's Been a Long Time Since I've Been Me" by @phoenix-before-the-flame

Best Humor/Parody Artwork: "The Three Genders are Literally Princess, Slut, and Loser" by @annluvazzel

Best Kiss Artwork: "I'll Take Some Sneak Shots of the Lil Lovers in Me" by skytooo726 (TW)

Best Romance Artwork: "Fiction" by @jmoart214

Best LGBTQ+ Romance Artwork: "Forget Nalu vs Nali, They're Obviously Girlfriends" by @sporkteeth

Best Character Artwork: "The Melody of my Heart" by @jerzaworms

Best Duo/Pairing Artwork: "Untitled" by @4stralfairy

Best Group Depiction Artwork: "This brotp" by @acnologias-ass

Best Redraw Artwork: "Juvia" by @watcher-ofthe-sky

Best Manga Coloring (tie): "Bread" by @fairy-edits and "You Must Get that Fill of that Fleeting Freedom of Yours" by @watcher-ofthe-sky

Best Overall Artwork: "Acnologia" by @crowind1

Congratulations to all the winners! Your awards are ready! Please send one of the mods or our ask box your preferred email address so we can send them to you!

As this term comes to a close, The Guild Awards will be taking a short hiatus. This time is always spent reviewing the process and seeing what can be revamped for the next term. We also love hearing from the fandom (ie: YOU!) for suggestions regarding any changes or additions.

We will officially be back in full swing on October 1st! We will still be around in case you have questions or concerns, but please take this time to read new fanfiction and find new fanart.

Want to stay immersed in all things Fairy Tail? Join our Discord! It's open to everyone!

As the day gets closer to the start of the next term, we will be keeping everyone in the loop when it comes to changes and updates. We wish you a wonderful summer! Thank you again for making this such a fun experience! See you soon!

~ The Guild Awards

[caandlle]

NALU Store Clerk AU. Pt.1: “L-U-C-Y!”

Lucy’s sick of fight after fight with her father and goes to wallow in a parking lot where Natsu’s just a cute store clerk who’s really too sunny for a girl who’s breaking down.

Lucy rests her forehead against the wheel of her car, eyes fluttering closed. Her chest heaves with the effort of choking down the sob that’s begging to be released but she won’t. She can’t.

It’ll just stack another piece against her father’s board, swiped from her until the whole game threatens to topple over. A lonely chessboard with one empty, blank side.  

A game she’s tired of playing.  

Tears form in the corner of her eyes but she squints, fighting them off. Crying will get her nowhere and she’s already too lost. Lucy clutches at the golden key strung around her neck by a thin, old chain; a familiar comfort that makes fighting the tears a little easier. A mother’s last gift to her daughter who held it between her tiny fingers in awe, not yet knowing exactly the worth of the treasure in her grasp.  

The last gift that she’d ever receive.  

God, she’d give up anything to just hear her mother’s voice, to be embraced by the arms of the woman who loved her with her entire being. Lucy hasn’t been hugged in years. That fact, so small yet so shattering, breaks her self-control into a million little pieces. The dam breaks and Lucy sobs, alone, in the middle of an empty parking lot of a grocery store that’s she’s never been too.  

She feels pathetic, so, so pathetic, but she can’t stop it. The tears fall and her heart aches with every gasping breath, and all she wants to do is curl into a ball and let the world just slip away. Just watch it dissolve until she can’t feel how lonely, how tired of pretending, she is.  

There’s a knock against her window which startles her so much she snaps upright with a loud shriek, knocking her head against the wheel painfully, the seatbelt digging into her neck. Her eyes snap over to the culprit: a man with a pink apron to match his – pink? - hair, knuckles raised against the glass pane. He mouths something she can’t understand, words muffled between the barrier separating them.  

Lucy sucks in a sharp breath, turning her head to not-so-subtly wipe away the tears and their trails. A quick glance in her mirror shows that she looks like a wreck; make-up smeared, black smudges under her eyes, blonde hair all frizzy and out of place. Lucy closes her eyes and gathers up the last bit of courage she has left, and rolls down the window of her car.  

“Y-Yes?” She sniffs, wincing at how hoarse and strained her voice is. It’s so obvious she’d just been sobbing her heart out. Crap.  

The shop clerk – at least she thinks he is, by the apron and the name tag. Natsu (if his tag is to be believed) scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, averting his gaze. “Been told by the owner to check out ya car, since it’s been here for a while. He gets all suspicious when a car hangs around late at night.”  

Lucy blinks and is mortified to feel a tear slip. “Oh, uh, I’m so sorry – yes, yes of course. I’ll just – I'll get going now.”  

Natsu clears his throat and steps back as she turns the engine back on, hands shaking. She anchors herself on the wheel, feeling the weight of it underneath her fingertips, to hold her together long enough that she doesn’t have another breakdown before she’s out of the parking lot. Lucy’s not sure where she’s going to go now – she has nowhere to go. She’s definitely not going to her house, where her father sits at his desk, sterile and cold. That house is no longer her home (and hasn’t been for a long time), lacking the warmth and love that once resided within its large walls.

She’s about to press on the gas when - “Shit, uh, wait.” A hand is placed on her door, the words hurried as he leans down to peer into the window once more. “Look, I know I’m a stranger but I can’t just let a cryin’ woman drive off in the middle of the night. My old man’ll kill me.”  

Lucy freezes, eyes locked in front of her. The single street light flickers and suddenly she’s crying again, tears flowing nonstop. She must look so wretched that even the store clerk was trying to soothe her. That only made her cry harder, gasping as she struggled to keep breathing under the sobs wracking her body.  

Natsu tenses, looking like he has no idea what to do with a crying random girl (which he likely doesn’t), and swallows audibly. “Uh, lady? D’you wanna... I dunno, come inside? I can get ya some water.”  

“L-Lucy. The name’s Lucy.” She manages to get out somehow, still crying. The words are shaky at best but Lucy’s just proud that she was able to speak at all. Once she got passed this catastrophe, she was never going to live it down.

“Natsu.” He grins, showcasing fanged teeth with his too-large smile. It’s so bright and it nearly blinds her. She hasn’t seen something to open and free in what feels like years, so the sight of it burns her. Lucy hiccups, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand.  

“I know.”  

Natsu takes a step back, eyeing her warily. “Are ya a stalker or somethin’? Look Luigi, I’ve never met’cha before."  

“What? As if I’d stalk you -”

“Hey! What’s wrong with me?” Natsu yelps, hand held to his heart as if betrayed.

“- You’ve got a name tag, idiot! And the name’s L-U-C-Y!” She huffs, crossing her arms irritably under her breasts.  

“There. Gotcha to stop cryin’, didn’t I?” Natsu smiles, softer this time, and rests both his elbows against the door of her car. Lucy’s eyes widen in surprise, fingers reaching up to brush against the corner of her eyes. She swallows another hiccup and offers him a tiny, wobbly smile of her own.  

“Thank you.”  

“Hah! I was right.” Natsu smirks, triumphant. She tilts her head sideways, confused and utterly lost. “You look better when you’re smiling.” Her cheeks bloom into a dusty pink, most likely intensifying her pitiful appearance, skin still blotchy and flushed from her crying.  

She rolls her eyes at him although it’s just for show. “Bet you say that to all the girls who’s cried in this parking lot.”  

“Nah,” Natsu breathes, voice light and underlined with amusement. “Just you.”

Lucy’s rendered mute at that, eyes blinking furiously, not exactly sure what to do now. She’s saved, ironically, by the culprit of her sudden loss of words. Natsu glances back to the store where an elderly looking man has his face pressed up against the window pane of the store, eyes peering into the dimly lit parking lot.  

“Aw, I gotta get goin’ otherwise he’ll make me sweep the floors for hours.” Natsu shudders, nose scrunched in disgust as if that’s the worst punishment he’s ever heard. Lucy snorts at that before covering her mouth, horrified at the sound that just came out of her.  

Natsu only gives her an amused look, snickering quietly under his breath. “I’ll see ya around, Luigi!” Her jaw slackens, hanging open in disbelief. Natsu turns away, walking towards his workplace with a wave of his hand.  

“MY NAME’S NOT LUIGI!” She shouts into the dark parking lot where only she, a girl whose heart ached with loneliness, and Natsu, an odd pink-haired store clerk remained.  

The smirk Natsu shot over his shoulder told her that he'd done that on purpose.

-

hiya everyone! I present to you the first part of my three-shot! I’ve yet to come up with a name (sue me) so for now it’s just going to stay as Store Clerk. This lil story was based of 16. in this prompt list by @thewritingstar  

Thanks for letting me use it, Star! Hope you guys enjoyed part 1! The other two will be up very, very soon :) Let me know what you think!

if you liked this, you can check out my other NALU work here!

[prettylittleheartfilia]

The Ways in Which I Love You

“You can never feel all of the ways in which I love you. Just as you can never touch the infinite stars, but I promise you, my love, that I will light your skies, and show you every one.” - A.R. Asher

“Why do you even like me?”

She sobbed, and Natsu could hear his heart shattering into a million pieces by the question. It wasn’t often that Lucy allowed others to see her insecurities. In fact, Natsu had been the only one to ever really see this side of her. The side of her that didn’t pretend to be overly confident, the side of her that let all the walls crumble down. The side of her that believed she wasn’t good enough. The side of her that Natsu couldn’t comprehend because, to him, there was no one more perfect in the world than her. 

The way she got excited over the littlest of things, like when she first got her guild mark, a mark that represented the beginning of never ending adventures for the two of them.

The way it was so easy for her to make meaningful connections with everyone she met and forgive those who wronged her, including himself, because she chose to believe in second chances. 

How smart she was. Like, really smart. If he was being honest, Natsu sometimes felt overwhelmed at how much knowledge she had in her brain about so many different topics. It was hard to keep up with conversations sometimes, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

How talented and passionate she was. Although he sometimes got frustrated at how quickly she would drop whatever she was doing in order to write down an idea that came to her head, he always admired how much she loved writing. Seeing her hunched over her desk, teeth lightly biting her bottom lip in concentration, made him fall in love all over again. Even if the words she used in her stories were too big for him to understand.

How strong she was. Natsu knew that she didn’t believe herself to be strong. But he always loved seeing her fight, and was always in awe at how much effort she put into protecting her friends.

The way she pretended to be mad at Natsu and Happy for sneaking inside her home back when they were just friends, and yet always made sure to leave out a fish for the exceed, and enough space on the bed for Natsu.

The way she was so good with kids. Always playing with Wendy and offering to take care of Asuka whenever it was necessary. It made him wonder what it would be like when they had a few of their own.

The way she was the most selfless, caring, gentle and loving person he had ever encountered. 

He silently stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her middle and resting his chin on her shoulder, admiring the most important person in his life through the same mirror she used to pick herself apart.

“... How could I not?”

[pixiescribbles]

Request: NaLu/ENDLu; Part 3 of "Marked Hearts", Lucy's thoughts as the END markings spread to her heart

Thank you for your request! I was contemplating on whether i would do a part three or not. But here it is. I do want to add that I will not be continuing any more requests on Marked Hearts. My reason is, is that I still (I know I know) haven’t started the new season yet and I have no clue if what goes down in the anime/manga. I’m not sure if I’m capturing the moment quite correctly. Either way, thanks for your request!

For Natsu

I could have known Natsu wouldn't stay awake for longer than 10 minutes while I'm re-writing his book. Although it is soothing to see him sleeping peacefully while these marks are very noticeably spreading towards my heart.

For some reason the spreading started soft and chilly. I could definitely feel something cold stirring inside me, but it has grown to the point that it feels like the air is shallow.

[[MORE]]

I knew it wouldn't be easy to re-write the book, but it seems like the book itself is preventing me from editing it. With each word I add or replace, I feel another jab towards my heart. I'm really trying my best not to flinch or groan so I don't wake Natsu, but this specific jab was just too intense. Natsu's brows knit together as I shriek in pain. I guess I'm lucky because he continues sleeping. Maybe that's something I should do now, just take a nap and rest before I continue writing. As I bent forward to place a kiss on Natsu's forehead I realise that I can't stop now. I've read the whole book, I know exactly what and where to edit the sentences, I'm not even halfway through the book yet. If it were the other way around, Natsu wouldn't have rested until the job was done. No matter how painful it is, I will finish writing this book. Tonight. I pick up my pen again and brace myself for the sharp pain to come with each stroke I make on these papers.

It's as if for some reason silly reason the book knows I'm not backing down because the pain is getting sharper than it was two pages ago. The air feels shallow which makes it hard for me to breathe properly, which already was a slight task with sleeping Natsu on my chest. But it also feels as if the weight of the world is resting on my chest, something is pushing down on it, while E.N.D.'s marks are carelessly flowing through my body, tainting every vein, muscle and nerve it encounters on its way to my heart. There is sweat dripping from my brow, my locks are sticking to my forehead and it feels like a thousand tiny knives are stabbing me.

Half way done

This is great, I'm on a roll. Im almost done, the pain seems to be less and it's. Not as hot in this room as before. Maybe the worst part of it is over? Either way, I need to continue writing if I want to catch some sleep before heading to the guild to get scolded for being reckless by Master Makarov. I just want it to be perfect. Natsu deserves to continue a happy life, without this from his past haunting him. He's done so much for me ever since we've met, this is the least I can do for him.

Three quarters done

The air is shallow again, shallower than it was before. And despite the shallow air, my heart is working overtime. My heartbeat is out of control and while I'm trying to calm it down by taking deep breaths in and slowly releasing it, it's not working. The marks are circling around my heart, tightening around it. I clench my jaw, hoping it will help me brace for the impact but it doesn't. The marks have gripped my heart, and it feels like they are squeezing it. Writing the last few words is getting harder and harder, and it's slowing down to a speed you can barely call writing at all. I need, to, finish, this book. All I can hear, think, feel and see is darkness closing in on me, depriving me from all my senses. Until I see something pink laying on my chest, twitching restless in his sleep, which brings me back to my senses.

I'm doing this for him, for Natsu.

The darkness is still closing in on me, and it still feels like my heart is being ripped in two but it is not going to stop me from finishing this book. If Zeref didn't want the book to be the-written he should have finalised it, not cast some spell over it that would be scare off people who would want to re-write it, because honestly? This shit sucks and I'm in pain and I would do it all over again if it would mean that Natsu is saved.

Last page

I'm almost there, my limbs are shaking because of the pain. I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my life, I'm afraid to look at the sofa when I wake up, if I wake up again. I'm down to the last sentence. This will finalise it all. It will finalise my editing, finalise the bonding of our hearts, if my heart accepts his marks, and of his marks don't tear my heart. But it will finalise our bond.

The last word is written, and the squeezing feeling intensifies. All I can do to keep me from screaming out it to bit my lip and hold on to Natsu. I can tase the iron in my mouth as my bottom lip bleeds from where my teeth are clenching. The squeezing feeling doesn't subside, but the fatigue finally takes over and I fall asleep, still clenching to Natsu, not sure I'll wake up again the next morning, to see if my work has had any effect.

[iwillhaveamoonbase]

Moonbase's Fanfic Masterpost

Fairy Tail:

Let's Get Physical (Nalu with background Gruvia and Gajevy, canonverse, rated Explicit, Compete)

How to Train Your Dragon:

Tender (Hiccstrid, takes place during Race to the Edge, rated Explicit, Complete)

Never Had a Shot (Hiccstrid, canonverse pre-The Hidden World, rated Explicit, Complete)

The Dragon Prince:

You and I Were Meant for Something Better

We Could Be Heroes (Rayllum, College AU set in canonverse, rated Explicit, on-going)

I Hang My Flag Up on Display, it Reminds Me That I Came From Miles Away (Rayllum, epilogue of WCBH-verse, rated General, complete)

You Said You Wouldn't Leave Me (Rayllum, epilogue of WCBH-verse, rated General, complete)

Been Waiting for You to Make a Move (Rayllum, AU of WCBH-verse, rated Teen and Up, complete)

Long Fics

The Long Game (Rayllum, canon-divergent, rated Teen and Up, on-going)

Replay (Rayllum, YouTuber AU, rated Explicit, on-going)

Guide Me Through This Song (Rayllum, singer Rayla canon-divergent, rated Explicit, complete)

Two-shots and Three-shots

Love at First Bite (Rayllum, modern AU, rated General, complete)

The Hunter (Rayllum, Witcher-esque canon-divergent, rated Explicit, complete)

One-shots

Secret Love Song (Rayllum, modern AU, rated Teen)

Between Twilight (Rayllum, a collection of canon, canon-divergent, and AU fics based on prompts or one-off ideas, rated Explicit for all chapters)

Roller Rink (Rayllum, modern AU, rated General)

Something Bigger Out There (Rayllum, canonverse, rated General)

Operation Cool Guy (Rayllum, high school AU, rated M)

Don't Go (Rayllum, canonverse pre-season 3, rated General)

Flowers (Rayllum, canonverse, rated Teen)

Are You Sure This is What You Want? (Rayllum, canonverse pre-season 3, rated General)

Are You Receiving Me Clear? (Rayllum, canonverse post-Through the Moon, rated General)

If You Love Me Right (Marcos x Sabah, canonverse, rated Explicit)

Does This Spark Joy? (Platonic Soren and Rayla, canonverse, rated General)

On a Night Like This (Rayllum, modern AU, rated General)

The Dangers of Heating Blankets (Rayllum, modern AU, rated General)

What for Do You Yearn? (Rayllum, canonverse post-Through the Moon, rated General)

The Legend of Korra:

Migraines (Kainora, canonverse, rated Teen)

Colors (Kainora, high school AU, rated Teen)

The Hunter and His Prey (Kainora, Regency-ish AU, rated Explicit)

[ignitedbynatsu]

Just give it time

A/N: @imjustmatilde (I can’t tag you for some reason ☹) I'm so sorry you had to wait for so long, please forgive me 🥺 other than that, I really liked your request so I hope I did justice to it ❤️ if you have any more request or just want to say hi, don't hesitate to send me something 🥰

Warnings: none that I can think of?

Genre: fluff and comfort with a pinch of angst

⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡

The guild that was once rowdy because of the famous fights between Natsu and Gray had been replaced by their just as obnoxiously loud children, some would even say more. The biggest difference was the children actually getting along.

Nalu, Natsu and Lucy's child was counting while Gray and Julia's twins along with Gajeel and Levy's son hid somewhere in the guild.

Squeals could be heard from the child Nalu managed to find, while laughter echoed of her lips. Kei ran away yelling that the other three cheated, resulting in a chase by the said cheaters.

"You look grumpy" you pointed out as you observed the scowl that was placed upon Laxus's face while his eyes followed the playing children.

"I do not" he shot back as his gaze shifted to his son that was curled up in your side in an attempt to shield himself from harm.

"He'll be fine" you reassured him already knowing why he looked unamused.

"I know" he sighed "I just wished he had a better way of communicating"

You smiled softly at the man in front of you. It was a shock to you both when you learned that your son was born with no hearing. But there was never a moment where one of you wished he was different, on the contrary, the moment you found out about this information, you both immediately learned how to use hand signs and did your best to teach him.

Even though a lot of the guild members learned it as well, some excelling better than others, it was a difficult task to ask of the children who were all around the age of 4 to do the same. You knew you couldn't ask that of them because no child at that age would want to study willingly.

Add to the fact that your child was extremely shy, none of the kids really interacted with Noah, until today.

"Uhm, (Y/N)" it was Nalu that pulled softly at your sleeve in an attempt to grab your attention.

"Yes, Nalu?" You gave her a closed-eyed smile, encouraging her to continue.

"Why does Noah never talk? Or even play with us?" She asked as the other kids behind her nodded their head in agreement.

You'd say you were surprised by the blunt question, but it was still Natsu's child, so were you really?

Lucy, who was seated nearby, heard the question and immediately went to scold her, but you stopped the celestial mage "it's alright Lucy" you smiled at her before turning your attention back to the small children in front of you "you see, Noah doesn't hear things as we do, so when you talk to him, he wouldn't be able to understand what you say."

"So how do you talk to him then?" Kai piped up, once again you weren't really all that surprised by the straight forward question as he was Gajeel's son.

"By sign language" you smiled as you turned a bit to your child and signed what you were saying to him "Noah, the kids want to say hi to you"

Noah blinked at you and shifted his eyes slowly to the four children at the other side of you, he was still shielding his body partly behind you but waved back nonetheless.

A smile grew on each of the children who frantically started to wave back, their smile soon infecting your son's.

"Alright! Thank you for the information, (Y/N)!" With that the four kids were off again, playing God knows what.

Laxus signed to Noah that he should go and join them, but the boy rapidly shook his head, crawling back into your side, the safe heaven that shielded him from the outside world.

A sigh escaped Laxus lips at which you giggled softy. "Don't push it, after all, I'd call this progress, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, I know I should be more optimistic, but it's just difficult to see him longingly look at the other playing children, knowing he has no efficient way to communicate with them." Laxus explained his worries.

"It's okay. Give it a bit of time, I'm sure he'll warm up" you smiled at him as you grabbed his hand from across the table and gave it a little squeeze.

What you didn't expect, was the same four children returning to your table and signing if Noah wanted to play with them. Even though it was a little flawed, your son understood them perfectly. He gave them a small nod and crawled out of his spot from beside you.

You and Laxus were left perplexed as your son joined the others in their game "what just happened?"

Lucy and Levy noticed both of your confused expressions and decided to explain what happened the night before "the children came up with the idea to learn sign language after you explained to them how you communicate with Noah. So, last night when we all went home, they each individual asked us if we could teach them some hand signs"

"Granted, it's not perfect, and they'll definitely come and ask what some words mean from time to time, but I believe they learned enough to get little Noah to play along with them" as on cue you could hear Mei and Tobi ask Juvia what hide-and-seek was in sign language. The water mage happily explained and showed them the right hand gestures before the twins ran off again.

"Thank you guys so much" you whispered as happy tears started to form in the corner of your eyes.

"You should thank the kids, it was their idea after all" Levy smiled as the three mothers observed their playing children.

"I'll make sure to bake them something as a thank you," you said as you turned to the man you loved to see that he was still starstruck by the event that unfolded before him. "Who would've thought they'd learn sign language so quick, hu?"

"I can't believe I wanted to change this guild so badly at one point" he shook his head at the thought. He had never been as proud to be a part of Fairy Tail as of right now. The warmth everyone provided for his son was something he'd never forget, and he vowed to repay that feeling, no matter the cost. 

That night Noah was completely exhausted from laughing and running around so much, but that big smile that was still plastered upon his lips as his mind had already drifted to another world, showed it was all worth it.

[petri808]

We’ll Take Back Heaven a Nalu Yakuza Au

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |

A loud slam of the organization’s front door caused Levy McGarden to pop her head out of her own office. Curious, she walked down the hallway and saw a light on in her boss’s, Lucy Heartfilia. Had the noise been Lucy returning? That was strange because it was too early for the woman to be back so soon. The party should have kept Lucy out of the office until morning. Levy knocked at the cracked door before entering.

“Lu, why are you here? Are you okay?” Levy quickly added when she saw her boss’s forehead leaning on the table. “Did you drink too much?”

“No… I ran into Natsu, and we had a fight,” Lucy answered without lifting her head. “He just makes me so angry sometimes, so I stormed out of there.”

“Aww, Lu.” Levy walked over and put a hand on her friend’s head. “I’m sorry.” Both Lucy and Natsu were childhood friends of hers, so she knew the history between them. It was just like a made for television movie plot and hard to stay neutral in at times because she loved them both. “Do you wanna talk about it? Need a drink?”

Having heard the loud noise, another associate Cana Alberona also came looking for the source and stumbled upon the beginnings of the conversation. “Did I hear the word drink?” She popped her head into the office. “Oh, baby what’s wrong??” She questioned at seeing Lucy upset. Cana quickly joined Levy next to their friend. “Who do I gotta kill?”

“It’s just Natsu,” Lucy mumbled. “So, no killing.”

“Oh… him.” Cana plopped her butt onto Lucy’s desk. “Ya sure? I bet I could get one of my girls to take him out of your misery.”

“He wouldn’t be interested,” Levy piped in.

“Right… he’s still—”

Lucy sat up groaning, cutting them off. “That’s enough. I really don’t wanna think about that shit right now.”

“Fine, fine, then drinks it is. Relax, babe,” Cana playfully pushed on Lucy’s shoulder before plopping off the desk. “Then you’re gonna dish about tonight.” Cana always kept a stock of liquors at her desk. So, she grabbed a bottle of high quality flavored junmai daiginjo sake, glasses and set the girls up for a gossiping session.

It was reasons like this that really spoke to the heart of their organization. Everyone in the top level of this girl’s gang had known each other from childhood or high school. They were close, a found family of sisters who all had one thing in common— a real dislike for Japan’s outdated notions of gendered norms, well that and a desire to make money. But not in a conventional way. None of them wanted to work a boring office job only to what, be subservient to the male status quo? No, thank you. So, it had been Lucy who’d first approached everyone with the idea of creating their own high-end crime organization. It was amusing at first to think about an all-girl gang similar to the Yakuza… Oh, they all knew why Lucy came up with the idea to spite Natsu and the Yakuza’s rules, but it was an appealing idea. Everyone except for Levy’s family had some kind of ties to the Yakuza, so they were in essence raised in the lifestyle without ever being able to be a part of it because of their sex.

Together they brought their strengths into play and under Lucy’s business savvy thanks to her father, within just a short couple of years they were on the road to making a real name for themselves. Levy McGarden was at the heart of the organization as a tech person, and her skills in computer language is the reason they’re able to control a massively successful money laundering operation. Cana Alberona had great people skills, so she handled the escort services. Another, Erza Scarlet was the security expert who oversaw anything to do with the protection of their assets and employees. She also kept contacts with law enforcement. Mira Strauss handled the bookkeeping and financial side, and finally Juvia Lockser managed their soapland operation. Lucy herself held everything together but was the face of the group when dealing with knew contacts and clientele. Six primary women running the organization with underlings or regular staff to manage, they were nicknamed the Yosei girls because of the various fairy-type tattoos they all had somewhere on their bodies. Lucy preferred not to show hers to outsiders, but it was a pair of fanciful fairy-like wings that took up a large portion of her upper back. Natsu used to call her his angel back in the day…

The three girls sat huddled around Lucy’s desk after Levy dragged over a couple extra chairs.

“Seriously?” Cana knocked back a shot of sake and planted it on the table. “So, you didn’t have a chance to hit any marks?”

“Nope.” Lucy sipped from her glass. “Sure, I talked to some people, but I never made it past my first cocktail. He even blocked me from getting some action tonight from the hot bartender.”

Cana cringed. “That’s even worse!”

Levy giggled at her friend, “of course, you’d take offense to that Cana instead of the job.”

“Well,” Cana shrugged nonchalantly, “girls gotta take care of needs too, right? And if he was hot, that’s a real shame.”

The comment sent both Levy and Lucy into a giggle fit. Lucy may have started this out irritated but leave it to her friends to bring her out of her despair.

“Oh,” Lucy sighed and finished her glass, “the guy Loke was a total playboy too. Perfect for a no strings attached night.”

“Loke?” Cana questioned. “Orange hair and glasses?”

“You know him?— of course, you know him,” Lucy chuckled. “Why am I surprised.”

“I’ve seen him at other parties bartending. Flirts with all— the pretty girls. Very easy to get into bed, and not bad while in it. I got his number if you want it.”

“Natsu scared him pretty bad. I think Loke recognized him.”

“Hmm, that’s possible too. But hey, what Natsu doesn’t know…”

“Oh, my Kami, Cana! You are just too much sometimes!”

“Hey, just tryin’ to help out my bestie here,” she winked.

“Nah, I’m not in the mood tonight, Natsu really killed my joy.”

“He really thought that the guys there were gossiping about you?” Levy questioned. “Just because you didn’t have an escort?”

“Yeah, and you know even if he was right, he didn’t need to be a dick about it.”

Levy sighed, “he was probably right. It sucks, but that level of men, they look down on women like us. You provide a service, so to them they’re still using you which makes you beneath them.”

“And how dare a woman show up without a man by her side,” Cana rolled her eyes. “Oh well, less guilt for me when I’m taking their money,” she laughed.

Levy and Lucy laughed too, then Lucy raised a glass. “To taking their money! Cheers!”

“Cheers!” The girls clinked their glasses together and shot down their drinks.

“Speaking of escorts, how are things going Cana?” Lucy asked. They called their employees escorts because that’s the only service they provided. Think of them like high-end modern geisha without the traditional look. Their employed women provided companionship for events or business executives trying to look good and we’re trained well in hospitality, etiquette, and such to keep their dates happy. The women were highly compensated for what they did, so it was very lucrative for everyone. Sex was forbidden on the job and if a client ever tried to pressure an escort or roughed them up, they would be immediately barred from the service. However, if the infraction were bad enough, that’s when Erza would step in and handle things. The group was lucky this rarely took place because the male clientele they had wouldn’t want the shame of embarrassment either.

“Going great. We’re already getting booked up for the holidays and that still 4 months away. I guess they wanna make sure they can get certain girls before it’s too late.”

“Suckers.” Lucy snickered. “We’re using their own social norms against them, and they don’t even realize it.”

Between the three friends, they drank about half the bottle before slowing down. The conversation switched between work related topics, private lives, and back to Natsu until Lucy would switch the topic again. She knew of her buddy’s willful infatuation in her decades old battle with the man, but she just wasn’t in the mood to talk about it. Lucy still had a lot to process privately about the issues and though she loved Cana as a sister, Levy was the only one she’d really tell her deepest feelings to and now wasn’t the time to rehash anything. A few hours passed by when a knock at the door came. Another of their group was dropping by before heading out to work.

“Hey Juvia!” The three tipsy girls giggle at the same time.

“Wanna join us?” Cana questioned.

“Juvia would but she needs to check on Faerieland.”

“How is our soapland operation doing? Any problems I need to know about?” Lucy asked Juvia. The Faerieland bathhouse was the lowest level of their operations since flesh services were considered distasteful. But nevertheless, it was a highly profitable and legal one. What set them apart from all the others was the high-end quality of services offered to guests, providing both male and/or female “bathers” that clients could pay extra for to have a sexual experience. However, for that service, the client was required to be vetted by an inhouse doctor prior to a booking to make sure they were free of STD’s. Again, that was just one reason Faerieland was considered so high end and very exclusive. Some might have found it inconvenient, but most of the regulars appreciated the health factor. It’s what kept them coming back. All the employed bathers were screened regularly by an in-house doctor, and contrary to societal belief, were there by their own choice. So, the combination of anonymity, safety, and level of service kept the soapland business running with very little down times in between.

Juvia shook her head. “No problems, just busy due to the heat this time of year. Private bookings are scheduled out into next month.”

“That’s good to hear,” Levy smiled. “It’s nice that things have been running so smoothly.”

“Agreed,” Cana and Lucy chimed in.

“There is one thing Juvia should tell Lucy.” Her voice lowered, hesitant. “Mr. Natsu has an appointment booked for the end of the month. And he… just made it tonight.”

Lucy rolled her eyes and her voice dripped with irritation. “So, who’d he sign up to bang?”

“Nobody. Mr. Natsu only booked the deluxe bath and massage package. No sex.”

“Oh—” Lucy caught her surprise before she could show it, waving her hand nonchalantly as if she didn’t care. “W-well good for him. Not that I care if we’re making money of it.”

“Juvia is so relieved! She was worried you wouldn’t like him using our bath house.”

“It’s rare that he does,” Cana tapped her chin. “Hmmm, I wonder why he made the appointment tonight of all days…”

Levy slapped Cana on the arm, glaring at the woman to behave and Juvia just stood there wide-eyed and confused.

“What?!” Cana laughed. “I thought it was funny.”

“Ha-Ha,” Lucy mocked Cana. “What Natsu does is his own business and it’s not like he was trying to relieve himself tonight, the appointment is what, two and half weeks or so away? I’m not gonna lose sleep over it.”

“Okay… Juvia is confused but needs to go. Someone can fill Juvia in tomorrow.”

“Sorry, Juvia,” Levy apologized for the others. “I’ll fill you in later. But don’t worry! Everything is okay.”

“That’s good. Well then. Goodnight, everyone!” Juvia waved as she left the office.

“Goodnight!” The three waved.

“Cana,” Lucy reignited the debated now that Juvia was gone. “I don’t care if Natsu sleeps with other women, how can I when I have no problem sleeping with other men. We’re not a couple. But what does irritate me is that of all the bathhouses to choose, why mine??”

“It’s probably because of our services…” Levy threw in to diffuse the tension. “We do provide the best.”

“Yeah, I know,” Lucy sighed, “it just— it feels like he’s doing it on purpose.”

“You know I’m just teasing you, Lucy.” Cana retorted. “But I think you’re also reading too much into it. He’s a guy and history has shown a clueless one when it comes to women, so I doubt he’s masterminded going to the bathhouse as a way to irritate you.”

Lucy exhaled. “You guys are probably right. I guess I’m just still too wound up because of the party.”

“Maybe what you need to do is to unwind Lu,” Levy suggested.

Lucy sat back for a moment mulling over the idea. Yeah, maybe she should. It sure as hell wouldn’t hurt. Maybe let off some steam and stop thinking about Natsu, and a one-night fling could do just that. “You know what…” she turned to Cana with a new resolve. “What’s Loke’s number?”

Cana whipped out her phone. “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!”

[detectivedamian]

Whelmed’s Halloween Treat Fest!

Spooky season is upon us!

Over on my Patreon, I’m doing a special Halloween event to thank everyone, writing requests from patrons of any tier as drabbles that will go up exclusively on Patreon!

Patrons comment here ( https://www.patreon.com/posts/whelmeds-treat-57122530 ) with their ship and one of three options:

A one-word, Halloween-oriented theme

A line of dialogue

A costume (and the character you want to wear it!)

I’ll turn every comment into a small drabble, exclusive to my page! I’m expecting a lot of killugon requests, but requests are open for any fandom I state I’ve written for on my homepage! (i.e, Nalu, Damijon, Sonamy, 1 x 362, 4 x 3, Robstar…)

That said, I will be writing one larger killugon one-shot, and it will be posted on Halloween night– again, exclusively for patrons!

Drabbles will be posted here as soon as I’m done with them, and I’ll make sure to shoot you a message and let you know! ^_^

(Patrons should specify the rating when making a request~!)

[sstargoldens]

First Crush? Love? Day 2 Nalu week 2024

Hi! I swear some day i will finish this nalu week

*English isn't my first language, i'm sorry if something is bad written.

Summary:

There were few questions in the world that made Lucy Heartfilia nervous.

Day 2: First

There were few questions in the world that made Lucy Heartfilia nervous. After all, she had lived through a lot of situations both as a mage and as an heiress, whether it was a battle or a political conflict, which caused her to lose most of her nerves in the face of stressful situations. But there was one question that made her extremely nervous, which had not so opportunely manifested itself in an unexpected day and in the middle of a drinking game.

Obviously, the game had been devised by Cana and it was perfect for a Friday night in the middle of Fairy Tail's peak celebration after a great week of missions. The brunette managed to convince most of the attendees to play "truth or shot." Perfect dynamics for gossiping, telling anecdotes and getting drunk. The game had been set up differently than they normally would, since for each turn the assigned person asked a single question to a group of people who had something in common, for example, it could be to all the people whose name ended with the letter "a" or to all the men present, but it was necessary that it was more than one person at a time. This was so that it was not so individualized, and it was much faster than asking one by one, so everyone could answer several times.

And it was when Lisanna asked all the girls about their first romantic interest in the guild that Lucy felt tremendously nervous after a very long time in her life and regretted playing. Mirajane, Cana and Lisanna gave their own versions of the definition when the celestial mage pointed out that she didn’t exactly understand the question. Mirajane on the right of the blonde was the first to talk about her first love but decided to take a shot before revealing the name, following to the right Cana talked about her first physical attraction which turned out to be Laxus and then Lisanna about her first crush which turned out to be Erza, although everyone thought it would be Natsu. The game continued with the person on the right, but Lucy didn't notice the others, she was too busy thinking about her own answer. What the three previous magicians had defined superficially seemed the same, but it wasn't like that for the celestial mage. If she based it on her friends' answers, she had different answers to give.

Regarding her first physical attraction, the first thing she thought of was models she saw in magazines when she still lived in the Heartfilia mansion, but she didn't think it was an appropriate answer, anyway, she didn't remember exactly who her first physical attraction was in the guild. Maybe it had been Natsu, Gray, Loke or Laxus? Regarding her first crush and her first love, it was very different for the blonde, she knew who they were and although she would like to say that they were the same person, this was not true. If she revealed who her first crush had been, it would create a disaster, not only was it her first crush in the guild but in her life since she had not met many people her age before coming to Fairy Tail. The truth was that even though the person who brought her to the guild and with whom she spent the most time was a dragon slayer, her first crush was none other than Gray Fullbuster, ice mage and rival of a certain fire dragon slayer. If one thought about it seriously it was something to be expected, she was just a teenager who read a lot of romance novels and with a partner who was handsome, had a good body, black hair, with a mysterious appearance, a tragic past and a smug smile, it was obvious that she would be interested in him. Gray was the typical man that appeared in romance books, the boy with a tragic past, relaxed, reserved with his feelings and with a beautiful and powerful magic.

Also, by teaming up with him she managed to get to know him better and recognize several of his qualities and the blonde would be lying if she said there wasn't a certain connection between them, currently that connection was like two good friends more than something romantic, purely platonic. But the young Lucy who had never been outside the walls of her mansion had initially interpreted it as something romantic. Above all, when facing Gemini at the same time they confirmed that Gray had a little crush on her, which flattered her beyond measure and made her feel confident about herself.

But the truth is that it was never love, because if she were asked who her first love was, the answer was totally different.

Her first and only love (and she hoped it would stay that way forever) was Natsu. Who could win the love of the celestial mage over the dragon slayer? He was the one who brought her to FT, who defends her tooth and claw and makes her smile every day. Her first love was her teammate, she didn't realize how it happened, it was so gradual and natural that one day she realized she loved him, and it felt like it was a fact of life, like it had always been like this, something as natural as breathing and something as true as the fact that Happy was blue, grass is green and FT would always have destructive fights.

So when in the game of truth or shot, they asked her who her first romantic interest was, she quickly decided to take the shot, after all she didn't know if she should answer her first crush or her first love. She didn’t want Juvia to kill her or get crazy ideas by mentioning the ice mage, neither her nor the dragon slayer. And confessing her love in front of the entire guild wasn't an option, when she did, she wanted it to be something intimate, something of them, something that felt right for them.

However, just before taking the shot she made the mistake of briefly and unconsciously looking at the ice mage with whom she made eye contact, both blushing slightly from embarrassment, and immediately her eyes went to the dragon slayer to see if he noticed that small and awkward interaction and unfortunately for her, Natsu was staring at her. Making eye contact with the pink haired man she blushed even more and looked away quickly. Taking the shot she felt an intense gaze on her, she knew who it was, she hoped everyone believed her blush was just because of the alcohol. She really hoped the dragon slayer wouldn't believe anything about the situation, but that escaped her mind as quickly as it came, the pink haired man was too dense for a situation like this or so she thought.

As she continued to watch how the game unfolded, she promised herself that another day she would be braver and confess, but that day wasn't the right one and even less with so much alcohol in her system.

Little did she know that in less than an hour when the game ended and she arrived at her sweet home, she would be confronted by an upset pink haired man demanding to know who her first crush was and why the hell she would look at her rival. And Lucy, with her head a little clouded by alcohol, would confess that she was Gray, but before even letting the dragon slayer react, she would let slip in somewhat clumsy words that none of that mattered because she only had one first love and that was Natsu, which was much more important than a silly crush from when she first joined the guild. To which the pink-haired man would smile and tell her that he would never let anyone else be his love and that it would be both the first and the last. Of course, at that very moment the blonde would faint and think that it was all a dream when she woke up, but Natsu would make sure to convince her otherwise.

[theroyalsims]

A ROYAL RECEPTION FOR ANYA - CROWN PRINCESS DAZZLES AT SULANI BANQUET

To bookend HRH’s three-day Sulani tour, a royal banquet was held at the Coconut Palace in honour of the Crown Princess.

The Sulani Royal Family, through their official social media accounts, has shared a few snaps from the evening’s event, giving us a sneak peek at the über glamorous soirée. 

One photo shows the procession into the palace’s great hall, with the Crown Princess, arm-in-arm with King José, followed by the Queen, The Duke of Lakan, and other distinguished guests for the evening.

Speaking of the Duke, one shot reveals that HRH was sat next to the Duke, who she first met earlier in the day. The two seems to have hit it off, often seen chatting and engrossed in conversation. Sitting to the Crown Princess’ left is his Majesty The King, who, as the photos share, offered a toast to the Brindleton heir.

The reception seems to have been followed by a ball, as the social media post also shared two photographs showing HRH with The King dancing the first dance of the evening, and subsequently, HRH dancing with The Duke, along with their Majesties.

The event was a glittering display of diamonds and other precious jewels. Her Majesty Queen Marguerite opted to wear the trusty and now-iconic Sulani Mariposa Tiara which boasts diamonds and sapphires in a butterfly motif, and matching sapphire necklace and earrings. Her Majesty chose to wear a purple long-sleeved, sequinned gown for the reception. 

The Crown Princess, meanwhile, wore a fully-embroidered floral dress with an attached matching train. The dress is a bespoke piece from couture brand (and Anya’s favourite) Alexandria Kingsley. She also wore her mum’s diamond cascade necklace and the diamond peacock earrings. HRH borrowed a rarely-seen tiara for the occasion - the Queen Astrid Diamond Festoon Tiara. As its name suggests, the tiara was originally owned by Queen Astrid, King Leopold’s mum and Anya’s paternal great grandmother. The headpiece is set in white gold and features different-sized diamonds arranged in a festoon-and-fleur-de-lis design. This is the first time that the Crown Princess has been photographed wearing the tiara.

(Above: Like great-grandma like great-granddaughter - Queen Astrid wearing her tiara)

The Crown Princess also rocked a brand new accessory: a new honour, as seen by the pink sash worn across her gown. The Sulani Palace confirmed that HRH has been awarded by The King with her first foreign honour:  the Grand Cross of the Sulani Order of the Nalu. The Crown Princess is only the third Brindleton Royal to be bestowed the honour, the other two being the late King Leopold and Queen Ophelia. 

Congratulations, Crown Princess Anya for a successful tour and a job well done! Here’s to many more royal tours in the future! You make Brindleton proud!

[nalu4emily]

The Unexpected Reward - Chapter 15

Summary:  Natsu and Lucy go on a job together, but what they bring home is something neither anticipated. Forced to make a life changing decision, they have to adapt quickly, but that's never easy, especially given the circumstances. As they work together on their toughest adventure yet, they find themselves drawn to one another, in ways they never realised. Nalu/cute/fluff/multi-chapter.

The moon had come out to play by the time the Heartfilia girl finally stirred from her slumber. Casting shadows across the bed she found herself in, she carefully sat herself up and promptly took in the familiar sight of her bedroom. Goosebumps scattered across her skin as the covers fell from her shoulders. Catching a glimpse of herself, she noticed her clothes were not the same borrowed items she'd worn previously, but a slinky night top instead, one that barely covered much of her midriff and a pair of butt-hungry underwear.

Adjusting to the dim glow peering in through the large window, her eyes pored over the room in hope her memories might return should she find what she was searching for, not that she knew what that was, of course. There was something—something important—she knew, but what? It was right there, staring her blankly in the face, so close she could almost touch it…

"Haru!" She yelled, eyes widening when the events of the previous day came flooding back.

In a blind panic, she scrambled to get herself out of the bed, battling with the covers that didn't seem to want to let go. Cursing at them in her haste, she attempted to swing them off of her and felt the frustration rise when she'd accomplished nothing more than nearly tumble out of the bed. Luckily, a single warm hand reached from behind and grabbed her around the wrist, guiding her back onto the mattress just as she was about to face-plant the floor.

"Lucy, what're you doing? You'll wake everyone up with the noise you're making." Natsu's gravelly voice reached her ears from behind.

Turning around, she noted that he had also just woken up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning loudly. She stared long and hard at him, like she was searching for answers to questions of which she'd not asked yet.

"Natsu…" Tilting her head in confusion, she hadn't even noticed him there. "Where's Haru? Is he okay?"

"He's doing just fine; warm and comfy last time I checked." Natsu grinned, trying to ease the worry that was clear in her expression. "Why don't ya come lay down with me? Then you'll be warm and comfy too!"

"But, I-I…" She hesitantly pulled away from the fire mage, who'd been gently coaxing her back into bed, and walked over to the bedroom door. "I need to peek in on him and see for myself, or I'll never get back to sleep."

Truth be told, when she cracked open his bedroom door, little Haru was fast asleep. A milk bottle still hung from his mouth and a little milky drool had trickled onto the mattress. Lucy stood by his crib side for a moment, drinking in the sight of her son sleeping so peacefully after his ordeal. Smoothing a few wispy black strands away from his eyes, she smiled, relief over taking all sense of dread that had reeked havoc on her and relaxed a little.

Yawning herself, Lucy left the baby's room to return to her own, slipping down under the plush covers. A calmness washed over her, allowing sleep to pull her back in. Her peaceful disposition was quickly ruined when she felt a ruffling of the covers. Her eyes pinged open when two very strong arms came to wrap around her middle and draw her into a muscular torso, one she all but melted into.

"See, I told ya he was fine. You worry too much." The fire mage spoke into her hair, smirking as he nuzzled his head against the top of Lucy's.

"It's not that I didn't believe you; I just needed to see for myself and you were right. He is fine—more than fine—he's perfect!" She confirmed, snuggling into Natsu's firm hold, eyes level with his collar bone. "That was some incredible power he dispelled though, don't you think? It was enormous! I definitely wasn't expecting that!"

"You're telling me, it was awesome! He's gonna be so much fun to spar with when he gets older; I can teach him all kinds of cool stuff!" Natsu beamed in his enthusiasm, already making plans for the little boy.

"You want to teach him your magic? But I thought it was too dangerous? If it weren't for Igneel and his plan, you and the others would have dragonized by now." The blonde pointed out, wondering if the man next to her had thought about the consequences of his magic type.

"Yeah, so? He doesn't have to be a dragon slayer to learn fire magic."

"O-Oh… right. Well, what if he doesn't want to learn fire magic? What if he wants to be a celestial mage, like me?" She asked uncertainly, half expecting him to scoff at the idea.

"Then he'll learn celestial magic… duh! Honestly, Luce, I thought you were the smart one here?" Natsu smirked and Lucy simply rolled her eyes back at him, secretly impressed by his answer.

"What about ice-make magic?" She suggested oh-so innocently, grinning to herself as she heard the displeased growl emanate from Natsu's chest.

"Okay, now you're pushing it…"

Lucy chortled, in turn making Natsu do the same. They turned to each other, moss green peered down whilst chocolate brown gazed up, grinning like idiots no less—like best friends did—just the two of them for the first time since the fire mage had returned from his mission.

Lucy was so contented to have him back in her arms again. The same old dragon slayer that brought joy wherever he went and to whomever he met. A truly pure-natured and beautiful person was he, inside and out, that she really didn't know where her life would be without him.

"I've missed you, Natsu, and I'm so glad you're home now, everything feels normal again." She leaned up to gently caress his cheek with her thumb and felt him move closer, his breath now fanning softly against her mouth.

"I've missed you too, Luce, but I thought about ya everyday!" He gently placed his forehead on hers and relished in her wondrous scent, allowing it to seep into his pores and overtake his senses. "That job was such a drag without you there, it's just not the same."

"At least you had Happy to keep you company. How did it go anyway? I never did get to ask you." She asked, feeling guilty for being so distracted at the time.

"You're gonna wish you hadn't either." He shrugged nonchalantly, obviously not interested in talking about it.

"Oh… Like that, huh? My little wake up call was well received then?" The girl smirked, flicking her nose against his.

Hearing his chuckle rumble through his chest sent a shiver down Lucy's spine. She had certainly stirred something within him. The hunger evident from the way he licked his lips. His tongue glided from one curved corner to the other so fluidly, so intentionally, that he appeared almost predatory. With his face so tantalisingly close, she felt her breath mingle with his. The slight quirk of his lips formed into a knowing smirk once she'd surrendered under his fiery gaze.

Pushing forwards, the lustful dragon welded their lips together, pouring three weeks of needy desire into her mouth for her to swallow down. Lapping it up desperately, a tingle ran from her lips straight down to the heated area between her legs, eliciting a small hum from the pleasant sensation.

He flicked and swirled his tongue across hers, reminding her of all the times he'd done that exact action in other, more intimate places to bring her to the brink of ecstasy. The very thought had her clenching her thighs together to calm the arousal that was surely building. But, she had to pull away all too soon, stifling a yawn that'd rudely interrupted them.

"Oops, sorry!" She heard him snigger this time, clearly amused by her body's impeccably shit timing. "What a way to ruin the mood…"

"Nah, you could never do that." He murmured close to her mouth, looking her dead in the eyes as he spoke so huskily. "I'm always in the mood to fuck you."

Nearly choking on her own spit, she hadn't expected him to be so crude. "Natsu…" She blushed, giving him exactly the reaction he wanted. "You're so dirty! It's a shame I'm too tired to teach you a lesson."

"Is that so?" He smirked, grazing his mouth along her jawline, planting open mouthed kisses all the way along it. "Maybe I need to try a little harder then…" The young man whispered into her ear as he sucked on her lobe, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "Call it, returning the favour."

Using his teeth to nip at her sensitive neck, he deployed his hand to graze languidly down towards her ample chest, lightly brushing over her nipple peeking through the fabric of her top on its journey towards her panties.

"A-And where does your hand think it's going?" She gasped, a vault of electricity shooting down to her groin as he tweaked the erect nipple once more.

"For a little wander…"

His hand delved under her chest and lightly brushed along her curves. Upon settling between her hips, it had one final hurdle to overcome—her panties. He pushed the heel of his palm down into her lower tummy to tuck his fingers inside and slide them deep below the lacy material.

Lucy's eyes flew wide open the moment his heel dug too deeply and unexpectedly shot upright, gasping loudly. Clutching hold of her belly with both hands she looked down at it in shock; a moan of discomfort passed her lips as she felt a wave of nausea hit her straight in the gut.

Her stomach had felt fine not a few moments ago, but now it was twisting and churning unpleasantly. With gritted teeth, she winced, clenching her hands tighter around the tender area in the hopes it might pass.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Natsu asked surprised, sitting up with her to have a closer look. He noticed instantly that her expression was pained and distorted. Her fingers gripped at the hem of her top and seemed to tighten every time her face winced. Was she in pain? Did he hurt her somehow? He didn't remember doing anything to cause such discomfort. "Did I hurt you, Luce?"

"I-It's not yo-" The poor girl covered her mouth with a slight groan, feeling something other than words about to spew out of it.

Natsu placed his hand on her shoulder, feeling her skin begin to warm and moisten under his touch. Honestly, he wasn't all that sure what was wrong or what he could do to help, except to try and offer some sort of comfort. About to ask what he could do for her, the blonde groaned much louder this time and hurried off of the bed, using her legs to push off of it like a slingshot and catapulted out of the door.

"Lucy?!" Natsu exclaimed more urgently, moving quickly to follow after her.

Before he could even reach the bathroom door, the offensive sound of his partner throwing chunks showered his ears. In all the years he'd known Lucy, she'd rarely got sick and he'd very rarely seen her vomit, so this was a new one for him. Unease and, dare he say it, curiosity filled him as he made his way to the bathroom, not fully prepared for the sight that greeted him. The poor blonde was kneeling on the floor, her hunched form hugging the toilet bowl with vomit coating the bottom of it.

Taking the initiative, he knelt down behind her and gathered her hair away from the danger zone. Applying a light pressure, he placed a warm hand on her back and rubbed it in small circles, just like she did for him when he had motion sickness. She continued to puke until there was nothing more to bring up, retching and heaving instead until her ribs and stomach began to ache.

"Ugh! This is so gross… I'm sure this isn't what you meant by repay the favour." Lucy chuckled lightly whilst panting, earning a small half smile from the fire mage.

No, it most definitely wasn't… He'd seen their night going very differently. Not a few minutes ago he had been complete horn dog, now that couldn't be further from the truth.

She leaned herself against Natsu's upper body and placed the back of her sweaty head on his shoulder. Inhaling rapid, shallow breaths through her dry mouth, she closed her strained, watery eyes, knowing the nausea wasn't quite through with her yet.

"Did you eat something funny or what? You don't just throw up like that for no reason." The disconcerted man asked, dragging the clumped, blonde bangs away from her clammy forehead. He was trying to work out just what the heck could be wrong with his sickly girlfriend and what, if anything, they could do to cure it. "Are you in pain, Luce?"

"A-A little… My head is pounding, but it's my stomach that hurts the most. I don't think I've eaten-" The thought of food in that moment twisted her stomach in knots, enough to land her head back in the bowl.

"It's alright, Luce, I gotcha." He quickly gathered her hair again and began running his fingers through the ends, trying to bring her some comfort at least.

She could only describe her stomach pains as something similar to period cramping, but instead of bleeding, it was accompanied by the need to force more and more bile out of her system. With barely enough time to catch her breath in between heaves, her chest had grown tight and heavy causing even more discomfort than before.

The stellar mage didn't know how long she'd spent vomiting in the end; after what'd felt like hours, the nausea finally subsided. A sense of euphoria came over her when she could finally breathe again and Natsu, ever so gently, pulled her back into his chest.

"My chest is so sore!" Hands clasped between her breasts, gulping down as she fought to fill her lungs with needed air.

"I know, you've been at it for a while, Lucy. Do you think you're okay to come back to bed? Some sleep will do you good." She nodded and went to stand. Natsu jumped to his feet first and reached a hand out to carefully bring her up onto unsteady legs. "Take it easy there Luce, you don't wanna make yourself hurl again."

Smiling appreciatively, Lucy grabbed a wash cloth from beside the sink and soaked it with cold water to cool her skin, washing the sweat off in the process. She brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth out to get rid of the nasty taste that lingered there. Once she felt a little fresher, she straightened herself out and took one last glance in the mirror.

"Do I look different to you?" She asked curiously, staring down at her exposed abdomen, not sure if it was just her eyes playing tricks on her.

"Obviously…" Natsu answered, watching Lucy whip her head around to glare at him, giving him scary Erza vibes. "You're all sicky; you're not gonna look normal after all that!" Then she relaxed again, thankful for Natsu's obliviousness to such matters. "Do you need me to get you anything? Water? A bucket?" He sniggered at the last suggestion, earning a playful smack to the arm by an amused but overly exerted blonde.

"Water would be great, thanks." He was gone in a flash.

With an exaggerated yawn and stretch, her jelly-like legs traipsed back to their bedroom. Perching herself on the edge of the bed, Lucy leaned her head down at her sensitive stomach and stared at it curiously, grazing her hands ever so gently over it to test how far she could push without feeling sick again.

She didn't understand what was wrong with her; why was she so sick? Could it have been something that she'd eaten? Or maybe she'd caught a stomach bug? Whatever it was, it seemed to come in bouts and was made worse when she felt tired or drained, like when she'd used her magic. She'd never felt so sick in her life, the odd cold here and there but that was about it.

In general, Lucy felt that she was pretty healthy, she ate well, looked after her body, stayed well hydrated, so to be struck with an unknown sickness like this had knocked her for six, that was for sure.

"Here ya go, Luce." Natsu said, walking into the room. He passed her the water and watched her swig it down in one. "You must've been thirsty! Are you feeling alright now?"

"I don't really know. It's my stomach; it feels… weird, I guess?" Lucy steadily reached over to place the empty glass down on the bedside, careful not to make any sudden movements that might land her back in the bathroom.

"Hmm… You mean like you can't touch it?" Natsu asked, not really understanding what 'weird' meant in this context but took the initiative to go off what he felt like after vomiting.

"Yeah, kinda. Every time I do, I feel sick again. It's super sensitive right now." She sighed dejectedly and let her head fall lazily onto the pillow, bringing her legs up to get comfortable while Natsu got in beside her. "I hope this feeling goes away soon. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning after some sleep?"

"Maybe. But if you don't, I'll look after ya, so you ain't gotta worry." He said, planting a small peck on her cheek and then turning her face with his fingers to place a longer, more loving kiss on her lips. "G'night, Luce."

"Thanks, Natsu, good night." She felt the warmth from his body envelope hers, comforting her sore muscles as his hand laid carefully on her hip and stroked the exposed skin there, relaxing under his touch.

The young slayer waited for her to fall asleep before relaxing completely, exhaling a large sigh as he took in the events of the previous day. He really did hope that Lucy wasn't coming down with some nasty bug, that's all she needed after dealing with Haru being so poorly. If Natsu was being completely honest with himself, he wasn't sure what to think. From what he'd seen so far, he was sceptical to say the least; was this some unknown ailment? Or something else entirely? He didn't know.

Sure she felt nauseous; was vomiting; complained of headaches and fatigue; which were all indications of illness—he knew that. However, something just felt different about her symptoms compared to other times he'd seen her under the weather, the boy just couldn't figure out what.

Lucy had told him she'd spent the better part of the past week awake all day and night feeling stressed about Haru, which would tire anyone out. He deduced that that might explain her fatigue and headaches, but the nausea and vomiting—that he couldn't explain. Not to mention her sensitive stomach and the cramping. Nor could he decipher why she'd struggled so much when using her magic; a bug wouldn't usually interfere with that.

He was no expert on these sorts of matters, hell, it was rare the hot head ever found himself unwell in the first place, so really, what would he know?

But there was an inkling. A hunch you might say or conception, ironically. In the deep recesses of his boggled, clueless mind, he knew he'd come across this sort of thing before. Not all that often but around town, on jobs, even in the guild hall he'd heard mutterings between fellow members and guild mates alike, he'd just never taken the time to care before now.

Now he kinda wished he had…

With his lack of knowledge, Natsu had no idea what his suspicions meant and whether he was actually on to something or just barking up the wrong tree. His brain, unable to make any sense of it, was beginning to hurt from all of the over thinking he was doing and decided to dismiss the idea completely.

Nestling his head into the back of Lucy's hair, he inhaled deeply, her floral scent invading his nostrils and allowed the tiredness to overcome him. Closing his eyes, the slight pang of disappointment didn't go completely unnoticed before he drifted off to sleep.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay while I'm gone?" Natsu asked outside the bathroom door, not overly pleased that Lucy had locked him out. Hearing more vomit hit the pan, he cringed and wondered how much longer she was going to be. "Because I don't wanna leave you like this…" He heard the flush go and the water run, then finally the lock on the door clicked and it swung open, revealing a ghostly pale and zombie(ish) looking Lucy, "Luce, you're looking awful!"

"Thanks, Natsu, always the charmer…" She croaked out, throat sore from throwing up her breakfast. She'd been in and out of the bathroom all morning, puking her guts up, looking more and more, as Happy put it, like death warmed up. "I was kinda hoping I'd feel better today, but I just feel like shit…"

"Maybe you just need some more rest? I could always ask Wendy over?" He suggested, forgetting the young girl had left for a mission that morning. "Oh, actually forget that, what about Porlyusica instead?"

"No, please not her! I think she saw enough of us yesterday and I really don't feel like being shouted at today, my head can't take it." That woman could be frightening at the best of times, it was better to avoid her unless absolutely necessary.

"But Luce, you've been in the bathroom all morning, you gotta see someone about it!" Natsu tried to make her see reason, he didn't want to see her sick any more than she wanted to be sick, but Lucy was stubborn.

"I'll wait for Wendy to heal me; I'm sure I can manage until she comes home."

If Lucy was going to have anyone help, she wanted it from Wendy. The sweet, young dragon slayer was always eager to assist anyone and far from being intimidating or dismissive, unlike the old dragon woman. No matter how well versed Porlyusica was in magical ailments and medicines, particularly potions, she had a hot temper and a dislike for humans, so it was best to take her in small doses.

"You never know, I might feel better by then." Lucy smiled at the fire mage in a weak attempt at easing his worry.

"If you say so, Luce." Realising he wasn't getting anywhere, Natsu sighed. He'd have to figure out another way to help her instead.

Once back in the living room, Lucy slumped onto the couch and smiled at the little one playing on the floor with Happy. The sight of Haru finally acting like his usual self again was enough to brighten her up a bit. He'd been perfect all morning—happy, playful and cheeky, just the way she liked him.

"Hey, Lucy, this'll cheer you up!" Happy gestured to the baby, catching both Lucy and Natsu's attention. "Right Haru, just like we practised, say, Mama!"

Haru looked over to Natsu, who was smiling encouragingly at him, and then to Lucy, who was waiting patiently. It was the one word, he'd been reluctant to say since he'd started trying to speak, but Lucy could hope.

"Mama. Go on, you said it earlier." The cat encouraged.

"He did?" Lucy asked, surprised to learn that she'd missed it.

"He sure did!"

The baby looked apprehensive, sucking on his fingers, it seemed he needed a little extra push now that there was an audience. Happy flew over to Lucy and pointed at her, repeating the word again.

With a smile forming on his face, Haru crawled over to Lucy's feet and yelled at the top of his voice, "Mama!" whilst attempting to clamber up onto her lap.

"Yay! You clever boy, you finally said Mama!" Lucy beamed, picking the little one up and supporting him to stand on her lap.

"Good job, little guy!" Natsu grinned, coming to lean over the couch where Lucy was sitting and pretended to high five the baby. "Next we gotta get you saying Happy."

"Yeah, then fish, then fishing, then yummy fish-"

"Naturally…" Lucy hummed sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the cat.

"Anyway, I think we better head off. What do ya say fella?" Natsu said, picking the small boy up from his mother and placing him on his hip. "I think this little guy can come with me to the guild. It'll give you time to rest and me some time to catch up with him."

"Oh, er… okay." She smiled, liking the sound of having a few hours to herself. "That'd be nice."

The young man smiled down at the pale girl and kissed her cheek, gesturing for Happy to follow him as he walked over and opened the front door. "Catch ya later, Luce!" And off he went, locking the door behind him, leaving the blonde in peace.

"Is Lucy gonna be okay on her own?" Happy asked, flying along beside the dragon slayer. "She's really not looking too good."

"She'll be fine, she just needs some rest, that's all. If she needs me, I'm sure Loke will sense it and come looking for me. Lucy's a tough one; she don't need us pandering to her and getting in the way." He dismissed it knowing fully that Lucy's 'sickness' didn't seem to be as simple as that, but alas, this was the best he could do for now.

The journey to the guild was a pleasant one as they strolled leisurely through the busy streets of Magnolia. Entering the bustling main hall, Natsu quickly slipped passed the unknowing mages drinking away at the bar, not wanting to be cornered by one of them, and made his way to the back room where Master Makarov was waiting for him. The old man had asked to see him about something and the fire mage hoped it wasn't about the destruction Haru had left yesterday. Without knocking, the boy with the baby and flying cat walked in, announcing his presence with a bright smile.

"Natsu, there you are! I didn't think you were gonna show." The short man perched himself on the table and gestured for Natsu to sit amongst the piles of papers that made up the man's office. "How's the little one today? I heard he's had a rough time of it recently?"

"Yeah, but he seems back to normal now. Don't ya, bud?" Natsu grinned at Haru, who'd been eyeing the old man's beard since they'd entered the room. The little boy grinned back and began repeating sounds like 'da' and 'ba' as if he were joining in on the conversation.

"Good, I heard about what happened. Magnolia's Mayor has been here all morning giving me an earful about some woodland that had been… decimated, I think he said. You wouldn't know anything about that now, would you, Natsu?" The old man stared at the young man, his brow and lip raised simultaneously whilst waiting for an answer.

"Well, Natsu?" Happy teased, revelling in the slayers fluster, finding it rather funny and in turn making Haru chuckle too.

"Er… I-I don't know what you're talking about… M-Must've been some one else?" Natsu's voice raised in octaves and he began to sweat profusely, not sure what hell awaited him for what his son had done. Was this now going to become a regular occurrence?

"That's what I thought." The Master said, smiling knowingly, a chuckle passing his lips at the state the fire mage was getting himself into and decided that was punishment enough for now. "However, I did mention that should it have been a Fairy Tail mage responsible, I would personally see to it so that it doesn't happen again."

"R-Right… Sure, Gramps." Natsu stuttered, thankful he wasn't going to suffer the consequences because little Haru had destroyed the woodland. It suddenly dawned on the poor dragon slayer that this was, in fact, almost definitely going to become a regular occurrence, he could just feel it in his bones.

The baby, not knowing the trouble he'd caused, had been too focused on the Masters facial hair and was reaching his chubby little hands out to touch it, but with no one paying him any attention, he did the only thing he knew would work—whine. It was a quiet little noise but enough to catch his father's ears.

"What's the matter, little buddy? Whatcha tryin' to reach for?" Natsu asked, following the baby's line of sight, landing on the old man's face. Furrowing his brows, the slayer looked back at the small boy, "You want Gramps' hat? Alright, kiddo."

The fire mage plucked the hat off of the old man's head, much to Makarov's annoyance, and gave it to the ten month old. Although not what he'd originally wanted, Haru settled for the strange item in his hands, sticking the material straight in his mouth and began to suck it, effectively stopping his whimpers.

"You know I expect that returned, without infant dribble on it?" Makarov stared at the clueless dragon slayer and sighed; who was he kidding? He was never going to see that hat again now that Haru had claimed it. "Oh, and before you head off, Natsu, there was another reason for calling you in here. A job has come through asking for you personally again. You're quite popular it seems." The Master gave him the request paper, watching the fire mages eyes light up with excitement.

"Awesome! This one better be cooler than the last one!" Natsu read through it quickly. It appeared to be the typical 'unknown monster raiding my garden, need help!' sort of request, a stupidly easy one by the looks of it. Reaching the bottom of the paper he saw in big bold writing: the reward. A figure so great, his eyes nearly flew out of his skull.

"Whoa! They're offering that much?" Happy exclaimed, not even knowing what to call a number with that many zero's at the end of it.

"Yes, they are willing to pay that much at the request that it is you, Natsu, that attends. Obviously you don't have to go alone, you can take whoever you want with you."

"Wait 'til I show Lucy the reward, she's gonna be so pumped! That money would last us forever!" He exclaimed, beaming with excitement, wanting to run home and show it to her right away.

Then like a ton of bricks hitting him all at once, he remembered.

Lucy…

As if reading his mind, Happy was the first to speak, "But, Lucy, she's not-" He whispered.

"Yeah, I know, Happy." He looked up from the paper and without any hesitation went to hand it back to the Master, a serious face replacing his excited one. "Sorry, Gramps, but I can't do it this time."

"That's not like you, my boy, is something up?" The bearded man asked, concerned for the fire mage. "What's this about Lucy? You can take her if you want, it's up to you."

"No, I don't think I can, Gramps. She's really sick at the moment and I don't know why." Natsu said sombrely, mindlessly stroking the infants back as his eyes faced the floor.

More time away from her and Haru was definitely not something he would consider; who knows how long this job would take? Taking her with him could've been an option if she'd felt up to it, but with her magic being all weird, he wasn't willing to take the risk.

"Yeah, she's been spewing her guts all morning and yesterday she could barely summon any magic without it tiring her out. What kind of illness does that?" Happy blurted out without thinking.

"Is that right? Have you spoken to Porlyusica about it yet?" Makarov asked.

"No… Lucy told me not to…" Natsu sighed, not knowing who else to turn to. "She said she'd wait until Wendy returned, but who knows when that'll be?"

"It'll be about a week before that happens. There are other doctors she could see in the town, but if it's affecting her magic then I doubt they'll be of much use. The only other option is you go to Porlyusica and ask her yourself, Lucy doesn't have to know you've been." Makarov could see it was getting the fire mage down; he'd always been fiercely protective of his friends and particularly Lucy. He absolutely loathed it when he couldn't make her feel better. "I'm sure it'll work itself out, my boy, Lucy's strong enough to get through it, whatever it is."

"Yeah, Natsu! Lucy's beaten worse than some sickness bug before, she'll be fine!" Happy chirped in, his eager expression popping up in front of Natsu's.

"Your right, come on then Happy, let's go. See ya, Gramps." Natsu feigned a smile for the old man and left the room, his lips dropping into a frown the moment the door slammed shut.

It wasn't that he didn't believe them, he knew Lucy could cope, that wasn't the problem. His issue with it all was that it didn't seem to be acting like any ordinary ailment. It affected things that it shouldn't and that made him feel even more incompetent than he already did, but worse than all of that, he felt helpless.

The dragon slayer was desperate to get some answers to what was wrong with his pretty blonde and there was only one way he knew he could do that. If he went to the old woman healer to ask for advise, that would go directly against Lucy's wishes; but on the other hand, could he really sit around and watch her suffer the way she had been?

If she would just let him ask for her like Gramps had suggested, she'd be better in no time. They'd even be able to go on that job together, he knew how Lucy was with money and that was one hell of a reward he'd just passed up.

All this crap was doing his head in, he needed some fresh air, some time alone to think things through before he made any rash decisions. Happy had wanted to stay behind at the guild. Glad the cat could see he needed space, Natsu headed out of the door, ignoring his guild mates shout out to him, they were but a buzzing sound amidst the chaos in his brain. Not up to explaining it all to them, he continued forward, legs guiding him towards the park.

It'd been hours, well, it'd felt like hours since he'd been sat there, in the same spot, entertaining the little one who was playing in the grass. Haru had a way of making everything bright in the dullest of moments. His little face was so cute and his smile so happy, it was hard not to mirror. Seeing the world through the infants eyes was both refreshing and simple, with everything so new and exciting, Natsu found himself getting excited for him. But that usual happy, contented feeling had been duly quashed by everything else on his mind and it was starting to irritate him.

"Whatcha got there? A stick? If that's really what ya wanna play with then go for it, buddy." Natsu chuckled, watching Haru try to pick up a stick twice the size of him was a sight to behold, settling for munching on it instead, spurring Natsu into 'daddy mode'. "I wouldn't go eating that if I were you! That's gotta taste nasty and Mama's not gonna like it if she finds you with splinters in your mouth. Let's chuck it away and find something else to play with, how does that sound?" Natsu took the stick out of the baby's mouth and coaxed it out of his hold. Launching it in a random direction, he'd failed to notice the horror-stricken expression on Haru's face.

It began with a whimper, with his bottom lip jutted out and quivering, a full on wail came next, piercing the poor slayers ears, shocking him and making him wince. "Hey, no, don't cry! Daddy didn't mean to throw your stick away, er…" Struggling to find something to replace it, Natsu whipped his head in every direction, finally settling on giving his scarf.. "Here ya go, that's much better. You can suck on that as much as you want."

"Huh… So you do know how to parent, who'd have thought?" A low male voice mocked from above. Glancing up, Natsu saw none other than the ice-make mage himself standing there, half naked as always, smirking down at him.

"Well, duh! That's because I am one!" Natsu rolled his eyes like Gray was the stupid one.

Huffing at his friends idiocy, Gray ignored him and sat down, greeting little Haru with a smile and a wave. "You're looking much better now little guy, everyone was worried about you yesterday!" Ruffling the baby's thick hair, the young man chuckled, in turn, receiving incoherent babbles back. "Although you on the other hand…" He turned to Natsu, "What're you doing out here by yourself? It ain't like you to want peace and quiet."

"What's that supposed to mean? I like it every now and then; there's nothing weird about that." Natsu had avoided eye contact with the raven haired mage since he'd sat down. He knew he was acting odd, but he just couldn't help it.

"When it comes to you, Flame brain, it's very weird. And you didn't answer my question." Gray knew something was up, regardless of how often they fought, they were very in tune with one another, some would say in a brotherly capacity. "If you're not gonna tell me, I could always guess? And from where I'm standing, it looks like something to do with Lucy, am I right?"

Natsu tsked, pretending not to be impressed by the half-naked man's insightfulness. Gray waited patiently for an answer, a smirk ever present on his face. But he received nothing from the suspiciously quiet Natsu, which, in itself, was his answer. "Right, so it's about Lucy, that's obvious. Did she finally kick you out?"

"What? No, why would she do that?" Confused, the pink haired man turned to his rival and knitted his brows together.

"Alright, well, I thought maybe she'd come to her senses, ya know." Gray cocked his brow up teasingly as he took great enjoyment in seeing the annoyance rise within the fiery tempered slayer. "Well, if it isn't that, then… huh… I got nothing… Just tell me why you're here, Natsu?"

"Well, why're you here, Snowflake? You don't have to be; you could always go bother someone else." Natsu bit back, not wanting this sort of interrogation and especially not from Gray Fullbuster, of all people.

"I could, but they're not as fun to annoy and I have my own reasons for wanting to see you."

The ice mage leaned forward to grab Haru and hold him in his lap, doing that funny baby talk thing and laughing when the infant responded. Natsu watched their small exchange, confused that Gray actually wanted to see him about something other than brawling. Intrigued, he waited for the topless man to start speaking.

"I actually came here to, er… well, apologise for something." He stuttered, placing his hand on the back of his head, whilst looking slightly embarrassed.

Natsu remained quiet, speechless in fact, not sure whether the guy was being serious or if this was some elaborate prank. Gray had never apologised to him before, so this was definitely a peculiar experience for the both of them, one to be cautious of.

"You don't gotta look at me like I've got two heads or somethin', I can be mature to admit when I'm wrong… sometimes." Gray added, not entirely keen on the shocked gawk he was receiving from the fire mage. "It's about yesterday actually. The way I reacted about helping Haru and our fight because of it; he's your son after all and it wasn't my place to say those things. I can't imagine how I made Lucy feel, she was struggling enough already without me making it worse. It was wrong of me to do that, so I'm sorry."

If he was being honest, Natsu had forgotten all about that, putting it to the back of his mind like he did with all of his bickering with Gray, it was the least of his worries at the moment. But the ice mage did have a point, their disagreement had gone beyond the boundaries of their usual rivalry banter, having brought not only Haru into it, but Lucy as well.

"I didn't mean to explode like that, I've kinda had a lot going on and I took it out on you guys." Gray added, his earlier smirk gone and mood now dampened.

Natsu could see the man was troubled; something was bothering his friend deep down under that hard exterior, but was reluctant to say what. He'd been eyeing him carefully; he knew him apologising smelt off and now he just needed to know why?

"Yeah, so quit broodin' and spit it out." Natsu said, not wanting to give away too much that he was concerned for his frenemy, but also completely clueless as to what he might tell him.

Sighing dejectedly, Gray answered, "Natsu, what's it like?" He couldn't bring himself to look at the fire mage, his eyes trained on the infant in his lap.

"What is what like?"

"You know, this." He gestured to the infant playing with his father's scarf, still comfortably sat in the ice mages lap.

"You mean having a kid?" Natsu asked, garnering the attention of said child when he spoke. "It's the best thing ever!" The young father exclaimed with his usual, vibrant enthusiasm, lightening the mood without even meaning too. "Why'd you wanna know?"

At first Gray stayed quiet, not knowing how to answer that question without it all becoming too real for him. He was worried for sure, scared of the unknown, not knowing if he was prepared enough for such a life changing experience, yet now, he really had no choice and it didn't take long for Natsu to cotton on to what was going on.

"Oh! I get it! You're just worried that your kid ain't gonna be as great as mine." Natsu smirked at Gray's dumbstruck expression, chuckling as he turned his attention to Haru briefly, "Did ya hear that kiddo? You're gonna have a new buddy to play with!" Sniggering, Haru gave one of his 'Natsu' grins and decided to crawl his way over and sit in his fathers lap instead.

"Whoa! Hold on a second! I never said that; who said I was having one? Maybe I was just asking out of curiosity?" Gray began fidgeting, his eyes shifting between Natsu's knowing eyes and his smug grin.

"Uh-huh… And if I were to go to Juvia right now…"

"No! Okay, you're right!" Gray panicked, waving his hands to stop Natsu from getting up. "Please don't do that, she didn't want anyone knowing until she felt well enough to return to the guild. She wanted to be there to tell everyone herself. Which is fine but what a pain it's been having to pretend she'd caught some weird bug on her last mission and that's the reason she hasn't shown her face recently."

"Why is she sick?" Natsu asked, curious to find out more. He didn't know a whole lot about what women went through when having a baby, he'd never experienced that with Lucy—they'd skipped that part. "The baby makes her sick?"

"Well, yeah, and a bunch of other stuff. It's like living with a bag of hormones at the moment. One minute she's normal, then she puking her guts out, then she's crying for whatever unknown reason. Honestly, man, I don't know where my head is at right now, I just can't keep up!" Gray sure did look frazzled, now that he had openly said it out loud, his own mood swings and weird behaviour made a bit more sense.

"Hasn't Juvia always been like that? Apart from the blowing chunks bit."

"I guess so, but now she's even crazier."

"Aren't you happy about it though? 'Cause I'm sure Juvia is." The slayer asked, curiously.

"Yeah, sure I am, but I'm terrified too. It's just weird ya know? And with her magic acting up lately, she hasn't been able to go on any jobs with me." Gray shrugged, not seeming too bothered by it.

"Wait, what did you say?" Natsu's mind had gone into overdrive the moment those words left the demon slayers mouth. "The baby… It affects her magic too?!"

"Yeah, it drains her, makes her sick and tired. Although, Porlyusica said that's a symptom that eventually wears off." Gray said, eyeing the dragon slayer as his eyes became like two saucers, a gaping mouth to match. "What? Did I say something?" Not having a clue what was going on, the ice mage stared at his friend, not knowing what he'd said wrong.

"N-No, it's, uh, L-Lucy, she's… I gotta go!" The pink haired boy hopped to his feet and as quick as lightning he was in the distance, yelling his thanks behind him.

"Wait, Natsu! You never told me… what was wrong with Lucy?" Already out of sight by the time Gray had finished speaking, he sighed and shook his head. "That idiot…" He muttered under his breath, ignoring the horrified stares of the people around him as he took himself out of the park, never looking down to see that he'd lost his trousers now too.

[iamwhelmed]

Whelmed’s Halloween Treat Fest!

Spooky season is upon us!

Over on my Patreon, I’m doing a special Halloween event to thank everyone, writing requests from patrons of any tier as drabbles that will go up exclusively on Patreon!

Patrons comment here ( https://www.patreon.com/posts/whelmeds-treat-57122530 ) with their ship and one of three options:

A one-word, Halloween-oriented theme

A line of dialogue

A costume (and the character you want to wear it!)

I’ll turn every comment into a small drabble, exclusive to my page! I’m expecting a lot of killugon requests, but requests are open for any fandom I state I’ve written for on my homepage! (i.e, Nalu, Damijon, Sonamy, 1 x 362, 4 x 3, Robstar…)

That said, I will be writing one larger killugon one-shot, and it will be posted on Halloween night– again, exclusively for patrons!

Drabbles will be posted here as soon as I’m done with them, and I’ll make sure to shoot you a message and let you know! ^_^

(Patrons should specify the rating when making a request~!)