#squishy… if only they’d take her out of her usual dress more it’s so ugly sigh

[moxie-girl]

she’s such a cutie patootie I need to explode her

[nalu4emily]

The Unexpected Reward - Chapter 13

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.

This chapter contains mature content (at the beginning)

Let the angst commence!

Along the murky path, a dragon slayer and his flying cat made their way back to the city they called home. It'd been a long trip, the boy, tired and achy, couldn't wait to finally get back to what was familiar to him.

It'd been a mission like any that requested him specifically, explosive with lots of fire and usually it would have been right up his alley. This time, however, the sense of longing had deterred his mind and in the end it'd just been one incredibly long and tedious job, he couldn't wait to finish.

His thoughts on this dark night always lead back to the one person that mattered most to him, his best friend and partner, Lucy Heartfilia, who he missed dearly. Going on missions just wasn't the same without her. Through the dark nights he often found himself awake, wondering how she was doing? How she was coping with the baby? What they'd both been up to in his absence?

A whole three weeks it had been since he'd seen her, smelt her fresh scent, or touched her soft skin and the yearning in his heart had grown stronger with each passing day.

Being away from them for this long had really brought home to Natsu just how much everything had changed. It was hard to remember a time before Lucy, a time where it had been just him and Happy going on adventures, scouring Fiore for Igneel. But it was in doing just that, that lead him straight to Lucy.

Years had passed since then and lots had happened in that time, some good, some bad and some horrifically ugly… But they were still going strong, stronger than ever and Natsu often wondered what else the future would bring their way? What would be next in store for them?

Disrupting his thoughts, a sense of relief flowed through him and Happy at the sight of their home in the distance and picked up the pace until they were outside the wooden front door. Quietly creeping in, Happy's first port of call was the kitchen to look for some fish, which he gratefully found and started munching on. Natsu, ignoring his growling stomach, laid his bag down on the chair in the living area and bid Happy goodnight before making his way up the stairs.

Once he got to the top, he saw that Haru's bedroom door had been left ajar and ever so quietly peeked in, smiling at the little one who was tucked into his comforter and sleeping soundly. Natsu had missed his little boy whilst he was away and couldn't wait for morning to come so that he could greet him properly and see his sweet face.

Reaching his own bedroom, Natsu's nose was flooded with that intoxicating scent he'd missed so much and the sight that graced his eyes took his breath away. There she was, the beautiful blonde was fast asleep, covered by one of the many blankets she'd insisted upon having, cuddled up to the pillow that he usually slept on.

After undressing, Natsu ever so carefully got into bed next to her, removing the pillow and replacing it with himself. Sighing contently, he cuddled up to her and inhaled her scent, before settling down and falling into a restful sleep.

The wintry sun peered through the bedroom window, blaring it's brilliance over the two young adults who were still cuddled up to one another, revelling in each others warmth.

Blurry and unfocused eyes opened to glance at the not so squishy pillow she thought she'd been cuddling, only to be met with chaotic pink hair, hard, ripped muscles and beautifully tanned skin that she envied so much. A rush of excitement ran through her, Natsu was home! She'd missed him so much and she was having a hard time containing herself. Taking in his impressive body, she lightly traced her fingers over a few new scuffs and bruises along his chest and abdomen, concluding he'd probably gone overboard again.

Her eyes drifted further until it reached that tantalising 'V' in between his hips leading down underneath the blankets where she could no longer see. A little idea popped into her mind and she smirked wickedly as she made her way under the blankets, coming to rest between Natsu's legs. He was still fast asleep, exhausted no doubt from his trip, but she knew of a way to help him relax.

Wetting her hands, she grasped his morning wood and ever so slowly moved her hand up and down, anticipating his reaction when he woke up. After a few movements of her hand, Natsu's eyes shot open and immediately looked down to the area he felt something touching him.

"Lucy?! What're you-?"

Stopping mid sentence as she tensed her hand at the base, trapping the blood pulsing through his cock, creating such delicious pressure. What a sight that was to wake up to, his beautiful and sexy girlfriend jerking him off with her hand, making him feel amazing first thing in the morning.

"Shh… Just lay back and enjoy it. I'm sure after such a long mission, you've been desperate for this…" She crawled up to his face, and kissed him fervently, foot manoeuvred over his leg to keep rubbing his shaft as she used both hands to hold her weight above him. "…I know I have."

"Is that so?" A lazy smirk played on his still drowsy but handsome face, eyes concentrated on hers while her foot continued to do wondrous things to his nether region. "By all means, continue… I'm not gonna stop ya!"

"Good." She said, returning to her original spot between his legs, replacing her foot with her hand once again and slowly began to tease him with long, soft strokes, never taking her eyes off his. "Hmm… I think I'd like to taste you now."

Without any hesitation, she encased her juicy lips around him, pushing forward as deeply as she could without gagging and pulling back up again. Satisfied to hear a quiet moan escape his lips, Lucy increased her speed, watching his face contort into one of pure pleasure, gritting his teeth and grunting every time she used her tongue to swirl around the tip before delving back down.

Natsu certainly hadn't expected any of this. Seeing Lucy's mouth wrapped firmly around his cock after three weeks of no contact with her whatsoever, made his hair stand on edge. She was so good at pleasuring him, she knew exactly what he liked and what he didn't and took great care in making him feel good.

"Lucy… You're amazing…" He trailed off, the tension increasing and fastening that coil that was raring to force itself out.

Lucy could see he was getting closer and wanted to take him over the edge, to release all that tension from weeks of build up. Turning herself on just thinking about it, she reached down to her own core and began to touch herself, moaning onto his cock, giving Natsu a full show.

"Fuck me, you're so hot!" He growled, wanting to touch her and share the amazing feeling she was giving him.

"Fuck you? Is that what you want, Natsu?" She smirked, not waiting for an answer as she came to straddle his hips, grinding her soaked core against his hardened member. His only answer a groan, his hands going straight to her thighs and hips, wanting to touch every inch of her sexy body. "Where should I put this?" She teased him, wiggling her hips on his erection.

"Inside you, Lucy…" His voice rasped, straining to get the words out. Natsu's dark eyes were hooded but they never left hers as she carefully positioned him with her hand and pushed down all the way to the hilt.

Groaning in unison, Lucy's head fell back, relishing in the intense feeling of his penis pulsing against her velvety walls, stretching her to the point where it stung slightly. It wasn't unpleasant though, if anything it added to her pleasure, making her mouth fall open and letting out a guttural moan. She enjoyed this position, it allowed her to take control and please herself at her own speed.

"So good…" She mewled, raising up before coming back down again, then repeating it until she found a rhythm that worked for her. "Oh, I've missed you, Natsu!"

Lucy was other-wordly, Natsu thought as he watched her ride him. Her voluptuous chest had begun to spill free of the confines of her slinky night dress, and her hardened nipples were peaking through the thin fabric.

Not being able to stop himself, he reached up to tweak them, knowing it was one of Lucy's sweet spots. She grunted and gasped, placing her hands on his chest and began to grind down on him, the friction building up a storm inside them both.

Wanting to feel more of her sultry body on him, Natsu pulled Lucy forwards and attacked her mouth, making her groan loudly from the harshness of his teeth biting her bottom lip.

It was easy in times like this to forget that they weren't alone in the house and with his sensitive ears picking up on one tiny whimper from the bedroom down the hall, signalling a certain little someone was about to wake up.

Taking matters into his own hands, they would need to finish this quickly and the speed Lucy was going, as incredible as it was to just lay there and watch, wasn't going to be quick enough. Smirking up at her, he grabbed both of her ass cheeks and stilled her movements, finding her unimpressed pout just too cute.

"My turn now." He growled into her ear and bent his legs behind her to give himself better leverage.

He held Lucy down to his chest and ever so slowly raised his hips to make sure it was comfortable before pulling back out. Welding their lips together he thrust into her, hard and fast, causing her to cry out into his mouth. Luckily, it muffled the loud yell of ecstasy that was enough to wake the whole of Fiore, let alone anyone within the perimeters of the house. Tangling his hands into her hair, he held her head against his, taking in the euphoria that filled her eyes with each thrust of his hips.

"You feel so good, Natsu!" She was breathless, and could feel her own end approaching, tensing tightly around him to create even more friction. He reached his hand down to her small clit and began to stimulate it whilst fucking her rampantly from underneath. Her eyes began to water, rolling into the back of her head as the pressure became almost too much.

"Finish with me, Lucy…" He groaned, on his last legs he couldn't hold back much longer, and within seconds was cumming deep within her, gripping her hips as the ecstasy took over his form, emptying himself with slow, small jerks.

"Yes, fill me up…" The wind being knocked out of her lungs as he suddenly thrust hard one last time, snapping the cord that had wrapped it's way around her sanity.

Arching her back and gripping the sheets beside Natsu's head, Lucy pushed her ass down onto him and rode out her high, clamping around his sensitive tip until she flopped onto his front. Breaths were heavy, but that didn't stop her from reaching his lips once more, melting against him in a softer, sweeter kiss than before, filling her heart with such warmth and comfort to have him home at last.

"Welcome home, Natsu!" She said between kisses, making him chuckle.

"By the way, I missed you too, Lucy." He said, grinning like an idiot, remembering what she'd said amidst the passion, making her blush slightly. Sighing, he felt all the tension in his body melt away with her back in his arms.

An incoherent babble reached Natsu's ears from down the hall, making him smile. "I think Haru's awake?"

"He is? Good, we've gotta surprise for you! You're gonna love it! Wait here!" She said excitedly, hopping off of him and running out of the room. Natsu looked to the door she'd just gone out of quizzically. 'A surprise? Hadn't the way she'd woken him up been surprise enough?' He wondered, sitting himself up and waited patiently for her to return.

A few moments later, Lucy re-entered the room with Haru in her arms with wild hair and a toothy smile, he grinned in a way that strangely resembled Natsu and reached out for him. Natsu's matching fanged grin spread wide across his cheeks as he took Haru from Lucy and gave him the biggest cuddle.

"Hey, buddy! Did ya miss me?" Natsu held him up so he was eye level with Haru and continued to ask random silly questions to the little one, receiving little babbles as answers.

"Haru, tell daddy what you've learnt while he was gone?" Lucy said, trying to encourage the baby. Haru giggled then looked to his curious father who was waiting for him to do something. "Go on, tell daddy!"

"Da… Da…"

Two little words came out of the baby's mouth and Natsu's own mouth fell open in shock. Did he hear that right? Had Haru just said his first word? His sensitive hearing had never failed him before, so why would it now?

"Did you just say Dada? Your first word is Dada?!" Natsu went silent for a moment, conjuring his thoughts.

"Da Da!" The baby said excitedly, clapping his hands together.

Natsu's face lit up when he heard it again, he definitely heard that right! "Ha! I win, Luce! He said my name first!" He jeered, turning to Lucy and sticking his tongue out at her, sniggering at his triumph over his partner.

Lucy deadpanned initially she hadn't realised it was a competition, but quickly began to chuckle, it was a typical Natsu reaction, she should have known better. "He started saying it not too long after you left actually, maybe it was because he missed you." She stated, smiling at the beaming grin on Natsu's face, clearly delighted Haru had said his first word, regardless of what it was.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to hear it, little guy. But I promise I'll be here for the next one! Maybe your next word could be Happy?" He said, laughing at Lucy's unimpressed face.

"Happy?! What about Mama?! Mama's much easier to say than Happy!" Natsu was sure he saw a vein pop in her head, she was so easy to wind up, he didn't really need to try sometimes.

"Aw, come on, Lucy, you'd be pleased all the same if it was!" Natsu did have a point, but she was about to put that to the test.

"Well, then you'd be fine if it was, say… Gray or ice then?" She teased, raising her eyebrows at him as he went silent, not liking the sound of that.

"No son of mine would ever speak such filthy words!" Natsu held the baby close to his chest as if to hide him and covered his ears, offended she could ever suggest such a thing.

Lucy shook her head and chuckled, standing up to go downstairs. "You're such an idiot sometimes!" She said turning to walk out of the door, "You hungry?" She asked, not needing the boy to answer, knowing he'd follow her if food was involved.

Happy, who was already awake, was sitting on the table with his freshly caught fish laid out in front of him, his mouth watering and about to chow down when his seemingly sex-crazed companions and sprog emerged from the stairwell. "So you finally decided to stop touching each other and get up?" Happy said, clamping his jaw down on a slimy fish.

"It was Lucy's fault, she made me do it!" Pointing directly at the poor girl who was glowing a bright red.

"Natsu! Don't say it like that, not in front of Happy! You don't know who he might tell!" She couldn't help but hide her face in her hands as she made her way into the kitchen, distracting herself from the embarrassment obvious in her cheeks.

"Anyone who bribes me with fish, usually…" Happy shrugged nonchalantly as Lucy's mouth dropped open. If that was the case, then the whole guild probably knew the details of her and Natsu's sex life. "Speaking of which, I'm outta here!" He chirped, flying out of the window, giggling at Lucy's even redder, flushed face. She was going to kill that cat, that she knew for certain!

Natsu had lost interest in that conversation ages ago, more engrossed in catching up with Haru instead. However, the longer he tried to interact with him, the more he realised something seemed a little off.

"Hey, Luce?" Gaining the blonde's attention from the kitchen, "Something's wrong with Haru, his face just went all red and I think he's gonna-" And then it happened, vomit everywhere… "…Puke…"

The horrific stench of baby vomit invaded Natsu's nose, almost making him gag. The substance splattered all over the floor and table looked and smelt like congealed, off milk mixed with whatever else was sitting in the little one's stomach.

Not understanding why he suddenly felt so terrible, the baby began to cry. Tears flooded down his puffy cheeks and his high pitched wailing rung through Natsu's ears, getting louder and more shrill every time he retched and brought up more vomit.

"Whoa! Where did all that come from, little guy?" Stunned by how much had just been ejected from the little one's mouth, the dragon slayer turned him around and aimed his head towards the bowl that Lucy had placed in front of them to catch the vomit that seemed to keep flying out, upsetting Haru even further. "I know it's not nice, but there's no need to cry. It'll pass soon." Natsu spoke soothingly next to the baby's ear, stroking his back tenderly to try and comfort him.

"I don't understand, he was supposed to be getting better, not worse! Wendy even used her healing spell on him, so why hasn't it worked?" Lucy had walked over to where Natsu was sitting and placed her hand on the baby's forehead, feeling his temperature rising again. "Maybe I'll take him to Porlyusica this time?"

"Hold on… What do you mean Wendy's healing spell hasn't work? Was Haru sick while I was gone?" Natsu asked, trying to work out what had gone down in his absence, while still occupied with trying to catch the contents of Haru's stomach.

"Yes, Haru has been sick for nearly a week now. I tried at first to help him on my own but because his symptoms were getting worse, I asked Wendy to come and heal him yesterday. His symptoms improved instantly and I thought whatever sickness it was had gone." She said, pointing to the little one who was still retching, however, only bile was coming up now that he'd emptied his stomach completely. "But obviously not…"

"Oh… I still don't understand why you kept that to yourself, I could've helped." Natsu looked at Lucy in shock, confused about why she wouldn't tell him something like that.

"You were on a job, remember? And I didn't know when you'd return so I just got on with it." She stated, tilting her own head in confusion while attempting to clean up the mess on the floor. It's not like she had any way of contacting him so she'd dealt with it on her own. "As I said, he's been completely fine since yesterday, so I didn't think there was any need to worry you."

"That's not the point, Lucy! If he's been this sick for that long, then you could've sent someone to come and get me, I would've returned home in a heartbeat." He expressed, feeling saddened that his son had been unwell and he'd not known about it or been there for him.

"I wasn't going to do that over a little sickness bug. You can't just abandon a job because of something like this, it would ruin Fairy Tail's reputation, you know that!" Lucy could feel herself getting a little bothered by the situation. She'd tried her hardest to look after Haru on her own and now it felt like Natsu was disregarding her efforts. "And for your information, I was perfectly capable of looking after him on my own!"

The tone of her voice was sharp and defensive, enough to make Natsu stop in his tracks and think carefully about what he would say next. His intention was not to upset Lucy, that's for sure. He simply wanted to understand why she'd decided to do this on her own, why she hadn't asked for help and kept him in the dark.

"Lucy, I never said you weren't, that's not what I'm getting at here…" Natsu's voice turned low and soft, barely a croak. He reached out his hand to grasp hers and squeezed firmly, caressing the soft skin of her palm. "Haru is my son too and I should have been there to help. I would go to the ends of Earthland for him, so one measly job can stuff it for all I care. As for Fairy Tail, Gramps would understand. Family always comes first, Luce… Always."

Lucy stared at him, trying to find a way to justify her actions but she couldn't argue with that. He was right, family did come first, but she simply hadn't wanted to bother him. She felt the responsibility had landed on her shoulders and she needed to deal with it. Now, looking back, maybe she had needed help. Having not fully recovered from all those sleepless nights spent trying to comfort the unwell infant, it'd been a difficult week for the both of them.

It'd definitely taken its toll, her mind had a hazy feel to it, like a dense fog was clouding her better judgement and the exhaustion making her irritable and grouchy. The initial excitement and adrenaline rush of Natsu being home had settled now and after their little morning fun, she felt more tired than ever.

"Forgive me, Natsu, I didn't mean that. I'm just a little tired, this past week has been difficult to say the least. Last night was the first time I'd gotten any real sleep since Haru became sick." She said, leaning down to kiss him, showing her sincerity.

Natsu accepted her greedily, placing one hand to rest on the base of her hairline, he put his forehead to hers and smiled. "No need to apologise, I'm home now so we can work this out together." He looked down to Haru, who had stopped crying but was now just letting out small whimpers, obviously still in a lot of distress. "Let's go see Porlyusica, she'll know what to do!"

"You're having a shower first! You have puke all over your legs and it stinks!" She chuckled half heartedly at his predicament. He looked down and realised the smell that was making him feel queasy was coming from him and gagged. He jumped up and ran to the shower while Lucy got herself and the baby ready to visit Fairy Tail's medical advisor.

Practically sprinting all the way to the guild hall, hoping Porlyusica would be there, they crashed through the door, out of breath and panting, gaining the attention of everyone present. The baby's wails thundered through the hall and Lucy just couldn't get him to settle, no matter what she tried.

"Is everything okay, guys? What's wrong with Haru?" Mira asked, walking over to them.

"He's sick Mira, really sick. Is Porlyusica here?" She breathed, struggling to catch her breath still.

"Yes, I'll go and get her, wait here." The take over mage was quick to fetch the old woman, before returning to the bar with Porlyusica following behind.

"What do you both want? I was in the middle of something." She scorned, a scowl ever present on her wrinkled face.

"Sorry to bother you, but Haru is sick and we didn't know who else to go to." Lucy pleaded, hoping the healer wouldn't turn them away as she'd been known to do. The blonde was prepared to get on her hands and knees and beg in front of everybody if she had to.

"Bring him to the infirmary and I'll take a look at him." The older woman sighed, immediately taking Haru out of Lucy's arms once they entered the room and laid him on the bed.

At first glance she could see just how sickly the child was with pale, mottled skin and flushed cheeks that were hot to the touch. His breathing was heavy like he'd just been for a run and he had little beads of sweat trickling down from his hair line. There was no doubt that he was in some sort of pain too if his cries were anything to go by.

"When did this start?" She asked, getting to work with her different instruments set out beside her.

"A fever came on about a week ago, then gradually more and more symptoms showed up. When Wendy came to heal him, it seemed to disappear for a day or so, then about an hour ago he vomited and now he's like this." Lucy said in a bit of a panic as she took a seat next to the bed with Natsu, grabbing hold and squeezing his wrist until it turned red, causing him to wince.

"If Wendy wasn't able to heal him, then this is no ordinary ailment. I imagine her spell simply treated some of his symptoms for a little while, but didn't actually cure him." Porlyusica said, as she finished checking the little one over. She had an array of potions and medicines in the cabinets behind her, it was what she specialised in after all, and retrieved a few to show to the anxious parents. "These potions will help relieve some of his symptoms much like what Wendy's healing spell did, but they are not a cure, just a temporary measure until I can figure out what's wrong with him."

"But what is wrong with him? If it's not a normal illness, then what the heck is it?" Natsu asked, completely baffled by what could be causing Haru so much discomfort.

The healer straightened herself up and placed her thumb and forefinger on her chin. "He's showcasing symptoms of an infection or virus, but without actually having either. Then I can only conclude that there is something else that has invaded his body, causing his immune system to fight back like this." She picked the baby back up and handed him over to Lucy. "From what I can tell, it's most likely to be too much magical energy overwhelming his system."

"Wait, what? Excess magic? But he can't use magic yet!" Natsu's face grew more and more confused the longer he thought about it. Her diagnosis really hadn't explained anything. "How did you come to that?!"

Perplexed as well, Lucy's usual sharp mind had been fogged by weariness, a better explanation than that was needed if there was going to be any hope of her or Natsu understanding. "Um, I don't get what you're trying to say either, do you mind elaborating, please?" She asked, rubbing the babies back as he started to grumble whilst trying to get comfortable.

"It's simple really." The healer walked back over to the table to start clearing away what she'd used. "We live in a time where there is an abundance of ether-nano all around us, and as part of a very complex system we absorb and expel that ether-nano keeping a steady flow of magical energy within us, your body does this automatically. But, some babies are born without that automatic system, causing them to absorb more ether-nano than they should, which slowly overwhelms their small bodies, making them sick. It isn't all that common and can have serious consequences if not dealt with efficiently, but it is something that the body will learn to do over time. All you have to do is help him expel it."

"Er… I only really understood the last part of that to be honest..." The slayer smiled sheepishly, a hand rubbing at the back of his neck. "Do you mean like train him or make him jump or something? Scaring him works when he has hiccups!"

"No, Natsu that isn't what she meant! And how the hell do you train a baby to use magic? He's not even one yet!" Lucy facepalmed her hand at his comment. Trust Natsu to come up with the 'sensible' idea… "Isn't there some sort of medicine you can give him?"

"No, although Natsu wasn't too far off with his scare tactics suggestion." The healer said with her poker face.

"Seriously?!" Lucy's face scrunched into one of disbelief, while Natsu just grinned at her.

"I'm always serious and you should be too with what I'm about to tell you. This isn't something to take lightly and neither of you are going to like it, but you must remember this is no ordinary sickness that you can treat with some potion…"

Stopping dead in their tracks, both of their faces dropped at her warning, neither liking the sound of that. Returning their attention back to the healer, she continued. "You'll have to force it out of him. In the right circumstances, a child with enough magical energy gathered within them can be forced to expel it as a way of protecting themselves from danger. All you have to do is-"

"Put him in danger…" Natsu finished for her, hearing Lucy gasp in horror. He could feel her eyes burning into the side of his head. "Am I right?"

"Yes, Natsu. It's the only way. The quicker you do it, the sooner Haru will recover."

The slayer had a feeling it was going to be something like that, how else would you force it out? Lucy could barely believe her ears, how on Earthland did that old woman expect them to do that? Did she realise what a tall order that was? With nothing more to say on the matter, they left the infirmary and walked back outside, stopping just a little ways from the guild.

Holding the baby close to her, Lucy remained quiet, she didn't have any words right now that could convey how hopeless she felt. Her mind was all over the shop, they would have to put poor Haru in danger and essentially scare the magic out of him. How were they going to do this? And just how much danger? Lucy didn't really want an answer to that, Porlyusica had said it wouldn't be easy and now she understood why.

"Luce…"

Natsu's voice pierced through her erratic thoughts and she looked over to where he was standing. He looked just as troubled as she was, his own internal battle taking place. They'd gone to Porlyusica for answers and that's exactly what she'd given them, but neither had expected this sort of outcome. What were they going to do?

"I don't know if I can do this, Natsu! How're we supposed to pull this off? Why couldn't he just have a cold or something?" She whimpered, her worry becoming too much too bare.

Poor little Haru was sick enough, he didn't need his own parents to put him through any more. It wasn't fair, he was just a baby! Tears entered Lucy's eyes and began streaming down her pale cheeks, the panic setting in.

"Hey… we'll figure this out, I promise." Natsu cupped her cheek and wiped her flowing tears away, her head nestling into his warm hand. "I know it's hard, Lucy, I'm not going to pretend it isn't, but Haru needs us to be strong for him right now. He's counting on us to make him feel better." He moved his hand down to rest on her collar bone and stroked it reassuringly, an empathetic smile playing on his lips.

She couldn't help the sniffles and whimpers that slipped out as she tried to smile back at him. Lucy was surprised by his maturity, she certainly hadn't expected him to take it so well, considering what they had to do. Natsu's words rung true though, this was for Haru's sake and the sooner they did it, the sooner he would be back to normal and that's what mattered.

"You're right, he's suffered long enough, let's get this over with." She said, tired and strained eyes locking onto Natsu's, the fear still prevalent.

A pang of guilt settled in Natsu's chest as he thought about how tired Lucy looked. She'd dealt with this far longer than he had and she'd done it alone. He admired her courage to pull through such a task with barely any sleep, but then that was Lucy for you.

"I guess, the question now is how are we going to execute this? Obviously we can't put him in any real danger, just enough to get him to react to it." Lucy knitted her brows together as she tried to push passed the worry to think of a plan.

"I have an idea, but you're gonna have to put your faith in me, Lucy. Regardless of how much you want to run to him, you must stay out of the way." Natsu's face turned serious, all light from his eyes had gone and had been replaced with the fire burning within him to get this right. "My magic is more aggressive than yours, so it'll work better for this."

"I-If you're sure, Natsu. Lead the way." She spoke timidly, following behind him.

Deciding it best to do it while they were still outside, Natsu woke Haru gently and placed him on a nearby tree stump. Standing out of sight of the baby with Lucy not far behind, the slayer took a deep breath, then used his dragons roar to blow fire a few metres away from the infant. The idea was if Haru could feel the heat of the flames, it might spur him to protect himself from the oncoming danger.

They waited to see if they could get a reaction from the child, but there was nothing. It seemed after being around his destructive fire dragon slayer father, Haru had become accustomed to seeing flames, and barely took any notice of them.

Clenching his teeth, Natsu could kick himself, he should have known better than to believe it would be that easy. He could feel his body tense and his heart pick up speed as he took it one step further. Using his roar once again, he blew flames around the tree stump, trapping the baby in and reluctantly watched as the little one attempted to escape his blazing prison.

Lucy's eyes widened and instinctively took a step forward, but Natsu held out his arm to stop her from coming any closer. This needed to work, he didn't want to have to keep doing it, upsetting Haru over and over again until the infant was too weak and sick to defend himself.

"Isn't that a little close, Natsu?" Lucy uttered her concern from behind the fire mage, trying to control her own rattling nerves.

Unable to find a way out, Haru finally began to cry, escalating quickly to loud wails of distress, begging for his mommy and daddy to come and save him. But that's all it was, just lots of tears, he made no real attempt to protect himself and now it was starting to really worry Natsu. Would a baby as young as Haru know even how to defend himself? And how much further could he go without actually burning his son? He had impeccable control over his magic but fire was still fire and it was dangerous.

"Dammit! It's not working!" He didn't want to have to do this, but with only one option left, it was their last hope. "They need to be closer!"

"Closer?! But they'll be on top of him, surely you don't mean-?" Her voice quivered with each word spoken, her eyes wide with horror as she realised what Natsu was about to do.

"It's the only way, Lucy." He sighed, turning a little in her direction but not meeting her eyes. He didn't want to see her expression, to see how much this was hurting her because it was hurting him just the same.

With nothing more to say, Natsu looked back to the baby and extinguished the flames around him. Hearing his cries turn back to soft whimpers, Haru darted his little head around in search of his parents, but he couldn't see them anywhere. His bottom lip was quivering, frightened and alone, Haru let fresh tears fall from his eyes, rubbing them with his fists until they were red and sore.

Lucy felt her heart break little by little with every pained tear that slipped down her sons face. This was the most horrific thing she'd ever had to endure. All she wanted was to run over and give him a cuddle, to let him know that they were right there and that he wasn't in any real danger, but for his own sake she couldn't, she had to just stand there and watch.

"Please, let this work!" Natsu whispered to himself as he let flames slowly creep along the ground, making their way towards the scared baby.

As soon as Haru saw them again, his wails returned, even louder and full of anguish this time, making it even harder for Natsu to keep his resolve. It pained him to see what his flames were doing to his son, the terror in his eyes as they got closer, the urgency in his cry when they began to lick at his delicate skin. Hearing his heart pound loudly in his ears, the determined father pressed forward before he changed his mind, encasing the baby in his flames. The cries of the petrified infant began to sound more like an agonising screech, haunting Natsu to his very core.

If this didn't work, the pink haired boy didn't know what he was going to do. How much more danger could he put Haru in before it had any serious lasting affects on him or worse, it caused him actual harm?

Lucy was still trying to fight every fibre of her being not to run over there and rescue the little boy. She felt her legs go weak from hearing his desperate pleas for help and trembled from seeing the fear in his bloodshot eyes.

She'd said she trusted Natsu and she did, with absolute certainty, but being witness to him doing this was painful, it was physically hurting her in a way she'd never been hurt before. How much longer could he keep this up? How much more could little Haru take before he wiped himself out?

"Natsu… Please…" She whispered, his ears had picked up her quiet plea, but chose to ignore it for now. They were so close, he wasn't about to give up! She took a step forward, towards the dragon slayer, not willing to watch any more of this, she spoke a little louder this time. "You can stop now, it's too much…"

"Lucy, we can't give up yet, this needs to work!" He said, determined to see this through, determined to make Haru better.

She let hot tears fall freely down her cheeks, as she turned back to the little one who looked just about ready to give up. Enough was enough, she couldn't watch any more of this. With her heart racing and her body quaking, she put one unsteady foot in front of the other and pushed herself as fast as she could to the tree stump, scooping the baby up into her arms and held him to her chest. The fire still present, began to burn her clothing through to her skin, and as much as it hurt, she didn't care. She would take it for the sake of comforting Haru.

Natsu, so focused on the task at hand, had been too slow to react to the flash of blonde hair that'd shot passed him. Lucy had run straight into the fire, his fire and by the time he'd extinguished them, it was too late.

She was on her knees grimacing, trying to remain strong for the teary baby in her hold. Unable to move, Natsu just stared. Stared at the girl who'd grunted out in pain as his flames charred her skin, stared at the baby who was crying in sheer terror from the flames that had engulfed him. Was he wrong to have done that? He'd been so certain it would work and now it'd gone so horribly wrong.

When he reached them both, the overwhelming guilt punched him straight in the gut at the sight of singed skin across her chest, along both arms and up to her chin. The horrific smell of burnt flesh permeated the air and the burns that decorated her tender skin looked incredibly painful and would begin to blister and scar if not treated soon. Haru, however, didn't have a scratch on him, which Natsu was thankful for.

"N-Natsu… I'm s-sorry, I-I just, I couldn't bare…" Her voice wavered through gritted teeth, wincing from the movement of looking up at him. "...I-It hurts so badly…"

"I know it does, Luce, hold on and I'll take you to Wendy." He bent down and ever so carefully picked her up, carrying her trembling body and the little one back to the guild.