Chapter 23

Natsu Dragneel was one of the most straightforward people Lucy knew. With his bluntness, he would say something without thinking twice and somehow end up upsetting or irking people. But underneath it all, Natsu was kind-hearted and trustworthy. Everyone could attest to that.

Furthermore, the amount of knowledge Lucy had about the fire dragon slayer, she doubted anyone knew him better than she did. She could easily see through his façade and knew when the guy was up to no good, like when the idiot had added Tabasco Powder on Gray's snow cones. Or when he and Happy had gone through her unfinished novel in her absence even when she had clearly warned them to stay away from her personal stuffs.

Lucy could read the guy like he was an open book and Natsu have mentioned to her how scary that was. Sometimes, she was too observant for her own good. Not that she was complaining.

That being said, Lucy knew her best friend was hiding something from her. In her opinion, the way he, along with the rest, tensed seeing Sting was a dead giveaway. She just couldn't pin-point an exact reason for his odd behavior. What's more, right after Sting had arrived, Natsu had dragged the guy out the door before Lucy could get a word out of her.

"I'm borrowing him for a while. We'll be right back!" The salmon-haired idiot had said, rushing out, pulling a protesting Sting along. Not a minute after, Laxus calmly headed towards the door with a quick 'be right back', no doubt following the other two slayers. Dumbfounded, Lucy listened as Sting's yells echoed throughout the hallway slowly fading into the distance.

A grunt followed by the call of her name pulled Lucy out of her reverie. "What was that all about?" She asked the group.

After a short stretch of silence, Gray shrugged. "Maybe Flamebrain wants to fight with Sting for not looking after you properly." He said nonchalantly. "You know how he is!"

Clearly, they didn't think she was that dumb to buy that lame excuse. Did they?

Although...Lucy had to agree. Natsu's over-protectiveness knew no bounds. Especially, when it came to her.

At that thought, a smile graced her lips. That idiot! Sure, it would annoy her sometimes, particularly when they were on a mission and Natsu simply refused to leave her side. But Lucy knew it wasn't because he thought she was weak. No. It was because protecting his friends and family was like second nature to Natsu. So unquestionably, Lucy trusted him and could never hold a grudge against her best friend.

And just like that, she knew Natsu wouldn't harm the younger blonde slayer and Sting would be alright.

Nevertheless, Lucy thought that didn't explain Laxus' involvement. The lightning dragon slayer had walked out the door like a man on a mission. Clearly, Laxus had changed for better after the whole Fantasia incident. So it wasn't much of news that the man did care for his guild members.

But to think Laxus had volunteered to look after her when she was unconscious. Lucy could feel her face heating up. Wait! Why was she blushing? Sure, it came as a surprise that Laxus seemed protective of her as well. But that was a good thing, right? After all, they were family. So then why did her whole body feel warm just by the thought of it?

With a low groan, Lucy decided to drop the matter for now. She realized she had been doing that a lot lately. Maybe she was growing old, huh! Giggling to herself, Lucy joined in on the conversation going on among her team mates.

As Natsu dragged the squirming, protesting dragon slayer down the stairs, he had only one thing in his mind. Make sure Sting didn't cause any more trouble or worse, deteriorate Lucy's condition. He couldn't bear to see his best friend suffering anymore because of the younger slayer's selfishness and stupidity.

The fire dragon slayer took note of the eerie silence inside the guild and all the members watching them as he strode towards the guild backyard. He felt the familiar presence of Rogue, who had been waiting in the hall, as the shadow dragon slayer approached them, falling into steps with Laxus who had been right behind, following them.

From the peripheral of his eyes, Natsu noticed Laxus sending a harsh glare towards the other members, wordlessly ordering them to stay put. No one would dare follow them if they didn't wish to be on the receiving end of a dragon slayer's wrath, an emotionally wrecked one at that.

Once outside, Rogue watched quietly as Natsu swung his partner around with much ease, making Sting come to a stop facing the trio. "What the hell!" Sting yelled in rage, nearly losing his balance and falling to the ground.

"Listen here, Sting!" The fire dragon slayer started only to be interrupted.

"What! Is this the part where you threaten to kill me again?" Sting cut in with a smirk.

Rogue had the sudden urge to smack some senses into Sting's thick skull. Though he knew it wouldn't work. The idiot was fueling the anger of the two furious dragon slayers more. If he kept riling them up, Rogue was sure Sting would never see another day.

"You can't do anything about it. Lucy asked for me." Sting's gaze then shifted towards the lightning dragon slayer who had dangerous sparks emitting from his body. "She wants me." He mocked yet again.

Nose flaring in pure anger, Natsu's eyes turned into slits as both his fists flamed up. Rogue knew the man's patience was barely hanging by the thread. And the audacity of his stupid partner was making things worse.

"Because of you, Lucy is in this condition." Stressing every word syllable by syllable, Natsu took a step towards Sting. "Because of you, she's hurt." Another step forward. "I'm barely holding back from wiping that smug look off your face. Don't tempt me!" The flames surged wildly, engulfing the fire dragon slayer whole. By then, Rogue was seriously scared for his friend's life.

"You might think you have won, but you and I both know that's far from true." Natsu snarled out. "So let me tell you something right now. You make one wrong move, one mistake to hurt Lucy in any way and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends, right then and there." There was a pause as the fire dragon slayer came to a stop infront of the slightly quivering Sting. "Permanently." He ended the threat with a frightening growl.

Sensitive ears caught onto the sound of crackle beside him and Rogue shifted his attention towards the source of the noise. The aura in the whole area was pulsating with pure, unadulterated magical pressure, so thick Rogue was sure he could slice it with a knife. As the uncontrollable sparks thrashed around the tall man making the hair on the arms stand, the shadow dragon slayer noticed Natsu stepping aside making way for the lightning dragon slayer as he started walking onward with intimidating steps leaving trials of scorch marks on the ground in his wake.

"I'm going to be inescapably clear." Laxus, with his domineering voice and terrifying stature, stood a good head taller than Sting. "Lucy is mine and off limits to you. If you so much as take advantage of the situation we're in right now and try to take Lucy away from me, I will rip your legs off first!" Rogue gulped as the chilling promise reached his ears, truly scared for his friend, witnessing the older slayer baring his sharp teeth. "There is more than one way to destroy someone and I know them all. If you even dare do anything to worsen Lucy's condition, the person standing infront of you will no longer exist and you will come to regret for unleashing a monster. I will not hesitate. I will not ponder upon my decision. I do not make idle threats. I will make sure you do not walk out of this building alive. Do we understand each other?"

Rogue was amazed by Natsu and Laxus' endurance. He thought they would've maimed him by now. But neither had even harmed a single hair on the younger slayer's head. However, their self-control was quickly waning. It was evident on their faces. Just as Natsu had promised, one wrong word and Sting's fate would be carved in stone. One wrong move and the white dragon slayer would be six feet under.

Despite the situation, he noticed Sting trying to come up with a retort and groaned in annoyance. Having had enough, Rogue finally spoke. "Sting, this is Lucy's well-being we're talking about. Stop being selfish for once and think about her. Don't make things worse for her or us. If you truly love her, you'll let her make her own decisions."

His partner stared at him in utter surprise and hurt. Rogue knew his final statement was a low blow but it was needed. As he watched Sting slowly lower his head deep in thoughts, he hoped Sting would consider his words and do the right thing for once.

A/N: Was this okay? Is it going slow? Do let me know...

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

~Mrs Dreyar