Hey, hey, been a while, hasn't it? ;)

Dragons are affectionate creatures

Lucy speed-read through her latest draft, pen thoughtfully tapping against her temple before she sighed in discontent and scrunched up the paper; tossing it in the waste bin behind her and not bothering to check if it had landed in or not as she went to start over. Again.

She couldn't help it, this particular scene had been bugging her for a while now, and the constant jobs and having to worry about her dragons hadn't really allowed her much time to work on her manuscript. Either way, Lucy was suffering from the worst case of writer's block at the moment; one so severe even consulting Levy hadn't been an option because the Solid Script mage herself was stumped on how to continue this particular setup. Maybe she'd just made this impossible, or maybe she was lacking something in her writing, but Lucy just couldn't solve this particular problem.

Sighing, she dropped her pen and leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling. It was already getting dark, and surprisingly enough, neither Happy nor Natsu had shown their faces yet. She'd come home to a quiet place for once. Her bedroom hadn't been invaded, her kitchen hadn't been overthrown and her fridge was still the way she'd left it that morning- or week, actually. Lucy knew he was probably just being careful, especially since he hadn't been showing any symptoms in a while now, and she should be moved by him keeping his impulsive tendencies in check long enough to keep her remotely safe. She should, but in reality, the Celestial Wizard was starting to feel a little lonely.

Happy still came by occasionally, the cursed cat just a bit too attached to her to completely ditch her, (Lucy wouldn't ever tell him, but she still found the gesture sweet) but the only times she'd had any contact with Natsu in the past week was at the guild, and even then it was minimized. Going on jobs was a no-go either, since it definitely wasn't a good idea for him to take the risk while no one knew when his next symptom would hit him, and just what it would be. During the month, Dragon Slayers were unpredictable like that. Laxus, Gajeel and Wendy had been getting hit with their symptoms non-stop during the past week, like they were supposed to, and after a quick call to Sabertooth Yukino had informed them that everything was going fine - or, like it was supposed to - on their end as well. Cobra had been contacted and cleared as well, but only after some string-pulling on Erza's end through Jellal since Kinana refused to check on the Poison Dragon Slayer herself due to a fight.

And with fight, she meant Cobra's refusal to acknowledge just how much Kinana worried for him.

Nobody was too worried though, Cobra was sometimes difficult to deal with, and Kinana could get a little too worrisome at times, but those two always managed to make up in the end. Especially over something as small as this.

(Honestly, most of the time only Kinana shedding a few tears was enough for the poison user to cave, though he didn't like admitting to it.)

The uneventful week should have given Lucy a perfect excuse to work on her novel and finish this damn part, but even that had proved to be a challenge when her head was filled with worry for her Dragon Slayer. The others had told her not to worry, that it wasn't uncommon for dragons to suddenly halt their symptoms mid-month only to come back at the most unexpected, if not random, of times. And usually, the symptom they'd be hit with wasn't even anything that major.

So worrying was entirely unnecessary. It wouldn't do her any good either way - especially considering she'd lost a few nights sleep because of it too - and with a sigh, Lucy picked up her pen once again; twirling it between her fingers once before getting back to work. She brushed the sudden chill off as her leaving the window open, not bothering to get up and check if that was the case, or closing it if she really had left it open. Focusing on finishing this part was a better, more productive way of passing her time, because if she didn't; it'd eventually drive her crazy.

That, or she'd give up on the novel she'd been working so hard on for ages. Both were clearly not an option.

Reading over what she'd written once more, the blonde stiffened at the feeling of a pair of unexpected, yet familiar arms wrapping around her middle, his signature warmth following next as he nuzzled his face into her neck. "Natsu," she murmured, pen still in her hand as she relaxed into his touch. "You know you shouldn't be here." Even if I want you to be.

"I know," he responded, after a slight moment of silence. His grip tightened around her waist, and she almost smiled. Almost. "But I wanted to see you."

Her brows shot up. Well wasn't that a first to come from his mouth.

"Where's Happy?" she asked instead, distrust settling into her stomach as she felt his grin widening against her neck. Her voice dropped down to a warning. "Natsu..."

"I, uh, may have tricked him into going to the guild by telling him Carla was waiting for him?" His voice got a bit higher at the end there, just the slightest hints of his guilt peaking through even when trying his best to conceal it.

She groaned. "At this hour?"

The Dragon Slayer stayed silent, instead choosing to look over her shoulder in curiosity while maintaining his hold on her body. Lucy had the slightest feeling she already knew what his symptom of the day, or, well, night, was. "Whatcha doing there, Luce?"

"Having a mental breakdown," she grumbled, running a hand through her hair in irritation. "You should probably sit down or something, this might take a while."

There it was, that devilish grin again. Lucy was starting to regret her words.

"Okay," with little to no effort on his part, he easily lifted the blonde off her chair and plopped down on it, settling her down in his lap and simultaneously tightening his grip on her while doing so. He looked a little too proud of his actions, practically beaming and Lucy couldn't help but affectionately roll her eyes.

Affection, huh? Made sense. From what she'd heard, dragons could be really affectionate creatures when they put their minds to it. Igneel being one of the best examples. Lucy didn't doubt that some of that kind-heartedness had been passed on to Natsu, though the Dragon month may have enhanced it a bit.

No matter the cause, as long as he stayed docile, she wouldn't be one to judge.

He'd been trying his best to behave, too, keeping as much distance from her as possible solely for her sake and she knew it couldn't have been easy. Lucy remembered a few years back, a little before the truth about her being his mate had come to light, he'd always stick close to her around this time of year. Closer than normal. Uncomfortably so.

He'd never give her a straight answer when asked, and would actually hiss at Happy whenever the blasted cat made another one of his uncalled for comments. He'd always apologize after the month had ended, but it never failed to confuse her each and every time, especially since even Laxus would comment on Happy's teasing and Natsu's reactions from time to time; telling them to be less obvious. And, now that she really thought of it, Wendy would be a lot more outgoing all of a sudden, always going for Lucy whenever she wanted to go somewhere; keeping her away from the fire breather, but not long enough for it to start affecting his behavior.

It wasn't until Gajeel had explained that everything clicked into place.

Lucy's head lolled backwards, dropping back against his hard chest as her eyes drooped and sleep started to kick in. He was so warm...so comfortable... She wouldn't mind staying like this for a while.

"Hey," Natsu nudged her, trying to get her attention by turning his head and lightly bumping his nose against her cheek, his arms squeezing around her waist as an afterthought. "Luce."

Her eyes opened, just barely. "Hmm?"

"When was the last time you slept?"

"Do naps count?"

"...No." He paused. "I think."

She smiled blearingly, sleep obviously getting the better of her. "In that case...two days ago?"

"Go to bed, Weirdo," he ordered, voice sounding a lot less stern than he'd intended it to be. It was more of a murmur, actually, and either the excessive lack sleep had made her delirious enough to turn the tone of his voice into a soft lullaby, or she just had that effect on him.

"No..." she yawned. "I need to finish this first..."

"Come on, Lucy." He got up, taking her with him and the fact that she didn't even put up that much of a fight was enough incentive for him to get her to sleep. "You can finish this tomorrow."

She hummed, her face tucked into his chest as he carried her the rest of the way, his offer simply sounding to good to pass on. He was being so sweet, she was starting to think this might just turn out to be her favorite symptom of the month.

And yet, it would never beat him 'sober'. When the month was over and he was back to his dorky, annoying, yet lovable self. It was how she knew him. It was how she loved him.

She lifted her arms and wound them around his neck, the action alone being a tiresome task but she didn't care. Natsu looked down, finding her staring up at him through exhausted, lidded eyes and he cocked a brow in question.

"You'll stay, right?" she murmured, and he stiffened, suddenly looking all kinds of uncomfortable.

"Listen, Luce, I-"

"You'll be fine." she assured, voice still a bit slurred, yet stern and comforting all the same. "You won't do anything...I'll...kick your butt if you do..."

He smiled down at her, her drowsy chatters simply too adorable. Something he would never admit in fear of getting Lucy Kicked once she was wide awake. "You will?" He humored, smile widening as she nodded.

"Mhmm..."

He chuckled. "Fine then."

"No stealing my blankets."

"Of course not!"

The next morning, Lucy woke up without her blankets. The fabric had been kicked to the ground, yet she was still sweating due to a certain overheated Dragon Slayer having wrapped himself around her body in his sleep. Because apparently, his craving for her affection was present even while sleeping.

He looked so peaceful, she didn't have the heart to disturb him and wake him up. So she did the next best thing.

She scooted closer and went back to sleep.

Short one this time, hope you enjoyed!