Author's Note: Man, I'm so sorry this is so late guys. I'm just going to go ahead and put out a blanket statement that updates might be a little erratic for the next few weeks. Work has been really demanding lately, which has been making writing difficult, PLUS my husband is (finally!) coming home in a couple of weeks, so there's that too. I'll still be aiming to update once a week, just please be patient if I am unable to, and don't send me messages asking me when I will be updating. Messages like that totally kill my drive to write, and besides, I will definitely be posting as soon as I'm done with a chapter.

One Wish

Chapter 38: On the Nature of Fear

"Natsu?" Erza asked as she attempted to get her companion's attention for a third time.

The former dragon slayer grunted distractedly in response. He was standing with his back pressed to the wall of a nondescript building in an attempt to keep out of the worst of the rain. The overhang he had taken refuge under, though, was narrow, so his boots were still getting wet. Staring off into the middle distance with one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, Natsu seemed oblivious of this fact.

The requip mage stepped up next to him, her shoulder brushing his as she too sought shelter from the rain. Erza tugged off the knit-cap she'd donned to keep herself dry, and wrung it out, wishing she had something more water proof in her inventory that wasn't a helmet. Her only warm, nondescript jacket did not include a hood, though, so she'd simply have to make do.

"I got directions to the temple; apparently it's at the city center," the redhead commented to her friend as she pulled the hat back on and made it sure it covered her ears. It had been raining off and on all morning, but there was still a chill in the air that hinted at the possibility of snow "Apparently people don't just worship the king there, it's where he lives too."

This time Erza didn't even get a grunt in reply, and she knew she had lost him again. Rolling her eyes heavenward in exasperation, the woman shifted her weight and hooked her leg behind Natsu's knees, and pushed.

The man toppled with a yelp, throwing his hands out to keep him from going face-first into a puddle.

"What the hell, Erza?" Natsu demanded as he pushed himself quickly to his feet and turned to glare at the woman, then down at the front of his coat. It, his hands, and the knees of his pants were now splattered with mud.

"Welcome back," Erza replied pleasantly, un-phased by the younger mage's irritation "Now, as I was saying, I got directions to the temple, so I think we should go check that out next," she continued as she pushed away from the wall and started walking.

Still grumbling, Natsu dragged his hood down further around his face and glanced around, only just then seeming to register where they were. Then, something else occurred to him.

"Hey, where's Wendy?" he asked with a frown as he paused and searched for a familiar head of blue hair in the crowd.

Erza stopped and looked back at him quizzically before letting out a sigh and saying "Natsu, Wendy left over an hour ago."

"What?" Natsu asked, startled as he glanced back at her.

"I sent her down towards the wharf to check on what sorts of boats have been coming and going the last few days."

The former slayer frowned at this news. He had traveled widely enough by this point in his life to have noticed that the parts of a city around a wharf tended to be the roughest neighborhoods. Sailors came and went constantly, rowdy bunches of of even rowdier men looking for a good time after so long spent at sea. This being the case, the wealthy tended to live as far from these areas as possible, leaving only the very poor and the homeless behind.

"Why didn't you ask me to go?" Natsu demanded unhappily "I'd have done it no problem. A little girl like her is gonna stick out like a sore thumb-" he began, only to be interrupted.

"I did ask you to go, Natsu," Erza cut in sharply, though her expression softened almost immediately at the bewildered look the young man gave her in reply.

To say that he had been out of it all morning was an understatement. Natsu had been ready to go physically when she'd knocked on his door that morning, but it had been clear from the start that his head was still back in the room with Lucy. He'd looked uncharacteristically tired and grim all day, making the redhead wonder if he'd gotten more than a few hours sleep.

"Wendy can take care of herself, Natsu. She's come a long way from that little girl we met a year ago" she said with a soft smile as she placed both her hands on his shoulders and gave him a gentle shake "The one I'm worried about here is you."

Natsu tugged out of Erza's grip and said "I'm fine," then dragged one hand down his face and gave himself a shake. When he looked at her again, he was grinning "So, temple, right?"

"Natsu," Erza said "If you want to go back to the inn and check on Lucy, I'll understand. I can go investigate the temple and then meet you back there. I already told Wendy to rendezvous with us there when she's done."

The man shook his head sharply "No, I'll stay."

"Then I really need you to pay attention," Erza said, voice firm, but not unkind as she met his eyes with hers to press the point home "I need your head in the game, not dwelling on Lucy."

His friend's gentle chastisement made Natsu wince, but he nodded "Yeah, I know," he said, then added, mostly to himself "Luce will be alright..."

"You're right, Lucy will be just fine," Erza agreed with a reassuring smile, which Natsu returned in kind before they both started walking again.

Truth was, Natsu had gotten very little sleep after he'd left the girls' room and returned to his and Lucy's. Wendy's spell had already taken effect by then, sending his girlfriend into a deep, dreamless sleep. So deep, in fact, that at first glance she looked dead.

Though he knew that couldn't possibly be true, it didn't stop Natsu's heart from leaping into his throat, or keep him from running to the bedside and dropping to his knees as breathless panic gave him tunnel vision.

She'd been so very still. Still as death. Her hand in his had been warm and soft, though, and her pulse beat strongly beneath his shaking fingertips when he'd pressed them to her throat.

Sitting back on his heels, the man had forced himself to take a breath to calm down, knowing he was being irrational. Just because they had been talking about the tragic death of Lucy's future self didn't mean that this Lucy, his Lucy, was anything but sleeping peacefully.

After that, he had crawled into bed, and wrapped himself around her. One arm slipped under her pillow and hooked over her chest so his hand rested on her shoulder, and the other went around her waist as he buried his face in her hair and pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck. Happy entered shortly after, but made no comment on this sleeping arrangement as Natsu focused on taking long, slow breaths in time with Lucy's own in hopes of lulling himself to sleep.

Anything to keep himself from dwelling on the nightmare images he kept imagining had filled her dreams.

He had fallen asleep eventually, but it had been a light, restless slumber from which he had woken with a start every time Lucy so much as twitched in his arms. By the time morning rolled around and Erza had summoned him, Natsu felt as though he'd have been better off if he hadn't slept at all.

No wonder Lucy hadn't woken anyone for watch duty the night before.

"This change you and Lucy have gone through," Erza began, startling Natsu from his thoughts once more "I think it's been good for you, Natsu."

"What? How?" he asked skeptically, mouth twisting sourly at the thought. Sure, some good things had happened since he and Lucy had switched magic (their new relationship status, most importantly), but it wasn't as though he'd changed at all...had he?

The requip mage smiled at him and said "Well, for one, you actually have to think before you act now," before the man could make a defensive comment, she pushed on "And you worry about your teammates more. It's...nice."

"You think I didn't care before or something?" Natsu exclaimed, clearly taking offense. He loved his guild family, how could she, of all people, possibly claim otherwise?

"That's not what I mean," Erza reassured him quickly, lifting a hand in a placating gesture.

"Then what do you mean?" her companion groused, glaring at her from under the fur-lined hood of his borrowed coat.

She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again as she gave the subject further thought to save Natsu any further dismay due to her careless words.

"You've always cared Natsu, anyone with eyes can see that plainly," she began "But before you switched magic with Lucy, I believe you had trouble wrapping your mind around the idea that not everyone is quite as durable as you are, or as quick to fight, and why," Erza mused thoughtfully as they walked "I think having Lucy's magic has given you the ability to empathize with others a little better, is all."

Natsu looked at Erza skeptically, but gave the idea some thought.

"So," he began slowly "This worrying...for Lucy and her crazy dreams, for Wendy going off on her own...this is how you guys feel about me all the time?"

Erza laughed and clapped him on the shoulder "Try twenty-four-seven, Natsu."

The former slayer stared at her, then down at his hands, and then back at Erza again before finally saying "Holy shit. That is terrible."

Erza laughed again before saying "You get used to it. It's one of the ways you know you really care about someone. You just can't let it rule you, in the end, or allow it to make you try to control others. Even if you do think you're doing it for their own good."

Natsu mulled this over in silence as they kept walking, and Erza was evidently content to allow him time to digest this new information.

It wasn't as though he'd never worried about people before. Of course he had. He was human, and they were his family, it was only natural. It just seemed like it took much more dire circumstances to elicit the same reaction. After Lucy's nightmares last night he probably would have been concerned, but Wendy? Petite or not, the girl was still a dragon slayer. Even stuck in a strange country as they were, he didn't doubt her ability to take care of herself once he took a moment to think about it objectively.

Even knowing this, though, he felt worried anyways, and that was new. Once upon a time he wouldn't have batted an eye at sending the youngest member of their team off into a crime ridden part of town by herself because she was a dragon slayer, and could take care of herself. The fact that, statistically speaking, a fourteen year old girl was much more likely to be attacked in a rough neighborhood than a grown man kept gnawing at the back of his mind. Wendy was strong, really strong, but it only took a moment's distraction to sneak up behind a person and knock them out...

Good gods, was this how Lucy felt every time he rushed into a fight? No wonder she cried at him so much once the dust had settled and he had managed to scrape through in one piece yet again.

Now that he was actively considering the matter, the source of all this worry finally settled in. It was like Erza said, perhaps he had never fully understood just how fragile the people he loved really were. He had Lucy's magic now, and if he felt this vulnerable using power that belonged to one of the strongest people he knew...well, maybe he'd never quite given his friends enough credit for the bravery it took them to fight at his side.

Especially people like Lucy and Wendy. They were strong, yes, but neither of them enjoyed fighting, or relished pitting their strength and skill against an opponent the way Gray, Gajeel, and Erza did. And yet, they were always there for him and the others, fighting just as hard to protect everything they loved with everyone else.

Natsu took a deep breath, and forced hands that had unconsciously tightened into fists to relax before shoving them back in his pockets. This shift in his perception of the world was hard to wrap his mind around, but what Erza said was true; he couldn't allow it to rule him. Gildarts may have taught him the meaning of fear back on Tenrou Island, but losing his magic was teaching him of it's myriad forms.

When the pair turned onto one of the city's main thoroughfares from a side street, they paused and stared at what lay before them., all conversation between them forgotten.

The shining temple of Starholm was hard to look at, even in the muted light afforded by a rainy day. If anything, the water that clung to it's shining peaks and walls only made it glow all the brighter.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Natsu demanded after a moment spent in silence. He wasn't normally the sort to put a lot of thought into a place's architecture, but even he felt that the temple was a here-to-fore unknown level of gaudy "What sort of stupid-"

Erza clapped a hand over his mouth, ending the former slayer's tirade before he could get properly started. As it was, they were already getting looks from passersby.

"Natsu," the redhead said quietly for his ears alone "Do I really need to tell you to not trash talk people's religious monuments?"

The man growled quietly, then huffed against her hand as he raised his own in surrender. Only then did Erza release him and start walking again.

"Good. Now we're going to go in there and have a look around, so keep your mouth shut and your eyes open, and do what everyone else does."

"Yeah yeah," the man grumbled as he followed after her, shoving his hands deeper yet into his pockets and tried his hardest not to glare up at the temple as it loomed over them. For some reason, just looking at it set his teeth on edge.

The pair joined a crowd of people gathered at the entrance waiting for their turn to enter. Natsu turned his attention from the temple itself, then, and began looking at the people themselves. Most of them just seemed like...normal people going about a task that they did every day. Others, however, looked star-struck, as though this were a moment they had been waiting for their entire lives. These people spoke to one another in excited whispers as they craned this way and that to see how far they were from the entrance.

Natsu glanced at Erza and saw that she was making the same observation. He went to comment, but the slightest shake of her head silenced him once more.

"Later," she said quietly as they passed beneath one of the vast arches and finally entered the temple proper.

He wasn't sure what he had been expecting on the interior of such a peculiar building, but it certainly hadn't been what he found. In retrospect, though, he wasn't sure why. If you'd already gone through the trouble of building a temple of crystal, why not make the interior of the same? Might as well go all out at that point, even if the results were disorienting.

It wasn't easily apparent if the entire building had been grown with a hollow center and vaulted ceilings that rivaled those of Kardia Cathedral, or if it had once been solid and then hollowed out by a particularly industrious (or mad) mason at a later date, but the results were beautiful either way.

The ceilings, walls, and floor were all the same pure crystal, all sharp angles seemingly made with the intent of refracting light in the most dizzying way possible. Even the raised dais and few pieces of furniture were made of crystal, looking as though they had grown straight from the floor. There was a broad table in the center of the dais, which Natsu assumed was an altar of some sort, and long, narrow shelves along the walls, which supported a multitude of candles. They glittered brightly and gave the crystal a golden hue wherever their light touched, though the rest of the building had an almost silvery sheen, no doubt thanks to the cloudy sky above.

Natsu was forced to tear his eyes from his surroundings when he nearly stumbled over Erza in front of him. All around them, people were kneeling on the brilliant floor, heads bowed in prayer or pressed to the ground in supplication. He followed the redhead's example and joined her in kneeling with the others. Rather than offering up a prayer, though, the man took the opportunity to further study their surroundings.

While the auditorium was huge, Natsu could tell that it did not take up the entirety of the main crystal tower. No doubt there were other rooms attached, but with all the sharp edges and strangely refracted light, it was impossible to tell where any doors other than the main ones behind them might be. He rather had the feeling that he'd have to run his hands along to the wall to even find one.

Curious, the former slayer glanced down at the cool floor beneath his muddy knees and noted that it was just as bright as the rest of the building. Surely, if it had been built directly on the earth, it wouldn't be so bright? No doubt that meant that the tower extended some ways below street level.

Erza tapped his leg with a finger to get his attention, making him look up. The redhead nodded meaningfully towards the dais, so he turned his gaze in the same direction, though he wasn't quite sure what he was meant to be looking at. It took a moment's careful study, but when he saw it, his eyes went wide.

On a recessed shelf built into the wall behind the cathedral's altar, sat two wishing stars.

Natsu went rigid, and without thinking, he made to move, only to be stopped by Erza's hand on his arm. She shook her head again, and at the mutinous look on his face, silently mouthed 'Look closer.'

Still feeling as though he might jump right out of his skin, Natsu turned his attention back to the stars. They were the same shape and size as the one he and Lucy had found, with the same dangerously sharp edges and dagger-like points. However, after a moment's further study, he noticed the difference that Erza had already seen.

They were completely dark.

Oh they still glittered in the light of the candles that surrounded them, but unlike he and Lucy's star, these held no inner glow that hinted at the power it held. There was nothing left, the wishes had all been granted.

Erza released her grip on Natsu's arm when she felt him relax as he realized that the stars were empty, and therefore worthless to them. They sat there for a while longer, until they felt they had seen all it was possible to see without being allowed to get up and investigate things more closely (the rather stern looking guards stationed at intervals around the sanctuary put an end to that idea). Just as they got to their feet to leave, though, a sudden stir among those surrounding them, followed by the brassy cry of a herald's trumpet, stopped them in their tracks.

All around them, people dropped to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the floor. Natsu hesitated until Erza dragged him down into a similar position. The sound seemed to emanate from somewhere behind the alter, but by the time Natsu was able to subtly turn his head to look from under the cowl of his hood, the procession was already making its way down the center aisle.

The sound of quiet prayers filled the air of the cathedral while the pair of mages watched the God King of Telmare stride past. They barely caught a glimpse of him, though, thanks to the canopy carried by his attendants that shrouded him from sight.

Natsu had to fight hard to keep from leaping up to attack Edmund in that moment. It would be so easy, and solve so many problems…

He didn't, though. Instead, the former slayer grit his teeth against a snarl and lowered his eyes to help resist the temptation. Watching the man that he had no doubt had sent assassins after Lucy was more than he could stand to do. So he kneeled there, staring at his white knuckled fists as fine tremors of rage that other worshipers no doubt took for awe shook his frame.

Quiet fell again as the trumpets died away and the procession left the temple proper. He and Erza leaped immediately to their feet and made for the door, shoving through the crowd at a merciless pace. They were brought up short by several guards at the entrance, though, who were apparently quite keen to keep a mob of worshipers from chasing after their living deity.

"Out of the way," Natsu snarled. He took a sharp step back when one of the guards leveled a sword at his throat, though, nearly bumping into Erza.

"All civilians are to stay in place until we say otherwise," the guard said flatly, clearly unimpressed by Natsu's bared teeth.

"You-" the former slayer began, his hand automatically going for the hilt of his own sword where it rested at his hip.

Erza stopped him mid-gesture, though, and smiled winningly at the frowning guard as she said "Yes, of course. Forgive my little brother, he was just so excited to have the honor of seeing the King."

Natsu glowered at the woman, but she only dragged him back from the guards before shooting him a quelling look.

"What are you going to do, fight your way out, Natsu? Don't be absurd, we can't afford that kind of attention right now."

"I know," the man spat furiously, fuming silently as their quarry got away.

A few minute later, the guards released everyone and the crowd dispersed. Erza and Natsu were two of the first out the door, but it was already too late. The king and his entourage were nowhere to be seen.

The requip mage sighed, and Natsu cursed as he realized that with Wendy down at the wharf, they had lost the ability to track him down now that Edmund was out of sight.

Much like Natsu, Wendy had, by this time, traveled widely enough to know that the docks of port towns tended to be the rough neighborhoods. Such being the case, she had been surprised when Erza had asked her to venture into such a place alone.

It had only taken a glance at Natsu's distracted countenance to see why, though.

"Now, if you run into any trouble, just run, do not engage," the older woman had warned the sky dragon slayer.

Though she had tried to hide her annoyance, Wendy couldn't prevent her lips from pulling into a frown as she said with more bitterness than she cared to admit "I can take care of myself, Erza."

"I know," the requip mage had told the girl, her sincere tone making the bluenette glance up at her in surprise "I don't doubt that for a moment," Erza continued as she placed a hand on Wendy's shoulder and squeezed it gently "but we're here undercover, and we can't afford the attention the sudden appearance of a dragon slayer in the capital would attract."

Wendy had relaxed then, put at ease when she realized that Erza was not, in fact, babying her.

"Right, incognito, I've got this!" she'd said. Erza had given her shoulder one final squeeze, and then sent her on her way.

And now she was walking towards the sea, the street sloping gradually downwards through neighborhoods that were less and less grand the further she went. To her distinct surprise, though, by the time she had reached the docks Wendy had yet to come across the sort of abject poverty she was accustomed to seeing in other seaside cities.

Oh the houses were not fine here by any stretch of the imagination, but they were clean, and well kept, with everything in good working order. The people that came and went on the streets were much the same. There was no finery about them, but they seemed happy to go about their business.

She didn't even see any beggars.

If Wendy hadn't found herself at the pier a moment later, the sound of the lapping waves filling her ears, and the scent of brine in her nose, she would have thought she had taken a wrong turn somewhere and wound up in the wrong part of town.

The petite bluenette frowned thoughtfully to herself for a moment as she stared out at the multitude of ships moored in the harbor for a long minute before turning to glance back at the city behind her.

From here, Starholm was vast and sprawling as it filled the bowl formed by the surrounding mountains and lapped at the foothills. In the distant city center, she could see a tall, glittering spire she assumed was the temple Erza had intended to investigate.

Even in the rain, it was beautiful.

It wasn't an unusual capital layout, but it did have it's eccentricities. It was very clean for such a large and populous city, for one thing. There was no trash littering the streets, and they had passed more than one well maintained public park. Not a single beggar in sight, and the poor district wasn't where one would normally find it...

Wendy shook herself and turned her attention back to the task at hand. Erza wanted her to see what kind of ships were coming and going, though why, she had not specified.

She briefly considered asking one of the many people she saw walking up and down the piers, but they all seemed very busy, and unlikely to stop and answer the questions of a small, nosy girl.

At a loss for what else to do, the sky dragon slayer decided to keep walking on the off chance that she might overhear something of interest, or see someone that might actually give her an answer.

A few minutes later, as she neared the mid point of the docks, Wendy saw a small, squat building with the city crest painted in bold, blue paint on the door, and made a bee-line for it. When she reached it, she saw a small sign over the sliding window next to the door that said 'Harbormaster'. A man stood at the open window, an unhappy expression on his haggard, bearded face as he rummaged through a stack of paperwork.

Gathering her courage, Wendy stepped up to the window and said "Um, excuse me?"

Glancing up in surprise, the old man blinked when he did not immediately see someone at the window. When he looked down and saw her, his brow furrowed "What? What do you want? I'm very busy, I've no time for nosy brats."

"I'm sorry, I'll be quick," Wendy said as she stared up at him with wide brown eyes that apparently put the man off of whatever tirade he'd been about to unleash long enough for her to continue "Do you have a list of ship arrivals and departures for the last few days?"

"What? What does a little girl like you want with a thing like that?" he asked, face puzzled, and then annoyed "Begone, I've more important things to do than entertain you!"

He was just about to slam his window shut, when Wendy reached out to stop him, crying "Wait!"

Her hand on the sill was enough to stop the man for the moment, which was lucky for her fingers, and bought her a scant few seconds to come up with an excuse.

Goodness, what was she supposed to say that would convince him to give her that sort of information? What possible need could a girl her age have for a ship list that wouldn't immediately make the man suspicious?

"I-um," she said, flustered as he glared at her, before a light went on in her head "It's my father, sir!"

"Do I know 'im?" the harbormaster asked with a frown.

"I don't know, it's just," here, Wendy willed her eyes to tear up, and blessed her lucky stars when they cooperated on command. Who knew being a former crybaby would come in handy some day?

"It's his ship, he hasn't come home yet and my mother sent me to see if his ship had come returned or had been lost..."

Wendy sniffled and wiped furiously at her eyes, as though annoyed at herself for crying before turning her teary gaze up to the old man, who now looked distinctly uncomfortable at her emotional display.

"Sometimes...sometimes he doesn't come home for days, you see. Mama gets so worried and-"

"Yeah, here, look, just-just take it," the old man said, hurriedly shoving a list through the window at her so quickly she had to fumble to catch the slip of paper before it was snatched away by a stray breeze.

Just before he snapped the window shut in her face, the man paused, and said "Best hope he's already ashore in any case. There'll be no ships coming or going from the port for the next week by order of the king."

Before Wendy could even open her mouth to reply, the harbormaster shut the window and closed the blinds.

"Well, I never," she muttered to herself as she wiped the alligator tears from her eyes and walked back the way she had come.

Looking at the neatly printed list she had been given, Wendy saw that there was, indeed, a note at the top detailing that not only was the port closed for the next week, but had already been closed for the last few days.

Perhaps the leviathan had done them a favor after all.

"I'm gonna fucking kill him," Natsu snarled.

"You'll do no such thing," Erza said, tone calm, though her voice was oddly tight as she seated herself on the edge of the bed and turned her stern gaze to Lily, who sat beside her "Now, what precisely did Gajeel say that he and Lucy were going to go do?"

The black exceed looked distinctly uncomfortable under the weight of the requip mage's disapproval, and Happy was occupied fluttering this way and that after Natsu as the man paced irritably around the room, leaving only Carla fit to answer.

"He didn't," the white exceed said with a shrug "Just that they were going out to have a look around and would be back later."

"I can't believe that moron! Gods-dammned bolts-for-brains rust bucket-" Natsu bellowed furiously as he tugged fruitlessly at his hair.

Erza grabbed up a pillow and threw it at the man, temporarily muffling his outrage "I can see Gajeel getting restless and going out on his own, but I'm surprised that he went so far as to take Lucy with him," she remarked quietly with a frown.

"To be fair, I don't think she would have let him leave without her regardless," Lily said in hopes of defending his partner from their friends' wrath.

Natsu tossed aside the pillow that had hit him full in the face and opened his mouth to shout again, when Happy said "She seemed a lot better. I think she just would have gone crazy sitting here all day and would have gone out anyways. Isn't it better that they went together?"

The former slayer rounded on his partner angrily, but felt his temper die out at the hopeful look in the exceed's eyes. Suddenly feeling tired, Natsu dragged a hand down his face before asking quietly "...she really seemed better?"

Happy nodded emphatically and smiled "Lots!" he said, then paused and added "Although...she was pretty annoyed with you guys for leaving her behind."

Natsu winced, but decided he could handle his girlfriend's wrath if it meant she was really feeling better "Fair enough," he said "I'd be pissed in her place too," he continued before turning to Erza and asking "So what now?"

The redhead gave him a rueful smile and said "We wait."

Natsu groaned and dropped face first onto the bed where he thrashed ineffectually for a moment before saying "I hate waiting."

Happy chuckled as he landed beside him and gave his friend a commiserating pat on the head.

Natsu must have fallen asleep at some point, as he woke with a start some time later to find that it was dark outside the window, and it was raining harder than ever.

Looking around the room blearily, the man blinked when he registered that Wendy had arrived at some point, and was seated by Erza on the other side of the room, holding a quiet discussion. They must have pulled a chair in from one of the other rooms to accommodate both of them as they leaned against the writing table, a plate of sandwiches between them. Carla sat in Wendy's lap with a cup of tea, while Lily finished off a sandwich as he perched on Erza's knee. Happy was sprawled on the desk, seemingly contemplating the prospect of another sandwich himself.

Stomach growling, Natsu pushed himself upright and winced as his hip gave a pang, and the man realized he had fallen asleep on his sword.

"Finally awake?" Erza asked with some amusement as she glanced up and saw him moving at last.

Natsu grunted as he took a moment to get his bearings, then rolled off the bed and crossed the room towards them.

"Wanna sandwich?" Happy asked brightly as he waved one at his friend.

The man grunted again and took the offered food. He scarfed it down in a moment, then took a second and finished it off just as quickly.

"Have you heard of chewing?" Carla drawled as Wendy muffled a laugh and Erza shook her head.

"Hungry," Natsu grumbled as he reached for a third sandwich. He was halfway through it when the door to their room opened with a bang, making them all jump, and Natsu choke on his mouthful.

Erza had a sword in hand before they even saw the intruder, but she banished it just as quickly when she realized that it was Gray, followed by Juvia, that had made such a startling entrance.

"Gray! What's going on?" the redhead demanded as she shut the door sharply behind them, and Happy pounded Natsu on the back to help his food go down.

"You trying to kill someone, you ass?" he demanded when his airway was clear.

"We have a problem," the ice mage responded flatly, clearly in no mood to get into a spat with Natsu, which brought the former slayer up short.

"A guest as well," Juvia added as she hurried over to the window and pushed it open.

Before any of them could ask the water mage what she was doing, she was leaning halfway out the window, reaching for something unseen in the dark.

There was the sound of a scuffle outside, as well as some muffled swearing as she, with Gray's help, hauled a body in through the window.

The limp, battered figure nearly slipped from their hands and onto the floor as they pulled it through.

"Careful!"

The familiar voice immediately took Natsu's attention from the body and back to the window just in time to see his girlfriend scramble through, followed by Gajeel.

"Lucy! The hell is going on?" he demanded as he hurried to her side and gave her his hand when she nearly slipped in the quickly accumulating water pouring in from outside.

"Well-" she began, smiling but seemingly at a loss as she gripped his hand tightly and righted herself.

Without thinking, Natsu dragged her in and hugged her so tightly she squeaked "Why'd you leave? You should have stayed here and rested," he insisted and pressed a kiss to her temple.

Scowling now, Lucy pushed just far enough back that she could glare at him "Oh don't start with that, you! We will be having a talk about you just deciding what I'm going to be doing without even bothering to ask how I feel on the matter," she said, narrowing her eyes ominously.

Before Natsu could argue, Gajeel interrupted irritably "Will you two save your goddamn lovers quarrel for later, we've kind of got more important shit to be talking about right now."

"Yes, like why it is you appear to have just dragged an unconscious prince in through the window," Erza said in a tone that was ominously bland "One might wonder where where you found him."

Eyes wide with surprise, Natsu looked at the person his girlfriend and Gajeel had brought back with them, and realized that it was, indeed, Johnathan Hawkes.

When he turned his baffled gaze on the woman in his arms, she gave him a weak smile and said "Er, can we keep him?"

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Make sure to drop a review if you enjoyed! They're like, the only thing keeping me going writing-wise right now.

Natsu's sort of introspection on the nature of his fear for others was probably one of the harder scenes I've had to write so far. Finding the right words to describe how his outlook had changed since the beginning of the fic was pretty hard.