Everyone was up before sunrise and as soon as breakfast was over, they continued on their way to Clover Town.

The moment Lucy and Natsu spotted each other from across that morning, neither one could suppress the smile curving their lips into warm smiles and for Lucy, the red hue in her cheeks only multiplied when Natsu caught her eyes with his, giving her wink as he slung his pack over his shoulder.

The mission however, proved to be more difficult than previously anticipated and it wasn't long before the group found themselves in the midst of an ambush.

It didn't take them long to realize that the group of bandits were no ordinary pack of thugs; they had skill and an obvious strategy in mind when they managed to separate the wizards from each other and in a relatively short amount of time.

Things turned for the worst when Lucy was caught in the crossfires of Erza's battle with the leader, and taken hostage.

The blonde cursed herself for not being more vigilant and she struggled and fought against her captor with every ounce of strength.

It was no use however; once he had his arm locked around her neck, squeezing the life out of her, the Celestial Mage had no choice in giving up the fight as her vision blurred to nothing but blackness.

…the last thing she remembered was onyx eyes burning with fury and a vicious cry of rage, just before she succumbed to the darkness and blissfully passed out.

When she came to, her honey brown eyes widened in horror. There was so much destruction; smoldering earth, and trees turned to nothing more than piles of ash.

Before she could question what had happened, her eyes fell upon the bodies of their assailants, strewn about the dirt and rubble, each one covered with a tarp. She watched in stunned silence as Erza and Gajeel draped a tarp over the last of the bodies and she felt an icy shiver rip through her when her eyes caught the charred flesh of what was left of a hand, just before it disappeared beneath the tarp.

In the midst of all this, stood Natsu; smoke billowing around his imposing form and soot covering his face, neck, arms and hands. There was blood that trickled down the side of his face from a cut above his eye but the Pyro didn't seem to take notice of it as he slowly made his way towards Lucy and gently scooped her up from the ground and into his arms.

Not a word was spoken as they made their way back to the station—Erza had already met with Clover Town officials, informing them that their mission had been a success and with the help of Levy and Gajeel, they were able to discover the remaining kidnap victims and return them to their families.

Natsu had insisted on getting Lucy back home as quickly as possible and so, he'd left the logistics of the mission to his teammates without any protest whatsoever.

When they reached the station, Natsu gently set Lucy down on a bench and draped his vest around her shoulders while he headed to the desk to fetch their tickets.

It wasn't long before the train pulled into the station and Natsu returned, scooping her up in his arms again to carry her onto the train.

When she questioned about the others, he simply told her that Erza was taking care of things and would be sure to catch up.

That was the end of their conversation and the rest of the ride home was quiet.

She hadn't been ignorant of what happened; she knew from the evidence she had seen that the pack of Bandits had been slaughtered and even though a dangerous threat had been eliminated, she couldn't help the chill slicing through her body when she remembered the charred remains of that one body.

Clearly, the poor bastard had been burned to death and the Celestial Mage knew of only one person who was capable of the use of fire.

Honey brown eyes flickered to the man sitting across from her—slumped in his seat with elbows resting on his knees and his head bowed.

Poor Natsu.

When they arrived back in Magnolia, Natsu slung both his and Lucy's packs over her shoulders and silently offered her his hand.

She took it willingly, but said nothing as the Pyro quietly lead her through the streets towards the Guild.

He delivered her to the infirmary, insisting she get herself checked out, and left to give Gramps the official report.

Once Lucy was discharged, she waited around for Natsu for over an hour.

…but the pinkette never showed.

Dejected and disappointed, the blonde slowly trudged back to her apartment, peeled of her sooted, dirty clothes and fell into bed.

Three days passed and there was no sight of her rosy-haired best friend.

Erza and the others had returned by then and when they stopped by her place to check in on her, she discovered that they hadn't seen anything of Natsu since he and Lucy had left Clover Town.

Now her disappointment turned to worry.

She searched anxiously for him, asking around the Guild and even inquiring in town if anyone had seen or heard from him.

But there was nothing.

On the fourth day, Lucy stumbled into her shower that morning, turned on the hot water and cried bitterly as the shower beat down on her tired, aching body.

She felt sick.

She was so worried about Natsu, she was almost terrified and the tears kept coming as every worst case scenario flashed across her mind.

Her legs gave out and she was just about to slump to the tiled floor when the glass door to the shower stall suddenly flew open and a strong arm grabbed her waist from behind.

She let out a yelp of surprise but then honey eyes widened when she came face-to-face with onyx eyes and rose colored hair now dripping wet from the shower.

Natsu.

"Natsu?" She was gasping for air; thrilled and terrified at finding him standing in her shower.

"I…"

"Natsu…" Her hands cupped his face and her eyes watered with fresh tears. "Gods, Natsu where have you been?! You've been gone for four fucking days! What the hell, Natsu?"

His face contorted into a look of pain and desperation and his hands shook as he held her by the waist.

"I just…I needed some time. I didn't think…after what happened, I—"

Finally his dark eyes met hers. "I didn't think you'd want to see me."

Lucy's eyes widened as she looked up at him but there was a part of her that understood.

…Natsu had probably never killed anyone in his life and if he had, it was because he'd had no choice.

But this….this was different. He'd lost all control, blinded by his rage and pure instinct had taken over.

"Natsu…there is nothing that could make me not want to see you." She soothed, her thumbs smoothing over his cheekbones as she spoke to him.

Natsu looked up at her, surprise evident in his bottomless orbs. "But I—I mean you saw what happened; I lost it and I—"

But the blonde shook her head. "You did…what you felt you had to do. You were scared because they had me. Natsu, you were protecting me."

Hot water poured down on the couple, drenching the man's scant clothing and soaking his bronzed skin as he gazed down at the woman in his arms—but he didn't care.

"Luce, I'm so sorry, I—I'm sorry—"But his words were cut off when pink lips pressed reassuringly against his.

The fire Dragon Slayer froze for an instant until the feeling of slender arms snaking around his neck, suddenly jerked him out of his stupor.

Here was Lucy, naked and drenched from head to toe from the shower's downpour, holding him in her arms and kissing him as she whispered fervently to him.

He must have been out of his mind not to notice the way her soft, voluptuous curves fit against him or the way she'd sighed blissfully when his hands slipped around her waist.

A soft moan escaped the Celestial beauty, vibrating against his lips and the Pyro inhaled sharply as fiery heat licked across the surface of his body.

He pulled back just enough to look in her eyes—their honey depth swirled with desire and longing, causing the Pyro's body to ache with need.

"Gods, Lucy—I needed you. So bad." He crushed his mouth to hers again, kissing her hard enough so her lips would bruise.

He needed her physically aching from his touch—wrapped around his body and drenched in his scent.

"N-Naruto please…please don't ever leave again; not unless you t-tell me—"

He silenced her with another heated kiss, shaking his head fervently. "No. No I won't. Not ever, trust me." He pulled her body flush against him, relishing her wet skin pressed so snuggly against his.

Eager fingers tugged at his vest, pushing it off his shoulders before nails scraped deliciously up his back and along his shoulders.

Lucy moaned into his mouth, loving the feeling of his muscles, tensing and flexing beneath her fingertips as she explored him.

Gods, how she had longed for this—this exact moment of having him in her shower, solid muscles dripping wet and all of him at her mercy.

"Oh Natsu!" She gasped as his hands clawed up her back, fingers splaying between her shoulder blades as he pressed her against him.

"You know—I've a-always—wanted you—just like this." She admitted feverishly between kisses.

"Oh yeah?" he murmured huskily against her lips.

"Why's that?"

His mouth nipped at the sensitive skin of her throat, causing the beautiful blonde to shiver in his arms.

"I just—well I—"suddenly, Lucy felt incredibly embarrassed and couldn't find the words.

"Luce?" He whispered expectantly.

Catching her lower lip between her teeth, Lucy buried her face in his chest, her body trembling.

"I—there's something you don't know, Natsu."

When she didn't elaborate, he pulled back, gazing down into her eyes.

She was gnawing on her lower lip, an anxious tick of hers when she was nervous.

"Lucy. Look at me. What is it that you're so scared of?" He tilted her chin up to meet his black eyes.

She was trembling and her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

He caressed her cheek, his eyes never leaving hers. "Luce…"

"I-I'm in love with you…Natsu."

A gasp of surprise and black eyes widened in shock.

"I've been—in love with you since two years ago. M-maybe even longer than that, I—I don't really know when it even started but I—I've loved you for so long but I've been so terrified of telling you; I didn't ever think you'd u-understand! And then when Lisanna came back, the way she acted around you was just—and I thought—"

Black eyes smoldered, boring into her honey orbs, words freezing on the tip of her tongue.

"Lucy Heartfilia…" he breathed, his black eyes shining with tears of joy. "I have loved you…from the moment I first clapped eyes on you."

Honey brown eyes widened in shock as tears spilled over, cascading down her cheeks and mixing with water.

"You…you've…loved me…?"

Natsu chuckled in amazement, taking her face in his hands and bringing his mouth just barely an inch away from hers. "You…really are….the most incredibly stupid woman…I've ever known." And with that, His mouth captured hers, kissing her thoroughly and stealing her breath away with the sensuous caress of his tongue against hers.

Tears spilled from his eyes but he smiled against her mouth, locking his arms around her as tightly as he dared.

Mine.

The End.