Unaware Courting

A cry of frustration from Natsu has Lucy snap her head around to search for him beyond the crowd. That's right, while she's been talking about life-partners and an unforeseeable future, Natsu has been fighting this whole time. What kind of person is she to ignore such a thing? Especially when it was indirectly cause by her, no matter what Mas Ter might say.

"Go on, this isn't something we need to worry about," Mas Ter says. "Maybe later on ... No, for now, get out of here." He gives her a thumbs up and winks. "He's your man. Root for him."

She smiles softly and begins to turn towards the crowd. Her feet don't move any further though. She stands there with a foreboding feeling building within her and a weight settling on her frail shoulders. She can't help but pause. "I don't know how we can possibly go about this, how the males and females can get along, but I'm still happy to be here. Thank you for your time, Mas Ter," she dismisses.

"If you have any more trouble, my girl, don't be afraid to drop by," he smirks.

Happy to move as far away from Laxus as she can, Lucy jogs around the large group of men to watch Natsu's fight. The crowd forms a semicircle around the Battle Grounds to make sure everyone can see what's happening, and it isn't until she gets to the edge of the spaced-out crowd that she's able to get a full view of the fight. Suddenly, there's a flash of hot red and white that blinds her, intuition kicking in that tells of how strong Natsu's flames have become.

Natsu plants his feet in the ground and reels his arm back, the fist glowing with a powerful heat of Igny behind it. He gives a harsh punch to Gajeel's stomach, having the male buckle and get thrown back from the force. He slides across the dry dirt and comes to a heap on the other side of the field, closer to Lucy then anyone else. The Igny that powers Natsu's body has come out in rapid remorse, burning through Gajeel's pelt and touching the skin underneath in a searing mess that makes the large male shout the pain away. He jerks his battered body up despite those howls, holding his injured stomach and panting for breath. From the sound, something's wrong with his airway, wheezing out of his mouth like it is. He must have gotten hit in the throat when Lucy wasn't looking.

"That's not fair!" Gajeel roars hoarse. He's got a gash on his right cheek, spilling blood down his neck and another burn mark sears his skin black on his right arm.

Natsu smirks like the devil, holding up his glowing Igny hand in threat. "What's the matter? Can't take the heat? If you don't like it, then give up. I'll only hit you a little more afterwards." He's not much better looking, having a gash in his right arm that runs with blood down to the finger tips. The appendage is limp, obviously causing him severe pain if he moves it. He's banged up with a bleeding forehead and across his stomach are scratch marks covered in dirt. It's almost horrifying for Lucy to see that. She didn't think this match meant that much to Natsu in order to get like that.

"Fuck off with that shit! If I had my Metalicana with me, you'd be feeling my wrath," Gajeel shouts.

"Ha! You're saying that because you're scared!"

Lucy cups her burning cheeks in hand and lowers her head in shame, muttering to herself. "I think he has a brain more like a mocking bird, Mas Ter."

"I ain't afraid of no jackass! Since when could you do some shit like that, huh? Has Bunny Girl over there been giving you a boast of power? You touched those huge mound things on her chest before and your Sacred Rod scared away the other females—she's got to be able to give you some sort of power. Why should you be the one to hog that? Why not share the girl?" Gajeel asks agitated.

Lucy's overall embarrassment gets blow away, replaced with anger at his stupid words. She places a hand over her heart and hisses. "I'm not some prize for you two to fight over!"

"Oh, you want in on this, too?" Gajeel snaps, turning to look over his shoulder at her.

Natsu quickly runs to come around and stand in Gajeel's way. Lucy is well out of range of their fight but Natsu blocks his path as if she's right at his back, protecting her. "I'm the one you want, stupid! Stay away from her!"

"Calm down, Natsu. Gajeel can't really mean to harm Lucy," Gray says surprised.

"You males can be so—so dumb!" Lucy groans irritated.

Gajeel cracks his knuckles loudly along with the bones in his neck, that smirk on his face saying he's forgetting about his pain and is letting the adrenaline in his body take over. "He's right, I won't hurt her. I was only teasing the weak thing. What I want to do is kick your ass even harder for what you're doin', hoggin' the power she's got."

"She has no power to give neither you nor anyone else. She's just Lucy. You don't have to like her being a part of my family but that doesn't mean you can go and do this shit. I suggest you get over it!" Natsu yells.

"That's enough, you dogs!" Mas Ter spits sternly. His voice rings clearly through the open air, a command to it that will not be challenged. The crowd parts to let him come forward, and despite being the shortest male here, he exhumes enough power and respect that Gajeel doesn't utter a word against him. "This fight is over. Gajeel, if you continue to have that kind of intention towards Lucy, I won't hesitate to reprimand you for it. She's a good girl and doesn't deserve any hostility."

Lucy can tell that he wasn't only speaking to Gajeel on that matter but also to Laxus, who is unsearchable past the crowd.

Gajeel snorts. "Yeah, whatever. I call this match my win."

"The hell did you say?!" Natsu stomps forward to get closer to Gajeel. "This isn't over yet. No way! I'm going to be the one too—!"

The simple insult sets off a mixture of overconfidence and pride within Natsu, setting him to be blind. That's why he doesn't see the sudden fist that comes flying at his face until it's too late.

XxXxXxX

"Stop your squirming! I can't help if you don't hold still," Lucy demands, sitting back in the nest.

"I can't stand that stuff," Natsu grimaces.

She soaks a cloth in putrid smelling herbs, the stench making the bridge of his nose crinkle. It's an easy herb to nibble on when left whole but stings like a bitch when mashed up and applied to wounds. Supposedly the herbs will help make sure no sickness comes through his open wounds, but Natsu's never been sick a day in his life.

He doesn't understand why Lucy insists on cleaning his wounds with fresh water and a clean cloth, since he's never taken care of his old wounds like this before. After making sure there was no dirt left in the open gashes, Lucy has caringly put bandages on the cuts that cover his body. One sits along his forehead that is now patched with healing herbs and a large dressing of cotton that's wrapped around his head. The worst cut is on his right arm, deeper than the other wounds and drawing her immediate attention when she began helping him. When he tries moving the arm, it feels as if there's a sharp thud underneath the skin, pulsating with pain that rings from the upper arm down to the tips of his fingers that twitch uncontrollably.

She puts another layer of herbs against the cut to his arm, letting it harden to create a seal around the opening in the flesh. "I'll put the dressing on your arm once the herbs are done drying. I don't want it to stick to the wrapping, otherwise it's going to hurt coming off," she explains.

"Alright, alright …" Natsu grumbles.

He doesn't mean to sound ungrateful towards her but he can't help it. Sitting in their nest, he tightly grips a heel with his good hand and stews in frustration. That son of a bitch, Gajeel! I should have given the final blow to the metal head while I had the chance, he thinks harsh.

Except for the annual Brave Championships—where they compete to see who gets to keep the title of Brave—Natsu had never before battled another male as serious as he did with Gajeel. The moment Gajeel implied a threat towards Lucy, it set off a coiled ball within his gut that imploded. It didn't matter who Gajeel was nor his true reasoning behind the fight—he wasn't about to let Lucy be harmed. Lucy herself didn't seem to mind Gajeel's threats, an aspect that made Natsu proud of his female, able to stand with her chin held high against the bulky males' threats. But even if she didn't mind, he immensely did.

It was also his guilt that had him step into the fight. To Gajeel, having most of Natsu's time focus on Lucy has obviously made him feel betrayed. And for Gray, too, a little bit. But how the fuck did that happen? Natsu never once felt as if he was neglecting the tribe, his bond with everyone much too strong to have him think even for a moment that he was purposely distancing himself. None of the other guys have spoken a word of such devastation, most of the males being smart enough to realize that just because he doesn't interact with them like before doesn't mean he's forgotten them. No one has given contempt glances or cold shoulders, being their usual selves and happily talking with him. That's why Natsu doesn't get how Gajeel can think he's abandoning the tribe—! He'd protect this place with his life on the line; something that bastard doesn't seem to understand.

The battle against Gajeel became a sort of apologetic fist-fight, accompanied by a need to protect his female. Overall, the weirdest fight Natsu's gotten into.

It still sucks Gajeel got the last punch. I didn't lose—screw that! Natsu thinks.

He groans loudly. "I'll get him next time. I'm not about to wait around for him to gloat over his false victory! Fuck no. He'd better watch out."

"If you're thinking that you lost the title of Brave, you didn't. Mas Ter told me," Lucy reassures.

"I don't care about that. I mean, okay, maybe a little, but that's not the point—" Seeing her reach out to him with an herb-soaked cloth, he tries to frantically lean away. He's kept in place thanks to her holding his ear, pinching the delicate lope with the tips of her nails. "Quit that! I hate that smelly stuff," he whines, stiffening his muscles as they sing with pain from rubbing the herbs against his stomach wounds.

"I know you have a sensitive nose but it'll be worth it. Wendy always told me this is something that needs to be done to heal the wounds properly and I'm not about to forsake her advice," she says.

He cracks an eye open, the other one squeezing tightly closed. "Seems to me she wants to make others suffer a little more. They're only scratches, ain't nothing that won't heal."

"Hearing that, I somehow get the feeling women live a lot longer …"

Natsu can let himself breathe again when she takes the cloth away and releases his heated ear. He lets the wounds soak in the fresh air and slowly have the stinging fade away. Three long cuts run from the upper right of his abdomen to the lower left of his hip, becoming a glowing red that stands out against the copper of his skin. That Metalicana on Gajeel isn't for show, having gotten Natsu on more than one occasion with their sharp edges digging into him.

Lucy's been lost in thought throughout most of this. He's able to tell from the way her usually exuberant eyes have fogged over, a curtain of mist that dulls their color. She randomly stares at nothing in particular while images, words and thoughts jump around in her head. Also, unbeknownst to Lucy, she sometimes bites her bottom lip, chewing the flesh a little in a worrying sort of way. That's how Natsu knows she's really over thinking things. As of now, it's what she does. Her teeth bite softly at her bottom lip, letting it go in intervals as if she's aware of what she's doing and she's doesn't want to make a habit out of it, although it's too late for that. The little movement distracts Natsu until she holds up a dressing for him to see.

"Hold still, please. This is a going to hurt a little, but after this you should be feeling a lot better."

He gives one hard chuckle. "Relax. You can't hurt me."

"Take a deep breath and then it'll be over." She steadily takes in her own breath as if to give an example and begins to wrap the large, white piece of cotton around his torso to cover his abdominal cut.

"Dammit," he mutters in a hiss.

He grits his teeth and holds his position—leaning back on his good arm to allow Lucy better access to the wounds—with every muscle in his body tightening up. She gently pats the wrapping over the wounds, her fingers delicate as they smooth the edges of the dressing against his skin. Her touch is trying to be like air; floating to not cause him anymore pain. Not much that will do though, considering the cuts sting like a demon biting the skin.

Having Lucy take care of him is different compared to if one of the guys was helping. They wouldn't be considerate of his pain, wrapping the bandages as if he couldn't feel any pain at all—Natsu thinks it's a form of payback, as normally if he got hurt it was because he was doing something stupid. He's never had someone focus intently on the way the bandages were wrapped, the way the wounds were healing nor on his state of cleanliness, least of all.

He's beaten up and aching but with Lucy at his side, he feels entirely alive, mind sharp and a warm hum running through his body. He was only half-serious about getting to Gajeel before he can run his mouth, because being here is much more comfortable. In a sense, Natsu feels as if he's escaped from the jaws of death to crawl back into the awaiting arms of the Gods. Not that Gajeel was a danger to his life but more so that Lucy is a glowing spirit, someone that relaxes and flares Natsu's soul at the same time. Who the hell cares if he's spending more time with Lucy then with the guys? She makes him happy, that's what matters.

"Let me do one last thing," she says thoughtful. She applies the dressing to his upper left arm; the already dried herbs underneath having his arm stiffen like a piece of drift wood. She ties the ends to secure the wrapping in place. "There, all done," she nods.

"Good. Thanks for that, Lucy," Natsu smiles.

She puts away the clay bowl filled with mashed herbs inside the ice-box, storing them for next time. She says that his wounds will need to be dressed with new wraps and a fresh coat of sickening herbs every setting and rising Igny—which sounds like overkill to Natsu. She washes her hands in the smallest water jug, silently kneeling before it long enough that she arouses his curiosity. She blankly stares at her hands that slowly rub together with water, the action being done out of habit rather than a need to get any gunk off.

"What's on your mind?" Natsu asks.

With a sigh, Lucy flicks her hands to whip away any excess water. "Sorry. It's only … I talked to Mas Ter while you were fighting." She slowly goes to sit next to him.

His eyes narrow. "Let me guess. The geezer did something pervy towards you. I told him to keep his hands away from you."

"He could be better but he wasn't that bad. We mostly talked about the reasoning for Gajeel's attitude."

"He's got a reason other than being stupid?"

She gives one hard chuckle. "Yes. Overall, Gajeel was jealous."

Natsu tilts his head to the side. "Of what? You?"

"Not exactly because of me but … I guess, yeah, me. Talk to Mas Ter, he can explain it better." She downturns her eyes with a bashful look, whatever's overcoming her also reflecting in her voice. "We also talked about … some things. About you."

"Was Mas Ter talkin' shit?" he asks.

"What? No, I don't think so. He was telling me how he thinks you've changed since meeting me."

"Not him, too," he groans frustrated. "What is up with the guys suddenly thinkin' I'm removing myself from the tribe?"

"He doesn't think that. Far from it, really. He knows that Gajeel's attitude is because he feels a little lonelier and nothing more. More so, he was telling me how he thinks you've … gotten soft."

"That sounds worse."

Lucy grabs an elbow in each hand—Natsu eyes her deepening cleavage and the way her amulet rests above it—and she looks down to the pelts. "Not as in strength. Like I said, you're still technically the Brave. He meant by your personality. Mas Ter says you've been … giving me things. That you're not aware of what's happening but that what you've been doing with me is considered …"

Natsu waits for her to go on but her mouth remains clamped shut. "I don't get what you're talking about," he says.

"Mas Ter thinks you've gotten like this because you see me as …"

He waits for an explanation, able to tell Lucy's struggling to find the right words, an unbelievable aspect considering how smart she is. She turns her burning face away from him, lips tight and eyebrows scrunching hard. She blushes about a lot of things and that makes it hard for him to tell what she could be thinking about. What's worse is that she's refusing to look at him.

What comes next out of her mouth as a breathless whisper wouldn't have been heard if it wasn't for Natsu's heightened hearing. "He said he … um, thinks you see me as a potential … mate."

Natsu sighs and slumps his shoulders. "Mas Ter sounds like he's spouting nonsense again."

Lucy slowly lifts her eyes towards him. "You ... don't see me like that?"

"I ain't got a clue what he means but it better be good."

She snaps her head up, the movement making him spasm from the sudden action, and she says determined. "You said we're family."

"Y-yeah," he says unsure, not understanding her behavior. "Was what Mas Ter said not good? I swear, Lucy, no matter what anyone else says, you're welcomed here."

His words calm her a little, giving a low sigh and softening the eyes. "I am happy for that, but the word 'mate', it-it means more than you think." She mutters. "It means to find someone more than a family member. A life …" She quiets down again.

"Spit it out, will ya?" he demands.

"Oh, forget it," she dismisses in a huff. She softly shakes her head as if she's disappointed in herself for not being able to say what she wants to.

"You made a big fuss about this. Tell me what's goin' on."

"No, I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Not wanting to do that, Natsu berates her a little longer on how weird she's acting and it gets them arguing for a short while. Why doesn't she want to explain herself? What the hell does 'mate' mean? Look him in the eyes, dammit.

"That's enough!" Lucy orders.

"I just want to know what you're talking about!"

She gets up and jerks open the ice-box to grab a stick of dried deer jerky, roughly taking a chunk out of it and chewing with vengeance. "I don't know what I see in you sometimes," she groans quietly, keeping her back on him.

That one sentence shots a burden through Natsu's heart, making him regretfully look down to the bandage wrapped around his arm, put there with care, tended to with soft hands and concerned looks. Lucy went through all that trouble to help him out and he says thanks by demanding answers when she's not comfortable giving them. If Gajeel's threats never bothered her from the beginning, then he's not the cause of her hesitation. It sounds more like Mas Ter said something questionable to her. Trying to pry an answer out of Lucy is getting him nowhere, but Natsu still wants to make sure that she'll be able to go to sleep tonight without distress. Sure, she's avoiding the whole thing after she was the one that brought it up, and there's only so much patience he has, but he respects and cares for her too much to cause her any pain.

He doesn't want to admit that he's pouting but it's unavoidable. "I do appreciate you helping with my wounds," he says quietly.

Piquing her interest, Lucy turns to look over her shoulder at him and places a hand on her hip. "Of course, I couldn't leave you like that," she says calmer, though her voice edges with left-over anger.

"Come over here."

"What for?"

"I don't like you avoiding me. I get you don't want to talk about whatever that was before—sorry—but having you turn your back on me is worse."

She sighs and shakes her head a little, saying that she isn't avoiding him. To make her point, she returns to his side of her own accord, dropping to sit in the nest like a bag of rocks and evening her shoulder line to impose her will upon him. She harshly eats her jerky stick in a demeaning sort of manner.

Natsu faces her head on and is pleased when she doesn't turn her eyes away. "Gajeel didn't hurt you, right?"

"No, I wasn't touched," she says dubiously, once done chewing on her food.

After their sporadic fight, his shift in concern is obviously making her suspicious, but no matter where his concern is coming from, to Natsu, it will always be genuine. He softly reaches out and cups the side of her neck in a soft display that says he's no longer angry with her. He eyes the amulet on her chest and like always, it makes him glow from the inside out seeing her wear it. The pulse of her quickening heart beat under the tips of his fingers reassures him, saying that despite her own anger his touch brings eager anticipation to her blood.

"I don't really get Gajeel, but I won't let him harm you. I'll keep you safe," he says serious.

Lucy has gone still under his touch, skin burning with a rosy blush and eyes widening. "I-I don't think he means to harm me …"

"He probably doesn't, it's hard to tell with him, but what I said applies to anyone. That's a promise."

He's elated to find that any left-over fog in her eyes has disappeared, letting them shine like melted snow. She ducks her chin a little, lashes brushing against her cheeks in a half-lid look. "You promised me that long ago," she whispers.

"True. I only wanted to remind you of it. Also, don't turn your eyes away from me."

Natsu ducks forward and insistently kisses Lucy, pushing to have her head come up. Her eyes remain open wide in surprise against the kiss and he watches the way the colors in them waver, the emotions behind them fighting against one another on how to feel sporadically. It doesn't matter what was said before in their arguing, Natsu's mouth remains closed but he presses into her both his words of gratitude and apology.

She jerks her mouth away from his. "O-okay, okay, I won't forget!" she yells overwhelmed.

Slightly disappointed by that, he watches the way her blush returns at full force not with anger but from something else. She tries to respect his wishes and not turn away from him, but it's done with difficulty, her eyes twitching from him, off to the right, to the left and then back around to him. She's full of some emotion Natsu can't name.

"Why are you avoiding me?" he asks genuinely confused.

She keeps her eyes down on her knees. "I'm not doing that."

"Yeah, you are. We haven't been kissing, and when we do you backed away from me like you hate it."

"I don't hate it. I simply don't want to kiss right now, is all."

He cocks his head to the side. "That sounds like half-a-lie."

"It wasn't. We kiss so often that I'm ... bored. Wasn't it supposed to be something special?"

"You're bored of kissing?" he asks in disbelief.

She slumps her shoulders and finally looks at his face, although it's done with a skeptical raise of an eyebrow. "I stand by what I said."

He gives on hard chuckle, finding the oddity of her explanation almost funny. No way is she bored of kissing, he won't belief that. Hopefully she'll get over her strange mood soon and things can go back to normal.

Natsu rests his forehead against Lucy's. She struggles to keep close to him, eyes going wide and taking in a deep breath to hold it there. He lets her be, knowing she mustn't hate being near him as much as she acts, for she doesn't back away, doesn't shout for him to get away. He lets her go through whatever motion she's trying to figure out in her head. But maybe that's the problem right there. She must be overthinking something again, something that has to due with him, judging by how she's acting.

He comes to adore how she gently smiles and how her honey scent blossoms from her skin. Ah, there's the Lucy he knows.

The warmth of her body makes him want to have that heat under his fangs, settling his tongue against it to eat and enjoy it like he does with Igny. He looks down to the crook of her neck. It's a weird thought but it doesn't concern him much. It's not as if he wants to actually eat her. Her heightening pulse thumps hard under the hand that he keeps at the side of her neck and the beating of it is loud in his ears, a wild drum calling out. Although it's not possible ... Than again, maybe he actually can? If she doesn't want to kiss, then he can do something else to show his bond with her.

Natsu ducks down and without heed of the consequences, he lightly bits at Lucy's neck. The pinch of her skin under a fang and the started gasp she makes is exhilarating, something about it calling out to a part of him that always makes itself known but never fully takes control. Is this the dragon side of him or the human side speaking? Sometimes distinguishing the two is hard but never something he needs to be concerned with.

She jumps and pinches her shoulders inward, trying to stop him. "What are you doing?" she asks surprised.

He proceeds to drag his tongue up her neck.

"Oh, Gods, stop it! That's gross!"

He laughs, backing away. "No, it's not. What's the difference between that and kissing?"

"You licked me like a dog," she mummers, rubbing her hand against the trail of saliva he left on her neck.

Natsu chuckles and lightly bumps his forehead against her's.

Lucy rolls her eyes but can't keep a smile at bay. "I don't know what to do with you at times."

He scoots a little closer to her, never minding the pain in his stomach and only taking pleasure in that bell-like chime in her voice. Natsu's smile turns into a cheeky grin. He grabs the sides of her face in both of his hands and beings to rub his hair into her's, making her laugh.

Authors Notes:

This chapter and the previous chapter were going to be put together as one but it became too long, so I split it up into two separate chapters.

I had difficulty finding if, during the Stone Age, bandages existed! The result was simply woven cotton.

Also, to anyone confused as to why Lucy would use the word 'mate' when in the last chapter she found the term embarrassing: in her mind, Natsu wouldn't have known what a life-partner was. She can sometimes see him as too simplistic and she thought the word 'mate' would have been more recognizable to males, since Mas Ter used that term firstly. Turns out, the opposite is true. Unfortunate, Lucy never used the term life-partner and they continue to be left clueless about one another.

Leave a chapter review, please! I'll update as soon as I can.