#fist fought a bear multiple times maybe that charmed me

[bugprinz]

saying slayjima too much has mental side affects

#*touches ground* something happened here #THIS WAS AN OVERNIGHT CHANGE BTW #not even overnight #i got off the game and tried sleeping and it happened #like i already liked him way more than y4 when i started the game but #this is just absurd saejima what have you done #how did he get in my brain #i like him :] big tiger :] #fist fought a bear multiple times maybe that charmed me #fought shadow clones maybe that charmed me #charmed another man so much he couldnt follow the master plan he was apart of maybe that charmed me #his outfit is one i want maybe that charmed me #srry these tags went to hell #saejima taiga #yakuza #finger paints

[snapovans]

Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived

A stinging pain woke Severus in the middle of the night. He almost moaned as he brought his left hand against his chest in self-preservation, and straightened up in his chair – he had once again fallen asleep at his desk while proofing his students’ works. The pain kept throbbing, like ice freezing his blood, ice burning him from inside. Severus didn’t think and pulled of the ring he wore on his middle finger. The onyx gem, that had been unusually shining, dimmed as soon as he dropped it. It knocked against the wood of his desktop, loud in the otherwise silent room. The pain faded away and Severus closed his eyes, swallowing back tears. He took several deep breaths. When he was able to move his hand without feeling like it was covered in splinters, he leaned down towards the ring to examine the gemstone. It was… turned off, for a lack of a better word. A new wave of ice washed over him. Fear. No, no, no. It was only a malfunction of the charm, a mistake… Though, when was the last time Lily had cast a defective charm? No. Severus pulled back his left sleeve, his right hand shaking as he did so. A gasp. The Mark had faded. Just like the gemstone. Did it mean…? No. No!

Severus took the ring, his fist tight around it, letting the unnatural icing bite of the stone mark him as he stood up from his chair, as he ran out of his office.

~

The door opened before Severus even stepped off the stairs. Dumbledore was talking to one of the paintings on the wall, and as Severus entered, the painted woman disappeared.

“You already know,” Severus stated as Dumbledore turned around to face him. His eyes weren’t twinkling with their usual malice, and it was all the confirmation Severus nodded. He sat on the nearest chair and took a moment to breathe deeply. The ring was still burning in his hand, an icy sting he could focus on to not slip away.

“I’m sorry, Severus,” Dumbledore said with an understanding look. Severus scoffed. Dumbledore had promised him James and Lily would be well-protected, and yet the biting coldness in his hand was proving otherwise.

“What about Harry? Did he survive?”

It was foolish, but it was the only thing he could desperately hope for. No one had ever survived the Dark Lord, but maybe… He would never forgive himself if Harry had died too.

Before the headmaster could answer, the door opened and Hagrid entered the room. He looked harried. He was panting, his face redder than a tomato. The half-giant had probably run all the way from his hut.

“Professor?”

“Ah, Rubeus. Just on time.”

“What is it?”

The half-giant briefly glanced at Severus before looking back at the headmaster.

“I’m sadden to say what we had been fearing has happened.”

Dumbledore barely finished speaking, and Hagrid was already crying. He pulled a handkerchief from a pocket inside his enormous coat and blew his nose as if it was a horn. Several paintings cast him dark looks. Severus clenched his jaw, his teeth grinding together. He would surely have a headache come breakfast, but it was the least of his worries. He needed answers. Now.

Dumbledore stepped closer to Hagrid and with a hand under the half-giant’s elbow, brought him to the fireplace.

“Bathilda is waiting for you. Harry survived, you will bring him back here.”

Severus barely managed to suppress a gasp. Something loosened in his chest, making him forget for a moment the icy bite in his hand.

“He will be safer at Hogwarts while I make some arrangements.”

Severus didn’t dare to speak in front of a third party, especially one such has Hagrid, but he had questions. Dumbledore didn’t glance at him until Hagrid took a handful of floo powder and disappeared, bend in half, in a blaze of green. Severus couldn’t help a wince at the sight. Had the Dark Lord tortured Lily and James? Or had he used the Killing Curse right away?

Dumbledore turned around, his whole demeanor suddenly changed. Shoulders low, eyes saddened, corners of his mouth down. He didn’t look like the mightiest wizard of his age, vanquisher of a Dark Lord, the one sorcerer another Dark Lord had been the most afraid of. He looked like an old man with a burden far too great for his own shoulders, a man who had witnessed one too many tragedies.

The headmaster sat in the chair next to Severus and raised a hand, as to confront him, but refrained at the last moment. Severus was grateful – he couldn’t bear someone’s else touch right now.

“So, Harry is alive?” he croaked, looking at Dumbledore.

“Yes. I don’t know how it can be, not yet, but it seems to be a miracle. The whole house has burned down, Voldemort has disappeared, and Harry remains.”

Severus nodded. There was so much to talk about, to wonder, but…

“You don’t think the Dark Lord is dead?” he asked, noticing Dumbledore’s word choice. It wasn’t in his habits to use euphemism. If the Dark Lord had been dead, he wouldn't have stated otherwise. Yet, Severus hardly believed it. If the Dark Lord wasn’t dead, then James and Lily… it was all for nothing?

“I think it would be foolish to believe he wouldn’t have prepared for this eventuality. Whatever happened, it probably wasn’t the last time we hear about him.”

Dread crawled inside Severus. He didn’t doubt the headmaster for one second, which meant the war wasn’t finished. For how long?

“Why did you send Hagrid to get Harry? I could have gone, he is my-”

He was stopped by Dumbledore putting a hand over his. He froze, and the look the old man gave him made him fear what was coming next.

“I trust Rubeus with my own life. No harm will come to Harry. As for your role… With Voldemort’s fate unknown and his followers at large, you are still my best asset in this war..”

Comprehension dawned on Severus and he closed his eyes. He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t…

“You want me to keep spying.”

His voice was glacial, but it didn’t seem to affect Dumbledore. If he was to keep his cover, it meant…

“What about Harry?”

There was no way Severus could have the baby if he kept his role as a double-agent. Yet the thought of leaving him again…

“He will need the strongest protection there is until we know more of Voldemort’s situation.” Dumbledore wasn’t looking at him. Severus tensed, he had never seen him like this.

“He will need blood magic to protect him.”

It felt like a slap in his face, like a punch to the gut.

“I’m his father,” he protested weakly.

Dumbledore finally raised his face toward him. He looked sorry, like he knew what he was asking of Severus, but how could he? The man never had a child! He couldn’t understand!

“I know. But you are not related by blood. This kind of magic won’t recognize you as a valid guardian.”

Severus shook his head and stood up. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It wasn’t supposed to end like this! He accepted to play the part, so they could have a better future. He sacrificed so much, and for what? Lily and James were dead, and Harry was to be kept away from him! Perhaps he could still visit, but it wouldn’t be the same.

“You said we wouldn’t have to hide forever!” he accused with a sneer. He knew logically that Dumbledore wasn’t at fault, that he could have never predicted what would happen, but Severus was angry. No, he was enraged and he needed someone to blame.

“We trusted you! You said it would only be temporary! They are dead! And now you want me to stay away from Harry while someone else raise him? I-”

Severus stopped suddenly. James’ parents had died before they had left Hogwarts, and he had no siblings. As for Lily, her parents had died the year before. The closest relative would be…

“You can’t seriously be thinking of giving Harry to her.”

His contempt ran loud in the office as he said the last word.

“It is the safest place for Harry.”

Severus scoffed. He wouldn’t even trust a plant in Petunia’s care, even less in her sad excuse of a husband’s.

“If you truly care about him, you will accept it.”

And that was the heart of the problem, wasn’t it? He cared for his family more than for himself. He wanted to have Harry close to him, to watch him grow, but that would put him in danger. Whereas with Petunia, no wizard would be able to harm him. In the muggle world, he would grow away from the aftermath of the war, away from the tragedies surrounding their family. Severus wanted to protest. James would have fought to find a better solution, but Severus knew Dumbledore was right. Blood magic was ancient, powerful. He sighed in defeat as he closed his eyes and nodded.

He heard Dumbledore get up and step closer to him.

“I am sorry for what I am asking of you. But you know the prophecy as well as I do. It is for the greater good.”

Severus nodded, keeping all emotions from showing on his face. There was no point in arguing with Dumbledore, but for now he couldn’t care less about the greater good.

~

Severus couldn’t go back to sleep. He paced along the corridors, and after a couple of encounters, avoided the others teachers. It was even worse in the morning when the students woke up and learned the news. No one could blame them, really, if they were using magic outside of classrooms to make fireworks and send messages of rejoicing. The ghosts were gossiping – as usual – and before breakfast was over, multiple version of the Dark Lord’s demise were running around, all different, all more extravagant and implausible than the previous one. Though they all had one thing in common: the death of James and Lily Potter, and the unexpected survival of their son, Harry. Severus glared at the students every time he heard of it, and when Filius asked him to smile and rejoice at the good news, he simply answered dryly: “Sorry not to feel merry at the thought of others’ suffering.”

He knew people still doubted his allegiance to Dumbledore – that had been the whole point after all – and his attitude wouldn’t approve the opinion of those who still saw him as a Death Eater. As for those who had known him as a student, they would never believe he could be grieving James Potter and his wife. That would surely please Dumbledore.

Severus found himself walking the grounds around the castle. He reminded the students of the school’s rules, but not even his scowl could damper the happiness of the day. There was smoke floating out of Hagrid’s hut, and Severus stopped for a moment. If the half-giant was back, Harry should be with him. He wanted to see his son, to hold him and make sure he was alive and well, but how could he face his own son when he had failed him so spectacularly?

He closed his eyes, not wanting anyone to see the tears swelling there. The laughters and cries of joy and relief were everywhere, the icy burn of the ring on his finger a ray of cold piercing through the festive atmosphere. He opened his eyes, watched students going to the lake, teachers smiling at them. Hagrid’s hut waited in the opposite direction.

He was almost there when he saw a motorcycle parked next to giants pumpkins. Black’s motorcycle. Severus froze. No, Black couldn’t be here. He had been James and Lily’s Secret Keeper. For the Dark Lord to have found them, he would have tortured and killed Black. But if he was alive, it meant he had been working with the Dark Lord, and for all his animosity toward the man, Severus couldn’t picture him betraying James and Lily like that.

He knocked once, twice and barely waited for an answer. It was hot inside the hut, a hard contrast to the chilly autumnal air outside. Hagrid sat in front of the fireplace, his back to Severus, and didn’t seem to have heard him enter. There was no one else there, not Black, not Harry. Severus frowned, coughed. The half-giant startled and turned around. His eyes went wide in surprise.

“Professor Snape, I… I wasn’t expecting you!”

His face was red, from the heat or embarrassment, Severus couldn’t tell.

“I didn’t mean to surprise you, but-”

He couldn’t finish his sentence. In the half-giant arm laid Harry, sleeping. He looked so small, dwarfed by the sleeve of Hagrid’s coat. At the sound of his voice, though, the baby stirred and familiar green eyes searched for him as his little hands raised in the air.

“Dada! Dada!”

His voice made Severus’ heart shatter in thousand pieces and filled him with warmth at the same time.

Hagrid was fussing over the baby. “No, I had just managed to make him go to sleep. He had been crying non-stop since I picked him up.”

Harry wasn’t crying now, no. He was frowning at Severus and his voice was getting louder and more commanding.

“Dada!”

Hagrid started to ask him what was wrong, and Severus finally took the final steps across the room.

“Here, I’ll take him.”

Severus didn’t even care about how it must look to the grounds-keeper. If it had only been him, he wouldn’t have trusted the half-giant, but Dumbledore trusted him to take care of Harry, and if anything, Severus trusted Dumbledore.

Hagrid didn’t react straight away, but Harry was trying to climb out of his arms, desperate to be embraced by someone familiar. Severus could see tears coming up and his cheeks reddening. He recognized the signs, and before Harry could start wailing his lungs off, he took his son in his arms.

“Sh, it’s alright darling. I’m here”, he murmured against his head, smelling smoke in his black hairs. A new wave of grief passed over him, threatened to pull him at large, but he couldn’t let go. Not now, not when his son depended on him.

He turned away from Hagrid and started to pace across the room, rocking Harry against his chest. He didn’t want to ever let him go again. He could feel Harry’s face wet with tears and snot as he sniffled against Severus’ shoulder.

“Papa? Mama?” he asked, looking behind Severus as if James and Lily would suddenly appear.

“I’m sorry darling, they’re not coming. I’m sorry.”

He stopped at the window which faced the forest. The trees were in shades of red and gold, slowly losing their leaves. Some birds were flying over the branches, amongst dozens of owls which were bringing letters despite breakfast being over for more than an hour. They probably wouldn’t stop anytime soon. Hagrid was silent, yet Severus could feel his gaze on them. He kept his back to the half-giant. Now wasn’t the time to explain. He tightened his grip on his son, felt little fingers pulling on strands of his hair, and he wept.

~

Severus didn’t left Hagrid’s hut for the rest of the day. He wasn’t hiding – it wasn’t like people were looking for him. Hagrid left a couple of times, when Severus made no sign of giving Harry back, not that the baby was complaining, on the contrary. Harry didn’t wait long before falling asleep, and he only woke up when he needed to be changed or to be fed. A house elf brought food to Severus too, at Hagrid’s demand, but Severus didn’t touch it.

Hagrid brought some news. Dumbledore, as expected, had left Hogwarts for the day to convince the right people about his plan for Harry. McGonagall too, which was a little more surprising. Severus wondered for a moment where she could have gone, instead of celebrating the victory with the other teachers and their students.

Late in the afternoon, not long before dinner, Hagrid brought back a special edition of the Prophet and a bottle of Firewhisky. Severus barely glanced at it – he didn’t want to read about the community celebrating. Although Hagrid told him about Black and Pettigrew’s duel. There had been a dozen of Muggles killed alongside Pettigrew by Black. Apparently Pettigrew was trying to catch Black after his blatant betrayal. So, Black had really been a traitor after all. Severus wished he had been there to made him pay, but he took some comfort in the idea of his former rival rotting away in Azkaban. Still, he was sad for Harry. Black had been his official godfather, and Pettigrew like an uncle. To lose so much in such a short time… As for Lupin, Severus didn’t have much faith in him. With his “condition”, he wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on Harry. As if Severus was any better. He wouldn’t be able to say or do anything betraying his true relationship with the Potters until it was certain the Dark Lord wad dead once and for all. How long would that take?

After dinner, when it was dark enough, Hagrid came back.

“Need to get going. Professor Dumbledore asked me to bring the little one to his aunt.”

Severus sighed. When will he see Harry next? Would he remember him? He leaned down to kiss Harry’s forehead, next to his scar. A souvenir from the Dark Lord apparently, where the Killing Curse had hit him and backfired. Severus had tried not to think how it would be to grow up with such a visible scar. Children could be so hurtful to each other.

“I love you, darling,” he whispered. “Always will.”

Slowly, Severus leaned back and stood up from his chair. He put Harry in a blanket so he wouldn’t be cold during the journey, and reluctantly gave him to Hagrid. The half-giant took him carefully, more than Severus would have expected him to.

“I’ll take good care of him,” Hagrid promised, voice strangled by emotions.

Severus only nodded. His throat was too tight to let him speak.

As soon as Hagrid stepped back, Harry started crying, making grabbing gestures towards Severus, calling after him. It took all Severus’ strength and more to not bring Harry back in the security of his arms. He trusted Dumbledore and his plan. He had to.

When the door closed behind Hagrid, tears began to run. He could still hear Harry cry. He went to the fireplace and gripped the mantelpiece. His fingers were paler than ever, so tight on the unforgiving stone, but the hurt barely registered.

Soon, the rumbling of the motorcycle and Harry’s wailing faded away and Severus was left alone.

He took the bottle of Firewhisky and sat in the large armchair by the fireplace. He couldn’t feel the heat. He barely felt the icy bite of his ring. He felt nothing and wanted to forget. He unscrewed the bottle and he could picture clearly Lily’s disapproval and James’ tentative comfort. But that was the problem: he could only picture it now. He would never get to see them again. His husband and his wife were dead, his son taken away.

~

Tears had slowed down since Hagrid left Harry on that doorstep. He still sniffed every couple of minutes as he landed next to his plot of pumpkins. He turned off the engine and swiped away some snot that was dripping threateningly near his beard. He didn’t have to be careful of being discreet, as his hut was far enough from the castle not to awake its occupants even if he decided to sing loudly – which was probably the plan to end the night. Firewhisky tended to bring his artistic voice out. He entered his hut, letting the door slam close behind him. He took off his coat and grumbled as he sat and bent down to take his boots off as well. The fire was dying, he would need to put some wood again in it if he didn’t want to die from the cold – or at least if he didn’t want to get sick. He went to his table and was surprised to see his bottle wasn’t there any more. He looked around and startled when he saw a dark figure in his favorite armchair. He stepped closer. It was Professor Snape curled on himself. He looked like a kid in the too-big-for-him armchair, and Hagrid couldn’t get angry when he saw the empty bottle by his side. He even felt pity as he witnessed tear tracks on the Professor’s pale face, the snot under his nose.

Whatever people thought, Hagrid wasn’t stupid. He knew what was said about Professor Snape behind his back. He knew no one but Professor Dumbledore trusted him. He had heard teachers and students alike talking about Professor Snape’s absence during the day, his inability to participate in the celebrations. They truly believed he wasn’t happy his Dark Lord had been defeated. Hagrid wasn’t stupid. He didn’t know everything, sure. Everyone had secrets, but he trusted blindly Professor Dumbledore and if the man trusted Professor Snape... Perhaps he had doubts before, like everyone else. Until he had seen Professor Snape’s haunted look last night in Professor Dumbledore’s office. Until Professor Snape came this morning and held little Harry like he was the most precious thing in the world. Until he heard whispers from Professor Snape and cries from little Harry. Hagrid wasn’t stupid. Everyone had secrets, and he knew things often weren’t exactly like they appeared to be.

So, he took a plaid from his bed and covered Professor Snape with it. He took the empty bottle away and made sure the fire would burn through the night. Whatever Professor Snape’s secrets were, he would damn well help him protect them.

#totpsf #tales of the potter snape family #severus snape #fanfiction #snapovans #harry potter #our stuff #severus #harry

[bijuewled]

Charmed: Chapter 8

A/N: And here’s another chapter! I hope you guys enjoy Natsu and Lucy’s encounter in the Fairy Tail annual battle of the sexes! The results of the games will be at the end of this chapter. Who do you think will win? And who has the flag? All will be answered at the end of this chapter! Enjoy the nalu!

Note: The area where Gray and Juvia had their face off is down the road from where Natsu is in this chapter, like a mile down the road by the river, hope that helps give some perspective!

And there’s a scene with Gray and Juvia in this chapter that happens as Natsu finds Lucy!

Read all parts here

You can also read it here on ff.net

Word Count: 11,689

Rating: M (language and themes)

Summary: As the days grew older, they grew closer; closer than they could’ve ever imagined. And as an innate power forces itself upon Lucy, she becomes a piece of a destiny that would be beyond her control; for the one who bears the mark of gold is charmed with the power to destroy everything..and to begin everything anew.

                                        Chapter Eight: Down and Dirty

                                                           o-o-o

“I know you’re here.”

Natsu’s eyes narrowed as if he were solving a math equation, staring down the numbers before waiting for the answer to jump out at him, not because he didn’t know how to solve said equation, but because he needed to see the bigger picture before he could submit his answer. Then again, he’d never taken a math test in his life, let alone written anything down on a piece of paper. Igneel had learned that Natsu’s tactile approach on everyday demeanors also applied to teaching the kid math through pebbles and twigs, and sometimes even berries he’d pluck off of bushes and pop right into Natsu’s mouth as a reward. Even Makarov never sat Natsu down and made him take written tests like the others, knowing he’d just get bored and set his paper on fire.

No, he prefered a more hands on approach to handling the problems that faced him, or rather, the problems that currently hid from him.

Natsu grinned as he stared as the restless body of water in front of him. His eyes traced the waves enthusiastically as adrenaline pumped through his veins. Never in his life had Natsu been so genuinely excited about water.

“Ne, Natsu?” Happy chirped next to him, frowning down at the water, cautiously keeping his paws away from the parts of the cobblestone path that were a dark gray shade from being damp. “We’ve been here for a while now...don’t you think that we would’ve found Lucy by now?”

Natsu looked down at his blue partner beside his feet before bending down and scratching him softly between his ears. “If it were anyone but Lucy, I’d agree with you Buddy.” Natsu told him, his eyes scanning the water slowly.

Everything had clicked when he ran into Bixslow and Freed, of course it wasn’t Juvia who soaked them to the brim with a giant wave. That wasn’t true to her style anyway, and if it were her, she would’ve sent the two swimming into the next town, not purposely of course. He knew just as well that Lucy had the capacity to do the same, but she wouldn’t do that to anyone in Fairy Tail, other than himself maybe. And it was absolutely uncanny of the blonde to help out a teammate in need, like helping Lisanna escape from Natsu’s teammates so that they could keep one of their own in the game.

“I know you’re here Lucy!” Natsu grinned, raising his right arm and swiftly brushing his fingers through his spiky pink locks, the heat of the dying sun locked onto his hair and spreading across his palm.

The water released a metallic smell that filled Natsu’s nose, leaving an unappealing taste on his tongue. He’d always resented walking next to this part of the river, and he could put all the blame on the smell alone; the perfect spot for many to throw jewel coins into the river and make useless wishes for future love or more money, which seemed so counterproductive to Natsu since the dummies were throwing money away to wish for more money. He couldn’t fathom what sense that made to anyone, with all the money that was glittering below the slow rushing water he could buy himself an exotic pet, like a lizard that breathed fire or even a five course meal that could satisfy him for days. Lucy, however, had scoffed at his statements of the wasteful money at first, believing in the fun of making wishes and throwing the coins in the water when the two of them had stopped for a snack at the bakery near the famous money wasting spot once after a job. Natsu wasn’t a huge sweet tooth, but the owner of the bakery enjoyed whenever Natsu came by ever since he’d scared off a man trying to rob the place once upon a time. He was so appreciative that he’d even developed a special recipe for cake that involved hot sauce mixed into the butter cream frosting and hot tamale candies baked into the batter. Natsu had told her she was nuts, nuttier than the chunks of almonds that were baked into the slice of cake that sat on her plate. She’d rolled her eyes at him, and looked out towards a couple holding hands and throwing multiple coins in the river. Natsu openly smirked at her when her eyes soon began to narrow, her eyebrow twitching in annoyance as another couple began to throw multiple coins into the water, followed by one small child taking an entire coin purse and turning it over so that her coins fell into the water with a giant splash, exclaiming to her mother that she’d have extra luck in making her wish come true if she used more coins. Lucy swallowed harshly, closing her eyes and reaching for her cup of tea.

Later that night, Natsu had knocked on her window and the two exchanged silent eye contact through the glass for a good ten seconds, before Lucy reached down to open it for him.

“I’ll get my coat.”

They hadn’t stopped sifting through the dirt caked on the bottom of the river until they’d picked out every coin they could find. Lucy had contracted a bad cold after their night of coin diving, but she’d treated herself by buying a new sweater with the jewel she’d acquired.

Natsu smirked at the memory, glancing down at the new coins that shone beneath the water as he walked by. They’d have to have another dive session soon.

Natsu stopped in his tracks, the thought of the water rushing through his mind and turning the wheels in his head. He bit down on his cheek inside his mouth, tasting even more of the scents of the coins before an idea burned brightly into his mind, a grin spreading across his face slowly.

“Happy,” Natsu began kneeling down onto the ground and looking to his partner “I’m gonna need ya to fly up high for me.”

The Exceed frowned at the Dragon Slayer “Huh?” he chirped “What for?”

Natsu laughed, stretching his right hand over the water next to him as he felt the fabric of his pants near his knee dampen. Images of a soaking wet Freed and Bixslow swam through his mind as his fingers inched closer to the water below. The liquid danced teasingly beneath his palm as Lucy’s face sparkled its way into his psyche next, making him grin mischievously as he felt the blood in his veins begin to simmer, shooting down into his hand. A slight steam began to rise up from the top of the water, tickling his skin as it left small drops of water to cling onto his muscles.

The dragonslayer grinned. “It’s gonna get hot.”

Happy sprouted his wings and let himself levitate a few feet above the water, eagerly waiting for Natsu to give him the signal to increase his height.

If Lucy wasn’t gonna come out of her watery hiding spot, he’d just have to make her. Plain and simple.

But then again, it was never that way with the two of them.

“Na-” Happy could barely exclaim before water spurted out from the river at lightning speed, directly at the Exceed. Natsu’s ears were filled with mixed sounds of rushing water and Happy’s cry of surprise as he watched his blue friend be launched across the golden sky, his little voice growing fainter and fainter as the jet of water rained down upon Natsu, dampening his hair and making it stick down flat to his temples.

“Happy!” Natsu exclaimed, motioning to hop up from his kneeling position before something cold and wet wrapped itself around his right arm, slamming him back onto the cobblestones, a sharp pain shooting up his knee. He gritted his teeth as he saw the water wrap around his arm like a vice, squeezing his arm tightly and leaving it numb. His eyes widened as he felt it pull him more and more into the river, the force immensely strong, as if a weight were on the other side. He growled a low growl of frustration, as the water had made its way up and above his elbow and clamped down onto his shoulder. He fought the liquid, pressing his feet onto the cobblestones and straining to stand up straight.

“Damn it!” he cursed to himself as he struggled to make a fist with his submerged hand. He felt the muscles in his arm strain as he saw small bubbles beginning to fill the water around his arm. He gritted his teeth even harder as steam began to rise from his arm, sweat dripping down his temple as he struggled to figure out why the water hadn’t evaporated away.

However, he didn’t have much time to dwindle on that fact, as his ears picked up on the sound of another jet of water shooting out of the river and this time, wrapping itself around his torso and neck. He coughed violently as the water hardened around him like a vice, and before he could even blink, he was swept off of the cobblestones and was dragged into the cold water, bubbles rushing into his vision and filling his ears. He grimaced as he tasted the metallic undertones of the water, a few coins lightly slapping his calves as he opened his blazing eyes to see nothing but dark blue depth up ahead.

Not bad he thought to himself briefly before his lungs suddenly were able to take in oxygen, his head breaking the surface of the water. He panted slightly as he felt his arms stiffen against his sides, the water around him feeling sort of like the jelly Mira spread on his toast at the guild.

“Sorry for the roughness.” a familiar voice apologized to him as he swiftly directed his attention towards it, eyes blurred and irritated from the water. “But I can’t have you evaporating the river on me like that.”

Lucy always had a certain way of showing everybody up, and he couldn’t understand how she did it each and every time. Whether it was opening the front doors of the guild and swinging her hips slightly as she walked in or even when she brushed her hair behind her shoulders as she doused a piece of paper with words from her pen, she always managed to stand out.  

And seeing her in that moment was no exception.

She was like a fairy, balancing atop the rushing water as if it were solid ground, small droplets of water floating around her arms and legs. Her peach skin was almost tinted a darker orange with the sunset, making her blonde hair appear extra gold; it swished behind her shoulders in the wind, the red tie in her hair moving along with it.

She looked out into the distance with an embarrassed grin. “I’ll have to get Happy some really delicious fish after this. I didn’t mean to send him flying to the next town.”

Natsu spit some water out of his mouth and grinned at her. “What? And I don’t get an apology?”

Lucy’s eyes met his, and her sheepish grin turned into a confident one. She had a familiar twinkle in her eyes. “You’ve had this coming to you for a while now.”

“Tsk.” he shook his head. “I’m hurt.”

Natsu looked her up and down, her attire completely changed from the similar uniform look the girls’ team had donned. It wasn’t like he’d never seen her like this before, in fact it was the same outfit she’d produced in his memory of refilling the lake at the park. His eyes traced the long black zig-zagged line across her chest, the yellow and green straps of her bikini top overlapping them on her collarbone. The only difference that he could spot in her appearance was the suspicious red flag tucked into the side of her skirt. But yet, he felt that there was something else he was missing, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“You’re not getting this from me.” she locked eyes with him as he looked up at her, her fingertips brushing the fabric lightly. “Not if I, nor the sun, has anything to say about it.”

She took a step towards him, ripples of water spreading out in lethargic circles as her slow gait brought her closer and closer to Natsu. He narrowed his eyes as she looked down on him with the utmost satisfaction. It added a small blush to her cheeks, brightening up her complexion a little, almost the same shade as the small amounts of pink painted across the sherbert sky. Hell, it even made her eyes more pronounced, bringing out that exciting spark that ignited her pupils whenever she was determined to do something.

He’d secretly always liked that spark. It reminded him of why she was his partner, why they picked each other.

He felt his mouth curl upwards in a smirk, and she stopped in her footsteps, frowning skeptically as he felt the water pressure around him tighten. This only made him chuckle softly, watching as his partner stared him down with a sour suspicion painted all over her face.

“It’s a good thing that I don’t give a crap about what the sun has to say.” he told her as-a-matter-of-factly.

He felt a delicious and familiar power boil through his veins, rushing down into his toes and fingertips. When he felt the bubbles begin to pop on his skin, his smirk transformed into a wide grin as he watched Lucy’s eyes widen in horror.

“Now I’m really fired up.”

And in just a flash, the river would be as well.

o-o-o

Lucy felt the heat on her face before she could even process what was about to happen. Her lips parted slightly, though her voice would not yield to her desire to use it as she watched the bubbles form rapidly around Natsu, popping like popcorn. The water around them began to stir uneasily, splashing against her feet and hitting her exposed skin where her sandals didn’t cover her completely. Her stomach dropped when she realized that the water was extremely warm, almost hot.

She looked into Natsu’s mischevous eyes, and her stomach dropped to her feet.

She’d wasted too much time.

A sudden roaring of boiling water filled her ears as hot steam blew all around her, stinging her eyes and making them water, making her gasp in surprise. Losing her footing, she fell backwards onto her butt, her Aquarius Stardress allowing her to remain above the water rather than falling into it. It took only a few more seconds before she felt herself sinking into the mud and stones that lingered below the once full river. She watched in horror as the steam continued to billow around her, frizzing up the ends of her hair and making sweat drip down her temples. She bit down on the inside of her cheek in frustration. What else did she expect from Natsu? He’d pulled a stunt like this before afterall, so she didn’t understand what logic in her brain told her that she would be able to hold him with her constricting currents. She glanced upwards at the sky, squinting through the steam. She could at least be relieved that Happy was out of the picture for the moment, the poor exceed probably draped over a tree branch with the wind knocked out of him, she’d make sure to give her apologies to the cat the next time she saw him.

The mud beneath her began to suction her more securely into its surface, and she grunted as she plunged her feet into the ground and clenched her fists, pushing herself up out of the mud, her fingers brushing against some coins as she did so. She let out an annoyed tsk as she wiped the mud off of her hands and onto her legs, shuddering as she tried to convince herself that she was at that spa in Bellea and the mud was just a moisturizing mask that would make her skin glisten.

She gritted her teeth and swiped off a piece of mud from her cheek and she looked ahead of her, the steam still billowing around her, shielding Natsu from her vision, and her from Natsu’s she soon came to realize.

This might be my only chance to turn things around she thought to herself as she closed her eyes and let her Stardress fade from her body with a swift flash of glitter. She reached upwards and tightened her ponytail, paying no mind to the small bits of mudd she felt caked onto her hair, it was the least of her worries.

Her fingers brushed against the sturdy keys attached to her hip, and she swiftly drew one from the keyring, her eyes quickly sweeping over the symbol on the top of it, confirming to herself that it was the key she needed.

She held it out in front of her, and poured her magic into the metal, the satisfactional feeling of a connection being made filling her body.

“Open.” she whispered.

This was her last shot, and there was no way she’d mess this up.

o-o-o

Natsu grinned to himself as the steam around him rose up towards the sky, the wind blowing the vapor away from the river that once existed around him. He laughed to himself, patting himself on the back for wiping out the water around him as if it were a mere puddle. He’d have to ask Lucy and Juvia to refill the river once the game was over, a favor to the winner from the losing team.

Natsu ran his hand through his ruffled-up hair, and grinned once he began to see a female silhouette begin to form up ahead, the curves all too familiar to him.

“And I thought you knew me by now!” Natsu called out to her in a taunting matter, his left hand clenched into a fist and resting on his hip, his other hand up hear his face, his thumb pointed at himself, the rest of his fingers in a fist. “Water can’t stop this dragon slayer!”

The steam was almost fully cleared, and Natsu finally caught a glimpse of his opponent.

She’d gone through another outfit change, her bikini top and skirt had been exchanged for a bodysuit and half sleeve look, coattails jutting out from her curved hips. She stood with her legs planted firmly on the ground-in the mud no less-her long, blonde ponytail draped over her right shoulder, and right below the tip of her hair was the infamous piece of red fabric he sought after.

“You may be right.” he heard her speak clearly, smirking as she lazily flipped her hair over her shoulder. “So maybe it’s time I leveled the playing field.”

It was then that Natsu realized that she wasn’t alone, another shadow stood right next to her at attention, ready to attack. Natsu zoned in on the pointed ears and long neck, and he immediately knew who was next to Lucy.

He watched as she held out her hand, and with a small flash, a bow and arrow materialized into the air and landed perfectly into her outstretched hand, her fingers wrapping around the weapon confidently. As swiftly as the weapon arrived, she pointed it towards him, her fingers wrapped around the tail of the arrow and string, completely in charge.

Natsu grinned at her, huffing in satisfaction. “It’s been a while, Sagittarius!”

“Moshimoshi!” the spirit beside the blonde nodded to the dragon slayer. “Natsu-dono.”

He held a similar stance to his master’s, bow aimed and ready to fire. The sight of the two of them almost set him on edge, sending excited chills down his spine as Lucy flashed him with a confident grin.

“A little too muddy don’t you think?” Natsu asked aloud, directing his question towards Lucy, looking her up and down. “Wouldn’t want someone’s hooves to slip out from under them.”

“You just worry about your own hooves, ‘kay?” Lucy fired back at him, shooting a nod towards the horse next to her. “We’ve gotten pretty steady on our feet.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Natsu nodded, grinning as he clenched his hands into fists, orange sparks of baby flames flying out from his skin, the warmth of the fire egging him on and increasing his adrenaline, the battle before him sure to be an exciting and thrilling one.

They stared each other down for a solid three seconds before the sparks ignited.

“Bring it on.” he taunted, his leg muscles twitching.

She smiled at him and aligned her arrow with her target, her fingers steady.

“Oh, I intend to.”

And she sent her arrow flying.

o-o-o

In the duration of his whole life, there was only one time that Elfman had ever felt an immense amount of fear. It was years ago, after he’d regained consciousness from the beast magic invading his brain seeing his little sister bleeding and dying on the ground, the rocks around her bright red and wet from the rain. The fear that he had killed his sister, that his innocent little Lisanna was dying because of his actions pounded through his body. And to make matters worse, this had all been too painfully true. Which is why ever since she’d returned to them, he swore he’d never let fear overtake him ever again, swearing to himself that he’d push away the fear and take control.

And it was because of this promise to himself that he now stood outside of the bakery with a pained look on his face, walking down the steps in a lethargic manner with a piece of cake sitting perfectly on a plate.

He kept his eyes on the manly pink frosting as he felt the blazing stare of his teammates on him. He didn’t dare look up from his dessert.

“She...gave me cake.” was all he said to them, to which they groaned collectively.

They had a long way to go.

o-o-o

Natsu’s eyes widened as he watched Lucy switch the trajectory of her aim within a second’s notice, her response to him lunging at her all of a sudden. Natsu was able to catch a glimpse of her fired up eyes before his vision suddenly turned dark. A cold and damp substance smacked him right in the face, the feeling travelling across his arms and legs and permeating throughout his neck. He tasted earth and grime on his tongue, his face scrunching up with the metallic taste. He brought his arm up and swiped it across his face, clearing his vision for only a few seconds before he watched Sagittarius release his arrow, pointed at the ground like Lucy had moments before. He released the arrow, and Natsu’s vision was once again darkened by damp and cold black.

Lucy certainly knew how to use her surroundings to her advantage. Natsu silently praised her for using the mud around them, it almost made him smile as he thought back to the person he once thought Lucy was, back when they went on their first mission together. Back then, she complained over a snowstorm and hid in that Grandfather Clock looking spirit of hers. And now looking at her-well with what vision he had through the mud-she was getting down and dirty with the elements. It excited him, amusing him even.

His sharp hearing heard Lucy pull back on her bow once more, and he swiftly jumped backwards as he wiped the mud away from his eyes once more. The wet earth splattered onto his legs but he’d managed to dodge the brunt force of it.

Gotta stop her from shooting he thought to himself. He glanced down at the section of ground he was about to land on, and with a snap of his fingers he sent his fire blazing down on to the ground. The mudd succumbed to his flames, and turned hard and cracked. He landed atop of it smoothly, the dried pieces of mudd breaking off and hitting his ankles. With no extra second to spare, he launched himself towards Lucy.

Surprise filled her eyes as she took a half a step backwards as Natsu’s hand reached out towards her, adrenaline filling his body with the anticipation of victory.

However, that spirit completely left his body when he felt a hand grab onto his ankle and pull him down. He gasped in surprise as his stomach hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of him as he gritted his teeth.

“What in the hell-” he said aloud before he turned towards the hand, meeting a pair of sapphire blue eyes piercing into his.

“Nice, Virgo!” Lucy exclaimed confidently, triggering a nod from the celestial being.

She was covered in mud, her pink hair matted up with the stuff, her usually neat dress adorned with the wet earth. She was in a similar position as Natsu, sprawled out on her stomach drenched in mud.

“Thank you, Princess.” the maid saidly plainly.

Natsu smirked at his partner, watching as she smiled back at him mockingly, swiping a piece of mud off of her cheek. “So we’re playing dirty now, huh?”

Lucy crossed her muddy arms. “Nothing dirty about it. It’s my magic, and last time I was concerned you’re the one who decided to play dirty.” she told him, gesturing towards the muddy ground around him. “I was looking forward to a mud bath from the spa, but this isn’t what I had in mind.”

Lucy watched Natsu as he laughed, propping himself up onto his elbows. “Sorry to say you won’t be making it to the spa. But the guys and I will be sure to tell you all about it!” he laughed. “This is the closest you’ll get to a mud bath.” his eyes swept around them, talking about the mud before he returned his look to the blonde.

Lucy closed her eyes in annoyance and huffed. “You boys are too dense to fully appreciate that spa. And this?” she gentured around her. “You call this a treatment?”

“I call this a pleasurable punishment.” Virgo chimed in, making Lucy sigh in exasperation. “Though it seems that Natsu-san wishes to get down and dirty with you.”

Natsu choked, coughing up the rough air in his lungs as Virgo’s words reached his ears. His throat felt dry as his eyes widened, to which he awkwardly glanced off to the side. Virgo had said some racy stuff in the past, that’s for sure, but her choice of words this time around made the fire in Natsu’s body heat up his face to a light pink. He glanced back at Virgo slowly, sweat beading on his temples as she looked right back at him innocently.

“Well, is it not true?” she asked him, looking from Natsu to Lucy.

“V-Virgo!” Lucy stuttered, her face glowing bright red. Her fingers around her bow shook uncomfortably.

“Is there not mud around us?”

Natsu and Lucy exhaled shakily, both of them releasing the uncomfortable stiffness to their bodies. Sure, that was his intention after all, in a matter of terms. He purposely didn’t dry up the ground below the water all the way completely, hoping he could use the mudd to his advantage to make it harder to move for Lucy, though he had no idea that she’d turn the tables on him and use the mud to her own advantage instead. Not to say that he didn’t think that there was a possibility that Lucy would have a plan up her sleeve, she wouldn’t be the person he knew if this were the case. She was smart, unyielding.

Natsu glanced up at the sky. He gritted his teeth as he realized that his time was almost up.

“You’re right,” he began, bringing his palms together. His words caught Lucy’s full attention, she tightened her grip on her bow, bracing herself for Natsu’s next move. His eyes swept down to the mud beneath him, then back at Lucy. He saw her eyes widen, and he knew that she knew what he was about to do.

“So, let’s change that.”

Screw the mud. Time to make things work in his favor.

His hands ignited, and he shoved them into the ground.

o-o-o

Juvia and Gray stopped in their tracks, halting their conversation as they watched the water in the river beside them begin to sizzle, steam billowing upwards to the sky. It reminded Gray of a hot tub, though hot tubs usually didn’t lose water as they heated up.

Juvia’s hair began to frizz up as she and Gray exchanged puzzled looks. Gray felt his face heat up from the steam, making him extremely uncomfortable as sweat pooled around his temples.

“What on earthland…” Juvia said as she watched the last of the water bubble down into the ground, creating streaks of mud in between the old cobblestones beneath the river. “What could be-”

She cut herself off as Gray shot her a look, and she immediately knew the answer.

“Natsu.” They both repeated in unison.

o-o-o

“Virgo!” Lucy shouted, throwing her bow out before her as it vanished with a flash.

“Understood!”

Natsu felt Virgo’s grip on him vanish. His ears picked up the sound of digging, and Virgo’s scent was suddenly dulled from his senses. No matter, he had work to do.

His flames worked almost immediately, spreading across the ground at a rapid pace and drying up the sticky mud, turning it into crust. He pushed against the ground and sprung upwards, running after his flames towards Lucy.

“Time to end this!” he exclaimed, giving everything he had in his stride. He watched as Lucy jumped backwards a little, her eyes darting to the ground and the fire that raced towards her.

The ground began to shake slightly, which Natsu picked up almost instantly. And with a sudden crack, he watched as a muddy figure popped out of the soft ground, an area his fire had not yet touched.

“Now!” Lucy exclaimed as she dashed forwards, leaping a few feet up off of the ground. Natsu’s eyes widened as the muddy figure, who he had quickly realized was Virgo, knelt down to the ground and held out her cupped palms. Her hands caught Lucy’s foot, and she sent the blonde flying up into the air. Natsu stopped in his tracks as Virgo winked in his direction and disappeared with a sparkling flash, right before his fire swept over the ground where she was standing.

Another flash of light caught Natsu’s attention, and he looked up to watch Lucy’s body engulfed in glitter.  He watched as the tails of her top melted away and when the light faded, she was wearing a new black and red outfit. She almost looked like a ninja.

“Sand Barrage!” she called out, throwing her palms together. A huge burst of sand spun in the air from her efforts, creating a sort of twister. The twister broke apart into four parts, and they shot out all around her, slamming into Natsu’s flames and effectively putting them out.

She landed atop of her hand, a little unsteadily Natsu noticed, her feet sinking into the huge layer of sand ungracefully. She grunted softly, but didn’t have time to focus on the ground as Natsu used his fire in his palms to shoot himself towards Lucy. She whirled around with wide eyes as she watched Natsu’s hand approach her waist, his fingertips inches from tagging her. She cried out in surprise, and Natsu was yet again met with darkness. He felt the sand invade his eyes and hair, falling into his eyelashes as he shook his head.

“No fair!” he exclaimed. “Ya don’t see me trying to shoot fire in your face!”

“That’s because if you ever did, you would never see the sun again!” she exclaimed furiously.

Natsu shook the sand away from his eyes only to see Lucy engulfed in light once more, changing back into her Aquarius Stardress. Without skipping a beat, she threw her hands down onto the ground and shot a heavy stream of water everywhere, dampening the sand. She heard Natsu’s advance, and her head shot upwards as she dodged his hand once more.

The two continued this dance of theirs for the next few minutes, Lucy dodging Natsu’s tag attempts and Natsu bending backwards to avoid Lucy’s lips, the mage trying her best to plant a kiss on him.

The ground around them had become nothing short of a disaster. Lucy’s water attack had made the ground soggy and almost impossible to walk or run smoothly on. Their scuffling hadn’t helped the situation either, mixing the wet sand with the dry dirt, which was mud again.

The final time that Natsu dodged her mouth, Lucy glared at him, angry fire brewing in her eyes.

“Get over here already!” she exclaimed, lunging for him once more, only slipping on her own feet and landing face first into the sandy-mud mixture.

Natsu burst into laughter as Lucy raised her head to glare at him, nothing but her eyes visible from under the tan and brown sludge. Her glare made him laugh even harder, making his muscles ache.

“You TOTALLY deserved that!” he exclaimed with glee, his laughter growing as Lucy’s attempt to scramble to her feet ended in her slipping back onto the ground. The agitated look on her face amused him as he made his way over to her to end the game, still laughing at an obnoxious volume.

That is, until he himself slipped in the mud and sand.

He fell face-first for the second time that day, and this time he heard Lucy’s laughter ring in the air.

“Karma!” She exclaimed “Doesn’t feel so hot, does it?!”

“Yeah, Yeah.” Natsu rolled his eyes. “Hilarious.” He propped himself up onto his elbows once more that day, and balanced on one of them to point at his partner. “I’m getting that flag from you! Even if I-”

He halted his speech, his lips parted from his unfinished speech. He stared at Lucy long and hard, making sure that his eyes weren’t tricking him. This made Lucy frown at him with confusion, obviously not seeing what he was currently observing.

“What?” she asked him, blinking slowly. “Is there something in my hair?” she patted her head worryingly, eyes darting around frantically.

“Where’s the flag?”

“Huh?” she frowned at him, her brown eyes big and naive. “What are you talking about?”

Natsu grunted as he hoisted himself up off of the ground onto his knees. “Your flag is gone.”

Lucy blinked at him slowly, and Natsu stared right back at her evenly, unwavering. She was leaning on her side, her left side of her body supporting her weight in the mud. Her key holder was exposed, some of her keys poking through prominently.  

Her face slowly melted into an annoyed one, eyes narrowing.

“Nice try.” she said dryly. “You want me to look away so that I won’t see you coming towards me. That’s the oldest trick in the book, bud.”

“Luce, I’m dead serious.” Natsu countered, his eyes sweeping around them frantically, searching for any sign of something red. “Where is it?”

“Natsu, stop.” Lucy rolled her eyes, reaching for her hip. “I know for a fact that it’s right-”

She stopped talking as her fingertips only touched the green silk of her skirt. Her eyes widened as she slowly glanced down to find that Natsu was right. The flag was gone.

“What?!” Lucy exclaimed, releasing her magic and transforming back into her original outfit of her red t-shirt and black shorts. She patted her side down frantically, lifting her red shirt to see if it had sunk beneath the fabric.

“Hmph.” Natsu huffed. “I’d say I told you so but-”

“Oh shut it!” Lucy fired back, panic rising in her features as she hoisted herself up onto her knees, digging her hands into the earth around her. She threw clumps of sand and mud around her, digging till she reached stone. “No, No, NO!” she cried out.

“This is all your fault!” Natsu exclaimed as he copied her action, digging with all his might.

“My fault?!” Lucy exclaimed, grabbing a handful of mud and launching it in Natsu’s direction. “You’re the one who came at me like a mad man!” The mud ball hit Natsu square in the chest, which did not please him in the least bit. “And furthermore-”

Lucy’s eyes widened as she focused on something behind Natsu, a glimmer of something he couldn’t identify at first sparking in her eyes for the briefest moment. He frowned at her, until it dawned on him to turn around and follow her gaze.

There it was, sticking out of the ground like a newly grown flower. The red poked out of the ground ever so slightly, teasing the two of them.

Natsu looked back at Lucy, who met his gaze with her horrified one.

He smirked mischievously, and he took off running, laughing like a crazy person.

“No!” he heard Lucy exclaim, her breath heavy as she stumbled to her feet, slipping a few times before she dashed after Natsu, head outstretched.

The sky turned darker, signaling that the sun was ready to set.

Natsu cursed as he slipped once more, twisting his leg slightly. This sent him down back into the mud and sand. His scarf was heavy and wet against his neck, sticking onto his lips.

His ears picked up Lucy’s footsteps, and a competitive anger rose in his body.

The orange of the sky began to fade to black.

Enough was enough.

His eyes blazed with determination, and just seconds before the sunset was swallowed up by the dark of night, he launched himself up from the ground and wrapped his arms around Lucy’s waist, making her emit a startled shriek. They landed roughly in the mud, Natsu rolling on top if her and grabbing her wrists, pinning her tightly to the ground.

She stared up at him with her widened brown eyes, her chest rising and falling in perfect sync with his own. His drenched scarf fell halfway onto her chest, her ponytail sprawled out below him.  He looked down at her, studying her face while he caught his breath, grinning from ear to ear at his late-coming victory. His breath made her baby hairs shake, and her own tickled the tip of his nose, which sent exciting chills down his cold back.

“I.” he breathed out “win.” he said with a final breath.

Lucy continued to stare up at him, saying nothing.

Natsu grinned cockily down at his partner as she sank further down into the wet earth. “Too shocked to speak? I get it. But I did warn you that I’d win didn’t I?”

Then, she began to giggle softly, throwing Natsu off guard completely. Her eyes closed, a happy blush dusting her cheeks.

Natsu frowned down at her. Had losing made her lose it? Had the mud gotten to her brain or something?

“What are you-GAH!” he began to ask her, until he let out a surprised yelp.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, sending confused shock directly to his beating heart.

Her familiar brown eyes were gone, and in their place were a pair of beady black ones with stark white pupils. Her lips curled upwards into a startling smile.

“Piri Piri!”

Natsu’s eyes widened in shock, his mouth hanging open as the girl beneath him flashed him one last smile before he was surrounded in a puff of smoke, his hands sinking back into the earth where he once held her wrists.

The smoke faded, and Gemini blinked up at Natsu innocently.

“Y-You…” he started to say, stammering off into silence.

“Good job, Gemini.” he heard a familiar voice praise the spirit. Her feet sloshed in the earth near him, and he felt her standing above him. “You’re free to go.”

“Piri Piri!” Gemini chanted once more before vanishing in a glittery veil. Natsu continued to stare down at the earth for a few more seconds before he turned his head to look up at the real Lucy, who was flashing him a victorious smile.

o-o-o

Lucy was concerned that she had thrown Natsu into a bad state of shock, watching as he glanced up at her, down at the ground, then back up at her. The charade continued for a couple of minutes before he finally spoke. She had to choke down several fits of laughter.

“When did you…” he asked her, pointing down at the ground to gesture to the Lucy imposter who he had pinned down just seconds ago. His brow furrowed in confusion, looking up at Lucy for the answer that wouldn’t come. She just stared at him, inspecting his face until she saw that it finally dawned on him.

“The steam.” he said aloud, clarification ringing through his voice.

Lucy nodded. “Have to admit that without you drying up the river, you probably would’ve won.” she told him, looking down at the red flag in her hands. “It’s a handy technique really, it’s helped me so much in the past year.”

Natsu remained on the ground, which unsettled Lucy a little. Was he really that discouraged that he didn’t tag her on time? If anything, neither of them had achieved their goal really. She hadn’t even gotten close to plating a kiss on his cheek, she felt like a lovestruck pre-schooler chasing after a boy who believed that every female on the planet had cooties. She frowned down at his back, reaching out to lay her palm on him to offer comfort.

“We should probably-”

Natsu suddenly lunged himself at her, grabbing her waist like he’d done to Gemini, and pulling her down onto the ground, Lucy squeaking in surprise. She felt the mud around her cushion the blow of her landing, the stuff tangling up in her hair. Her back became ten degrees cooler as the sand and mud pressed against her back. She even felt some splashes of the stuff against her cheeks and thighs.

The boy above her had a different aura than the one she had tried to comfort just seconds ago. This Natsu was smiling down at her brightly, laughing with amusement. She’d never been more confused in her life.

“What are you-”

“That was amazing!” he exclaimed excitedly as she looked up at him in shock. “I mean, wow! I never even realized what was going on! Using your spirits to fling you up in the air, and even using those fancy Star Dress things of yours all by yourself!”

A faint blush began to invade her cheeks, cancelling out the cold mud against her skin. The stars had began to come out now, and they twinkled around Natsu’s head in a cosmic dance. She watched the stars and her partner with awe, her heart beating to an unfamiliar tred. His features were lit so brightly, his exciting words almost blending into the beauty of the night sky as she just let him hover over her body, being okay with not being able to move for the moment.

Something shifted in Natsu’s face, and while she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, she realized in that moment that she didn’t want to look away.

“You...really are amazing, Lucy.”

He said it as if it were the most simple thing in the world.

Lucy’s heart pounded in her chest as the words repeated in her head, the sounds turning into ink-blotted text that swam tauntingly before her eyes, text she’d written herself from her novel.

You’re amazing

Breaking the silence between the two of them, Lucy dug her fingers into the mud and swiftly swatched it all upon Natsu’s cheek. She smirked as he glared down at her, bits and pieces of the mud dripping onto Lucy’s chest.

“This look becomes you.”

“Shut up.”

o-o-o

Happy sat perched on Natsu’s muddy shoulder as he and Lucy made their trek back to the guild. Natsu absentmindedly scratched the exceed in between his ears, the poor thing still wet from Lucy’s water attack. There weren’t any hard feelings between the two of them of course, after Lucy promptly told Happy that she’d make him a fish dinner the moment she saw him.

Everyone had slowly made their way back to the guild once the sun had set for good. However, Natsu could easily say that Lucy and himself looked the most messed up out of everyone else. Sure, there was mussed up hair with leaves caught in it, and sweat gleaming on skin, but when the two of them approached everyone else, the stares that they’d received made Natsu feel as though he were naked. Lucy huffed beside him, running her fingers through her ponytail to loosen the dried up mud.

Then again, he might’ve reconsidered him and Lucy’s appearance after catching a glimpse of Levy and Gajeel coming into view. He saw their matted up hair and sweaty faces, which he paid no mind to until he noticed that Gajeel’s belt was wrapped around his waist inside out, his stomach peeking out from his wrinkled up shirt. Levy hadn’t looked much better, with her headband almost falling off of her head and her shirt also rolled up, Natsu slowly began to piece the picture together.

His nose caught a strange scent, and he only had to glance over towards Wendy to figure out the source of the scent. Her eyes were wide and her face was pale, looking absolutely flustered as her stare fell down to the ground.

Natsu grinned. He’d have to confirm something with Gajeel later on.

Natsu and Lucy approached Gray and Juvia, who looked them up and down slowly. Gray raised his eyebrows at Natsu, while Juvia silently giggled to herself.

“Do I wanna know?” Gray asked, lifting up a styrofoam cup to his lips to gulp down the sloshing water inside of it, glistening with ice cubes that he undoubtedly created himself.

Natsu smirked, wrapping his arm around Lucy and pulling her into his side embrace, making her emit a surprised yelp. “We know how to rough it up in a competition!” he exclaimed. He glanced at the wet tips of Gray’s hair. “And what, you two just got your hair a little wet and did some slip and slide?”

Juvia immediately looked off to the side, her face glowing bright red. Gray coughed on his water, hacking up the liquid as Natsu and Lucy looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.

“What’s gotten you two so-” Natsu began before Juvia lunged forward and grabbed Lucy’s arm, prying her free from Natsu’s hold.

“Wh-Juvia?” Lucy asked in surprise before the water mage tugged her off to the right.

“C-Come with me Lucy-san!” Juvia exclaimed awkwardly as the girls left Natsu and Gray by themselves, watching them run over to Lisanna and Erza. The girls gathered in a tight circle, their faces hidden from any nosy eavesdroppers. Faint chatter erupted from the small crowd, but Natsu honestly wasn’t the least bit interested in what they had to say, for the most part anyway.

Girls were too weird.

“Alright, kids!” a booming voice rang out over everyone, who immediately ceased their conversations to turn towards the voice with excitement in their eyes, while some members looked sullen, knowing all too well that their defeat was to be announced.

Everyone made space for Makarov to walk, pooling around the guild master and making him the center of attention. “As usual, these games always bring dear joy to my heart. Nothing beats watching everyone do their absolute best to win!” He took a pregnant pause, allowing everyone to absorb his words before he grinned from ear to ear. “That, and gloating rights.”

Collective laughter and eyerolls spread among the guild members, signaling the desire for their master to get down to business, to which he didn’t disappoint.

“Now, I want both teams to line up single file, girls and boys.”

The circle around Makarov dispersed, teammates joining up with teammates shoulder to shoulder. The effort only took about a minute or so, and then the girls were facing the boys, all of them in a neat and parallel line.

Mira began to giggle to herself, and leaned over to whisper something in Erza’s ear. Contrary to last time, Natsu tuned in his ears to catch what she had said to Erza, who had smirked and nodded her head after listening to Mira’s words.

“We already know that our team won. Why drag it out and give the boys some false hope, huh?”

Natsu heard Gajeel grunt in annoyance beside him, Natsu realizing that he wasn’t the only one snooping on the girls’ conversation.

Makarov cleared his throat. “Now then,” he began, looking to his right towards the female team. “I would like all the female members who have been tagged before sundown to please get out of line and stand off to the side.”

Natsu and the guys watched as Kinana, Laki, Mira, Wendy, Evergreen, Bisca, and Cana all left their places in line to obey Makarov’s order. The girls left in line moved closer together to fill the gaps made by their teammates.

“And likewise gentlemen.” Makarov nodded to the men. “If you’ve been kissed by one of the girls before sunset, please leave the line and join this group over here.”

Now it was the girls’ turn to watch the line of guys shrink. Jet, Droy, Romeo, Bixslow, Freed, Elfman, and even Gajeel left the line. Gajeel had a visible storm cloud over his head, slightly sulking as he joined the group off to the side.

Natsu immediately pointed at the Iron Dragon Slayer and burst out in mocking laughter. “This is too good!” he exclaimed, laughing even harder “Way to go Levy!”

“Shut it!” Gajeel yelled back at Natsu, steam rising out of his head as he muttered something under his breath, which of course Natsu was able to pick up on.

“Still worth it.” he’d said, and quickly took a glance at Levy before adjusting his belt slightly. Natsu followed his gaze to find that Levy’s face began to glow bright red as she grabbed fistfulls of her shirt.

“Levy-chan?” Lucy had whispered to her friend, who began to awkwardly laugh it off and told her it was nothing.

Natsu looked back at Gajeel, a mischievous gleam in his eye.

Alright Gajeel, now I definitely see what’s going on.

“Now everyone!’ Makarov exclaimed, looking left and right at the members who still stood in the untouched line. “Congratulate yourselves on a job well done! You all were able to shine today, living up to the Fairy Tail name!”

On the girl’s side stood Lucy, Levy, Juvia, Erza, Lisanna, and Charle. They all met eyes with the boys across from them. Natsu, Gray, Laxus, Alzack, Happy, Loke, and Lily all equally stared back at them.

“If only I were able to tag Charle!” Happy said aloud. “Or even better, that she would have kissed me to get me out of the game!”

Charle rolled her eyes. “Seems it wasn’t meant to be, Tom Cat.”

Gray smirked. “Nothing I didn’t expect from the girls.”

“Absolutely.” Natsu agreed, crossing his arms. “Even though we totally dominated over them today.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “As if.”

Erza nodded, agreeing with the blonde. “Try the other way around boys.”

Makarov held his hand up for silence to ensue once more.

“Now for the results!” he announced as his eyes landed on each of the winning members on both teams standing before him before he continued. “If I understand correctly, the correct flag has not yet been confiscated, at least to my knowledge.” he turned to the boys. “Can I assume that this fact is correct.”

Natsu swallowed dry air as he and his teammates exchanged questionable glances, each of them looking hopelessly at the flags still tucked into the winner’s hips. The proud looks on the girls’ faces didn’t help their case either.

“...No.” Loke was the one to speak first. “At least, I haven’t captured it.” he looked at his teammates with a hopeless grin. “I think we’ve screwed up in that department.”

“Way to rub salt in the wound.” Gray muttered under his breath.

“I see.” Makarov replied. He glanced over all the faces of the men for a few seconds before sighing to himself. “I tell you kids all the time that chasing after a woman who doesn’t wish to be chased is frowned upon, and yet the one time it’s acceptable, you don’t pull through.”

A collective amount of groans spread throughout the crowd.

Makarov waited for everyone to silence themselves before he spoke once more. “Tell you what,” he began, taking a quick glance at the girls, who then began to frown to each other. “I’ll make you all a deal.”

The chatter began once more, softly this time, waiting for Makarov to say his peace.

He sighed as he extended his arm towards the girls. “Well, since these girls are the only ones who haven’t gotten tagged, it’s obvious that the flag is with one of them. If you boys can correctly pick who has the real flag, then I’ll make sure all of us get a nice trip to the spa!”

“What?!” everyone exclaimed, some more jubilent than others.

Makarov shrugged. “Eh, I’m feeling generous.”

The winning team of men began to laugh with joy, Natsu’s excitement rising from his core as he saw the sour faces that the girls put on, rolling their eyes at each other and taking swift glances towards the boys while whispering in each other’s ears. The horrified look on Lucy’s face amused Natsu to the highest degree. “Oh, it’s over now!” he exclaimed, high fiving his teammates. “We’ve got this down!”

The girls all looked into the eyes of the boys before them, their arms crossed defiantly.

It was Erza who spoke next.

“Let them try.” she said, glancing at her girls with a confident smile on her face. She flipped her scarlet hair over her shoulders and glanced over at the boys with a condescending smile. “They still won’t win.”

“Oh?” Laxus sneered. “Wanna bet?”

“Absolutely!” Mira exclaimed from the sidelines. She flashed a thumbs up. “There’s no way that they can win!”

Natsu and the others were too caught up in their glee to listen to anything the girls were saying to bring them down. This was it, this was their chance to win once and for all.

“You only get one chance.” Makarov informed them. “So choose wisely. It has to be a unanimous decision from the whole team, so all of you over there can join your team to decide on your choice.”

The boy’s team all gathered together before their options, muttering to each other in a low volume as to not let the girls hear their conversation.

“Well?” Loke asked the guys around him, glancing over to their competition. “Who are we going with?”

“It’s not Juvia.” Gray informed them. “She showed me her flag when our sparring was over and done with.”

“Not Levy either.” Gajeel said, nodding his head confidently. “Her flag’s blank. Didn’t see our crest on it when she tied it o-”

He cut himself off as everyone immediately began to stare immensely at Gajeel, who began to choke on his words, coughing as if to deflect the words that he was about to spew. His eyes cautiously darted around his teammates, and with a low growl of aggression, he hastily finished his sentence “It ain’t her. Moving on.”

Natsu grinned. Oh, he was so gonna have some fun with this.

“Okay, well, what about the rest of them?” Loke asked everyone, his strategically calm voice filling their ears. “Do we have any solid proof or any suggestions as to who could have it?” Loke turned to Natsu. “You were the one to find Lucy. Did you happen to see anything?”

Natsu frowned before shaking his head. “The flag got lost in the mud around us for a few minutes, but I wasn’t able to tag her before the sun set. Besides, when she went to pick up her flag it was covered in mud. I didn’t see the Fairy Tail Crest.”

Loke nodded. “Alright. Anyone else?”

Freed and Bixslow frowned to each other. “We saw the flag on Lisanna’s hip before we were ambushed.”

“Erza...bakery…” Elfman muttered in shame.

“We’re going about this wrong.” Laxus said gruffly, catching everyone’s attention. “We can’t fully go off of what our eyes did or didn’t see. We gotta get into their heads, think like them a little.”

The boys digested Laxus’s words for a minute, each of them deep in their own thoughts trying to solve the riddle before them.

“Well? Any ideas?” Laxus asked them, frowning to himself.

“It can’t be Charle.”

Everyone turned their attention to Happy. He held his paws together calmly, a look of concentration on his face. “My beloved is smart, and she can dodge attacks pretty quickly.” He glanced over towards the white feline and his eyes stopped on the red piece of fabric tied at the end of her tail. “But she wouldn’t take on that responsibility.”

“What makes you say that?” Gray asked him.

Natsu felt something touch his calf, and he looked down to see Happy looking up at him confidently, his paw touching Natsu’s skin. “She had someone she wanted to look after.” Happy said, obviously referring to Charle and Wendy’s partnership.

Natsu smiled and ruffled Happy’s fur affectionately. “Damn right, Little Buddy.”

“Alright, So Juvia, Levy, and Charle are definitely out.” Gray reported. “So that means it’s between Lucy, Lisanna, and Erza.”

A small bit of laughter filled the air, and everyone turned their heads to the source.

Their choices of females stood calmly before them, their faces looking all too smug as they smiled at the boys haughtily, copying Erza’s confidence in that they thought they couldn’t outsmart them.

The girls who’d been tagged were giggling softly, covering their mouths to try to muffle their laughter.

Natsu made eye contact with Lucy, and in response, she smiled coyly at him. Her eyes swam with a secretive glitter, and it set Natsu’s spine on a competitive edge.

She was mocking him.

o-o-o

Lucy’s stomach danced with butterflies as she smiled cockily at Natsu, the glare he shot back at her making her giddy with competition.

The flag was still safe and sound, there was no way they’d figure it out.

She watched as the crowd of boys broke apart, their faces serious and bodies stiff. Lucy took a swift glance to her left and right, her teammates confidently standing their ground like she was.

“Well then, have you made your decision?” Makarov asked, to which the boys nodded slowly.

It was Loke who stepped forward, raised his right arm, and pointed at their choice.

o-o-o

Natsu had an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

Their choice...it was too easy.

She blinked at Loke slowly, frowning in the direction of his finger.

“Oh?” Makarov questioned. “What’s the logic behind this choice?”

Loke adjusted his sunglasses cooly. “It seemed like the obvious choice.”

The pit refused to leave Natsu’s stomach as he was convinced that they’d made the wrong choice. It had seemed so perfect at the moment, even he himself had been so convinced at the time that they’d made the right choice.

And as soon as Loke pointed to one of the girls, Natsu knew that they screwed up.

“She’s the only one that none of us would’ve gone for.”

“She’s stealthy enough to not give up anything.”

“She looked too proud eating that piece of cake!”

“It’s her!”

“It has to be!”

She smiled at them through her scarlet hair, and with another smug grin, she whipped her flag off of her hip and held it out in front of her in all its glory.

It was blank.

The boy’s jaws dropped to the ground in astonishment as the girls cheered and laughed, celebrating their victory.

Erza walked over to Loke, who stood there in a stunned silence as she flung her flag playfully over his face.

“Better luck in the next games.” she told him sweetly. “We told you that we’d outsmarted you.”

“But…” Gray frowned, pointed at Erza and then directed his attention to the gleeful group of girls who still held unopened flags on her hips. “Who has the right flag then?”

The girls laughed once more, making Gajeel burst out in an annoyed grunt, telling them to quit their act.

“Yeah!” Elfman exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips. “Stop laughing and man up!”

Erza’s gaze went from Loke to Elfman, who instantly took a step backwards, still shaken up from their encounter in the bakery.

“Man up?”

Everyone turned to a pouting Levy, who rolled her eyes and untied her flag from her hip. She held it up for the guild to see, the blank red square shining in the moonlight.

“Let’s get something straight here.” she began, her pout turning into a sly smile. “Manning up isn’t something that we plan on doing. Ever.”

It was then that Juvia stepped forward next to Levy, and held her blank flag up with her right arm.

“You see, why would Juvia and her teammates have to man up when we’re fine being the strong women that we are?” She said proudly, as Lucy stepped up next to her. The blonde flashed everyone a confident smile as she untied her flag and held it out in front of her.

“We’ve managed to take all of you down with just a small piece of fabric.” she told them proudly.

Her flag was also blank.

“So why would we man up when our womanly vibes were enough to win?” Lisanna chirped, flashing her blank flag in the air.

Everyone was silent, their eyes wide as they digested the girls’ words.

“Th-Then that means…”

All eyes went down to Charle, Happy’s eyes bulging out of his head.

But, she turned her nose up at all of them, bringing her tail down towards her front paws to swiftly pull off the red tie on her tail. “Hmph.” she closed her eyes, unfolding her flag and holding it out for everyone to see. “As if we’d resort to stooping to become a bunch of tomcats.”

The blank surface was blinding against the moonlight.

“What?!” multiple voices exclaimed, pointing at the blank flags that the girls proudly held out before them, frustration filling their voices and bodies.

“Cheaters!” Bixslow exclaimed, putting his hands on his head as if he were about to fall over. “How in the hell is this a fair win when none of ya don’t even have the right flag?!”

“Cheaters! Cheaters!” his babies chanted angrily above his head.

“That’s a new low, even for you guys!” Gray exclaimed, crossing his arms. “What gives?!”

“How dare you accuse Juvia of cheating!” The water mage exclaimed. “Juvia and her team would never cheat!”

“Get your facts straight!” Erza retorted. “It’s so obvious the sun has gotten to all of your brains!”

Everyone began to yell at everyone, bickering loudly.

Makarov’s voice boomed out loudly, telling everyone to cease their yelling at once.

Makarov looked at each of the members a second at a time before sighing to himself, calming down his voice.

Natsu, however, remained oddly silent.

He usually was the first one to jump into a tiff like the one that happened moments ago, however there was still something eating at him. His eyes danced on the flags in each of the girls’ hands, trying to figure out what it was exactly that they were missing.

A certain puzzle piece that wouldn’t fit...a math equation that was missing a variable….an optical illusion….

“The girls have not committed any cheating of any sort.”

He looked over each girl quickly, his eyes scanning their bodies until they landed on something that he’d previously overlooked, something that he didn’t even think to consider.

An illusion…

Natsu’s eyes widened suddenly, drowning the accusations of his teammates and the proud laughter of the girls as he suddenly put his mind to work.

It wasn’t that they were missing a piece of the puzzle, but that they were just looking at it from a different angle, paying more attention to certain pieces than others.

Paying no mind to the piece that really mattered.

“How?” Gray asked aloud to which more laughter erupted from the girls as the sound of footsteps filled Natsu’s ears.

“It’s because you’re unable to think like a woman.”

Everyone turned towards the person who decided to walk forward into the blank space between both teams. Her blonde ponytail swished gracefully behind her as she smiled to herself softly.

Natsu watched as she tucked in her muddy flag into the side of her shorts.

His stomach sank to his feet as he watched her hands slowly move from her hip and raise themselves up to her ponytail, grabbing onto her blonde locks as if to tighten the red tie that held her hair together.

She made eye contact with Natsu once more, and when his eyes widened in understanding, she flashed him a cocky smile.

“It’s time that you all…”

Her hands grabbed onto the red tie in her hair and she swiftly undid the knot, setting her hair free to fall and cascade over her shoulders in a blonde waterfall. The wind picked up as she did so, making her hair sweep over her brown eyes. Her intoxicating scent filled Natsu’s senses and she slowly unrolled her red hair tie, releasing it from its roll and holding it up for everyone to see.

The Fairy Tail Guild Crest shone brightly in the moonlight, every male member into a stunned stupor.

And with relish, she finished her sentence.

“...opened your eyes.”

Nobody spoke.

That is, until somebody did.

“Are you FUCKIN’ KIDDIN’ ME?!”

#nalu #nalu fic #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #fairy tail #fairy tail fanfiction #FINALLY