The Dragon's Mark

It's Just Embarrassing They Were Taking Bets!

At Lucy's Apartment:

Lucy shook her head, smiling. Leave it to Natsu. All you had to do was fix the guy some food and his mood automatically brightened.

"This is great, Lucy!" he exclaimed after gulping down a mouthful of food. He dug his fork into the huge pile of pancakes. "How do you get them so light and fluffy?"

"Trade secret," she smiled back at him. "Look, it's been kind of a long day - I'm going to go take a bath. You're good here, right?" She placed another stack of pancakes on the table. He nodded, his mouth too full to talk.

Lucy hummed as she got ready for her bath. Knowing Natsu, he would try to join her and right now, she wasn't quite ready for that. She made sure to lock the door before she slipped out of her clothes and into the warm bath she prepared.

"Lucy?" Natsu's voice came through the wooden door. She heard the rattle of the doorknob. "You okay in there?"

She sighed. Well, at least she had gotten 10 minutes of peace! "Give me another couple of minutes," she called back. Makarov said he would read up more on dragon mates. Maybe she needed to do so as well. She loved the guy, but she also loved having some time to herself! Until this stage was over, she wasn't sure how much time she'd get! Maybe there was a way to hurry the jealous stage along. She'd get Levy to help her find a book in the Guild library.

"Lucy?" Natsu called a few minutes later. She sighed. Suddenly, inspiration sparked.

"Natsu? Did we leave Happy at the Guild Hall?" she called through the door.

"Happy! I had forgotten all about him! Some friend I am! I'll be back, Lucy! You sure you'll be okay?"

"Just fine, I promise!" she called again through the door, grinning to herself. She had at least 15 minutes before he'd be back, even if Happy gave him a lift. Sinking back into the tub, she gave a happy sigh and decided to milk the time for all it was worth.

Later....

Lucy frowned. She had not only gotten 15 minutes more in her bath - it had grown cold and she had started to shiver, so she had gotten out - but she had also had time to apply lotion to her arms and legs, change into pajama pants and a t shirt, and work on part of her novel. Where were Natsu and Happy?

She shrugged. It was getting late. Maybe they had decided to stay at the Guild Hall. Maybe they had decided to go back to their place.

Either way, she thought, stifling a yawn, it was time she got her beauty sleep. Turning off all her lights, she climbed into her bed, making sure to shut the window before snuggling under her covers. Closing her eyes, she quickly fell asleep.

The Next Day....

There was something holding her down, draped across her waist. Something heavy. She sensed it before her mind became completely awake. She tentatively opened her eyes and saw it was an arm. Natsu. She could smell an almost woodsmoke aroma - like a campfire - that was not unpleasant. She heard a soft snore and saw something blue laying across the bottom of the bed. Happy.

Sometime during the night, the two had crept in and snuggled into bed with her. This was nothing unusual, other than the fact that Lucy was not sleeping on the couch. She had to admit - she had partially lied to Levy. Well, not lied, per se. Rather, she had omitted the times that she did NOT sleep on the couch and that Natsu had snuck into her bed and she had awoken many times in the same position she was in now.

She shivered as a cold breeze blew in from the open window. Instinctively, Natsu's arm pulled her closer to his naturally warm body. It was like having a giant heating pad of her very own. During the summer it wasn't so pleasant, but with the crisp fall air approaching, she could learn to enjoy it!

Natsu's face snuggled into her neck and he gently started a trail of kisses over and around her mark. It felt nice and slightly erotic. She stifled a moan that wanted to escape from her mouth, remembering the blue exceed at the bottom of the bed.

"Morning, Luce," whispered Natsu. "Miss me?"

Not changing her position, she quietly answered, "Where were you two last night? Partying at the guild?"

He shifted slightly, then pulled her closer to his chest. "Nah," he whispered back to her, his breath tickling her ear. "Spent some time with Grey. I felt bad about what happened." He gave a low chuckle. "Juvia must have heard what happened. She kept asking Grey why he wouldn't mark her!"

Lucy giggled at the thought. She really liked Juvia - other than the times that she became insanely jealous of Lucy working with Grey and called her "love rival" - and hoped that at some point, Grey would see past the aggressiveness and love her back.

"Yeah, so it's kind of out that we're together now," Natsu continued. "Hope that's okay."

"What did you do, write it in fire in front of the guild?" she teased.

"Nah, they just knew. Hey, did you know they had placed bets on when we'd get together?"

Lucy sat up quickly. "WHAT?" she yelled out, startling Happy awake. "You're kidding!"

"Nope. Apparently they all picked dates. Erza and someone else were the big winners."

"Who someone else?" Lucy growled, knowing now that Erza had manipulated the sleeping arrangements on their last mission.

Natsu scratched his head, as he was now sitting up next to Lucy. "Not sure. Happy, do you know?"

The blue exceed was rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Geeze, Lucy, you can't wake up someone that way!" He turned to Natsu. "What did you say?"

"I asked who won the bet about Lucy and I, besides Erza?"

"Oh, um," stumbled the cat. "I, um, am not sure."

"You better not be lying to us, cat," growled Lucy. "How am I going to show my face in the Guild Hall today?" she moaned, laying back down with a flop. She took the pillow and covered her face.

Natsu lifted up the pillow and leaned down and kissed her. "It's not a big deal. I mean, we're together. So what? It worked for Alzack and Bisca!"

Lucy huffed. "I guess so. It's just embarrassing that they were taking BETS!"

Natsu shrugged. "I wouldn't let it bother you. Instead, why don't you fix more of those pancakes this morning? That way," he grinned, "Happy can have some with me!"

She smiled, shaking her head. Everything seemed back to normal. Maybe Makarov having that talk did sink through that thick skull of his. Maybe it just took some time to settle in and make sense in his brain. Lucy stuck her feet in slippers and grabbed a robe, making her way to the kitchen.