One-Shots

A Dragon's Heart

Natsu had had many titles during his long life. Flame Dragon. Son of Igneel. END. Dragon Slayer. But right now, he was just Natsu. He liked being just Natsu. It was peaceful and he could truly be himself. After centuries of war, Natsu was grateful for this.

"Hey Natsu! Let's go fishing!" Happy yelled. Happy had been his companion for many years, a present from his father for his 248th birthday. The small blue cat was his best friend. The ice princess and iron head didn't count. "Let's go! I just need..." Natsu was suddenly interrupted when a scream echoed throughout the forest. A child's scream.

Natsu immediately jumped into action, running toward the source of the scream. He ran and ran and ran until he found it. Two men were holding a small girl, dragging her as she cried. "I wonder how much they'll pay for her. Ten million? One hundred?" The first man said. "I don't know Jared. Will you just shut the brat up? All that crying is annoying me." The other man said.

Money? These men kidnapped an innocent child just for money? This... This was why he hated people. "Let her go." He said, making the men jump. "That's why I told you to shut her up." The man told Jared. "There's two of us and one of you." Jared said to Natsu. "All I see are cowards. Let her go." Natsu replied. Slowly, Natsu walked toward the men, like a predator approaching its prey. "Claus, I don't think..." Jared began but was swiftly cut off. "Exactly! You don't think! So shut up and listen to me." Claus replied angrily.

A few seconds later, both men were 'eating dirt' and Natsu held the young girl in his arms. "Hey, don't cry. It's alright, you're safe." He whispered, soothing the child to the best of his capabilities. Happy joined him minutes later, accompanied by Wendy and Carla. As Wendy made sure the girl was not injured, said girl fell asleep in Natsu's arms as the dragon softly hummed a nursery song.
*
11 years later:
11 years ago, when the girl awoke shortly after her rescue, it was revealed that she had amnesia. The only thing she remembered was that her name was Lucy, she was six, and she was born on January first. As a result, Natsu decided to become her caretaker. There was just something about her that made him and his dragon want to protect her. He never regretted making that decision.

Lucy had grown up to be a beautiful girl. Her golden locks fell down to her shoulders, framing her tan face. Her eyes were the color of melted chocolate and she was tanned from spending her days outdoor. And her smile, oh god her smile, it was like a ray of sun that could warm even the coldest hearts. Yes, she was a pretty young thing indeed.

But what really charmed whoever she met was her kind nature. Lucy was the sweetest girl around, loved by dragons and humans. She was always helping others, putting their happiness above hers. Unlike many other girls, Lucy wasn't vain nor greedy nor was she a bully. Lucy was brave, selfless, graceful, loyal, and fair. Natsu had raised her with the other dragons to be one of a kind.
*
"Hey Luce! What's up with that dress?" Natsu asked. Lucy smiled and said, "I'm making Wendy a dress for her birthday. Grandine said that she was starting to grow out of her old ones.". Natsu smiled and said, "It's just like you to prepare a present two months in advance... And the day before your own birthday.". "My birthday?" She said, looking at Natsu in confusion. "Tomorrow is the first Luce." He replied, smiling at Lucy's forgetfulness.

Sometimes, Natsu thought, Lucy is too selfless. Happy and I are probably going to have to remind her of this tomorrow too. Suddenly his dragon began to stir and Natsu frowned. His dragon had been acting rather strange the last few weeks, maybe he'd need to go see Zeref and Mavis about it.

The prospect of seeing his brother almost made him change his mind, but his dragon was acting weirdly. But then again, he really didn't want to see his brother. As much as Natsu loved him, Zeref could be a pain in the ass more often then not. He would go if his dragon kept acting weirdly all day. He didn't want to be sick for Luce's birthday after all.
*
Natsu stood in the throne room, cursing his dragon, as he awaited Zeref's and Mavis's arrival. He hated leaving Lucy alone, but Happy was watching over her for him. "Natsu! What a pleasant surprise, little brother." Zeref said, entering the room. "Play nice." Mavis whispered, making the dark head dragon smile. "Of course my love." He answered. "Now Natsu," he continued, "what's wrong?". "It's Lucy. I... My dragon has been acting weirdly around her for the past month." Natsu answered. Mavis's eyes widened and she sent an inquisitive look at her mate who, in return, smirked.

"Natsu," Mavis said, "I don't think you need to worry. You'll have your answer tomorrow.". As Mavis let out a small giggle and Zeref gave him a shit eating grin, Natsu stared at them in confusion. He knew he shouldn't have comes. This had been useless.
*
The Next Day:
The day had gone by in a flash as Natsu helped prepare Lucy's surprise party. Happy had lead her to the village early in the morning, just before Natsu woke up, and was assigned the job of distracting her the whole day. Jellal and Mirajane were cooking while Erza and Laxus were acting like army officers, supervising the preparations with hawk eyes. Wendy and Romeo were gift wrapping with the help of little Aska. Juvia, Levy, and Gray were in charge of decorations with Gadjeel doing all the heavy lifting. The rest were either preparing the entertainment, lazing around -though they never did it long due to Erza and Laxus-, or helping wherever it was needed.

Soon enough, the preparations were done and Carla was sent to fetch Happy and Lucy. When they arrived and Natsu set his eyes on Lucy, it was like he was seeing her for the first time. She was stunning. Suddenly, Natsu realized why his dragon's behavior had been so weird. Lucy was his mate.

He was just never able to realize it because she had been too young. Remembering the grins Zeref and Mavis had shared, he knew that they knew this. He swears that one of these days, he would kill Zeref. His brother was a real jerk. Mavis was... Well it was Mavis, he cared too much for her to actually harm her.

"Mine." He growled, walking over to Lucy and grabbing her possessively. Everyone was stunned into silence for a few minutes before Levy said, "Lu-chan's your mate? Congratulations you two.". After that, everyone was congratulating them too.

Lucy wasn't listening to them, still digesting the new information. She was Natsu's mate. She was Natsu's -the guy she's been in love with for five years- mate. Lucy couldn't believe it. She was overjoyed. Lucy had never wanted much before, nothing but Natsu's love. But she had know how important a mate was to a dragon, so she had bottled up her feelings inside of her. And now, now she was his mate. It was like a dream come true.

"Lucy! Hey Luce, are you okay?" Natsu asked. "Uh? Why wouldn't I be?" She asked and Levy replied, "You're crying Lu-chan.". "Are you hurt? Do you not want me as your mate? Do you hate me? Are you..." Natsu rambled worried. He stopped in the middle of his sentence when Lucy grabbed him by his tie and kissed him. I know this might be a little cliché, but that kiss was like a thousand fireworks. And when Lucy finally broke the kiss, she was a blushing mess while Natsu grinned like an idiot.

The End