Learning to Love

Chapter 3: Potential

As soon as Natsu handed Erza the paper, he observed her from his chair, staring at how graciously her hands moved slowly, it was mesmerizing to say the least. "Wow, look at that, you can draw." He said mocking tone.

"Shut it Dragion…" Erza exclaimed right back at him, concentrating on making the dragon's wings look ferocious.

"…" He sat there quietly, with only a smirk across his face. It was an awe thing to say the least bout what was happening right in front of him; the slacker of all time actually doing something for once.

"Can you wipe that smirk off your face? I will punch it, I will." She threatened without looking at him.

"It's just, funny, that's all." His smirk grew bigger, holding back a chuckle.

"You know what else is funny? My fist in your face." Once again, she threatened the pinkette.

"Trust me, your fist isn't the only fist I've had in my face…" Natsu rolled his eyes, remembering all those times as a kid of the constant bullying he's had. His life was made much more easier when he became friends with Lucy, which to say the least, protects him like a younger brother.

"Oh?" She stopped for a second, turning to look at Natsu who simply watched her from his seat. "You've been beaten up before?" By the sound of her voice, it almost surprised her.

"Yeah, back in elementary school," Natsu sighed. His elementary school years were never his fondest, and the bullying made that much clearer. "Can you hurry up? I want to see your drawing."

Erza stared at him for a couple of seconds before her eyes were back at her paper.

After several more minutes of drawing and silence, Erza was done with her drawing, adding the final touches to the dragon. "….and here you go!" She handed the paper to Natsu.

Natsu took his time, inspecting the marvelous piece of art in his hands. "Wow, this is awesome! This is almost identical to the ones I make in my small comics."

"You make your own comics?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Well… yeah, but they're nothing special." He answered.

She awaited for his appraisal.

"Like I said earlier, this dragon is pretty amazing, but…" Natsu had stopped mid-sentence.

"But what?" An annoyed look was made on Erza's face. Hearing the word but after a compliment was truly something she never liked.

"I think the dragon has to be longer," he told her. "Don't get me wrong, this dragon, again, is amazing, it's just, I feel the need that it's not quite long enough for the central wall of the school."

"So, you want to go more for a Chinese Dragon then?" She suggested to him.

"Yeah, it'd be the perfect fit for the wall." He answered her. He took out more white blank papers and another spare pencil.

"No arguments from me, I just want to get this done." Erza groaned, receiving blank pages from Natsu.

"The sooner we finish, the sooner we'll no longer be partners," he gave her some encouraging words. "Got it?"

"I'm not a child." She exclaimed at him.

"You certainly have the mentality of one though." He retorted back at her.

…

After 35 minutes of just making Chinese Dragons on their blank papers, Natsu and Erza placed each and every one of them side by side, comparing them.

"How about this one?" Erza took one of the ones she drew. This one was that if one embalming it's long scaled body to a mountain, roaring into the heavens.