Mating Season (Mostly Chendy, Erlu, Canajane)

Chapter Thirty-Six

A/N: This story is coming to a close *pause for everyone to grab tissues* so this chapter is really just going to be a funny montage of their last two days on the road. I just finished the final chapter, so now I only have to write the two part epilogue!

Natsu let out a whoop of laughter and sprinted down the pathway. "NATSU!" Gray shouted after him. The pink-haired Dragon Slayer laughed loudly, looking over his shoulder as he saw Gray running after him in nothing but his boxers. Natsu scrambled behind a tree and watched as Gray ran right past his hiding spot. "What did you do this time?" Natsu jumped at the voice right in his ear and turned around to see Mirajane looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Nothing!" Natsu lied. Mirajane gave him a flat look that was eerily reminiscent of a younger version of the Take-Over Mage. "Alright, alright! I may have... filled his hair gel with leaves." (A/N: I head cannon Gray as using wwwaaaayyy too much hair gel. I mean, how does his hair get so shiny without that?!) Mirajane raised both her eyebrows. "You touched that bottle?" She asked with more than a bit of shock in her voice. Natsu grinned goofily. "Oh yeah! Icy can't even use that again!" Natsu laughed again and Mirajane soon joined in. "I've never seen him without that hair gel." She commented. Natsu adopted a look of concentration, but it was a faked one. He knew he'd never seen the black-haired Ice Mage without it before. "Come to think of it, I haven't either." That's why he'd made it unusable. "NATSU!?" Gray shouted again. Mirajane giggled before she slipped into the shadows cast by the trees. Natsu couldn't help but shiver. It had been many a year since she had been her scary younger self... but memories last a lifetime and Natsu wasn't going to forget it. Natsu could hear the crunch of leaves and could smell his Mate coming closer. The salmon-haired Mage made a break for it and raced out into he clearing where the rest of them were packing up their things. There was safety in numbers, right?! Natsu hoped so.

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Wendy looked up as loud footsteps came barreling towards her. Natsu leaped over and grabbed onto Chelia, hiding behind her. Wendy's eyes widened as she saw an unfamiliar form following after Natsu. He had the same hair color as Gray... the same Fairy Tail emblem... but this man had an unruly and curly black mane of a head. "NATSU?!" It was weirder to see this unfamiliar man using Gray's voice than it was to see the Edolas Gray. "Natsu, why are you hiding behind Chelia?" Wendy didn't mean for her voice to turn so deadly, it just happened. Her voice made Erza's sharpest sword seem like one of Aries' fluffy clouds. "Because Gray wants to kill me! And you're the most protective one! If he comes near Chelia like that, you'll kick his a-" Wendy's glare cut him off. Wendy turned around to see Gray sprinting forward, seeming to not notice that Chelia was there. Wendy's eyes flared with anger and the summoned a quick air spell, sending the weird version of her friend careening over several dozen yards. "Nice job, Wend!" Natsu gave her a thumbs up, but Wendy wasn't finished. "I learned just the other day that I don't have to feel bad about protecting my Mate." Her eyes turned venomous in a way that they never had when directed at Natsu. "With any force deemed necessary." She snatched onto Chelia, pulling her from Natsu's grip and letting out a, relatively, quiet roar. He flew just as far as Gray had only moments ago. Chelia let out a giggle. Wendy suddenly stopped looking dangerous and let out a juxtaposing high pitched giggle. "I think they believed it!" Chelia said between laughs. Wendy nodded, unable to make any sound but laughter. Cana, who had looked seriously concerned a moment ago, started laughing just as hard. "You had me going!" She called. "Yes, I believe that Natsu and Gray will both reconsider the next them they wish to mess with you, Wendy." The redheaded requipper said. Lucy was hanging onto her arm as she laughed. Mirajane made a wide smile. "Sometimes the kindest ones can be the most dangerous!" She sounded so chipper, but they all could almost hear the Satan Soul saying it along with her.

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Natsu and Gray stumbled onto the pathway to the next town and looked around, dizzy and unsure which way they were supposed to go to get back to the camp. It turned out that wasn't an issue as Erza crested the hill beside them and walked over. "Natsu, Gray." She greeted curtly. She shoved their stuff into their hands. They almost fell over from the dizziness as they tried to follow the others. "Wendy's clearly not to be messed with," Gajeel commented as he passed them.