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It was only after quite a few times of Natsu bringing Lucy around that Igneel seemed a bit different, in a way that Natsu couldn’t quite pinpoint. When she first entered the cave that day Igneel held his snout in the air, breathing in deeply, and smiled slightly, but aside from that he behaved quite normal - almost too normal.
Needless to say, Natsu was confused, but didn’t say anything. He spent the day with his dad and his best friend, and he couldn’t be happier about the fact that they seemed to like each other, even if it did still throw him off from time to time. They were just so entirely different in what they liked and personality wise - so, naturally, Natsu had just assumed they’d hate each other to the point of trying to rip each other’s throats out, like him and Gray maybe.
Yet, after the first few times he’d realized they somehow had taken a liking to each other. Igneel was stubborn and a real dragon, sure, but Lucy was charming and lovely and apparently, could wrap not only Natsu around her little finger within minutes, but also his dad. At first, they’d talked about Anna and Layla and Celestial Magic, and then one thing had lead to the other and the next thing he’d known Igneel had actually asked Natsu where he’d left Lucy whenever she wasn’t with him.
No matter how much it mystified him, he still loved it - loved that Igneel had taken her in with open arms and that now, whenever he entered the cave, a whiff of Lucy still hung in the air, just slightly, but noticeable, like she never left long enough for it to vanish.
He loved it, for one specific reason: this was his nest, or more his father’s nest, and according to dragon custom no other than the inhabitants or their mates were allowed to enter - meaning Igneel had basically accepted her as more than just a friend. Or at least that was what it felt like to Natsu.
The next time he visited Igneel, he decided to go alone. After the dragon’s slightly off behaviour last time he just wanted to check in with him - he didn’t suppose it was anything bad, but maybe something he wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing in front of Lucy. So he left a moping Happy with his best friend and made his way to the outskirts of Magnolia, to his own home and even further out into the woods, where Igneel had found a small cave, widened it and now lived.
“Yo, old man!” he screamed loudly into the darkness and a growl answered him. Natsu grinned, engulfed his fist in flames and used it as a torch to find his dad.
The room Igneel actually lived in was lighted by a few fires here and there that he usually kept fed, but the way deeper into the cave was left dark on purpose as a precaution against wandering humans.
“Did I teach you no manners?” The booming voice of his dad greeted him when Natsu finally reached what humans would call the living room. Igneel was lying on a bunch of furs and blankets - reading a book. The dragon slayer looked at him with wide eyes, but Igneel paid him no attention, carefully closing the book with one of his claws and putting it aside attentively.
“You read ?” Natsu couldn’t help but squeal in an entirely unmanly manner and the dragon raised an eyebrow at him.
“It was a gift from Lucy. What did you think I would do with it - eat it?”
The dragon slayer blinked. “No, it’s just - you’ve hoarded books before, dad. But never to actually read them?!”
Igneel looked at him as if he couldn’t believe his son’s stupidity. “What about the fact that it’s a gift from Lucy did you not understand?” he asked. “It’s special. She told me I would like it, so of course I’m reading it,” he said then like the answer was obvious.
Natsu couldn’t help the faint blush creeping onto his face as he sat down next to Igneel. That statement alone showed him how special Lucy was to Igneel already - and that his dad’s fondness seemed to match his own. He almost asked right then and there what the dragon would say about having her as his daughter in law, but he kept his mouth shut.
After that the topic of conversation jumped from one thing to the other. Natsu told Igneel about the mission he and his team had been on - they had been after a left dark guild following Zeref, not having gotten the notice that their master was dead - and the dragon told his son about the training him and Grandine had done together with Wendy, teaching the girl more complicated healing spells for burnings especially.
There was a lull in conversation after that, both kind of lost in their own thoughts, when Igneel suddenly came out with a question that made Natsu almost toppel over in his seat on top of his father’s tail.
“So, have you told Lucy that she’s your mate yet?”
He sputtered, feeling a blush creeping up his cheeks, and he knew that any attempt of denying it would be in vain. “How the hell…”
Natsu’s voice hadn’t fully rung out yet when Igneel decided to speak again. “It’s in the smell, Natsu. For what kind of Idiot do you hold me? I smelled it the first time she entered this cave. At first I thought it was just a fluke, that your smell was so thoroughly mixed with hers because you spent the day together. And then last time you and her arrived here separately, and she said she hadn’t seen you the whole day yet. Still, your smells were entirely mixed.”
It was silent after Igneels words. A million and one thoughts were running through Natsu’s head at full speed and he didn’t know what to say, how to reply. He felt like he’d been caught inflagranti.
The dragon moved his tail to rattle his son and get his attention. “You know dragonlaw well enough, son. According to us, she’s your mate. Your wife . But I’m guessing she doesn’t know about her faith yet?”
Natsu still stayed silent, focussing on his father and trying to figure out if he was mad, disappointed, or worse. He was anxiously biting his lower lip as he worried, but patience had never been his strong suit.
“Are you mad?” he asked, the words tumbling out of his mouth so fast Igneel had to rely on his dragon senses to comprehend them. Then, he silently shook his head.
“How could you even think that?” His voice was soft and his eyes sincere and Natsu held his breath. “You have to know how much I love Lucy. She’s so strong, mentally and physically. And she’s always there for you, always by your side, no matter if you need her or not.” He was silent for a second.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better mate for my fledgeling.”
Natsu released the breath he’d never noticed he’d been holding.
“Thank you, dad.”
“Now, when do you plan on telling her?” Igneel asked, a hint of mischief in his voice and Natsu groaned. “I don’t knooooowww,” he answered, dragging out the ‘ow’ sound as he let himself fall flat onto his dad’s tail until his face was pressed into the warm scales.
Igneel made a grunting sound. “Just tell her, Natsu. The worst thing that could happen is that she’d reject you. It would hurt, but you’d survive.”
“It’s not that easy, dad,” he shouted in exasperation, purposely too loud for the sensitive dragon ears. “She’s my best friend. I don’t want to live without her. If I tell her and she doesn’t feel the same…” He broke off. “My dragon senses are calling to her so strongly. But I just can’t risk it.”
He knew there was pain in his eyes as he looked at his dad, could see it reflecting in Igneel’s face, but he hummed calmingly. “It’ll be okay, son,” he said, and Natsu wanted nothing more than to believe him.
___
It was a slow day at the guild and Natsu was bored. Gray was on a mission and Gajeel hadn’t been in the whole day, meaning he couldn’t start a fight with either of them, and Lucy…
Lucy had thrown him out of her apartment earlier to get ready for her meetup with Levy. Which, to him, seemed pretty rude, especially because it was just Levy who she met up with regularly - and she’d never thrown him out to get ready either - but what the hell did he know. It was just without her, the day seemed really bland...
His head snapped up when the door to the guild opened, hoping it was either Gray being back early or Gajeel, but it was just Levy, making her way over to the bar with a few books in her arms.
He was about to lay his head back down on the table when his mind finally followed his eyes - Levy?!
He walked over to her, trying to look casual but failing horribly. “Hey, Levy!” he greeted her, and she smiled back. “Hey, Natsu.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be with Lucy?”
Levy furrowed her eyebrows, looking really confused. “Not that I’d know off, she’s on a date with that guy she met yesterday at the bookstore -”
“Date?” He snarled and Levy looked over to him. “Yeah, didn’t she - wait, did she tell you she was with me? Shit, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know -”
A growl escaped his throat, so loud and threatening Levy recoiled from him. “Natsu -”
He didn’t even hear her anymore. His dragon senses had taken over and he was completely wrapped in anger. A million voices screamed MINE! all at the same time, over and over again, and he couldn’t stop growling. It was all he could do to leave the guild and making his way towards his dad.
He almost made it there before his dragon part took over completely and the flames engulfed him.
____
He didn’t know how long he stood there, hunched over as he burned, he just knew his voice started to get rough from all the growling. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was aware his magic should be running out, but it wasn’t; it was still as strong as ever, warming his inside and burning everything around him. He felt sorry for whatever flowers and trees had to die for his outrage, but it was all he could do to not run back to town to rip apart the bastard that was stealing his mate -
“Natsu?” A small, familiar voice called, and he snarled. He was still hunched over, so he couldn’t see, but his nostrils flared as the most special smell waved over him -
His head snapped up and he automatically stopped growling when his eyes landed on her. He vaguely recognized Happy and his dad a bit further in the distance, but his eyes were completely fixated on her, his sharp canines bared.
The flames dulled as the confusion ripped through his body and he tried to gain control over himself.
“Natsu, I’m here. I’m with no one else. Please calm down.” Her voice was strained in her desperate attempt to sound calm.
He snarled at her.
Tears sprang to her eyes as she took a step forward despite his snarling. His head was screaming at her to stop, to step back, to save herself, but there was a resolve in her eyes now that told him she wouldn’t.
“I’m sorry I went on that date. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it. I just… I just thought…” She broke off, obviously unsure of herself, but she still took another step forward.
He snarled at her again, but determination had entered her eyes and she made another step anyway.
“Dragon or not, I know you’d never hurt me, Natsu.”
As it turned out, she was right.
Even though he didn’t have complete control over his body again yet, all his dragon sense urged him to do was hug her, press her to himself and scent her all over in a desperate attempt to cover all smell of any other man that touched her. He almost purred in glee as he realized there was not much other smell to begin with.
Her hand came up to run her fingers through his hair as he pressed his nose firmly into the junction between her shoulder and her neck. “Mine”, he couldn’t help but snarl and she giggled.
“Yes. Yours. I promise.”
These were the words that satisfied his dragon part enough so Natsu could calm himself down completely. He raised his head and tried to take a step back, but Lucy’s hand, now at his cheek, held him back.
“Sorry,” he croaked, knowing that one word wouldn’t be enough to convey everything he needed it to, but it was a start.
“Don’t be sorry, Natsu,” she whispered, “It’s not your fault. It was mine. Igneel explained the situation to me, and I shouldn’t have - I should have -”
She broke off, gnawing at her lower lip instead, obviously not sure how to continue, and Natsu wondered how long exactly he’d been out of it to give Igneel enough time to explain things to her, no matter how briefly.
“How much do you know?” he asked, voice hoarse.
“Enough,” she answered, and he felt all colour leave his face. Was this it?
___
Ten minutes later they were sitting in Igneel’s cave, far enough from both the dragon and Happy to give them some sense of privacy, but close enough so that Igneel could step in should his dragon urges overwhelm him again.
“I’m really sorry, Luce,” he said, leaning to the side to bump her shoulder with his.
She shook her head. “It’s okay, Natsu. Just - How - Why did you not tell me?” she asked, her voice so soft and quiet he wasn’t even sure if he heard her right. He could feel her eyes searching for his, but he was reluctant to reciproke her contact.
“Which part?” He knew that she was aware he was just trying to stall, but he still needed the moment to breathe, to order his thoughts.
“You know which part, Natsu,” she said, much like he’d anticipated, and he sighed, shaking his head. She was much too smart for her own good.
“I couldn’t lose you, Luce,” he whispered, so quiet she leaned into him to hear him. “No matter if I have feelings for you or not, no matter if my dragon part sees you as my mate or not, you’re still my best friend, and I can’t lose you. I don’t want to.”
“Why would you lose me?” she asked and he was astounded by the tone of her voice, confusion laced with a desperation that he couldn’t quite fathom. Thoughts were running through his head too fast to comprehend, just one question standing out clearly: How would he not lose her if she knew?
Then memory striked and his eyes widened, unsure if he’d heard her correctly with the flames blazing around him or if maybe it had been just wishful thinking.
“Did you mean it, what you said out there?” He couldn’t mask the urgency in neither his voice or his eyes as he turned to look at her directly, and she blinked, even more confused by his sudden change of topic.
“Natsu, I don’t understand-”
“When you said you were mine,” he pressed, grasping one of her hands in his, “did you really mean that?”
She stared back blankly. “Yes, but-”
He silenced her by kissing her, and it was like the whole world changed - like in this single moment all wrongs that had ever happened to him had suddenly been righted. Like Zeref’s desperate attempts to resurrect him and everything that came afterwards suddenly made all the sense, because those events had led him right here, into her arms.
Something inside of him had clicked into place and he had no intentions of ever putting it back.
“I love you, Lucy,” he said as soon as his lips left hers. “I have for the longest time. I was just so sure you didn’t feel the same, that you would end our friendship if you’d know. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you earlier, and I’m sorry that I made you my mate without you knowing, but I knew it would always be you, that there would be no one else for me, and-”
This time, it was on her to break off his nervous ramblings with a kiss. “I forgive you, Natsu. And I love you too.” Her voice was soft and full of love and he felt laughter bubbling up in his chest, a happy, careless laughter that he couldn’t quite hold in. She joined him soon enough and so they clung to each other, almost desperately, but with a happiness that completely overwhelmed the both of them.
Natsu had never felt this light in his life, like he was floating on air, nothing weighing him down or holding him back. Like for the first time in his life, everything was right.
“Lucy,” he sighed when their laughter finally died down, and he leaned forward to rest his forehead on hers, almost purring in content.
“Natsu,” she answered in kind, her hand resting on his cheek. He took a deep breath and dwelled in her closeness, in the fact that their smells were so indistinguishable intermingled with each other he couldn’t even figure out where hers started and his began.
That was when Igneel's voice caught his attention.
“Can you believe a girl as smart and pretty as her is really willing to be with my son?”
Happy chuckled in response. “No. She’s weird. But so is he.”
His father’s deep laughter rumbled through the cave. “Good thing they found each other, then.”
“Aye!”