Finished - May 15, 2020

Word Count - 5675

Music - Two Steps From Hell - Amaria + Flight of the Silver Bird

Summary:
Natsu and Lucy are caught in a spell that switches their magic! Read as they try to figure out how to return back to normal.

**********************************

In the midst of a small town, a battle brewed, a vicious exchange of magic. Even from a distance one could see the great ruckus. Explosions of fire, bright lights, clouds of dust and the clashing of metal echoed through the streets. Familiar members of Fairytail warred against several oposing wizards. They were putting up a good fight, however, the strength of Fairytail was unmatched. The wizards were loosing.

A large gust of wind blasted a man carried by his cat into the sky. However, this did not phase them and they simply adjusted to the new current and steadied their position. Another person affected by the powerful wind, however the maiden used it to her advantage. Midair, her clothing shined and changed in an instant. Her attire completely changing to a green overcoat, a large bow and arrow appeared in her hand as she pulled back the mighty string. With precise aim she let her arrows loose, raining down upon her enemies.

Landing gracefully upon the ground, she turned her attention to the boy in the air as he called her name. "Lucy, cover me!"

"Got it!" She responded back quickly.

Like water, the two mages attacked in perfect harmony. Weaving in and out they charged, together. Using the distance to her advantage, Lucy stopped just behind Natsu and planted her feet firmly on the ground. Gathering her magic, she charged her bow. In a flash, dozens of magical arrows shot forward. Hiding underneath them, Natsu matched their fast pace and ran under their blinding cover.

The foreign wizards didn't see the hiding boy and shielded themselves from the oncoming fire. Little did they know a real fire was brewing directly infant of them.

Natsu leapt above the arrows the moment they made contact with the shields, raising both his hands he released a blazing storm directly into their group. A monstrous explosion erupted from the boy as everyone within a hundred meters shielded themselves.

As the dust was clearing one wizard had a plan, for he knew they had lost. But they would not go down without a fight. He only had enough magic left for one spell, yet it was the only spell he knew would allow them to escape. In a last attempt before capture, he released his spell.

As Natsu was recovering from his attack he saw something he never expected. An enormous tornado ripped viciously towards him.

"What the hell?!" He spun on his heals ran the opposite direction. However in these few second he could feel the powerful force sucking him in.

"Grab my hand!" Lucy called to him from the sidewalk, she was holding onto a grounded light post. He reached her arm towards him, while also holding tightly to the metal pole.

By this point the wind roared wickedly and Natsu was barely able to walk forward. He pushed against the current with all his might to reach Lucy. She was only a few feet away, but it might-as-well have been miles.

Suddenly Natsu lost his footing and he slipped. Cursing he knew that was the end for him. But as he felt the wind pull him into the air he felt a tug on his arm. Looking up, he saw that Lucy had used her whip and caught him by his right arm.

"Nice catch." He joked, but was honestly grateful for her quick thinking.

However the new weight pulled upon Lucy, her one arm gripped firmly on the light post. She didn't know if she could keep it up for very long. Plus, every passing moment the twister grew closer. Thus increasing the wind and sucking them in further. Soon even she was lifted off her feet, her entire body suspended. one arm attached to the light while the other held her whip which attached her to Natsu. The strain on her limbs fell like she was being torn apart, her arms dislocated from their sockets, but yet she held on still.

Even over the roar of the storm, Natsu could hear the pop of Lucy's bones. Her face held nothing but concentration and pain, but she refused to let go. Yet, fate had other plans. the earth started to crack beneath their foundation. The tornado was sucking in the lamp! they could only watch in horror and the base broke free of its support.

Lucy screamed as they were both engulfed by the raging winds. Curling herself into a ball, she could feel herself being tossed around, multiple thing slammed into her body. None of the things she could recognize, for she firmly held her eyes shut. Because the moment she did, dust flew into them. During the painful ruckus, she had only one thing in mind. "Do not let go on the whip." For she held hope the Natsu might be on the other end.

After what felt an hour, Lucy felt herself be thrown out of the funnel. Through her eyelids she saw new light, yet she still dared not open them. She had lost all sense of direction, what was up, where was down? She had been spun and disoriented, therefore the ground met her sharply. Landing abruptly, she felt her legs drag upon the ground for a few seconds. Then it was silent, as if the twister had one purpose and now diminished.

Lucy's head spun and everything hurt. She felt as though she had been shoved into a drying machine and tumbled into oblivion. As much as she hurt, she also felt numb. The repetitive crashing into debris and rushing sands rubbed her skin raw.

She took a deep breath as fresh air filled her sore lungs. However this was immediately met with violent coughing, her body attempting to rid itself from the dust she had inhaled.

"Lucy?" A voice croaked dryly in the distance.

Her coughing kept her from answering as her free handheld her scratchy throat. After a few moments of choking, she felt something warm place on her hand holding her whip.

"Is that you Luce?" Warm hands floated up her arms and held her shoulders. "I cant see anything."

"It's me." Lucy was barely able to clear her throat in time to answer his question. The grip on her shoulders seemed to relax as his fingertips trailed down her arms and he collapsed next to her on the ground.

Lucy opened her eyes, but instantly regret doing so. Her vision was covered by a thick layer of dust. Her eyeballs greatly irritated by the foreign dirt not belonging there. Her eye lids fluttered open and closed in an attempt to empty themselves. However the irritations caused tears which seemed to start washing away the dark particles.

"Natsu?" She asked while her eyes flushed out the dirt, still not able to see him.

"Hmm?" He barely responded.

"Where's Happy?" She asked, now worried for their third friend.

"I don't know." His voice sounded horse.

"How did we stay together then?" Lucy asked as her eye sight mostly recovered.

"This." Natsu pulled on Lucy's whip, still attached to his wrist.

As he pulled, Lucy's left hand floated up, her fingers still gripped securely into its handle. She hadn't realized she was still holding it. She tried to let go, but she seems to have a tight hold on it, her fingers seemingly locked in place. She was so desperate not to let go earlier, it was her one lifeline.

Natsu seemed to notice her trouble and sat up to help. Together they gently pried the item out, her fingers cracking as they opened. Once free, she stretched the tight muscles by flexing them slowly.

Lucy looked up to Natsu and saw he had dark tear marks on his dusty face, she probably had a matching set when her tears washed out her eyes. But the sight of Natsu's red eyes made her feel something. An ache in her heart. She hardly ever saw Natsu cry and she was probably the one person who had seen him cry the most.

Now that their sight had returned, they were able to asses their situation. It seemed like they were dropped from the twister a long ways away from the town, neither mage recognized where they were.

"Those cowardly bandits!" Natsu cursed.

"Hey it worked. They got away." Lucy sighed, for there was nothing they could do about it now.

"Yeah whatever, let's just get back to the guild."

"Before we go anywhere, we need to cover our wounds." She reminded him. "We cant simply walk around looking like this."

"True."

Lucy drew her Keys from her belt and picked out Virgo's key, she would have bandages in the Spirit World for them to use. As she gripped Virgo's key, she stopped.

"What's the matter?" Natsu noticed her lack of motion.

"I-I cant feel any magic from Virgo's Key."

"What?" He looked very confused.

Ignoring this fact, Lucy swung her wrist around and summoned the Spirit. "Open, Gate of the Golden Maiden. Virgo."

Lucy waited for the bell to chime, indicating her Spirit had arrived. However, no such sound came and Virgo did not appear.

She was speechless, she had never failed to summon a spirit before. Never!

The expression on her face must have said it all, because Natsu chimed in. "Your magic is probably just drained from the fight. Plus the tornado."

This seemed to snap her out of negative thoughts, he was probably right.

"Natsuuuuu! Lushie!" A watery voice called from the sky. In the distance flew Happy, approaching quickly.

"Hey Happy." Natsu grinned.

"Are you guys okay? I saw the storm and was able to hide, but I saw you be swept up. I thought I lost you both!" The small cat seemed very distressed and snuggled his soft face into both Lucy and Natsu's arms. Together, Natsu and Lucy comforted him.

"Happy." After a few minutes of peace, Lucy gained his attention. "Do you now how to get back to the Guild from here?"

"Yeah. The storm actually blew you closer, so Magnolia is only a few miles that way." He pointed east.

"Perfect."

They stood upon shaky legs and carried themselves home. Despite their injuries, the Mages arrived at the Guild. Their return was celebrated as everyone welcomed them back.

"What the heck happened to you two?" Grey approached and laughed at their appearance.

"Ha. Ha. Thanks a lot Grey." Lucy rolled her eyes and passed him nonchalantly.

"We got caught in a Tornado!" Natsu gleamed with pride.

"What? No way!" The dark haired man looked almost jealous. "What was it like?"

"Windy." Lucy turned around and answered.

"Noice." They males fist bumped, most likely their way of showing approval.

"Come on Natsu, let's go clean up." Lucy grabbed his hand and lead him to the infirmary. She knew he wouldn't tend his wounds by himself. He would go days without caring if she didn't do it for him. Probably one of the many ways she was wrapped around his finger, she did way too many things for him. But she didn't mind, he did too many things for her too. It was her way of repaying him.

Lucy rated the Guild cupboards and gathered all the items she needed. The Guild was always stocked with first aid materials, they were needed on a daily basis. Therefore they always had plenty of options to choose from.

By the time she returned to Natsu, he had taken off his shirt and sat on one of the beds. She sat next to him and laid out the things she had collected. Together they started, working tag team. Lucy wrapped up Natsu's arms, while he cleaned a wound on her leg. It was much easier to dress another persons wounds than your own, there for they always did one another's. Usually that meant Lucy had more work, since Natsu was usually more hurt than herself. But again, she did not mind.

They were about half way through when Happy flew through the door with a fish.

"How you guys doin in here?" He asked with a mouth full.

"Pretty good, how 'bout you buddy?" Natsu grinned towards his feline partner.

"Good! Mira gave me a fish." He held out his snack in delight.

"Looks yummy." Lucy giggled.

The cat sprouted his wings and flew onto the bed with them. As he flew a single feather separated from his wing and floated into Lucy's face. She waved it away, but as it sailed, the tip brushed against her nose. It tickled incredibly as she rubbed the affected spot.

However she could sense that her rubbing was not going to stop the body function she knew was coming. She inhaled sharply, closing her eyes and suddenly sneezed loudly.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a large cloud of fire directly in front of her face. She let out a squeal because the bright flames were so close to her face. At first she blamed Natsu, but the moment she saw his face, she knew her assumption was wrong.

Natsu adjusted Happy in his lap when he noticed Lucy about to sneeze, he laughed at how her nose crinkled and her eyes shut tightly. But his affection turned to shock when her sneeze spat fire. Literally!

On instinct he reached out and tried to catch the flames, but when his skin made contact an odd sensation bit at his fingers.

He exclaimed in pain at the strange feeling surrounding his hand. Lucy's eyes widened in horror at what had happened.

"Natsu! Are you okay?!" Lucy gently held his hand, it was red and shaking.

"I-It hurts...what the..." He grasped his wrist painfully.

"Wendy!" Happy flew out of the room to fetch someone who could help.

"Fire burned you. But how..."

"I've never been burned before."

They caught each others gaze and shared a look of confusion and worry.

"It came from me?" She asked horrified that she was the one who hurt him.

Before Natsu could answer Happy returned with Wendy on his heels. She looked rushed and here eyes widened even more when she saw Natsu's hand. She didn't waste a second and scooped up his palm and started to heal the fresh damage.

"What happened?" The small girl asked.

Neither Natsu nor Lucy had the courage to answer, for they were too shocked. Thankfully Happy answered for them.

"Lucy sneezed fire and it burned Natsu." the small cat held tears in his eyes.

Wendy looked equally as confused and looked up to the two adults. All they could do was nod, confirming the story. The girl blinked and lifted her hand up to Lucy's forehead.

"You don't have a fever or anything, not that a fever causes spontaneous combustion.But I'll do a regular exam on both of you to see if I can find anything bizarre." She finished wrapping Natsu's palm.

"Thanks Wendy." Lucy nodded.

"No problem, we'll start with you Lucy. Could you lay down for me?" Wendy turned full nurse mode and Lucy did as she was told.

One she was settled, Wendy hovered her hands over Lucy's head. They started to glow as she slowly worked her way down her body, making sure to examine every inch. Her eyes closed and face completely concentrated, no wanting to miss anything.

Once she finished with Lucy, Wendy repeated the same operation on Natsu. When she was done, she looked even more troubled.

"Im afraid there is nothing wrong with either of you physically. You are both perfectly healthy, besides your current injuries of corse. But nothing seems out of the ordinary." She shook her head, now very confused.

"There must be something." Natsu tried to push.

Lucy took his healthy hand and stopped him from saying anything he would regret. He turned his angry focus towards her and saw her soft expression, gently telling him off. Immediately his mood deflated.

"Sorry Wendy." He looked down.

"Its alright, I am as confused as you are. I'll fetch Master to see if he knows anything." She turned and left respectfully.

Lucy's grip tightened around Natsu's hand, he turned his head to look at her. She looked troubled and disheartened. She obviously wasn't squeezing his hand on purpose.

"Hey." He caught her attention and she faced him. "Going to be alright."

Lucy didn't answer. Natsu followed her gaze and realized that she was staring at his injured hand, she must feel responsible for the fire. She shouldn't, he was the one to tried to grab it. How could they know it would hurt him, it never had in the past. This was new territory.

Natsu waved his bandaged hand so she could see it better. "I'm fine, this is nothing."

Her eyes blinked several times and she pressed her lips together in concentration. "Sorry."

"Luce, it was an accident. I've burned you by accident before, remember?" Natsu reminded her.

"Yeah. You felt so bad." She giggled, recalling the memory. "You insisted on doing all my house chores."

"And how well did that go?"

"Not well." She laughed. Remembering how flustered and clumsy he acted, plus how dorky he looked in her pink apron.

As they reminisced, Matser entered the room. He waved and gave them a large grin. "Welcome back children."

"Gramps!" Natsu greeted him.

"I have been updated on your situation. Could explain a bit more on what happened on your mission?"

Lucy nodded and started the tale. "Natsu, Happy and I responded to a request to drive out a group of mages from a town just West of Magnolia called Zahrel. We ran into the group of mages just before noon and engaged them."

"They were obviously no match for us, but they pulled one last trick." Natsu continued the story. "We had them cornered when they released a really powerful spell. It came out of nowhere, none of them used anything close to it during the fight."

"What kind of spell?" The Master asked, seeming very interested.

"It was some kind of twister, a huge tornado just appeared in the middle of the town." Lucy held her hands out to emphasize the size of the windy beast.

"That explains it." Master snapped his fingers.

"What do you mean? That explains nothing." Natsu looked annoyed.

"On the contrary, that twister is why neither of you can use your proper magic."

"They cant use their magic?" Happy looked horrified.

"I didn't say that. I said they cant use their proper magic." Master corrected.

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked.

"It means that storm switched your magic. Thats is why Lucy was able to use fire."

"It switched our magic?!" Natsu stood swiftly from the bed.

"I'm afraid so." Master shrugged.

"How?" Happy asked from Natsu's lap.

"Actually, I am surprised that Bandits were able to find a spell of that caliber. It is called 'The Switchers Storm'. It's a rare and expensive spell, allowing one to escape while disorientating its attackers. The spell leaves its victims in a vulnerable position."

Neither Natsu nor Lucy like the word vulnerable, for they were the said victims.

"Is there a way to switch it back?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know. We have a vast Library, as you know, maybe the answer lays there."

"Thank you Master." Lucy bowed her head.

"No worries, my child." He returned the bow and left, Wendy followed suit. Now only Natsu, Lucy and Happy Remained.

Once the door shut Lucy grabbed Natsu hands. "You have to summon Crux."

"...huh...?!" Natsu simply stared at her and blinked blankly.

"He will have the answer, he knows almost anything!" Her eyes sparkled.

"But I don't know h-"

"If I can accidentally breath fire, then you can summon a Spirit!" She encouraged. Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out a silver key and handed it to him.

"What do I do?" He looked nervous.

Lucy giggled and positioned the small key in his grip. "Hold it like this. Then send your magic through your fingers and into the key. Say 'Open. Gate of the Southern Cross. Crux.'"

Natsu examined the shiny object, turning it over in his fingers. He had seen Lucy summon her Spirits hundreds of times, but he never imagined he would do it. He gave a second glance to Happy and Lucy. Happy gave him a thumbs up, while Lucy nodded.

"Okay, here goes nothing." Natsu held the key out in front of him and recited the words. "Open. Gate of the Southern Cross. Crux."

Sure enough a bright light erupted from his fingers and a bell chimed, signaling the arrival of a Spirit. The glowing source took shape and crux appeared in the Infirmary.

The Spirit grumbled upon his return, his folded arms unlocked as he created them. "How may I be of service? However, I couldn't help notice that my summoner has changed."

"Hello Crux, Im right here." Lucy gave a small wave.

"If I remember correctly son." The Spirit addressed Natsu. "You are not a Celestial Spirit Mage."

"Your right, I'm a Dragon Slayer." Natsu held his head in pride.

"Then how are you able to call upon me?" Crux's eyes squinted.

"Crux, our magic was swapped." Lucy intervened and for that, Natsu was grateful.

"Ah, I see your predicament." He rubbed his metal beard.

"So you can help us?" Natsu perked up with hope.

"I can, but we will need the assistance of your friend Levy." Crux nodded.

"I'll go grab her!" Without delay Happy flew out to fetch yet another person.

With that Crux bowed respectfully and disappeared. Natsu suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him, his posture wavered as he held a hand up to his forehead.

"Wow there, you okay?" Lucy placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess I never realized how much magic it takes to summon a Spirit." Natsu felt dizzy.

"Haha! I had work up my endurance to be able to call out two Spirits at a time." She giggled.

However this only made Natsu think more. She must have an incredible amount of Energy to be able to call two at a time. Especially because Natsu felt drained after summoning one silver spirit, let alone two or three gold keys!This made Natsu's appreciation towards Lucy skyrocket. She certainly was powerful.

Lucy had a hard time trying to grasp their situation, did she really loose her magic? The magic her mother taught her, the friends who she loved. Her Spirits she depended on emotionally and physically. In one day, thy were taken away from her.

One the other hand, she held something even more precious. Natsu's fire; the magic that Igneel taught him was now living inside her. Even though she knew it was an accident, it seemed like she had stolen it from him. She felt the need to keep it safe and return it to him as soon as possible.

Silently beside her, Natsu was struggling with the same emotions. Lucy wasn't able to summon her family anymore. Now he held the power over her earliest friends and he wanted nothing more than to give that power back to her.

Happy and Levy entered the dismal room, the short blue haired girl noticed the mood. However one thing caught her eye that made her very happy. Natsu and Lucy were sitting side by side on the bed both frowning in their own thoughts. Yet Levy couldn't help but smile, for they were holding hands. Probably an unconscious action on both sides, but obviously seeking comfort in each other.

Levy coughed, gaining their attention, however their hands didn't separate. This pleased her. "Happy explained your situation and I can help."

Their faces brightened immediately.

"Oh! Let me guess!" Natsu jumped up with excitement. "We have to eat some nasty potion. Or run from either side of the room and crash into each other. Maybe, late at night build a fire and sacrifice a mighty beast! Or search a jungle for a magical plant that only appears once every ten years. Or...or.."

Natsu was way too pumped about all the possibilities, meanwhile Lucy could only apologize with her eyes to poor Levy.

"No. Unfortunately, its nothing that exciting." Levy waved her hands in front of her. "I just need to draw a special rune on your chests."

Natsu dropped his jaw in bewilderment. "Thats all?"

"Yep. The seals will collect all your magic and once they are full we will swap them. The seals will release the magic back into you." Levy explained plainly.

"Wow, that sounds really easy." Lucy's voice sounded hopeful.

"It should be very simple." Levy sat down next to Lucy and pulled out her special pen. Uncapping it, the started to draw a strange symbol under Lucy's collar bone. As Levy completed the symbol, Lucy could feel the ink warm against her skin. It wasn't painful, just an odd sensation.

Once Levy finished Lucy's she turned to Natsu and placed the same symbol over his heart.

"That should do it." Levy returned her pen to her pocket.

"Thanks Levy." Lucy smiled, grateful for her simple solution.

"No problem...but there is a small catch." Levy realized she hadn't completely explained.

"What?" Natsu blinked, now hyper aware of the foreign design on his skin.

"It's nothing too bad, but until the seal is full you cannot use any magic."

"Oh." Lucy seemed to relax a bit, that wasn't horrible.

"If you do, the seal will break and we'll have to start all over."

"Thats not that bad." Natsu scoffed.

"Well, if anyone recognizes the seal they will know that you are defenseless. You both become walking targets for our enemies."

"Oooooh..." Lucy repeated, this time with realistic understanding.

Levy shrugged her shoulders. "I suggest you stay low for a few days. You both could use rest anyway, just think of it as a vacation."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Lucy agreed.

**********************************

A good idea it was, but realistic...not so much. For two days into their vacation, Natsu was bouncing off the walls in boredom. He couldn't fight anyone and he couldn't train, therefore he couldn't do anything! Instead he went to the one person in his same predicament.

Lucy was going insane with Natsu's constent pestering. He would not leave her alone for more than five minutes! She was accustom to Natsu always hanging out in her apartment, but this was ridiculous. He had basically moved in!

Currently Lucy was attempting to write some of her Novel, but was getting absolutely nowhere. Because Natsu and Happy decided to play tag, inside her bedroom. That was the last straw.

"Okay." Lucy stood up, clapping her hands.

This sudden action gained the boys attention and they stiffly froze. For they knew when Lucy was mad and she sounded mad!

"Enough. I can't sit here a moment longer with you two." She scolded. "We are going on a job."

Natsu's eyes widened, this was the last thing he had expected. He foresaw yelling and throwing of various objects, all aimed at his head.

"A mission?" Happy asked, seemingly confused.

"No, not a Mission. A job, a regular job." Lucy spoke quickly, still trying to calm herself. "Something simple we can complete without magic."

"Thats a great idea!" Happy cheered.

However, Natsu was not yet convinced. "What about what Levy said? If we are seen then-"

"I know, but at this point I'm desperate." Lucy started gathering her whip and purse.

Just before she walked out the door, Natsu stopped her. Lucy was about to scold him, but froze when she felt something warm drape across her shoulders. Lucy watched as he carefully wrapped his scarf around her neck, covering her seal.

"There, don't want anyone to see that." He smiled brightly.

Lucy looked up in shock. Natsu's scarf was incredibly important to him, she had never seen anyone else wear it. Her first instinct was to take it off and give it back, for she never dared take something so precious from him. But he looked at her with such content and glee, she couldn't deny him.

"What kind of job shall we do?" Happy asked, excited by the thought of an adventure.

"Something easy and not too far away." Lucy stated.

"That sounds boring..." Natsu whined.

"Well, we could always go a bit further out, but that means...transportation." She teased.

"No..." He grumbled back.

After a more discussion and a small moment of arguing, they decided. A local farmer had several boxes of produce he needed delivered to costumers. Their policy was to hand deliver their items, so Natsu, Lucy and Happy had a lot of walking ahead of them.

They started their deliveries around noon and had only two packages left as the sun was setting. Evening was approaching as Natsu and Lucy carried the last two boxes to their destination. There were all tired and their feet hurt from the miles they had traveled. All in all they were making money and passing the time.

"Its a shame Happy had to leave." Lucy sighed.

"Yeah, he said he had plans tonight." Natsu shrugged, not at all disappointed that he had to spend time alone with Lucy.

However as they walked, Lucy heard a voice behind them. She stopped walking for a moment and turned around. It seems that they had been recognized.

"Hey look, it's the Fairy Tail Dragon and his Princess." Three men approached them.

Lucy could already tell they were not their normal fans.

"What are the likes of you doing on a job like that?" One man teased.

"Just ignore them Luce." Natsu rolled his eyes and continued walking further. Lucy agreed and turned her back to them.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Lucy chocked as one of the men grabbed the end of Natsu's scarf around her neck, pulling her back. She steadied herself in an effort not to drop her heavy cargo.

This incredibly angered Natsu, in a swift motion he placed his fruit crate and threw his first at the man who had grabbed Lucy.

"Don't touch her." Natsu held the man's wrist tightly, his voice deep and completely serious.

The man backed off, but his friend seemed irritated by Natsu's aggressive action. "What the hell dude. He was just trying to get to know her."

Natsu growled. He didn't want these men to know Lucy, they were way below her. He may have been over protective, but he didn't like them.

Lucy gained his attention when she placed a hand on his shoulder, holding her box with one arm. "Leave them alone, they're not worth it.."

"Ah, the lady is trying to spare us. How kind." The final man took advantage of Natsu's distracted focus and once again pulled Lucy. This time she was tugged away from Natsu with large force. Dropping her crate, her fall sent fruit scatter across the dusty road.

That was the last straw, Natsu lunged at the man and grabbed his shirt collar. "You have a death wish or something?"

"Hey let me go!" The man struggled against Natsu's grip and somehow ended up unzipping the top of Natsu's shirt. Uncovering the the rune upon Natsu's chest. Natsu dropped the man and zipped up his shirt quickly.

"What the hell was that?" The man pointed to the obviously glowing seal.

Neither Lucy nor Natsu answered.

"I've seen something like that before." One answered, looking closer at Natsu's collar. "It looked like a sealing spell."

Crap! Of corse these buffoons would recognize it.

"A sealing spell? Meaning he cant use his magic?" The third man grinned in realization.

He stomped back up to Natsu without fear. "So where's your fire Salamander?"

Natsu growled in frustration, not wanting anything to do with this conversation.

"Whats wrong little dragon? Not able fight today?" The three men surrounded Natsu and started circling him.

"Beating the mighty Dragon Slayer would be a major accomplishment."

"We would be famous all around Magnolia."

"Can you imagine the humiliation?"

Natsu stood tall and surprisingly silent during the threatening confrontation. His eyes trailed each of the men as they rotated around him.

"Poor Salamander's fire has been snuffed out."

The sudden sound of shattering glass echoed through the street. For something had been broken. Four pairs of eyes stared in horror at the sight before them.

Lucy stood tall, herarms raised slightly at her sides, hands engulfed in large flames. Her usually soft face contorted in anger and annoyance.

"You wanna see fire?!" Her voice loud and forceful.

"What the hell?!" The men cowered in fear at the scary, burning woman. One glance at her and they had enough. Without another word they fled, tails between their legs. They disappeared into the buildings without a trace.

Natsu watched in awe, enormously impressed. Not only had Lucy mastered summoning fire, but she looked epic while doing it.

"Nice one Luce!" Natsu congratulated her.

"That wasn't nice! They were being jerks!" Lucy stomped her foot, the flames disappearing with her concentration. "I hate people like that, taking advantage of people with a disadvantage."

Lucy was adorable when she was mad. Her cheeks puffed out and her shoulders tensed, nose crinkled and eyes squinted. Natsu couldn't help but admire her as she stomped around, trying to cool off.

"Well, looks like we have a few more days to hang out in your apartment." Natsu pretended to be sad.

This caught Lucy's attention and she froze. "What?"

"Well, you broke your seal. You used magic." He pointed out with a smirk.

Lucy seemed speechless and she understood what she had done. Then finally she burst "That means we have to start all over?!"

"Yep!" Natsu grabbed her hand and started to drag her away with glee.

"Noooooooooooooo!"