Chapter 18

Natsu's POV

Why does Gray have to be so annoying? I know that Luce wants us all to be friends again but still. I can't help remembering the feel of his neck in my hands that day. I groan. I'm laying on Luce's lap while we are riding the train. Luce playing with my hair as they talked.

"He still gets motion sickness? He will never grow up!" Gray smirked, I know he did. I didn't even need to see his face to tell, his voice said it all.

"Actually he is just tired, he doesn't really get sick anymore." Luce defends. Gray is going to get it if he makes my mate cry. She is still very pregnant and that is just low. But I guess he wouldn't know any of that.

"Really? That's good to hear," I heard Erza say. I feel my stomach churn a bit before I am on the ground. Erza had dumped me off of Luce's lap.

"Hey! What's that for?" I snap rubbing my back. I feel sore a lot anymore. I don't want Luce to go on S class missions even though she already laid our eggs but she insisted on it because she is always so restless anymore.

"You should listen to the conversation when we talk, it's rude to ignore us." she replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

I get back up mumbling to myself about how much of a bitch she still was but she didn't seem to hear me. I sat next to Luce, my arm around her shoulders as I did. I could see Gray's eyes almost bug out watching us but he didn't say anything.

"So what is the mission? You wouldn't tell me before," I complain, failing to conceal a yawn as I talked.

"We are looking for a rare flower that is said to have healing powers, it's blue with red pollen." Erza answered like it was obvious.

"So I don't get to actually do anything?" I ask already hating the mission. At least Luce isn't going to be fighting so I can relax a little bit.

"Well it only grows on a mountain volcano that is covered in ice." Gray sneered.

"A volcano covered in ice?" I ask turning towards Luce instead, grinning like I was crazy.

She smiled and answered happily, "The volcano is so high up that ice covers the top, not in the volcano of course, but it is almost like rings of ice around it. I hear it is beautiful."

I smile, "At least this mission has one good thing about it." We laughed at the inside joke and Gray and Erza just stared.

"What is so funny?" Gray asked, finally giving in.

"The last time we went to a volcano I was burned and swore I would never let Natsu drag me to another one." Luce answered him.

"This time though she dragged me to it!" I follow it up and we laugh again. "Do you remember the fire spider there?" I asked her.

"You mean the thing that kept trying to eat my clothes because I was wearing celestial clothes. It kept saying that it would 'eat the stars'!" she laughed. We kept laughing and I pulled her in for a hug forgetting for a moment that they still didn't know. But Luce saved us and squealed that the spider was going to eat her. Making the other two laugh as well.

We managed to enjoy the ride otherwise and when it was time to get off I was only too happy. Before Erza or Gray could blink I had picked up Luce and ran out of the cabin and we were standing behind the ticket counter building. I needed a kiss from her sweet lips.

"Natsu we can't run off everytime we get an urge to kiss each other. I'm pregnant and you know how I can get." She giggled at my affection as I kissed along her neck.

"I know but are you ready for them to know?" I ask her completely serious now. I know that they hurt her more than she would ever admit when they were accusing her of hurting me.

"If they see then they see. We haven't been hiding it, remember?" I laugh at her response and kiss her full on the lips.

"Okay then I won't hold back anymore," I sigh happily. We walk out and wait for Erza and Gray to catch up.

"Flame Brain! What the hell was that? I thought you didn't get motion sick anymore?" Gray yelled when he found us, Erza close behind.

"Who said anything about being motion sick? It's not my fault you two are just slow," I say and then as an after thought added, "Popsicle breath."

I kept an arm around Luce and when we finally started walking again, I let her go before running off to get a lemon ice cream cone for Luce and I to eat on the way.

Gray made a face and said, "You know you're not supposed to eat yellow snow right?" I rolled my eyes and took a spoon, put a little on the end and shoved it into his mouth to see his eyes light up and he ran over and got himself one too. Luce and I laughed and Luce saw Erza eyeing her own ice cream and handed her the small spoon to try. End result we all had lemon ice cream cones on the walk to the clients house.

"Hello, thank you for coming." A little fat man greeted us before looking up and seeing Luce and I. "Master Natsu and Mistress Lucy too! Please come right in. Master Slim! Master Natsu and Mistress Lucy are here!" The man ran back into the house. He was the butler, Mr. Ham. We had met the family and their staff when helping a friend find work.

Luce and I couldn't help laughing and walking right in leaving our friends shocked at the door. "Slim how is little Kathy doing and her mother Lisa?" Lucy asked, turning the corner into a room. When I turned the corner following her and I had the wind knocked out of me as the little girl tackled me.

"Uncle Natsu! Do you have Melody and Tidus with you?" She was practically jumping on me as I lay on the floor.

"Sorry Kathy, they are back home. Maybe next time?" I tell her earning a big hug as she then ran off to get her mother. Luce couldn't stop laughing at me as I just lay there. I look around and see Erza and Gray still at the open front door.

"Well are you two going to come in or just stand there?" I asked them before Luce offered me a hand to help me up. I went back into the room with her. Erza and Gray followed quickly behind me.

"I'm sorry she can't stop talking about you guys. Every chance she gets she is asking if she can send a letter or if she can go and visit." Master Slim chuckled. "I have to say I was not expecting you two to answer my request or I would have asked for you to bring them with you."

"They needed to stay home and go over their lessons anyway, so it was for the best." Luce answered, smiling at me.

"You heard her." I added laughing.

"Of course! So what do you need to know to complete the job? You know that you are always welcome to ask me anything."

"I have a question, what the hell is going on here? A little girl just tackled him as if it was the most natural thing in the world!" Gray exclaimed getting himself worked up.

I shrug, "Because it is normal. She is a good girl and knows that I can take it. Isn't that right Kathy?" The little girl came peeking around the corner smiling again.

"Uncle Natsu and Aunt Lucy are the best!" The little girl giggled before tackling us in another hug.

"Kathy! I have told you several times, you can't just go around calling them aunt and uncle!" A young woman came running in, it was Lisa.

"It's okay Lisa, she is only a child." I tell her my arm going around Luce's shoulders without me even thinking about it.

"No, she needs to learn." Lisa responded. Luce and I just laughed a little and gave the little girl another hug before she was taken away by her mother to be scolded.

"Those two have missed you so much. You should stop by more often." Slim chuckled.

"Well as far as the mission goes, how many of the flowers do you need?" I asked him, we need to hurry home if we are still going to bring the kids for a surprise visit this weekend.

"Just two, I can't keep you two away from home for long or Kathy will only cry," he answered.

"We can't have that now can we?" Luce said as we all laughed. "Well we better get going so we can be back sooner. We will bring Melody and Tidus the next time we come to town if you are willing to watch them while we work we would of course leave Virgo or Capricorn with them."

"Yes, yes absolutely yes. Anytime at all." He laughed gleefully, shaking my hand and giving Luce a quick hug. "You two are always welcome here."

We grab Gray and Erza pulling them behind us so we could get to work. It wasn't until we were almost at the foot of the volcano when they seemed to snap out of it.

"Wait, those kids from before? Their parents let you two take them out of town?" Gray asked shocked.

"That does sound a little weird even by our standards." Erza agreed.

I look at Luce, "They are really slow." She just shrugs and pulls out lust and envy's keys. She found out quite a long time ago that Succubus and Incubus were not their names but what they were, so she had given them names.

"Open gates of the duel sins Lust and Envy!" She called out and they flew around us, "Yuri, Lee we need to fly up to the top of the volcano to look for a healing flower. Can you two carry them?" she asked them pointing at Gray and Erza.

"Yes, your highness, we will follow you." They bowed taking their positions behind our friends.

"Stardress!" Luce and I call out together and Luce's skin was covered in what looked like black ink and her hair was lit up as if they were made of fire. Her snakeskin top and ripped black leather skirt left nothing to my imagination as she stretched her large black leather wings.

I stretch my own as I look down at my own black as night skin and kick at the ground with my now clawed feet. I know my own hair and eyes looked like Luce's but my clothes just looked like my regular clothes had been ripped and stained in blood and black ink, minus the fact that it looked like I was topless but it was actually a matching black snake skin just like Luce's.

"It's been too long Luce, you want to race?" I asked her my voice now deeper and somehow smoother, as she laughed her breathy laugh sending shivers of desire through me before taking off into the air.

"Hey that's cheating!" I call out jumping after her. It didn't take us long to get there and true to their word Yuri and Lee were next to us holding our shocked friends.

"Close gate," Luce and I said together letting the magic release us before we slumped on the ground panting.

"Maybe not the best spirits to call when we have company," Luce moaned, already feeling the side effects, the cost.

I agreed before pulling her close just holding her resisting the urge to rip her clothes off of her and take her right there. "We might need a barrier..." I respond trying so hard to disguise the need in my own voice.

"Maybe, but let's find the flowers first then we'll deal with the price." She answered. I could only groan in response my hard on was going to be a dead give away soon enough.

"Since when could Natsu use your spirit's magic?" Erza demanded to know.

I watch as Luce just shrugged in answer. Thinking back how long has it been? I guess over a year, it was before we adopted Melody and Tidus so a little over two almost three?

"Look a flower," I say instead and sure enough I see a field of the flowers that the client wanted. I look at Luce and see her nod and make a barrier for us and we jump into it leaving our friends in their shocked and confused states.

We came back out very satisfied but to Erza and Gray's confusion. They wanted answers but we just shrugged and Luce said something about the contract.

"What contract?" Gray was starting to panic.

"Popsicle breath! Luce's magic requires contracts with each spirit and they have to be followed at all times. I know it's been a while since we have all been on a mission but you are being way too dense." I lecture him. How much of a bird brain can he be?

"Bad news Natsu. These are the wrong flowers we will have to keep looking." Luce calls out from behind me. I take a closer look at them and find they are blue flowers with purple pollen not red.

"Shit. Okay leave it to me." I say before taking up a pose that looked like a cross of meditative and fighting. I kind of hate doing this but Luce is already tired and she needs to rest for our eggs sake. I took a deep breath and let it go concentrating on all of the flowers zeroing in on their different scents and searched for one that smelled different. It actually really hurt my nose considering how cold it is up here but I kept at it.

Luce took my hands and I felt her regulating my magic making it easier to search, I opened my eyes almost not seeing anything but Luce as she stood in front of me. Her pale skin is almost glowing in the faint sunlight and for the first time I notice her skin is actually glowing. I look around a moment and see that I am also glowing faintly but then I find them.

Luce and I take off down the mountain towards the flowers we came for. It only took about an hour but we finally found them and dug up two just as Erza and Gray caught up.

"You two are too fast. Why are you always in a hurry?" Gray huffed doubled over trying to catch his breath.

"I think you just got old, we aren't that fast." I teased him.

"Hey you're older than I am!" he retorted.

"That kind of makes it worse doesn't it?" I asked him and he froze. "By the way when are you going to ask Juvia out on a real date?" I ask him as I walk past him to the cliff edge that we had come from. I wait for Luce to use Griffin's power to create a small platform and slide down the side of the volcano.

I walk onto the empty air with Luce and look back at them smiling. "Race you down." And we jumped down the slide with Luce by my side. It didn't take long to reach the bottom and looking up we could see that Gray and Erza were still about half way up, they must have waited a bit before following us.

I pulled Luce in for a kiss before she called for Scorpio to get the two plants back from the celestial realm. When Gray and Erza finally arrived Luce destroyed the barrier and we started walking back.

"Remember the time the fire eating butterflies wouldn't stop chasing me because I kept trying to burn them?" I ask Luce, earning a smile from her and her laughter.

Gray and Erza followed us and we stopped at one point and looked at them, "So what have you two been up since last time?" Luce asked them with her smile at the ready.

"Honestly a lot of nothing. We went on missions every now and again but not as often as you two. I guess we should have seen it coming considering how you guys took off all the time." Gray's eyes seemed to lose focus a little. "Now we almost never see you anymore and it was only luck that we saw you when we did."

"We should all go on missions like we used to." Erza commanded.

"We will have to get a real sitter but I guess that would be okay." I sighed, smiling. "It would be nice to go on adventures like we used to." I started walking again holding one of the plants. I can't help thinking about where I was going to plant all of the flowers that Luce and I dug up. We liked both flowers with red and purple pollen so we grabbed a couple of each for home as well.

"Yeah that would be nice, Gray, did you ever make S class?" Luce asked him.

"Sitter?" Erza asked but was ignored when Gray talked over her. We had talked and joked the rest of the way to the clients house and they forced us to stay for dinner and Erza and Gray wouldn't stop staring at me while I ate.

Finally I stopped and looked at Luce, "Do I have something on my face or what?"

"No you look fine." She shrugged and we finished our food before going to the train.

"We'll come by next week with Melody and Tidus so you better be good." I tell Kathy tapping her on the nose and she giggled happily hugging Luce and I before we left. Of course I couldn't keep it a surprise she was too adorable.

I wrap an arm around Luce's shoulders and we start walking to the train station. It had been a long day but it was fun, almost like the old days.

We boarded the train and Luce laid her head on my chest before starting to snore softly. I can't help smiling and pull my scarf so that it would cover her a bit while she slept. I lay my head on her hers before I feel myself relax and just before I start to fall asleep I hear Gray and Erza talking.

"They ARE acting weird right? It's not just me." Gray asked, confused.

"They are different, that is for sure." I heard Erza answer before I fell asleep holding my mate.

'Who knew they could be so dumb?' I think to myself.