Author's Notes: I'm back with another story! Thanks to everyone who reviewed Boy's-Friends and Girl's-Friends; if you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for? I'm trying something a little different with this one. It'll be released in two parts instead of one giant one. Anyways, on to the story!

It's Just That Time of Year Again

A Fairy Tail story

By The Wumbologist

For the citizens of Magnolia, Fairy Tail was a constant source of noise. During the course a typical day an average citizen, should they happen to journey near the guild hall, could expect to hear various loud voices and sounds. Sometimes it was a celebration; a party to commemorate a successful mission or a new member, or even just for the sake of having a party. At other times the noises coming from the guild hall were ones that signified fighting; explosions, yells and various crashes and crunches. The rest of the time it was simply the sounds of camaraderie; friends chatting, talking, drinking and laughing during their downtime between missions.

Fairy Tail wasn't known as the strongest and rowdiest guild for nothing, after all; really, all the noise came with the territory. In fact, the noise generated by the hustle and bustle of guild life was a source of comfort for the citizens of Magnolia. The clinking of glasses, the excited murmurs and even the loud bang from a door being blown off of its hinges were all signs that everything was just fine.

For Magnolia, August 7th was a day like any other. Any pedestrian who passed by Fairy Tail during lunchtime could hear the sounds of growling and assume that a fight was breaking out, then happily continue on their way knowing all was right with the world.

In reality, that was only partially true.

A fight was indeed about to start within the guild hall. However, it wasn't the regular good-natured brawl that the rowdy guild members loved so much. In the middle of the guild hall only two stood, Natsu and Gajeel, fiercely staring each other down and growling, fangs bared.

Indeed, something was wrong. Usually four or five others, almost always lead by Gray, would have joined in by now, interrupting the staring match and starting up a melee that would steadily grow until either it reached its conclusion or Erza stepped in to singlehandedly subdue the participants. Rather than being at the center of the action, like he always was, today saw Gray sitting at the bar with Cana, sipping a mug of ice cold beer and muttering softly about "That time of year". Elfman, too, sat at a table quite a ways away from the two Dragon Slayers, instead focusing on a card game with Macao and Wakaba. Even the mighty Erza had chosen to stay out of their way; she stood by the Master, who was perched on the small stage, both watching the two warily.

The members of Fairy Tail couldn't see it but they could feel it; a malicious aura that emanated from the two. One that said come near me and you'll die. It was an aura so strong and intimidating that even Lisanna and Romeo, Natsu's two biggest admirers, had decided to maintain a safe distance from him for the day.

As the two Dragon Slayers continued to growl at each other, the sound of footsteps approaching caused Makarov to turn away from the scene to face the source of the footsteps: Romeo.

"Um... Master Makarov... Why are Natsu-nii and Gajeel-nii acting like that?"

It was a simple question really, but not one that the sixth Master knew how exactly to answer. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he contemplated. From beside him, a voice sounded through the air.

"Master, it would seem that this is the first time we've seen Natsu so... hostile."

"You have a point there, Erza." She had indeed made a good observation. For four years now, around early August of every year Natsu suddenly became more and more agitated. Usually this put him in a bad mood; unlike his moods on July 7th when he would get all sad and melancholic, these moods were frustrated, abrasive and sometimes violent, completely unlike the typical Natsu and something that caused the guild members to maintain a healthy distance from the teen. Whenever August rolled around and Natsu entered his mood, he would usually stay away from the guild by taking a mission or even just brooding at home for a few days. Never before, however, had Natsu been like this. It had gotten so bad that even Happy had decided to give Natsu some space, choosing to accompany Wendy, Carla and Lucy on a mission that took them out of town for a few days.

The scene in the middle of the guild hall was downright frightening; Makarov could practically see the images of two dragons, their menacing forms tensed and ready to pounce while they stared each other down. Natsu certainly liked to fight but within the guild it was always for fun; this time around, though, Natsu was out for blood. It was in the angry look in his eye, the clenching of his teeth, the tightening of his fist. Gajeel, too, was ready to fight a bloody battle, his arms crossed and a daring look in his eye.

Gajeel! That was the difference! It suddenly hit Makarov as he watched the two. Gajeel had only been with the guild for a year (well technically eight years), but though he tried to act intimidating and abrasive he could never hide the fact that he cared. When it came to the guild he had always tried his best; he protected everyone with all his might, he fought more fiercely than anyone against their enemies and even his intense rivalry with Natsu was a friendly one, born out of respect and camaraderie and designed to push each other past their limits, though they would never admit it.

So why the sudden shift in attitudes? Today, for some reason, being in the presence of the other had pissed them both off beyond belief. Over the week leading up to the current predicament they had both become more and more agitated; on more than one occasion they were escorted out of the guild by either Erza, Mirajane, the Master or even Gildarts himself, before he left on another mission.

Try as he might the Master couldn't make sense of it. Was it something in the air? Maybe it was the change of seasons? Something in the water, perhaps? Was this another mood swing as a result of being separated from their parents? The fact that they were both Dragon Slayers had to have something to do with it, but...

"You smell that?"

The sudden break in silence jolted the Master from his thoughts, causing him and everyone else in the guild to warily watch the two Dragon Slayers.

"Hmm." An affirmative grunt from Gajeel was the only response as the two began to sniff the air, their deadly staring contest momentarily put aside as they searched out the source of the smell. It was incredibly faint, but sweet; an alluring scent that had sought them out and beckoned them to go towards the source.

Gajeel stopped his search as he realized what it was that was calling to him. He knew what kind of smell that was; there was only one thing it could be... But who could give off a smell so powerful? There was no one who could possibly let out a scent from that far away. Nobody! Except...

"Tch." With a click of his tongue, the Metal Dragon Slayer had turned and walked towards the exit. Oh, he knew exactly what was going on, and damned if he was going to let his instincts get the better of him.

"Oi, you running away?" Natsu's voice issuing an obvious challenge.

Ignoring the sudden urge to turn around and lunge at the pink-haired boy, Gajeel continued to make his way to the door. Before stepping outside he turned partly to give Natsu a hard stare.

"I'm outta here, this ain't worth my time." He paused a moment, thinking silently to himself before speaking again. "Don't do anything stupid, Salamander." And with that, he stalked out of the doors, hands stuffed in his pockets and a scowl on his face.

Fairy Tail let out a collective breath as Natsu stared confusedly at the door. A major crisis had been averted; Mavis help them if they had been forced to break up a fight between those monsters. Their relief was short-lived, however, as Natsu made his way through the doors, sniffing the air all the while.

Amidst the sudden murmurs that broke out, Gray's voice had sounded through summing up the guild's collective thoughts in a simple, yet astute question:

"Just... What the hell was that?"

Lucy was incredibly happy. Not only was their job a resounding success, she came away from it with a bonus on top of the full reward! This was the first time in, well forever, that any of her potential profit hadn't been stolen away by a certain team of inhumanly strong mages. With the payoff from this job she would be able to pay not only this month's rent, but rent for the next two months as well! She could also treat herself to dinner, buy some new clothes, install some mage-proof windows and doors...

She practically beamed a smile at the small blue-haired girl who sat beside her on the train. Wendy was an incredible partner; she was quiet and polite and made great company unlike the headache-inducing crew she usually travelled with. She was no slouch in a fight either, in fact, it was the opposite; between Lucy's spirits and Wendy's Dragon Slayer magic, the Dark Guild members who had tried to steal a magical artifact from their client were handily beaten. The best part was that none of the client's property was broken! Imagine that: a sensible Dragon Slayer! It was a wonder why Lucy had rarely considered partnering with the young girl before.

Lucy set her thoughts aside, turning her head to join the conversation between the two cats beside her.

"Lucy and Wendy weren't the only ones fighting, Carla! I beat up one guy all by myself!" Happy was boasting to the white Exceed beside him.

"You bit him in the leg after Wendy had already knocked him out..." Carla responded, arms folded across her chest.

"Oh, s-so you saw that..." Well, there went his attempts to impress her.

Lucy laughed at the sheepish look that took over Happy's face. She brought her hand down on top of the blue cat's head, giving him a quick scratch behind the ear.

"Maybe next time you can try fighting someone who isn't unconscious, Happy. That way you'll actually have something to brag about to Carla." She winked at him, revelling in the pout that made its way on to his face. Teasing Happy wasn't something she got to do often; usually it was the blue cat making remarks that would embarrass her.

"You know, you could try asking Lily for help... I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you some pointers." She couldn't help the mischievous tone in her voice. No way was she letting up that easily!

"In fact, with enough practice you might even be able to transform like he can! It'll probably be a while though before you'll be able to fight like him though..." Happy had a put out look on his face; this was too good!

"Don't look so down, Happy. At least you tried." Surprisingly it was Carla who had come to his rescue. The white cat turned her head to give Lucy a disapproving look. "If I remember correctly, you had tried to use your body to distract the Dark Mages so you could run away."

That had caught Lucy off-guard. Time for defense mode: "There were so many! I didn't want to put Wendy in more danger than was necessary, plus I didn't want to risk damaging our client's property!" Best to diffuse the situation before Happy picked up on something he could use against her.

"Your plan didn't even work... They just laughed at you and started hurling spells at us."

"It's not my fault they couldn't appreciate my sex appeal!" She was getting frustrated now.

"What sex appeal?" Damn, there it was. The quick comment by Happy was all it took to reverse their positions; now Happy had the mischievous grin and Lucy was suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

Those stupid Dark Mages! She had on her best perfume, a short skirt and a low-cut tank top but despite her most provocative poses she was met with a chorus of laughter. How dare those jerks! Couldn't they recognize true beauty when they saw it?! They could've at least thrown her a compliment before pelting her with lightning bolts...

"I don't even know why you bother anymore, Lucy. You've tried it a million times and it never does anything... Maybe it's time to face the fact that you just aren't sexy." Happy was certainly enjoying himself now. She wanted to strangle him.

"I AM sexy!" she protested. "Just because those jerks didn't think so doesn't mean I'm not! I'll have you know I've gotten huge discounts because of my attractiveness!"

"A 20 jewel discount on rent isn't much to brag about, Lucy." She mentally slapped herself; Happy had been there when she had tried to seduce her landlord into lowering the price of her apartment.

"A-Anyways, it's not like we needed to distract them! Wendy and I were more than enough to take care of those guys! Right Wendy?" She needed some help, badly. Hopefully Wendy would be able to save her from any more embarrassment.

No response.

"Uh, Wendy?" the small Dragon Slayer was looking intently out the window, seemingly oblivious to the conversation that had just occurred.

"Wendy! Hey! Are you okay?" concern laced Lucy's voice now, her frustration suddenly forgotten. She waved her hand in front of the young girl's face.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry Lucy-san. What did you say?"

"I asked if you were alright. You were staring out the window..."

"Oh I'm fine. It's just..." Wendy trailed off, debating silently with herself before starting up again. "Do... do any of you smell anything?"

"Uh, no. Nothing unusual." Lucy turned to look at Carla, who was sniffing the air intently.

"I don't smell anything either." Carla looked slightly worried as she watched Wendy.

"Um... That might have been me." Happy's sheepish interjection startled the three. "I was hoping that nobody would notice; I even took the trouble to float over to the corner!"

"That... Wasn't what I was talking about, Happy." Wendy took a moment to sniff the air again before shaking her head. "Sorry, I guess it was just me then."

Lucy and Carla exchanged worried glances, ignoring the relieved sigh that came from the blue Exceed. True, they hadn't been able to smell anything but they weren't Dragon Slayers. The nose of a Dragon Slayer was on a completely different level; if Natsu was here he would have certainly been able to smell whatever it is that had fixated Wendy...

At his name, Lucy's thoughts turned to the reason why she had gone on this mission in the first place. Six days ago Natsu began acting strange, restlessly stalking around the guild hall and picking fights with everyone before Erza had kicked him out.

Five days ago, Gray had grabbed her arm and gently led her to a quiet corner of the guild hall. Ignoring the wide smile from Mirajane and the jealous stare of Juvia, he had asked her to take a job that would take her out of town for a few days. When she had asked why, he simply shook his head and told her it would be better to steer clear of Natsu for the next week or so. He had also urged her to go before "volcano-head" decided to show up.

She had headed to the requests board, where she coincidentally met up with Wendy. The young Dragon Slayer had been itching to go on a job out of town; the day before on a visit to old Porlyusica she had been advised to travel and "get some fresh" air for a few days. Thus, the two had decided to team up for a high-paying job and, after a quick stop at home to pack where she found Happy napping on her bed, the four had set off on their mission.

"Lucy, you better stay out of his way for the next few days..." The words echoed in her mind. Just what was going on that made Natsu so frustrated? It was so bad that even his teammates didn't want anything to do with him... From her talk with Gray, it seemed that this happened every year.

Lucy sighed, sneaking a quick glance at Wendy as she stared out the window. The closer to Magnolia they got, the stronger the smell it seemed.

Whatever it was, she hoped it would pass and things would return to normal by time they got to town.

More Notes: So, as I've said before, I've decided to split this into two chapters instead of one big one. I think it'll be easier to read that way; if that does turn out to be the case then I'll go back and revise Boy's-Friends and Girl's-Friends (which I've been meaning to do anyways). And yes, I had to do another one. NatsuxWendy is just too damn good.

I'm not really sure about the plot. I had this idea a while back and since I received so many good reviews for my first story I decided I might as well write this one up too. It... Shouldn't really be a surprise as to where this thing is going since I've dropped a lot of hints but don't worry; this is rated T after all.

Also, can someone tell me what the big deal about RoWen is? I've noticed a lot of stories pairing Wendy with Romeo. Why is this? I don't believe he's said anything to her in the manga/anime, ever. Is it because they're close in age (after the timeskip)? Do they just look cute together? Is it because he's a Natsu wanna-be/mini-Natsu?

Anyways, I really, really appreciate your support. I also love PMs and reviews; especially those that tell me how I did. How was the plot? The characters? Did the story flow well? Was there anything I could've done better? Tell me and I'll give you a cookie.