Natsu yawned, his dragon maw opening to show off his scary teeth, as he stretched like a cat. After a few satisfying pops, he straightened out and looked around his cave. It was filled with many treasures… and yet… something was missing. He wasn't sure what it could be, after all he had everything from coins and jewels to fine linen and statues.

Perhaps a flight would clear his mind. With this thought, he started walking towards the mouth of his cave. Upon reaching it, he looked back at his treasures one more time… and felt more empty then ever before. Sighing, he lifted his wings, pushing off from the ground as with a few mighty flaps he rose into the air.

XXX

A storm like no other hit the area a few hours later and a small, blond human blindly made her way through the forest, looking for some form of shelter from it. Not that there was really any point to it, she was already soaked through and any wood she would stumble upon would be so wet that she would never be able to light a fire with it.

As her teeth chattered, she noticed a clearing up ahead. She hoped that there was a town within in it, though she mostly doubted it since she knew she had lost the road long ago. Still… She stumbled into the clearing and the faint hope that there would be a town was dashed. With a sigh, she was about to head back into the woods, when she noticed a warmish glow coming from across the clearing.

Perhaps she had found some other travelers who had gotten stuck out in this storm, or it could be a band of thieves or worse… still at this point she was ready to try anything so she sluggishly made her way across the clearing.

When she reached the other side, she found that the light was coming from a cave and she hesitated a moment before entering. After all if there was danger, she would be severely limiting her chances of escape. A flash of lightning settled her doubts for her, better an unknown cave then the wrathful storm.

Upon entering, she followed the glow, cautiously calling out "Hello? Is anyone here?" There was no answer, so she continued on her way in, gasping as she rounded the corner in front of her. So many rare and precious things were stored within this cave, that Lucy feared she had found the den of a group of thieves.

Before she could make the, possibly wiser, choice to leave, the crackle of a fire reached her ears. The thought of getting warm and dry lured further in. She saw a dress that was just as simple as the one she had on at the moment and several soft towels as well and took them with her, hoping the owner or owners wouldn't mind her borrowing them.

Once by the fire she stripped off her clothes and swiftly used one of the towels to dry herself before throwing on the dry clothes. Taking another towel, she dried off her hair as she took in the sights around her. "Why would anyone have this much junk hidden in a cave?" she wondered out loud, before shrugging and letting out a yawn. She was exhausted, it had been a hard few days of travel for her, but she knew she couldn't give in to sleep.

Still once she checked her still damp clothes, the bed that was near said fire that she had just noticed beckoned her. She climbed on top of it, saying she was just going to sit there long enough for her dress to dry, but within minutes, she had toppled over on her side, fast asleep.

XXX

Natsu returned to his cave in the middle of the storm, shaking off his scales as he entered. His nose alerted him that something had changed since he had been here last and, taking a whiff, he could tell that someone had entered his cave and judging by the strength of the smell, was still here. Shifting down into his human form to help him make his way quietly through his hoard, Natsu creeped into his main treasure cave.

Some things had been moved and there was a trail of water leading towards his fireplace. As he drew closer, he could see a dripping dress hanging next to it, as if left there to dry. A soft sigh came from the direction of his bed, the one he would sleep in when he chose to be in human form anyways, and his head whipped in that direction.

There, he spied a blond girl, in one of the dresses he had stolen recently, laying upon it as if she owned it. She was curled in a tight ball, as if cold and his natural sympathy to all things weaker then he drew him in closer. As if she could feel his heat, she shifted closer to the edge of the bed and when he reached out to touch her skin, he found it frightfully cold for a human's, let alone a dragons. So he grabbed a nearby blanket and did the only thing he could think to do.

Natsu crawled over her and pulled her against him before throwing the blanket over them both. The girl let out another sigh and settled into his warmth and Natsu just barely held back a chuckle. "Greedy little thing aren't you, trying to steal my heat after stealing my clothes and bed." He whispered. It didn't wake the girl and Natsu, tired from his flight through the storm, let himself fall into a deep sleep too.

XXX

As the girl woke, she felt warmer then when she had fallen asleep. Oh no, I fell asleep! She thought and started to move, only to find she couldn't. The strange warmth came from an arm that was wrapped around her, an arm that was attached to the man behind her! With a great kick, she pushed the man not only to the other side of the bed, but off it as well as she scrambled to her feet on her own side.

The man groaned and grumbled as he got to his feet groggily "What did you do that for?" The girl blushed furiously and said "I'm sorry you startled me, but why were you sleeping with me?!" She watched as the man yawned before answering "You were cold, so I warmed you up." She blushed again before looking down and saying "Oh, well thank you then."

The man looked at the strange girl for a moment before saying "I'm Natsu by the way." "Lucy. Is this your place? Are you a thief?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her embarrassment. Natsu chuckled, before motioning her towards the fire where he started making some food. Once that was done he answered "Yes it is and I suppose you could say I'm a thief of sorts."

"What kind of an answer is that?" asked Lucy, as she took a cup of coffee that Natsu offered her. A strange glint was in Natsu's eye, though his demeanor stayed friendly as he answered "I'm just probably not the kind of thief you would imagine." Another non-answer in Lucy's opinion, but she decided to accept it, at least for now.

"Now, what brings you to my cave?" Natsu asked, removing the food from the fire and moving to put it on some plates. "I got caught out in the storm and couldn't see where I was going. I finally spotted a faint light through the storm and followed it to this cave." Lucy didn't notice Natsu still at her answer, one which confused him. No one was supposed to be able to see a dragon's fire, that's how come their caves were so well guarded, so why was Lucy able to do so?

They ate in relative silence, though it wasn't uncomfortable, for each was lost in their own thoughts. As they finished, Lucy set her plate down and stood, stretching before she said "Well, if the storm is over, I'll just change back into my dress and be on my way, if that is okay with you." Natsu's eyes narrowed, his dragon side infatuated with her blond hair that reminded him so much of his other treasures.

He heard him slowly saying "I don't know…" It was Lucy's turn to have her eyes narrow, as she asked "What do you mean by that?" Natsu stood too, towering over her slightly as he said "I don't think you've realized what sort of thief I am. I am a dragon and we all have a thing for golden things." As he finished saying that, he raised his fingers to gently grasp her hair, letting it gently fall back down on her shoulder.

Lucy did something unexpected at this. She bolted. Natsu stared after her in shock for a moment before springing after her, shifting into his dragon form as he did so. Just before he grabbed her, she surprised him by turning to face him, shifting into a dragon form as well. As he struck her, they tumbled about in the cave for a second before regaining their footing, each facing the other and circling.

Natsu growled dangerously low, part of him angry that another dragon had dared enter his cave, another still longing to claim her as part of his treasure, especially since her scales were the same golden yellow as her hair. "How dare you enter my cave?" Natsu demanded. Lucy actually looked somewhat contrite as she said "Forgive me, my nose was semi-clogged by the storm, I really couldn't smell that it was owned by another dragon."

But she leveled him with her own glare as she said "But how dare you try to make me part of your hoard!" It was Natsu's turn to look contrite as he said "My apologies, though honestly even now, your scale colors is effecting my dragon sense." Lucy sighed and said "And this is why I travel alone. Every dragon I know tries to make me part of their hoard."

She started backing towards the entrance of his cave, away from Natsu and he found himself desperate to keep her there. And he knew what it was. For once it hadn't seemed lonely in his cave. True he could move closer to other dragons, but his father, Igneel, had left a few years ago saying he would be back one day and until he heard either that his father was dead or he came home, Natsu couldn't bear to leave it.

So he found himself calling out "Wait!" His tone was so desperate and held the same loneliness that she felt, that Lucy felt compelled to stop, looking at him with a questioning gaze. "Please, don't leave. I won't try to make you part of my hoard again, not on purpose anyways. I've just… it's been so lonely these past few years."

Lucy felt her heart well up with compassion for the red scaled dragon and so, she shifted down into her human form, Natsu following suit. He was surprised when she moved closer and hugged him, but not so surprised that he didn't return the hug. Instead, he latched on with a desperation born of years of solitude.

When the pulled back from the hug, Lucy said "I'll stay for a little while, but not forever. I refuse to become part of someone's hoard and one day you or I will find a mate and want to be with them alone." Natsu grinned and said "Deal."

XXX

It had been several months since Lucy had come to stay with him. They were still sharing the bed, Lucy explaining to Natsu that her inner magic came from the stars and while she had a fire, it wasn't hot enough to warm herself with and since they had entered the rainy season, the cave was often damp and cold so she relied on him for heat.

Natsu couldn't imagine a life without Lucy in it, he didn't try to make her part of his hoard, but he desperately wanted to make her his special treasure, his mate. But he was afraid that Lucy would think it was just a ploy on his part to make her part of his hoard, so he kept silent as he desperately tried to think of a way to make it so she would want to stay with him.

The cave was cleaner and more organized these days, Lucy having put her foot down as one of her rules for staying here. Now someone wandering in wouldn't see piles of junk laying about, Lucy had had Natsu move the more valuable items to a deeper point in the cave, instead it looked like someone had lavishly decorated the cave. There was a small side cave just filled with coins for those days or nights when Natsu needed to sleep among his hoard, but he hadn't felt that need, not since Lucy had come into his life.

He woke early that morning and smiled down at the blond woman nestled in his arms. He couldn't imagine never waking up like this again, he had grown accustomed to it. He settled down beside her, having planted a gentle kiss on her cheek and was almost asleep before his dragon senses started screaming "Intruder!"

Beside him, Lucy sat bolt upright in their bed and stared at the entrance to the cave and he almost smiled since that meant she had come to think of this as her home too, but the threat of an intruder brought his focus back to the cave entrance to fast for him to do so. Just as he was about to spring from his bed, a familiar scent hit his nostrils and he visibly relaxed, causing Lucy to look at him out of the corner of her eye.

Before she could question him, a rumbly voice said "I see how it is, I leave for a few years and I come home to find my son in bed with his mate." Luckily for Natsu he had already thrown himself happily in his father's direction, for Lucy gave a reflexive kick as she blushed furiously at this strange dragon's, Natsu's father apparently, words. "Dad, you're home!" Natsu said, as he buried his head against his father's scaly chest, one which morphed into his human one as he moved to hug his son.

"It's good to see you too Natsu." The dragon said, "Now, don't you think you better make a couple of introductions?" Natsu blushed as he pulled back from the hug, saying "Oh yeah, Dad, this is Lucy. Lucy, this is my father, Igneel." "A pleasure to meet you Igneel." Lucy said. "You too Lucy." Igneel replied, a bit of laughter in his voice.

As Natsu took to questioning his father, Lucy moved to make them all some breakfast. Now that Igneel was back, Lucy worried that it would be time to leave, after all, she had only stayed since Natsu was lonely. Now that Igneel was here, he wouldn't need her anymore. A tear started to build up in her eye, for while she thought for sure that would be true, she knew that she herself had become very attached to Natsu in the past couple of months.

Lucy tried to push such thoughts down, she felt she was being selfish with them and tried to swallow away the lump that was filling her throat. But as a single tear broke free from her eyes, she heard Natsu stop talking and he was suddenly by her side, asking "Lucy, what's wrong?" Lucy decided to tell a half truth and just said "I'm so happy that Igneel has come home to you is all."

Natsu didn't buy it, not for a second, but he felt like Lucy probably wouldn't open up to him if she thought Igneel was listening, so he dropped it for now. Lucy was hoping he had bought it and moved to push it from her mind. After they finished eating, Igneel asked "Is there a place I can rest my head? I admit I didn't sleep much last night knowing I was so close to home."

"Yeah, Lucy made a couple of guest rooms and one especially for you when she started organizing the cave." Natsu said eagerly, happy to finally have some time alone with Lucy to talk about what was really bothering her. So he led Igneel off as Lucy got to work cleaning up the breakfast dishes. Natsu soon returned and started helping her like he always did, but he didn't know how to broach the subject he wanted to.

Lucy could tell he wanted to talk and was worried that he was ready to kick her out already, but she knew that sticking around even longer would make it that much harder to leave when he told her it was time for them to part ways, so she asked "What is it Natsu? I can tell you have something you want to say."

Natsu grinned at her and said "You're always so good at picking up on what I'm thinking Lucy. I do have something that I want to talk to you about, I'm just not sure where to begin." Lucy's heart sank, he really did want her to leave! Putting on a brave smile she said "It's okay, you don't have to say anything, I know what you're thinking, I'll pack my bags."

Natsu's face went from grinning to one of confusion as he asked "Lucy, what do you mean?" "Well now that Igneel is here, you won't be lonely anymore and I'm sure there are a lot of things you two would like to catch up on, but don't worry I'll be fine. It was fun getting to be with you these past few months. For once I felt treasured for me, not for the color of my hair or scales."

"Lucy, wait, you got it all wrong!" Natsu declared, grabbing her arm as she moved to walk away from him. He could smell the salt from her tears and he turned her gently as he said "What I really wanted to ask you was what was really wrong, I knew it wasn't that you were happy for me, at least not just that. Now I know what it was. Lucy, I don't want you to leave, ever. I've been trying to think of ways for weeks now to get you to stay forever!"

He took a quick breath and continued as a shocked Lucy looked at him "Not as part of my hoard though, and I was so worried you would think that was the reason that I have been stalling! I want you to be my most special treasure ever, I want you to be my mate! Please don't leave me Lucy!"

Lucy looked at him with wide eyes, as Natsu's own eyes had filled with tears by this time, falling as he desperately tried to get the most important person in his life to stay with him. After a moment her eyes softened and she softly said "I'll never leave you Natsu, not if you don't want me to, because I never want to leave you either."

Their lips met as they put all of their emotions into it, desperately trying to convey how much they loved the other. From the corner where he had been listening silently, Igneel could barely keep from chuckling. He was surprised that they weren't already mates, but he was glad he had used the old tired ploy to get those two to spit out what their problems were. Suddenly Natsu's breathless voice came from around said corner "Get out here you old dragon."

Igneel let loose the chuckle he had been holding as he listened to his son's order. Lucy was blushing at the thought of Igneel having witnessed their little exchange, but she couldn't stop smiling at her soon to be father-in-law, especially when he had the same mischievous grin that his son owned on his face. "Hey show some respect son, after all, who knows how long you would have had to wait to talk this out if I hadn't been "tired"."

Lucy laughed as Natsu stared at his father in exasperation while replying "Didn't mean you had to listen in!" Igneel joined Lucy in laughing before answering "I think I earned it, now, are you two going to tell me your story or not?" Natsu rolled his eyes, before letting out a small chuckle of his own, a smile leaking onto his face as he started "Well you see, it was a dark and stormy night…"