Lucy felt the wind knocked out of her as the heavy force collided into her side. She was briefly aware of arms wrapping around her waist before she hit the ground. The fall to the dirt wasn't that bad, the box hadn't been that tall, but the weight of the other force crashing on top of her had her gasping. The person, as it obviously was, felt even heavier than the garbage bag. Lucy choked as all the weight fell on her, giving out a little scream.

"Who do you think you are, breaking into Gramps's house?" the person, a male, questioned as he pushed himself off of her. Lucy was about to get up, but stopped as she felt the person grab her arm. Feeling scared and acting on pure instinct, she turned into his grip and let out a yell as her leg slammed into his midsection. The person let out a grunt and his grip loosened enough for her to jam a fist into his throat and squirm away. She scrambled backwards and tilted to her feet, holding her arms out protectively before her. She glared at the man in front of her, considering kicking him again.

"Who do you think you are attacking me like that! I'll have you know this is my house, you psychopath!" she shouted, staring at him. The boy, he wasn't really a man, was bent over as he tried to regain his breath. Lucy's decision to name him a psycho was confirmed as she spotted his spiky, bright pink hair.

"You're the crazy one. This is Gramps's house," the boy fought back, lifting his head to look at her with squinted eyes.

"Yes, and I'm his granddaughter!" she screamed indignantly, rendering the guy in front of her speechless. He examined her for a moment before straightening up. Lucy took another few steps back, feeling significantly less confident as he rose to at least six feet. His eyes relaxed, and she was able to see that they were a dark onyx color, slightly green in the reflection of the sun. They stared at each other for a minute without speaking, Lucy's heart pounding with fear, before he broke out in a wide smile. Lucy was stunned by the change it had in his face. One moment he looked ready to kill, and now he looked like a kid on christmas. She also had to regretfully admit that with his bright, shinning smile he might've, just slightly, looked kind of handsome. Not much.

"So you're Luigi?" he asked, and Lucy balked.

"What? My name is Lucy! What kind of person names a girl Luigi?" she growled, feeling anger heat her stomach. Was he even going to apologize for trying to kill her earlier?

"Hmm, that's what I was wondering," he murmured, rubbing his chin. Lucy felt the intese urge to slap her forehead...or his forehead. Or maybe his face.

"Great, so you know me. Who the hell are you and why did you just attack me?" she pushed.

"It feels more like I'm the one who got attacked. You hit hard for a girl," he muttered, rubbing his stomach gently.

"You''re the one who jumped me!"

"To be fair, you looked kinda suspicious. What were you doing, trying to break into your own house?" The boy asked, looking at her like she was the one in the wrong. Lucy puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, not even caring that she looked like a child.

"For your information, I got locked out and was trying to get back in. I would've been just fine if some maniac hadn't come out of nowhere and tackled me," she hissed, glaring. The boy looked at her oddly, as if considering her words, before chuckling.

"Who locks themselves out of their own house?" he laughed, like it was the funniest thing in the world. Lucy felt a tick appear on her forehead.

"I don't have a key!" she shouted, throwing out her arms. "Now tell me who you are before I call the cops!"

The boy swallowed down his laughter, his lips thinning as he tried to hold it in. "Do you even have your phone?" Lucy gave him an unamused look, and he relented with a sigh. "Well, for your information, I was just trying to be a good samaritan by stopping a stranger from robbing my neighbor's house," he informed her, still looking amused.

"Well you—wait. Did you just say neighbor?" Lucy deadpanned, giving him an unbelieving look. This guy could not be—.

"Yup," he confirmed, smirking as he popped the 'p'. Lucy stared at him incrediously.

"You're Natsu?" she asked.

"What's so surprising about that?"

Lucy paused, examining him critically. "You have pink hair," she finally stated, unable to keep her eyes away from it. It was bright, pink, and eye catching. Of course she was going to point it out.

The boy, Natsu, pouted and tugged self consciously at one of his locks of unruly looking hair. "It's salmon. And so what? Yours is blonde."

"Blonde is a normal shade for hair color," Lucy informed him, twirling one strand of hair around her finger. She felt slightly more at ease now that she knew the identity of said boy, although she was still peeved that he had yet to apoligze.

"Oh really? Then how come no one else in this town has blonde hair?" Natsu asked proudly, smiling smugly.

"How would I know? I just moved here two days ago. Besides, how many people in this town have pink hair?" Lucy returned, folding her arms and giving him a silimar look. Natsu frowned at her counter, choosing to ignore her question by asking one of his own.

"Couldn't you have just called someone to help you if you were locked out? You could've headed over to my house. I probably wouldn't have tackled you then."

"Oh, you know, I just love being tackled by strange men," Lucy said sarcastically, shaking her head.

"You're a weirdo." he stated, and Lucy shot him an incredulous look.

"I am not a weirdo! If anyone is weird, it's you!" Lucy denied, pointing an accusitory finger at his face. He frowned, glaring at her.

"No, you're definately the weirdo," he insisted, smiling. "So, what happened Luce?"

"Lucy!" she shouted, but then saw his unwavering smile and sighed, giving up. "I forgot my phone inside and I'm all sweaty from cleaning. Mira is supposed to pick me up at two so i needed a shower, and your house looked empty."

"It was," Natsu agreed, nodding.

"Then why would you ask if I would've gone over there?" She protested in exhaustion, feeling her head spinning as their conversation spun in circles.

"Just wanted to know, I guess," he shrugged it off, much to Lucy's dismay, "You really could use a shower."

"I'm going to murder you," Lucy growled, but he turned away like he didnt even hear her.

"I guess I could let you shower at my house. My sister probably has some clothes that'll fit you," he suggested, gazing towards the house besides hers. Lucy opened her mouth to yell at him for ignoring her, but froze when she registered his words.

"Huh?"

"So you're weird and deaf?" he teased, smirking back at her, his eyes alight with amusement. Lucy felt herself flush, but it was out of anger, not embarrassment. "I said that—"

"I know what you said!" Lucy interrupted, and he gave her a curious look.

"Alright, so what's the problem?" He asked, tilting his head. Lucy was about to mention the fact that it was not proper for girls to shower at boys' houses, let alone a boy whom she had just met, but the words died when she saw his innocent expression. Already having noticed that he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, Lucy sighed and nodded tiredly.

"Fine, thank you," she murmured, and he brightened up. Lucy fought away the bubbly feeling in her stomach, or the need to smile back. Natsu didn't seem to notice or care as he grabbed Lucy's hand and began dragging her towards his house. She yelled out in protest, but could do little to escape the excited boy's grip as he pulled her to her, very possible, doom.

~~~~~

It turns out Natsu's house was exactly like her Grandfather's, with the exception of it resembling a pig stye. Well, okay, the living room seemed clean from the five second glance she managed to get at it, and the hallway was clear as he dragged her up the stairs. However, his room was a whole other story.

Lucy had been in Laxus's room, so she knew from experience that they were dirty and smelly. Natsu's room took dirty to hoarding, and smell to stench. She could've sworn that the air was thinner inside that death trap than in the rest of the house.

"Ugh! What is that smell?" Lucy gagged, plugging her nose and refusing to breathe. Her eyes watered from the strength of the fumes.

"Huh? I don't smell anything," Natsu dismissed, plopping down on his bed. The matress jumped under his weight, and something bolted from under the clumped blankets. Lucy swallowed a scream as a small (blue?) cat hissed at Natsu and bolted away. She turned to watch as it's tail disappeared around the bend, and silently envied it. "Ah, sorry Happy!" Natsu yelled out to the cat, but his apology was disregarded by a loud hiss. Lucy turned to look back at the boy who rubbed his head shyly. "Sorry about that, Happy gets prickly when i wake him up from his naps."

"You named your cat Happy?" was all Lucy could say. In all honesty, this whole situation was so bizarre that she wouldn't have been surprised if Mira herself suddenly stepped out from behind one of the towering piles of trash.

"Well I wasn't going to go name him something stupid, like Fluffy," Natsu shivered, shaking his head.

"Oh yeah, because Happy is so much better."

"Anyway, the shower is through there," Natsu told her, pointing to some hidden door, ignoring her comment.

"Through there? As in through these piles of trash?" Lucy glanced at the boy who nodded. She took a step back, towards the door, shaking her head. "No thanks, I think I'm fine just like this."

"You look like a snowman," Natsu deadpanned, making Lucy glare at him.

"Don't you have another shower? You know, somewhere not so...smelly?" she asked, trying to think of a nice word to descrbe this horrendous place, but giving up after a moment.

"It's not smelly," Natsu whined, but bit back whatever else he was going to say by the look the blonde gave him. "Fine, fine. There's a bathroom in the hall, two doors down. You can use that."

"Thank you," Lucy sighed, relief filling her chest. "And you said something about, uh, clothes?"

"Oh yeah! I don't know though. Now that I'm getting a better look at ya, I don't think Wendy's clothes will fit you. She's a lot smaller than you," he said, eyeing her body. Lucy narrowed her eyes challenginly.

"Are you calling me fat?"

...

...

"Let me just go get you some clothes," he answered quickly, jumping to his feet and running out the door. Lucy glared after him, but just sighed and shook her head. She instantly regretted it as that horrendous stench filled her nose. Quickly she clapped a hand over her mouth and ran out of the room.

~~~~~

After Natsu gave her some of his Mom's clothes which, surprisingly, weren't that bad, Lucy finally got into the bathroom. She made the mistake of glancing in the mirror and cringed when she caught sight of herself. Natsu was right; she did look like a snowman. A horribly tired, sweaty looking snowman. Lucy groaned, her whole front of her shirt looking like it was painted white, and her hair resembling Mira's with the plastor dust covering it. She looked like a ghost with it sticking to her skin, via her sweat.

Lucy gratefully stripped off her clothes, and stepped into the shower. She turned the water on hot and let her head tilt down as the water pounded soothingly against her back. She was surprised that she didn't feel odd about using some random strangers shower, or the fact that she had only forty minutes until Mira would show up at her house, expecting her to be there. Lucy didn't let it bother her though, telling herself that she could deal with it later.

Lucy washed her hair quickly and rid her body of the sweat. After a quick ten minutes, she stepped out and dried off. She held up the outfit that Natsu had shoved at her, examining it in the mirror. The top was a blue blouse that was designed to hang off the shoulders, and the bottom was a silky black mini-skirt. It wasn't something that Lucy would've typically worn, but it wasn't bad. And it was definately perferable to her chalky tank top and jean shorts, so she pulled the garments on without complaint. The skirt fit her fine, a bit on the shorter side, but the blouse was a little too large. Nothing a few bobby pins couldn't fix, and she found some conviniently sitting on the counter. Another few minutes later, she stepped out with her dirty clothes bundled up in a small white ball, feeling refreshed. She glanced up and down the hall, even risked her life by peeking into his room, but didn't spot Natsu among the piles of trash. Lucy frowned and gingerly headed down the steps. She glanced at the living and dining room, but finding both of those empty as well, she headed into the kitchen.

Something told her she should not have been surprised to find the pinkette munching away on a table full of food. Plates upon plates, a good majority already empty, sat upon the table. The boy responsible for the carnage of the food looked up as she approached, smiling through a mouthful of food. Lucy cringed as he tried to talk, and he swallowed harshly before chuckling.

"You look a lot better," he complimented. "And here I was thinking you were actually a ghost."

"You're hillarious," Lucy rolled her eyes, glancing at the feast laid before him. "Thanksgiving come early?"

"Everyday here is thanksgiving," he agreed, smiling cheekily before holding up a plate of macaroni. "Want some?"

Lucy was about to deny, but her stomach decided to defy her by grumbling. Natsu gave her a knowing look and she glared before grabbing the plate from his hands and settling down on a chair. He chuckled as she tried not to eat the food too eagerly. She sent him a look as she spooned the food into her mouth, swallowing slowly on purpose. He smirked, watching her. "You know, typically this is when someone thanks the other for giving them something."

"Typically, an hour ago, someone would've apologized for attacking someone," Lucy returned evenly, eyeing him over the lip of her plate with raised brows.

"I thought that's what this was," Natsu admitted, motioning around. "You know, letting you come over and shower and all that, but I guess if you want: I'm sorry for mistaking you for a crimminal." He stared at her with an intense look that suddenly had Lucy shifting in her seat.

"Well, I guess your apology can be accepted if," she smirked, "you hand me that bag of chips."

Natsu laughed loudly, a surprised kind of laugh that told her she'd caught him off guard. Lucy smirked back and he tossed the yellow bag of potatoe chips to her with a smile. "You certainly are a weirdo," was all he said before digging back in to his meal. Lucy giggled to herself, deciding that he didn't mean it as an insult, and began munching on some chips.

"So," she started after a moment of silence. It hadn't been awkward, which was a pleasant surprise. Natsu looked up at her, swallowing his mouthful of...whatever monstrosity was on his plate. Lucy tried not to look too closely. "You said you had a sister. Any other siblings?"

Natsu stared down at his food with drawn eyebrows, an odd expression on his face. Lucy was afraid she had crossed some invisible line. She was about to attempt and smooth over the damage she'd created, but then he looked up at her with a smile. She wasn't any expert on smiling, but she could just tell that his was fake. "Nope, just me and Wendy. She's actually my step-sister."

"Oh, your parents got divorced?" Lucy asked, feeling sympathetic.

"No, I never met my mom."

It became silent as Lucy looked at him in shock. His face was perfectly still, waiting for her to continue. She half expected him to look angry or upset, but his face gave away nothing. He wasn't glaring at her or closing off the conversation, so she tentatively prodded forward.

"So your dad and her mom got married?" she asked gently. Natsu turned his head sideways as he thought, his eyes drifting out of focus. She saw his face take on a state of dreaminess as he recalled moments from his past, and Lucy felt bad when he blinked and snapped out of it. He still didn't seem upset however, and he gave her a large smile.

"Yeah, I was only four. Gradneey's pretty much my mom, and they had Wendy together two years after," he told her.

"That seems nice," she said, smiling.

"It was...but then my old man skipped out on us. About a year ago he just left town, no note or nothing. We don't hear from him, but I'm sure he's fine. He was a great fighter back in the day. He was the one who taught me to fight," he explained, his voice cheering up as he puffed out his chest proudly. As he did so, Lucy caught a glimpse of something white hanging around his neck, under his shirt. She frowned and leaned closer, much to the boy's confusion, but he kept still as she examined him.

"I'm sorry to hear about your father. My mother died when I was young, although no one really knows why," she paused and pulled back, looking him in the eyes. "What's under your shirt?"

Natsu blinked at her once, twice, and then three times before breaking out with laughter. "Isn't that something you ask someone after the second date?" Lucy felt herself blush at his implications, and glared at him. He laughed and held his hands up in surrender, although he was still wiggling his eyebrows. It looked ridiculous, the bright pink lines above his eyes doing some funky dance, and Lucy couldn't help but begin to laugh herself.

"Stop doing that, you idiot!" she gasped between spurts, clutching her chest. She had to struggle to breathe, and it didn't help with said idiot laughing at her and promptly ignoring her demands. After a moment, he stopped and another few seconds later, Lucy was back to normal. She was surprised when she felt something wet on her cheeks and moved her hands up to wipe away the tears in her eyes. She stared at them in startled confusion. Had he really made her laugh so hard that she was reduced to tears? That hadn't happened since...well, it'd been a long time.

"Oh no, I didn't mean to make you cry," Natsu chuckled, fully aware that her tears were from laughter, but still smiling gently at her anyway. In responce to her earlier question, he pulled at the white thing under his shirt. Lucy watched with interest as the white object became longer and longer until a long scarf finally escaped from the confines of his shirt. "This was my Dad's. I rarely ever take it off, but it's kinda weird to wear a scarf in summer so I keep it hidden."

Lucy leaned forward, captivated by the sight of the scarf. Upon closer inspection she saw that it was in a checkered pattern that, oddly enough, reminded her of scales. It was white, and had a strong scent of smoke and cinnamon that invaded her nose. She tried not to breathe it in, not wanting Natsu to notice she was smelling, but knowing fully well that this was his scent. She took slight pleasure in the fact that he didn't smell like gross boy. In fact, his smell seemed to fit him rather well. It was a wild, fiery scent that matched his crazy personality. She smiled at that thought.

"All things considered, I find it hard to believe that you let the weather stop you from showing it off," Lucy said, leaning back and smirking up at him. "I didn't take you as one to care much for seasonal wear."

"I'll have you know that I am the greatest fashionista in all of Fiore," Natsu said flippilantly, his voice taking on a higher pitched tone. Lucy realized blatantly that he was trying to impersonate a girl and chuckled. She laughed when he took the scarf and whipped it around his neck, his face set in a serious mask. She leaned over, clapping a hand over her mouth to contain her laughter, and Natsu's act melted away as he stared down at her. He started laughing as well, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"I'll take your word for it," Lucy managed, calming down and smiling at him. Her face hurt slightly from the amount of smiling she'd been doing these past few days, but she found the pain rather pleasurable. In fact, even the soft burn in her chest from lack of breath didn't seem to be such a big deal anymore. Part of her felt sad, realizing this was the type of life she'd been missing out on for years, but the happy daze she was in didn't allow her sadness to last. Well, that and the smile Natsu was giving her. Honestly, she should consider wearing sunglasses around this guy. His smile was going to blind her with how much he flashed it.

"Your mom," Natsu said suddenly, cutting Lucy away from her resolvement. She tried not to let the sadness show on her face. If he could allow her to question his family wihtout complaint, then it was only fair she let him do the same. "She's that blonde woman in the photo right? The one up in the spare bedroom?"

Lucy paused before realizing he meant her bedroom, and recalled the photo of her mother that she had asked her cousin if she could keep. It was still sitting on her dresser, smiling down at her bed. "Yeah," she said gently. "She died when I was a little girl. It's just been me and my Dad for a long time." That fact made her a little sad, and it must've shown on her face because suddenly she felt a warm hand on her arm. She looked down, surprised to see Natsu's hand on her arm. His hand was huge compared to her limb, and Lucy noticed with slight fear that he could probably snap her in half as easily as a toothpick. She shook the thought away a second later. Natsu was kind and nice; he'd never hurt her. Even if she'd only known him for an hour, his incredible kindness and the stories she had heard only enforced this fact. As odd as it was, she found herself feeling completely and utterly safe beside this boy. The feeling only increased as his hand gently squeezed her arm. He's comforting me, she realized amusedly. She looked up, finding him smiling at her encouragingly. She sighed and thought 'why the hell not' before beginning to talk.

Natsu listened attentively as she talked about her life back in Crocus. It really only took about ten minutes, but it felt like hours. Lucy told him about her father and their lacking relationship, the way he distanced himself in his office, and even found herself admitting that sometimes she thought he blamed her for her mother's death. She talked about their servants, her tone loving as she spoke. She briefly explained how she was rarely ever allowed to leave home. She even caught herself telling him stories about her mother, but he never seemed to mind. She was surprised that he seemed to be paying attention, and he never interrupted her speech. She had taken him to be an impatient, toss in what's on his mind type of person. He stayed completely still as she spoke however, and even after she had finished he was silent. Lucy began to get nervous in the silence.

"I'm sorry, I just tossed all that crap onto you and we've barely known each other an hour," Lucy said suddenly, wanting to smack herself at her foolishness. She hoped he didn't think she was really some weirdo now, but she was surprised when she was suddenly engulfed by a tight embrace. His scent seemed to rush around her, filling her senses as she breathed in shock. Natsu was wrestling her! No...he was hugging her? Lucy really needed to stop confusing the two.

"Don't say that," he murmured into her hair, his warm breath breezing past her face and causing her to blush. "I'm glad you were able to trust me enough to talk to me. It sounds hard," he pulled away slightly, smiling at her as she stared up at him in surprise. "I'm really glad you moved here, Luce!"

"Me too," Lucy whispered, pushing away the urge to cry. Perhaps he could somehow manage to deal with all her feelings, but there was no way in hell she was going to start crying in front of him.

"I'm also glad to be friends with you, Luce," he told her, smiling even wider, if that was possible.

"Friends?" Lucy asked uncertainly.

"Well, I hope you weren't expecting to go back to being strange neighbors after this?" Natsu chuckled smirking at her. "So I listened to you, now I want you to listen to me."

Lucy didn't even realize it was two o'clock, she was so caught up talking with Natsu. She found that, although he was lacking in some common sense, he was a great conversationalist and very funny. She couldn't help but feel at ease around him, and the giddy feeling in her stomach did not let up as they talked. He told her about some of his friends; Gray, Erza, and Levy, and explained in great detail about Laxus's "groupees". Lucy found herself laughing at everything he said, and he smiled largely at her in turn. He talked about his father, the "Fire Dragon" fighter, and told her upon asking that he never knew his mother, but only had favorable things to say about Gradeeny, his step-mom. They eventually migrated away from the kitchen and into the living room, situating themselves on the couch so they could still look at each other and relax. He mentioned his little sister, Wendy, and at some point Happy decided to come back over.  Lucy discovered that, yes, he was blue; curtesy of Gray and a bottle of hair dye. For a while, the little cat sat on a cushion of his own and watched them converse, but after a few minutes he ran across the couch and settled himself on her lap. They both froze, Natsu pausing in his latest story of a prank he had pulled on Gray, and stared down at the blue cat that was beginning to rub itself contently against her stomach.

"Luce, don't move," Natsu said lowly, holding out his hands in warning. Lucy looked up at him with furrowed brows before gently petting the small blue cat. Natsu stiffened, his eyes widened with fear, but they narrowed in confusion when the cat gave a loud purr and rolled onto his back.

"He seems more like a dog than a cat," she laughed, rubbing his small stomach gently in tiny circles. His tail swirled by her leg, tickling her skin as it moved.

"He's letting you pet him...he's purring..." Natsu murmured in a daze, staring between her and the cat in amazement. "Are you a wizard?"

"What?" Lucy shrieked in confusion. The cat whined when she stopped her ministrations, head butting her hand impatiently. Lucy replaced her hand, still looking at Natsu.

"Happy doesn't let anyone touch him except me and Wendy. He hisses and bites everyone else," he admitted, rubbing his head sheepishly before giving her a large smile. "I guess he likes you."

"I guess so," Lucy chuckled, silently wondering how such a sweet little thing could be evil. Natsu and Lucy smiled at each other for a minute, feeling no awkwardness whatsoever. In fact, Lucy felt the most content she had ever been since her mother had died. The realization sent a wave of shock through her, and as she opened her mouth to say something. She was cut off however, by a voice from outside.

"NATSU!" a shrill, somewhat familiar voice shouted, followed by harsh knocking. Natsu jumped, snapped out of his reviere, and stumbled off the couch. "Natsu! Open the door this instance!"

"Hold up, I'm coming," he said back, disappearing from the room. Lucy placed a hand on her chest, surprised to feel it beating harshly beneath her fingertips. She shook her head and looked up as a very worried Mira and a startled looking Natsu came back into the room.

"...and now she's not answering the door, and what if she was kidnapped or she doesn't want to—" Mira froze when she spotted the blonde sitting on the couch, blue cat purring in her lap. She also looked startled at the scene, but the look was painted over with relief as she looked at Lucy. "Oh, Lucy!" and before the blonde could comprehend, she was once again being dragged into a wrestling match with Mira. Lucy gasped, the air knocked out of her lungs for the second time that morning, and gently pat the girl on the back. Happy let out a hiss from being squished and wriggled out of the embrace. He sent a disdainful look at the white haired girl before scampering off.

"Good to see you too, Mira," Lucy choked out.

"Why the hell are you here? Whose clothes are you wearing? Why didn't you call me or Laxus? Why do you smell like plaster? Why—"

"Mira, you need to relax and stop trying to kill the girl," Natsu cut the panicking girl off, and Mira jumped away like Lucy had burned her, giving her a bashful look.

"Funny, coming from you," Lucy turned towards Natsu.

"Oh come on, I thought you were over that," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. Lucy chuckled at his expression.

"Um, am I missing something here?" Mira asked, looking between the two.

"Mira, this is Lucy, Lucy this is Mira," Natsu introduced, motioning a hand between the two. Mira smiled in amusement while Lucy sighed.

"Natsu, I know who Mira is," she reminded him gently, and he flushed before nodding.

"Right," he laughed, rubbing his arm, "I forgot."

"You two seem to know each other? I thought you said you didn't meet anyone yet, Lucy?" Mira asked, giving Lucy a 'look' that the blonde could not decipher.

"I kinda bumped into her...literally," He admitted shyly.

"He attacked me is what he means to say," Lucy corrected, giving him a look that dared him to disagree.

"Natsu!" Mira admonished, "You know it's dangerous for you to attack girls!"

"To be fair, I thought she was trying to break into gramp's house," he fought back, glancing at the blonde. "'sides, she hurt me more than I hurt her. Got me right in the throat."

"You can fight?" Mira asked in surprise, although Lucy couldn't help but feel that the girl was slightly relieved. Once again, Lucy wondered what was wrong with this town.

"I know slef-defense, although I wouldn't exactly call myself the front runner," she revealed, shrugging. She had convinced Capricorn to teach her self-defense and a few attack skills without her father's knowledge. He was more than happy to teach her, pleased to know that she would be able to handle herself even when he wasn't around. She guessed he was really grateful for that now.

"That's okay, it's a better start than most," Natsu assured her with a big smile. She smiled back, unable to help it, but then frowned in confusion.

"Start to what?"

"To fighting, obviously," he rolled his eyes, smirking. "I'm gonna teach you how to fight."

It was silent as both Mira and Lucy stared blankly at the boy, jaws dropped. Natsu looked at them evenly, feeling a little fear as he glanced between them, but not backing down. Lucy had shown him promise, and in this town you were expected to take care of yourself. Of course he would still protect her, he didn't know why but he would, but he would feel better knowing she would be okay alone. He had also seen the Fairy Tail mark on her hand, much to his chagrin, and knew that if any of their rivals saw it she would be in big trouble. The thought upset him.

"You are not making her into another Erza," Mira suddenly proclaimed, shaking her head so her white hair spun wildly. "No, no, NO! Absolutely not!"

"You don't have to worry about that," Natsu dismissed, smiling, "her kicks are already Erza-worthy."

"Um, thanks?" Lucy murmured in confusion, unsure if that was a compliment or an insult. She thought it was both, gauging from the expressions on the two's faces.

"No, Lucy is a sweet and innocent girl, and I will not have you corrupt her with your insane need to fight every living thing!" Mira fought, her eyes bright with anger.

"Too late for that. You already marked her, Mira," Natsu deadpanned, and the white-haired girl froze. All eyes darted down to Lucy's right hand where her newly aquired mark was still visible. Feeling uncomfortable, Lucy clasped her hands and hid the mark from view.

"You're from Fairy Tail as well?" Lucy asked, and then wanted to smack herself. Of course he was from Fairy Tail. Natsu didn't seem to notice her stupidity, only nodding his head in response.

"I think she should learn. I mean it can't hurt," he continued, but his face already said that his mind was made up. Lucy was still uncertain with his sudden change of attitude; all the fun in the air seemed to have froze over.

"With you as her teacher, I'm sure you'll find a way," Mira responded tensely, turning to the blonde. "I think the responsibility of teaching her, if she wants to, should fall upon Laxus. Don't you agree?"

"My cousin?"

"Laxus?!"

Natsu and Lucy paused, glancing at each other before both shaking their heads at Mira.

"He'll never let me," Lucy said, although she didn't know why. Something in the back of her mind just said that he wouldn't take to her fighting sitting down.

"He'll destroy her is more like it," Natsu followed up, glancing up at down her body. "She's like a stick."

"And you won't?" Mira exclaimed, running a hand down her face. "Natsu, you know how you get when you fight. You'll end up hurting Lucy without even meaning to."

"No I won't," he scoffed, like it was the most preposterous thing he'd ever heard.

"Natsu! You get too carried away when you fight. You'll hurt her!" Mira protested, and Lucy shrunk back from the look on the girl's face. Natsu also shuddered, but swallowed and held his ground with a glare of his own. Lucy watched the two's stare-off in silence. Comparing the two, Mira's definitely looked scarier, but Natsu had a determined set to his jaw that told Lucy he wouldn't be giving up any time soon. She wondered why he wanted to teach her so much, but decided to just be grateful and accept it. She's always wanted to learn to fight, so what if it came from some strange pink haired boy she'd only known an hour? It was free, and that was all that mattered.

"Mira," Lucy said gently, and both teens snapped their heads up to look at her. She gulped at the looks on their faces, but steadied herself. "I trust your opinion, but I think Natsu's right. I mean, clearly you're all acting like I need to learn to fight."

"Being a part of Fairy Tail is no joke, Lucy," Natsu said quietly, frowning. "I'm surprised Laxus even let you join."

"And why wouldn't he?" Mira countered before Lucy could open her mouth. "Lucy's as much a part of Fairy Tail as you or me. Even more so, considering Master is her grandfather."

"Mira, you know how dangerous things can get," Natsu said.

"Oh, you mean all those rival bars you were talking about?" Lucy asked, tilting her head to the side curiously. He looked a little startled at her knowledge before casting a sidelong glance at Mira.

"Yeah, the bars do pose a problem, but I was more so referring to school. Unfortunately us fairies tend to be pretty competitve, and if people know you're connected to Fairy Tail, that could pose some threat," he explained.

"Then I'll learn," Lucy said quickly, just as Mira opened her mouth to prepare some sort of argument. "I'll learn how to fight."

"Lucy, if you don't want to then—"

"It's fine, Mira," Lucy assured her with a light laugh. she wasn't sure why she wasn't freaking out; these people she'd barely known a few hours had just told her that she'd inadvertently joined some sort of gang and the probability of being attacked was high, but all she could picture was the smiling faces of the people at Fairy Tail. She thought of Kinana, of Lisana, of Mira, Laxus, Natsu, and all the people she had yet to meet. The thought of leaving them made her heart burn inexplicably. "I don't want to leave Fairy Tail."

Natsu and Mira watched her for a moment with the same odd look on their faces. It took Lucy a second to realize that it wasn't disappointment, rather..pride? Yes, she was assured, as Natsu smiled largely at her. "Only been a part of the family a day and you're already a true fairy," he chuckled. "Man am I glad that I met you before the stripper did."

"Stripper?" Lucy questioned, but he just laughed and clapped her firmly on the shoulder.

"So what do ya say, Luce? We'll start tomorrow?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows questioningly. Lucy stared at him for a second before smiling back, her chest feeling light.

"We'll see," she smiled, and he smiled back. Lucy didn't even realize they were still smiling at each other until Mira coughed, snapping them back into reality. Lucy flushed and looked away, rubbing the back of her neck. Natsu coughed awkwardly, turning to Mira. She smirked at the two of them, her expression amused.

"AS cute as you two are, we're wasting daylight. You said you wanted to meet the rest of Fairy Tail, didn't you?" Mira asked, glancing at Lucy. Lucy nodded her head, smiling.

"Yes, definitely," she agreed.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Mira asked, motioning to the blonde.

"Are you going too, Natsu? You can come with us," Lucy offered, stopping and turning back towards the pinkette.

"Ah, don't worry about me. I don't, uh, do well with um, transportation," he murmured, blushing and scratching his head.

"Really?" Lucy asked curiously, glancing between the boy and girl.

"Natsu suffers from a rare case of motion sickness that occurs when on transportation," Mira explained to the confused blonde. "Cars, trains, busses, planes; you name it."

"Just thinking about it hurts," Natsu groaned, and Lucy noticed with interest that his skin seemed paler.

"He'll catch up with us later," Mira assured.

"Yeah, you go meet the others. They're great people," Natsu agreed, swallowing thickly. He looked better now that the topic had strayed from moving objects.

"I guess I'll just have to see for myself, won't I?" Lucy joked, smirking.

"Then get your butt down there," Natsu told her, pushing her forward.

"What about you? Are...are you going to be there?" she asked quietly. He smiled in response.

"I'll be there before you," he assured her confidently.

"Natsu's fast," Mira backed him up.

"The fastest," he agreed, puffing his chest out proudly. Lucy couldn't help but laughing at his ridiculous expression, but she managed to cover it with her mouth.

"I'll take your word for it," Lucy managed after a second, smiling at the pinkette. "See you then."

"Try not to take too long," the boy joked, waving as the two girls exited his house. Mira chuckled under her breath and Lucy rolled her eyes as they made their way to Mira's car.

"There's no way he's going to beat us," Lucy said, plopping into the front seat with a sigh. "Right?"

"I wouldn't doubt Natsu," Mira warned lightly, turning and smiling at the blonde. "It might just be the last thing you do."

"Ha ha," Lucy said sarcastically, but couldn't help the small seed of doubt from filling her chest. Mira had already tried to persuade her from training with Natsu, claiming that the pinkette was dangerous in battle, and now she was making half-hearted jokes about it. Lucy wasn't sure what to believe or feel, but decided that the confusion wasn't worth her time. Eventually she'd understand, and maybe she'd make a different choice if she knew more, but for now Natsu was going to become her personal trainer. She smiled to herself as Mira pulled out of the driveway and took off towards Fairy Tail.

~~~~~

Thankfully Mira's mind seemed to be on other things as they drove, and she didn't question Lucy too much. She still managed to give the blonde an earful about how close the two seemed to be, but after a few minutes of little to no response from Lucy, she seemed to give up. Something told Lucy she hadn't really given up, but she took what she could get and enjoyed ten minutes of popular songs playing from Mira's radio.

The white-haired girl seemed to come back to life as Fairy Tail came into view. A large smile lit up her face and she began rambling excitedly about all the people Lucy was going to meet. Lucy managed to catch a couple of familiar names, but they were lost in the tidal wave of people that Mira was spitting out. She sighed, already feeling an oncoming headache and weeks of confusion, but couldn't help but feel excited herself. She was pumped to meet her new family and, from the looks of it, Natsu was nowhere in sight.

"Fast, huh?" Lucy chuckled to herself as the two girls climbed out of the car and towards the bar. Mira smirked and gave the blonde a knowing look, but didn't say anything as she pushed the door open. Much to the blonde's relief, no chair came flying at her face.

The first thing that Lucy noticed as she peered into the room was the significant lack of people. The abundance of drunkards from the previous day had been halved, and many of the people there she did not recognize. She remembered what Mira had said about only certain days allowing normal people in, and spotted a few familiar people. The two men who'd been smoking the night before were both still smoking, although now they were joined by a larger man with long orange hair and the boy with the broom. The girl who'd been drunk from the other night was there too, sitting on the table with a...barrel? Lucy paled at the sight, confirming it as the girl picked up the whole thing and chugged mouthful after mouthful of the stuff.

"Don't worry about Cana, we only give her grape juice during the day," Mira whispered in her ear, noticing where her attention was focused.

"I see," Lucy murmured, shocked. Mira giggled and turned away, towards the bar. Lucy followed after her quickly.

A few people called out hello's to Mirajane as she passed by, which she politely returned. The most shocking thing however, was that no one seemed to give Lucy a second glance. The blonde frowned, not sure wether they were being kind or just flat out ignoring her. She really hoped it was the first, not exactly keen to the idea of her "family" showing no interest in her on day one.

"Good Afternoon, Kina!" Mira called out to the purple haired bar tender. Lucy felt slight relief, knowing she would be talking to someone who would at least look at her.

"Afternoon Mira, Lucy," Kinana replied, swiping the inside of a beer glass. The bar was completely empty, much to Kinana's obvious relief, and she gave each girl a large smile.

"Not much business today, huh?" Lucy asked, sliding onto one of the stools and placing her elbows against the cool wood counter. Kina chuckled, setting the glass down, and shaking her head before gazing out at the floor.

"Everyone here pretty much serves themselves. It's just on the open days that it gets really busy," she explained, smiling at the blonde who nodded in understanding. Lucy was about to ask Kinana something else when she heard someone shout her name, or rather her nickname.

"Hey Luce!" an all too familiar voice called out, and Lucy didn't even have time to turn around before Natsu was beside her, his arm cast over her shoulders like it was a completely normal thing. Lucy choked in surprise at his sudden appearance, sharply turning her head towards him.

"Natsu?!" she asked, glancing around the guild. It seemed as if everyones attention had suddenly turned towards them, and Lucy found herself wishing they'd go back to ignoring her. She would've shrunk under their gaze if the pinkette did not have her in such a tight embrace.

"Is that Natsu with a girl?!"

"Man, I thought I'd never see the day."

"What a manly thing to do!"

"Who is she?"

"Is she a new member of Fairy Tail?"

"I thought she was just confused and came in for directions."

So the last one explained why everyone'd ignored her, but the others only made her flush. What was so odd about Natsu being with her, beside the fact that he had his arm around her and was hugging her and...okay, she saw where they were comign from.

"Natsu! Get off of me!" Lucy hissed, pushing off his arm. She meant to shove him really, but his arm felt so heavy that she ended up having to slip away more than anything.

"What's wrong with you?" Natsu asked, folding his arms and frowning. Lucy was still painfully aware of the other's eyes on her, and she shifted awkwardly, her face hot with anger and embarassment.

"How did you get here?" She questioned him, and his expression slipped into an easy smirk.

"Ran here, obviously. I told you that earlier, Weirdo," he said, rubbing her head kindly. Lucy balked at his boldness, and slapped his hand away. She smoothed out her ruffled hair, glaring at him.

"I mean how are you here now?" She clarified.

"I told you that too. You didn't really doubt my speed, did you?" he sounded honestly astonished, like that had never happened before. Lucy wanted to slap her head.

"Theres no way you got here so quickly! It took us seven minutes by car," Lucy protested, unbelieving.

"I got here in four. You were the ones who came late," he scoffed, glancing away.

"What? You got here before us?" Lucy shrieked in surprise.

"Yup," he said proudly.

"I didn't see you at all," Lucy deadpanned. Natsu pouted, but then lit up as he realized something.

"That's because I was knocked out!" he sounded happy to have figured out the situation.

"Knocked...out?" Lucy sweatdropped, just as she felt a dark presence aappear from behind her. Natsu's eyes widened in fear and Lucy stiffened, shivers running up her back.

"Natsu," the voice rumbled, although it sounded odd to Lucy, "Who is this girl?"

"T-This is Lucy," NAtsu said wihout hesitation, grabbing Lucy by the shoulders and turning her. He pulled her towards him, ducking behind her and using her as a shield to the evil force. Lucy frowned. Some friend, she thought, before looking at the source of her fear.

Lucy felt herself freeze as she stared at the red head before her. She felt the fear drain away, replaced with amazement at the sheer beauty of the girl before her. She was tall and certainly lethal looking, she looked like she could take care of herself well in a fight, but she had an overall aura of kindness. Her brown eyes seemed a little stiff, but they grew warmer when they connected with Lucy's.

"Hello Lucy, you must be the Master's granddaughter," she said, her voice smooth with a bit of a proper accent to it. Lucy couldn't recognize the exact location, but she felt herself smile regardless.

"It seems so," she agreed and paused, examining the girl. "I'm afraid I don't know your name."

"Erza Scarlet," the girl said, extending a hand.

"You're Erza?" Lucy balked, very aware of Natsu still quivering behind her.

"Yes?" Erza said, looking confused at Lucy's reaction. The blonde quickly shook away her surprise and smiled largely, accepting her hand.

"I'm sorry, I've just heard so much about you. I didn't expect you to be so pretty," Lucy admitted, blushing slightly. Erza also looked surprised, pausing in her hand shake, before smiling back. Lucy thought her smile just made her adorable.

"Nor did I expect you to be so beautiful. I was sure you would be ugly with Laxus and Master as your family, but you are quite stunning," Erza said, dropping her hand. Lucy sweated slightly at her blunteness, but took the compliment regardless.

"Yeah, I suppose I got the better end of the deal," she agreed with a giggle. Erza laughed as well.

"Ah, Erza, I see you've met Lucy," Mira said, appearing suddenly. Lucy hadn't even realized she'd been missing until she popped up, but the blonde was glad for her presence.

"Indeed. I see she is already a member," Erza glanced at Lucy's hand, the one with the pink mark.

"Yup!" Mira said cheerfully. "She came by last night and we marked her."

"So you have yet to meet the guild?" Erza clarified, turning back to the blonde.

"No, not yet," she agreed, smiling slightly. Erza nodded and, without warning, grabbed her hand and began dragging her away. She squeaked at the tight grip on her arm, and heard Natsu shout in alarm when his shield was suddenly taken away, but she was more focused on the red head.

"Uh, Erza, what are you doing?" Lucy asked nervously. The red head didn't respond as she dragged the blonde between tables and towards the revealed stage. Lucy caught the sad stares being given to her by the other people, and managed to catch the eye of one girl. The girl was small and skinny, clad in a light orange dress and with curling blue hair. She was surrounded on either side by two boys, each tall and looking at her intently. The girl's eyes widened as they connected with Lucy's, but as she opened her mouth to say something, Lucy was being yanked up the stairs.

Lucy had to tell herself that Erza was not trying purposely to be so crude, but her arm disagreed as the girl nearly dislocated it, bringing her to the microphone on the stage. She tapped the top, the sound echoing, in attempt to gather everyones attention, but there was no need as everyone's eyes were already focused on the pair. Lucy gazed around the room nervously, catching sight of Natsu standing beside a shirtless dark haired boy. Both were looking at them with cringes, although they showed no intention of coming to save her. Lucy was going to beat him up later for that.

"Attention Everyone!" Erza called out, her voice carrying through the sound system. "I would like to introduce our newest guild member, family member, and friend; Lucy!" The red turned to Lucy with a large smile. Lucy gulped nervously and awkwardly smiled at the crowd. This was so not how she wanted to meet her family, but it didn't seem to matter as everyone was on their feet and cheering within seconds. Lucy blinked in surprise while Erza smiled at her knowingly. Everyone clapped and hollared, some whistling and others laughing, before they began shouting out loud welcomes towards her. Lucy was at first startled by the scene and attention, but towards the end she could feel her heart warming as her smile became less forceful and more joyful.

Her eyes scanned through the crowd of foreign faces, and she found herself thinking that they wouldn't be strangers for much longer. She smiled at the thought, a bubbly warm feeling filling her chest. Her eyes caught those of a familiar pinkette, who waved when he noticed her attention on him. He flashed her one of those brilliant smiles, and even the boy beside him smirked up at her, giving a small wave. She waved back in return and turned to look at the tall redhead beside her. Erza was glancing between her and the crowd, a satisfied and proud look on her face. Lucy approached her tentatively, causing the red's brown eyes to lock on to her.

"Thank you," Lucy started off, smiling gratefully. "If you wouldn't mind though, do you think you can introduce me to some people?"

"You mean introduce people to you? Of course I will, but I'm sure most of the guild will greet you on their own time. We're a bit odd that way," she admitted, gently taking Lucy's arm in her grip and leading her off the stage. Lucy was glad that her arm wasn't threatened this time as they decsended the steps.

Lucy let Erza drag her back towards the bar, waving to a few people as she passed by. She spotted the blue haired girl from earlier, but she seemed preoccupied ignoring the two boys talking on either side of her while she read her book. Lucy tried to get a glance at the title, but Erza pulled her away before she could look. She decided she would just ask the girl about it later, and use it as an excuse to start a conversation and perhaps make a new friend. She figured anyone who attempted to read in such a loud atmosphere must be a serious reader. She looked forward to meeting someone else who shared her passion for words.

"If it isn't the star herself!" Kina shouted as the blonde approached, drawing the Strauss siblings away from whatever they'd been talking about. Mira smiled as Lucy and Erza approached, her eyes glinting in that knowing way.

"Not so scary are we," she said when they stopped before the bar. Kina and Liz chuckled, while Erza rolled her eyes and Lucy shrugged.

"I dunno," Lucy sighed, "You certainly are an intimidating bunch."

"That's a very different story," Mira laughed.

"Hey Luce!" A cheery, familiar voice called from behind her. Lucy sighed a long breath and turned on a heel, sending Natsu a cruel smile. The pink haired boy's happy face dropped like a brick, and his running gallop skid to a stop. That didn't work out too well for the person behind the pinkette, as he smashed into Natsu's back with a grunt. Natsu jerked forward on the impact, his eyes wide in confusion as he tilted forward. Lucy squeaked when he came tumbling towards her, but couldn't step back as the bar was preventing it. Too late to move elsewhere, she tucked in on herself and closed her eyes, praying to Kami that the heavy boy did not smash into her for the second time that day.

Lucy felt the whoosh of air from Natsu's body, and she certainly could feel the sweltering temperature of his body heat, but all of this passed over her like wind. Nothing physically touched her, except for the soft piece of clothing that smelled distinctly like Natsu (campfire and cinnamon) that was brushing just barely against her nose. She squirmed at the feeling of the fabric tickling her nose, and leaned back slightly as she opened her eyes. She was greeted by Natsu's incredible smile, which just about blinded her, and his face practically inches from hers. The close contact sent her heart into overdrive, and she wouldn't have been surprised if he could hear it with the racket it was making in her chest.

"Whew," he breathed out in relief, his warm breath fanning over her face and causing her pulse to jump. Was he trying to give her a heart attack? She certainly seemed to think he was. "That was close."

"It's still close," Lucy gasped, her mind spinning as his scent practically shoved itself up her nose. She blew a soft breath from her mouth, moving the strings of his partially exposed scarf away from her face. "Too close."

"Ah, yeah, sorry," he blushed, at least she thought he did, and pushed away from the bar. Lucy hadn't even realized he'd stopped himself by grabbing the bar, effectively trapping her between his arms. The thought sent shivers up her spine and had her blood roaring in her ears. Seriously, she needed to see a doctor.

Natsu pulled away another step, ensuring she had enough space, and turned to face the rest of the group. They were all staring with a different expression on each of their faces. Kina looked pure surprised, Liz looked confused and a little upset, Mira looked positively delighted, and the boy who'd caused the situation to occur looked...angry?

"Dammit Natsu, why'd you have to stop like that?" The boy complained, folding his arms over his...bare...chest. Lucy felt her mouth drop open, staring at the half naked boy before her. The newcomer was handsome, as seemed to be common occurance in the boys of Magnolia. He had inky black hair, so dark she wondered if it were dyed, cold dark blue eyes, and a six pack. Yes, the boy had a freaking six pack. Lucy was positive at that point that Fairy Tail would be the death of her. She didn't think it would be all too bad though, dying with this glorious six pack in front of her.

Okay, so she kind of had a thing for abs, but what girl didn't? They were hot.

"What's that stripper? You were the one who ran into me!" Natsu protested, glaring at the boy. Lucy could visualy see the fight rising around them. She could imagine the flames around the pinkette, surrounding him like some devil-spawn, while the black haired boy seemed to blow off waves of chilly air. Their auras seemed to hit each other head on, and Lucy was surprised to see that when she blinked away the fantasy, they were actually forehead to forehead.

"Well I wouldn't have if you hadn't suddenly stopped like a dimwit," the boy fought back, pushing against Natsu. Natsu shoved back right away, and they began to fight for dominance while tossing out insults at each other. Lucy caught the sound of 'flame Brain' and was nearly positive she heard 'ice princess' being tossed out more than once.

"Um, should someone be stopping them," Lucy asked doubtfully, turning back to the other girls.

"Don't mind them, they do this all the time," Mira waved it off, the others nodding in return.

"Besides, Erza will stop them if they get too out of hand," Kina assured the blonde, who still looked doubtful.

"How often does that happen?" Lucy queered. The girls exchanged a look.

"Well, how is your first day at Fairy Tail going so far, Lucy," Erza said eliquintly, changing the subject with little subtlety. Lucy blinked in surprise and then smiled slightly.

"It's going very well so far, thank you Erza," she replied politely. Erza nodded and Lucy took the moment of silence to point at the fighting boys over her shoulder. They were now tossing punches at each other, although Erza had yet to step in so Lucy had to assume that this was still 'in hand'. She didn't really want to know what classified as out of hand. "Who is the half naked one."

"Oh, that's Gray," Liz spoke up, giggling. "Natsu calls him the stripper."

"Ah, so that's him!" Lucy gasped, turning around to examine the boys again. Somehow they'd ended up on the floor in the minute she'd turned away. Lucy sweatdropped.

"The one and only," Kina sighed, tossing her dark purple locks over her shoulder. Lucy was about to ask what she meant, but Mira cut her off by calling out to the boys.

"Gray, come over here and introduce yourself to Lucy," the white haired girl yelled out, pulling the two boys attention away from the fight. They begrudgingly seperated and headed over to the girls. Lucy balked when Gray stepped in front of her, extending a hand out with a smirk.

"Hey there Lucy, I'm Gray Fullbuster," he introduced, and it would've been a fine introduction if he just...

"Where the hell are your pants?!" Lucy exclaimed, clapping her hands over her eyes while feeling her cheeks heat up incredibly.

"Huh?" Gray replied dumbly. Lucy peeked through her fingers to see Natsu begin to laugh, and the dark haired boy freak out as he looked down and discovered his pants were missing. "Ah, how'd that happen?"

"Just put some pants on," Lucy whined, turning away to frown at the girls' giggling faces.

"Uh, could I borrow yours?" Gray questioned, holding a hand out to the blonde.

"What?" Natsu growled suddenly, his laughter gone.

"WHAT?!?" Lucy screeched, before promptly smacking him. He fell to his butt with a thud, looking stunned. Lucy turned away, still unwilling to see his bare body. It wouldn't have been so bad for a normal boy to loose his pants, in fact she wouldn't have minded it at all, except for the fact that Gray Fullbuster was clearly no normal boy. What led her to this discovery? The unnessesary tidbit she now knew about Gray.

Gray Fullbuster did not wear underwear.

~~~~~

"Ouch, that hurt," Gray complained, rubbing his sore cheek. He glared at the pinkette who was smirking down at him.

"And you burned my eyes," Lucy returned, avoiding looking at the boy. "We're even."

"Hmph," Gray huffed, but he smiled up at the blonde. He hadn't really believed Natsu when he'd told him about how she'd nearly taken him out earlier that day, but now he knew the pinkette hadn't been lying. This girl was tough. "That was a pretty good hit, you know, for a girl."

"And that's a pretty small dong, you know, for a dude," she returned instantly, glaring at him over her shoulder before her eyes widened and she looked away again. He felt his mouth drop open at her insult and Natsu burst into heavy laughter from behind him.

"Oh god, Luce!" The fire idiot gasped, slapping his knee. "You are the greatest!" The blonde blushed slightly at his comment, before glaring and telling him to go find Gray some pants. Natsu complained about having to do anything for 'the stripper' and she told him that if he didn't, then she would tell Erza what he called her behind her back. That had the pinkette racing for the storeroom, and had Gray chuckling. He should've been scared, really, because he had also actively participated in Erza's nickname, and something told him the blonde knew that, but all he could do was laugh. The girl was funny. She was there for less then a day, and already she knew how to work the Firetard. He admired her while she steadily ignored looking at him.

She was pretty, with that long blonde hair, big doe brown eyes, and her body was hell-a amazing, but she had already proven that she was not one of those bitchy white girls that cried if you so much as called them a name. She was Fairy Tail material, he admitted to himself. Something about her seemed familiar though. He couldn't place it, but something about the set of her jaw, the determined aura around her, and her hair seemed to pick at his brain.

"So how'd you come across Fairy Tail?" he asked finally, wondering if that would explain it. She knew better than to look at him, instead keeping her eyes locked on the bar. The other girls were quiet, watching the show go on with amusement on their faces. Gray thought their look was like that of a starving dog. They were always hungry for more gossip.

"MY Cousin and Grandpa," she shrugged, like that explained it.

"She's Master's granddaughter and Laxus's cousin," Mira explained to him, and he felt the realization hit him like a brick. Of course she was related to the two scariest and most well-respected men in fairy tail. He connected it then; the same blonde hair, the air of importance around them. Her whole aura practically screamed Dreyar.

And he realized where he really recognized her from. She looked almost completely like the woman in that photo up in Laxus's spare bedroom, the one him and the Flametard were forced to share from time to time. Of course the woman in that photo was too old to be Lucy, and Gray had always assumed it was just Laxus's mom. Clearly though he was wrong. The woman in the photo was Lucy's mother, that much was clear. Laxus's aunt.

"What d'ya know," he shrugged nonchalantly, giving the blonde a lazy smirk she did not see since she still refused to look at him. Her aura of bashfullness was like a fresh breeze in a stifling room. He thought having a girl as innocent as Lucy around would be nice. The girls at Fairy Tail were like vicious animals, and they were far too used to his naked form to be embarassed about it. He also wondered how long it would take for the innocence to be corrupted, and the thought made him a little sad. He pushed it away however. "So you're considering joining up with us, then?"

"Didn't you listen to the announcement?" She replied, holding out her right hand to him. He thought for a minute that she was offering him a hand up, and he was about to decline when his eyes caught on the pink mark that decorated her skin. "I'm already a member."

"Wow, that fast huh?" Gray whistled, silently wondering what Laxus was thinking. Must've been drunk, he concluded. Or, he thought with a shiver, he had Mira with him. "So how'd you meet flamebrain?" He wanted to know if the story that the pink haired weasel had spun was true.

"He attacked me," she deadpanned, looking none too pleased at this fact. Gray nodded, already hearing the explination of how the idiot thought she was a robber. His question; what kind of a robber tried to sneak in through the balcony wearing completely regular clothes with their face revealed to everyone passing by. Sometimes, he truly thought that Natsu was hopeless.

"And I heard you tore him a new one," Gray prompted, quite interested in this part. Lucy blushed at the implication of his words, but then she laughed and shook her head.

"He gives me more credit than I deserve. I hit his throat and managed to get in a kick. It's not like he went down or anything crazy like that," she brushed off the compliment dismissively, like she didn't appreciate the attention on her. "If he really wanted to hurt me, I'm sure he'd have no trouble."

"I don't know, he spoke pretty highly of you," which wasn't really a lie. "That's rare, coming from that dope."

"Who're you calling a dope, ice tits," an all too familiar and obnoxious voice snarled, and Natsu appeared from behind Gray. The black haired boy opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off when something was flung at his face. He cuaght a whiff of the smell, and jerked away quickly with a gasp.

"UGh! Where the hell did you find these? The trash?" Gray complained, his head spinning from the atrocious scent the fabric was giving off. IT smelled somethign like a mix of pizza and cat litter. It seemed familiar.

"No, I got them from my house," Natsu shrugged, but there was an evil glint in his dark eyes.

"WHAT?!?"

"You went back to your house?" Lucy asked curiously, looking over towards the bickering boys. She still avoided looking at Gary, since he was holding the shorts as far away from him as possible.

"Yeah, unfortunately the trash seemed to be out of stock today. Surprising really, since that's where his clothes tend to end up," the pinkette chuckled while Gray sent him a mean look.

"How on earth did you get back so quickly?" Lucy asked, not seeming to understand. Gray didn't really either, the pink haired boy seemed to move at unearthly speeds when he wanted to. It wasn't human, but Gray had accepted a long time ago that a lot of things in Fairy Tail weren't explainable. Natsu was one of those things. "You weren't even gone for five minutes."

"I already told you I'm fast," Natsu rolled his eyes tireldy, but there was still a self-satisfied smirk on his face that told Gray he enjoyed amazing the blonde. Lucy on the other hand, looked ready to explode. Clearly her mind couldn't compute with this fact. "Anyway, put on the shorts before someone else catches your disease."

"It's not a disease," Gray hissed bitterly, casting a disdainful look towards the shorts. "And I'm not putting these...things...on. You use these to clean up Happy's piss, don't you? I can smell it from here."

"I use a lot of things to clean up happy's pee," Natsu shrugged, like it was not big deal. "Can't keep track of them all."

"Why doesn't Happy have a litter box?" Lucy asked, also looking a little disgusted at discovering this unnatural fact.

"Lost it."

"Of course you did," Lucy deadpanned, not looking the least surprised. Gray had to assume that the blonde had already had the unfortunate encounter with Natsu's bedroom. He shuddered for her sake, remembering his first time in the pinkette's bedroom. Compared to the rest of the reletively clean Dragneel household, his was a complete pig stye. Gray had gotten so lightheaded from the fumes that he had nearly passed out just when Natsu opened the door. As figured, they didn't spend much time hanging out in Natsu's room.

"So why don't you just run home and get me a clean pair, eh, Speedy Gonzolas," Gray joked, but Natsu didn't retort so the boy assumed he didn't get it. Instead he crinkled his nose and folded his arms, a sign he wasn't going to do it, and shook his head.

"Why don't you just deal with it and put on the freaking shorts? I'm not gonna sniff every pair of shorts just to find a clean one for you," he said, like it was obvious. It was acutally. Gray didn't expect much kindness from the pink haired bastard.

"I think what he means to say is that he has no clean shorts," Lucy supplied for the naked boy. Gray laughed while Natsu gaped at the blonde with a look of betrayal.

"Hey! Let's not forget who lent you those clothes," Natsu glared at the blue blouse the blonde had on pointedly. Gray glanced at the clothing. It did seem to be familiar.

"You're right, I'll have to thank Gradneey when I go back home. What time does she get back at?" The blonde asked innocently, but there was a mischievous glint in her brown eyes. Natsu looked taken aback, unused to people having retorts for him on the ready, while Gray cackled from the floor. He was liking this girl more and more.

"Hmph," Natsu huffed in loss, staring at the blonde contemplatively. Finally he stepped around the black haired boy and approached the girl until he was only a few inches from her. Gray couldn't see Lucy's face, as it was blocked by Natsu, but he took notice of how the blonde did not back down. He hadn't even realized how small the girl truly was until she was nearly face to face (face to chest, more like) with Natsu. Her head barely reached his collarbone, and her limbs looked like toothpicks compared to Natsu's own muscled arms. Gray was only an inch shorter than the pink haired boy himself, but sometimes it felt more like feet. He could only wonder how the girl felt being subject to Natsu's intimidating height, and was struck by how tough she was for being able to stand up to him.

She would make a great addition to fairy tail.

~~~~~

Lucy did not typically appreciate close contact with people, but there was just something about the pink haired boy that made her partial to him being near. Maybe it was the burning heat his skin seemed to give off, or perhaps it was the face splitting smiles he shot at her, but she felt completely comfortable with him being near.

Even earlier, when he'd nearly crashed into her and had his face too close for comfort, she'd felt fine. Sure, her heart had threatened to stop and her limbs were shaking the whole time he'd been away, but she didn't feel any fear at his touch. This fact didn't change when he crossed the floor to her, stopping so close that the toes of their sneakers touched. He was even closer than before, but she didn't feel uncomfortable. His scent seemed to waft around him like a cloud of perfume—she wondered if he actually wore it—and his heat enveloped her like a hug.

Their height difference was noticable to her for not the first time. She had already realized that Natsu was well into 6 feet, and he seemed even larger with the way he held himself. She could see every muscle of his arms, even through the sleeves of his t-shirt, and briefly wondered if he had a six pack like Gray. She wouldn't have been surprised.

His expression was serious as he gazed down at her, his eyes doing that weird thing where they changed from black to green. She had noticed it happen before, when he talked about his family and friends. She thought it was cool, and was captivated by his slightly changing eyes as they gazed down at her.

She could read him like a book, which slightly surprised her. She had thought he would be the type of person to block out his emotions, but she was clearly able to see the concern in his green eyes. His gaze made her heart pick up pace, and she feared once again for her her heart suddenly going still.

"That mouth of yours," he said gently, his voice quiet. Lucy stilled as his hand gently touched her cheek, not her mouth. She was keenly aware of the heat spilling into her face, both from embarassment and from his hot skin. She knew Mira and the others were watching, that Gray was directly behind them and probably seeing the whole thing, that anyone in the guild could walk over and see them, but the thought didn't seem to compute with her brain. All she could think about was his skin on hers, and the way his eyes stared down at her. "If you keep talking like that, you're gonna get yourself in a situation you don't want to be in." he pulled away and took a step back, giving her a smile. Lucy blinked at the lack of contact. "I told you being a Fairy ain't easy."

"Isn't that why you're teaching me to fight?" Lucy asked quietly, not trusting her voice. Natsu blinked in surprise, and she heard Gray make a 'huh' of confusion.

"Heh, yeah," he chuckled, rubbing his head. "And I'm gonna make you the best damn fighter there ever was."

"That is, if you don't break me first," Lucy whispered, feeling slight unease. Natsu looked shocked, staring at her with wide eyes. She thought for a minute that she'd pushed too far, but then he was suddenly giving her s heartwarming smile that just about melted her soul.

"Don't worry," he reassured her, not moving an inch closer. "I won't break you."

And funny thing was, she believed him.