บท 5: Chapter 5

The next morning found Lucy exhaustedly hauling herself out of the shower with a tired look on her face. Bags had formed beneath her eyes from the little sleep she'd gotten, and she barely had the energy to dress herself before going to find herself some coffee.

Eternally grateful that the hotel she'd picked to stay in had a coffee machine in each of its rooms, she downed nearly an entire pot before she was capable of thinking straight. She paused to look at the mess of notes and sketches she'd made the night before - most of which had nothing of use on them. The most she knew was that anyone that had anything to do with this "Fairy Tail" stuff had that emblem on them somewhere.

Lucy sighed into her third cup of coffee. This was turning out to be a bit more frustrating than originally planned…she'd ask Levy for more information on this Fairy Tail group later, when they met up with Mirajane at the Rozlyn Cafe…

She reached out to pluck up a book that she'd been reading during her breaks the night before, and then stopped as her phone went off. Giving a sigh, Lucy set her book aside in favor of glancing at her phone. "...huh," she murmured, answering the phone call immediately.

"Hello?" she mused before taking a sip of coffee.

It was Mirajane. "Hello, Lucy," she greeted in a hurried voice, seeming distracted. "Levy asked me to call you about something...she had to go with some friends on a job. It was last minute and there's no phone reception where she's going, so she asked me to let you know, and it turns out I have to work today, too."

Lucy's lips slid into a disappointed pout. "No worries," she said despite her disappointment. "I'll just find some different places to go to, work on my ideas for some novels...are you able to go out tomorrow?" she said hopefully, then cringed. She didn't want to sound desperate to hang out with people who didn't know her very well…

"No," Mirajane said mournfully, sounding apologetic. "I can't until the day after tomorrow...sorry, Lucy! But…" Her voice became hopeful. "I answered those questions of yours. Levy said she told you a bit about our...err, group, right?"

"Right," Lucy agreed quickly, curiosity striking her.

"If you'd like, I can send one or two of our other members to speak with you. I'll send the questions with them for you to look through, and if you have any more questions, you can call me."

"That'd be great," Lucy said, though her voice admittedly faltered briefly. She was nervous about the idea, she wouldn't lie. She would have less than a few hours to deal with the anxiety that came with new people. She'd had at least twenty-four hours last time.

As if sensing Lucy's discomfort, Mirajane reassured, "Don't worry. I think I know who I'm sending…" She seemed thoughtful. "Hm...I'll send Lisanna with him, though. He can be a bit, err, not so bright a lot of the time, but he's friendly enough. Certainly more friendly then Gajeel, and he can at least keep his clothes on." That last bit was muttered, as if under her breath.

Lucy couldn't help but giggle at that. "Okay," she agreed. "So I'll be looking for Lisanna Strauss and…?"

"Natsu Dragneel."

Lucy sputtered, choking on the sip of coffee she'd taken. She coughed for a moment, ignoring Mirajane's worried words before saying hoarsely, "You're sending that pink-haired idiot?"

Mirajane sounded startled. "You've met Natsu? Well, that's a surprise…oh, dear," she said anxiously. "Did he do something bad? I can send someone else if you want...he's just been a bit bothersome to the others, and I thought giving him something to do would be good for him…"

"No," Lucy wheezed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "He didn't...he didn't do anything bad. He actually, err, helped me out last night." She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully after a moment, remembering the event. She hesitated, then admitted, "After Levy and Gajeel left, I think I stayed out a bit too late...some guy decided to come after me." She kept quiet about her suspicions behind it. Nobody else needed to know she was a Heartfilia. "Natsu showed up and helped me out."

"Are you alright? Were you hurt?" Mirajane fretted. "Do you need someone to stay with you? I'll forcefully take time off until you go home if you want…"

"No, it's fine," Lucy reassured. She gave a tight smile. "It probably would have happened back home anyways." She tucked some hair behind her ear after setting her coffee down. "I'll just have to be more careful. At least I was here and someone was there to help me out." Could have ended with me being forced out of the country and back home…

"If you're sure…" She seemed upset by this, but Lucy pretended not to notice. "I'll tell Natsu and Lisanna to meet you outside of the Rozlyn Cafe, just like Gajeel and Levy did yesterday… You make sure to let one of us know if you need something, okay, Lucy? We'll help you out if something like that happens again."Mirajane's voice was fierce, almost protective.

Touched, Lucy found herself blinking back tears. "Thank you," she said softly, "I will."

Mirajane gave a soft sound, then reported, "I'll let them know to be there in an hour… Natsu's been in a better mood today than he was yesterday, so he'll be a little wild. Just a warning. If you have to, smack him around. It keeps him in check. I'll talk to you later, Lucy!"

"Bye, Mira." Lucy hung up, swiped at her eyes, and took a shaky breath. How long had it been since someone had thought to make sure she was okay? Without worrying that their future plans would be ruined?

Climbing to her feet to go get dressed, Lucy set her phone aside, stretching.

Yep.

She definitely wanted to move to Magnolia now. Screw whatever her publisher thought on the matter. Lucy eyed her laptop, then the clock before going to change.

She'd start looking for apartments after she was done for the day…

The look on Natsu's face when he realized just who Mirajane had sent him to meet was priceless. He looked horrified, excited, annoyed, and even a little bit eager, and Lucy could do nothing but giggle at the several expressions that flashed across his face. Lisanna, warned beforehand, had joined her in laughing before smiling brightly at her, greeting, "Hello, Lucy. I'm Lisanna." She extended a hand out to shake and Lucy did so happily. "This is - as I've been told you know - Natsu."

Lucy gave a small nod before smiling slightly at Natsu. "Hi."

"...yo," he greeted, voice hoarse with his surprise.

Lisanna shook her head, giving another laugh. "Do you want to grab something to eat while you go over the questions? Mira sent them with me.."

"...food?" Natsu said hopefully, a glint in his eyes - which kept darting back to Lucy. She pretended not to notice.

"Not for you," Lisanna retorted. "He eats everything," she explained to Lucy, blue eyes flashing with amusement. "If he was to eat, there wouldn't be anything left for other customers for a week."

Lucy shook her head. "I can see it," she replied, hugging herself. Her gaze sparkled with laughter, and her cheeks were sore from smiling so much. She loved hanging out with these people. And she was sure it was obvious to just about anyone who looked their way. "I'll pay," she offered. "You came out when you really didn't have to, so it's the least I can do. And if he wants something, too, I'll pay for it. Just…" She turned a pleading gaze on him. "Don't order too much. I need money that'll last the rest of my trip." And some for moving…

His eyes widened fractionally at the look in her eyes, but then he gave a huge grin that showed off most of his teeth - including those that were slightly sharper than the rest. Lucy blinked. His canines were apparently like Gajeel's...how strange. Suspicious now, she only returned the smile slightly.

The three wandered into the cafe, Lucy silent in her thoughts, Natsu watching her out of the corner of his eye, and Lisanna carefully watching them both, a smug little smile playing along her lips. After settling in and ordering food - Lucy looked like she wanted to cry when Natsu had finished ordering, and Lisanna, having pity for her, ordered Natsu to pay for at least half of it - Lucy was ready to deal with the questions.

"Here you are," Lisanna offered, handing her the paper that listed the answers Mirajane had carefully typed up to go with her questions. Lucy lightly took them, curiously scanning the answers.

"Sweet," Lucy said happily. "Thank you, Lisanna...tell Mira thanks for me later, would you? I'll look them over some more tonight and get back to her on any other questions I might have."

"Sure thing," the younger woman promised, then suddenly added in a tight voice, "Natsu. Table."

"Shit," he swore, yanking his fingers away, placing them safely in his lap.

Lucy stared at the ashy marks left on the table, opened her mouth to question it, and then noticed the wide-eyed panic on Natsu's face. Lisanna hadn't noticed that she'd noticed, but Natsu certainly had. His onyx eyes were round with horror, locking with Lucy's, as if he was anxious she'd say something.

So, Lucy said nothing, only smiled slightly before turning her gaze down to her food. She nibbled at a roll that had come with the soup she'd purchased, lost in thought until Lisanna said, "So...you were out with Levy and Gajeel yesterday, right Lucy? What did you guys do?"

Lucy hummed in thought, tilting her head. "Not much...we went a few places, like that big church. We went to some place for lunch, and then Levy took me to a bookstore. It was the most fun I've had since I saw the amount of positive responses my first book was receiving," she admitted. "I don't really, err, have many friends back home." She didn't have any friends back home. "So it was fun to be able to enjoy my time with someone else."

"That's good," Lisanna said with a soft laugh. "Mira was worried you wouldn't enjoy yourself with Gajeel there...he can be a bit...well, he's Gajeel."

Natsu snorted, muttering, "Metal Breath sucks. Won't even fight me half the time. He's too busy being a boring bastard."

"Natsu," Lisanna moaned in frustration. "Levy worked hard to make sure he was on good behavior yesterday, don't make all of that for nothing!"

Lucy giggled, amused. "Don't worry," she reassured. "I don't mind. He wasn't too bad, though. Kept giving me these weird looks, but…" She shrugged, taking a sip of her tea, thoughtful as she tilted her head.

"Did he try and sing?"

Natsu's question had Lucy choking on her tea, staring at them with surprise as she coughed for a moment. Damn, apparently she was good at that today! "He sings?"

"He thinks he can," Natsu said with a shrug, smirking suddenly. He shoved some food into his mouth, mumbling with his mouth full, "He sucks at it." Lisanna buried her face in her hands, looking horrified by the lack of manners Natsu had. But Lucy only grinned, finding it hilarious. It was nice to see such things...for her, anyways. Lisanna didn't seem to appreciate it.

It wasn't long before all of the food was gone, and Lucy was content to listen in silence as Natsu tried to convince Lisanna that he needed more food when he'd already eaten as much as she could in three days. Every now and then, a hand would reach up to tug the scarf away from his chin so that he could talk without it tickling him, as if it was habit. A pout appeared on his face when Lisanna told him he couldn't get anything else to eat, and he glared at her before blowing out a sharp huff.

A flame wisped out from between his lips, temperature spiking around them only momentarily.

Lucy narrowed her eyes. She wasn't imagining it. That was three times now she'd seen Natsu Dragneel do something that indicated he could do...well, something with fire. Hm...might not be a bad idea for my book…

Lisanna glared right back, not intimidated at all by the angry look Natsu now wore.

Lucy couldn't help but giggle. She was enjoying herself, even if the meeting was a bit more awkward than the one she'd had with Levy and Mirajane. Lisanna was willing to chat - Lucy reminded herself that she needed to get her a book signed - and Natsu was...well, he was something else, that was for sure.

So when it came time to leave the cafe and Lisanna announced she needed to head back, but Natsu was going to take her somewhere fun...she knew without a doubt that Lisanna was leaving her in charge of some pyromaniac-like idiot. Lisanna pulled her closer, whispering softly, "Sorry, Mira's request...we need to get some work done, but he's kind of been...you know, making a mess out of everything. Another of our group, Erza, usually is able to keep him in check, but she's away for work right now. You don't mind?"

Lucy sighed softly. "No," she replied, feeling bad for the obviously eavesdropping Natsu. It didn't seem like he meant to be as destructive as he appeared to be...for the most part. He had been talking about fighting Gajeel earlier. She smiled brightly. "I'm sure it'll be fun."

Lisanna bid them farewell, waving as she left. Left alone with the suddenly sullen Natsu, Lucy glanced up at him. He was a good bit taller than her, yet he looked like a child as he met her gaze and proceeded to grin hugely, showing off those strangely sharpened canines again. "Ready, Luce?" he said cheerfully, one hand shoved into the pockets of the jeans he wore, the other reaching up to tug his scarf away from his face.

Lucy shouldered her purse, ignoring the happy shiver that accompanied the nickname he'd given her. "Yep," she answered, returning the smile.

He gently nudged her forward. "This way," he told her, folding his hands behind his head. "I'm gonna show you some badass trees we have here…"

She snorted, and somehow knew that only he would think such a thing and want to show them to her. "Okay," she agreed.

She gave a happy laugh, unaware of the curious look Natsu shot her out of the corner of his eye...

...and definitely unaware of the gaze that watched them eagerly from the shadows.

Yay for a new chapter, yes? Natsu and Lucy are finally chilling together! Things will start getting serious next chapter. ;) I hope you enjoyed!

Reviews:

NaLu x Buckets: Gajeel is a pain in my ass at some points, not gonna lie. I love him (and everyone else) to death though. XD Here you are!

LavenderMoonRose: Thank you!

Kinsutenekochan: Another official meeting because you know. They keep needing that apparently. Lol! XD Fun is definitely a good word to describe this.

Sara lovelymusic: Again, you've made me laugh so hard I nearly cried. XD Thank you so much. XD

Guest: You'll be finding out VERY soon, I promise it. ;)

Haus of Lexy: Maybe, maybe not. :D

NaluLuva23: I'm glad! Thank you for thinking so! :)

fanficlove2014: I wonder what he did smell on her! ;) Just kidding, I know what he did, but ya know. Things happen. Bet you he forgets about it. Maybe.

Blood-priced726: There WILL be romance, I promise you. It's just too early for it at this point. Can't have that happening too soon in long fanfictions. And he wouldn't have necessarily smelled the scarf. It's been with Lucy (on her person and in her purse) for a day or two at this point, and more than likely has more of her scent on it then his own. :)

Anonymous1: Thank you so much! Canon shall always be better, though various meetings are fun to write. Lol.

Mechanical-Rose-Sama:Oh, this is nothing compared to what'll happen. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. ;)