So I started writing this at like 2am a few months ago and I never knew how to finish it. So here it is.

For a bit of a better summary, Team Natsu is now a police team in a modern day setting. The relationship between Natsu and Lucy in here is a bit complicated so I'll put a thing at the end for confused readers. If you want to draw your own conclusions, then pay it no mind.

Enjoy.

"Alright team, well done."

The familiar voice is Lucy's ear was serious but genuine. Her team had just carried out a successful drug raid in an abandoned apartment complex in a shitty part of town, arresting a total of 17 men who were discussing a rather shady deal. The two rival gangs would be rather incapacitated now that the brains of their operation were going to jail.

"Good work," Erza praised Lucy, her long red hair looking a bit messy after a skirmish with one of the tougher brutes.

"Thanks," Lucy sighed in relief. "You too. I'm glad that the mission's finally over." Her hair wasn't much better, considering she had been checked against a wall beforehand by a heavyset gang member. (She kneed him in the groin afterwards and shot him in the leg, fair payment for the bruise she would be getting on her shoulder.)

"The mission's not over until we send the bastards to prison and write a case report, Agent Heartfilia."

The voice in her ear sounded slightly scolding. She sighed before answering her superior. "I know boss; I'm the one who always ends up writing the report, remember?"

Lucy's superior, Agent Dragneel, chuckled a bit. "Of course I remember; you won't let anyone of us forget."

Lucy turned her attention back to Erza, not before shedding a slight smile. "Where's Gray and Gajeel?" she asked, returning her mask of seriousness.

"They should be transferring the criminals into the police van right now." She holstered her gun as she spoke, Lucy doing the same. They had been checking the perimeter for any contraband and/or outlaws that might have been lurking about, and had declared the building safe. "Once they're done, we'll go back to the office and write up that report. I'll even help you if you want."

Lucy gave the red-haired beauty a small smile. "That's alright. I can do it quick and then we can go out for drinks or something. I think we all deserve a break."

Erza grunted in agreement. They had spent weeks planning the damn operation and it only took 30 minutes to execute it. They'd pulled all-nighters and worked overtime almost every day for the past two and a half weeks, and the end result wasn't as satisfying for the young agents as they had hoped. But the boss would be thrilled that they'd nailed the scumbags that were polluting the name of Magnolia City, even if he wasn't the one on the field this time. Commissioner Dreyer had asked him to sit the raid out to gain some experience in directing missions rather than taking part in them. His team would have been lying if they said that Dragneel wasn't pissed about the whole thing, but he handled the position with maturity and skill.

"Hey, we'll get to see the fun Heartfilia for once."

Lucy ignored the voice in her ear. It was true that she was pretty serious when it came to doing her job. She liked to get things done in the most efficient way possible, but it hadn't always been like that. But if you were getting stereotyped in the police academy as the ditzy blonde who was oblivious to the evil in the world, what would you have done? But it wasn't like she didn't know how to have fun. On the contrary; she was a bit of a party animal when she was off duty. But as soon as she stepped inside the police department, she was a take-no-nonsense hard worker.

"Alright," Erza's radio rumbled as she immediately reached for her belt to turn the volume up. It was Agent Gajeel. "We've just about finished up here. Is the perimeter clear?"

"All clear," Erza answered. "Lucy and I are on our way back to you now."

"Roger that," Gajeel replied, sounding relieved that the operation was coming to a close.

"Finally," Lucy sighed as she cracked her neck. "Now let's get out of he-"

BANG!

The sharp sound of a gunshot rang clearly throughout the complex. Erza and Lucy both dove for cover in the large room they were currently in. Both of them found a desk to hide under as two more shots were fired.

"Shit," they both hissed as they un-holstered their guns.

"Oi, what's going on?!" Agent Dragneel shouted in both of their ears.

"There's a straggler! Just give us a minute!" Lucy yelled back.

Gray and Gajeel heard the gunshots and began running to find where the two women were, but they had gone to scout out the building; Lucy and Erza could be anywhere.

Within minutes, Lucy buried a bullet in the man's shoulder and Erza managed to put another one in his knee. He had fired 8 shots total, emptying his clip in an inexperienced flurry. Erza ran over, still aiming a gun to his head while she kicked his weapon away. Lucy cuffed the guy quickly. Erza surveyed the area in case of another ambush before she looked at the floor. She frowned as she counted the shell casings that were scattered across the ground.

"Scarlet? Heartfilia? Talk to me! What's the situation?" The boss's frantic shouts started registering in her brain.

"Sorry sir," Erza answered. "We've taken care of the straggler and have him in our custody." A pained moaning sound came from the man before Lucy piped up.

"Hey, you have the right to remain silent," she told him. "I suggest you exercise that right."

He mumbled something unintelligent as Erza counted the shells again, walking around the room.

"This is strange," she mumbled before she talked loud enough for Lucy to hear. "He shot 8 times but I'm only counting 7 casings." She walked over to where Lucy had been ducking for cover. Her eyes grew wide as she saw a red pool stand where the blonde had been crouching. She whipped around suddenly to face the woman.

"Oi, Lucy-" she stopped midway. Lucy was staring at her abdomen with wide eyes as red blossomed over her black turtleneck.

"I think I've been hit," she said in a dazed voice. As if on cue, Gray and Gajeel ran into the room, breathing heavy.

"Is everything oka-" Gray began before he saw his teammate. Lucy brought a hand to her pierced abdomen, only to pull it away covered in red.

"Dammit," she complained. "These new bullet proof vests are bullshit." She stumbled before she was caught by Erza and laid on the floor gently. Gray and Gajeel ran to the two, Gray applying pressure to her wound while Gajeel radioed the standby ambulance stationed a block away.

"Why did we trust the dumbasses in the Weapons Depot? 'Forget that they're thinner because they do the same job'. Yeah right, tell that to the DAMN HOLE IN MY STOMACH." She winced as Gray pressed into her torso.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Natsu demanded as he listened to the conversation. "Someone tell me what the hell she's talking about!"

Gajeel answered as everyone else was preoccupied with keeping Lucy stable.

"Heartfilia got shot Boss, whadaya think happened?" he answered in an agitated voice.

"How is she?" he asked immediately, not even bothering to hide the concern in his voice.

"I can hear you, you know," Lucy grumbled. Gajeel ignored her complaint.

"Yo Heartfilia, how are ya?" he asked her with a devilish grin on his face.

"Fuckin' pissed," she growled through her teeth. "Can you kick the damn brat that did this to me?"

"She sounds angry boss."

"Will you shut the hell up?"

"Why do you get so bitchy when you're wounded?"

"Because this hurts like a motherfucker."

Gray chimed in. "That's because it wasn't a clean shot, there's a bullet in your abdomen. I guess you didn't feel it before because of the adrenaline"

"Hurray~~~" Lucy muttered sarcastically. "Now I get to have a bullet pulled out of me. Fantastic."

"Did you call the ambulance?" Natsu asked them sounding less panicked. Lucy seemed to be OK which eased his nerves a bit. He didn't want to lose anyone in some petty drug raid, especially not Lucy.

"No, the thought hadn't occurred to me; of course we called the damn ambulance!" Gajeel's tone was impatient as usual. "It's here right now, I think. Meet us there."

After the straggler had been thrown in jail and the paramedics came in with a stretcher and anesthesia, Team Dragneel arrived at the hospital. Luckily, the bullet didn't pierce any vital organs and the surgery was a complete success. When Lucy woke up, Erza and Natsu were in her room sitting calmly. Erza was the first to notice her friend's movement, seeing as how Natsu was falling asleep in his chair.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," she greeted her friend. Lucy glared at her.

"That's not even a little bit funny," she retorted as she sat up, a dull pain resided in her stomach region. "Where are Gajeel and Gray?"

"Home," Natsu cut in, making Lucy aware of his presence.

"Oh, hi Boss," she acknowledged. "Wait, how late is it?"

"One in the morning," Erza answered as she checked her watch. She was no longer in the standard police uniform of a turtleneck and black cargo pants. She now wore a simple white blouse and a short blue skirt with blue heels. Her hair was pulled back in a simple clip behind her head. Lucy's eyes went wide.

"What?!" she exclaimed. "What the hell are you guys doing here? Go home!" Erza chuckled.

"That's exactly what the boss told us when he showed up at 9."

"You guys deserve a rest after everything we've done," Natsu defended. "I have to say you're a lot more stubborn than I thought, Scarlet."

"Erza," Lucy interrupted. "Please go home and get some sleep. They'll let me out in the morning and I'll visit you right away, okay? You too, Boss."

Erza seemed very reluctant leave her friend alone at the hospital, but eventually agreed after some more reassurance. When she reached the door, she turned around to face her superior.

"Boss?" she asked. "You coming?"

Natsu waved her off. "I'll be out in a few minutes; I need to talk to Agent Heartfilia for a bit." Erza nodded before heading out of the room.

Lucy turned to face her boss and whistled. His spiky pink hair was even messier than usual and his eyes had dark circles around them. He was still wearing his office suit; black trousers and a blue collared shirt with a navy tie, a small white insignia printed on the bottom of it, stating it was from the company Fairy Tail. His black overcoat was draped over his chair, and overall, he looked like a mess.

"Lookin' good there Chief," she commented. He rolled his eyes at her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked a bit suddenly, throwing her a bit off guard. She nipped the laid back attitude that was taking over in the bud and replaced it with her usual demeanor.

"I'm alright," Lucy admitted. "It's a bit sore but other than that, I'm alright. How did everything go?"

Natsu stared at her with a slight smirk. Even when she was hospitalized, her mind was still on work. "We nailed them of course," he said as if it was obvious. "All of them were in possession and had thousands of dollars with them for the deal. Apparently, the meeting was a peace offering between the two gangs."

Lucy's brow furrowed. "We knew that already; they were supposed to be working out a deal to become a crime syndicate."

"Yes but the 'straggler' you found wasn't a straggler. He was a member of one of the gangs that was supposed to scout out the meeting and wait for the right moment to ambush the other gang."

Lucy cocked her head to one side. He sighed.

"Oracion Seis was planning on double-crossing Sabertooth all along."

She nodded thoughtfully. "I thought something like that might happen. You can never really trust a gang."

They sat in silence for a moment, not really knowing what to say. The two were close for a coworker relationship; you have to be when you have the kind of job they do. They had been in the academy together and had been partners for a while until Lucy had taken a year off due to her father's untimely demise. When she returned from her time off, she found that Natsu had overtaken her and had even become the leader of his own team. He immediately requested for her transfer to his division and she fit right in. She had changed little, which Natsu was relieved to find out. He did not want to have Lucy back only suddenly realize she was an entirely different person.

"You had me scared back there," he admitted with a nervous laugh while scratching the back of his head. "But after hearing you complain for a bit, I realized I was worried for nothing. I'm still pissed I wasn't there, though. That position has no power behind it, the old geezer better not pull anything like that again."

"I'm sorry," Lucy said in a quiet voice. "I didn't realize I worried you to such an extent."

Natsu blinked at her in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

A small smile played on her lips.

"Whenever you get worried over something, you ramble and laugh about it like it's no big deal.

He blinked at her again before smirking and shaking his head.

"You know me so well," he sighed.

"We did used to be partners, sir." The way she emphasized the honorific made him know she was just teasing him, but it still rubbed him the wrong way.

"I miss the old days," Natsu's voice was filled with a sort of reserved sadness. "I miss being able to watch your back."

She raised an eyebrow at the pinkette. "You still do watch my back, Boss. And now you have all of these people watching yours."

"I meant-"

"I know what you meant, Natsu." The use of his first name startled him. "But things change. Things have changed. I miss the old days as much as you, but there's no point in reminiscing for the rest of our lives. Every time you talk to me alone you always go right back to the 'old days' topic and it makes me want to smack you upside the head."

"That's cold Luce," he commented while rubbing the back of his head. "But I guess you're right. Things have changed. You clearly don't feel the same way about me like you had once upon a time…"

Lucy sighed heavily as she closed her eyes. "What did I just say? That was years ago, and things are different now. You're my boss and an old friend. That's it."

"That's not what you would have said 5 years ago."

"Dammit Natsu, this isn't 5 years ago!" The anger in her voice diluted as her body was racked by a fit of coughing. Natsu went rigid as he tried to help her. She simply held out a hand as her breathing returned to normal, not before coughing up a bit of blood. A nurse entered the room after hearing the ruckus and started taking her vitals, successfully ending the discussion between the two. After answering the standard questions and rating her pain on a scale of 1-10(5), the nurse left, not before reminding 'Mr. Dragneel' that he would have to leave by 1:45 am.

After an awkward silence, Lucy ended it by asking him for a glass of water. There was a cup on a counter near the back of her room already full. After she took a few sips, she handed it back to him. As he set it down, he barely heard her whisper.

"I never should have left."

Natsu closed his eyes and looked at the ground.

"Things could have been different. That's what you wanted, wasn't it?"

He was quiet for a short while, thinking of all the things he could say.

"I'm sorry for leaving without telling you first," she looked at him, half hoping that he would turn around, half hoping he would stay put. There was a moment of silence.

"…Apology accepted."

He turned around to face her with a sad smile on his face. She returned it.

"By the way, I wrote up the case report."

Now it was Lucy's turn to blink at the pinkette with surprise. "You did?"

He nodded. "That's why I was so late getting here."

As Lucy thought about it, it made sense. The raid was at 3 in the afternoon, so it was a bit odd that he would show up a good 5-6 hours late. And it wasn't unbelievable that it would take him that long to write up a report.

"Well thanks I guess," she said with a yawn. "That's one less thing I have to deal with back at the office."

"I think everyone's going to take a little vacation," Natsu said thoughtfully as he walked over to grab his coat. "I think a week or two would be good. And we still need to go out for those drinks. In any case, you need to get some rest. You promised Erza that you would meet her tomorrow morning, and I'm sure Gray and Gajeel will want to see yo-" He stopped talking when he turned around to see Lucy sleeping peacefully while sitting up.

Looks like the morphine kicked in.

He sighed in exasperation as he helped her lay down in a better sleeping position. She barely seemed to notice. As Natsu pulled his coat on, he looked at her sleeping again, remembering the last time he had ever seen her sleep so soundly. She was completely at ease which calmed him down for some reason he could not explain.

He walked over to the side of her bed and after waiting a tentative minute, he leaned down a kissed her. It was sweet and loving, making his heart ache. He had dreamed of doing that ever since she left. He pulled away after a few seconds and kissed her again, soft and short. Natsu walked out of her room slowly, all the while taking a deep breath. He shut the door softly behind him and walked towards the exit.

...

As soon as she heard the door close, Lucy opened her eyes and stared at the door, a slight blush colored her cheeks. She had begun to fall asleep; it's kind of hard to pay attention to Natsu when he rambles, especially when you're medicated. But she was able to snap to attention right quick when he leaned down towards her.

She absentmindedly raised her fingers to her lips as a small smile appeared there. Lucy gathered her blanket over her and settled in for sleep, sure that her dreams would be almost as sweet as that kiss.

Told you I didn't know how to end it. So let's see if we can clear some things up, shall we?

Okay so the main idea here is that Natsu and Lucy joined the force at about the same time and went to the academy together. Eventually, they were partners once they graduated. It is heavily implied that the two realized that they had feelings for each other while this happened. After being together for some time, Lucy took time off due to her father's death which left a large gap in Lucy and Natsu's relationship. When she finally returned, Natsu had become a team leader and requested her to join him. The hope was that their relationship would be fixed and would even develop further, but Lucy didn't want to be looked at in such a way (being a woman in the workplace is hard man). Also there were rules against such relationships. So the distance between them had increased. They still have feelings for each other.

I know that this was all kind of explained in some paragraph but you never know.

Any questions? Feel free to PM and I'll get back to you soon.

Have a nice day.