A/N: So, it's been a while. But I've gotten a lot of questions about an epilogue for this story, and I've never been able to come up with anything worthwhile. But some of you really wanted this, so here it is! I wrote this in half an hour, so be prepared for nonsense and bad grammer, but oh well. I just needed a little more of my 'One of the Boys' Natsu and Lucy, and here they are, in all their glory.

I just wanted to say, I loved writing this piece, even if you readers weren't the biggest fans. It was fun and light and random but it was everything I needed to write at the time. I hope you guys liked it. It meant a lot to me! Please feel free to review, comment, message me about future story ideas or even just about your life. Let's be friends!

"Jesus—fuckin' hell, Luce, fuck—" A voice grunted, a couple bangs against the wall filling the gaps as it sucked in heavy breaths, "Open you're goddamn window, I swear to god."

Lucy sat up in her bed, eyes wide. "Natsu?" She hissed, trying to keep her voice low so her father didn't hear anything and get suspicious.

"Yes, Natsu! Who else would be climbing through your window at three in the morning?"

Lucy hauled herself out of bed, padding over to the window where the pink haired boy was so elegantly caught. His right leg and arm had managed to winch themselves through the small gap between the window and the window sill, but his left side was still flailing freely from the second story height, nothing to grab on to. A snort of laughter bubbled its way up her throat, and she couldn't help but laugh at the boy.

"I dunno," Lucy responded, smirking at Natsu. "Murderers, kidnappers? There's lots of options."

Natsu rolled his eyes, mumbling under his breath, "Oh, so you're a comedian now. That's real funny."

Lucy grabbed his hand so he wouldn't fall and shoved the window up the entire way; she hauled the boy in, tugging on his arm until he fell through the gap, sprawling out on her wooden floor. He was breathing hard—he must've been struggling, trying not to fall to his imminent death from her partially closed window—but had a little smile on his lips.

"What're you doing here?" Lucy asked, shaking her head at him.

Natsu beamed up at her, giving her his typical bright grin. "Came to visit ya."

"And you couldn't go through the front door, like a normal human being?"

"Yeah, yeah, Luce," Natsu said sarcastically, hauling himself up to a sitting position; his dark eyes locked onto hers. "That's a perfect plan. Walk right through you're front door, right past your dad's bedroom. He'd hear me because I'm a loud idiot, and I'd be banned for life. Great idea. How'd I forget about that?"

Lucy crossed her arms. "Oh, right," She pouted. "I forgot that you're not allowed over after ten anymore. Or up here, for that matter."

Natsu shrugged, letting out a sigh and hopping up to his feet. "I was bored, and you couldn't hear me screaming at you through the can, so I figured I'd come visit."

"You know my dad will kill you if he sees you, right?"

"Well, then he won't see me. Problem solved."

Lucy shook her head, rolling her eyes. "You're bad." Still, she couldn't help but blush.

They'd been dating for a couple months, now, and things hadn't ever been better. She was in absolute paradise; she was dating the boy she'd been in love with since she was five years old, and they lived right next door to one another. Not to mention, they were best friends. They never ran out of things to talk about.

But, as much as things had gotten better, the struggle to be close had only gotten harder. Upon learning of his daughter's new relationship with the hooligan next door, Jude had really slammed down with harsh rules regarding visitors.

Natsu was welcome to walk Lucy to and from school, no problems. However, he couldn't come over right after school, like usual—the earliest Natsu could come over was 5 o'clock, for a family dinner, and that's it. He couldn't sit beside Lucy, he couldn't go up to Lucy's room after dinner, and they had to be in full view of Jude at all times.

Natsu thought Jude was paranoid; Lucy thought he was becoming Hitler 2.0.

But the teenager had learned to work around the rules Lucy's father had so sternly set up; they would hold hands and kiss the entire way to school, take their time heading home after class so they could sneak off into the forest and make out a little bit. When Jude had to work late, Natsu and Lucy would dash up to her room and lay on her bed, flirting and laughing.

But to Lucy's chagrin, there had been no sleepovers since her father had implemented the new rules.

But tonight, that was different.

"I'll be outta here by five AM," Natsu said, flopping onto his stomach on Lucy's mattresss. He let out a content sigh, snuggling into her pillows. "You're bed's the comfiest."

Lucy laughed, rolling her eyes. "Fine—but that's it. If he catches us, we're dead. No more Natsu and Lucy. He'll murder you."

"You don't think I could take him?"

Lucy raised her eyebrows. "Are you seriously considering fighting my dad?"

"I'd consider fighting anyone."

"Idiot."

"Whatever, weirdo. Put a movie on."

Lucy made her way over to her laptop, choosing a movie and letting it play. Natsu glanced at the screen, but opted to turn his attention to his girlfriend once she plopped down beside him. He reached down and clasped her hand, intertwining their fingers; he smiled once he noticed the blush touch her cheeks.

Four months in, and he was still madly in love.

They watched the movie for a while, but got restless; after about an hour of pacing her bedroom, Lucy offered the single greatest idea of all time.

"Wanna sneak out and head to the baseball diamond? I'll bring my bat and my mitt."

Natsu turned to her, eyes watching her in the dark. She was wearing some old sweats and one of Natsu's old t-shirts—she'd stolen it, claiming she likes falling asleep with his smell nearby. Her hair was down, long and shiny, and her eyes were bright, makeup free. And he couldn't help it when his cheeks flushed a little, when his heart rate picked up. Because this was his Lucy—his childhood best friend, the little tomboy he'd trust his life with, and his beautiful girlfriend. He'd never been happier.

"Yup—let's do it."

And so, they did. They snuck out of Lucy's window—they had to jump to Natsu's bedroom, then leave the main entrance of his house so that Jude wouldn't hear—and made their way to the diamond, baseball equipment in tow.

They chatted as they threw the ball around, talking about how Gray was supposed to leave Friday to go visit Juvia at the academy or how Gajeel and Levy had been making plans to move in together after graduation. Then, they opted to start batting; Lucy pitched for Natsu and he hit a homer right off the bat, no hesitation.

Lucy grinned. "Wow, showboater. Typical nationals baller."

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Shaddup."

A couple months earlier, Natsu had tried out for the provincial seniors baseball team, and made it—thanks to Lucy prepping him and training with him every day. After the start of the season and six homeruns, Natsu had been scouted by the national seniors baseball team, and they'd asked him to join their league; he'd happily accepted.

"Surprised you're not more full of yourself," Lucy called out, running to grab the ball from over the fence. "Since you're on your way to playing pro ball and everything."

Natsu let out a groan, embarrassed. "Luce—quit makin' me seem like a douche."

After Natsu's success on the nationals team, several scouts had contacted the boy and told him that some pro ball teams in the area were interested him for the next year, once he was over the maximum age for the seniors league. He'd already been offered positions and cash by three different teams, but he was still deliberating on which offer to accept.

"I'm just sayin', you're very successful," Lucy said as she returned to the pitcher's mound, tossing the ball up in the air and catching it again.

"Set me up," Natsu said, giving her a nod, implying he wanted her to pitch. He turned back to the topic at hand. "Besides—it's hard not to be successful when I've got such a good pitcher helping me train."

Lucy blushed. "You flatter me."

She tossed the ball at him and he swung, sending it flying far beyond the back fence; it flew into the forest, consumed by the darkness of the trees.

"Damn," Natsu mumbled. "That was my last ball."

Lucy laughed, making her way over to her boyfriend; she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good job."

His big hands wrapped around her waist. "Thanks—you, too."

They went and laid down in the centre of the field and stared up at the stars, chatting until the sun began to rise, lighting up the sky. Natsu began to yawn, and Lucy tugged him up from his spot on the ground, hauling him back towards their houses.

They went through Natsu's house, and jumped the gap to Lucy's bedroom. Natsu instantly passed out on Lucy's bed, and the blonde followed suit, exhausted from the long day and the late-night exercise they'd just partaken in.

Both slept soundly, dreaming about the bright futures ahead of them.

Unfortunately, they were both brutally awakened by the sound of screaming.

Lucy's right eye popped open, and she let out a groan. "It's too early," She sputtered, "What's going on?"

"What's going on?" A deep voice boomed. "What's going on? You want to know what's going on? Betrayal! A lack of respect for authority, that's what! Boyfriends sleeping in girlfriend's beds! Hooligans getting freaky with my princess—"

Lucy shot up in bed, eyes wide. Her father stood, looming over the bed, face nearly purple. Lucy glanced to her left, cringing the second she saw Natsu in her bed, still snoring, half naked.

"Where's his clothes?" Her father demanded. "What happened to following the rules?"

Natsu rolled over, murmuring. "…Shaddup."

"What?" Jude hollered, face red from lack of oxygen.

"Oh, no," Lucy whispered.

"Natsu Dragneel! You get out of that bed this instant!" Jude hollered, voice booming throughout the entire house.

That seemed to wake Natsu up; he lurched to a standing position, hair spiking up erratically. "Eh? Wha?" His eyes landed on Lucy's dad, and suddenly everything made sense. He'd forgotten to get up and leave at 5 o'clock, and Lucy's father had come to say goodbye to his daughter before he left for work. They'd been caught. "Oh, fuck."

Natsu took off, grabbing his shirt from the floor and dashing to the window; he tossed himself through the gap, throwing himself into his own bedroom. Before he jumped, he leaned back with a grin on his face and called, "Love ya, Luce!" He fell to the floor of his own bedroom, escaping Jude's attempted to grab the boy and murder him. "Sorry Jude!"

Lucy hid her face in her hands, cringing. Her face was red and her heart was thumping madly in her chest, hearing the words Natsu had called out to her.

Love ya!

"That's Mr. Heartfilia to you, boy!" Her dad yelled back, glaring at Natsu from across the gap. "This isn't over!"

"Bye, Natsu…" Lucy responded half-heartedly, knowing she was about to be in massive trouble. "Love you too."

Natsu ducked out of his bedroom, desperate to avoid eye-to-eye contact with Lucy's dad any further.

Her dad turned to her. "That kid is banned. Permanently. I forbid you to love him. First, he empties my fridge of all of its contents for seventeen goddamn years. Then, next thing I know, you guys are dating and all cutesy? I thought you had better taste than that, Lucy. What a hooligan."

Lucy's cheeks were still hot, and her eyes fell on her father. "Dad…" She trailed off.

The color in his cheeks seemed to fade away, now that he was breathing properly, and his expression softened. He sat down on the edge of her bed, letting out a little chuckle. Sure, the kid knew how to press his buttons, but he actually did like the fellow. Natsu was something else, but he seemed to be a perfect fit for Lucy.

"You know I'm just fooling around, Lucy, right?" Jude asked, voice careful. He'd always been yelling at Natsu, ever since he'd first become friends with Lucy—but now, he didn't want Lucy to think he actually hated the punk. "He's a good kid."

She smiled. "I know."

Lucy's father was quiet for a long moment, and his hand landed on her head, patting her hair. "The way you look at him…" He trailed off for a second. "It's the way your mother looked at me."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He smiled at his daughter. "I'm glad your finally happy, Lucy."

Lucy grinned back. "Me too, dad."

Finally, she was happy. She had found herself. She had found her place. And everything was perfect.