Natsu's Monday begins as it does every week - his phone ringing as he pulls his pillow to cover his ears; but Mirajane is persistent and he accepts the call by the seventh ring.

"Good morning, Natsu!" Mira says cheerfully, and he groans, lifting his head up to blink at the clock on his nightstand.

"G'mornin'," he mutters, yawning, "So, why're ya wakin' me up at six? I thought Mira Monday Morning Alarms were reserved for nine."

"You shouldn't need to have your manager call you every Monday to wake you up," Mira chides, "No matter what time it is. And Macao requested someone to fill in for him today, so you'll be working."

"Why me? Make Popsicle Brains do it."

"I expect you to be there in ten." There is a deadly undertone to the girl's words, and Natsu suppresses a shudder.

"O-okay."

"Ohayou, Natsu!" Lisanna calls from the back of the cafe where she arranges the placards. He raises his hand in a short wave before collapsing into the nearest bench. Elfman (he shoots the pink haired boy finger guns) and Mira are milling about the room, righting chairs and arranging flowers in vases. He seems to be the only other employee at the cafe . Slumping onto the bench, he closes his eyes. He feels a hand smack the back of his head and he opens an eye lazily to find Mira giving him a disapproving look. Elfman has disappeared into the kitchen, and Lisanna is now wiping the tables. He sits up straight, and grins nervously at her.

"I didn't do it!" he blurts as soon as she starts giving him the infamous Strauss Stare. Natsu racks his brain for any glasses he broke or fights he started and comes up blank.

"Your hair? Because it certainly seems like it." She says, sighing. "How will you ever find a girl if you're this unorganized all the time?"

Lisanna beelines for them as soon as she realizes they are on the topic of Natsu's love life, and he groans mentally. He definitely did not need to be set up, especially this early in the morning. The younger girl claps her hands together and grins at him.

"Whoever you are thinking of setting me up with, I am not inte-"

"There is this wonderful girl, Lucy," Lisanna interrupts, "and she is perfect for you."

"Lisanna, I am not looking fo-"

"Oh, come on Natsu, you would love her. She's one of the regulars," Mirajane says, her hands clasped together, "and she is everything you need in a girl fiery, smarts, beautiful, kind... Oh, and you two would make the most adorable babies "

"How come I haven't seen her if she's one of the regulars?"

Lisanna ignores her elder sister, whose eyes are now sparkling as she goes on about children with pink hair and brown eyes. "She comes early in the mornings, when only Elfman-nii, Mira-nee and I'm here."

"Wait a second," the gears in Natsu's head turn slowly, having been left unused for at least twelve years, "Macao - his shifts are in the evenings." Realization dawns, and Natsu eyes narrow up at the two girls.

"You set me up! Only you guys work here till eight, so I wouldn't have to cover for anyone - I should've known!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mira feigns ignorance as she snaps out of her reverie, glancing at the clock. "Six twenty, I should start on those blueberry pies. By the way, Lucy works at the bookstore on the other side of the mall, in case you want to visit during your breaks."

Natsu pouts, "I wanna go home and sleep."

"Gray wouldn't let you in." Lisanna smiles, having known Natsu's roommate for a long while.

Natsu smirks. "I brought my keys this time; they're right he-shit."

He groans as Mirajane and Lisanna laugh all the way into the kitchen.

One good thing about Mondays, Natsu supposes (there aren't a lot of them) is that not many people are awake very early. This means the cafe -slash-bar-slash-dessert place is rather deserted. So far, only five people have visited, and only two of them have taken a seat to enjoy Mira's waffles. He doesn't know three of those five, and all of them are girls. Although, if the Strauss sisters wanted him to actually like them, they would be very disappointed. The blonde was too negative, Wendy was Romeo's girlfriend, (and Romeo, who had introduced her to Natsu for the first time today, was like his brother) and Chelia, Wendy's best friend was just too peppy. And they were all too young and definitely not his type.

The bell jangles as the door is pushed open, and Natsu sighs from where he is sitting on the floor behind the counter. He hears a few more tinkling bells wait, no, that's someone's laughter. The pink haired boy cranes his neck up to look at the new customer and his jaw drops.

He scrambles up, trying to stand straight and stop gaping but it is kind of impossible right now. The girl who was currently giggling at him was, in a word, gorgeous.

"I didn't know you could sit on the floor and glare at the wall for a job." The girl says, and Natsu shuts his jaw with a snap. Her chocolate eyes are bright and warm, and her lips are curved in a smile that lights up her whole face. Her golden hair is tied to the side with a bright red ribbon and seems to be woven from the rays of the sun. He tries to think of an appropriate response, something clever and charming that would make him seem like a genuinely nice person.

"One of the perks of being roguishly handsome," he winks, and his three remaining brain cells sigh in tandem. Good job, Dragneel. You're going to spend the rest of your life alone cleaning Happy's poop. I resign from my job as your brain.

Natsu watches the most beautiful pair of eyes in the world go wide before closing as she shakes with laughter. Natsu feels his stomach take a nosedive as his heart decides to give Jet a run for his money with the pace it's going. You know what, his brain mumbles, maybe I'll stay for a while. It's not like you use me much anyway.

"Oh my god, you sound like my friend Loke," she says, wiping at the corners of her eyes, "Why were you glaring at the wall anyway?"

Something about this girl makes Natsu feel at ease, like he has known her forever. Suddenly, he realizes he is talking, and his brain screams while his mouth keeps running. "My friends keep trying to set me up with this girl named Lucy," he pouts, "Apparently, she's a regular, and works at the bookstore across the mall and they say she's beautiful and smart and kind, and 'would make the most adorable babies with me'", he grimaces while the girl chokes(he probably shouldn't have said that to a girl he might potentially be interested in), "And they're making me work three hours extra just so I can meet her, and I could totally be home sleeping but my roommate is an ass so I'm stuck here."

"Oh, my," the girl manages at the end of his explanation. Abruptly, he remembers he has a job, and he should probably not stare at the golden specks in her eyes or he might get lost.

"Anyway," he reaches for a pen and his notepad, "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry...?"

"You know, like coffee or something?"

"Oh! Um, one Butterbeer Latte, please."

"One Butterbeer Latte, coming right up! May I have your name?"

The girl beams, flushing. "Lucy."

Natsu drops his pen.

Lisanna smirks at Natsu. "You're welcome."

"...Thanks."