He was running down the path towards her, worry etched into his face. Lucy scrabbled to her feet, her mind panicking. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. What would she even say to him? Hi, I was crying because I realized I love you, but you don't love me? Agitated, she turned and ran off the path, weaving in between the trees as she tried to run away from her pain.

Which proved to be a very stupid thing to do. She'd forgotten that Natsu was a much faster runner than she was, and before she had made it very far into the trees, he had caught up with her. She felt his hand grab her from behind, latching firmly yet gently around her upper arm. Without turning around, she squirmed in his grip, trying desperately to get away before he saw her face.

"Hey, Lucy, it's just me! What are you running from? You ok?"

Recognizing that her struggles were in vain, she stopped trying to break away from him. She hung her head down, keeping her back to the dragon slayer and hoping that he would leave her alone if she didn't respond.

She should have known better. He shook her arm, demanding now. "Hey! What happened? Did someone do something to you?" He growled that last part.

Shaking her head, she tried to respond with a steady voice. "No, Natsu, nobody hurt me. I'm fine."

"Well, you sure don't seem fine. And if you're fine, why were you running away from me?"

Suddenly, a rush of indignation rose up in her. "It's none of your business!" she spat. "Why did you even follow me out here in the first place?"

He didn't answer for a moment. She heard the perplexity in his voice as he answered, "Mira said that you ran out of the guild like you'd seen a ghost, so I came to find you and make sure you were ok. And then you were sitting on the ground when I found you, so I thought maybe you were hurt…"

Lucy snapped at him, "Well, I'm not! Why don't you just leave me and…and go back to Lisanna…" her voice broke, and a sob wracked, unbidden, through her body.

A note of panic seeped into Natsu's voice. "Lucy! Something is definitely wrong!" Using his grip on her arm, he spun her around a little until he could latch his free hand on her other arm, effectively caging her. She dipped her head down, still refusing to look at him, but the tears falling from her face to the ground gave her away. Natsu continued, "And what do you mean by go back to Lisanna? You're not making any sense."

Snuffling, Lucy managed to say, "I heard you talking to her at the guild. I came to find you, and you were sitting with her, and then you…you called her beautiful…" Another ugly, choking sob broke up her words.

"Oh. You heard that, huh?" Natsu's voice sounded sheepish.

"Yeah. So…I mean…if…if you guys are dating, then you don't have to hide it from me."

"Dating? What are you talking about?"

Lucy let out a shuddering sigh. "Well, I mean, I know that you guys kinda promised each other to be together when you were kids."

Cutting her off, Natsu protested, "Slow down there, Lucy! You think me and Lisanna are together?"

"Well, yeah. I know you care about her. And…I mean, people have told me about how you kinda fell apart after you thought she died, and then you were so happy when you found out she was alive…"

She was cut off by Natsu giving her a little shake. "That's enough," he growled. There was so much heat in his voice that Lucy looked up, startled. The expression on his face was as fierce as his tone. Her mouth fell open as he continued, "Yeah, it's true that I took it hard. But I've only ever thought of Lisanna as a friend. I'd feel the same way about any of my friends that I thought had died. You know how I am about my friends."

Flicking her eyes down, Lucy swallowed and forced herself to say what had come to her mind. "Then…were you like that when you thought I had died?"

He snorted, and without meaning to, Lucy looked back up at him. "You remember how I was when you came to stop me. That was more than being upset over a friend."

Her battered heart skipped a beat. "What…what are you trying to say?" she asked slowly.

Sighing, Natsu released his grip on her arms. "I thought that this whole contest would help you see what I feel. But I guess I fucked it up somehow, so I'll just come out and say it." Looking at her square in the eyes, Natsu said in a steady, serious voice, "Lucy, I love you."

She was pretty sure her heart had stopped altogether. "Wh-what?"

"I said I love you."

Her hand groped out in front of her, reaching for something, anything, to ground her to reality. She found it in a fistful of her partner's shirt, and held onto it tightly as she demanded, "Are you sure it's me?"

Natsu looked surprised, and let out a short laugh. "Yeah, weirdo, I'm sure it's you."

"But…but you said to Lisanna earlier…"

"I was testing out a pick-up line. I wanted to make sure that the stuff I said to you was good. And, you know, might hopefully make you want to date me." His face flushed as he said this, but he still looked at her fully in the face, apparently waiting for a reply.

This was all too much for Lucy. "I…but…" She looked into his eyes, trying to regain her sense of security within them. "Really?" she whispered.

Stepping closer to her, Natsu echoed softly, "Really. So, what's your answer?"

This was it. This was her chance to say the words she had been determined to tell him when she left her house this morning. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I…I love you too, Natsu."

For a brief moment, nothing seemed to move. Even the forest paused around them. Then Natsu reached out and grabbed her shoulders, yanking her roughly into him. Startled, she found her face buried into his chest as his elated voice sounded from above her head. "You really mean it, Luce?"

Feeling her face heat up, Lucy nodded, her movement restricted by his arms wrapped around her. They squeezed tightly at her response, and she squealed. Hurriedly, he relaxed his grip, muttering, "Sorry, Luce. I'm just so happy. I never thought you would love me back. I just…really? Someone like you wants to be with me?"

She laughed into him. "Yes, you dummy. I…like I said, I love you." Her words were cut off as Natsu used his grip on her to push her back a little, allowing a breath of air in between their bodies. She looked up at him, wide-eyed, just in time to see his mouth descend down to kiss her.

He kissed her firmly, yet she could feel his desire to cherish her through it. When he broke off from her, she followed his head, trying to chase down his lips with her own. With a growl of primal possession, he moved his face forward to meet her mouth again. This time he wasn't as gentle, kissing her hard. There was little technique, but he more than made up for that with the obvious passion that seeped into her through their joined lips.

Finally, when she thought she was going to fly apart into a million pieces, she pulled back from him, gasping for breath. She stared up at him, panting through her open mouth. He muttered an expletive under his breath and tugged her back into him, crushing her with the force of his hug. She allowed herself to rest against him, enjoying the feeling of safety electrified with new feelings of desire.

"So, Lucy…what are you doing for the rest of your life?"

She buried her face into his chest and groaned. "Not another pick-up line. I thought we were done with those."

"Well, technically, today is the last day. And it wasn't really supposed to be a pick-up line. Actually, none of them were."

She decided that it was good thing he was still holding her and couldn't see her face, since she was pretty sure it was an interesting shade of red by now. Instead, she grumbled, "Well, how do we decide who won the contest then?"

He laughed. "I believe I was in the lead last time I checked."

Pulling back from his grip, Lucy looked up at him in horror. "No, wait! I still have one I've been saving! I was just…too embarrassed to say it to you before." She took a breath, then said, "If nothing lasts forever, will you be my nothing?"

Natsu laughed heartily. "That one's good, Luce, but I still think I won."

Slumping her shoulders in defeat, Lucy admitted, "Yeah, I think so too. So, what do you want to make me do as a prize?"

Reaching out and catching one of her hands, Natsu said in a low voice, "Well, I was going to make you go on a date with me if I won, but it seems like I probably don't need to use it for that now." He grinned, and said, "What about if I make you marry me instead? Because the only thing I want to change about you is your last name."

She gaped at him. "Natsu, don't you think that's taking it a bit fast?"

He shrugged. "Not really. I've loved you for years."

Lucy stared at him. "You…you have?"

"Well, yeah. But I guess I have time to convince you to marry me. How about we start with dating?"

A smile pulled up at her lips, and she nodded. "Yeah. Let's do that."

Laughing, Natsu pecked a quick kiss on her lips and turned around. "Come on, let's get out of this forest, my beautiful girlfriend." He tugged on her hand, and she stumbled forward. He glanced down at her feet, then let go of her hand and knelt down to fumble with her shoe, chiding, "Your shoe strap wasn't latched, Lucy. You have to watch that, I don't want you falling for anyone else."

Looking down at him fondly, Lucy replied, "Hey, it's not my fault I fell in love. You're the one who tripped me."

He stood up abruptly, his face darkened with an emotion she couldn't quite identify, and Lucy realized that they were now very close together. Natsu leaned down and spoke directly into her ear, his voice resonating heat throughout her body. "Do you want to meet my little friend? And I don't mean Happy."

Gasping, she stepped backwards and whacked him on the shoulder. "Natsu! What are you saying!"

His gaze didn't waver from hers. "So is that a no?" he asked, and his voice shot currents through her spine.

She shuddered and looked away. "Well…not here, at least."

Her hand was caught up in his grip again, and he pulled her towards the path. "What are we waiting for, then? Let's go to my house."

Protesting, she allowed herself to be pulled behind him, scolding him as he laughed in delight. Despite herself, she smiled at his back as they stumbled down the path through the woods.

She supposed Natsu really had won. He had managed to pick her up, after all.