Match-Made

A Fairy Tail fanfic

Standard disclaimer applies.

"I've just about had it!"

The few mages loitering turned, surprise written all over their faces at the gentle barmaid's outburst. It was very unlike Mirajane to look so cross and huffy about something. Then they remembered her Satan Soul and people wisely kept their mouth shut. The white-haired barmaid wiped another mug huffily, an uncharacteristic scowl on her pretty features.

"Mira-nee?" Concerned blue eyes searched hers out. "What's wrong?"

The oldest Take-Over mage threw the piece of rag down, letting out an exasperated sigh. "It's just that those two are driving me crazy! When are they going to get together?!"

Lisanna knew immediately that her sister was referring to the guild's most exasperating couple, a certain dragon-slayer and celestial mage. Though – with a mischievous glint in her eyes, and biting on her lips to keep herself from laughing – Lisanna looked to her sister, a small frown on her face.

"You mean Nii-san and Evergreen?" Lisanna kept a straight face. "Don't worry about them! Bickslow told me that those two are already going steady!"

A crash resounded through the guild when a mug slipped from Mirajane's fingers. She looked to her younger sister, and burst into tears, wailing something about 'those poor babies!'. Lisanna let out a giggle, and waved to catch the barmaid's attention.

"I was just joking, Mira-nee!" She giggled. "Nii-san and Evergreen aren't going out. Not yet, anyway." She added as an after-thought.

The oldest Take-Over mage looked up, a slight pout on her lips. "Not funny, Lisanna." She picked up her rag and started wiping her mugs down again. "And besides, you should know who I'm referring to!"

Her lips twitching, Lisanna raised a brow. "It's not as if that's a secret. Don't you know Cana has been taking bets on when those two would get together? She's already made a huge fortune off of those who guessed wrongly!"

"No wonder she has been paying her bills on time!" The older girl remarked, and blinked. "Wait! That's not the point right now! What's important now is getting those two together!"

There was a loud thud and the bar top rattled violently. The two sisters turned to see Cana placing her barrel of alcohol down and swinging herself into the seat next to Lisanna. She leaned towards them, a smirk on her face.

"I though I'd heard my name." She shook her long brown hair back. "Talking 'bout the two lovebirds, are we now?" A gleam played in her eyes as she leaned forwards.

"You know what would get them together immediately? Just like that?" She snapped her fingers as if to prove her point.

"What's that?" Mirajane looked at the card mage, her eyes shining with curiosity.

"Seduction." Cana cupped a hand over her mouth, whispering almost theatrically.

Pause.

The two Take-Over mages blinked and turned back to each other, picking up their discussion again.

Twitch. Cana inserted herself between the two again. "I'm serious! Seduction would definitely work!"

"And your brilliant plan would be?"

"Seduce Natsu and get Lucy jealous. Bam! Those two would be together faster than Gray could strip!"

"…"

"Seduce Natsu?!" Lisanna sputtered out, and broke into a fit of giggles. "You'd have better luck if you use food as a bait!" She caught her breath, holding onto her sides. "And besides, if he's not even affected by Lucy, who else could catch his attention?" Mirajane only sighed, shaking her head slightly.

Cana stared at the giggling girl, her eye twitching in irritation. She waited for the giggles to subside, and when she got their attention again. Flipping a lock of hair over her shoulder, and puffing her chest up in pride, she cocked her head.

"Me, of course!" She sat up straight, placing a hand on her slim waist.

Lisanna broke into a new fit of giggles, lying her head on the bar top and thumping the top with her fist, tears of laughter leaking from the corners of her eyes.

"Cana seducing Natsu?" An amused voice chimed in, and Cana glanced sideways as Levy hopped onto the barstool beside hers. The pint-sized girl looked at the brunette, an eyebrow quirked. "Did I hear that right?"

With Lisanna too busy laughing and trying to catch her breath, Mirajane brought the blue-haired girl up to speed. The girl looked towards a smug-looking Cana, her eyebrows raised, an incredulous expression on her face.

"But you couldn't even get the old man in that bar across town to give you a free drink!"

Her puffed-up chest deflated slightly, and Cana shot a glare sideways. "That old coot was short-sighted! And besides." She sniffed. "I wasn't even trying then. I've seduced people!"

"Like?"

Cana looked around the guild, and a devious grin spread across her face when she caught sight of a certain Rune mage across the room. She waved.

"Freeeeed!" The green-haired mage looked up, and choked on his drink when the brunette threw him a lavish wink. Cana turned back, a satisfied smirk on her face.

Levy fought back a smile while Mirajane sighed yet again. Lisanna was still trying to recover from her giggling.

The doors slammed open just then and the couple in question strode through the doors. The blond spied her group of friends and waved, making her way towards the bar immediately while Natsu wandered in the direction of the mission board, Happy by his side.

"Morning!" The celestial mage chirped, a grin on her face. "What are you guys talking about?" She hesitated. "And why is Lisanna laughing like that?"

Levy was the first to speak up. "Cana's saying that she could probably seduce someone, if she wanted to." There was a sly grin on her face as she waggled her eyebrows suggestively in a certain direction.

Lucy blinked and turned. And blinked again when she realised the object of the topic.

"Natsu?!" She kept her volume down, knowing how powerful the dragon-slayer's hearing could be. "Why would you want to seduce him?!" She frowned. "And besides, you couldn't even get that pervy old man across the town to buy you a drink!"

Levy laughed out loud this time while Cana threw the blond a withering glance. Mirajane watched the exchange with interest.

"One time." She hissed under her breath. "Only one time no one buys me a drink and suddenly everyone's doubting me."

Lucy raised her hands up in defence. "Okay, okay. But you haven't replied. Why would you wanna seduce Natsu?! You'd might succeed if you offer to buy him a meal instead."

"What I'd said." Lisanna hiccupped, resting her head on her hand, amused.

"You wanna bet?" The card mage leaned back, a smirk on her face. "I bet I can get that boy's attention, without using food."

"I'm in! 5000J says you can't even get him to stare at your chest!" All turned to Levy, eyebrows raised. She shrugged. "What? I'm short that amount to get that new Milt book!"

"Milt wrote a new book?!" Lucy gasped. "How could I not know?! Wh–"

"Hey! Discuss your boring books later!" Cana crossed her arms. "Levy, you're on! Anyone else wanna bet?"

"6875J that you would fail." Eyes now turned to Lucy. She shrank back slightly. "That's the amount I'm short of this month's rent!"

Cana let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. The two of you?" She turned to the two sisters. Mirajane pursed her lips in thought. "How about we use non-monetary things instead? You would owe me and Lisanna a favour each if you lose and if you do succeed, all the beer you can drink for two weeks?"

"Make it three weeks and you got a deal."

"Done." Mirajane gave a beatific smile, while Cana licked her lips, already anticipating her free booze.

The card mage got to her feet, and shook her hair back, belching as she did so. She made her way towards the unsuspecting fire dragon-slayer in a shaky line, under the watchful eyes of the group of girls.

Natsu was still trying to find a suitable mission – Happy had flown off to talk to Charle – when a strong whiff of booze washed over his shoulders. He turned and saw Cana grinning at him. He waved a hand in greeting and turned his attention back to the board. Cana made her way to his side and bumped her bare shoulder against his.

"Hey there."

His brows furrowed in slight confusion at her low voice, and he looked at her, expectant. An eyebrow rose slowly when the card mage just continued smiling at him.

"Yes?"

"Whatcha doin', Natsu?" She breathed out his name while leaning against the dragon-slayer, pressing unashamedly against the boy. Natsu blinked, gesturing towards the board in mild confusion.

"Er. Looking for a mission?"

"Mission, eh?" She ran a hand through her brown locks, a smile playing on her lips. "You're such a tough guy. Taking on another mission right after coming back from one." She ran a finger down his bare arm, tracing over his Fairy Tail insignia.

His brows furrowed.

"But the last mission was nearly a month ago." He paused. "And it was so easy that even Lucy had no problems with it."

Cana ignored the indignant 'hey!' coming from the celestial mage and leaned in even further, displaying her scantily clad chest. She smirked; her fingers still tracing the Fairy Tail insignia on his bare arm.

"You know, Natsu. A guy like you is a reeeeal catch around this place." Her eyes ran down his figure, admiring. "And playing with fire? Real hot." She winked at him, a come-hither look on her face.

The dragon-slayer cocked his head – his eyes focused on the card mage's face and never wandering below her neckline – and paused for a moment.

"Cana."

The card mage suppressed a grin – and doing an inward jig – tilted her head slightly in question.

"Are you feeling alright?" The grin that was slowly forming on her face froze. Natsu continued, unaware. "You're kinda acting like… Lucy. Y'know, when she tries to get discounts and pulling all this crap. Her voice gets all funny, and she smiles all weirdly." He paused, and added on innocently. "Kinda like you now."

A bright red heel came flying towards them with alarming speed and missed the dragon-slayer by inches, hitting and cracking the mission board instead. He frowned, and turned.

"Why'd you do that for, Lucy?" He picked up the shoe and made his way to the bar, leaving an utterly frozen Cana, and towards an angry Lucy who was being held back by Levy and Lisanna.

"Crap?!" Her voice rose up by several octaves. "What do you know about the art of seduction?!" She tried to pull her arms free, though the two girls gamely held on.

He reached her side, dangling her red heel on his finger. He grinned. "Only that it never works." He shrank back when the blond attempted to give him her patented 'Lucy Kick'. "Relax, Lucy. I was just joking. Now stop struggling."

He knelt – Mirajane squealed and almost swooned – and grasped hold of her shoeless, wriggling foot, slipping on the errant heel.

"Done!" He looked up and gave a toothy grin.

Lisanna and Levy both broke out in identical grins. Mirajane was beside herself in excitement. Cana was still standing frozen by the mission board. And Lucy pouted, her cheeks a bright red, as she snatched her foot back.

"I could have done that myself." She muttered under her breath.

"NATSUUUU!" The cry caught everyone's attention, and the dragon-slayer got up just in time to catch a flying blue blob before it collided into him.

Happy beamed up at the boy. "Natsu! Can we go on a mission with Charle? And Wendy." He added on the young dragon-slayer's name like an after-thought. "Can we? Can we?" He was practically quivering with excitement.

Before Natsu could reply, Mirajane interjected quickly. "That's a good idea. Someone needs to go along with Wendy and Charle and look after them." She smiled. "Would you guys be kind enough to do that? Natsu, Happy? Lucy?" Her smile widened.

The celestial mage blinked. "Huh? You don't need m–" A not-too-gentle tug pulled her off the barstool before she could complete her sentence.

"C'mon, Lucy!" The girl gaped as she was pulled along in a brisk walk. "We gotta hurry! Can't keep Wendy and Charle waitin'!"

Mirajane and the others waved at their retreating backs – until Lucy's useless protests could not be heard anymore – before turning to each other. Lisanna and Levy exchanged high-fives, wide grins on their faces while Mirajane turned inquiringly at the still frozen card mage.

"Oh my, Cana. How long are you going to stand there for?" She hummed, placing her dishrag on the counter. "I do have a few things I need you to do now…"

The card mage proceeded to slump against the cracked notice board, defeated.

"Okay. We should work on Plan B instead."

Levy barely looked up from her newly purchased Milt book while Lisanna was in deep discussion with her sister. Cana grounded her teeth in frustration for a moment and slammed her hands on the counter, rattling the mugs that were on its surface. It got their attention, plus the rest of the guild.

The card mage turned and scowled, warning those who weren't involved to mind their business, before turning back to the three girls.

Levy placed her book down, eyeing the brunette warily. "What's the matter, Cana?"

She ran a hand through her messy brown locks, sighing. "I said that we should work on Plan B instead."

"What Plan B? What for?" Lisanna was clueless.

Cana resisted smacking her head on the counter, and persevered on. "Plan B on getting those two together."

Understanding dawned on them. Mirajane was sceptical. "Your first plan didn't even do anything."

"It was a miscalculation! That boy is denser than a rock!"

Pause.

"If you say so, Cana." Levy shrugged and exchanged looks with the other two. Cana twitched, but let it slide. Instead she took a breath in and continued to describe her master plan.

"What we should do is…" Despite themselves, all leaned in to hear the plan. "Seduce Lucy instead. That oughta get that boy up and flamin'!" She grinned, pleased with herself.

A pause. Then–

"How's that any different from your first plan?"

Cana wove away their comments, a smirk on her face. "Oh, this is different all right. Any self-respecting man wouldn't stand by and let his girl be flirted with." Her smirk grew. "And I doubt our little Salamander would let any guy to mess with Lucy."

"I don't know about this…" Mirajane was unconvinced.

Cana leaned forward. "Don't worry. I've got this handled." There was a mischievous glint in her eyes. "And I've got just the guy for our Lucy…"

###

Meanwhile, in a little corner of Fiore…

"C'mon Lucy! Lets go on a mission!"

"Aye!"

She barely looked away from the boutique window. "Hmmm."

"Tch." He waved a hand in front of her face. "I said lets go on a mission!"

The blond waved him away, more concerned about the cute dress in the window. "You guys can go ahead."

Happy frowned. "But Lucy, what about your rent?"

The celestial mage finally tore her gaze away from the window to smile at the perplexed cat. "Well, I've got it covered for this month." Her smile widened. "You know what?" Neither replied and she didn't bother waiting for an answer either. "I'm going to get the dress after all. Thanks Happy!" She hummed as she flounced into the boutique, with a confused Natsu and Happy trailing behind.

Natsu looked down at his blue furry companion. "Why is she thanking you?" The cat shrugged and Natsu frowned. "Lucy's weird."

"Aye!"

There was a muffled "I heard that!" from the dressing room. The curtains then drew open to reveal the blond in a deep blue scoop-necked dress that fell just above her knees. The dress flared out slightly when she whirled and posed, beaming.

"Well, how do I look?"

Before either Natsu or Happy would open their mouths, a deep voice boomed out.

"Stunning!"

All three heads turned, and gaped as a tall, dark-haired guy strode into view. Lucy blinked when the guy practically glided across the room, covering the remaining distance between them in a blink of an eye, and grabbed her hand in his. The blond let out a soft 'eep' when the man pulled her towards him, a smile playing on his handsome features, a gleam in his light blue eyes.

"What a lucky day I'm having! To meet such a beauty here!" The celestial mage gaped in disbelief when the stranger continued on to press a kiss on her hand.

"My dear! What a sight for sore eyes you are!"

Lucy blinked.

"Oh great beauty! What is your name?"

An unintelligible "Eh" was all a flabbergasted Lucy could manage. She continued staring disbelievingly at the handsome man, who stared at her expectantly.

"Luccccyyyy! I'm huuuunngrrrry!"

"Aye!"

That caught both their attentions. They turned to see a bored Natsu slouching over the boutique's couch, scratching a lounging Happy's stomach absent-mindedly. The stranger raised a sceptical brow and 'tsk-ed', before turning his attention back to the blond.

"So your name is Lucy? What a beautiful name!"

Lucy wasn't even paying attention. She gestured at Natsu with her free hand, hissing. "Natsu! Help me out here!"

"Huh?" Natsu shot a glance at the still talking stranger and shrugged.

"Natsu!"

"My dear Lucy!" A gentle tug of her hand got her turning back to the man. He smiled gently at her. "You must be starving and tired standing around like this! Shall we go get something to eat?"

"FOOOOD! All right!" A revived Natsu jumped up, and he pushed past the two, running out of the boutique.

The man stared at the dragon slayer's retreating back with disapproval. He shook his head and turned back to Lucy, and tilted his head with a charming smile.

"Shall we?"

###

Thirty minutes later, in a quaint little outdoor café with a small charming fountain besides them, a frustrated Lucy was ready to commit murder. On who was the question.

The stranger – whose name revealed to be Michael – was still going on about her beauty, and though Lucy was flattered, hearing it incessantly for the past thirty minutes was about to drive the blond mage nuts. On the other hand, an oblivious Natsu was gorging almost everything in sight, including Lucy's half-eaten lunch. Happy was napping in his own chair after his full lunch.

Lucy refrained herself yet again from taking the fork and stabbing herself with it.

"Lucy?" A wave of hand in front of her face. "Lucy?" The mage tuned back in, and glanced tiredly at a concerned Michael. "Are you feeling all right?" He pressed a hand to her forehead.

She shied away, and shook her head. "I'm fine."

He moved his hand away, draping it casually over the back of her chair instead. "Anyway, Lucy." He scooted closer.

She blinked, the beginnings of a frown on her face.

"I was thinking–"

She bit her lip, her hand twitching.

"–that we should–"

Her lips pursed.

"–that maybe we–"

A frown. Definitely.

"–could possibly–"

The hand that was on her chair was now making its way stealthily down her back. She gritted her teeth. His hand was now resting on her waist, and still inching its way down. Her own inched towards her keys.

"–go t–"

"FOOD!" A loud cry interrupted the two as Natsu launched himself forward, making a grab for the remains of Michael's food, and knocking the cup of coffee right into the dark-haired man's lap.

The man stood in a hurry, trying in vain to wipe the spreading stain on his pants, knocking over his chair with a loud clatter in the process.

"Oops! Here, let me!"

Lucy watched, bemused, as the unexpected turn of events unfolded before her. Natsu jumped up and leaped towards the harried man, a napkin in hand. No one caught the glint in the dragon slayer's eyes as he rushed towards the man, and tripped, pushing the dark-haired man right into the fountain.

Silence.

Then Michael stood up, water streaming from his body. Lucy stifled her laughter as Natsu rushed forwards again.

"My bad! Here I can help!"

"Wait, no! I– " But he was too late. The fire dragon slayer had taken in a deep breath and blew, fire gushing towards the hapless man.

His screams could be heard for miles.

###

Several minutes later…

Natsu sat back down, a grin on his face as he resumed eating. Lucy stared at her partner for several moments before leaning in, a smile playing on her lips.

"You know, Natsu. If I hadn't known better, I might say that you had plan for that to happen."

He choked between bites of food, coughing hard as his ears turned red. Lucy giggled and patted the pink-haired boy's back.

The waiter came by just then, sparing the dragon slayer from further teasing. "Miss. Will that be all?" He presented the bill.

Pause.

Her eye twitched dangerously as realization dawn. Their free meal ticket went running for the hills a couple of minutes ago, which meant...

"I'm full! Gotta go!" The dragon slayer jumped up and grabbed Happy by the tail, running as fast as he could. Lucy gaped.

"NATSU!"

Meanwhile, in a restaurant across the café…

"Did you see that?!"

A squeal of delight.

"He liiiiiiiikes her!"

"Lisanna, you're sounding more like Happy everyday."

"Man, don't they serve any decent alcohol here?!"

"It's the early afternoon still, Cana!"

"Tch. But look there!" They watched as the pink-haired boy fled from the café, with the furious blond shouting after him. Shrug. "My plan totally worked."

"But still…"

"What's the matter?"

A nervous giggle. "Poor Mira-nee."

"So… Why are we here again?" Lucy leaned against a tree trunk, exhausted.

Cana took a swig from a bottle, and belched. "The flyer said to 'help eradicate the Forest Menace.'" She waved a nonchalant hand. "Heh. Probably just some easy-to-handle fool."

The blond raised an eyebrow, though she kept her opinions to herself. The two resumed their trekking after their short break, trying – and failing – to spot the 'Forest Menace.' After a moment, the blond spoke up again. "Anyway, why did you ask me along this time, Cana?"

The card mage grinned back. "I'd just thought it'd be fun to test our partnership. We get along well after all. And besides…" She nudged the celestial mage, waggling her brows. "Some girl-girl bonding is needed."

Lucy sighed, a small smile on her face, and took a sip from her bottle.

"So… how are you and Natsu coming along?"

Lucy choked. Cana stared, amused, as she patted the girl's back none-too-gently. Lucy looked up – her face red – and sputtered. "W-What are you talking about?!"

The brunette grinned. "C'mon. You can tell me." She draped an arm across the girl's shoulders. "There's no one else around."

A sneeze erupted from behind them, followed by some hissing sounds. Lucy stared back, bewildered. Cana laughed nervously, and pulled Lucy further away. "Like I said: we're alone! So feel free to talk!" She beamed down at the nonplussed Lucy.

She frowned. "Talk? About what?"

Cana 'tch-ed' impatiently. "You and Natsu!"

"What about us?" Brown eyes widened innocently.

Cana refrained from smacking a hand to her face, or smacking Lucy's for that matter. She gritted her teeth and leaned closer to the younger girl.

"You know. How's the relationship coming along?"

Lucy's eyes bugged out, her face rapidly turning a brilliant shade of puce. "W-W-What are you talking about?! W-We're not dating!" Her voice raised by several pitches.

The grin on Cana's face widened as she nudged the blond, relentless. "C'mon you can tell me."

"But we're not dating!"

"Lucy." The card mage wore a sad expression. "I thought we were friends." Her bottom lip quivered slightly.

"I–" There was a crash as a figure fell out of a nearby tree. The figure then picked himself up and struck a pose. The two watched in confusion as the short dark-haired man continued on to point a finger at them.

"Hah! Count yourselves unlucky for running into me. The Menace. Muhahah- Ack!" The "Menace" was cut off mid-laugh as Cana threw herself at him, tackling the stodgy mage to the ground.

"You idiot! I was this close! This close! Arghhh!" Cana snarled as she shook the short mage hard.

The "Menace" as he called himself, gave Cana a hard push and rolled away, panting as he got up.

"You crazy woman! Y-" He was cut off again when the brunette threw a card his way, activating a bolt of lightning in his vicinity.

The short mage was surprisingly spry on his feet as he dodged the attack. However a spark still fell on his arm, igniting his sleeve on fire. He growled as he patted out the flames.

"You're crazy! And would you stop interrupting me, woman?!"

Cana responded by throwing another card his way, this time setting of an avalanche of rocks. The guy smirked as he activated his own magic, teleporting himself outside the falling rocks.

On the other hand, Lucy was still rooted to her spot, blinking in confusion as the battle unfolded before her. With Cana attacking their target relentlessly, it seemed safer for the celestial mage to stay away.

Just as they were getting right into the heat of the battle, with Cana throwing her attack cards and the target teleporting away into safety time and again, things came to a head.

The "Menace" disappeared, and as Cana squinted to catch a trace, he reappeared and dealt her a hard punch in the stomach.

Lucy's eyes widened in shock as her friend collapsed onto the ground in pain.

"Cana!" Lucy reached for her keys just as the guy disappeared and reappeared from behind her, grabbing and twisting her hand away painfully. The blond gasped in shock and pain.

"Not so fast blondie!" He gave her a hard kick, sending the celestial Mage sprawling forwards. He stood over Lucy, a smirk on his face.

"Not so tough now are you, Fairies?" He spat out the last word in distaste. He narrowed his eyes as Lucy propped herself up, wincing as she did so.

"You are a persistent pest aren't you?" He smirked as he raised a hand, preparing to strike her.

And a plume of fire came barreling towards him, hitting the short mage square in the chest, sending him a good distance away.

"Luuuucccccy!"

A figure dropped in, standing between Lucy and the enemy, his pink hair swaying slightly in the breeze. A blue blur swooped over to the celestial mage's side, patting the girl lightly.

"Lucy! Are you all right?"

Lucy coughed and winced, but managed to muster a smile. "Thanks, Happy. I'll be fine." She looked over to her partner, and smiled.

Natsu let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and turned back to the groaning enemy, his dark eyes narrowing. "I'll show you what we Fairies are capable of." A grin spread across his face as he cracked his knuckles menacingly.

The "Menace's" screams filled the forest as the fire dragon-slayer proceeded to give him a beating he would not forget in a hurry.

###

"Sheesh, Lucy!" The pink-haired boy pouted as he helped his partner sit up – the target already unconscious and trussed up tightly in one corner. "I told you to be careful!"

Lucy winced as a sharp pain shot up her shoulder – she was certain there was going to be a huge bruise the next day. "I'm fine! I can take care of myself!"

He sighed patiently. "I know you can." He frowned, a petulant expression on his face. "But you should still have let me come along!"

"Cana was with me! And I had my spirits!" She pouted. "I just didn't expect that guy to be able to teleport so fast!"

She paused. Then her eyes narrowed as she turned towards Natsu.

"Wait a minute." She poked a finger in his chest. "Why were you even here?" There was a dangerous glint in her eyes. Natsu licked his lips nervously. "Were you following me?" Happy, who had been listening to the two's conversation, edged away slowly. An indignant look came over her face. "You did, didn't you?!" She pointed an accusing finger at her partner.

The fire dragon-slayer inched back slightly, his hands up in defense. "Relax, Lucy. Er… I– I– IT WAS HAPPY'S IDEA!" He hollered, pointing towards the shocked cat.

"It wasn't! Natsu's being mean!" Happy let out a squeal and ran to hide behind a tree. "And Lucy's scarrry!"

The celestial mage was unconvinced and raised a brow at Natsu's brazen explanation. The boy swallowed hard, as he racked his brains for a reason. He reached forwards and grabbed Lucy's hands in his.

"I… I was just worried!" He pouted. "It's just… you've always been with us on missions, and I can keep an eye out for you." Here his ears turned red. "But not knowing what's going on… it bothers me." He muttered the last bit under his breath, almost like a grumble. "Besides, aren't we supposed to always be together? That's what a… couple does, right?" He mumbled, his face, ironically, feeling like it was on fire.

Lucy – having caught every word – turned an interesting shade of red. The two partners sat like that for a moment, the sun rays filtering through the trees and falling on them, bathing them in an almost ethereal gl–

"I KNEW IT!"

The two jumped and turned to see a fully recovered Cana jumping up and punching the air in triumph. There was then a squeal and Lucy stared disbelievingly as Lisanna fell out of the nearby bushes, with Levy following almost immediately after, falling on top of the white-haired mage. Mirajane stepped out gracefully, beaming like a proud mother, despite the leaves stuck in her hair. Even Happy ventured out from behind his tree to watch.

Lucy felt her jaw drop and she gaped at the four. "W-W-Wha?" Her brain could not form a coherent thought.

Lisanna winked at the flabbergasted blond. Levy grinned at her best friend. Mirajane smiled gently at the two. Cana was still doing a jig.

"W-Why?"

"They were following you guys." Natsu shrugged, as he clasped his hands behind his head almost nonchalantly.

"What?!" Lucy shrieked, then turned back to her partner. "How did you know?!"

The pink-haired boy shrugged again, wrinkling his nose as he did so. "I could smell them from far. I have an awesome sense of smell after all!" He grinned.

She glowered. "And you didn't bother to mention it?"

His eyes widened, an innocent expression on his face. "Well. I thought they were playing some game." He scratched his head. "They were following last time as well."

"When?!"

"You know. When Mira pretended to be that guy. Eh… Mickey?"

Now it was the other four to look surprised. Cana stopped her jig to gape at Natsu.

"Michael?! You mean tha–"

"You knew?! How?!"

The fire dragon-slayer shrugged. "I recognized the scent the minute she stepped in."

Cana gaped. "S-So you saw through Mira right from the start?"

The boy nodded. "Y–"

"Natsu." A deadly hush fell upon the group. The fire mage shivered at the sudden drop in temperature. All turned towards Mirajane, who had her arms crossed, a smile on her face. Natsu swallowed hard.

"Yes?" His voice came out as a squeak.

"So you knew it was me all along?" The barmaid stepped forwards. Natsu stumbled back slightly, looking around the group for help. Everyone took a step back.

"IT WAS HAPPY'S IDEA!"

All watched, amused, as the fire dragon-slayer turned and ran, his scarf flapping in the wind, disappearing within seconds. There was a soft giggle and Lucy turned towards an amused Mirajane.

The eldest Take-Over mage smiled. "That ought to teach him to keep secrets." She tilted her head, her gaze focusing on Lucy. "And for you, Lucy." The celestial mage 'eep-ed'. "You're going to have to tell us every single detail of how you and Natsu got together."

Omake

He sniffed the air and frowned, puzzled. But before he could do or say anything, Lucy stepped out from the dressing room, and he felt a rush of heat as the girl beamed at him and twirled. He swallowed as the hem of her dress lifted up, revealing her creamy long legs underneath.

"Well, how do I look?"

She looked expectantly at him. His throat felt dry and he was at a loss for answers.

"Stunning!"

He blinked and turned to see a dark-haired man step through, the man's gaze focused on his partner. He frowned, recognizing the scent immediately, and wondered why on Earthland was Mirajane pretending to be a man, and a wussy-looking one at that.

But either way, the corner of his lips quirked up, it looked like was going to be fun.

a/n: Wheeee! Another FT fic! I absolutely love this series and if these two doesn't end up together in the end, I might just pull my hair out in frustration, or cry. Or do both.

I started this a couple months ago, but only completed this now ._. So hope you guys can leave me some comments and tell me how this was :) And feel free to read and review my other FT stories as well ;)

Any mistakes? Out of character-ness?

Reviews are much appreciated!