Thank you for all your reviews minna! Since you all wanted another chapter, I'll give you this one! XDD I hope it meets your expectations! And I'm sorry for delaying it! I'll try not to be late again… Now, open the curtains for….

Natsu and Lucy!

*crowd claps, leaves stage*

"Natsu! Natsu!" Lucy called out to the receding dragon slayer but he ignored her. She sighed as she leaned on the table, her chin resting on her palm. "What's wrong with him? He didn't have to burn that paper up. Now I'll never know how good we are together."

Mira chuckled and Lucy caught on what she just said. She blushed. "I didn't mean it like that!" She stuttered. "I…I mean-"

Mira laughed again as she looked at her friend's red face. "It's alright Lucy, I get it. It's just a way to pass time so you don't have to be too serious about it."

"About what?"

A white-haired girl slid into the seat beside the blonde, her blue eyes sparkling in delight. She leaned towards Lucy, wanting to know what had just happened. "Tell me! What happened a while ago?"

"Lisanna! Err… It's nothing! Really!" Lucy said as she tried to slip away, but Mira's younger sister wouldn't let her.

"C'mon Lucy-chan!" Lisanna pleaded. "Tell me what happened! Please oh please!"

She stared at her with those puppy eyes that Lucy had to give in. So she told her what just happened. When it was done, Lisanna just stared at her, her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide in awe and shock. Lucy grew uneasy. She knew that Lisanna and Natsu had a special relationship between them, but with the look she gave her, it was hard to resist.

"Lucy- chan," The white-haired girl said slyly, "I found a job that's interesting and it goes really well with you."

"Eh? A job for me?" Lucy was confused. There weren't many jobs that met Lucy's expectations.

"It was just a 'coincidence' that I found this." Lisanna pulled out a job poster from Mira's bag and gave it to Lucy. As Lucy read over it, she blushed.

"What is this?!" Lucy protested to Lisanna, but the white-haired girl just grinned with mischief.

"That's exactly what it is! 'Date the Prime Minister's son for a day' for 80,000 Jewels." Lisanna announced out loud and Lucy made a grab for it, but failed. "So, what do you think, Lucy? Are you up for it?"

"If it's Lucy, then it's perfect!" Droy called out to her and Lucy glared at him.

"Droy! Don't start!"

"With your looks and charm, anyone would want to date with you, Lucy!"

"Not you too, Jet!" She complained and sank down on her seat, exhausted. Lisanna grinned.

"So, what about it? Are you going to do it?"

"I don't know…" Lucy was uncomfortable. "I mean, its fine but what would Happy and Natsu say? I've never done a job without them."

"Oh don't worry about Natsu!" Lisanna scoffed as she walked around the counter and pushed the paper on Lucy's chest. "I'll take care of it. Now go and get your butt working on this job!"

And with a push, Lucy went back to her apartment to change, still having doubts about it. Lisanna waved bye-bye at her. Mira Jane looked at her sister. "Are you sure about this? Don't tell me you're just doing this to get to Natsu. It is true that you have lingering feelings for him."

Lisanna stared at her sister in shock. Then she laughed. "You're mistaken Mira-nee! No matter how cute and adorable Natsu is, when I see him with Lucy, well, I just can't bear to see them apart."

"Besides," The younger sister said with a sly look on her face. "I'm quite bored at the moment and it wouldn't hurt to see some fun."

Mira smiled knowingly. "That's my sister!"

=.=

"Aaaaahhh…I'm so nervous!" Lucy stood in front of the minister's doorstep, fidgeting. It was her first job going solo and she missed Natsu's bold smile and Happy's comments on how to split the money after the job's done. Okay Lucy, calm down! Breath in…breath out…You can do this!

And with that, Lucy knocked on door. She could hear footsteps from inside and suddenly, the door was thrown wide open. A tall man with black hair and black suit (probably the butler) looked down at her, his eyes cold. She smiled politely. Uwaaahh, how scary!

"Uhh…Hi, I'm Lucy and I've come here for the 80,000 Jewels job…?"

The butler let her in, and closed the door as a certain dragon slayer with a flying cat walked down the road, noticing a flash of blonde hair. "Eh? Lucy? What's she doing there?"

=.=

Lucy appreciated the prime minister's house interior design, although she thinks that her former mansion was much better and bigger. As she walked down the marble floor, memories flooded into her. She vaguely remembered coming here and visiting with her father and mother before. A twinge of sadness tightened in her chest and so she put the memory away. They continued walking until they stood in front of another door. The butler knocked on the wood and Lucy could hear a muffled 'come in' as the man twisted the doorknob.

"Good morning, young woman." The prime minister greeted to her, but then his jaw dropped when he realized who he was talking to. "Lucy Heartfilia-dono?! What brings you here?!"

"Good morning, prime minister." Lucy said uneasily. "I'm here for the job, and please, just call me Lucy."

"Right…Your family's business…" The man said softly, but noticing her look, he quickly straightened up. He coughed. "Ahem…The past is the past and so we shall talk no more of it. Now, what job was it, you say?"

"The one where I have to date your son for a day?"

"Right! Sooooooon!"

Right on cue, a boy roughly the age of Lucy, came out of the room, carrying a big book with him. He had dark green hair, gold eyes, and dark rimmed glasses. He was also quite handsome. "Yes father?"

"Remember how you always wanted to find a date?"

The minister's son rolled his eyes. "Please, father, not this again. I'm telling you, no matter how many girls you ask they'll never be as good as-"

He spotted Lucy. Lucy spotted him. They stared at each other, jaws open.

"BOOKWORM!"

"GLASSES FREAK!"

The prime minister looked at the teenagers in confusion, wondering what was going on. "Erm, have you two met before?"

His son straightened up, adjusting his glasses. "I never expected you to come here, Lucy-chan."

Lucy cleared her throat as she tugged on the strap of her purse. "Same with you too, Kitto-kun."

"Why are you here?"

"I needed the money."

"Ha! Finally realized that I'm better than you?"

"Say that again, freak!"

They glared at each other, tension filling the air. The prime minister sweat-dropped, not knowing what to do. After a full minute passed by, Kitto-kun looked away. Lucy grinned in triumph.

"Fine, you win." The boy said reluctantly. Lucy smiled at him as he blushed. "And about that job, if you need to…I guess I'll date you."

Lucy's eyes sparkled in delight. "Really?! Will you do that for me?!"

The boy laughed. "After not seeing for a long time, it's the most I can do for a past friend."

"Uwaaaa! Thank you so much, Kitto-kun!" Lucy cried as she hugged him. His face turned to red at the contact.

"A-ah…you're welcome, I guess."

"Let's go!" Lucy said as she took his hand and led him away. "There's much to talk about! And by the way, did you know that I joined Fairy Tail?!"

Kitto grinned as he followed her. "Yeah, I heard about it. You were really amazing, including your guild!"

Chattering and talking, the two teens left for town, not noticing a pink-haired mage and a blue cat's gazes following them.

"I wonder what she's doing."

"Maybe they llliiiike each other."

"Hmm…I don't want that…Let's go, Happy!"

"Aye Sir!"

=.=

"It's been a long time since we've talked like this, haven't we, Lucy-chan?" Kitto said to her as they sat on a table of a café. Lucy nodded in agreement.

"yeah, I could still remember how we first met in your father's library. Your glasses were really huge back then!" The celestial spirit mage laughed at the memory.

"I can't help it! Father wouldn't let me wear any glasses so I had to steal the cook's." Kitto protested, his face blushing furiously. "By the way, how is it like to join a guild? Is it fun?"

Lucy's face brightened up. "It's amazing! Joining Fairy Tail was one of the best days of my life! It was like a family that I always longed for…after mother's death…" Lucy's voice drifted away, but then she realized who she was talking to and so she forced on a smile. "Oh, but every day was always new and exciting! I made friends with a lot of new people!"

"You mean, you've met Natsu Dragneel, the famous trouble-maker and yet one of the best dragon slayers?!"

Lucy nodded. "Yup! He's my best friend and job partner along with Happy, his blue cat!"

Kitto looked at her in amazement and then laughed. Confusion took over Lucy's face as she asked him why he was laughing. "It's nothing, really, but would they be those two hiding behind the bushes over there?"

Lucy followed the direction where Kitto's finger was pointing and her eyes widened in shock. Natsu and Happy were looking at them, a suspicious and serious look on their faces, with Natsu's muffler wrapped around his head, making him seem like a ninja. "I'll be back in a minute, Kitto-kun."

"It's okay, I can wait." Kitto said as he relaxed, sipping his tea as he watched Lucy approach the spying group in interest.

Outside the shop…

"Natsu and Happy, what are you two doing out here?!"

She looked down at her two best-friends, an exasperated look on her face, and her hands on her hips.

"We saw you walking in town with that guy." Natsu said sullenly, in which Lucy gave him a confused look. Was Natsu…? No, that's impossible…

"Do you hate us now, Lucy?!" Happy cried as jumped at her, crying. Lucy's eyes widened.

"Of course I don't hate you nor would I think of hating you! Don't cry, Happy…" She said as she stroked the blue cat's fur. Natsu stood up and tied his muffler around his neck as he stuffed his fists inside his pants pockets.

"Lucy, tell me, who's that guy?" Natsu asked her. The blonde mage look at her friend sitting in the café and back at Natsu.

"He's Kitto-kun and he's my date." Lucy told him, adding hastily as Natsu's brows furrowed, "It's only for today, since it's actually a job."

"And talking about the job," Lucy untangled Happy from her chest and glared at the two 'spies'. "I don't want either of you interfering with him and I."

"But-"

"No is no, Natsu. I need to do this alone."

"…fine…"

She smiled broadly. She pushed them out towards the road and did a 'shoo-shoo' gesture. "Now, go out and occupy yourself with anything, just don't do anything that will hinder my job."

In reluctance, the fire dragon slayer and the exceed trudged away. Lucy smiled at the two as she went back to the shop. Back inside, she sat down in front of Kitto and heaved a sigh of relief. Kitto grinned as he leaned forward, his chin resting on his palm.

"Well, that was quick." Lucy rolled her eyes at his merry tone.

"Trust me; sometimes it takes more than that to convince them to leave me alone."

"Yeah, I believe so too." Kitto said absent-mindedly as he saw a flash of pink at the corner of his gaze.

"Pardon me? I didn't quite catch that." Lucy looked at him, a bit puzzled on what he just said.

"It's nothing." Kitto stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be back in a minute."

And with that, Kitto went to the front of the shop, out of her sight. Lucy stared at where he had been a moment ago, bewildered. She shook her head. Her day was growing weirder by the minute and what she didn't know was that it'd get much more unusual.

=.=

"So, you're Natsu Dragneel?"

Natsu turned around and saw the guy that was talking with Lucy a while ago. By the smell of him, Natsu could tell that he wasn't actually a bad guy, but something about him made the dragon slayer cautious. The four eyed boy was hiding something, he knew.

"I'm Natsu and this is Happy!" Natsu grinned as he pointed at himself and at Happy. Oh well, he was harmless and besides, he was stronger than him.

The megane looked at him closely and then he whipped out a stationary paper and a pen. "May I have your autograph!?"

Natsu looked at him in surprise, nevertheless, he took the pen and wrote his name in a scrawl. The teenager looked at it in delight before tucking it in a hidden pocket. "I'm Kitto Sugeru, the prime minister's son and Lucy's old friend. Just a friendly question here but, from 1 to 10 (ten being the highest), do you think that Lucy is amazing?"

According to most people's beliefs, they thought Natsu was dense, stupid more like it. But what they didn't know was that Natsu was more than what he seemed to be. He looked over Kitto, sizing him up. The guy backed up. "Whyy?"

"I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything! I'm just asking your opinion."

After 'smelling' him for a bit and finding no threat, he began to relax a little. ONLY a little. "I'd give Luce a ten out of ten!"

Kitto looked at him, a strange expression on his face. "Luce? Ten?"

"It's a nickname." Natsu shrugged. Happy added, "Lucy is ten because she's the best! Although she's not as strong as Erza, she's Lucy and that's how we like her!"

Kitto scratched his chin thoughtfully, a plan forming in his head. He grinned. "Tell me, Natsu-san. How much do cherish Lucy?"

"What?" Natsu looked at him in confusion.

"Is it alright if I, ah, make her mine?"

Now Natsu was utterly perplexed. He had no idea what this guy was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"For such a strong guy, you can be utterly dense." Kitto shook his head in amusement. "What I meant to ask is can Lucy be my best friend forever and possibly even more?"

Natsu was relieved. "Yeah, she can be your best friend too! I don't understand what you mean by possibly even more though."

"You totally don't understand your situation, do you?" Kitto laughed. "Fine, I'll be straightforward this time.

"I plan to make Lucy mine, forever."

"What do you mean make her your forever?" The dragon slayer asked him. "She can't live that long!"

Kitto sighed as he adjusted his glasses. "It's a figurative speech. But what I meant to say is that she'll be with me. She'll be my partner, my girlfriend, my wife, my mate, if you put it in that way."

"Mate?"

Kitto grinned as he nodded.

Happy and Natsu's eyes widened in shock as the massage hit home. A mate. Lucy was going to Kitto's mate. She would leave them and be with this four eyed pathetic excuse for a human. LUCY would have no more time for them. LUCY, their partner and best friend; she would no longer be with them for missions anymore.

And to Natsu, it was more than that. Remember that dragons are originally reptiles and animals and Natsu was brought up by one. And by Igneel's teachings, if one has a mate, they will be together for life. To him, she was his partner. And in human terms translated to beast terms, she was his mate (loosely). He balled up his fist. NO ONE, and literally no one, was going to barge in between Happy, his, and Lucy's friendship.

"Try to touch a hair on Lucy, and I'll never forgive you." He growled at Kitto. The glasses boy smirked.

"Sorry to break it to you, but I've known Lucy more than you and so it means she trusts me more, which would lead her to love me." He cleaned his glasses as Natsu and Happy glared at him. "What's Lucy to you, anyway? You're just partners in jobs, right? So she can't possibly love a reckless guy like you."

"You don't know that!" Natsu snarled.

"Sorry, but I do. We've been together for so long that she tells me her ideal man and trust me, I fall in that category. Pity, but she'll NEVER like a person like you."

"Shut up!"

With his hand on fire, he punched Kitto on the face, causing the poor boy to fly across the street, sending a wave of destruction behind him. Happy tried to stop him, but Natsu was beyond mad. He was outraged. Kitto groaned as he got up, his cheek swollen and his glasses bent and broken. He saw Natsu walking towards him, a murderous look on his face and he grew afraid. He had crossed the line.

"Take it back." Natsu growled at Kitto, looking down at him, his eyes burning in anger, his hand on fire. "Take back what you said about being Lucy's partner."

"No can do, buddy." Kitto replied back. "As you can see from how she looked at me today, you could say that she's starting to like me."

"Why you…" Natsu picked him up and punched him again, sending him crashing on a wall, the barrier crumbling.

"TAKE IT BACK!"

"I WON'T!"

"LUCY IS MINE! YOU CAN'T HAVE HER!"

"Natsu? What happened here?"

The dragon slayer turned around and saw Lucy looking at him confusion, a hint of a blush faint on her cheeks. "Lucy…"

"He tried to kill me!" Kitto protested to her as he unsteadily stood up. Lucy looked at him and back at Natsu, connecting two and two together.

"Natsu! I told you not to do anything reckless! I leave my sights off you for a moment and you came and caused destruction!" She scolded the pink haired boy as she helped Kitto walk as she headed towards the guild. She looked back at Natsu. "Well? Are you coming?"

Both Happy and Natsu trudged grudgingly behind her as they went back. Kitto could feel Natsu staring daggers behind him.

=.=

"I can never leave you two behind, can I?" Lucy said as Kitto was being patched up by Mira. She looked at the sulking mage and cat, and sighed. "Really, Natsu, why did you have to do that?"

"He said you'd be with him forever..." Natsu didn't look at her.

"He did?"

"He said that Lucy can't play with us anymore!" Happy cried, tears falling down like waterfalls. She looked at them in shock.

"That can't be true! Kitto-kun isn't that bad!"

"But that's what he said!" Natsu glared at the megane before looking at Lucy angrily. "He said that you like him! He said that you're his mate and that you love him so much that he'd stay with you forever!"

Lucy's eyes were wide as she registered what he said. A smile crept on her face. "And you believe that?"

Natsu crossed his arms and sulked. "Well, he did say that he knew you longer than me so it might be true."

Suddenly, a burst of laughter came out of her. Natsu and Happy looked at her, wondering why was laughing. "Oh, Natsu, that's hilarious!"

After her laughter subsided, she smiled widely at them. "Even if I might've known him before you, I have no feelings for him."

"Really? Are you really sure?"

Lucy nodded and both her partner broke into wide grins as they went around the table and hugged her. "So we're still your friends?"

"Are you silly? Nothing in this world can ever replace my love and friendship for both of you!"

Natsu immediately sat up, which surprised Lucy. "Natsu?"

Having spotted Charle, Happy flitted away, a fish magically appearing on his hand, leaving both the dragon slayer and the celestial wizard alone on the table in the guild. Lucy looked at her friend in concern.

"Natsu, is everything-"

"Lucy."

"Y-yes?"

"You're my partner, right?"

"Of course!"

"Lucy?"

"What is it?"

"Do you like me?"

Lucy blushed deep red. Natsu couldn't have asked that question, right?! Unbeknownst to them, the guild had fallen silent, waiting for her reply.

"Why do you ask?"

Natsu grinned at her. "Just answer the question!"

"Y-yeah, I guess so…"

"Yes! That's really great, Luce!" He grabbed her hand and strode purposefully at Kitto. "You hear that, four eyes? Lucy loves me even though she knows you more!"

"What's your point?" Kitto rolled his eyes.

"It means that Lucy is mine! You can't have her!"

And with that said Natsu took Lucy hand, bit her thumb and licked the blood, swallowing it. Natsu glared boldly at Kitto, who had a flabbergasted expression.

You could hear a pin drop in the quiet atmosphere.

Gajeel was the first one who broke the silence.

"You've got guts, Natsu, marking that woman!"

"Marking?"

Gajeel gave Kitto his trademark *cough*evil*cough* grin. "One of the ways a dragon slayer claims his mate as his is when he marks her and mingles her blood with his."

Kitto looked back at Natsu who stood protectively between him and Lucy, who was blushing profoundly behind him. The glasses boy sighed dramatically. "Fine, you win. Lucy is yours."

Natsu grinned. "Thanks, Kitto! Lucy is mine, but she can still be your friend." He turned back to the blonde. "You hear that, Luce? We're all in good terms now!"

"You idiot!" Lucy shouted at Natsu as she chopped him on the head and delivered a 'Lucy kick' before stomping outside the guild, going back home.

"What's her problem?" Natsu complained. The whole guild laughed at him as they went back to their merry-making. Gray was the last one to subside and Natsu glared at him.

"Are you laughing at me, ice freak?"

"What did you say, flame brain?"

"You wanna fight?!"

"Bring it on!"

And once again, the ice mage and the dragon slayer threw the place into disaster. Kitto looked at them in awe and amazement.

"You do this every day?!"

Mira nodded. "They're always like this, ever since they were small. They're basically childhood friend who always fights."

"They never change." Lisanna piped up as she sat beside him. "So, did you find the answer?"

"Yeah, I did." Kitto laughed as he touched his bruised cheek tenderly, "Although I got more than what I bargained for. Next time, remind me beforehand that I shouldn't have made Natsu mad."

5. What is your partner to you?

Lucy: "He's a very important person in my life although he's like a kid most of the time. But without him, I'd never be here now."

Natsu: "Lucy is mine and you can't have her!"

=.=

Typical Natsu, always protective of Lucy…But please review this story! I'll love you forever if you do! Sooo sorry again if it was quite delayed (more like extremely late)! ^^ Thanks for reading this!

*crowd claps, leaves stage*