Hey guys me again :D when I wrote the first chapter of this I never expected it to blow up like this, thank you so much for all your reviews, views and encouragement. I wrote this as a congratulations to myself for getting back into University and quitting the job I hate, this will probably be the last chapter I write of this as I have a long list of other stuff to get started on. Anyway, I'm rambling, hope you enjoy it 3

"And I was three quarters of an hour late for my shift!" Lucy moaned dropping her head into her hands. Natsu laughed and put his arm round her shoulder, pulling her into a hug.

"How did you not realise that you were supposed to be at work?" he asked.

"They've changed all my shift times and they didn't tell me that my new shift started at one." Lucy mumbled into her hands. "It's not like I purposefully forgot I was supposed to be working." She leaned against his shoulder and looked up at him.

"Aw you do fail epically sometimes." he grinned at her and she pulled a face. "What did your boss say?"

"The bollocking wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be but it was still really embarrassing." she replied.

"I'll bet." Natsu chuckled. "I'm sure it'll be fine, you turned up in the end so I doubt they're going to fire you."

"No I'm not going to get fired I just can't let it happen again." Lucy sighed running a hand through her hair. "God I can't believe I screwed up that much though." Natsu hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.

"How about, to cheer you up, I cook tonight; we'll stick on a film of your choice and forget all about nearly missing your shift and being crap at life." he grinned. Lucy smiled and snuggled into his chest.

"Sounds perfect."

"Cool, I'll get dinner started then." Natsu stated. He heaved himself off the sofa and kissed Lucy softly before going to the kitchen and beginning to route through cupboards for pots and pans. Lucy turned to watch him, leaning over the back of the sofa. She sighed happily; aside from her little balls up at work earlier that day life was pretty much perfect right now.

About nine months ago the lease on the flat she had been sharing with Juvia ran out and after discussing it at great length she decided to move in next door with Natsu and Gray moved in with Juvia. It had just made sense seeing as one was always at the other's house so they might as well just live with their significant others. Occasionally she could still hear Juvia and Gray having sex through the walls but now she didn't have to worry about walking in on them.

Sure Lucy was still stuck in her crappy dead end job but she had moved departments and no longer had to work with Creepy Sting. She hadn't had Loke stalking her either, not since he had turned up at her flat when he thought she was home and found a very tired, very angry Gray at the door who told him that if he ever showed up there again he would make it impossible for him to have children. Gray had told Lucy about this but both had decided it was best if they kept it to themselves.

Lucy sighed contentedly again; life really was pretty much perfect. Of course there were things (her job for example) that she would quite happily change but she lived with her amazingly sexy fireman boyfriend and lived next door to her best friend.

"What?" Natsu asked grinning slightly as he turned and saw her staring at him. Lucy shook her head.

"Nothing." she replied. "Just thinking about how amazing you are."

"Well I can't fault you there." he laughed in response. "You're pretty amazing too." he added.

"Only 'pretty amazing'?" Lucy teased. Natsu chuckled softly and left the pan he had been washing up, cupped her face and pressed a loving kiss to her lips.

"You're the most amazing girl I've ever met and I love you." he told her.

"Good answer." she grinned and kissed him again. "I love you too."

"Good job and all." he laughed and went back to the pan in the sink. Lucy settled back down on the sofa and was about to pick up the TV remote when Natsu's phone began vibrating on the coffee table next to it. She picked it up and looked at the display as the word 'Work' flashed on the screen.

"Natsu," she said leaning over the back of the sofa and holding out the phone to him. "it's work for you." Natsu took the phone from her, sighing. "I thought you weren't on call tonight?"

"I'm not supposed to be; I'm the back-up." he stated before answering. "Hello? …Yeah I thought I was on back-up tonight, do you need me? …Really? Shit! …Ok I'll be at the station as soon as I can." As Lucy listened to the one-sided conversation her stomach dropped; the last time Natsu had been called when he was supposed to be on back-up it had been serious.

"You ok?" she asked once he had hung up the phone. Natsu sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm really sorry Luce, but I need to go in to work tonight."

"What's happened?" she asked.

"A block of flats just outside town caught fire and they need more people than they already have." he explained. "As I'm back-up I have to go, I'm sorry."

"Hey," Lucy gave him an encouraging smile and placed her hand on his shoulder. "it's ok, if you've got to go don't worry. I can make dinner for when you get back. Just call me when you're coming home so I know you're safe ok." Natsu smiled at her before kissing her again.

"You're the best." he stated.

"I know," Lucy smiled softly. "now get going so you can come back home. I'll wait up for you."

"I'll see you soon." Natsu said before grabbing his bag, kissing her one final time and leaving the flat. Lucy waited until the front door had closed before sighing sadly.

"Please be careful…"

An hour and a half later Lucy was pacing around the flat desperately resisting the urge to turn on the news. She hadn't heard from Natsu since he had left and part of her hadn't expected to until he was finished but she couldn't take not knowing. She knew that if she turned the news on then she would know but then again she might not want to know if it had made it to TV yet. A knock at the door made her stop her pacing and she ran to open it, hoping it was Natsu. Her heart sank slightly as she opened the door and saw Juvia standing there.

"I just got home from work are you ok?" Juvia asked entering the flat.

"I'm fine." Lucy said trying to put on a brave face as she closed the door. She didn't know how much Juvia knew and didn't want to worry her unnecessarily.

"No you're not." Juvia stated.

"Juvia I'm fine." Lucy lied.

"Luce I've known you for years, I can tell when you're lying." Juvia replied. "You're worried about Natsu aren't you?"

"How did you…?" Lucy began.

"I saw him on the news." Juvia told her cutting her off.

"It's on the news?!" Lucy exclaimed running over to the sofa, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on.

"Gray's been called over too; there's quite a lot of casualties." Juvia stated joining Lucy on the sofa. "It's pretty serious."

"Oh god!" Lucy's voice was barely above a whisper as she saw the blaze on the screen. An entire block of flats was consumed by flames with four fire engines and three ambulances surrounding the entrance. "When did Gray go over?" she asked trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"He texted me and told me about half an hour ago," Juvia replied. "and he was the back-up's back-up."

"Oh god!" Lucy moaned softly staring at the screen. Juvia watched her for a while before putting her arm around her.

"Do you want me to turn it off?" she asked picking up the remote. Lucy opened her mouth to answer when Natsu's picture and a picture of another man that Lucy vaguely recognised as one of Natsu's work friends appeared on screen.

"Turn it up." she instructed. Juvia turned the volume up so that they could hear what the reporter was saying.

"…It is still unknown how the fire started in the first place but it is suspected that a gas leak is responsible rather than anything more sinister." the reported said trying to be heard over the roar of the fire. "It has not yet been confirmed whether there are any residents still inside the building but the fire service is doing everything they can to subdue the blaze and paramedics are tending the injured. Two firemen have been reported missing and are still believed to be inside the building – Anthony Gresham and Natsu Dragneel – and we will keep you updated with news as soon as we hear more…"

Juvia turned the volume back down and turned to look at Lucy. Her face was white and tears were beginning to brim in her wide eyes as she continued to stare at the screen. She put her arm around her and pulled her into a hug.

"That doesn't mean anything." she said softly. "He'll get in touch as soon as he can."

"I hope so." Lucy replied. "Please let him be ok." she whispered to herself, praying for him to come home safely.

Three hours had passed since Natsu had been reported missing on the news and still nothing had been heard about his whereabouts. Lucy had been sat in front of the TV staring at the screen almost catatonic praying for the reporter to say something – anything – about whether they had found Natsu and the other man in the building or not.

Lucy felt sick; she felt hollow and cold and as if her entire body had shut down. Every time she closed her eyes she could see Natsu trapped inside the burning building and all she could do was imagine the worst. What if he never came home? What if that was it and she would never see him again? What if…? She shook her head and tried to rid herself of those thoughts, as Juvia kept saying 'no news was good news' although no news was making her sick with worry.

"Do you want another coffee?" Juvia asked breaking the silence. Lucy shook her head.

"I've had like four cups already." she replied. "Although I don't think I could sleep even if I hadn't."

"I'm sure he'll be ok." Juvia said trying to be comforting. "He's probably just getting checked out by a doctor after being in that building for so long and he'll call as soon as he's done."

"I hope so." Lucy murmured tugging on the sleeves of her shirt for want of something to do as Juvia nervously fiddled with her hair. A knock on the door made both girls freeze and look round before Lucy jumped to her feet and ran to the door. She opened the door and her heart sank when she saw Gray on the other side. He looked tired and dishevelled and his usual cool exterior was gone.

"Hey." he exhaled.

"Hi." Lucy replied trying not to sound too disappointed.

"You ok?" he asked stepping inside. Lucy shrugged as she closed the door behind him. She let out the breath she had been holding trying to be strong before her resolve crumbled and she broke down, sobbing into Gray's chest. He put his arms around her as she cried and hugged her until her shoulders stopped shaking and her breathing returned to normal. She pulled back and wiped her eyes.

"Have you heard anything?" she asked.

"No." Gray shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Last I heard he was still inside but I was pretty busy treating everyone he brought out. He saved about twenty people's lives tonight."

"Oh my god!" Lucy exclaimed softly.

"I'm sorry I wish I could give you better news." Gray sighed. Lucy gave his arm a small squeeze.

"Thank you." she said giving him a watery smile.

"Lucy!" Juvia called from the other room. "It's Natsu!" Lucy and Gray stopped and looked towards the living room before they both hurried in. The flat on the screen was still alight but smouldering now, the flames barely reaching the first floor now.

"…It has now been confirmed that the blaze that started earlier tonight was caused by a faulty gas connection in the building's lower basement." the reporter stated gesturing to the building. "We now have it on good authority that the vast majority of the building's residents have been evacuated and the injured are being treated. There are some still missing, presumed to still be inside, among them are the two firefighters, Anthony Gresham and Natsu Dragneel, mentioned earlier. Another rescue party will be sent in again shortly but the outcome of their fate is not favourable…" The screen went black and Lucy turned to see Gray holding the remote.

"You don't need to see that." he stated flatly, dropping it to the sofa. Lucy turned back to stare at the empty screen, her mind reeling. All she could do was imagine the worst now – how could she not after that reporter had just said that he was as good as dead. She couldn't quite process the fact that he might not return and that the last conversation they had was about her inability to turn up to work and him teasing her for being rubbish.

"Hey," Juvia placed her hand on Lucy's shoulder, making her look round. "that doesn't mean anything."

"Yeah," Gray agreed. "there's still a chance that he'll be home in the next hour." Lucy didn't say anything but turned back to stare at the black TV screen in front of her as her world fell apart.

Lucy jerked awake suddenly. She didn't know how long she had been asleep for but it had been very uneasy. She had dreamt of Natsu and what might be happening to him. She lifted her head slightly, discovering that she had been resting on Juvia's lap. She sat up rubbing her sore eyes.

"Hey," Juvia said softly. "you're awake."

"How long was I out for?" Lucy asked flatly. She felt hollow and it showed in her voice.

"Not long." Juvia replied. "Twenty minutes maybe."

"Has anything else been on the news?"

"Not since the report about an hour ago." Gray stated gruffly. "I've been checking but there's nothing new."

"Ok." Lucy nodded slowly. She got to her feet and began to pace slowly along the windowsill. "I would have thought they would have been in touch by now, even if it was with bad news." she stated pulling on the sleeves of her shirt again.

"I don't know." Gray shrugged. "I've never been on this side of this conversation before so I don't know how they do it."

"I'm sure you'll find out soon, they can't leave it much longer." Juvia stated trying to sound positive but Lucy was barely listening. As she had begun pacing the window for the fifth time a large fire engine pulled up outside the entrance to the flat. As soon as she saw it stop and the driver get out she ran to the front door, pulled on her shoes and ran down the hall, ignoring Juvia and Gray calling after her.

She ran to the end of the corridor and pushed the button for the elevation. The electronic display read 'Floor 2' and she felt too impatient to wait so gave up and began to run down the stairs, her only thought was getting outside and finding out what had happened to Natsu. She reached the ground floor and ran to the door, looking out the window at the small group of men in uniform emerging from the engine. She stared, unable to move, and watched as one of them removed an ash covered helmet to reveal a shock of pink hair underneath.

Lucy's heart leapt; she wrenched open the door and ran outside throwing her arms around Natsu's neck when she reached him. She kissed him furiously, tears streaming down her cheeks as she buried her face in his neck and cried while he hugged her tightly.

"Oh god!" she sobbed pulling away slightly but still keeping a tight hold on him as if she couldn't quite believe he was really there. "I thought you were dead!"

"Hey," Natsu said soothingly stroking her hair. "I'm here now, it's ok." Lucy stared up at him with wide, tear filled eyes before she balled her fist and struck him as hard as she could on the shoulder. Even though she knew he wouldn't have felt it through the huge jacket he was wearing it made her feel slightly better.

"You jerk, you should have called me!" she exclaimed angrily. Natsu laughed loudly and cupped the back of her head before kissing her.

"My phone was at the station and I wanted to come home first because I knew you'd be worried." he explained. "Apparently it's been all over the news for the last four hours." Lucy threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly again.

"You're home, that's all the matters." she stated before suddenly pulling back. "Wait! What about Anthony? Is he ok?"

"Anthony? Yeah he's fine." Natsu told her. "He lives closer to where we were than we do so we dropped him off first. His wife had the same reaction you did."

"What?"

"She hit him and told him off for not calling." he grinned. Lucy laughed softly before kissing him and hugging him once more.

"I'm so glad you're safe." she whispered. "Please don't ever do that again." Natsu laughed.

"I promise." he whispered back. "Hey Luce?" he added after a pause.

"Yeah?" she asked pulling away and looking up at him. Underneath all the soot and ash covering his face he looked serious. She stared at him in confusion as he unclasped her arms from around his neck and stepped back.

"Lucy while I was inside that building I had time to think about things, about us." he said. Lucy's heart was pounding in her chest, he sounded so serious and she had no idea where he was going with this. He took hold of her hands. "I realised that you are the most important thing in the world to me and I don't want to think about the possibility of not seeing you every day." Lucy's mouth dropped open as he took hold of her hand and got down on one knee. "I know I don't have a ring or anything yet but will you do me the honour of marrying me?"

"Yes." Lucy chocked out after a pause that felt like an eternity to Natsu. "Oh my god yes!"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth Natsu whooped in delight, jumped to his feet, picked her up and swung her round in a circle as his work friends clapped, cheered and whistled. When Natsu put her down he pressed a bruising kiss to her lips before resting his forehead against hers. He opened his eyes and grinned at her.

"I got your jumper all dirty." he stated.

"I don't care." she breathed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and, standing on her tiptoes kissed him. "Let's go inside; I'll make you dinner and we can relax on the sofa, you've had a long night."

"So have you."

"I can handle it." she grinned. "So how about it?"

"Sounds perfect." Natsu smiled. He took Lucy's hand and the two of them made their way to the entrance to their flat. Natsu grabbed the handle and pulled it down but the door refused to open.

"Um Luce…" he began turning to her.

"Yeah?"

"Please tell me you have your keys?" he asked. Lucy's eyes widened.

"Oh shit!"

Don't worry, Gray and Juvia are there to let them back in haha I know this was a super fluffy ending cause I wanted to do something cute :3 Thank you again for all your support love you all S-E xxx