This is my first fanfic! Hopefully, it doesn't absolutely suck. If my characters are kinda OOC, I'm really sorry. Please give me suggestions how they could be better instead of just saying they're awful, though. I want constructive criticism, not plain old criticism. Review and all that jazz – I want your opinions!

I don't have any rights to any of the characters or to Fairy Tail.

"God, I'm exhausted!" I sighed, stretching my hands over my head. "That job was crazy." Natsu flopped on my bed, grinning.

"Didn't it get you fired up?" I laughed incredulously.

"Sure, if it gets you fired up running from cursed boulders all over a deserted island." Natsu sat up and put his hands on his ankles, the soles of his feet pressed together. I sat at my desk, taking in my room. No matter how many times I saw it, I loved it just as much as the first time. The bed, the chair, the coffee table, the armchair, the cute little desk... All of it was mine, and the best part was, I had earned the money for all of it.

"What was your favorite part, Happy?" Natsu asked the little blue Exceed. Happy flew around the ceiling, grinning.

"The fish!"

"Is that all you think about?" I asked him, fiddling with a pen on my desk.

"Aye, sir!" Natsu laughed, and after a second I joined him. The pink-haired dragon slayer was crazy, not very smart, and way too violent for his own good, but he was loyal, and sweet, and caring... And he was the one I loved. Not that you could tell. I was very careful about how I acted around Natsu. He was too dense to ever guess it on his own, but my fellow guild-mates at Fairy Tail weren't, and they would meddle for sure. I was content just being Natsu's job partner. We were good friends. It was fine.

I let my hair down, untying my ribbon, and stood up, stretching again. "Well, I'm going to take a shower. You can go ahead home, or back to the guild. I'll see you tomorrow." Natsu stretched too, yawning.

"Nah, it's cool. I was planning on sleeping here anyway. It's getting dark, and I don't feel like going home. Anyway, we don't have any food at home, so I'm going to raid your kitchen." I sighed, putting my hands on my hips.

"Natsu, you really should go home. If you don't have any food, go out and buy some with the job money. And you know I hate it when you sleep in my bed with me." Actually, that was a lie. I loved it when Natsu slept over, which was a problem. Restraint was difficult, especially when he was so close and vulnerable. Natsu rarely let his guard down, but when he slept he was wide open... And so, so adorable. So I tried to avoid temptation as much as possible.

My protest was in vain. He was already asleep. I stomped over to the bed to wake him up, but when I got there, his face was so peaceful that I couldn't. So I stomped in the direction of the bathroom instead, vowing to take an hour-long shower and work on my novel in the kitchen until morning. I could sleep when Natsu was gone.

"Lucy, where are you going?" Happy called.

"The bathroom!" I tossed over my shoulder. "If you need something, I'll be out in an hour." I slammed the door slightly harder than necessary and flinched at the noise. The snoring in the other room continued. Sighing, I stripped and stepped into the shower.

More than an hour later, I got out of the shower. I would've stayed in longer, but the water had gotten freezing and I was starving. It was strangely quiet without the water running. Humming, I grabbed my towel and dried off. I squeezed the water out of my hair over the shower, trying not to drip on the floor.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway. "Lucy?" Natsu's familiar voice called.

So he woke up. That was why it had seemed so quiet – the snoring had stopped. "Yeah?" I called back absentmindedly, wrapping the towel around my hair to dry it more thoroughly. I realized I'd forgotten to turn on the fan and hit the switch. It came with a loud whirring sound and filled the room with noise. Natsu said something through the door, but I couldn't hear. "Speak up, Natsu!" There was a clicking sound.

"I said, what's for... Um..." His voice was really clear suddenly, like he was standing right next to me. I turned, confused, and saw Natsu's head poking past the open door, his face totally red to the roots of his hair. "Um..." I shrieked and threw the towel at him, pulling the shower curtain around me.

"Natsu, you pervert! I didn't say to open the damn door!" He backed up, stammering an apology, then turned tail and ran back into the bedroom. I grabbed for the doorknob and yanked it shut, throwing the lock for good measure. Letting go of the shower curtain, I leaned back against the door with a sigh. I stared blankly at the ceiling. Natsu saw me naked... Natsu saw me, totally naked, with nothing covering me at all... Natsu saw... Somewhere in the back of mind, I knew I should be getting dressed, going out and yelling at Natsu for being such an idiot, pretending it wasn't as big a deal as it actually was... I had so many things to do to fit the image I was projecting, but all I could think was that Natsu saw everything... I covered my face with my hands and slid down the door to sit on the cold floor. Goosebumps broke out all over my skin, but I just sat there with my face in my hands, trying not to cry. I bit my lip, hard, hoping the pain would distract me. It didn't work. I let out a sound that was half laugh, half sob. I sounded like a drowning cat trying to cough up a hair-ball.

"Lucy?" Happy's quiet voice asked on the other side of the door. "Are you alright? Did Natsu do anything weird to you?" I took a deep breath, praying my voice wouldn't waver.

"No, I– I'm okay." It was worse. My voice cracked on the last word, making me even more pathetic. Happy didn't say anything for a minute.

"Do you want some fish?" I managed to laugh for real at that, smiling at the thought of Happy sharing his precious fish with me.

"No thanks, Happy. I'm fine, really. Just...tired." As I said it, I realized it was true. I was drained, and I wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep until tomorrow afternoon. I needed a nap.

"Okay. Well, I think Natsu feels really bad about barging in on you, so if he apologizes, hear him out, okay?" I smiled. Happy was such a good friend sometimes.

"Yeah, sure." I heard Happy turn to go, and said suddenly, "Thanks, Happy. I mean it."

"Sure thing!" he replied cheerfully. "We're friends, right?" Without waiting for an answer, he padded off into the bedroom. I sighed, pulling myself to my feet and picking up my clothes. That's right. We were friends. And as Natsu's friend, I needed to go out there and smack him around for doing stupid stuff.

When I was dressed, I mustered up all my rage and irritation and stormed out of the bathroom. "Natsu!" I shouted, snatching my whip off my desk and prowling towards him. He was lying on my bed again, whispering with Happy, but he sat bolt upright when he saw me.

"Lucy!" he exclaimed. Just as I was about to hit him, he put his hands together and bent down low in a sitting bow. "I'm really, really, really sorry! I wasn't thinking! Please forgive me!" I stood, frozen, staring at the pink-haired idiot in front of me. It was very un-Natsu-like. Finally, I lowered the whip with a sigh.

"Yeah, alright." Natsu jumped off the bed in excitement, but I kept talking. "But on two conditions." Natsu nodded enthusiastically. "One: you will never open my bathroom door like that again. Okay?" He nodded again. "Two: you're sleeping at home tonight. Not here. And I'm not feeding you. Go out and buy your own food." Natsu started to nod a third time, then stopped, frowning.

"But you said I could stay here." I rolled my eyes.

"You fell asleep before I could say no. Those are my conditions. I'm tired, and I want to sleep in my own bed tonight, okay?" Natsu shrugged.

"It's not like there isn't enough room on your bed for two people, Luce." He laid back on the covers, crossing his arms behind his head.

"And a cat!" Happy added. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I can't just sleep with you, Natsu. It's not good for my–" I bit down on the end of that sentence. I'd been about to say it wasn't good for my heart, which was a bad answer. Even Natsu wasn't that stupid. "It's not good for my sleep," I said eventually. "When you were sleeping one time, you punched me in the jaw." Which was true – once, at the guild, I'd gotten a little too close to Natsu, and he hit me in his sleep. Natsu just laughed, a little tongue of flame visible in the back of his throat.

"Dragon slayers are the best!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy shouted. Everything blurred in front of me, and I put a hand to my forehead, closing my eyes. Fatigue was really starting to catch up to me, and I wanted to fall asleep so badly... But first, I had to get rid of Natsu and Happy.

"Look, please just... Just go home... Okay..." My legs felt funny, and I slid to my knees, trying not hit anything. Let me stay awake... I need to stay awake... I tried to open my eyes, but my lids felt like lead. I slumped all the way over, placing my head on the cool floor.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted. I could hear him scrambling off the bed and crossing the few feet between us, and then he was picking me up, laying me down on the bed, pulling the blanket over me. Just as I was finally drifting to sleep, something soft and warm brushed my forehead. I smiled and turned over, letting sleep pull me under.

The kitchen might not exist. If it really bothers anyone, I can edit that part. Ditto for the lack of indents – it won't let me use tab! I'm sorry! Please let me know what you think.