~"I told you to fire him, not end up going out on a date!" But then again it'd never been in Lucy's plans either.~

(Modern/Hotel! AU)

Happy Mistake or Misunderstanding of the Century

Jude gave his assistant a nod and the haggard-looking young man scrambled out of his office, nearly bumping into Lucy in his haste to get out the door. She didn't envy him… he was worn so thin she wondered if she'd be able to see right through him soon.

"Lucy, yes, come on in," Jude smiled, waving her in. She passed the threshold into his office and took a seat near his desk. The leather creaked when she sat and she had to fidget for a moment to get comfortable. She could count the number of times she'd sat in this chair on one hand…

Lucy may have been Jude Heartfilia's daughter and right-hand man, -or woman—when it came to most business ventures nowadays, but she honestly tried her best not to spend too much time around the man. He'd trained her well, given her all the building blocks she needed to succeed in the world, and she was somewhat mentally prepared for taking over the Heartfilia business one day… but she still tried her best to… how should she put it… keep her distance? Whether for her own sanity because working twenty-four-seven wasn't her forte like it was her father's, or because he was exhausting to be around, she couldn't say.

Jude sighed and gave her a weary glance that told her he wasn't looking forward to what he was about to say. Which was always a promising way to start a conversation.

"You are familiar with our Magnolia branch's location, yes?" he asked.

Her father had made his fortune first in the air, owning one of the largest commercial airlines ever known. It'd been sold nearly a decade ago, instead turning his attention over to private flights only. Soon thereafter he'd opened his first chain of hotels and by now there were upwards of twenty of his five star stays located in Fiore.

Lucy nodded. "I am." It was one of the newer locations. Opened around a year ago.

"I have a… task for you," he sighed again, shuffling around a few papers before handing her a folder. "There's a…," another sigh, "bellhop who needs to be fired. I'm leaving it in your hands."

She didn't take the folder, instead her eyebrows shooting to her hairline as she eyed him with confusion. Was he serious? First of all, she was heir to the company. Usually he asked her to meet with this person or that person or be a representative here or there or just stand and look pretty next to him but… never something like this. Firing employees was usually a branch decision, or manager decision, or if for some reason it was Jude's decision, someone locally was the one to carry it out.

She'd only actually been sent to one of their hotels on business a couple of times. And never had it been to… fire someone.

Not only was she surprised and a little confused as to why she was being asked to do this… but she also sort of didn't want to. She didn't want to fire someone. She wasn't the type… It was horrible news to deliver and she was definitely not one to take it well when she hurt someone in any way, shape, or form.

Jude pinched the bridge of his nose and waved the folder at her. "Yes, yes, I know it's not something I'd normally have you do but it seems no one else can get the job done."

She took the papers out of his hand slowly. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure what I mean," he admitted. "All I know is that this particular employee has been on the chopping block for months now, and yet no one seems to be able to get the job done. He's had five separate termination dates, and yet none of them have gone through. No one on location can get it done, goodness knows why, so it's up to you." He gave her a nod that told her he had faith in her abilities.

Lucy looked down at the manila folder disdainfully. She wanted to protest, to find some reason as to why she couldn't do it, but came up empty. It sounded awful… not only for a task but for her own moral or human reasons, too. She didn't want to fire someone.

Jude gave her another nod and a look of what she placed to be appreciation then and she somehow caved. With a sigh she stood, straightening her skirt and hurrying back out of his office.

Well, she just had to get it over with.

0=0=0=0=0=0

The bellhop's name was Natsu Dragneel. She'd gone over his information during the hour-long drive to the Heartfilia hotel located in Magnolia. It'd been a scenic drive, the skyscrapers and busy honking of the city had slowly melted away into greenery and homey-looking cottages. Magnolia was a bustling city, but in a more laid-back sense. It'd been a rather out-of-character move for her father to choose such a location for a hotel, but he'd been determined. Apparently Magnolia was a vacation spot that many of the wealthy were attracted to.

Natsu had been hired right before the opening and had been the only bellhop to service the location for the entirety of its existence. He hadn't had any past experience… in fact, he hadn't ever had a job before this one. There were notes on why he'd been hired. Apparently he was enthusiastic and bright-eyed, eager to please and get the job done. He sounded like someone fit for being a bellhop. After all, it was his job to make sure the customers were happy and taken care of… or that their luggage was, anyway.

Indeed, there were five separate entries indicating a firing date, spanning from his second week on the job to one around two weeks ago. There wasn't anything that let her know why he hadn't actually been fired on those dates. The only thing written to give her any hint as to why he would've been fired in the first place, was a tiny notation near the bottom that said he'd broken or stretched a few policies. There was also a mark that said which policies these were.

She grabbed her phone and after a while of searching, located the document showing company policies. She went to the section on employee conduct, and then found the part for support staff. She referenced the numbers on Natsu's paper and her eyes bugged. Two of the numbers matched. Apparently he'd broken a rule of confidentiality and a rule regarding the safekeeping of customer's luggage. However, there were at least four more numbers of policies on his sheet that… didn't match. The list stopped at 209b and yet he had ones in the 720-725 range. She scoured the document for anything labeled with these numbers but came up empty.

She frowned down at his sheet, squinting at the tiny picture in the upper left hand corner. It was supposed to be a picture of him but it was rather blurry and she couldn't make out much. He appeared to indeed have bright eyes and a wide smile and what she swore was pink hair, but that was about all she could see.

The car slowed to a halt and she peered out the window and up, unable to see the top of the hotel from inside the car.

"We've arrived, Ms. Heartfilia; shall I wait for you to return?"

"Mm, no, that won't be necessary. I'll call when I'm finished." She had no idea how long it would take to meet this Natsu person, or how long it would take to … ugh… fire him. Her stomach knotted at just the thought.

Lucy tried to remind herself that he'd clearly broken several rules so it was really his own fault. He had it coming… These thoughts didn't soothe her stomach much.

The hotel had already hired another bellhop upon hearing that Lucy herself was coming to fire Natsu. Apparently Jude had told them he'd send someone to get the job done over a week ago but had only informed her that that person would be her, today. Maybe he'd been trying to find someone else to do it, after all. She'd been a little consoled however, when she read in the folder that there was already someone ready to take over his job. Maybe she could think of this as a job creating opportunity… Well, whatever helped her sleep at night.

She shoved open the car door and reluctantly closed it behind her. Lucy watched as the car tottered out of sight down the road and sighed. The sidewalks were made of cobblestone, something she hadn't borne witness to before. Yes, it was a very busy street and yes, there were scrawling buildings around her but… something about it just felt so much more homey than the big city. She shook her head of the thoughts and turned on her heel, brushing her way into the hotel.

Tinkling music and the pleasant splash of a grandiose fountain placed smack-dab in the center of the lobby met her. All of their hotels were slightly different, and yet they gave off the same vibe. People with posh voices, women with clicky shoes, and men whose collars were so crisp they could cut glass, all meandered about, discussing all they had to do for the day. Well, with the per-night cost of this place she guessed these were probably the only types of people who really stayed in her family's hotels.

She walked purposefully up to the front counter and smiled at the receptionist. His face lit up when he saw her. "Ms. Heartfilia! We've been expecting you." He waved her around to a little half-wall and quickly opened it so she could pass. He led her then through a door to the right of the counter and into what she presumed was somewhat of a breakroom. He seemed to relax a little once they were out of the public eye. "When we heard it was going to be you coming to…" He looked off to the side nervously. "Y'know, well, let's just say we weren't expecting it to be a Heartfilia themselves!" He seemed almost sheepish.

She gave him a little nod. "Just curious… my father said no one here has been able to actually go through with firing Natsu… why is that?"

The man shrunk even further. "Well… about that…" He cleared his throat. "I'm not really sure how to put it but none of us have… had the… guts, I guess, to do it?" He gave her an extremely awkward smile. "Our manager tried first, and then he had the assistant manager try… and then he had one of us receptionists try… and then a security guard… and then even a janitor but none of us could… you know?" Another laugh. "Of course that's why our manager isn't here right now… he's rather ashamed, you know? Said he'd be too embarrassed to meet you so he was hoping you could just do it and then he'd comp you a room for a night or… something…"

Lucy raised an eyebrow. First of all she never had to pay for a room in any of her family's hotels, ever. Second of all, this manager, whoever he was, would most certainly be getting a mark on his name. Not being able to fire one of his employees was odd and a little worrisome, however pushing this responsibility off onto his other staff members, and then not having the guts to meet her face-to-face when she was sent to, in a way, clean up his mess… It was very unprofessional.

The receptionist in front of her seemed to be trying to cover up for him, but Lucy got the gist. So this was basically all the information she was going to get…

"Just to elaborate, why have none of you had the… "guts", to get it done?" she quoted.

The man made a face. "Well… I'm not sure how to explain it but… well, you'll see."

She really didn't like the sound of that. However, she did get the distinct impression that was all she was going to get for an explanation. "Alright, thank you for your time," she sighed. "Where can I find Mr. Dragneel?"

The little man in front of her seemed happy that he actually could answer at least one of her questions. He waved for her to follow him again. "He's just gone to deliver some bags to a room but he should be back any moment- Oh yes!" He had opened the door to the front desk again and was peering out. "There he is now!"

Lucy walked out behind the counter and followed the man's pointing finger. No, she hadn't been mistaken when she'd sworn he had pink hair. Unruly salmon-colored locks were sticking out in all directions underneath his bellhop cap. He strutted with confidence and swiveled to stand at the front door, opening it for an older couple who thanked him. He grinned and sent them both a charming wink before letting it close behind them.

He looked nice enough… She sighed, not giving herself enough time to really think through what she had to do, mainly because she was afraid the pit in her stomach would open up and swallow her entirely if she did. Instead, she stalked forward meaningfully, back out into the lobby and straight up to him. He seemed surprised that she was heading in his direction and half started to open the door for her before realizing she had no intention of leaving.

"Natsu Dragneel?" she asked.

His eyebrows raised. "Yup that's me."

"I need to have a few words with you." He blinked at her. "In private," she added. She wasn't sure how he was going to take the news but she figured doing it out in public would not only be unprofessional but it might also run the risk of him creating a scene, which wouldn't bode well for PR.

He looked like he was about to ask her a question before his entire face lit up and he snapped his fingers, his mouth creating a little 'o' of realization. "Oh!" he breathed. "You must be that new bellhop they hired!"

"I-… What?"

He nodded. "We're apparently getting another bellhop here! I just saw so on the manager's schedule last week! It's about time too, if you ask me." He nodded seriously. "It's a lot of work around here, y'know. I could use some help." He looked her up and down. "You don't even have your uniform yet. Well, here, I'll show you to your locker." He held a hand out in front of himself, guiding her. "Don't you worry, I'll give ya a real good tour and some real amazing tips. I've been doing this for over a year now. I'm practically a pro! It's your lucky day." He sent her a wink not unlike the one he'd given the couple exiting the hotel.

"I-No-Um-Why-I-You-," she stumbled aimlessly over her words, somehow unable to complete a sentence. First off she had been a little surprised he'd known about them hiring another bellhop… or at least hadn't put two and two together to figure that that person would be replacing him. Although he'd said he'd seen it on the manager's schedule so maybe perhaps it hadn't been something he was originally meant to see.

Secondly, and more importantly… he'd somehow jumped across a gigantic ravine to the conclusion that she was the new bellhop. Not only had he not recognized her, as most of the employees would have, but her rather upscale clothing hadn't tipped him off either. Well, maybe he was so used to seeing people in fancy outfits that he didn't second guess it anymore. But lastly, it'd so shocked her that she literally could not form words, and he'd just nudged her in the back and now… she was following him to her 'locker', wherever the hell that was.

She sent a panicked and confused look to the receptionist that had welcomed her and he gave her a little look that said 'see, I told you' before attending to the next customer in line.

Lucy then suddenly realized why no one had been able to fire Natsu: no one had the heart to. No, she didn't know him but based on first impressions he was a straight-shooter with a childish grin and the best intentions and so no… it wouldn't exactly be easy to fire him. Especially if someone knew him well, or for a long time.

But she didn't know him. He was a stranger.

"Mr. Dragneel-"

"Hey, now I'll make sure you're real comfortable here, okay? If you have any questions just ask. Oh, and watch your step here," he said as they took a turn down a smaller hallway and through a door labeled 'staff', "the floor in here's actually higher than this one so it's real easy to catch your toe and trip. Trust me." He chuckled to himself and she got the feeling he really was speaking from experience.

"Mr. Dragneel-" she tried again, but he held up a hand to cut her off.

"You sound so formal; it's kinda weird. The name's Natsu. Just Natsu. I'd say Mr. Dragneel was my father but hoo boy he didn't like being called that either." He sent her a lopsided grin over his shoulder. He'd led them into another breakroom-type of area. It was nice, carpeted with comfy-looking chairs and a coffee-maker that smelled heavenly. On one side of the room was a small bunch of lockers, around twenty in total. He stopped near them, pointing to one. "This one's mine." Then he pointed to the one on its left. "And this one'll be yours! Put whatever you want in there. Just not anything smelly… or like perishable… or just don't forget it's in there, anyway." He let out an awkward laugh. "People don't like it when things start to stink in here. I mean, it's not my fault I forgot I had a ham salad sandwich in here for like a month but… anyway, first insider tip." He sent her a finger gun.

He was… quite possibly the most bizarre person she'd ever met. He was clearly quite comfortable being the only one talking. Mainly because he did a lot of talking. It was also a little concerning that he'd left a sandwich in his locker for a month… and just the thought of the smell sort of made her nose crinkle.

"Oh, I never got your name."

"L-Lucy," she somehow managed to force out.

It'd taken some real strength of character to try and get his attention after he started leading her toward this room… and after his little spiel about calling him Natsu, then followed by the troubling ham salad story… she somehow couldn't conjure up anything to say. She was quite literally so shocked by the situation she couldn't even speak up enough to utter out her last name.

"Lucy. Pretty name." Another wink. "So if you want to put your stuff in your locker we can get you your uniform and we'll be ready to start!"

He took the initiative to open the locker deemed 'hers' and motioned for her to set her belongings inside. She looked down at her portfolio and her phone and then back to the locker. She really didn't know how she felt about separating herself from her belongings… especially her phone which she was now suddenly begging to ring and somehow snap her out of this incredibly weird interaction which didn't seem to be going anywhere but downhill. However, it stayed silent, just like her voice which had decided to abandon her completely. And so, feeling not unlike a prisoner watching their cell door being shut, she placed her items inside and Natsu slammed the locker shut with a loud 'bang'.

Lucy flinched.

"Alrighty then," he nodded, dusting off his hands. "Now to get you your uniform." He took a moment to look her up and down. "You look like a size… small? Maybe? Medium? Ooh… yeah you're gonna wanna get rid of those shoes." Without waiting for any answer on her end about what size she wore, he stalked over to another cabinet and began rummaging around inside. "What shoe size are you?"

Lucy's mouth hung open limply as she looked down at her own feet. She was wearing rather tall high-heeled shoes, but she did not relish in the thought of changing them… at least not now… and not into whatever he had planned.

"Th-these are fine," she stammered. And then she mentally kicked herself. Of all the things she could've actually managed to say the one she picked was actually answering his question? Not, 'oh gee I think there's been a mistake' or 'seriously, I'm not the new bellhop' or even 'hey, I probably shouldn't be putting my things in lockers or taking uniforms from employees because seriously, I don't belong here'.

Natsu looked back over his shoulder and down at her feet. "Really? You want to wear those to work in? I mean, you do you, but still… that's gotta be uncomfortable." He nodded as if he were the expert on stilettos. "I once lost a bet in high school and had to wear shoes like that for a week everywhere I went. Now, don't get me wrong I rocked them and by the end of the week I could just cream everyone else at basketball with the extra height and all, but I still had so many blisters and overall it was just… not fun."

Wow… he really did like to talk. Not only did he like to talk but apparently he liked to divulge potentially embarrassing information with confidence. Either he really didn't give a care or he didn't realize how he might have come off in cases like this and the ham sandwich story which was still sort of haunting her.

"Really, I'm fine."

Natsu shrugged. "Suit yourself." He straightened back up then, shutting the cabinet doors with his foot as he turned around and handed her a neatly folded uniform that looked almost exactly like his. Plain, navy blue, formal-looking, with a little empty name badge sitting on top.

"We'll send that nameplate off and they'll have it all engraved by morning. Cool, huh? Oh, and the hat…" He pointed to his own with pride. "You get that when you pass my training."

She stared up at him. "Pass? …Your training?"

He nodded. "O'course! I'm gonna give ya the tour, the pro tips, and training for everything you'll need to know." His face lit up. "Ooh, that's three t's…. tour, tips, and training… Natsu's Three Pro T's for surviving life as a bellhop!" He turned around then, looking satisfied with himself and she swore she heard him mutter about writing a book before he set off back towards the door. She got the distinct impression she was supposed to follow him and so she scrambled to keep up. They went back out into the hallway and he motioned next door to what looked like a restroom. "I'll wait right here for ya."

Oh… he wanted her to change right away… Without really thinking anything through she shouldered through the bathroom door and let it close with a thud behind her. It was single bathroom, so it had a lock which she was grateful for. There was only a beat of silence before everything began to sink in.

Lucy looked down at the uniform in her arms with wide eyes. What was she supposed to do now? She didn't have her phone to call anyone to come provide some sort of help or at least explain a few things to Natsu… and for some reason he was bizarrely hard to confront. She most definitely understood why no one had been able to fire him thus far. Hell, she couldn't even somehow force herself to tell him her full name, which probably would've given away her status, and led them down a road at least semi-adjacent to the truth. But no, she'd frozen and now she was standing in a bathroom, a bellhop uniform in her arms, with her 'instructor' standing outside waiting for her to change. She had followed it along for so long now she wondered if there was any way she could back out… he might not even believe her now if she told him the truth.

He knocked on the door then. "You okay in there?" She'd been staring down at the uniform for quite a while now and yet she hadn't made any move to put it on. "Hey, if you're having troubles getting the pants on over your heels, just take 'em off. They'll totally rip the pants if you try and force it… trust me."

First off she wouldn't know why anyone wouldn't take off their high-heels before trying to put on pants, but she also didn't doubt that once again he was speaking from experience.

Her stomach sank and her hopes sank deeper but with a herculean amount of effort, she managed to force herself to change into the uniform. She folded her other clothes and took a look in the mirror, flinching. It wasn't the most flattering thing in the world… She pulled down on the bottom of the shirt and straightened her sleeves, turning to look at her behind. But then again she was also sort of pulling it off… which deserved a medal, in her book.

Natsu knocked again and with a slight hint of irritation she replied, "Yeah, one sec."

He gave her a nod of approval when she came out and so apparently she'd passed the first test: putting on the uniform. Although she had a feeling he was just glad he'd picked the right size.

He escorted her back into the staff room and she put her clothes in her locker as well. She tried to sneak her phone out but he had it closed and was already ushering her out before she had had a chance to even try.

And then to her absolute horror he began walking back out to the lobby. While yes, she was sort of shocked and confused and most definitely regretting having not interrupted him sooner, she hadn't had to see anyone yet. However, walking out into the main lobby wouldn't be anything short of humiliating. And humiliation was the very least of her worries. If people recognized her as the daughter of Jude Heartfilia, heir to the very hotel she was walking in, and then saw her working as a bellhop… she wasn't quite sure what sort of reaction that would spark. Would people think twice about staying in a hotel where one of the company owners had to work as a support staff member? Would word get back to her father? Because she knew he wouldn't be thrilled hearing something like that.

Well… she guessed all she could hope for now is that either no one would notice…, she'd just get a few weird looks but nothing else…, or maybe she'd rock this uniform so well people would think it was a fashion statement. After all, she didn't have the hat yet; that would be a dead giveaway.

And so with as much confidence as she could, she strutted out into the lobby behind Natsu, trying her best not to make eye contact with anyone.

Whether she was imagining it or not she swore she could feel eyes on her from all directions, but didn't give into the urge to look and see if they really were.

She however did go out of her way to look at the staff behind the front counter. She successfully made eye contact with the man she'd originally spoken to and he paled. He'd looked rather empathetic when Natsu had led her back to the back, her panicked glance met only with a vague sense of 'sorry, but I told you so'. This time, however, it was clear that the man had sorely misunderstood what was going on. He probably thought she and Natsu were headed somewhere to talk in private so her glance she'd given him, her silent cry for help, had seemed unnecessary. However, now it was clear that he had misunderstood and that something far more bizarre, embarrassing, and what would probably be an HR nightmare, was happening.

He scrambled around on the desk before pulling a corded phone up and pointing at it, a silent question of whether or not she wanted him to call for help.

But she was in far too deep now… Whatever help he would call would probably just turn out for the worst and would increase the chances of her father finding out… and so she put on the steely, resolved face of a battle-worn soldier and shook her head. She'd somehow gotten herself into this mess, it was now probably her own job to get herself out of it.

The man behind the counter looked shocked, but honored her wishes and put down the phone, giving her a determined nod of 'good luck'. And she'd like to think as she turned away she wasn't just imagining the single tear he shed for her, his now fellow-comrade in this entire ordeal, but she knew most likely she had.

Natsu swiveled to a halt in front of the gold-trimmed glass doors to the hotel, motioning for her to stand beside him. She did so, and then the training began.

"So there is one main job of a bellhop," he said with authority, "and that is to make sure the guests are taken care of."

It'd sounded so formal and actually not like bad advice at all. Which had not been what she'd expected. Yet again he caught her by surprise. It was true, if the guests were taken care of, everyone was winning and that was the kind of attitude that she would've wanted her employees to have, had she been the manager.

A couple with their arms intertwined walked up to the door and without hesitation Natsu swung it open wide, nodding to them and motioning them inside. The man nodded back and the woman thanked him with a friendly smile. Lucy watched them as they made their way to the elevator.

He'd done his job perfectly. He was kind and charismatic while making sure the customer was happy… Why was she sent here to fire him again? She remembered the red marks on his page and the troubling infractions whose numbers didn't correspond to any in her manual. Right… She'd only been observing him for a minute or two…

Natsu leaned in her direction. "I mean yeah we want the people staying here to be happy or whatever but it's really not that difficult. I mean… this is half of it." He nodded as another older gentleman approached the door and once again Natsu opened it wide. He tipped his hat to the man. "How's it goin', Mr. Brandle?"

The man smiled up at him. "Oh, same ol', same ol'," he replied. That was the extent of their conversation and the man made his way over to the elevator just as the other couple had.

"You get to know a lot of the people who come here a lot," Natsu explained. "He's been here for six months now. I guess he was moving and had to stay here for a couple nights in between and liked it so much he decided to stay here permanently. Sold his new house and everything." Lucy's eyes widened. The guy had actually opted to stay in a hotel permanently? Natsu sighed and she looked back to see adoration in his eyes. "Livin' the dream," he said, still gazing upon the man apparently named Mr. Brandle.

Well… to each his own, she guessed. Personally she wouldn't want to call a hotel room her home… even if it was a luxury hotel like this one. However, even more troubling was the thought that that man had enough money to fork out a per-night cost for the foreseeable future. The dollar signs seemed insurmountable and that was coming from her, the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the region.

Natsu nodded to himself. "Really this is about half of the job. If there's no luggage to deliver, or things to pick up or anything I just man the door, just kind of greeting people and helping if someone needs it. It's kinda boring but also kinda nice… calm, anyway." He shrugged. "Sometimes I'll get a tip, too. Usually it's money but there's a lot of old folks around here that like to give out free life hacks which honestly might be more worth it in the end." He nodded seriously. "We had a guy here last week that was here to pick up his daughter. I got a five-dollar tip for opening the door and a way to save a few hundred bucks on my taxes."

That sounded like a terrible tax evasion scam if she'd ever heard one but Natsu seemed so excited at the prospect she decided to keep her mouth shut. If she were ever to speak from experience, it was to not take advice on taxes from overly wealthy people. One, because the tips they had that were worth anything didn't apply to the working class, and two, because most of them were just probably… well… illegal tips in the first place. But then again she wasn't a financial expert.

"So basically I'll just get this door, and then now that we have you, you can get that one!" It was a double door and he motioned to the other side. Like a stiff wooden soldier, she somehow forced her feet to move to the other side of the doorway. She turned around to find him grinning over at her. "We'll be such a great team! We'll just get to chill out here together all day." He seemed exuberant about the prospect and she somehow forced a smile. "Oop, here comes someone now!"

Lucy looked outside to see another couple approaching the doors. And on cue both she and Natsu opened them. He grinned and greeted them and her lips twitched uncomfortably into what she could only assume was probably the most awkward-looking smile in the history of smiles. It was like she physically couldn't get her body on board to do what she was doing… Maybe if she screwed her face up enough people wouldn't recognize her… Or maybe they'd think it was a prank or something… who knew.

She and Natsu both closed the doors behind them. "That was a great job!" he encouraged. "Next time maybe say hello or something… and maybe show a little less tooth." There was a slightly awkward pause before he elaborated. "And yes, tooth, not teeth, you got a super… unique smile; it's kinda lopsided." He shrugged. "I like it. Just maybe make it a little smaller or something."

Part of her wanted to crawl into a hole and die and part of her wanted to burst out laughing that that had been his reaction to her failed attempt at a smile. He was definitely the glass half full type of person… Which again seemed like quality employee material but she still had only been observing for approximately five minutes so there was probably a lot of things she'd yet to see.

Natsu leaned on the wall. "Sometimes if it's a slow day or whatever, I'll run errands for people too. Staff, mostly. Like change out the laminator roll or put stamps on some envelopes or just some other random stuff. As long as I can help out, I'm good. Sometimes I even get to go on errands for the guests! That's always fun." He nodded. "I went grocery shopping for one of our regulars the other day and she shops at this super weird hole-in-the-wall type of place that only had things from other regions. Or at least I'm assuming… I don't think anything was in English, anyway…" He shrugged. "It was fun, though."

Lucy hadn't had any idea that bellhops sometimes did favors for other staff members, let alone some of the guests. He'd said it was his job to make sure everyone was taken care of and happy, though… so she guessed that applied.

"Oh! And here's the other half of the job!" he said, nodding out towards a sleek black car that had just pulled up to the curb. A lady with a fluffy coat stepped out alongside a man in a crisp suit. Natsu flung open the door again and stepped around to hold it with his back, instead opening his arms wide to them. "Welcome back Ms. Villa!"

She seemed thrilled to see him. "Oh, it's good to see you again, Natsu, dahling," she cooed, hurrying up to give him a quick hug and a peck on each cheek which he didn't seem to enjoy all too well. "I'll only be here for a week so I don't have all the luggage I do normally. However, would you be a dear and bring up what I have?"

He tipped his hat. "Of course. Same room?"

"Same room." She patted him on the cheek then before swishing through the door, the man in the suit close behind her and looking a little uncomfortable.

Lucy wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, and she hadn't been given even an iota of attention –not that she minded.

Natsu nodded at her to follow him. He made his way around to the back of the black car and opened the trunk which had already been popped. Inside sat three gigantic suitcases which were stuffed so full they bubbled and pulled at the seams, threatening to burst at any moment. "Okay, so now we gotta get these up to her room. I don't think we'll need a dolly for this one; she hardly brought anything this time."

If this was 'hardly anything' Lucy was seriously worried about how much packing this woman did on a normal visit.

"Here, I'll take these two, you take that one." And with ease he pulled out two of the bulging suitcases. He'd left her the smallest of the three and yet she'd be dipped if it didn't feel like it weighed a ton. She struggled to get it over the lip of the trunk and once it was on the ground she opted to pull up the handle and wheel it. There was no way she could just lift it up like he was… Natsu made them look like they weighed no more than a feather. Was he even human?

He'd already made it to the door by the time she began lugging the bag she'd been left with up onto the curb. Natsu stepped aside then and the woman in the fluffy coat came sashaying back out. "Thank you dear," she said to him, tucking a wad of what Lucy guessed was cash into his pants pocket, Natsu making an uncomfortable face at the personal space intrusion.

"O-Of course; they'll be waiting for you when you return," he faltered slightly, sending Lucy a very awkward glance that told her this woman, whoever she was, wasn't exactly his favorite guest in the world. Once again Lucy was paid no mind and in a whir everyone was back in the car and it was tottering back down the cobblestone road.

"She's… a nice lady," Natsu said. "A little handsy but affectionate… I guess…" He shrugged and nodded for Lucy to go back inside ahead of him. She rolled her bag into the hotel and Natsu followed. "Normally I'd just take the stairs, 'cause it's totally faster, but with this many bags I'd say let's take the elevator." Lucy gratefully obliged. He was one of those people who opted for the stairs? Those people were crazy. And in what universe was it faster? She looked over her shoulder to see him carrying both bags under his arms with no problem whatsoever. Hell, maybe he could take the stairs four at a time and be all the way at the penthouse in half a minute. She snorted lightly to herself.

Thankfully the elevator was unoccupied when it arrived and they both shuffled inside. "Sixth floor," Natsu nodded and Lucy pressed the button. The elevator whirred into motion. "She stays in room 249 every time she comes. Says it's lucky or something. I think she's kind of a gambler… not sure though. Comes with a different guy every time though so I guess she plays roulette with the men, anyway." Natsu gave her a face that let her know that'd been his attempt at a joke. She couldn't help but give him a rather lopsided smile, this time a real one. The elevator came to a halt and with a ding the doors opened. "That was a bad joke, I know," he said with a wink before stepping out into the hallway.

Lucy followed him for a few turns before he reached the room. Somehow making it look effortless, he managed to reach into his vest pocket while still holding both suitcases to retrieve a room key which he swiped before opening the door. He flicked on a light and set the suitcases in the middle of the room.

It was luxurious and comfortable-looking, just like all the rooms she'd seen or stayed in before in her family's hotels. It looked just like the picture on all the brochures. Light, roomy, clean. Lucy nodded once to herself. In a way she was almost paying the hotel a secret visit to see how they were doing service wise when they weren't expecting a higher-up to come and observe. She knew they had people who did that, but still… this was a first-hand experience.

Natsu took the third bag from her and set it next to the others. "So besides manning the door, this is our main job. Getting luggage up to rooms and then back down when people are ready to leave. You always get a tip from this stuff, though, and sometimes a big one." He pulled out the cash the woman named Ms. Villa had stuffed in his pants and counted it. "Woo, she outdid herself. Eighty bucks." His face alit and he held out his hand with Lucy's cut.

"Oh, I don't…" she muttered, making no move to take the money. This was most certainly not her job and while yes, she had brought a bag up, not only had it only been one compared to his two, but also this was seriously not her job. She didn't know if it'd technically be frowned upon or not if she took the money, but she didn't need it and she didn't want to have yet another mark put on her profile. Because honestly she figured she'd probably be written up by her father for about five things she'd done today already. Not that he took rules that seriously when it came to his daughter, but still, he'd be upset and he was a very scary man.

Natsu gave her a look. "It's your half."

"I know but-"

He grabbed her wrist and shoved the money into her hand giving her a look that said he thought she was insane if she wasn't chomping at the bit to get a tip of that size.

"Anyway," he sighed, making his way back to the door. "Sometimes people'll want us to put their bags somewhere specific or do something else in the room like turn down the A/C or something before they get up, but typically we just bring up their bags."

She followed him back out into the hallway and he closed the door with a click. "So that's it?" she asked. He'd just shown her the two aspects of his job and he'd done them quite well if she did say so herself. Why did he have so many violations on his profile? What had he done? If she would've been asked if he was good at his job, as of right now, she would've said he was perfect.

Natsu nodded, walking back towards the elevator. "Yeah, pretty much. Take bags up, take 'em down. Open the doors and greet people. Do some of the odds-and-ends stuff people need done." He turned a corner. "Oh, and a lot of times we do the room service carts too." He pointed down the hallway and Lucy spotted a room service cart at the very end, shining silver and white. "Here, lemme go grab that."

He jogged down the hallway and came bustling back up a moment later. "We'll get a call if they need us to bring one up to someone but people just leave their stuff outside the door when they're done. Room service or the maids or whatever usually get 'em but I'll grab one if I see it." Again that was probably the kind of attitude Lucy would've been looking for had she been in charge of finding a bellhop.

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the elevator. She pushed the button and it was already there and waiting. It was the middle of the day in the middle of the week, after all, she guessed. They probably weren't too busy so neither were the elevators.

On their way down, Natsu lifted the lids of the room service platters to inspect what was inside. "Call me nosy but I like to see what people get to eat. Usually they leave some but damn I guess this guy was hungry!" he nodded, impressed. The platters were all almost completely spotless, just a speck of mustard or a bit of fried batter sitting here and there. "It's kind of frowned upon to look at what people got but if no one else's around I'll check. I feel like you can get to know people by what they eat, y'know?"

The elevator doors opened again on the ground floor and he rolled the cart out and quickly down the back hallway which he'd led her through to put up her stuff and get acquainted with 'her locker'. It wasn't a surprise that the kitchen would be down this hallway either.

Getting to know people by what they ate? "I'm not sure I do," she admitted. "We don't have a very large menu here, do we? Don't most people get the same things?"

Natsu's eyebrow cocked and he gave her an impressed nod. Apparently he thought she'd done her reading before showing up for the job. In all reality she'd been one to give input on what she thought they should serve in all of their branches. They had a variety compared to most hotels, however of the high-end ones they had a relatively small menu. She thought they should put their time and effort into making it taste good. After all, what would someone write home about: the taste or how many options they had?

Natsu opened his mouth to answer her, but a door a little further down the hallway suddenly burst open with a tall man dressed in all white pushing a room service cart identical to the one they had.

"Oh, Natsu!" A smile stretched across the man's face. "Is that one empty?"

"Yup."

"Perfect. Would you mind bringing this up to room 738?"

"Not a problem." Natsu gave him a little salute.

"You're a lifesaver!" the man nodded, swapping carts with Natsu and hurriedly bustling back through the door he'd come from.

"Guess the kitchen's busy then." Natsu turned on his heel and Lucy followed. "Well this way I guess you'll get to see a delivery, though it's really not rocket science either," he chuckled. "Oh, but about what you were saying-"

"Natsu!" They had just crested back out into the main lobby when his name was called. The man behind the front desk that Lucy had talked with originally was waving a hand to get their attention. "There are two bags at 721 that need to be picked up sometime soon."

Natsu gave him a salute as well. "Right on it. That was right about where I was going anyway." He seemed happy about the coincidence.

Lucy exchanged another look with the man behind the counter during which Lucy had no idea what he was thinking. She sort of wanted to give him a 'help me' look and also a 'why didn't you warn me?' and also an 'I'm doing alright' look all at the same time, which was largely impossible to get across, so instead she settled for a very shaky smile. He just stared back at her, his hands and mouth bumbling around like he wanted to come up with something that would either help her or make her feel better but came up empty. And so solemnly he instead gave her an incredibly awkward small wave.

She wasn't sure what sort of relationship she'd have with this odd, little man behind the front desk when this was all said and done. They sort of had a comrade sort of vibe and she also sort of wanted to strangle him for not getting her out of this sooner – not that he could have possibly had any idea that she'd be mistaken for the new hire and somehow get roped into bellhop training in the process… God she'd gotten herself in pretty deep.

Natsu rolled the cart right back into the elevator and she still followed, like a partially mute puppy just walking around after their owner, watching them do things. Actually, she really hadn't done much of anything yet. She'd opened a door what, two times? And then carried up a suitcase. Rather than that she'd just watched and followed him. Hell, the comment she'd made about food was one of the first things she'd even said to him. He'd been doing almost all of the conversation on his own. Not that he seemed to have any problem keeping a one-sided conversation going, which was sort of nice because then it wasn't too awkward, but also not so nice because it'd been the reason she hadn't really stepped up and told him who she was and why she was there in the first place.

The doors closed soundlessly and as they began moving upward, Natsu again snatched the lids off of the platters, a billowing cloud of steam poofing into the air in a sudden release. "Can't tell what people they are by food, eh? Take a look."

Lucy sorely doubted that taking a look at people's food was probably the best thing in the world to do, both in appearances for the hotel and cleanliness wise, but she humored him. There were three different dishes. The first was a platter of delicious-looking garlic pasta with shrimp and other vegetables scattered about on top. The second was a piece of smoked salmon with butter on top, and the third was a smaller plate of golden-brown chicken fingers and French fries.

"Okay, well, first off I'd say it's clearly a family. Two parents and a kid, yeah?" he asked. Lucy noted the smaller plate and its simpler contents and nodded. "I think they're probably from somewhere inland, but probably not the Capital."

Lucy's eyebrows scrunched together. "What? Why?"

"Well," he said, nodding down at the plates, "the two parents got some sort of fish. Might I add that those two things are the only seafood things on our menu aside from crab legs. They didn't spring for the pricier option of seafood, despite it being sort of what we're known for food-wise, so they probably aren't rich enough to live in the capital, but maybe the near-surrounding area." He looked up at her and she gave him a skeptical glance. "Since they both got fish I'd say maybe they don't have the option of seafood all the time, like we do here since we're so close to Hargeon, so when they have the chance they opt for something different. That and the fact that the kid got chicken fingers, something super common for those who live more inland. Which, I'd say any kid would probably just want something they know they liked when going out of town, yeah?"

Lucy wasn't sure whether he was a genius or going to get a leg cramp from the conclusions he was jumping to.

He seemed to note that she wasn't entirely convinced and so he continued. "Let's take a look at the drinks, shall we?" There was a large bottle of red wine with two glasses, along with two other glasses. "We have wine, probably for the parents, yeah? Then a milk for the kid, obviously, and…" he peered in the last container. "Oh… I think that's a margarita… we usually don't put them in glasses this big…" he trailed off for a moment before shaking his head. "Well, I'd say then that maybe they're here on a family trip but that the father has some sort of business here as well."

"What?" she scoffed. "You can't tell that."

"Oh, but I can." He waggled his eyebrows at her, a twinkle in his eye. "A margarita's a super girly drink, right?"

"Not necessarily," Lucy countered.

"Oh, please have you ever seen a guy drink one?"

Lucy opened her mouth to protest before suddenly realizing she hadn't, in fact, ever seen a man drink a margarita… which felt odd but honestly she couldn't think of a time.

"Exactly," Natsu sniffed, proud. "So that's probably for the mom. Something stronger, and a lot of it, so she's probably wanting to kick back and relax after the trip here. However, the dad doesn't have another drink of any kind. Maybe he's not wanting to risk having a little bit of a hangover or maybe he has to drive somewhere soon. Which would make me think that maybe he has something to take care of while the mom and the kid stay at the hotel. Which would also explain room service as opposed to going out… and then I'm sure they'll all have a good time afterwards or something."

Lucy pursed her lips. She had no idea whether or not he was right, honestly… It seemed like a likely story but it also seemed likely that he was sorely off.

"And finally," he finished, nodding to a little white box in the corner of the tray. "Dessert." He placed the lids back on the platters and took a little peek into the box without fully opening it. "A piece of chocolate cake… and a cookie." He nodded. "Honestly would've been my guess. Kids like cookies."

The elevator slowed to a halt and Lucy shook her head at him. "I think that's a stab in the dark."

He feigned offense that she didn't believe him. He shrugged. "You'll see." And without another word he wheeled the cart off and down the hallway, Lucy struggling to keep up. He stopped at a room that Lucy hoped was the correct one –she'd already forgotten what number the man from the kitchen had said—and Natsu knocked on the door lightly. "Room service."

There were a few beats of silence before the door swung open to reveal a woman in loungewear, hair down but still done up in full makeup. She smiled before letting out a small yawn. "Excuse me," she apologized before motioning Natsu inside with the cart. He wheeled it in just far enough to leave it sitting out of the way.

"Honey, what did you think again? Blue or red?" A voice echoed from the other room.

Lucy assumed that this woman and the man who'd called were probably the 'parents' in this scenario. She assumed Natsu had been right at least that far.

The woman had begun rummaging around in her purse that was sitting on one of the beds. "I said blue, since it matches your eyes… but honestly, do you really need to be trying to impress them? They may be your bosses but you've known them since you were kids…" She found her wallet and turned around.

A man in a dress shirt only half-buttoned came bustling out of the bathroom then. "I know, but it's not every day we come here and I want to make a good impression if I plan on getting that raise- oh, good, dinner's here." A smile swept across his face. He tossed a red tie onto the bed and began messing with the tangled blue one in his other hand.

Lucy didn't miss the smug look Natsu shot her out of the corner of his eye. This man, whoever he was, apparently did have an important business meeting to attend… tonight probably if he was already getting dressed, which would explain why he wouldn't want to be too inebriated.

The woman gave Natsu a tip and a smile. "Thank you so much."

"Not a problem," Natsu replied with a nod. "Anything else we can get you?"

"No, I don't think so-"

There was an unearthly squeal then from around the corner and a little blond-haired child came sprinting into the room and straight for the food cart. "Cookies!" he bellowed.

With the ease of a seasoned professional the mother caught the child with one hand before he reached the food cart, twirled him around, and plopped him onto the bed. "Not until you have your dinner."

The kid slouched but didn't protest further, and both Natsu and Lucy took that as their cue to leave. "If you need anything else, just call the front desk," Natsu smiled over his shoulder and with a nod and a wave they were back in the hallway.

Lucy blinked to herself for a moment. Holy crap, he'd been completely right… It was a family of three, with a kid… and the father did appear to have some sort of business venture pending while the wife did not. And while no, Lucy wasn't positive they were from inland, he had said 'all the way out here' which suggested they were far away, and while the coast was long, far away typically referred somewhere inland. That, and that the family was eating dinner at nearly lunchtime which perhaps suggested they were from far enough away that they were from several time zones over, aka, inland. She looked to Natsu. Maybe he was pretty amazing.

The smug-ass smirk on his face let her know that he knew exactly how close he'd been to guessing it correctly and also exactly how close to impressed she was, too. Which almost made her regret giving him that compliment in her mind.

He shrugged and turned back down the hallway. "Just a fun little thing I like to do when delivering food or picking up a cart. You probably shouldn't really let anyone else see though because apparently people "don't like it when you look at their food"… and apparently you get 'written up for breaking a rule' or whatever." He rolled his eyes. "Which believe it or not they actually did have a policy against." He held up a finger. "Didn't have a rule that you couldn't eat the food, though. Still… you'll get written up for that, too." He slouched and suddenly Lucy got her first glimpse into exactly why he had all those red marks on his profile.

So he'd been written up for looking at people's food just as he had right in front of her. She assumed that coincided with one of the marks that had to deal with confidentiality or something that she'd seen on his profile. It probably fell in that category, and he'd said they had indeed had a rule for it. However, apparently they hadn't had one for eating the food? And he seemed to be speaking from experience? First off, Lucy wasn't surprised that A- they didn't have a rule for something like that because… c'mon who would eat the food off the carts? And B- also wasn't surprised that Natsu had done such a thing. Because honestly he just seemed like he would take opportunity by the horns and eat some food if he got the chance. So that explained one of the unnamed policies he'd broken.

She looked at the walls as they walked, trying to seem nonchalant. "You got written up for eating food?"

"Yup," he nodded. "I understood it kinda the first time because like, the dude apparently counted the number of hush puppies he got and it was 'unsatisfactory' or something. So yeah, the kitchen busted me and yeah, I understand why that wouldn't be good." He made a little irritated sigh. "But c'mon, like the second and third time I was just taking the rolls people didn't eat! They're just sitting there right on the cart, completely untouched and we're probably gonna throw them away anyway!"

Lucy's eyes bugged. So he had been written up not once, not twice, but three times for eating food off the room service carts…?

"Fourth time I was just lookin' for butter honestly…"

Scratch that… four times.

He shrugged. "But hey, what can ya do?"

Uh… not eat people's food? Probably? Easy solution.

Lucy didn't take her eyes off the wall for fear she wouldn't be able to keep a straight face. Either she'd break and give him a 'what the hell were you thinking' sort of vibe or she'd probably just straight up laugh. Because she'd only known him for what… an hour at the most, and yet eating food off a cart was probably the most Natsu-sounding thing Natsu had done yet.

Trying to maintain her composure and her nonchalance she cleared her throat. "So, like, what other sorts of things would… one's self get written up for?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow and chewed on the inside of his cheek. "That's a good question. I mean like, don't be late or rude or anything, but that's sort of common sense. Really most of the stuff is stuff you'd think of anyway. You can't try and blatantly get a better tip from someone or treat them any differently if they don't tip you at all. And you'll probably get scolded if you're caught slacking, I guess. Just typical stuff." He shrugged again.

They'd made their way down the hall and he took a turn to his right, stopping at the very first door and sliding a room key out of his pocket again. Lucy assumed now that it was universal, and that she'd probably be getting one once the training was over- …Her eyes bugged. God, had she really just thought that? She wasn't a new hire and so she'd most certainly not be getting any room keys because she seriously wasn't working here. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

Natsu didn't notice. "So whenever you gotta go pick up some bags, typically they're just left in the room. Or the people are still here, o'course, in which case they'll be here to hand 'em to you." Lucy peered in the room to see all the lights switched off, the beds turned down and two suitcases sitting in the middle of the room. A small one and a medium-large-ish one. Natsu hustled inside and easily grabbed them both, Lucy holding the door open for him to come back out. "Thanks," he grinned at her.

She'd honestly almost forgotten about picking up the bags the man at the front desk had mentioned, what with delivering the food and guessing all about the family's background and whatnot. However, Natsu hadn't faltered in the slightest. She let the door close behind him.

"Ooh!" he exclaimed, looking back at her. "Time for another pro tip." He gave her a wink and whirled around to begin stalking back down towards the elevator. Lucy had to nearly jog to keep up, and once again he hadn't given her any luggage to carry, instead toting the bags like they were full of feathers. Hell, she guessed he probably could've carried three more without breaking a sweat.

"Okay, so like you know how the stairs are super-fast compared to the elevator?" he asked over his shoulder.

Again with that bullcrap about stairs. "Sure," she humored him.

"Well, when you have suitcases it's not faster to take the stairs. However, there is a much faster way to get it down than even the elevator."

Lucy was slightly relieved that he'd admitted taking luggage up and down stairs would probably not be the best idea, especially from the what… fourteenth floor? Is that where they were? She'd forgotten by now. However, he sounded a little too excited.

They rounded the corner to the elevators, but he walked past them, past the stairs, and shimmied down a narrow hallway to the right which Lucy honestly hadn't seen the first time they'd arrived. "So there's an ice machine and some vending machines and stuff down here for the guests who want a snack or whatever, and then there's a staff closet at the end here for housekeeping and the cleaning staff with a whole buncha stuff in it." Indeed, there was a door at the end labeled 'staff'. Again demonstrating inhuman capabilities Natsu managed to not put down either of the suitcases as he grabbed his room key again and swiped it at the door. The light blinked green and he shouldered through.

It was a very roomy space with shelves piled high with cleaning equipment, linens, and other necessities that would be delivered to the rooms in due time. "So Natsu's pro tip number…" He'd lost count. "Just a super important tip…" He set the bags down near the wall. "Fastest way to get bags down to the ground floor? The laundry chute." And with the finesse of a model showing off a million-dollar watch, he opened a little hatch in the wall and motioned inside. He waggled his eyebrows at her, waiting for her to be visibly impressed.

That of which she was most certainly not. Throwing luggage down the laundry chute sounded like a lawsuit waiting to happen, a crappy filler episode on a kid's TV show, and also seriously not the best way to get it down to the ground floor.

He sensed her hesitancy. "Hear me out. It gets down there super fast," he ticked off on his fingers. "It ends up in the laundry room which is super close to the garage where all our guests' cars are, which is normally where we take the luggage anyway. It's actually a really gradual slope so it doesn't like pick up enough speed that it'd hurt anything in the bag, or dent the chute, or like friggin' deck the poor dude in the laundry room who happened to be standing near the output chute. It's a win-win for everyone!"

She hated to admit that if he was telling the truth… he sort of made a point. But she was extremely doubtful that he knew some of these things as facts. "How do you know how much it slants?"

He shrugged and picked up the smaller bag. "I tried it out myself, of course."

He threw the bag down the chute and she choked on her own tongue. "You what?!" Now it really sounded like a crappy filler episode on a kid's TV show.

"When the hotel was super new and I figured out that this would be a much faster way I wasn't just like… gonna chuck people's bags down there and hope for the best. I mean, a man has to test his own product!" That made no sense and it didn't help her feel any better. "I figured 'what the hell' and just went down one day. I must admit it was a dare of sorts… but regardless, I found out that it doesn't have any tight turns and goes at a real gradual pace; it's actually sort of nice." He nodded to himself.

There was no way on this good green Earth that she was going to be able to come to terms with the fact that he'd tested out the laundry chute himself in hopes of finding a better way to transport luggage downstairs and tried her best to just completely ignore all that she'd just heard, though it was easier said than done. "Surely there's a rule… or something against putting b-bags down the l-laundry chute." It sounded more and more insane the more she said and by the end she was pinching the bridge of her nose again, this time to stave off what was now the beginnings of a serious headache.

"Nope," he smiled. "Er- well I mean there wasn't…" He gave off another awkward laugh. "I mean before I got caught there wasn't… but they made one. The other half of this pro tip is not to put down bags that are too big to fit." He eyed the larger bag he had with him. "This one is probably right at the cutoff… I made the mistake of pushing that limit and one got stuck on the ninth floor… which is how I got caught… which is now why there's a rule. So moral of the story, just don't put big bags down there, but the little ones are good to go." He gave her a thumbs up and shut the chute door.

"B-But if there's a rule against it now shouldn't you… y'know… not do it anymore?" she squeaked, following him back out of the staff closet.

She saw him shrug. "In theory, but honestly no one's gonna write me up for it again. Mainly because no one knows. Jerry in the laundry room is the only one and he's totally cool with it. He thinks it's funny." Natsu gave her a lopsided grin over his shoulder.

He was unbelievable.

He whistled to himself as he went over to punch the elevator button, hoisting the bag up onto his shoulder as she stared at his back in bewilderment. He was just… There really wasn't an adjective to describe him. He was just so Natsu. And that really fit.

Lucy wondered if she'd use his name as an adjective to describe things from now on, even if only to herself.

Natsu nearly pranced into the elevator when it arrived, nodding to her. "Hey, this is probably right about the time our other little bag friend made it to the laundry room. Takes about five seconds a floor or so? See? So much faster." He flicked the brim of his hat with a satisfied sort of confidence.

And then she decided she'd been wrong when she'd said stealing food off a cart was the most Natsu-sounding thing she'd ever heard of. Because throwing luggage down the laundry chute to make things faster definitely was much more… Natsu-y.

She shook her head to herself, unable to help the smile creeping at her lips as they began their silent descent. She most definitely understood why they hadn't been able to fire him. He was just a gigantic ball of sunshine that took everything for the best. But now she had to admit, while his methods were… unique… he was actually pretty good at his job. In that, he seemed to actually enjoy what he was doing, the people he was meeting, and anything else that happened to come along during the day. One half of her definitely thought he should be sent packing, and part of her thought they couldn't find anyone else if they searched the world over that would be a better fit.

Not to mention it seemed the guests liked him… or at least felt comfortable around him. And none of the things he was doing that were frowned upon really made a difference… yet, anyway.

The doors dinged open and Natsu swung back around the side of the lobby and down the hallway to the kitchen. This time, however, they passed the busy doors with chefs bustling around behind them and went down nearly to the end of the hall. He knocked twice on the last door on the right before swinging it open. It was a purely white room with piles upon piles of white linens and towels strewn out among dozens of carts. A scruffy-looking man's head appeared on the far side of the room, behind one of the carts and he grinned when he saw Natsu. "That one came in hot. It's right on top, though." He nodded at one of the bins and sure enough the little suitcase was sitting on top.

"Thanks man. You're the best," Natsu smiled back, making a finger gun at the man before snatching the suitcase and exiting back into the hall. Lucy followed silently, not entirely wanting to know how many times Natsu and the man named Jerry in the laundry room had had such an exchange. The doors at the very end of the hallway led right into the parking garage and Natsu sent her a look that said 'see? So much faster' before turning his attention to a car pulled up at the curb. There was a valet sitting in the driver's seat.

Natsu knocked lightly on the window to get the man's attention before motioning to the bags, a silent question of whether they were for the correct car. The trunk was popped in answer and Natsu settled the bags in nicely before shutting the trunk and tapping again on it twice. Seamlessly the valet shifted into drive and pulled the car around front.

"Wow," Lucy nodded. That exchange had been so quick and painless it was the perfect example of a well-oiled machine if she'd ever seen one.

Natsu nodded and dusted off his hands. "Yup, you get pretty good at this stuff when you do it a bunch of times every day." He shrugged. "Honestly could probably do it in my sleep by now." He smiled. "Anyway, so once you get anything done that you've been sent off to do, you can just go back to manning the doors and then the whole thing starts all over again." With a nod he motioned her to follow him again and they were back inside, traipsing up the hallway and into the lobby.

Almost immediately the man at the front desk caught Lucy's eye and gave her an excited look. With much over exaggeration he waved both her and Natsu down.

"And here he is now!" the stout little man smiled, addressing a young man standing at the counter. The boy turned around, offering Natsu a friendly smile, which quickly turned to a near-flabbergasted look when he laid eyes on Lucy.

"What's up?" Natsu asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Who's this?"

"The new bellhop," the man replied. Lucy's stomach sank.

There was a moment of completely stagnant silence in which his words hung in the air. And then a moment of hurried silence where all four of them exchanged heated glances and confused looks and had silent little conversations with each other as they tried to make sense of what was happening. Or rather, Natsu tried to make sense of what was happening.

The poor new bellhop boy looked a little overwhelmed and confused as to what he was supposed to do, or how he was supposed to act, or why Natsu was now jabbing his thumb at Lucy and then himself and then the man at the counter and back to Lucy again.

She was probably busted… or rather, she was probably saved? She had no idea. It'd come out of left field that the new hire had shown up midday although it was completely understandable. Had the first plan of the day gone off without a hitch, Lucy would've let Natsu go, and they would've been getting the new bellhop settled to begin his job probably on the spot. After all, they'd already hired him. However, they hadn't accounted for the fact that she'd been confused as the new hire, Natsu hadn't realized the 'new hire' was actually his replacement, or that they'd have gotten in this deep without someone saying something to set the record straight. She sank a little.

The bellhop boy cleared his throat, uncomfortable, and instead offered out a hand to Natsu. "Hi, I'm Troy. Nice to meet you." Natsu shook it halfheartedly, not breaking eye contact from the man at the counter, that of whom he was still having a very heated silent argument with as he tried to get the facts sorted out. The boy named Troy then offered his hand to Lucy. "And of course it's nice to meet you, too, Ms. Heartfilia. I wasn't aware you'd be here today."

Natsu's silent argument ceased immediately and he stiffened in place. "Ms. Heartfilia?" he echoed. Lucy could practically hear the gears turning in his head.

And it only went downhill from there.

The next hour was a jumbled mess of confusion and explanations and awkward embarrassment. The four of them decided they probably needed to take their little meeting elsewhere and ended up in the breakroom which held "Lucy's locker", which Troy was then informed would be his… once she got all of her belongings back out of it.

The truth eventually came out. Lucy had come to the hotel on business and was most certainly not the new bellhop hire. She'd been so taken aback by Natsu's presentation that she had failed to mention this and then had followed along with it for so long that the longer she went, the harder it was to tell him. Natsu had had no idea of this, of course, and so he wouldn't be penalized, persay, rather just a little slap on the wrist and a note to maybe let others talk once in a while when he was meeting someone new –apparently he had a bad habit of not letting people get a word in edgewise, which made Lucy feel a little better.

Honestly by the end, Lucy and the stout attendant man were almost laughing over it together. Any thought she'd had about mentioning the unprofessional nature of the manager or any of the other staff members who hadn't been able to fire Natsu went right out the window. Because she herself couldn't even fire him… and she wasn't a hypocrite. Everyone seemed to think it best, for the hotel and for HR, just to simply forget to mention anything that had happened during the fiasco of a day that they'd just had.

Natsu seemed decently good-natured about it as well, though Lucy could see the mortification in his eyes. However, the poor kid named Troy was just so confused by it all that she had a feeling he'd just be glad to put this entire interaction behind him.

Lucy changed out of "her" uniform gratefully and joined them all near the front desk where Troy now had on his own uniform. Natsu looked ready to reel off into the whole 'pro tip training' speech again but held up a finger and gave her a questioning glance. "Hold on a sec. Why did you come here in the first place, again?"

Her throat tightened and she didn't doubt that she probably embodied a deer in the headlights in that moment.

She'd spent an hour or so with him, watching all that he did and listening to his thoughts on his job. She'd seen the definite infractions that he made and she'd also seen how surprisingly good he was at what he did. All from an unbiased point of view, being as he thought she was just a joe-blow off the street who was ready to take on the life of a bellhop. And while she was still one hundred percent on the fence regarding whether or not she should be letting him get away with this stuff… ultimately she knew what she had to do.

"Oh, just some business." She waved a hand to dismiss him. "Nothing very important. It's taken care of now." She gave him a smile.

"But what about-" the stout man began.

"Well I guess you guys just have two bellhops now." She gave him a look.

Troy and Natsu looked at her like she was crazy but the little man took heed. Not only had she not fired Natsu but she'd also managed to get another bellhop working at the hotel. Which probably wasn't a good or a bad thing in the long run, though she was worried about what her father would say… and whether she'd be able to come up with a convincing enough story to keep him off her case of what she'd been doing all day in Magnolia.

The front doors opened then and another couple with a few bags of their own which looked quite heavy came through. Natsu sprang into action, announcing that this would be the first lesson in Troy's bellhop training and that he should pay close attention. Troy scrambled after him.

Lucy watched as Natsu again pulled a Hercules and took the luggage from the couple. She heard the stout man behind the desk take a breath and she cut him off before he'd even uttered a syllable. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of the paperwork just…." She sighed. "Just make sure and tell everyone it was like… a corporate decision or something… I don't know."

The man chuckled to himself. "Alright, I will. Hey, just don't say I didn't warn you."

She rolled her eyes but smiled at his good-natured tone. "Yeah, yeah." She offered him a little wave of goodbye and he gave her a tip of his cap.

And then that was that. Natsu and Troy were now wrestling the luggage onto a dolly in the corner and she gave them both a little nod of goodbye. Honestly it'd been one of the most bizarre days of her life, and definitely one of the most exhausting – despite it only being early afternoon—but she hadn't entirely hated it. In fact… despite how absolutely insane it'd been, she'd kind of had a good time. In a terrible sort of amazing way.

She shook her head and shouldered out onto the sidewalk. She'd called her driver a little while ago and sure enough the car was pulled up to the curb. She'd have an hour-long drive or so to contemplate what to tell her father… that should be enough time. That and to start pulling up all the documentation she'd probably have to file. She sighed.

"Hey, wait!"

Her hand was already on the handle to the car door but she turned around to see Natsu poking his head out. She backtracked to him. "Yes?"

"Hey listen… I'm sorry for like… making you do all this stuff I really had no idea." He seemed genuine. "And thanks for like… sweeping it under the rug and stuff because I know I probably could've been fired for making our owner's daughter tote around bags." A hint of a smile twitched at his lips.

Of all the things he could've and maybe should've been fired for, making her a bellhop was probably the least of their, or his, concerns. Because she was just as much to blame as he was. "Don't worry about it."

He raised an eyebrow. "You know I did sort of fail to mention one thing you could get written up for in this job, when you asked."

"Oh, and what was that?"

"It's against company policy to date co-workers."

She stared back at him. That was an odd fact to share with her now, as it'd been revealed that she didn't work there… She cleared her throat. "Oh…. Bummer...?" She wasn't sure how to respond.

He shrugged. "I was just sayin'. Because now I won't be worried about getting written up when I ask you to dinner."

There was a pregnant pause in which her mind slowed to a complete halt and all that could be heard was the puttering of car motors and the faint sound of pedestrians talking.

"Did… Did you just?"

"I did." He grinned at her, raising an eyebrow. "So? How 'bout it?"

And she could honestly say that it wasn't the craziest thing she'd done all day, hell, that it didn't even crack her top ten craziest things she'd done all day, when she replied, "I'd like that."

#8 - branch

I mean just... I don't even know what to say at this point. If you told me that "branch" was going to end up as a silly stupid AU I prolly would've said "yeah, sure" because that's just about all I write. But if you would've said "yo but that silly stupid one-shot's gonna be 15k long... I definitely would've thought you were crazy. lol

So yeah, if anyone out there ACTUALLY read all of this? Wow. Dude. You're wild. Go you.
I feel like at this point I want to give out little profile badges for those who actually read through my long-ass stupid ones called like the "eyes of steel" badge or something because you actually made it through the whole thing. I think that needs to be real..

ANYWAY. Sorry for the long break between chapters. My computer literally up and died on me a few weeks after I posted the last one. Like dead as a doornail.
I mean I tried a séance, a ouji board, even called up Orochimaru but nothing could be done to bring it back. So I had to wait until I could get a new one to even post this whopper of a NaLu thing.
Luckily I keep my backups right? XD Lost two other one-shots for this collection tho. Ohwell.
Thought about re-writing them but will probably just do different stuff for the prompts.
Okay I'll stop now because seriously you don't want to hear me ramble on about my technology troubles lol! But long story short hopefully there'll be more of these soon.

Thanks so so so much for the reviews too, seriously like it's absolutely amazing you guys make my day.
And also kudos to anyone who got the Orochimaru reference in this A/N or possibly saw the long-stretch reference in the title of this one-shot too.
Okay I'll shush now. XD

I hope everyone out there has a seriously lovely Christmas or Holidays, and of course a super happy New Year! I'll see y'all in 2019!

~Foxtail-chan