If there was one thing Lucy was beginning to realize, it was that her life had taken a sudden and strange turn. Somewhere along the line she had left sanity and common sense behind. She missed the days where all she had to worry about was getting her assignments for her online classes finished. Not to mention only having to worry about one roommate, her dog Plue.

Now that was no longer the case, as the main cause for her mounting stress was sitting at her kitchen table. Natsu Dragneel, the Great Demon King. Whatever he wanted to call himself, he was the current tenant sharing her apartment. Much to both of their displeasure, it seemed like it was going to be a permanent arrangement. At least for the foreseeable future.

Why was there a demon sitting at her breakfast table and glaring at his oatmeal? Lucy wasn't so sure on the particulars herself. Only that they had both been at the wrong place at the right time which resulted in their predicament. Natsu was chained to the human realm, which didn't seem to bother him so much.

He was looking for something – or someone, and until he got them he didn't intend on leaving the human realm.

The only problem was that Lucy had somehow been the one to trap him and seal most of his powers.

The oatmeal boiled under his heavy glare. Natsu's reactions early in the morning weren't the sharpest, so as he glared at his breakfast food it bubbled close to his face. He had just enough time for an 'oh shit' expression before it exploded in his face and splattered what had been Lucy's clean table.

Unfortunately, not all of his powers had been sealed.

He was the Demon King. The leader of his people and the most powerful of his kind. Until Lucy neutered him, as Natsu liked to say.

He was still immensely powerful, having access to draconic magic of a similar nature to his own demonic curses. It was knowledge that Lucy was both grateful and exasperated over. He was strong enough that he could defend them from the random demonic attack, but also strong enough to completely smash her apartment if he wasn't careful. He often went overboard, and this was the third building she had to move into thanks to the 'mysterious' fires that enveloped the previous two locations.

Lucy sighed and flopped down across from Natsu, throwing a towel she was using for her damp hair in his face. She saw how he had been eyeing the table runner and didn't want him to clean up with something decorative. Although she wasn't sure why she bothered keeping anything nice out on display since they all met a rather gruesome fate from her destructive roommate.

He wasn't so bad despite his destructive habits and the massive grocery bills she footed to feed his voracious appetite. Sure, Natsu could be rude and even oblivious at times, but he was straightforward in a way that was refreshing. In a time where people hid behind computer screens and always played a game of politics to spare another's feelings, it was nice for Natsu to do the exact opposite. He was a new species of man Lucy wasn't familiar with, but she supposed that was to be expected. He was a demon after all.

She watched him pout at her before he got to work getting a glob of oatmeal out from his pink bangs.

That was another thing so strange about him. Pink hair.

It occurred to her at that moment, that aside from his name and occupation, she knew absolutely nothing about Natsu.

Much less demons and dragons.

She had managed to gather there was some sort of demonic civil war going on, with Natsu allied with the dragons and fairies on one side, and a 'flowery-petal-pusher' leading the opposition. Mardi Gras or something.

Natsu's words, not hers.

Aside from that minor knowledge though, Lucy didn't know much else. Not why he was here, if he was on the good side or bad side of the war, and what he intended on doing if he won it.

Natsu whined and scrubbed furiously at a stubborn chunk of breakfast food clinging to his hair.

Such a terrifying king.

"Hey Natsu," Lucy began, catching his dark eyes when they rose to her, "Why do you know draconic magic?"

Seeing that he looked more surprised than curious, Lucy hastened to clarify, "I mean, you're a demon. And you use demonic curses, but you also use draconic magic. I've seen it."

The demon stilled, his hand still bunched around a few chunks of his hair. His eyes were focused on her, contemplating an answer. Or not. Sometimes he just ignored her questions and took a nap instead. It looked like he was leaning towards the nap if Lucy was getting better at reading his expressions.

"I was adopted by a dragon," Natsu said after a moment. She noticed how his voice seemed to drop a few octaves. His voice was thick with memories. It didn't take a genius to realize not all of those memories were good, "Igneel. He was killed by demons."

Silence fell between them. Lucy didn't know what to say. Heck, she didn't know what she had been expecting either. Certainly not that he had been raised by a dragon.

How had he, a demon, been raised by a dragon? How could he have been a king among demons, but just a child? Lucy's head spun in confusion, but Natsu didn't seem interested in talking about it anymore. He had picked up Plue and set him on the table. Lucy was forced to watch with disgruntled dismay as her dog licked up the oatmeal that had dirtied the surface.

She really hoped dogs could eat oatmeal.

"Hey Lucy," Natsu looked up from where he had been praising Plue's good work.

"Hmmmm?"

Lucy heard the scrape of the chair when he stood up. She watched him move towards her, his tanned hand bracing itself next to her. Lucy didn't even need to look up at him to know he had a goofy smile on his face. It would take a single glance up at that bright, pretty smile, and Lucy would find herself smiling back in response. The demon was up to no good about ninety percent of the time, she didn't want to encourage him.

He didn't make it easy to ignore him though.

Lucy found her vision filled with Natsu, leaning in very close and shattering her personal space in only a way he could. She could see the green and gold in his dark, almost black eyes. They surprised her with their intensity and beauty. She felt a sudden flare of heat rise to her cheeks and she backed away from him, scooting her entire chair back.

"Hey! Personal space, don't you know what that is?" Lucy half stammered, half screeched.

Natsu's head jerked back at the sudden change of volume. He scowled, rubbing his ears, "Sure I do. You just weren't paying attention to me!"

"Yes I was, I just wasn't looking at you" Lucy shot back at the demon, a challenging pout on her face.

"Same thing" Came a short reply.

Was not!

Ugh, how was it he could reduce her to the blathering argument a three year old would have. He did it with such ease and no shame in his childish pouting. Pouting that appeared as quick as his sunny smile. She rubbed her temples, telling herself it was far too early in the day to get exasperated. Lunchtime maybe, but not Breakfast.

"What was it you wanted Natsu?" Lucy asked him. He was waiting for her to say something, sharp eyes narrowing with impatience. She complied fast, not wanting him to ignite his fingers out of boredom. Playing with fire was strictly prohibited in the house, but that hadn't stopped him before. Natsu was a rule breaker to the core.

"Want?" Natsu asked her, repeating the question. He said it like it was a foreign word, rolling it around his mouth in such a way it sounded almost like a purr. Lucy had to remind herself that Natsu's wasn't speaking in his native tongue. Whatever language demons spoke sounded more like grunting and growls. So perhaps he was trying to figure it out.

His lips pulled from sharp canines, pearl white and gleaming in the morning light. Lucy couldn't help a strange shudder run up her spine at the sight of them. They were a reminder, that despite Natsu's friendly and human appearance, he was a demon. What was it her mother used to say? Lucifer was beautiful.

Did that make Natsu the devil?

"I want a lot of things," Natsu answered, a wicked grin spreading over his face. Lucy wasn't sure she liked that look in his eyes, "But for now, I'll settle on us figuring out a way to get me some space from you."

Lucy was oddly hurt by that rather straightforward comment, "Space?"

"Well yeah," Natsu said, a trifle impatient, "Last time you went on a date with that loser, you forgot I couldn't leave your side. When you got in the car I was dragged screaming through the interstate."

Oh. That's right.

Lucy supposed she could understand his dislike on the restriction. That had been early on in their bond, so they hadn't quite realized the boundaries on it. Natsu had discovered the hard way that he was not going to win against this spell through sheer stubbornness. Lucy had a feeling he wasn't used to admitting defeat like that.

Although the sight of Natsu wobbling around after her date when he finally caught up to her had been a little humorous. If he hadn't been a demon, his scrapes and bruises probably would have been more severe. As it was, he stumbled over a mailbox, fell into a bush, and swore profanely at a squirrel that crawled into his hair. It was still around her apartment somewhere…

Seeing that Lucy understood, Natsu continued, "Since you don't know how your weirdo witchy powers work to remove the seal on me, I want us to go to a medium."

"Like a psychic?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, the skeptic in her making itself known. Natsu pouted at the wry smirk on her face, "Oh come on Natsu, you can't be serious! You want to go see Sister whatever-her-face?"

Natsu crossed strong arms over his chest, his hip balancing on her table. He snorted, deep sarcasm on his face, "What, a demon sitting at your kitchen table is okay but you draw the line at people who can see the future? Besides we're going to talk to a medium, not a psychic. Spirits. Totally different."

"Most of them are absolute frauds, Natsu" Lucy interrupted and wagged a finger at the demon. His eyes followed the motion like a cat. She was almost afraid he would bite it off if given the opportunity, "They're charlatans. Con artists!"

"They sound like my kind of people!" Natsu grinned, unconcerned. He turned his pleading gaze towards her, "C'mon Luce, it'll be fun!"

Seeing that he wasn't going to give up on this she sagged in defeat. She did sort of owe him for dragging him through thirty miles of interstate, but after this they were square.

"Alright fine," Lucy huffed and rubbed her temples, "I don't see how a medium is supposed to help figure out how to break the spell on you, but I guess we can go."

Natsu cheered and reached forward, sliding his fingers through her wet hair. Lucy jerked her head back in response, but Natsu caught the motion with his hands, his large, calloused hands circling the base of her head.

"Whoa easy. You can't go out with wet hair, you humans are so fragile when you get sick," Natsu sighed, pretending to already be bored with Lucy's embarrassed stammering. She saw the mischievous grin he tried to hide, which was evidence contrary to what he said.

"I have a hair dryer for precisely this reason," Lucy's cheeks puffed out, but she complied with his demands and held still. It was sort of nice, his fingers trailing through her hair. They were just warm enough to dry her hair, sliding easily through the locks of her hair. He managed to keep them smooth instead of the frizzy mess the dryer usually whipped her hair into.

"Takes forever," Natsu grunted in response, his eyes sharp with concentration. His fingers slid across her scalp, the warmth seeping into her body through her temples. Lucy sighed, her eyes closing despite everything telling her not to.

All too soon, Natsu was done and his soothing touch pulled away from her head. His dark eyes glittered like obsidian. When Lucy opened her eyes, she found herself wishing, not for the first time for a peek inside his head. Natsu was almost impossible to get a read on. She feared at this rate, she never would.

"There, all done," He grinned broadly, his hands resting at his hips. Lucy glared at them, a little envious, "Now you can spent the next six hours getting ready instead of the eight it would normally take!"

And just like that, all of her good thoughts for Natsu went flying out the window. She flushed with embarrassment and gave him a sour look. So what if she took some time to get ready in the morning? It wasn't six hours! The exaggerating jerk.

Sensing danger, Natsu cleared his throat and backed away, circling around the table to use as a barrier between him and Lucy.

"Ah, well better go get ready myself!" Natsu laughed, a little on the nervous side. It was as if he could sense Lucy's glare burning a hole into the side of his face, because he quickly retreated back into his room as if his shoes had been set on fire.

Lucy groaned and rubbed at her temples.

She wasn't going to make it to Lunchtime at this rate.

—::—

Together they headed to the medium's house. The one that Natsu absolutely insisted on seeing. Lucy wasn't sure why, because it meant they had to drive about two hours to see her. Two miserable hours with Natsu in the car. She had to yank the demon back into his seat several times as he tried to make a mad escape out the window. He settled down, drooling miserable on her interior window, his eyes glassy and unfocused thanks to the rolling in his stomach.

Lucy smiled at his whimpering and rolled down the window halfway so he could get some fresh air. He already proved himself untrustworthy for the whole window to be rolled down. She didn't need to explain why her roommate suddenly went flying out of her car going seventy down the interstate.

By the time they arrived, Natsu was crawling on the pavement, looking miserable and not even a little like the fearsome demon he was. Lucy nudged his butt with the toe of her shoe, snorting at the deflated sounds he made. It was almost worth it to see the rambunctious demon get a taste of his own medicine for once. At his groaning though, she felt pretty bad about teasing him. Lucy bent down, taking his arm and helping him back to his feet, slinging his muscular arm over her shoulder.

"You really have an embarrassing weakness," Lucy hobbled with him over to a nearby park bench for him to sit down, "Is it like this way with all modes of transportation?"

Natsu whimpered, his head nodding with a weakness she wasn't sure looked good on him. She fetched a water bottle from her purse and unscrewed it. Natsu had closed his eyes when she turned away, so she had to hold it under his nose to catch his attention.

"Here, drink."

One dark eye opened. With miserable reluctance, the other eye cracked open again. His gaze focused on the water bottle in front of him, staring at it as if it was some sort of foreign object.

"Huh?" He asked, taking it from her, eyes drawing to her face. There was that same strange, intense glow to his eyes from before but for the life of her she couldn't decipher its meaning.

"It's water, drink it," Lucy explained, "You'll feel better once you do."

He blinked at the explanation, but lifted it to his mouth and took a small sip without complaint. Natsu seemed more mystified by this remedy than what should be normal. He was still staring at her like she had grown a second head.

"Weirdo…" He mumbled under his breath and turned away. He kept sipping his drink, putting an end to the conversation with his quiet word.

"Yeah, well I'm not the one who gets carsick thirty seconds into the vehicle moving," Lucy snorted. She was pleased when his answering grunt was stronger than before. The color appeared to be returning to his cheeks too. It filled her with a sense of relief.

"Come on the person we're meeting is sort of an impatient guy, we should probably go," Natsu grinned and capped the water. Lucy stood with him, pleased his smile had returned, "I'm feeling better already, so thanks Lucy."

She just grinned as they walked together towards an old, modest looking house. They climbed a set of creaky old stairs that sagged under their weight when they walked. Natsu didn't seem to notice the decrepit state the house was in. He knocked so hard on the door, the hinges rattled on their old frame, "Oy! Milk-witch! Open up, it's Natsu!"

An irate voice snapped from just on the other side of the door, "Who else would it be?"

The door swung open, a foul tempered woman standing there, her hands on her hips and her long black hair hanging in a straight curtain down her back. She gave Natsu a critical glare, "My name is Milkovich, not 'Milk-witch'"

Natsu looked confused, "Yo Ultear! Isn't that what I said?" He asked.

No one was paying him any attention, instead Lucy was staring at the woman in front of her with a slightly slack jawed expression, "You…"

Ultear leveled a smug look on Lucy, "Didn't I warn you we would see one another again?"