Thanks for the positive responses in such a short amount of time, guys! As a treat, he's a second chapter!

And again, if you haven't already, check out Trial by Fire on my joint account with Snogfairy and Mslead. You can find the link on my profile! We'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts.

Happy reading!

layman's terms

If she didn't know any better, she'd bet that her cat was encouraging her to take this chance. After all, it wasn't every day that a hot, hot fireman asked her on a date after putting out her fire at two AM.

back burn

Lucy looked at herself one more time in the mirror, tugging down the hem of her short peach-colored skirt, before heaving a loud sigh. "What on earth am I thinking?" she asked aloud, frowning at her reflection.

It wasn't that she didn't look cute.

Because she did look cute if she did say so herself—a knit white top tucked into a peach skirt with nude flats and a matching purse slung over her shoulder. She'd even done her hair, curled it and twisted half of it up into a sweet summer look, and put in earrings.

And it wasn't that she feared she was over-dressed.

It was a casual but still fancy and pretty look that she could manage to afford. She could afford to eat at a pizzeria in an outfit like this.

No, neither of those things were the source of her anxiety. The root of it all was because she was going on this date in the first place, she knew. This kind of behavior, acting on gut instinct alone, wasn't like her at all.

She liked to look at things logically. And there was nothing logical about this date, really.

An echoing sigh met her ears from behind her. "Well, you said you wanted to be a risk-taker," said Lucy's best friend from her cushy bed. Levy, her blue hair bouncing around her face in a sweet pixie-look, fixed Lucy with a knowing grin that she spied in the mirror. "This is your chance, Lu."

"I don't know, Levy…" Lucy bit her bottom lip. "I mean, at two AM it seemed like a good idea… But the thing about spontaneous ideas at two in the morning is that, usually, they're terrible," she reasoned as she spun on her heel, fixing Levy with a concerned look.

Her friend frowned as she sat up a little straighter. "Did he give you a bad vibe or something?"

"Well…no," admitted Lucy. She sighed and crossed her arms. "The opposite, really. Just one look at him and bam, instant chemistry."

Instant, smoldering chemistry.

Even now, Lucy couldn't tell if the muggy atmosphere between them had simply been the weather or something…else.

"Oh?" One of Levy's blue brows lifted and her lips curved upward in a smile. "Do tell me about this…chemistry you have with your mysterious fireman."

"Oh, don't say it like that, Levy!" Lucy gasped with wide eyes, a half-laugh escaping her. "He was just… I don't know. He was like something out of a dream—sweet, funny, nice to talk to, and it didn't hurt that he was easy on the eyes."

Well, he was more than easy on the eyes, Lucy thought as a flush crept up the back of her neck.

"Easy on the eyes, huh?" Levy's eyes narrowed and her smile turned into an outright knowing grin. "From the look on your face, he was a lot more than that. He was totally hot, wasn't he?" she mused in a perfect echo of Lucy's thoughts just moments prior.

Lucy, standing with her back to the mirror, crossed her arms and went to correct Levy. But, her mouth hung open and she slowly looked down at her shoes, gulping—because she couldn't exactly lie.

He had been hot.

Oh, so very hot.

But, she supposed that it was only fitting for a fire fighter. He was about as hot as the flames he danced through.

Levy's shocked gasp drew Lucy's attention. "Geez," the tiny woman mumbled, "he's that hot? So hot that he's left you, Lucy Heartfilia, destroyer of men, speechless?"

"Destroyer of men?" Lucy snorted incredulously. "Please, Levy. But yes, he is exactly that hot…"

Her brain stopped working around him and she went from a professional and mature reporter to a gooey, anxious mess.

Considering that that had never happened to her before, Lucy supposed she had good reason to be nervous.

"Lu," Levy huffed out, rolling her golden eyes, "don't tell me you don't see the look in men's eyes as you walk past them—they'd beg to have you step all over them and then cry tears of happiness afterwards. You're a natural heartbreaker, you don't even have to try." The petite woman folded her arms with a smug smile and said, "I hope your mysterious fire fighter knows what he's getting into…"

Understatement of the year, Lucy thought.

Not that she thought that this little date of theirs would lead to anything serious, but if it did, he would have to be comfortable with the amount of…baggage she came with, as some of her previous boyfriends had so kindly put it.

"That makes two of us…" she murmured as she glanced over her shoulder at her reflection.

She was cute—she knew she was cute—but for some reason, she kept doubting that. A part of her worried that maybe she should change her top or her flats. Or maybe do something different with her hair? But that would probably look too weird and—

"So, what's his name?"

Lucy blinked, looking back at her friend and roommate for the time being. "Whose name?" she asked.

"Don't play dumb, Lu," snorted Levy, a coy look on her face. Her gold eyes glittered, a familiar gleam lighting their depths; her thirst for information was almost palpable. "Your fireman, what's his name?"

Right.

Her date. The whole reason she was dressed up like this in the first place.

"Oh… Natsu," Lucy said, lifting one shoulder in a shrug.

"…Well," Levy murmured after a moment, blinking, "that's charmingly fitting."

Lucy couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her mouth, because the name really did suit him.

"Isn't it? And he's got this…this wild pink hair," she giggled, waving her hand all about her head.

Sitting on her bed, Levy joined in with laughter of her own. She grabbed a pillow and dragged it into her lap, running her slim fingers through her bouncy, crazy hair.

"Pink?" she echoed, amused. "Natural, or artificial?"

"Oh, come on," Lucy turned around, giving Levy her back so that she could look at herself in the full-length mirror again, "there's no way it could be natural. No one is born with natural hair that vivid a color," she scoffed.

When her best friend didn't respond right away, Lucy glanced up and met Levy's amused stare in the mirror as she gestured to her own very vivid, very natural, and very blue hair.

"…Except for the odd few like you," Lucy amended.

Levy rolled her eyes again, but smiled nonetheless as she reached over and stroked her hand down Happy's back. The cat released a purring meow and leaned into Levy's touch.

"Huh, so you've got a pink-haired fire man wrapped around your finger. I'm proud of you, Lu," she snickered, only half-teasing going by the mischievous glint in her eyes. "Now stop fussing and get going already—you can't be late for your date." Levy glanced pointedly at the clock on the bedside table, blaring 5:40.

Lucy had just enough time to arrive punctually.

"Yeah, you're right." The blonde breathed out heavily, peering at herself one last time in the mirror—too late to change her wardrobe. "Here I go. Bye, Levy, Happy," she announced, waving at the both of them as she left the bedroom and headed for the front door.

She could only pray that the date would go as well as she hoped.

…

At first when she stepped into Fortunato's, she couldn't spot him. She was ten minutes late—not by accident, as she'd stood outside the door for ten minutes simply to see if he would lose his patience waiting for her and leave. Patience was a good quality to have, after all. But, as she scanned the small restaurant, it seemed as though he hadn't even showed up.

Disappointment settled heavily in her chest as her teeth bit into her bottom lip.

She shouldn't have gotten herself so excited over this date; he'd probably forgotten all about it and now she looked like an idiot, standing just inside the doors with wide eyes.

Swallowing, just about to turn on her heel and head home, she saw a hand shoot up into the air out of the corner of her eye. It was followed quickly by a shout of, "Lucy, over here!"

Brown eyes snapped to the left, immediately spying a waving, grinning…man. Blinking, it took her a moment to realize that she was looking at Natsu, her two AM fire fighter, as he looked indescribably different without his flame retardant suit and bulky helmet to match.

But…he still looked good. Better than good.

His pink hair was disheveled, as though he'd run his fingers through it too many times, and his tan skin glowed bronze in the dim lighting of the pizzeria. The dark t-shirt he wore was practically painted over his chest, outlining the ridges of his very defined abdomen and rounded biceps, and his thighs were encased in faded blue jeans.

She hadn't even recognized him in his civilian clothes, but seeing the familiar grin on his face as he waved at her, her heart fluttered. That grin, the glint in his green eyes…they were both things she recognized.

Natsu.

Waving back, Lucy weaved through the tables and scatterings of people to the red booth where he was seated. She lowered herself into the cushioned seat opposite of him, her throat tight with foreign anxiety, and when he flashed another grin at her, all she could do was mumble a lame, "Hi."

"Hi yourself," he said back, sounding amused.

God, his voice was just as she'd remembered it.

Pleasantly low and sweet but with the capacity to drop to rough undertones that smoldered like a slow-burning campfire. Smoky, even, if he wanted to try for that.

It was as though someone had taken the concept of a muggy summer night and somehow brought it to life in the form of the man sitting across from her. With his bronze skin, dark green eyes, pearly smile…and when he turned his head, his single earring glinted in the dim lighting.

The heat rolled off of him and reached for her with tempting, disembodied fingers.

"You look different without the suit," she admitted as she snagged a plastic-covered menu though she hardly needed it.

She'd been here so many times that she had her order memorized; her hands just needed to be kept busy.

Natsu's lips quirked up in a wider grin. "I could say the same," he chuckled. "Almost didn't recognize you without your bunny pajamas."

Her finger paused midway down the menu as her mind flashed back to the few nights before as she'd stood in the street with her matching bunny-printed pajamas and slippers, her hair in a sloppy bun and an unhappy blue cat in her arms. She'd looked…less than presentable.

No makeup, hair undone, clad in pajamas fit for a schoolgirl.

So embarrassing.

Lucy sank into her seat, her stomach curling in on itself. But, she told herself as she laughed nervously, he had to have thought she'd looked okay enough to ask to dinner. That, at least, was comforting.

"I like to think I clean up pretty nice," she laughed, resuming her perusal of the menu.

"Mm, you definitely do." Natsu's pink head bobbed in a nod—and she couldn't help but wonder if maybe it really was natural—before it fell to the side. A boyish grin lit his face, the corner of his lip curling in a way that she could only describe as mischievous and the ring in his ear glinted again. "Don't mean to brag, but I think I clean up pretty good, too," he said, straightening in his seat.

His green eyes glanced down at his own t-shirt—plain black with the maltese cross branded on the breast—and he brushed one hand over his pectoral as if flicking away lint. But she knew for a fact that there wasn't any.

Lucy swallowed. "Uh, yes, you do," she murmured, nodding.

Even though he was wearing simple clothes—t-shirt, jeans, and work boots—he drew plenty of attention. Women at other tables were staring at him, hope and jealousy glittering in their eyes, and they covered their mouths with their hands. Whether it was because of his pink hair, stunning looks, or the charming aura he exuded, Lucy didn't know.

But either way, when he cocked his head at her, she felt her stomach flop.

"How's your cat by the way? Happy?" he asked casually.

Licking her lips, she said, "Yes, Happy's fine thanks to you."

He still smelled like smoke, but it could have been a lot worse if not for her date's heroism.

Natsu grinned again. "Good to hear. What about your apartment? It's probably still being fixed up, right? Did you find a place to stay?" There was genuine interest and concern in his voice and it showed on his face as he lowered his brows and peered seriously at her.

The fact that he truly cared—and had even asked about her cat—made something warm grow in Lucy's chest.

She liked Natsu, Lucy decided.

"I'm staying with my friend Levy for now," Lucy said. "She was really understanding about the whole thing and her condo is plenty big enough for two people."

She still felt bad for invading her friend's home, despite Levy's constant protests that it was fine. So Lucy had decided to pay half the rent as compensation, for she would probably be staying with Levy for a while. There was no way the manager of her old apartment complex would let her move back in after the popcorn fiasco.

"Until I find a new place to live," Lucy sighed and tugged on her peach skirt, "I'll be staying with her."

"That might be a while…" murmured Natsu absent mindedly, as he too grabbed a menu.

"Yep."

The fireman frowned down at the shiny menu, opening the flaps and scanning them intently. His concentration was almost humorous, and Lucy found herself marveling at his furrowing brow and his squared jaw.

If it was possible, he was somehow even hotter when he was deeply concentrating.

And she was mesmerized.

Aha, they're on their date and Lucy is just stunned... I would be too, tbh fufufu. Be sure to leave your thoughts!

And, again, check out Trial by Fire (link on my profile page)! It would mean a lot to me and my evil cohorts.

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