For her, it was always a struggle to understand romance.

Lucy loved to read romance novels in the safety of her corner booth of the local coffee shop. The owner had been good friends with her father and had always welcomed her into his home and shop with open arms. However, Lucy rarely accepted any kind of help from him or anyone for that matter, because she felt the need to prove that she could do things on her own. She had been faced with the question many times before on who she was really trying to prove it to, but her answer always came up short. Her reluctance to receive help had only hindered her already nonexistent love life and in the end she preferred to hide away in her corner booth. She and her best friend Levy McGarden often bickered on the reliability of romance novels. Levy claimed that one day the perfect gentleman would show her his heart but Lucy knew that Levy had a thing for bad boys and while Lucy argued against the idea of a perfect man, the concept was enticing. How could someone magically appear with qualities well suited to yours and just sweep you off your feet? Well, little did she know, something of that nature would soon happen to her.

It was a cool autumn day that Lucy had chosen to read in the park in order to spice up her life a little. Ever since leaving home, she had not ventured too far from her repetitive lifestyle in Magnolia. Perhaps, it was a way to self-assure her stability that she had a constant job and schedule. But, all in all… it was boring. Lucy had left home craving adventure, only to find her self caught in another set of routine schedule events that recurred each week.

In the current moment she found her mind drifting from the rather unrealistic and sappy romance novel in her hand. She thought about the story of her book although she was in no way trying very hard to read it. The female protagonist was an eternal damsel in distress, a thought that put Lucy's nerves on edge. That idea had never been popular with her. Nonetheless, the hero sported some fairly average features for a novel's handsome prince: flowing blonde hair, chiseled jaw, broad shoulders, and biceps bulging from the sleeves of his shirt, so much so that even through the words of the book the indication of him flexing held the possibility of poking her eye out. That didn't sound too captivating. Sure, the prince had his good points like excellent timing and an ego the size of Mount Hakobe, but Lucy found him rather revolting.

Thinking back to her schooling, she recalled she had rarely seen any of her male associates as attractive, and if she did they certainly did not fit this description. Still, she thought, it would be nice for someone I found attractive to vie for my attention. Then, she thought of her mother and some of the things she had said to her in her final years of life, the most prominent being: "Don't lose faith, dear. I know that you question the idea of a princess and her prince charming but remember that the ones we love aren't always the main characters, yes? The only thing I want you to do is find someone who treats you like a princess. What's wrong with falling in love with a dragon if he treats you like a his treasure?"

She shivered at the old memory though her body was neatly wrapped in the same tweed coat her mother had passed on to her and her neck wrapped in a nice wholesome scarf of worn reds and oranges. Though the old thing was faded, it was clear that the pattern had once been quite impressive as her shapely neck was wrapped in wooly flames. Lucy chuckled slightly despite herself. Really, it was rather funny that her mother would say such a thing but Lucy had always been drawn to images of dragons and the burning of the fireplace. The thought drew out a side of her she had feared was gone for good: hope. Have faith, her mother had said and so, have faith she would.

With that thought in her head she abruptly stood up only to be knocked from her feet and onto an abnormally warm surface. Lucy had always had a fear of falling, both in the literal and metaphorical sense. This event had only brought out her fear and she clung to the unsuspecting surface with an intense grip. Her eyes glued shut, she squealed when she heard an unexpectedly human grunt from beneath her. Balling her fists into that loose fabric she clung to, she peeked her eyes open to find the confused stare of a man about her age. She must be hallucinating. This man had vibrant salmon-colored hair. No way, she opened her eyes again to see the same eyes and the same hair. To be certain she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. What happened next seemed to surprise them both because as she tested the reality of his hair, her fingernails scraped lightly along his scalp and a pleasurable groan escaped his mouth. Her eyes snapped to his and they both scrambled away from each other in an attempt to save some of their dignity, seeing as she had just run her fingers through a total stranger's hair and he had just nonverbally admitted his enjoyment. Both sitting on the sidewalk about 5 feet from the other, they were awkwardly making an honest effort to have a staring contest with an inanimate object far from the vicinity of the other's face.

Lucy absentmindedly noticed a breeze, and her gaze was drawn to the salmon locks gently swaying in the wind. His hair had been very soft. She took the opportunity to take in the rest of his obviously flustered form. He, whoever he was, was undeniably handsome. The former description of the hero's form seemed to pale in comparison, at least to Lucy. His chin was chiseled but softly, so that he had an almost childlike innocence that Lucy could appreciate if he truly was 22 like she was. His arms were not grotesquely muscular but were still very pronounced and showed that he used them on a regular basis, as was evident with the rest of his musculature. His shoulders, though broad, were very well proportioned to his height. Though appreciative of these clearly becoming features, Lucy was captivated by his eyes. Obsidian in color and tempting in slant, his eyes showed a world so new and exciting that Lucy made the choice then and there; she wasn't going to succumb to the tedious behavior of her current life.

Little did Lucy know, the man she had collided with was the one and only Natsu Dragneel, owner of Brimstone Adventures, the amusement park, and he was doing some sizing up himself. Natsu was wealthy by birth as his father had entrusted him with the care of his beloved dragon-themed amusement park. However, he had also forced Natsu to attend public schooling and to partake in community service projects. Through his father's teachings, the young man had become both successful and kind hearted, but he was still a man and there was no denying Lucy's beauty. Strangely though she was bundled in layers and dressed in a somewhat shabby coat and scarf, Natsu still found her ineffably gorgeous. Her state of dress gave an air of modesty and the worn nature of her clothes implied a warm and understanding heart. All in all, Natsu was mesmerized by her beauty and the warmth in her eyes. Not to mention she clearly wore the flame patterned scarf on a regular basis, connecting her to him both through her love of fire and the sentimentality of a scarf. Natsu wanted to know her and so without further ado he spoke:

"Why the flaming scarf?"

Immediately jumping on the defensive she retorted with a curt: "Why the salmon hair?"

"I like you already."

"What?" The confusion was evident in the way her eyebrows arched and she gazed at him for an explanation:

"You didn't call my hair pink."