Disclaimer: I do not own fairy tail or any of it's characters.

Levy started her morning the same way she had for the past month. Before opening her shop, she entered the new bakery next door. Usually Lucy would greet her with a smile and a coffee, and take her first break of the day, since it was the morning lull, to sit and chat at one of the tables in the cafe area of the store. This morning however, instead of a happy hello, she heard banging and cursing coming from the kitchen.

Concerned and extremely curious, she poked her head in the back, "Lucy?"

Lucy popped her head up from behind one of the metal work tables with a surprised expression. She was covered in grease and flour, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "Oh Levy! It's you. Thank goodness, I don't know how I'd explain myself to a customer." She stood and dusted off her hands, then attempted to smooth her hair.

"Is everything okay?" asked Levy as she stepped into the back room.

"Yes . . .I mean no!" Lucy rubbed her eyes, trying hard to stop the tears that threatened to come forward. "Oh Levy, I don't know what I'm going to do! Big Virgo is down! I can't get this stupid thing to work properly and I have been working on it all morning! It burned my first batch of cookies then under-cooked the next batch and I have a huge order for tomorrow!"

"Oh no! Lucy that's terrible!"

"I know! I only have the little oven working. It's going to take me all night to finish all the product I need for the order while still keeping up with my regulars during the day!" She turned to the oven. "Why do you have to let me down when I need you the most, you stupid behemoth! Lucy kick!" and she kicked it with all her might. Apparently it hurt her more than it hurt the oven, because she then began bouncing, holding her foot and howling in pain.

"Oh Lucy!" Levy hurried over to her friend and helped her limp out of the kitchen to sit at one of the tables in the front. "Surely there's something we can do? Can't you just call a repairman? Why are you trying to fix it yourself?"

"I don't have the money for a repairman!" Lucy cradled her face in her hands. Levy walked over and poured them both a cup of coffee from the carafe. After fixing them the way they both liked it, with a shot of milk and two scoops of hot cocoa mix, she sat down across from Lucy.

"Here, drink up, nothing like something hot and chocolate to turn that frown upside down!" Levy said cheerfully.

"What am I going to do?" Lucy moaned, ignoring the mug in front of her.

"Hmm," Levy touched her lip thoughtfully. "Oh, I know a guy who might help! He's kinda an all-round handyman, mostly electrical work though. Sometimes he does small appliance repairs for me. Maybe I can get him to give you a deal." Levy offered.

Lucy's head popped up. "Really, you think he would look at it for me?"

Levy laughed. "Yea, probably. He's a good guy, we grew up together. I'll give him a call."

"Oh, but all I can afford to pay him with right now is coffee and baked goods!" Lucy's head feel back again.

Levy patted Lucy's head, "Oh Lucy, don't you worry. He probably prefers muffins to money anyway."

"Yea Gray, I'll be by later. I just have to help out this friend of Levy's." Natsu parked his truck in the parking lot of Magnolia Shopping Center. He had been here many times before, it was owned by the man who brought him in as a child and it now housed many of his childhood friend's businesses. Currently there was Levy's book store, Mira's bar, Jet's athletic shop, and Droy's florist. The bakery was new; he had not had a chance to try it yet. Maybe that was a good thing if the baker was already blowing out her oven.

"Oh man, that's so lame. You could have said no you know." Came Gray's voice on the other side of the line.

"Hah as if man, I tried to! Then she threatened to call Erza. Apparently this baker makes some cake she's obsessed with and you know about Erza and her sweets. I don't have a death wish." Natsu locked his car door and headed towards the store. It was dark out and the bakery was closed, but Levy said just knock and the girl would let him in.

"So what's in it for you?" Gray asked.

"Other than not having Erza bash my head in? Free food. It had better be good or I'm never picking up the phone for Levy again. She only calls when she needs a favor. I'm getting tired of fixing all her old stuff." Natsu knocked on the door of the bakery. The light was on in the back, so she was definitely there. He turned and looked out at the parking lot watching a light flicker on and off over near Mira's establishment.

"What kind of free food?" Gray asked.

"Oi, gramps needs to get that light in front of Mira's place. It makes this place seem super sketchy after dark," he complained.

"Man, you have the shortest attention span, I don't know why I try to have a conversation on the phone with you." Gray sighed.

"Huh?"

"What kind of food Natsu? Can you bring me some?" Gray asked.

"I don't know man, muffins? It's a bakery! How would I know? I've never been in here before. Let me see if I can see something in the win . . ." He stopped mid-sentence when he turned around and saw what he could only describe as a blond angel heading his way. This was not at all what he had expected when Levy had told him the baker next door needed help. "I'm gonna kill Levy, a little warning would have been nice," he hissed into the phone by accident, not really meaning to voice his thoughts.

"What? See this is what I was saying earlier, what the hell are you talking about?" Gray groaned.

"Whatever Ice Princess, gotta go!" Natsu hung up quick, ignoring Gray's sounds of protest. He smiled big as the baker started to turn all the locks to open the door.

"Natsu?" She asked hesitantly.

"That's me!" Dear lord, he hoped she cooked as good as she looked.

When Levy had said pink hair, Lucy had thought surely she exaggerated. But here he was, with salmon pink hair, tinkering inside her oven.

"This is easy Lucy; the bulb is just loose in your thermostat." Natsu said with a mouthful of muffin.

"Really? So can you fix it?" Lucy dared to hope.

"Yea, of course! It's already done." He pulled himself out of the oven and grinned at her with some crumbs on left on his chin. It was weirdly adorable. "Let's fire this bad boy up," he said as he plugged it in and turned the dial to 350 degrees. Lucy watched with glee as the thermostat inside the oven rose as it should.

"Natsu, you are my hero!" Lucy screamed and nearly knocked him over with an enthusiastic hug.

His eyes widened in surprise before he returned it with a smile, saying "No problem Luce."

Lucy pulled away, suddenly embarrassed by her outburst. Her cheeks burned, "uh sorry, just really happy to have my oven back. Now let's just try it out real quick." She grabbed a prepped pan of cookies and stuck them in the oven, setting a timer for twelve minutes.

Natsu hopped up on one of her prep tables, helping himself to another muffin. "I'll just wait to make sure it's working like it should before I get out of here. Any way I could get some of these to go?"

"Of course, you can take whatever you want. Well, other than the cookies on the rack over there, because they are for an order. You ever want a coffee come on by, this is a lifesaver. Now I'm going to actually be able to finish my order and get some sleep tonight." She went under one of the tables and pulled out a box, after folding it together she slid it over to him. "Fill it on up, whatever you like." She smiled really big and ran back to wash her hands. When she returned, she pulled a lump of dough from the fridge and threw in down on one of the tables, rolling it out quickly and then filling trays with cutout dough shapes. Lucy looked up to see Natsu staring at her fascinated, his half-filled box forgotten in his hands. Unable to stand the silence as her eyes caught his, she asked, "Is there anything in particular you are looking for? I think there's still some chocolate chip cookies left over."

That seemed to snap him out of it,"Nah, I'm pretty sure if the rest of your stuff is like the muffin I ate, I'd like anything you made Lucy."

Lucy couldn't help but giggle at the compliment. She was glad when the oven dinged and broke the tension. Her attraction to him was making it hard to behave like a normal human being. She pulled out the shortbreads, they were perfect. Lucy set them on a cooling rack. She was so excited the oven worked that she did small celebration dance, completely forgetting that Natsu was still in the room. His laugh brought her back to earth. She turned around with a sheepish smile, "this just makes me really happy."

"I'm glad," he said. "I'm guessing you would be too busy to go join me for a drink at Mira's?"

"I'm afraid so," and for once Lucy was being honest. "But tell Mira I say hello."

"You do go there sometimes?" asked Natsu.

"Yea, just usually around happy hour," Lucy said as she put twelve trays of cookies in Big Bertha. "It's the curse of being a baker, early to bed and early to rise!"

"Of course," Natsu scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess I'll see ya around."

Lucy looked up at him, "Yea, thanks Natsu. And really, come by any time you want a coffee, it's on the house!"

Then with a wave he was out the door. All night Lucy found she had to work hard to concentrate on the task at hand instead of the handsome handyman.