A/N: this is late I KNOW i'm sorry i had writer's block and that's why this is shorter than expected :( ENJOY THOUGH!

Lucy was panicking.

Well, kind of. She stood in front of her mirror, gazing at her reflection with an utterly anxious expression.

She didn't even understand why she was so nervous, it was just another class field trip.

'Yeah, with Natsu there', her mind reminded her, bringing back another surge of butterflies inside of her chest.

Her and Natsu had been speaking constantly, even Happy acknowledging it. They had become great friends, Happy even stating that his uncles knew of her as well. That statement left Lucy a stuttering mess midway through helping him with his math homework.

She constantly did aid Natsu with babysitting the child, allowing her to develop a bond that caused her to stay awake in the late hours of the night while she realized she made herself get too close.

The realization that she was falling for Natsu had donned on her at 4 AM on a Friday night when she was curled up in her cozy bed, causing undesired tears to spring into her eyes and soak her pillow.

Lucy feared love. Yes, a sad phobia, but it made her cause distance between her and the people she cared for, however she couldn't stop it. Not after she had fallen in love once.

She had been naïve, falling in love in her first year as a teacher to one of the assistants, Loke. She knew he had a bad reputation, but he left her feeling breathless and craving. She fell hard and fast, living in a blissful honeymoon phase with him till the storm rolled in.

It started with rumors that Loke furiously denied, however all her fears were confirmed when she caught him with another girl.

That ended their relationship, leaving Lucy heartbroken and fearing falling anymore.

The blonde shook her head, grabbing her keys and jacket and pushing away the thoughts of the past. She didn't want to think of Natsu now, she had to think of her class.

She arrived at the school with a few minutes to spare, allowing her to sit and check that everything was in order with the buses and the zoo, which is where she was taking them.

Just as she got off the phone with a café near the school to make sure of their lunch reservation of a table for twenty-one students, children began filing in, as well as a small group of parents, including Natsu.

She gave them a bright wave, walking over. "I didn't think I'd manage to get this many chaperones, thank you all for coming."

Lucy knew amidst this group there was Lily's mom, Levy, who Lucy knew from when she was in university and was grateful to see her. Beside her stood Natsu and a man with too many piercings on his eyes, but with the way he gazed at Levy she knew he was her husband. There was also Alzack and Bisca, who Lucy knew from the parent meetings and their bright daughter, Asuka.

They all followed her as she showed them the tasks they would be doing, allowing the students some time to play amongst themselves.

After explaining the way the class would be split and the bus distribution, they were on their way to the zoo while Lucy's heart pounded against her chest because of her close proximity to Natsu.

While she told the parents how the class would be split into three groups of seven with two chaperones each, the two couples chose to stay to themselves, leaving Lucy with Natsu.

Lucy held a wary grin, however Natsu was talking animatedly, allowing Lucy to hide her anxiousness easily.

"Happy is so excited," he began with a wide smile, "he made me sleep at like 7:30 because he wanted to be early to school. That was honestly a first, he usually crashes at like 9. But he was so ready for this, he woke up before me."

Lucy turned in her seat, gazing at the pink haired child in question. He was talking excitedly to Charle, who had a slight smile on her face. The blonde teacher smiled, catching his eye and giving him a wink.

She turned to Natsu just as Happy's cheeks tinged pink. "He's cheerful alright."

She stuck to conversing with Natsu, her nerves slowly fading into nothing as she laughed at his stories.

She was falling in love, but she couldn't stop it and instead chose to leave it.

~break~

"That was a tiring experience." Natsu huffed, sitting himself down on Lucy's sofa. After a day with the students, the blonde had invited them over for dinner.

Luck sat beside him with a laugh, extending her hand to give Natsu a cup of coffee post-meal and took a sip of her own cup. "Honestly, that's my daily life."

Natsu let out a snort, looking over at Happy, who was watching cartoons on Lucy's iPad with a half-asleep expression. "I pray for you on a daily basis."

"You get used to it after a while, it becomes nice to see your students grow and get older as time passes." Lucy took a sip of the drink, her cheeks growing redder for no reason. Natsu had a smile on his face, his gaze lingering on her.

"I like the idea of teaching, the idea of helping the next generation. But I also love my job, I mean, it's dangerous and I get to venture and help people who need me, in more serious notes. It's cool."

Lucy nodded, "I can never see myself doing what you do, bit I can imagine how it'd interest someone. I would probably just end up doing no field work."

"That reminds me of my friend Gray's wife," Natsu scoffed slightly, "we first met her on a job against us, when she worked for the underground troops. She joined us after the troops disbanded and refused to do field work for the first three months, it was interesting. She became his assistant instead."

Lucy raised a brow, "If she worked underground doesn't she know how to fight?"

Natsu let out a laugh. "Believe me, she knows how to fight. The last person she fought was Gray, and she shot him in the stomach badly. She got too scared to use a gun after it, but Gray cracked her."

"They seem to be a good fit." Lucy smiled, and Natsu nodded, a grin on his face. "Gray's the biggest bastard I know, but the girl does him well. You'd get along with her."

Lucy was practically beaming, her cheeks a faint pink. "Really?"

Natsu nodded, his cheeks ablaze. "I could take you to meet them if you want, next week we have our annual barbecue and I have a plus one?" He rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes hopeful as they met Lucy's.

"I'd love to." Lucy smiled, her cheeks pink. She could feel her heart pounding, after all, Natsu had just asked her to be his date.

Happy seemed to break the mood between them with a small snore, causing a laugh to escape the duo.

"He always falls asleep here." Natsu pointed out, Lucy still laughing. "My sofas are cozy."

They stood up and Lucy walked Natsu to the door, who was carrying the snoring Happy. "I'll text you the details."

Lucy nodded, a smile on her face. "Alright, good night."

As he bid her good night and Lucy leaned against the door, she leaned up and placed a small kiss on Natsu's cheek.

He stared at her for a moment, his cheeks heating up just as much as hers, before he smiled and repeated his byes, heading out.

And as Lucy closed the door, she couldn't help but squeal as if she was back in grade school.