A/N: SURPRISE! The 3-shot has become a 4-shot...maybe 5 or 6. lol. This chapter is dedicated to lishagirl...cuz you're cool...and I hope to hear that FlameDragonHime is feeling better! She's been dealing with a rotten cold!

Gajeel shushed the officers following him as they all began to tiptoe…into the apartment where Natsu Dragneel was likely still in bed. They'd already been to Wal Mart that morning, blowing up a picture of Natsu and Lucy sitting in the back seat of Sting's squad car, covered in paint. It was their intention to mount it on the wall without Natsu knowing…a little gift from his beloved friends at the police station.

They crept in quietly…or at least as quickly as 6 grown officers could creep. All of their belt buckles jiggled and they all wore steel toed boots…so really, they weren't creeping at all. They were just creepy.

Still, Natsu didn't move. His blanket were strewn overtop of him, his head buried under the pillow. Sting pulled out a nail, centering it on the wall. Gajeel pushed it in with his thumb, everyone cringing when the nail fell to the floor. Thankfully, it didn't make a noise. Gajeel managed this time, successfully pushing the nail in enough that the picture would hang from it. Droy passed Jet the canvased picture, who passed it to Macao, who passed it to Jet (wait, whaaaaat?), who passed it to Gildarts, who passed to Rogue, who passed it to Sting. They glanced at each other, then Sting placed the canvas on the nail, turning it slowly until Jet, who had backed up to the end of the room, nodded that it was indeed straight.

Rogue motioned to the door, indicating it was time to exit. The men didn't need another prompting – they would wait in the living room until Natsu woke up to guage his reaction, then freakin' RUN.

Jet was the last to leave, edging alongside the bed with careful precision. He sighed with relief as he neared the end of it. Natsu hadn't even moved. Jet tiptoed, hoping he'd stay asleep just a little longer…

Jet tripped on something, flinging into the air. He landed to the ground with a THUD, the offending object landing right in front of him.

Jet started to scream, the other officers racing back in.

"WHAT IN THE HELL IN THAT?" Jet screeched, scooting backward as far away from the object as possible.

"Mavis!" Droy screeched too as he caught sight of the gruesome item, "I'm not going in there! Jet! Buddy! Be brave!"

Rogue stepped around Droy, his riot baton ready for action. He raised it, ready to attack.

"Dude," Rogue dead-panned, lowering it when he saw the 'it' for himself, "That's Lucy's painting!"

He picked it up, holding it at arm's length. It was a snow owl with a big, piercing eye. Last night, Lucy had called it Hell Owl. He could easily see why.

"That thing is evil!" Jet declared, scrambling past Rogue to head for the living room. The other men were laughing.

"Hey – should we check and see if Natsu is dead?" Droy asked, "He really shouldn't have slept through that."

Gildarts didn't hesitate, lifting a steel-toed boot to kick the blankets. The blankets flew to the other side of the bed...revealing an empty bed.

"I'll be damned," Gildarts stated, a wide grin crossing his face, "Natsu knew we'd be coming for him…little bastard is on the run."

Sting and Rogue were putting the 2nd painting up, cringing because once it was up, the evil vibe the owl gave off compounded.

"Are you sure we should leave that there?" Wakaba asked, "Don't think that thing will eat Natsu when he's sleeping?"

The other officers stared at it, all of them giving off involuntary shivers.

"Good point," Gajeel agreed, taking it off the wall. He laid it on the floor, face down.

"So, do you think Natsu really gave us the slip, or do you think he's just not home yet?" Macao asked Gajeel.

Gajeel sniffed the air, "I escorted him home last night myself…and I can still smell him. My guess? He left early to avoid the teasing."

"Then I declare that Magnolia Police Department has one priority today," Sting announced, "Rogue, let's get to the radio in the squad car. Put out an APB for Natsu Dragneel and his red Cavalier. All personnel to consider him pissed and determined to get out of severe roasting…that makes him dangerous to the public. Macao – we need a tap on his cell phone. Jet – we need surveillance on the Heartfilia/McGarden apartment. My guess is he'll try to get to Lucy. Let's take 'im down, men!"

Natsu could hear that the house was quiet. He waited several minutes before exiting the closet. His cell phone would be no good today, so he left it behind in one of Gajeel's boxes. He would need another way to contact Lucy. Fortunately, this had been anticipated.

He pulled out the 2-way radio he'd 'borrowed' from the station last night after he and Lucy had been released from their temporary arrest.

"Star, this is Dragon…do you read?"

"Loud and clear, Dragon…I'm en route to the rendezvous site. Solidarity confirmed."

"Little Blue's still sawing logs?" Natsu asked.

"Affirmative…see you in 15."

"Be ready…it's going to be a drive-by pick-up. There's an APB out on my car."

"But aren't you -?"

"Yeah…but we can't take any chances."

Natsu grinned, grabbing his crutch (only one - lost the other one the other night) and making his way to the back door of Gajeel's house. From the window, it appeared that the other officers had actually all left the premises. He opened the door open a crack, peering outside just to be sure he was actually alone. He bolted, making his way across the lawn to where Gajeel's brand new Dodge Challenger sat in the driveway. Throwing his crutch in the back, he pulled the keys out of his pocket. His heart pounded as it roared to life. As much as he loved his Cavalier, Gajeel's car really did sound cooler.

He pressed the clutch in, cringing at the pain in his knee…but he had no time to contemplate that now. Throwing it into first gear, he pulled out of the driveway.

Lucy crawled through the bushes at the town square. She wasn't sure where she'd picked up such stealthy ninja skills, but she was kind of proud of herself. Even the passersby had no clue she was there.

Levy had a myriad of questions to throw her way when Lucy walked in the night before. Gajeel apparently had informed her of Lucy and Natsu's arrest. She didn't seem angry about it, but Lucy still didn't feel like she owed an explanation. Plus, she really wanted to help Natsu avoid the merciless teasing he'd endured over the past 3 days. And so, in the interest of a stress-free date and to avoid the teasing, they'd conspired to run away today.

She spotted the Mac's Gas Station ahead. Pulling her hoodie up, she darted across the road, concealing herself behind a mailbox as a squad car drove by. She held her breath for several minutes, sighing with relief when it turned off at the next corner.

Exactly on time, the black Challenger turned the corner, screeching to a halt beside the dumpster. She bolted from her hiding place, bailing through the open passenger window.

"GO GO GO!"

The tires squealed as the car lunged from the parking lot and headed for the highway.

"Okay – so we have the whole day now!" Lucy grinned as she righted herself in the passenger seat, "What are we going to do with it?"

"Gajeel's got a full tank of gas here," Natsu reached over, squeezing her knee, "And they're not looking for Gajeel's car…yet."

"How long do you think it'll be before he notices?" Lucy asked, admiring his pink hair, flailing in the breeze coming in the open window.

Natsu shrugged, "He's working all day today. He's probably not off til 6:00…so I'd say as long as they don't find the Cavalier, we've got all day."

"Where'd you stash it?"

Natsu's eyes got dark, "Somewhere Gajeel will never think to look."

Lucy laughed at his sinister expression.

"Where?" she prodded.

"I lent it to Vijeeter for the day," Natsu replied with a devious grin, "His car is in the shop and he asked me for a ride to do errands. I told him to just borrow the car."

Lucy laughed again, "You're evil, Natsu."

Natsu shrugged, "Naturally."

"Maybe we should get out of town for awhile?" Lucy suggested, "We could go to Onibus and be back in four hours."

Lucy opened the glove compartment, helping herself to the mints Gajeel kept there.

Natsu grinned, reaching for Gajeel's sunglasses that he kept in a compartment above his head, "Sounds good to me."

"CAW CAW!"

"CAW CAW!"

"What are you idiots doing?" Gajeel demanded, staring at the tree where Jet was perched on a low branch - maybe 3 feet off the ground.

Jet's hands were perched to act as a loudspeaker, aimed at the tree on the other side of the apartment building. Briefly, Gajeel saw the glint of glass coming from the other tree.

"It's our signal," Jet explained, "It means that there's no movement in the apartment."

"Idiots," Gajeel muttered, stalking off toward the apartment.

"Where are you going?" Jet yelled after him.

"I'm going to knock on the door!" Gajeel grunted, "Seems a lot more efficient than squawking like birds!"

He pulled out the key Levy gave him for the front door and took the stairs 2 at a time. Reaching the top, he peered around the corner, noting that the apartment was still. He was about to pull out the key for the apartment when he felt the heavy impact of two bodies colliding into his back.

The glare he sent backward at both Jet and Droy made them shudder with fear.

He turned the key as silently as he could, allowing himself, Jet and Droy into the apartment.

"Stay here," Gajeel warned, his finger waving in their faces. Jet and Droy both nodded firmly.

Gajeel tiptoed down the hallway, making no noise as he pushed Lucy's door open. As expected, the bed was empty. Plue looked up from his place on the bed, cocking his head curiously. Happy jumped down, mewing.

Gajeel let out a satisfied grunt. Lucy wasn't in the apartment, or Plue and Happy would likely point out where she was hiding. Animals had a knack for pointing out hiding people.

He spun on his heel, about to tell Jet and Droy his news when he heard the screams coming from Levy's room.

Jet had Levy down on the floor, one knee on her back. Droy was removing his handcuffs from his belt.

"Where's the perpetrator!?" Jet demanded.

Levy let out a blood curling scream, throwing an uppercut into Droy's groin. He squealed, then keeled over.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Gajeel thundered.

"Interrogating a potential witness, Sir!" Jet stated, as though it were obvious.

Gajeel grabbed Jet by his shirt collar, flinging him onto the bed. Droy was rolling on the floor in horrible pain.

Gajeel bent down beside Levy, helping her to her feet.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Levy spat out, unwrinkling her pajama top, "What perpetrator?"

Gajeel hummed apologetically, "We're looking for Lucy and Natsu. They're both missing."

"Missing?" Levy mocked, "Gajeel, it's 8:00 in the morning! They can't be missing. Missing from what?"

"Our interrogation," Gajeel admitted, staring down at his feet.

Levy's mouth dropped open, "Interrogation for what?"

"We need to tease them about getting arrested last night!" Droy filled in, a big grin on his face as he finally managed to pick himself up from the floor.

Jet face-palmed. Gajeel turned bright red. Levy would not be happy with that answer. Instinctively (or perhaps more likely because he caught the look in Levy's eye), Droy covered his groin as he backed toward the door.

Sure enough, Levy was seething.

"Does the Magnolia Police Department have nothing better to do than torment them?!" Levy demanded, "Honestly? If I were them, I'd be hiding too! The way you're treating them is shameful!"

All 3 men hung their heads. Gajeel dared to look her in the eyes, trying to ask silently if there were Angels following them, but if looks could kill, he'd be as dead as Droy and Jet right now.

"Get out of my apartment..." Levy hissed, "...and if I find out you've teased them in any way, you'll be dealing with me."

Jet and Droy stalked out immediately, Droy limping slightly, but Levy grabbed Gajeel's arm, waiting until she heard the click of the front door.

"Leave them alone," Levy told him a condescending finger in his face, "Fun is fun, but it's going a bit far. I will cut you off eternally, Gajeel...Not kidding."

"Okay, Shrimp," Gajeel promised, leaning in to kiss her. He changed his mind. The look in her eyes said he'd been lucky if she allowed him to kiss her in the next week.

Lucy's feet were kicked up on the dashboard. She had found Levy's sunglasses in the glove compartment along with a package of Hubba Bubba. She blew an enormous bubble, making Natsu crack up when it burst all over her face.

She grinned as she picked the gooey substance off her face, "Tunes!"

"Damn straight!" Natsu agreed, hitting the button on the dash.

As the song started playing, both of their eyes went wide.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Natsu started cackling, "Who would have thought Gajeel is a Disney fan?"

"Shut up!" Lucy grinned, "The singing part is coming up!"

"Okay," Natsu lip-synced, "Can I just, say something crazy?"

Lucy shot up in her seat, her eyes expressively wide, "I love crazy!"

Natsu lowered his sunglasses to the bridge of his nose, adding his voice to the CD, "All my life has been a series of doors in my face. And then suddenly I bump into you."

"Watch the road!" Lucy yelled, "I was thinking the same thing! 'Cause like...I've been searching my whole life to find my own place. And maybe it's the fact that we stole Gajeel's car and are on the run too."

"But with youuuuuuuu," Natsu sang.

"Oh with youuuuuuu," Lucy echoed.

"I found my place," they sang together, "I see your face. And it's nothing like I've ever known beforeeeee. Gajeel's gonna kick our asses for suuuuure!"

"Cuz we stole Gajeel's caaaaarrrrrr," Lucy echoed.

"And now we're driving it faarrrrrrr!" Natsu chimed in.

They exchanged glances, keeling over laughing. Natsu righted himself, focusing on the road ahead of him as Lucy reached for the CD box. Time for a new CD.

Yukino shook her head as she watched Rogue and Sting, their heads together as they planned out their search for Natsu and Lucy.

"Sting!" Yukino interrupted, "Mrs. Berns called - she's still convinced she has a peeping tom. Think you could tear yourself away from ruining Natsu's love life long enough to go check it out?"

"Send Gildarts!" Sting groaned.

"STING!" Yukino snapped, "I realize we're between crime sprees in Magnolia...but seriously! Get a damned life!"

Rogue chuckled, "We're going, Yuki. Even though we've already explained to her that her peeping tom is the neighbour's scarecrow...twice."

Rogue and Sting lumbered from the station together to the parking lot.

"We're just having fun," Sting pouted.

Rogue chuckled, "Dating her hasn't made her any less cop. She's as married to her work as you are. She's not used to seeing you goof off."

"Shut up, Rogue," Sting grumbled, heading for the drivers' side.

They pulled out of the parking lot, signaling to turn left when Rogue's mouth dropped open, pointing to the unmistakable red Cavalier that was crossing two lanes to turn left at the intersection.

Sting grinned, turning the squad car lights on.

"Sting! Yukino will be pissed if you chase that car," Rogue warned.

"Don't care," Sting replied, "He just crossed 2 lanes of traffic...that makes going after him legit."

Rogue laughed, "Whatever you say boss."

He reached for the radio to call the all-car pursuit.

"But I would walk 500 miles...and I would walk 500 more..."

Both Natsu and Lucy were headbanging to the chorus, killing themselves laughing because Lucy had tons of hair to throw around, and it turned out Natsu did too. His bangs covered his entire face when he moved like that. Every couple seconds, Natsu peeked up through his bangs to watch the road. The music was on full blast, the windows wide open.

"Just to BE the man that walks 1,000 miles..."

"Hey Luce?" Natsu asked. He slowed the car down so they could enter the City Limits at the predisposed limit, "What should we do first?"

She rolled her eyes, "Like you don't know! I know damned well that you're hungry!"

He grinned ear-to-ear, "Have I mentioned I think I've fallen in love you at first sight?"

"Not as much as you're going to love me now," she stated, pointing off to the side of the road, "Mexican Food, Natsu...all you can eat buffet."

Natsu veered the car off the road, screeching to a halt. He undid his seatbelt, sliding over the centre console so that he sat in the passenger seat with her, then kissed her mouth firmly.

"I swear I'm going to marry you one day," he whispered between hot kisses, "Mavis, you are so hot!"

Lucy giggled, opening the door, killing herself laughing at Natsu almost fell to the ground.

"You can marry me in an hour. It's lunchtime - the buffet will be really fresh now!"

Natsu grinned. She thought he was teasing...but he meant it. He was seriously going to marry her someday.

Vijeeter's eyes bulged from his head. It had just dawned on him why Natsu had been so accommodating in lending him his vehicle.

Three police cars followed the bright red Cavalier down the street, their lights and sirens blaring. Being that Vijeeter had assumed they were chasing the car ahead of him, he'd moved into the right lane to let them pass. He'd even slowed down to 30 km/hr (18.64 for my American friends)...and yet none of the squad cars had backed off...neither had they passed him.

So basically, Vijeeter was now the subject of a slow-speed chase through the streets of Magnolia.

He knew he couldn't pull aside on this street. There wasn't a proper shoulder. Also, it was painfully obvious Vijeeter was the victim of an elaborate prank by the rookie. He was aware of all the teasing Natsu had taken throughout the past week. Alas, when all was said and done, Vijeeter felt kind of sorry for Natsu and Lucy. Not only had Natsu taken a lot of flack for his new relationship with Lucy, but just last week, he'd also been teased for his driving skills, his lack of poker skills, and his inability to show up at work on time.

"You owe me one, kid," Vijeeter told Natsu...or more like Natsu's car.

It was obvious that the cops had no intention of aggressively stopping his vehicle...they just wanted information and were reasonably sure that 'Natsu' would eventually grow tired of having squad cars with lights following him, give in, and tell them what they wanted to know, then endure hours of torturous ribbing.

Vijeeter grinned to himself, then headed for the highway. He wondered if they'd aggressively force him off the road if he stayed at 30 km/hr on the highway. The thought was incredibly amusing.

Juvia and Erza shook their heads as Levy finished her story about her rude awakening that morning.

"Gajeel needs his little sister to kick his ass, apparently!" Juvia seethed, cracking her knuckles.

"I don't know what the big deal is," Gray protested, "They're just having fun with him. Natsu knows that. It's like a game now."

"The big deal," Levy spat out, "is that we've all worked really hard to get them together. We don't need Natsu and Lucy to call it quits because the Dork Squadron of the Magnolia Police Department can't leave them the hell alone!"

Juvia giggled to herself, "You just called your own boyfriend a dork."

Levy joined her in giggling, "No, I called your brother a dork...and you did it first! Well, I mean they're all dorks...Sting and Rogue and Jet and Droy and all them too."

"Can you imagine Gildarts' reaction to being called a dork?" Erza asked flatly, the corners of her mouth turning upward.

Gray's shook his head. They'd completely lost sight of the conversation. He decided to go find Gajeel on his own. He was curious now about what the boys at the precinct were up to.

"I've never been kicked out of an All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet before for eating too much!" Lucy laughed.

"It was good," Natsu said solemnly, "They shouldn't call it an All-You-Can-Eat if they're just going to cut you off at 7 plates. They should really call it a 'Maximum 6 plates Buffet'."

Lucy looked up and down the street, "Well, we don't have to go back to Magnolia yet...what do you suggest we do?"

"Window shop?" Natsu suggested.

"Can you handle walking around?" she asked, gesturing to his leg.

Natsu would never admit the his knee hurt to her. He'd babied it for 3 days already, but was already down to 1 crutch, due to losing the other one in the ocean a few days ago. This morning, he'd actually taken a few steps. Likely, he probably shouldn't have been driving standard, but he was feeling better by the day.

"You need to get off that knee," she smiled sympathetically, "It's okay to tell me the truth, you know."

His cheeks blushed, "I walked a few steps this morning."

She shook her head, shaking a scolding finger at him, "Didn't the doctor say a week?"

He nodded, glancing across the street, "There's a park there. We can go sit for a few minutes."

She smiled, going ahead to the edge of the road to scan for a safe crossing time.

"Okay! Let's go!" Lucy yelled.

She grabbed Natsu's sleeve, ushering him across the road. He crutched fast, trying to stay ahead of the traffic that was beginning to close in on them. Suddenly, Natsu stumbled, grabbing her sleeve.

"What is it?" she asked, alarmed as a semi-truck honked at them.

"I'm stuck!" he yelled.

Lucy lowered to her knees, realizing he'd caught his crutch in a pot hole. The crutch was bent in such a way that it wasn't going to come out without help.

"Give me the crutch!" she told him.

He shifted it to her, noting that there was now a line up of vehicles on both side, waiting for them to get off the road. Hurriedly, she maneuvered the crutch, freeing it.

"Okay, let's go!" Lucy turned, ramming into Natsu's side.

He staggered, falling onto his bad knee when he lost his balance. Lucy watched in horror as he hit the ground.

"Are you okay?" she cried out.

The traffic around them honked.

"GET OFF THE ROAD!" the man in the semi yelled.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Lucy shouted back, "CAN'T YOU SEE HE'S IN TROUBLE HERE, JACKASS?"

Natsu grinned, loving how forceful she was.

"C'mon," she reached underneath his armpit, hoisting him onto her shoulder in place of the crutch.

The semi-driver fingered them as he began to move down the road. Lucy fingered him back, turning immediately to Natsu...who was now crutchless.

"It splintered," she told him, turning the crutch so he could see the damage done to it.

"Oh," he whispered, "Crap."

"Don't worry!" she vowed, "We'll be fine! How's your knee?"

She sighed, realizing there was blood coming from it.

"We're a menace together, aren't we?" Lucy reached into her purse, pulling out some wipes. His jeans were torn again.

"Would like me to take my pants off?" he teased, drawing her in for a kiss.

"Anytime you want," she teased back,

He grinned, "At least no one's here to tease us."

"Hmm...but we can always tease each other!" she shot him a seductive look, then stood up, determination glinting in her eyes, "I'm going to find transportation back to the car!"

"I can walk a little bit!" he protected.

"It's all good!" Lucy grinned, the glint in her eye brightening as she B-lined for an abandoned shopping cart.

"You're kidding, right?" Natsu called after her.

She grabbed the cart, pushing it over to Natsu.

"You're not kidding," he hummed, "All right then, Luce! Bring it on!"

Vijeeter had classical music on Natsu's ancient car's CD player. He hummed with the deep base, moving his fingers like he was conducting the orchestra himself. He cued the trumpets to begin their part with his finger on the left, then the woodwinds with his other finger on the right.

The music was loud, now drowning out the sirens of the 13 police squad cars still following him down the highway, still at 30 km/hr.

"They still haven't found them," Juvia said to Levy as she joined her at the top of the police precinct, "But according to Yukino's radio, there's a low-speed chase on the highway that almost every squad car has responded to."

Levy giggled, "I think they're on the right track. Something tells me Natsu and Lucy aren't in Magnolia at all. Not that I blame them. They've barely managed an un-teasable moment since the second they've met. I'd want to find a place to be alone too."

"You know this is stupid, right?" Gray asked Gajeel.

He was sitting in the back of Gajeel's car, throwing insults and commentaries at the back of Gajeel's head because he knew Gajeel couldn't respond to him with Gildarts on the passenger side of the front seat.

"That's not Natsu driving," Gray continued, spreading both arms across the back seat, "I've never seen him do under the speed limit before."

Gajeel growled, making the corners of Gray's mouth turn upward.

"I would definitely say you've been poned!" Gray added, leaning forward and placing his hand on Gajeel's shoulder, "Natsu wins this round...for sure. Sucks to be you."

"WOULD YOU JUST FUCK OFF?" Gajeel roared, elbowing back on the seat, slamming his arm against the back of the seat. Inadvertently, he whacked Gildarts on the shoulder, eliciting a glare from the older man.

Gray retreated his hand, killing himself laughing as Gildarts' raised his eyebrows. It was never a good idea to tell Gildarts to fuck off, let alone hit him.

"This is embarrassing," Natsu muttered as Lucy pushed him in the cart through the dollar store. There was a super-sale that day - mass amounts of stock being sold at case-lot blowout prices. Natsu hadn't wanted to enter, but Lucy had insisted. She loved case-lot sales. One never knows when a good deal comes along! Natsu was not nearly as excited as she was. Guaranteed, there wouldn't be a single item there that he'd be interested in.

"It's fine," Lucy assured, "Look - you're not the only one riding by cart."

Natsu frowned as a mother pushed by them, her 2-year-old crying his head off.

Lucy bent down, kissing his forehead, then his lips, "You're adorable...you know that, right?"

Natsu pouted.

"It's not so bad," she promised him, "We're together...we're having fun...and there's nobody to tease us."

Natsu sighed before nodding his agreement, "That's true. I do love being with you, Luce. I am enjoying today...just being alone with you."

She smiled, kissing his lips again before pushing on through the dollar store.

As she rounded the corner, Natsu's eyes grew wide when he saw it. Lucy froze, noting the dazed expression in his eyes.

"Natsu?" she questioned nervously.

It was as though the entire wall in front of them had illuminated. Natsu's eyes glazed over as he glanced back at Lucy.

"Lucy - we need those. Very badly. The entire fucking wall."

"Yes..." Lucy said quietly, catching onto Natsu's plan, "Yes, we do."

Gajeel sighed heavily as Sting looked at hissing engine of the squad car, shaking his head.

"Sorry!" Gildarts laughed, a hand running through his hair, "I don't know my own strength. I assumed Iron-Butt here could keep the vehicle straight when I punched him."

"Instead, you ran the car off the road into a telephone pole," Rogue lamented.

Gray was on the hood of the hissing car, killing himself laughing.

The slow-speed chase had come to an end. Even Vijeeter had pulled over when Gajeel's car slid into the ditch, smashing into the telephone pole at 30 km/hr.

Lucy and Natsu were now in a conundrum. The back seat of the Challenger was filled with boxes of their purchase and it was almost time to head back to Magnolia..but Natsu wouldn't be able to drive with his jarred knee.

"You'll have to drive," Natsu decided, giving an affirmative nod.

"ME?" Lucy exclaimed, "I don't have a license!"

"Neither do I until Tuesday," Natsu reminded her with a gleam in his eye, "We'll just go get you your Learner's! No big deal."

"Natsu...the last time I drove Gajeel's car..."

Natsu grinned at her, "You wrapped it around a tree running from Dan. I know. Gajeel never shuts up about it. But it'll be fine. I'm an excellent teacher!"

Lucy gulped nervously as Natsu googled the DMV location in Crocus. He jumped back into the shopping cart, pointing down the road, "That way, my good lady!"

Lucy clicked the locks on Gajeel's car - to protect their precious purchases - then began to push Natsu down the street.

"I swear I don't know where they are!" Vijeeter repeated, spinning around in a pirouette.

"Dude," Gildarts narrowed his eyes at Vijeeter, shaking his head disapprovingly, "Why do you always dance when you're nervous? It's weird, man...not normal."

Vijeeter glared at him, leaping gracefully away from him to the group of officers gossiping about 30 feet away.

The other cops were all seated at the edge of the road, contemplating their next move. Yukino was chewing out Rogue on the radio for picking on the rookie.

Sting rolled his eyes, "We always haze the rookies."

Rogue hummed to himself, remembering that had only really started after he and Sting had risen through the ranks. Yukino continued to scream through the radio, but nobody was listening to her now.

"Besides," Gajeel grunted, "The kid has a good sense of humour. He takes it well."

"Okay..." Rogue stated, noting the line of 13 squad cars still parked on the side of the highway...who was looking after Magnolia anyway? "We know Natsu's not around town. He's not at his house and he's not at Lucy's. He's on foot because he gave his car to Vijeeter."

"Unless..." Gildarts cut in, his eyes widening.

"Unless what?" Droy asked.

"Unless he had access to another car!" Gildarts finished his thought, exchanging amused glances with the other officers.

Gray chuckled to himself. Natsu did take things well. But if Natsu had done what Gray thought Natsu had done...they were about to find out if Gajeel took things well too.

"No way!" Gajeel thundered, stomping up to his squad car angrily, "He wouldn't! There's no fucking way!"

Lucy lurched the car forward, despite Natsu's repeated yells of, "SLOWLY OFF THE CLUTCH! SLOWLY OFF THE CLUTCH!"

She blushed, jerking the car to a stop, then frowned, noting Natsu's white knuckles as he gripped the "oh shit" handle on the passenger door.

"It's not that bad," Natsu deadpanned, "My knee is fine...I can drive."

She cocked her head, noting the angry bruising that had resurfaced just below the bottom of his shorts.

"Are you sure you don't want to go find a Walk-In Clinic? Maybe we should have it checked out?"

"It's fine!" he insisted.

"Okay then," she challenged, "Walk around the car to the driver's side and I'll allow you to drive home."

His face paled, his fingers clenching the seat.

"That's what I thought," she beamed, pushing the clutch in so she could restart the car, "So...home now?"

Natsu couldn't answer. Lucy shot him a smile, reminding him of why he was so attracted to her, then re-lurched the car toward home.

It was dark out now...7:00 pm. Magnolia was eerily quiet. Lucy turned off the lights well-before they approached, screeching the car to a stop down the block on the street. They made sure to hide it close to some bushes so it wasn't fully visible to the house.

"The house is dark," Natsu noted.

They were crawling on their hands and knees along the ground...well, Lucy was. Natsu was more or less dragging himself. Either way, they were both very stealth ninjas.

"Don't be fooled," Lucy gestured toward the trees around Gajeel's parking spot, "They're lying in wait."

Natsu hummed to himself, "I could just slip in the door and go to bed. They'd be none-the-wiser."

"Or we could just go back to my house," Lucy suggested, "I'm sure Levy will hide us."

"I suspect if my house is staked out, so is yours," Natsu sighed, "Plus, I'm not sure I can walk that far. And we're seriously risking getting caught if we try to drive Gajeel's car there."

Lucy nodded, "Okay...we need a solid plan then. Where are we going tonight?"

Natsu chuckled, "I don't know, but wouldn't it be cool if we could somehow slip the car back to its' parking spot without any of the cops noticing? Gajeel's gonna be so pissed! I can't wait!"

Lucy found his mischievous look insanely sexy. She ran a finger down his arm, "So...you wanna make out while we're waiting for a chance to get it there?"

"Hell ya!" Natsu exclaimed, lunging for her.

Levy, Juvia, and Erza crept through the bushes, counting the police officers in the trees.

"Lucy is right," Juvia told the other two girls, "They're not gonna move and bets are they've got your place surrounded too, Lev."

"What they need is a distraction," Erza decided, "One that would force all officers to abandon their posts and respond."

"I've got this covered," Gray said from behind them. He pulled out his cell phone, dialing in to the police station. He turned, winking at Juvia as he walked down the street to have his conversation with the dispatcher.

Merely moments after he returned, low banter was heard from the trees above Gajeel's parking spot, even though it was all the way down the street.

"Traitors!" Gajeel hissed.

The men started jumping from the trees, one by one. Droy broke his branch, landing with a thud.

"So much for being quiet!" Sting hissed at him.

"I'm sorry!" Droy hissed back, "Ain't my fault that tree is so flimsy!"

"That's a fucking oak!" Gildarts grunted, "Branches don't get stronger than that!"

"Enough!" Rogue chastised them, "We have to go. The fire department will already be on their way. They'll get all the good parking - and it's only free for an hour!"

Gajeel hummed and hawed to himself before finally jumping down from his perch, begrudgingly following his comrades to the squad cars.

Lucy and Natsu turned their heads from their miniature make-out session, their ears perking as the vehicles pulled away.

"Well, that's convenient!" Lucy exclaimed.

They got off the ground, B-lining for the car.

"Got our surprise ready!" Natsu announced as they left the car exactly where they'd found it that morning. The gas tank was empty and their surprise was all over the entire cockpit of the vehicle, stuffing it to the brim. He chuckled into his hands again, "Gajeel is going to be so pissed! I can't wait!"

Lucy threw her shoulder under Natsu's arm, "C'mon - let's get home. Maybe Levy will hide us for the night."

Natsu nodded, limping off with Lucy's support toward a very conveniently abandoned shopping cart on the edge of the property.

"That was formidable work, Gray," Erza asked, slapping Gray's shoulder, "What did you tell the dispatch?"

Gray grinned, "Simple...I mentioned that Tim Horton's was giving away free coffee and donuts for the next hour - emergency personnel only."

Levy laughed out loud, "Brilliant! I'd better get home to sneak Natsu and Lucy in."

"We'll come with you," Juvia agreed, "Gajeel is not likely to take their 'surprise' well, judging by what I can see through the window of that car."

The Angels nodded, clenching their fists. They'd have their hands full protecting Natsu and Lucy tonight once Gajeel and the officers caught sight of the cockpit of Gajeel's car...and the locker room and the lunchroom at the police station. The car was filled to the brim with rubber chickens, some even falling out of the window. But what would really clench the deal was the cardboard sign placed on the windshield...a warning for all the cops...one that would send chills to their very bones.

.

.

.

"We're telling Levy."

A/N: Thanks again to Wordsaremyspells1331 and Otakuprincess28 for reading it through.

Tim Horton's, in case you didn't know, is Canada's primary coffee shop. Proud Canadian here! Just in case you didn't know.

Seeya next time.

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