"Stupid Natsu it is his fault!" Lucy exclaimed as she flopped down on a stool at the bar.

"What is his fault?" Mira asked as she walked up drying a glass.

"It's his fault I never get a second date!" Lucy threw her hands in the air with a huff. "I will be out with a guy and everything will be going great then at the end of the date they all say the same thing! 'This isn't going to work out. Why don't you go talk to Natsu?'" Lucy mimicked in a deep voice. "I swear I don't know how he does it but he always chases away my dates!" She crossed her arms and leaned on the bar with a frown. "If Natsu messes up my date this time I won't forgive him!" she pouted.

"What did I mess up?" Natsu appeared next to the young blonde.

"You!" Lucy pointed a finger at her pink haired partner. "You better not come anywhere near my date tonight or you're gonna regret it mister!"

"What are you talking about?" Natsu gave her a confused look.

"Lucy is acting weirder than usual," Happy whispered from Natsu's shoulder.

"No I'm not! You manage to ruin all my dates! This time you have to promise me that you are going to stay away!" Lucy demanded.

"I never ruin your dates you weirdo, well except for the one, you do that on your own!" Natsu laughed as he and Happy headed over to where Gray was sitting.

"I'm serious Natsu! Stay away!" Lucy yelled after her partner. Natsu waved a hand in the air as he left. "He better not ruin this date. This guy is really nice," Lucy muttered as she turned back to the bar.

Mirajane exchanged looks with Cana who had been sitting on the bar listening to the conversation. "So you have another date tonight?" Mira asked.

"Yup, and I'm super excited!" Lucy smiled.

"Are you sure it is Natsu that is ruining your dates?" Cana asked before taking a swing off the barrel in front of her.

"Uh, yeah, they always bring him up before they break it off with me," Lucy pouted.

"Well Natsu is going on a job this evening in the next town over so he won't be around to mess up your date." Mira smiled.

"He is going on a job?" Lucy asked surprised.

"Yep, he said he was going to have you come to but he must have changed his mind once he heard about your date," Mira said as she put the glass she had been cleaning away.

"Oh… that makes sense." Lucy's shoulders slumped.

Later she said goodbye to everyone and headed home to get ready for her date. She pulled out all the stops with and new outfit and her makeup and hair were on point. There was no sign of Natsu as her date picked her up and took her to one of the nicest restaurants in town. They were hitting it off really well and the guy was so nice. He told her about his job and then quietly listened as she told him about the guild and all their adventures. The smile never left his face the whole night and Lucy was feeling pretty good about a second date. When they were done eating he offered to walk her back to her apartment. The moonlight stroll down Strawberry Street was really romantic and he looked so handsome in the evening light.

When they reached her apartment Lucy blushed as she paused at the front door.

"I had a great time tonight." She looked at him through her lashes.

"So did I," He smiled as he grabbed her hand gently. "You are a lovely young woman and I wish you luck with your writing," he said before placing a kiss on her knuckles. "Listening to all of your stories of your guild and teammates was really something. You are blessed to have so many loved ones." Lucy blushed at his actions but was surprised when he stood back up and made no further moves. "Have a wonderful night Lucy. I really did enjoy our date." With that he turned and started walking away.

"Wait!" Lucy called out as she went after him. He stopped and turned around with a confused look on his face. "Do you… do you want to go on another date?"

"Are you sure?" he asked and tilted his head curiously.

"What do you mean? You said you had a good time and I did too. Don't you want to see where this goes?" Lucy asked shyly.

"Well I would but I don't think that is what you want," he admitted.

"I don't understand," Lucy said.

He stared at her with confusion before a look of realization crossed his face. "You don't realize it do you?"

"Realize what?" Lucy asked.

"Natsu," he said.

"Ugh! I thought he was out of town! What did he say to you? When did he even talk to you?" Lucy exclaimed with frustration, throwing her arms in the air and looking around like the slayer would appear at any moment.

"Hold on," her date chuckled as he put a hand on her shoulder. "I've never met Natsu."

"Then why…" Lucy began to ask but he cut her off.

"You talked about him all night."

Lucy blinked as his words sunk in. "Well he is my partner and we go on jobs together all the time. He's my best friend."

"And that is great!" her date smiled. "I just realized there was no way I could compete."

"What?" Lucy said.

"I hope someday there will be someone who has the same look on their face that you do when you talked about Natsu when they talk about me." He dropped his hand to his side as he took a step back. "You might not realize it but to anyone looking it is pretty obvious how you feel about him."

"Natsu?" Lucy's voice raised and octave.

"You love him," her date stated bluntly.

"H-he is my best friend of course I love him!" Lucy almost choked on her words.

"Is that really all it is?" Her date gave her a disbelieving look. "Just think about it," he said as he turned to walk away. "It was nice meeting you Lucy."

Lucy stood outside of her apartment in shock and watched as her date disappeared down the street. She entered the building and made her way to her door in daze. The rest of the night she couldn't help but think about what he had said. That night as she laid in bed while his words echoed in her mind, she rolled over and stretched her arm out on the mattress in front of her. Often when she rolled over she would find a certain someone lying next to her and now she realized that she missed his warmth. "Do I love Natsu?" she asked herself. A warm feeling spread through her chest and she felt her cheeks heat up at the thought. "No way," she muttered as she fell into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning she woke up feeling like she hadn't slept at all. "That guy didn't know what he was talking about," she told herself as she got dressed. "Natsu is my friend; besides there is no way he would feel that way about me." She grabbed her things and left. She was deep in thought as she walked down the street towards the guild.

"Lucy!"

She turned around to see Natsu running down the street towards her with a big toothy grin on his face. Her heart thudded in her chest as he reached her.

"How was your date?" he asked.

"It was good but I don't think it is gonna work out with that guy," Lucy said as she stared at the dragon slayer.

"Oh, well you don't need that guy anyway," Natsu said as he grabbed her hand. "Come on! Let's head to the guild!" With that he began to pull her down the street after him. Lucy's heart was beating fast as Natsu looked over his shoulder at her with a bright smile and she couldn't help but smile back.

"You're right," she said as she laced her fingers in his and ran to keep up. "I've got you."