Hiiiiiii there. I know. It's been forever since I've updated. I took a hiatus from updating any of my fanfics for a while. I don't like to write when I just don't have any motivation whatsoever to write. I've been reading a lot of books, and also have been spending time on my digital art, learning the ins and outs of using a paint program and my digital tablet!

I have been loving the 100 year quest chapters that have been coming out, and I am so sad that the Fairy Tail anime is close to coming to an end! I am excited that everyone has been animated though and that they've added so many extra little scenes!

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy chapter three! This is a slow burn, but you know, we will get there. There will be some bumps and things in the future! But just wait, things are going to spicy and hot too!

Chapter Three: Study With Me

Lucy was regretting the late night she had when the loud buzzing of her alarm went off on her phone, signaling that it was time for her to wake up and get ready for her Saturday shift at the coffee shop.

She was also eternally grateful that she worked at a coffee shop, because she was going to need a lot of it to get through the day.

Turning off her phone alarm and stretching the tiredness from her body with a light moan, she looked over to see that her blue haired roommate hadn't returned, meaning things must have gone pretty well the night before. Really well - Levy almost never stayed out.

Then again, even with the late night, Lucy had to admit that it was one of the best nights that she had enjoyed in a long time. The image of a certain someone with a carefree - and handsome - grin coming to mind.

She had to get herself under control. They were friends. At least, she felt that she could consider them friends now. Judging by everything that he had divulged to her, he didn't exactly scream interested in getting into a relationship - he was a busy guy with a lot of priorities.

Sighing, she finally mustered up the energy to get out of bed and head into the shower. The shower should wake her up enough to get ready and get the coffee shop so she could get some coffee in her system before the day started. Lucy wondered when she would see Natsu again. He had said that he had to work today, but that wasn't exactly an admission that he would be going to the coffee shop, even if he had asked if she would be there.

Part of her wanted to text him, but she fought back the urge. The last thing she wanted to do was seem desperate, and she had already texted him the night before, disappointed that the night had come to an end.

She went about her morning routine, washing up and putting on some light makeup. She was grateful that Mira required her to wear black - it was such an easy color, and she did happen to have a lot of it in her casual wardrobe. Usually, she would have reached for some black jeans and a comfortable sweater, but today she decided to go for something a little more form fitting. Sticking with black skinny jeans, she also threw on a knitted, fitted black mock neck sweater. She would still be wearing an apron anyway which did help to cinch her small waist when she did wear her less form fitted shirts, but it didn't change the fact that a form fitted shirt still hugged her figure better.

Or maybe she was just being silly considering all of this in the first place. It was just Natsu after all. Even so, she couldn't help but feel like she had noticed him look her way more than once the night before.

Sighing, she decided to just stick with what she had on, slipping on some comfortable black flats before grabbing the things she needed to head out of the door. The days were still getting chillier. Winter would be settling in before she knew it.

Quickly, she locked the door behind her as she made her way out of the dorm room, and towards the coffee shop. The morning smelled fresh, even with the bustling of the city that had already started the day's rush.

"Hi Lucy!" Lisanna greeted as Lucy stepped into the shop, the smell of fresh coffee invading her sense of smell in a delightful way.

"Morning!" Lucy greeted back with a smile. Tired as she was, she was still genuinely happy to be here. She really liked both Mira and Lisanna.

"Want a cup of coffee? You do look a little tired." Lisanna noticed, a sort of small coy grin on her face.

"Actually that would be great - I stayed out way later than I should have last night." Lucy mumbled causing the younger of the two Strauss sisters to giggle.

"Ooooh, got a good story to go with it?" Lisanna teased. Lucy was about to say something when she realized that both Lisanna and Mira knew Natsu, and she suddenly became embarrassed.

"Ah, I was just out late with a friend is all. Lost track of time." Lucy replied, unsure of whether or not to reveal specifics. Luckily, it seemed that Lisanna was unbothered by it, not asking more as she went to make Lucy a coffee.

The store would be opening soon, so Lucy quickly headed into the back room to get her apron. Mira was sitting back there, working on what looked like stock inventory papers or something as she looked up to greet Lucy.

"Morning Lucy!" She greeted.

"Morning Mirajane." Lucy greeted in response, wondering if Mirajane had heard any of her and Lisanna's conversation out front. If she did, she didn't make a sound to say anything about it.

"Sorry, I am just finishing up some paperwork that has to get done. I trust you and Lisanna can handle the front for a little while?" Mirajane asked sweetly. Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, I think I've got the hang out things now! Though I don't know if my coffee tastes as good as yours and Lisanna's yet," Lucy replied honestly. Mirajane gave her an encouraging smile.

"I'm sure your coffee tastes just fine!" She offered. Lucy returned the smile with one of her own.

"Thanks. I'll head out there, then." With that, Lucy finished tying on her apron and headed out to the front of the coffee shop where Lisanna was.

"Here you go," Lisanna said, grabbing a coffee that was sitting on the counter and handing it to Lucy. Lucy was pretty simple when it came to coffee - her favorite being a caramel macchiato.

"Thanks so much, you always make the best caramel macchiatos!" Lucy praised with a smile, eager to gulp down some of the sweet hot liquid. The liquid in the mug she was now holding smelled heavenly as the steam and coffee scent wafted up to her nose.

"You're welcome." Lisanna replied. "So you gonna give me details about yesterday?" she continued, causing Lucy to almost spit out her coffee she had just taken a sip of after Lisanna's unexpected question.

"What?" Lucy almost squeaked, as if she was making sure she had heard Lisanna right.

"You didn't hang out with a guy last night?" Lisanna asked, almost suggestively, causing Lucy's face to go red.

"It wasn't a date!" Lucy exclaimed, finally breaking down as Lisanna ended up in a fit of giggles. "And who said it was a guy! I have girlfriends - I mean friends that are girls!"

"You are so flustered!" Lisanna exclaimed, now full on laughing, "We're girls! I want to hear about it! Who wouldn't want to date you Lucy? You're cute!" Lisanna teased, causing the blonde's already emerging blush to only redden more.

Would they still think it was cute if they knew she had been out with Natsu? As far as she knew, the two of them were friends with Natsu. Was it possible that maybe he had gone out on dates with either of them in the past?

Lucy was quickly trying to come up with something to say when the bell notifying that the front door was opened sounded, causing both Lucy and Lisanna's attention to turn towards the front.

As if fate could only make things worse, it was Natsu and his fire crew.

"Yo!" He greeted nonchalantly, happy as ever.

"Hey Natsu!" Lisanna greeted.

"Hey Lisanna! Morning!" Natsu greeted back, before looking over at Lucy.

The fire crew made their way to the front, and Lucy and Lisanna prepped themselves to take orders and make their cups of coffee.

Lisanna was happily taking orders, and Lucy had taken a couple when Natsu finally came up to her, a happy grin on his face. Lucy wondered if Natsu was a morning person, because she was way too happy in her opinion for a person who had stayed up just as late as her.

"Hi Lucy," he greeted warmly. "Think you could make me a cinnamon dolce latte?"

Lucy was pretty sure that her blush from earlier was still plastered on her face.

"Y-yes!" Lucy answered, feeling flustered as she turned to get started on Natsu's drink. She could feel the amused expression Natsu had on his face, even if her back was turned. She had a total of three orders to make now.

Finishing the first two and setting them out for Natsu's co workers that had ordered them, she finally started on his, getting to work on the cinnamon dolce latte.

"So what you been up to, Natsu?" Lisanna asked casually while Lucy was working on his coffee. Natsu's attention turned to the silver-haired girl.

"Working. Had a late night last night," Natsu friendly replied.

"Wow was I the only one that didn't go out for a late night? Lucy over here came in like a walking zombie!" Lisanna teased, causing the blonde to shoot her an embarrassed look.

"Huh, that so?" Natsu observed, though Lucy knew it was entirely rhetorical. "I might know something about that!"

At that moment, Lucy turned around, now fully embarrassed to see Natsu's nonchalant teasing grin and Lisanna's expression of surprise, her mouth slightly agape.

"Wai - you - the two of you -"

"W-we just ran into the club and hung out Lisanna!" Lucy quickly answered, already knowing where Lisanna's mind was probably already heading.

"No! It's not that! It's just that I don't remember the last time Natsu hung out with a girl." Lisanna replied, suddenly bursting out into a fit of giggles. Natsu could tell that his co-workers were eyeing the three of them.

"Hey now! I hang out with you and Mira!" Natsu scoffed, offended at the implication of silver haired girl. His grin had turned into a frown, which looked comical on him, causing Lucy to laugh a little herself. "Great, now you too?" Natsu accused.

"Sorry, it's just that I don't think I've ever seen you frown before," Lucy reasoned, with a smile.

"Me and Mira don't count! And neither does Wendy! We're practically your sisters!" Lisanna snickered. "I should have put two and two together."

"Great, just air out my love life to the world, why don't ya?" Natsu sarcastically remarked, with a roll of his eyes.

Lucy couldn't help but feel butterflies in her chest. She was already happy to see Natsu this morning, but to start the morning off with teases and smiles with Natsu made her even more happy. Part of her had also wondered what the nature of his relationship with Mira and Lisanna were, but it was obvious it wasn't remotely romantic.

"What's all this ruckus out here about?" Mirajane came walking out from the back of the store to see the three of them goofing off. "How is Wendy doing anyway, Natsu?" Obviously, she had heard at least part of their conversation.

"Good. Talked to her this morning. She plans on coming home for Winter Break." Natsu answered.

"Oh yay! We will be so happy to see her again!" Mirajane exclaimed happily.

"I'm sure she is excited to see everyone again."

"Just wait till you meet Natsu's little sister, Lucy! I think you two will get along!" Lisanna encouraged. Lucy gave an awkward smile, glancing at Natsu who didn't seem nervous one single bit or bothered by the suggestion unlike herself.

Maybe she was just way over thinking about where and what her and Natsu's relationship would end up.

"Oi! Loverboy! Time to heading out!" One of Natsu's co-workers yelled out as the rest of Natu's crew were exiting the coffee shop. Lucy was silently grateful for the interruption as Natsu muttered something under his breath. He quickly shot the girls a friendly grin and gave his goodbye.

"Gotta go! Thanks for the coffee Lucy!"

Lucy gave him a shy smile in return, waving bye at him before she worked up the courage to wish him a good day. "Yeah! Have a good day Natsu!"

Natsu was barely out the door, leaving the coffee shop quiet and empty again before both Lisanna and Mira turned to Lucy with a quizzical look and suggestive grin.

"So…" Mira began, her grin all to cheerful causing Lucy to become more uncomfortable by the second. "I didn't know you two were so chummy."

"Yeah, spill it!" Lisanna demanded, ganging up on the blonde with her sister.

"W-were just friends!" Lucy diverted, putting her hands up in denial.

"Natsu basically stated you guys stayed out late together." Mira grinned. Her voice was cool and even, almost cold as if she was plotting and planning something already.

"We ran into each other at the bar due to mutual friends meeting for a date." Lucy divulged with a sigh.

"So what? Then you guys spent the rest of the night together?" Lisanna probed.

"W-well… I mean, yeah. Our other friends were busy so…"

"Don't you think Natsu is cute?" Mira asked, her suggestive eyes clearly not suggesting the same thing as her sweet smile.

So far, Natsu's shift at the firestation had gone pretty smoothly for the day. They had a couple of non emergency calls that they had to investigate, but nothing too difficult. If things kept quiet, he would probably be able to get some decent shut eye in the bunk room for the night before going home from his twenty four hour shift in the morning.

Considering that he kept thinking about a certain blonde, maybe that wasn't going to happen.

He had paid attention to her facial expressions and the way she fidgeted while he was talking to her. She had been much more bold last night and relaxed after the alcohol they had consumed, but it seems that completely sober Lucy became a bit more shy around him.

Natsu couldn't quite pinpoint her odd expression though when his little sister came up as a topic. Immediately she seemed to tensen up as if suddenly the subject of his little sister had become uncomfortable. She didn't seem that bothered when Natsu had revealed that to her in the car before.

Maybe he was reading too much into it though. It's not like he and Lucy were super close yet, and considering that he didn't have any other direct family, maybe the thought of meeting his sister would be like the equivalent to meeting his parents.

Rolling over in his bed, Natsu tried to think of something else. It was now nine o'clock at night, and he wondered what Lucy was up to. Before he could think of the blonde some more though, a video call popped up on his phone. Natsu sighed, debating on whether or not he should pick it up, or ignore Gray. He could already see Gray's side of the video, looking impatient as hell. He could tell that he was in his patrol car, which meant that he was probably on patrol with Gajeel too.

"Natsu! We know you're there! Pick up the phone you loser!" Came Gray's insult once his impatience got the best of him. Natsu rolled his eyes, answering the video call as the video of himself popped up as a little square in the top right screen.

"Oi, what do you want, I'm working!" Natsu glared.

"Did you get that blondie home safe and sound?" Came Gajeel's voice as he about yanked Gray's phone from his hand with a protest of 'hey!' from Gray.

"Yeah, I did. What do you take me for, an idiot?" Natsu replied, causing both guys on the other end to laugh at him. "Shut up!" Natsu growled, annoyed at his friends teasing.

"When was the last time you took a girl home, Natsu?" Gajeel asked seriously.

"I didn't take her home, I dropped her off at her place and went home!" Natsu countered, his friends snickering once again much to Natsu's annoyance.

"Are you even interested in, ya know, girls?" Gray snickered. "Or are you forever chained to the friend zone?"

"Yeah, when was the last time you got your d-" the distinctive beep of Natsu hanging up the call sounded as Natsu sighed in irritation. He was sure that his two buddies were roaring with laughter at this point at his expense but knowing what Gajeel was going to say next, it was far from appropriate while on the clock.

Yes, he was into girls, and yes, he found Lucy attractive, and yes, he wanted to get to know her more. He just didn't want to scare her off. Gray had Juvia basically stalking him for years before he finally gave in and dated her and ended up being really happy, and Gajeel was more into a bachelor life and dated a whole lot more than he did.

Natsu liked to do things at his own pace.

It was a little past nine o'clock when Lucy finally opened the door to her dorm room to find Levy sitting on the bed, her face buried in a book.

"Hi Lucy!" Levy greeted enthusiastically upon seeing her blonde roommate.

"Levy!" Lucy exclaimed happily, almost forgetting that her roommate had disappeared for almost a whole day. If she had to guess, her blue haired friend had probably spent most of it with Gajeel, meaning that things probably had gone well.

Dropping her bag by the door, Lucy about jumped Levy, embracing the short girl in a hug.

"Wow Lucy, are you okay? You're acting like I've been gone for a long time!" Levy laughed.

"Oh!" Lucy suddenly sat up letting her friend go, her previously happy face quickly shifting to something more mischievous, "Spill it! What happened between you and mr. policeman metal head?"

"Metal head?" Levy asked, raising an eyebrow at Lucy's nickname for her roommates date.

"Well yeah, I mean the dude's got tattoos and metal in his face." Lucy teased. Levy rolled her eyes.

"I will have you know that Mr. Metal head is a really nice guy!" Levy argued.

"So then details! I've been busy working and studying, so I haven't gotten texts from anyone!" Lucy pressed. "Did you do the naughty?"

Immediately Levy's face flushed a deep red at Lucy's implication. "N-no! We aren't like that! Geez Lucy!"

"Oh so there's a we now?" Lucy grinned.

"Well… no. I mean sorta? He asked me on another date and I said yes." Levy answered in a kind of ramble as she buried her face in her hands with a slight groan.

"That's so cool!" Lucy gushed, happy for her friend. However, Levy was quick to turn things around on the blonde.

"So then… what about you?" Levy grinned. "You seemed awfully cozy with that pink haired guy I can't believe the two of you had met before the club and you didn't tell me about it Lucy!" Levy was feigning offense with a pout.

Now it was Lucy's turn to flush. "I had only met him a couple before! He was in the library the week before and asked me where he could find some books. That's all! It's not like it was that exciting to report! Oh and I guess he did happen to come into the coffee shop the first day I started -"

"Are you sure that was coincidence?" Levy asked.

"Yes I'm sure! And then he didn't show up at either for a whole week -"

"Is that why you seemed so down in the dumps the last week?" Levy questioned, suddenly putting two and two together, "Wait, do you have a little crush on him, Lucy? Did you two-"

"N-no!" Lucy almost squeaked, suddenly feeling like the room had become very hot.

"You aren't doing any convincing! I mean I'll admit, he's pretty cute!" Levy giggled. "Gajeel says they've been friends for a long time and that he's a solid dude."

Lucy groaned, hiding her face in her hands like her roommate had done before.

"Hey, I thought we were talking about you and your date here. You're the one who had an official date." Lucy continued, trying to turn the attention away from her and back to her friend.

Levy grinned. "Okay, okay, well we went to the movies after the club. He was so sweet Lucy! He bought us popcorn and drinks and it was just a good time, and he put his arm around me and then when the movie was over I was so tired and I totally fell asleep in his car, so he um… took me home and let me sleep in his bed while he slept on the couch. Of course I couldn't expect him to know where I lived and he said I was seriously out and he couldn't wake me up to get the info so and um… so after we went to go get breakfast, and then we walked around for a while before he had to drop me off because he had a night shift at the station so I kinda… kissed him on the cheek when he dropped me off around four."

Levy had spoken so fast in a ramble that it almost came out like an alien language to Lucy, but she was pretty sure that she had gotten the gist of it.

"Sounds like you rrrreeeeeeallllllyyyy like the guy, Levy!" Lucy smiled, happy for her friend. Levy had gone through some pretty crappy boyfriends and break ups in the past. She had to say, her friend had an interesting taste when it came to guys, but it wasn't like Lucy could talk. Dating was far from the top of her list of priorities, and she liked a guy with freaking pink hair.

"I do like him. I'm excited to go out on another date with him!" Levy agreed before adding, "Maybe we can double date? You, me, Gajeel, and your pink haired friend?"

"We're friends. No dates." Lucy denied. "There is no way I am asking him on one."

"Well why not?" Levy asked, frowning.

"I don't know? I mean he's sweet, maybe even a little flirty but… it's complicated." Lucy quickly stated.

"What's so complicated about going out on a date?" Levy asked curiously.

"I just… I think… he's pretty amazing, Levy. He's got a lot of things going on in his life so I don't think that he's really… interested in being anything past being friends." Lucy offered, not sure if she should divulge what seemed like pretty personal information about Natsu to her friend who had only met him once and fairly briefly at that. She was glad when Levy didn't press her any further for details.

Maybe that would change in the future.

So much for getting any shut eye. Even as hard as Natsu attempted, between him thinking about Lucy, his two annoying as hell best friends irritating the crap out of him, and then a late night call to administer first aid and break up a bar fight, sleep was just not on his lucky agenda.

When six o'clock finally struck, and the next shift crew was taking the passover report for the last 24 hours, Natsu was so glad to be going home. He was hopefully going to catch up on the sleep he missed. It was Sunday, so after his nap he was going to have to get his apartment cleaned up, and catch up on some school work.

Realization dawned on him when he realized that the papers due tomorrow was the historical literature essay he had been intently procrastinating. His grade in that class was going to be in serious trouble if he didn't get that damn essay done.

Getting into his car, he sighed, realizing that going home to sleep probably wasn't an option today. Maybe, it was time to see if Lucy would be willing to help him with his historical literature work since she had agreed to.

The thought of possibly seeing the cute blonde made his day a little better.

Going against his body's cry for sleep, he decided to head to the coffee shop. He was going to need a whole lot of coffee to make it through the rest of the day.

Pulling up to the all the familiar coffee shop, he got out of his car, letting out a big yawn as he locked it and headed inside.

"Back already, Natsu?" Mirajane questioned with a smile on her face. Natsu gave a quick glance around but he didn't see either Lucy or Lisanna.

"Yeah, got a lot to do today and didn't get much shut eye at the station, so I'm going to need a whole lot of coffee." Natsu answered, feeling a little disappointment at not seeing the familiar color of blonde standing behind the counter.

"Hm…" Mirajane hummed as if in deep thought as she studied the look on Natsu's face. She gave off a warm smile. "Lucy is off today, and Lisanna went out to grab a few things we ran out of." Mirajane answered, as if knowing exactly what was on Natsu's mind, catching him off guard.

"Huh, what?" He asked absentmindedly in response, causing Mira to giggle.

"Cinnamon Dolce Latte? Biggest size I've got?" Mirajane assumed, almost as if her informing Natsu of the whereabouts of a blonde didn't just happen. "Maybe you should text her, Natsu."

"Uh yeah, that would be great." Natsu replied, "and text who?"

"Lucy, you dummy." Mirajane answered with a slight rise of an eyebrow. Natsu could feel the back of his neck and tip of his ears immediately begin to burn.

"Why would I text her?" Natsu asked in denial.

"You are so dense sometimes." Mirajane mumbled. Natsu was still trying to process what on earth exactly their conversation was about. "Text Lucy. It's obvious you like her."

"We're just friends." Natsu snapped in defense, "and what makes you think I have her number?"

Mira sighed with a roll of her eyes, although she had a knowing glint in her eyes. Mira always seemed to be right about relationships. She knew Gray and Juvia would end up together. For the most part, Natsu had been able to escape her scrutiny, but then again, he hadn't dated much.

"Alright, here's your coffee - on the house today," Mirajane answered with a smile. "So long as you text blondie." she added. Natsu rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he mumbled. Despite his outward appearance, Mira giving him a push was maybe what he needed to ask Lucy if she would maybe help him with his homework if she had nothing else going on today.

He wished his smiling friend goodbye before leaving the coffee shop to head home.

When he finally got back to his apartment, parking in his usual spot before heading up to his flat, he pulled out his phone to look at the time. It was barely seven thirty in the morning. It was probably way too early to text Lucy. Or maybe, it wasn't really that big of a deal. Even if she was asleep, she could just answer him later right? That wouldn't be weird.

Opening the door to his home, he trudged in, kicking off his shoes nonchalantly as he took another sip of his coffee. He needed a shower before anything else.

After getting his shower in, and continuing to work on his coffee, Natsu sat on his couch, dressed in jeans with no shirt and a towel around his shoulders to still catch the water dripping from his wet hair. It was a little past eight now as he checked his phone. He could feel his heart rate increase as he looked at Lucy's contact number, debating on sending her a text.

It seemed like he stared at his phone screen for an eternity before he finally pushed the send a text button and began typing.

'Hey Lucy'

He added a smiley face, pressing the send button before he could talk himself out of it. However, he quickly felt like an idiot sending something so simple and dumb. Before he could berate himself some more however, his phone dinged almost immediately with a response. Seeing that it was from Lucy, his breath almost hitched in his throat as he pushed the open text message button.

'Hi Natsu! How was your shift at the station?'

Lucy's text was also accompanied with a smiley face, and immediately Natsu felt himself relax a little bit. She seemed completely unbothered by his simple text.

'A few minor calls. Just got home. What are you doing up so early?'

He was genuine in his surprise at her being up so early.

'Couldn't sleep in. Went to bed pretty early last night.'

Where should Natsu go from here? He didn't want to come off as weird for immediately asking if she would come over and help him with his homework. He was a little grateful when the sound of another ding hit his phone indicating that Lucy had sent him another text.

'Shouldn't you be getting some sleep? I have to imagine you had a long night!'

'Nah, I'm okay. Gotta get a few things done and I have some homework due tomorrow.' He wrote back. His chest fell when he didn't get a response right away, but he immediately perked up again when a response came a few minutes later.

'Anything to do with historical literature?'

Natsu smiled. 'I have an essay due tomorrow. I probably shouldn't of procrastinated'

'So… I um, promised I would go out with my roommate for lunch! But if you want, maybe I could help you after?'

Now Natsu was positively excited as he responded. He was the one feeling all awkward, but Lucy didn't seem to have a problem offering to help him. He wasn't going to pass up an offer to spend time with her.

'Actually, that would be great.' Natsu responded. 'Where do you want to meet?'

'The library is closed today. Maybe the coffee shop?' Lucy suggested.

'Yeah sure!'

'Would around 1 work?' Lucy responded. 'I will text you when I'm on my way!'

'Yeah. Thanks Lucy!'

Natsu had a big smile on his face. Alright, that gave him a couple hours to get his apartment cleaned up, and probably finish some of his math homework for calculus.

"I can't believe I let you convince me into doing that!" Lucy groaned, feeling her heart hammering in her chest while Levy snickered at her expense.

"He's so cute, Lucy! Come on! He totally wanted you to help him with his homework but was probably too shy to directly ask!"

"Yeah but now I come off as the clingy one!" Lucy whined childishly.

"I highly doubt that. I bet that guy is way more nervous than you!" Levy reassured her blonde friend.

"What if I'm a terrible teacher?" Lucy moaned in embarrassment.

"Oh get over it! You will be great! Besides, even if you were a bad teacher, I highly doubt Natsu would be disappointed." Levy retorted with a grin. She clearly found amusement in Lucy's dilemmas.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get ready and go get some food before I strangle you." Lucy threatened, though there was not a single bit of seriousness in her voice.

"Don't you dare think about dressing like a frump, Lucy! You are going to wear something cute!"

A lunch later with her short roommate who had teased her all morning, and Lucy was now walking to the coffee shop after letting Natsu that she was on her way.

Even though Lucy protested, stating that maybe she was dressing up too much, Levy refused to let her out of the house until she wore a pretty grey Sweater dress that was fitted but not too tight, some warm leggings and black block heeled booties. Her hair was tied into one ponytail on the right side of her head, her bangs left out to frame her face as she felt ridiculous walking to the coffee shop. She had at least managed to put her foot down when she told Levy she refused to put on any more makeup than her usual quick routine.

There was no doubt that since they were meeting at the coffee shop that she worked at, and Natsu often frequented, she was sure that Mira and Lisanna were going to tease and drill her for details the next time that she came into work.

With the coffee shop coming into view, Lucy could already see the pink of Natsu's hair as he sat by a table by one of the front windows. He had a hot coffee in his hand and his face buried in his phone.

Taking a deep breath to try and ease her pounding heart, Lucy put a smile on her face as she opened the shop door, immediately greeted by Lisanna and Mirajane. Lucy replied with a hello before she shyly turned her attention to Natsu who was grinning at her. She hadn't noticed as she walked up, but it looked like Natsu had ordered her a coffee as well.

"You like caramel macchiatos, right?" He asked casually, though Lucy caught the quick flick of his eye as he looked her up and down.

"I do, thank you." Lucy replied, returning his smile. She quickly sat down in the seat across from Natsu. He had already pulled out his laptop and had a couple literature books strewn on the table.

"So, I don't know where to start…" Natsu trailed off, obviously a little nervous as he rubbed the back of his head in a sort of sheepish way that was cute.

"What era are you guys covering? Let's start there, and then tell me what the essay is about." Lucy offered, taking a sip of the hot, delicious coffee that Natsu had gotten for her. She was sure that Mira and Lisanna had told him what she liked no doubt, but the thought was so sweet.

"Uh, Renaissance…" Natsu replied, trailing off. Lucy couldn't help but smile. That was one of her favorites.

Lucy hadn't realized how much time exactly had passed since she had met Natsu at the coffee shop. Between the jokes, smiles, questions, and debates, she found that Natsu was so incredibly easy to talk to.

It was when Mira came up, interrupting her latest debate on some proper use of words for his essay that Lucy realized that it was already five in the evening.

"Hey there you two, I hate the break up the fun, but we are about to close." Mira teased, causing both of them to flush in embarrassment.

"Sorry Mira, I didn't realize it was that late!" Lucy offered in apology.

"Is it that late already?" Natsu exclaimed, clearly surprised. Mira nodded.

"I like the both of you, don't get me wrong, but I want to go home."

Natsu and Lucy both looked at each other, as if unsure of what to say to the other. They still weren't quite done with Natsu's essay, but there was no way Lucy was inviting her back to her dorm room. It wasn't an option with it being a girls only dorm room, and besides it was small. Mira had retreated back to the counter, no doubt to finish closing up.

"Are you hungry?" Natsu finally asked, breaking the awkward silence. "I'll treat you… as a thank you for helping me today." he offered. Lucy smiled.

"Yeah, I kind of am. We still have this essay of yours to finish though." Lucy replied.

"We can finish it at my place? If you're comfortable with that, I mean." Natsu offered shyly, as if sure that she was going to say no.

"Yeah, I don't see why not! My dorm is small and kinda has some strict rules anyway so…"

"Great! Let me get packed up and we can go! We can take my car." Natsu offered, his boyish grin returning to his face.

"Okay, I will just let Levy know not to wait up for me." Lucy agreed.

After getting packed up and saying their goodbyes to Mirajane, who had way too much of a mischievous glint in her eyes, the two headed to Natsu's car. Natsu popped the trunk, setting his bag inside before closing it and opening the passenger door for Lucy.

As soon as Natsu was settled in the driver's seat, turning the car on and the heater as the temperature had cooled, he asked Lucy where she wanted to go.

"How do you feel about some takeout?" Lucy asked nervously. "That way we can eat while we work on your essay."

"I'm good with that. Take outs a favorite anyway," Natsu agreed. "Great Wall Express?" He asked, as he shifted his manual transmission into reverse to pull out of the parking spot and into drive.

"Yes! That's where Levy and I always order takeout." Lucy agreed with a smile.

As soon as they pulled up to the chinese restaurant, Natsu pulled into the drive through to order.

"Hello," came a voice over the speakers. "Welcome to Great Wall Express. What can I get for you today?" Natsu glanced at Lucy, silently asking what she would like.

"I usually get their broccoli and beef with white rice." Lucy ordered. Natsu nodded.

"Yeah, can I get a double cooked spicy pork, extra chilli, with white rice, and then could I get your broccoli and beef also with white rice? Also, an order of egg rolls?"

"Okay sir, anything else?" The employee running the drive thru asked. Natsu turned to look at Lucy.

"Would it be okay if I got a drink?" She asked. "I'd really like an iced green tea." Natsu nodded.

"Yeah, of course. Anything you want!" He replied, before turning back to the speaker.

"Can we also get two iced green teas?" Natsu asked.

"Yes sir, will that be all tonight?" The employee asked once again.

"Yes, that's all." Natsu confirmed.

"Okay, I will have your total at the window, thank you."

Natsu pulled forward, heading to the window to pay for their meals before grabbing the food and drinks at the next window.

"Do you mind holding the food?" Natsu asked as he reached out for the plastic bag.

"Not at all!" Lucy replied, taking the food from Natsu as he handed the bag to her. He then grabbed their drinks and set them into the cup holders, before thanking the drive thru lady who seemed to give him a flirty smile. Lucy found she wasn't a fan, even though Natsu smiled in return politely.

Natsu hadn't been kidding when he had told Lucy that he lived in a convenient place. He was close to everywhere he needed to be as they pulled into the garage of an apartment building that had to be at least twenty stories high.

"Wow, I had no idea you lived in a place like this." Lucy remarked as she stared at the towering building out the passenger window. Natsu chuckled.

"Yeah, I like it here. It's nice." Natsu replied. He parked the car in his usual spot, turning the car off before getting out to open the door the Lucy and grabbing the food and drinks from her.

"Elevators over here." Natsu instructed as Lucy followed him, hearing the beep of him locking his corolla.

They didn't say much as they made the trip up to Natsu's place, which Lucy discovered was on the seventh floor. The hallway was quiet, except for the sound of Natsu fumbling with his keys to unlock the door to his place.

Lucy's mouth about dropped however, when Natsu managed to get the door open and she saw just how nice his place was. Not to mention it was clean, which Lucy couldn't say she expected. She had heard enough stories from her friends about how much of a slob their dates were.

Just as she was following suit with Natsu who took his shoes off, two cats came darting towards them, seemingly happy that their master was home.

"Alexa, turn on the living room light." Natsu called, the familiar female robotic voice letting them know that she was doing as he asked. Suddenly the lights to the living room switched on, really revealing what kind of a place Natsu lived in, while also making Lucy realize that one of the cats were black and one was white.

"You're not allergic to cats are you?" Natsu asked hesitantly as he saw that Lucy was staring at both of them.

"N-no! It's not that at all… I was just a little surprised is all." Lucy admitted. "The black fur on one of them is so rich it's almost looks a little blue."

"Oh, yeah. That's Happy, and the white one is Carla. She's Wendy's cat."

Gently, Lucy knelt down to pet both of the cats, their fur feeling silky smooth and soft under her fingers. "They're gorgeous." Lucy praised as they meowed.

She gave them one last pet before following Natsu who had disappeared around the corner.

The apartment was clean and simple, white walls with some brownish-red brick accents that she assumed were probably original with the building. The flooring was all wood, a medium dark brown. His living room was the first thing Lucy saw and it was simply furnished with a black couch, a glass coffee table, and a fairly decent sized tv mounted to the wall. There were short shelves lined underneath that were filled with what Lucy could tell were books and movies, with an echo dot on top. There was also a small cat tree to the side of the shelves.

Turning to the left where Lucy was following Natsu, he was standing in a small kitchen, with a simple two burner stove and oven, a sink and stainless steel fridge. The counters were white with dark wood cabinetry.

"Wow your place is beautiful." Lucy remarked, watching as Natsu began pulling their food from the bag.

"Thanks. I like it here." Natsu replied, before smiling and handing Lucy her box of food marked with her order. She took it with a thank you and a smile in return. Natsu pulled out his box, and as soon as he opened the lid, Lucy could smell the spices coming off his food. It burned her nose a little.

"You must really like it spicy." Lucy teased, opening the lid to her own takeout.

"Yeah, I'm into spicy for sure." Natsu replied, taking a bite of his food happily.

For a moment, they stood there in companionable silence, munching on their food even though she noticed that there was a small table that they could have sat at to eat behind the living room but in front of the kitchen. Not that Lucy was complaining. She doubted Natsu sat there often living here by himself, and being gone often.

"Let's go sit in the living room," Natsu suggested. "We can throw on a show on Netflix for background noise and finish my essay you are so graciously helping me with."

"Okay." Lucy agreed, following Natsu to sit on the black sofa before he grabbed the tv remote off the coffee table and turned the tv on.

"Anything in particular you like?" Natsu asked. Lucy shook her head.

"I'm good with whatever you put on." she answered. Natsu quickly navigated his way around the menu, throwing on a show before turning his attention back to his food.

"I left my backpack in my car. Sorry I'm going to go get that. I'll be right back." Natsu informed Lucy after realizing that he had left it there.

"Okay."

With that, Natsu stood up, heading out back down to the parking garage no doubt. Awkwardly, Lucy eyed the apartment, spotting a picture that was sitting on the shelf next to the echo dot that had a picture of Natsu, and a much smaller dark blue haired girl in it. She wondered if that girl was Wendy, Natsu's adoptive little sister that he had told her about. They both seemed really happy in the picture.

"That's Wendy." a voice startled Lucy as she realized that it probably looked like she was snooping.

"S-sorry! I saw the picture and i was curious." Lucy stumbled, feeling embarrassed at her curiosity.

"No worries." Natsu replied, seemingly unbothered. He settled beside Lucy on the couch once again, taking a drink from his iced tea, before unzipping his backpack and pulling out his laptop. "Alright," he began, "Let's get this thing finished."

A couple more hours later, after more joking around, the essay was printed off, and Lucy had agreed to proofread it while they sat on the couch. Natsu was absentmindedly watching the show he had put on, while Lucy had started delving into his essay.

She wasn't sure how long she had been reading when before she knew it, she slightly jumped at the feeling of Natsu's head slumping against her shoulder, his warmth and closeness all of a sudden making her feel way too hot in her clothes as her heart pounded in her chest.

Panic began to settle in when she heard his soft snores, which almost sounded a little like a cat purring. Natsu was sound asleep, and Natsu was using her shoulder as his pillow.

What should she do?! Should she wake him up? She wasn't done proofreading yet. She was sure that he was probably exhausted after his stunt of being awake for almost forty hours. Would it be weird if she just let him sleep?

Deciding to worry about one thing at a time, Lucy continued proofreading his essay. It was actually pretty good, and she was going to suggest a couple small changes here and there, but over all, it seemed that Natsu was much smarter than he was playing off.

A while later, Lucy set down the essay beside her, Natsu still quietly snoring away happily. He was really warm, but she had at least managed to settle herself down a little bit. She turned her attention towards the tv. Perhaps she could let him sleep just a little longer… not realizing that she was going to doze off herself.

It wasn't until the sound of Lucy's phone loudly ringing that both Lucy and Natsu startled awake, both confused as to what was going on. Quickly grabbing her phone, immediately feeling cold at the loss of warmth of Natsu so close to her and napping on her shoulder, Lucy answered the phone.

"Hey Lucy! Are you okay? It's nearly nine and I haven't heard from you." Came Levy's slightly concerned voice over the phone.

"Yeah! Yeah I am!" Lucy quickly covered. "Sorry I just totally lost track of time!"

"Oh, okay. Well I will see you when you get back then! Bye!" A beep sounded as the phone call ended.

Lucy had no idea when she had dozed off, now completely embarrassed. She was sure her face was red. Natsu was stretching, letting out a yawn that he covered with his mouth.

"I am so sorry!" he exclaimed. Lucy noticed his face seemed a little flushed himself indicating that he was probably embarrassed. "I guess I didn't realize how tired I was."

Lucy found herself quickly brushing it off as no big deal. After all, she had dozed off herself. "Don't worry about it, really!" she quickly reassured. "I don't think I realized how tired I was either."

Natsu chuckled, giving her that boyish grin that Lucy was finding she really loved.

"No harm done then?" Natsu suggested. Lucy smiled with a nod.

"Would it be too much trouble to ask for a ride home?" She asked, changing the topic. Natsu shook his head.

"Not at all. Sorry to keep you so late."

When Lucy did finally get home after the whole fiasco at Natsu's house, greeting her roommate who told her she wanted details, Lucy found herself really missing the warmth and safety she had felt napping with Natsu on the couch.

She was definitely in trouble of falling for him.

I know you all want to get to the good stuff! The confession, the official relationship, and probably smut. We will get there!

Hope you enjoyed the little bit of fluff at the end of the chapter, and please do leave me a review! I like to know what you guys are thinking, and it makes writing stories like this so much more worth the time to know people are enjoying it!