Thanks for taking the time to read this!

I'm generally partial to canon fics, but this idea jumped in my head and wouldn't let me ignore it, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and all attached characters do not belong to me. Le sigh.

"Well," Lucy said as they approached the apartment building, "this is me."

Alec looked up at the ten-story building and nodded his approval. "I'll walk you up."

"That's really not necessary—"

But before she could get another word out, Alec led her by the arm inside the building. Hesitant, she clambered up the staircase, her eyes focusing on the steps to avoid her natural clumsiness, toward the seventh floor, where she lived with her three roommates.

"I had a really good time," Alec said, sending her a smile when they reached her floor, matching her stride for stride.

Lucy sent him her award-winning smile, but her words were uncertain. "Yeah, it was definitely interesting."

His smile widened.

He didn't catch the discomfort in her tone, or the hint of sarcasm.

And she knew why.

Even after abandoning her father's ambitious designs—along with his desire for her to marry someone equally prestigious, equally moneyed, equally upper class—she still found herself stuck in an endless circle of dating the same kind of men.

Like her father, they were from good backgrounds and good families. They had law degrees or medical degrees or business degrees. They were older than her, old enough to be successful already. None of them minded that she was barely twenty-one and usually at least half a dozen years younger than her. And they certainly didn't mind staring at her tits during the whole damn date.

They thought, since she was blond, beautiful, and had big breasts, she couldn't be particularly intelligent. That she'd jump at the chance to date them because they showered her with flowers and jewelry.

What they didn't consider was that their showing off was a major turn-off, and Lucy always left the dates disappointed—at the very least.

Her eyes darted toward her companion on the slow walk down the hallway. He walked close enough their arms brushed, crowding her against the wall, but he didn't actually touch her.

Alec was the latest of her disappointments.

He'd seemed so nice when she'd met him at the bookstore, despite the skeptical glance her friend Levy had sent her when she gave him her number. And the fact that he'd called her the next day was a huge plus.

But when she had opened the door tonight, he'd handed her a dozen roses and praised her beauty, and she'd already known how the night would end.

Disappointment.

She had left the flowers on the counter, not bothering with a vase, and if she knew her roommates well enough—which she did—Natsu had probably dumped them in the trash the moment she'd gone.

She came to a stop outside her apartment and fished through her black clutch for her key, taking longer than necessary to avoid eye contact.

"I had a wonderful time," Alec said, stepping closer, his hand on her arm. "You're a lovely woman, Lucy."

"Yeah, it was a nice night," she said noncommittally. Finally, she closed her fingers around the loose key and looked up—instantly regretting it.

He was closer than before, and he placed a hand at her neck, then his mouth on hers. The kiss was short, but the pressure and the way he leaned in toward her made his intentions obvious.

Gross.

Okay, to be fair, she wore red lingerie under her dress for a reason. Alec was attractive to say the least, but there was no way she was going to bed with him now that she knew he was a douchebag. As if.

She swallowed and stepped out of his arms. "Thanks for a great night, Alec," she said as she unlocked the door and nudged it open.

"Invite me inside?"

She hesitated, the door half open, and looked over her shoulder at his oh-so-innocent face. "I have to work in the morning."

Alec stepped closer again and laid his hand on her waist. "I don't want tonight to end, Lucy. I want to spend more time with you."

She cleared her throat.

Then, the door was torn out of her hand, thrown open from the inside.

"Yo, Luce, you're back!"

She stared in shock at the grinning face of her salmon-haired roommate, and before she could protest, Natsu engulfed her in a giant hug, pulling her against his bare chest, his arms wrapping tight around her waist.

Lucy sighed against her roommate's muscled chest and closed her eyes in the embrace, enjoying the heat radiating off of him. "Have you been drinking?"

Honestly, Natsu was always naturally enthusiastic, so it could go either way, but he reeked of whiskey. And he always got flirtatious once he started drinking.

Instead of answering, his eyes focused on the man still in the hallway. "Alex, right?"

Her date coughed uncomfortably. "Alec, actually."

"Cool, cool." Natsu released her from the hug but kept an arm tight around her waist to guide her toward the kitchen. "Come on in, Alex," he called behind him. "I'll pour you a shot. Close the door, will you?"

When they reached the kitchen, Lucy dropped her clutch on the counter and leaned against Natsu while he grabbed the handle of whiskey and poured out another shot. He slid it toward Alec, who'd followed us quietly, hesitantly, inside the apartment.

"Drink up," Natsu said with a grin.

Alec studied the translucent brown liquid skeptically before he finally raised it to his lips. The moment he set the shot glass down, Natsu filled it again, saying, "You've got a lot of catching up to do, Alex. Better hurry up."

"It's Alec," he choked out as he accepted the second shot.

Lucy glanced around the apartment. "Where's Gray? I thought he was off tonight."

Natsu snorted. "That fucker's trashed and ran off to his room to jerk off after sexting his girlfriend all night."

She rolled her eyes. He was probably exaggerating. Natsu always did.

"Oi, don't be spreading lies about me, bitch!"

To her left, Alec coughed and coughed, choking on his second shot at the sight of Gray marching out of his room in only a pair of boxers.

Gray sidled up beside Natsu and punched him in the arm not wrapped around her, but she felt the reverberations. Natsu's arm reflexively tightened at her waist, even as he scoffed at their roommate.

When he turned to her, Gray nodded in acknowledgment. "Hey, Lucy. How was your date?"

She cast her eyes toward Alec, who was still coughing, eyes watering. "This is Alec," she said slowly.

Gray eyed him suspiciously.

"He's joining our game," Natsu said with a grin, as if proud of dragging someone else into their idiotic drinking contest. They were both twenty-two, one year her seniors, and they both had a high tolerance when it came to alcohol—unlike Lucy.

Gray nodded, but his eyes were still on her date.

Finally, Alec managed to get a hold of himself, and he sought Lucy out. "You live with two guys?"

She shrugged. "Well, don't forget Erza."

"Another one?"

"Oh!" Natsu released her quickly—she barely caught herself on the counter to keep from falling—and hurried toward the living room. "Do you like swords, Alex?"

Alec paled. "Swords?"

"Yeah!" Natsu yelled.

"Aw, shit," Gray snapped, quickly following. "Hey, man, leave those alone. You know how Erza gets when you mess with her shit. And you're drunk, dumbass."

"I'm fine," he shouted back.

Lucy closed her eyes and shook her head. They were insane.

"Finally," Alec said with a soft sigh. "Lucy"—she opened her eyes to meet his—"perhaps we could go somewhere more private? Your room?"

She smiled and pushed away from the counter. "I really should make sure they stay out of trouble. Erza really doesn't like it when they touch her things. She's going to kick their asses if she finds out."

He followed her back toward the living room, where Natsu and Gray were bickering in front of Erza's display of traditional katanas. She had half a dozen out here, but the most important swords in her collection were in her bedroom. The intense redhead was smart enough not to leave her priceless possessions within easy reach of the two idiots arguing over whether they should start a good-natured duel with the swords.

"Guys, really?" Lucy snapped as she stumbled up between them, her heel catching on the rug.

Natsu's strong arms wrapped around her before she fell. "Jeez, Luce, you really know how to make an entrance, don't you?"

"Oh, shut up," she snapped.

Even Gray laid a hand on her shoulder to make sure she was okay.

"Whoa…"

The three of them glanced back at Alec, whose eyes were glued to the swords displayed on their wall.

Natsu laughed. "You like swords? Erza should be back in twenty—I'm sure she'd love to show off all of her collection. She's got like a dozen more in her room." He paused. "You know, she could probably even give you lessons if you want, right, Luce?"

She clung to him still, his hand at her hip to keep her steady, and she grimaced before burying her face in his chest.

Natsu just laughed.

She'd made the mistake of taking up Erza on her offer to teach her fencing and sword-fighting when she first moved in with the trio of childhood friends. It hadn't ended well.

Without warning, Natsu lifted her into his arms and carried her to the couch. "Come on, Luce," he said as he dropped her onto the cushion. "Don't you think it's time we get you out of these dumb strappy things? You'll break an ankle." He crouched by her feet and tugged at the tiny buckles until they gave and he could slide the four-inch heels off her tired feet. He dropped the shoes carelessly on the floor, then laid his hot hands on her feet to rub them.

Lucy relaxed against the couch, her head curling back, eyes shut, as pleasure spread through her body at the warm touch.

"Lucy?"

She cracked an eye to look at Alec. "Hmm?"

"I think it's time I take my leave. You obviously already have someone to take care of you tonight."

Her face turned beet red.

His hidden meaning wasn't lost on her as Natsu's hot fingers massaged their way up her calves and the warmth spread through her body. But that didn't mean there was anything between her and Natsu. They'd become fast friends—unbelievably good friends in the short amount of time since she'd moved in with the trio at the end of the summer.

"Thank you for a wonderful night," he said before turning toward the door to leave. "If you ever change your mind, give me a call."

She couldn't help it—she snorted. "Yeah, okay, Alex."

There was no way she'd be calling him. The night had gone badly enough, and her roommates, ridiculous and crazy as they were, positively saved her evening from being absolute hell.

His back tensed at the incorrect name, but he didn't stop.

Gray watched, arms crossed over his bare chest, as her date passed, then exited the apartment. He made sure to lock the door once Alec was gone.

She released a sigh of relief when he disappeared and closed her eyes again. "Thank god that's over."

In the distance, Gray snorted. "Well, I'm going to bed. Have fun...doing whatever you're doing."

Lucy frowned.

What did that mean?

Natsu's hands slowed, and her eyes fluttered open to look at him. He simply grinned at her. "You should go to bed too, Luce. You've got work in the morning."

With a long sigh, she grabbed her heels from the floor and pushed up on her feet. "Yeah, I guess."

He followed her down the hallway toward their bedrooms, but he paused at his own door to make sure she opened hers and made it in safely.

Once inside her room, Lucy closed the door and tucked her heels back inside her closet, but the dress was another story. She couldn't reach the zipper. Levy had helped her zip up before the date—she'd been there for moral support that afternoon and early evening.

Stifling a groan, she tore open her door and called out, "Natsu?"

He was already in his room with the door shut, but he heard her nonetheless. "Yeah?" he asked when he poked his head out.

"Can you come here please? I need your help."

He hesitated, then pulled his door open the rest of the way and crossed the distance toward her.

She paused.

He wasn't just shirtless now. He'd lost his jeans too—he was probably about to crawl into bed or play some video game on his laptop.

When he joined her in her bedroom, he was wearing nothing more than a pair of black and red boxers.

She'd lived with them long enough she'd seen more than enough bare skin to last a lifetime. Especially from Gray—he walked around in just his boxers all the time. But Natsu was rarely as careless with displaying his own body, no matter how fit he was.

Lucy bit her lip but showed him her back, pulling her long blond hair to the side. "Can you get my zipper?"

He stepped closer, silent but his warmth gave him away.

After a long moment of hesitation, his hot fingers grasped the tab and tugged the zipper down past the small of her back. The sides fell away, revealing the back of her red lacy bra and a hint of the matching thong.

Natsu inhaled quickly, sharply.

She wet her lips, not sure why she was nervous, but she turned around to meet his wide eyes with a smile. "Thanks, Natsu." She held the black dress to her front to keep it in place, and he turned around, cheeks dusted with pink.

"You know," he said, his voice low and quivering, "I don't know where you find these guys."

She frowned but marched toward her closet. "Coffee shops, bookstores, the mall, wherever. It's not like I'm specifically going out in search of the most pompous, stuck-up jackasses available." She peeled the dress down her front and allowed it to crumple around her ankles before stepping out of it.

"Sure seems like it."

Lucy sent a glare over her shoulder, but he still had his back to her. "Like you have any better luck with the opposite sex."

It's a low blow, but it's not like Natsu actually went out on dates very often. Or ever. He never seemed particularly interested in dating or romance or sex, and that always perplexed her.

All Natsu did was grunt.

She leaned down to grab the dress and dropped it in her hamper before reaching around for the clasp of her bra. "You have no right to judge. Although I appreciate your help in scaring them off—really, giving him straight whiskey and talking about dueling with Erza's swords…" She laughed, but her frustration wasn't gone. "But that doesn't mean you can—"

Natsu scoffed. "I don't want to fight with you about this, Luce."

She turned toward him again, the clasp undone, but the red lace still clung to her large breasts. "Then why are we fighting about this?"

"I'm just saying, you have terrible taste in men. They're all douchebags." He spun to face her, his face twisted in irritation. "They only see you as an object, something to possess and use and flaunt. But you're better than that."

Lucy froze.

His eyes widened in realization, but that didn't stop them from wandering up and down her half-naked form at a tantalizingly slow pace, then up and down again.

She wet her lips, but the fire that washed through her body made her flush pleasantly. "Then what kind of man should I be dating?" Her voice was barely above a whisper as the flush spread from her cheeks down to her chest.

Natsu dragged his gaze up to her face, a seriousness in his eyes she rarely saw. "Someone who actually cares about you would be a good start. Someone who sees you as the kind, smart, positive person you are instead of where you're from or who your father is. Someone who encourages your writing, even if you haven't gotten anything accepted yet. Someone who sees how beautiful you are on the inside, not just on the outside." Then, his face shifted into his typical grin. "You know, someone who doesn't mind how damn weird you are, Luce."

All Lucy could do was swallow.

He scratched the back of his neck, averting his eyes. "Anyway, I'm heading to bed."

She couldn't even manage to say goodnight as he left the room, refusing to look at her again.

When the door closed behind him, Lucy dropped to sit on the foot of her bed and closed her eyes. The strap of her loose bra slid down her shoulder, and with a huff, she tore it off the rest of the way and collapsed back on the bed.

What the hell was that?

She'd been living with Natsu, Gray, and Erza for nearly six months now, and this was the first time…anything like that had happened.

She'd never considered Natsu or Gray as prospective boyfriends. Gray had been dating Juvia since before she met them, and Natsu hadn't shown even a hint of interest in women in the time she'd known him.

But that certainly didn't discount the way his eyes had studied every inch of her body. Or the way his intense stare made her feel.

The tension had been palpable.

God, her arousal probably had been too.

How embarrassing.

He was bound to be attracted to somebody, but that didn't mean anything. It certainly didn't mean he had feelings for her. What a ridiculous notion.

He hadn't been flirting with her since she got home because he liked her. That was just his way of helping get rid of her terrible date. Because Natsu always knew when her dates went poorly the instant she walked through the door. Hell, before she walked through the door. He'd been waiting for her.

No, he definitely didn't like her like that.

With a heavy sigh, Lucy forced herself to her feet and slipped off the lacy thong before grabbing a pair of decidedly more comfortable underwear from her dresser. Then, she headed for the closet.

She had a wide array of nice pajamas. Thick fleece and warm flannel for the winter, several loose teddies for the summer, and plenty of variety in between, but her favorite thing to wear to bed was the big men's sweatshirt with a crimson dragon on the front. Natsu had let her use it on her first night at the apartment because she didn't have anything to wear. She'd barely left her father's house with her favorite books and a few mementos of her mother; she hadn't managed to take any clothes.

As she tugged the thick sweatshirt over her bare chest, she was glad he'd never asked for it back. She'd fallen for the ridiculous dragon now breathing fire across her breasts.

Almost as quickly as she'd fallen for the ridiculous man who'd given it to her.

Fuck, she really was stuck.

Stuck in an endless circle of Natsu.

I'm considering expanding on this story idea to make a novel-length story. It would probably follow the four roommates from when Lucy moves it at the end of summer to the end of the school year. What do you guys think? Is that something you'd be interested in reading?

Thanks for reading!

UPDATE

Responses to extending this story have been phenomenal. Thank you so much, everyone! I'm glad you've enjoyed this fic, and I can't wait to share more with you. So there will be two more chapters!

Anatui