The four Fairy Tail mages had just finished their quest and received 800,000 Jewels. Their client is Magnolia's townsmayor himself! Despite their destructive behaviour, they miraculously succeeded in not destroying the buildings thanks to Lucy and managed to defeat the famous mage thief along with his subordinates allowing the council people to arrest them thus ending their request.

"Wah~ With this much money, I can buy a lot of fish!" Happy happily shouted as Natsu just grinned at him .

"Huh...I should get a new armor..." Erza thought out loud while stroking her chin as the other hand was pulling her all-tied-together baggage. Gray keeps walking with them, noticing Lucy was left behind .

"You've been quiet. What's wrong?" He asked. Natsu, Erza and Happy stopped and find Lucy was walking slowly and facing the ground. Feeling tired, she slowly lifted her head upwards facing them and replied to Gray.

"Oh, I'm just fine." Her voice became rusty at the end of her statement of being fine and this shocked them . A tired expression appeared on her sweating face as she clears her throat.

"No, you're not. I'm taking you home." Natsu said as he walked towards Lucy and motioned Lucy to get on his back.

"Thanks, but I can still walk. I'm fine, okay?" She insisted as she took out her handkerchief to wipe her sweat. "Don't you guys think it's a little bit hot today? " Lucy asked as she fanned herself using her folded handkerchief.

"Not really. " Happy replied to Lucy. Natsu touched Lucy's forehead only to find it hot.

"Hey, your temperature is hotter than my fire Luce! " Natsu said as Lucy removed his hand from her forehead as she keeps insisting it was nothing giving Natsu the glare.

"No I'm not. I just feel hotter today. It's nothing to be worried about. Let's keep going. " Lucy tried to convince them as she continued walking leaving her team mates behind. Erza gave Gray and Natsu a signal to keep moving. After sometime, almost arrive at the guild, Lucy stopped walking and touched her temple.

"Lucy, Natsu might be right. You're sick. " Erza said as she jogged a bit facing Lucy that is now seen frowning and facing the grounds again.

"Oi! Are you saying I can't tell if someone is sick?" Natsu said to Erza only to find himself on the ground face first with some smoke appeared from his butt. "Oh Natsu you do know I don't underestimate you with your skills. You're really talented in fighting indeed." Erza replied with her eyes closed and arms crossed.

"That has nothing to do with Lucy..." Gray smiled nervously muttering to himself hoping the Titania would not hear him. Much to his dismay, he is also on the ground next to Natsu a minute later, smoke coming out of his butt.

"...But I can still-OOF!" Erza smacked Lucy on her back neck causing Lucy to faint. Erza then tells Natsu to bring her home as Happy wants to follow them to Fairy Tail. Obviously wanted to meet Charle .

Walking to Lucy's apartment with Lucy on his back, he had to enter her room normally using the front door. He placed Lucy down gently in a sitting pose as he searched for her house key in her bag. He opens the door, closed them and layed Lucy on her fluffy bed. Natsu opened her window to let in some fresh air. After that, he sat beside her on the bed with his legs on the floor. He watched as her breasts move up and down quite fast because of her breathing . As if Lucy knew he was staring, she moved her arm protectively on her chest. Natsu realised what he was doing and shook his head furiously. That's weird, he thought as he massages his head and the other hand was on his lap. Lucy half opens her deep brown eyes and the first she sees is Natsu. Natsu worriedly rushes questions to her after that.

"Hey Luce, are you hungry? Do you want water? Food? Or, or books?" Lucy doesn't want to do any of the things he mentioned. "Do you want me to fan you?" She shook her head. Natsu remembered one thing that Lucy loves to do the moment she feels upset or just came back home. "B-bath?" Lucy slowly nodded her head. "Got it. I'll be back shortly and bring Mirajane here!" Just as he was about to go, Lucy pulled on his scarf and he choked on it.

"Don't leave me...alone..." Lucy pouted and cleared her throat roughly because she's damn tired. She releases the scarf weakly. Natsu fixed his scarf over.

"Don't you want to have a bath? I have to ask Mirajane to help you." He said as he was kneeling on the floor and stroke Lucy's head and played twirl with her hair. Natsu realised he was being weird again and stopped quickly hoping Lucy wouldn't notice at his not-so-sure-strange acts.

"No...no..." She replied in her rusty voice while shooking her head and stops with her eyes in circles. "Ah...I see circles everywhere..."

"Don't do that, Lucy. You'll get a headache." After telling her that, Natsu paused for a while. "If only you listened to me and accept my piggyback offer earlier you won't have to feel so tired, Luce. Now look. "He scolded her as he stands on his feet. Seeing Natsu like that, Lucy laughed . She finds it funny for him to scold her with his other hand on the hip and the other was pointing her.

"Don't laugh now..."

"Sorry. I... don't want to trouble you guys. " Lucy said, looking outside the window. The clouds were drafting away slowly and birds flew by and chirping cheerfully making her smile. "I want bath." She said as her voice was rusty again.

"But I really need help with that, Luce."

"I can bathe myself."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

"I'll get Lisanna."

"No. I don't want to trouble her."

"Then I'll get Wendy."

"I don't want to trouble her either."

"Then I'll-"

"No help needed Natsu..."

"...Why are you being so stubborn?"

"I'm not, Natsu." Lucy puffs her cheek angrily and Natsu finds her cute like that and had to control his blush so they won't show up. Suddenly, he felt really, really weird. His stomach feels something but he tries to ignore them away.

"What if you fall asleep in the tub?" He crossed his arms. "And drown yourself?"

"Geez...I won't." Her voice was rusty again and she's getting tired of having to clear her throat everytime.

"What if you-"

"If you can't entrust me bathing myself then why don't you help me bathe then?" Lucy snapped out as she sat on her bed. Natsu, on the other hand was quite a slowpoke as he seem to be progressing what Lucy had told him leaving him emotionless. Lucy went pale after thinking about what she had said to him. "I-I'm joking! Haha !" Why the fuck did I say that?! She shrieked silently in horror inside her head, holding her temple.

"I don't mind."

"HUH? W-what? I said I was joking!" Is he out of his mind!?

"No. I'll do it." Gladly, he might say, but that will surely get him kicked out of her house.

"Okay. I'll sit here and wait for your return from Fairy Tail and bring Mirajane, Lisanna or Wendy over."

"Why the hell should I brought them here?" He replied bluntly.

"But Natsu, aren't you the one who wanted them to help me?"

"Well..." He strokes his chin and looks at the ceiling. "I already gave up on that thought. I can do it. Don't worry." He said with a stupid grin and went to the bathroom. A minute later, Lucy hears water flowing. He's damn serious! She thought as she went dark on the face.

"How do you warm the water?" He shouted from the bathroom.

Lucy sighed at this and replied, "Just turn up the temperature of the hot water heater!" She guessed Natsu will have trouble with that and will have his own way to burn the water.

"Fuck this, I'll just boil the water manually!" She was right on the hunch.

"Don't burn my bathroom!"

"I know! You'll kill me if I do! I still wanted to live my life!" He shouted back.

"I can somehow shout thanks to you." She quietly said to herself looking to where her bathroom is, forgetting Natsu is a dragon's child and have sensitive hearing and flinched when he shouted, "You're welcome!" Lucy can picture him saying that with that stupid grin on his face.

"Come on, it's warm now!" He called out. Lucy agreed to him and grabbed her towel and stand up on her feet almost falling, to the bathroom. Natsu was playing with the water.

"You can wait for me outside."

"I'm going to bathe you."

"Go outside, pervert!" Lucy kicked him out of the bathroom and his face kissed the floor. He sat cross-legged leaning on the bathroom door and was thinking why he was being weird. It's a good thing Lucy didn't notice him. How will he ever answer her?

As Lucy's head rested against the tub, she let her mind drift along with her hair, which, like a mermaid's, flowed through the water this and that, softly.

She noticed when Natsu played twirl with her hair she felt weird things in her body. Or when he wanted to help her bath and refuses to call any of the girls from the guild to help her.

Natsu wanted to call them in the first place. He seemed to change his mind very quickly. Thinking about this small matter made her blush and she quickly shook her head to get it off her mind about something that's obviously not happening...

He's just being considerate. She thought as she let herself sink into the tub with her nose into the water making bubbles.

But when she had those flashbacks about him the moment she had a fever and not being able to watch the rainbow sakura tree with everyone, Natsu and Happy had placed the tree on the boat on the river near her house.

They pretended they don't know what she is talking about the next day she thanked them but it's obviously they were the ones who did it and it made her very happy. And, there were also the time when she was kidnapped by the Phantom guild and was locked in a tower and believe Natsu would surely come to her when she jumps off the tower and she was right!

Also, the maid outfit she wore during the Daybreak request was there too with the same small note before labelled,'Lucy's maid outfit'. Natsu had treasured everything about the journey he had made with Lucy. God, there's so many valuable moments she had made with him and smiled to herself and she blushed and noted to herself he's the bestest friend she ever had.

What was it about bath anyway? She was supposed to be relaxing, clearing her mind off everything. But here she is, thinking about the precious memories with Natsu. So is people saying that bath is the perfect time to think about life was really true?

Natsu, on the other hand was working his brain out. He swore he had never felt this way before. Sure, Lucy was a beatiful young girl and is kind hearted towards everyone. Not to mention she had those lovely smile that makes him happy whenever he sees it. He didn't like seeing her sad face. It hurts him. He had been protecting her all the time, afraid that she might get hurt.

He didn't want this Lucy to die like the future Lucy during the battle with the evil Rogue. It's not like Lucy is weak or can't fight. She can fight and she is not weak when she can easily summon two or more of her celestial spirits. Lucy can be scarier and meanier than Erza if she's really mad. He and Gray have witnessed it before. But fighting randomly was so not her style.

It just feels natural to have the urge of protecting her. Why? Ah...because she's my partner and we have to have each other. Yes, that's right. But why did he feel super worried when he found out Lucy is sick? That said, he was angry at himself because Gray knew about it first too. That ice princess... Damn it I was supposed to walk beside her at that my stomach felt weird. Just what is happening to me?! Whenever I'm reminded of her this tingling feeling is felt ticklish and I feel nervous around her sometimes-

She's just my partner! Or maybe I'm hungry! But I just ate and don't feel like eating something. Ah! Could it be that I ate something bad and there are maggots and they turn into cocoons and became small butterflies in my stomach? ...No,no...That's creepy and impossible.

"Shit I don't understand any of this..." Natsu scratched at the back of his head. The bathroom door slid open and there stands Lucy in her towel. Natsu looked at her and gaze at her. Her peachy cream skin was like, glowing in his sight and the water dripped from her wet blonde hair onto her smooth cream-like skin, down way her thighs, her slim calf and onto the mat. Her towel barely covers her cleavage as Lucy grip onto the bit of her towel which were on her chest, afraid it might fall off anytime. She gripped her towel a bit hard,(why?) and seemed to pressed her arm and it was buried a little between her breasts.

Natsu tried his best not to scan Lucy's body up and down again and again and act like he normally does. He gulped because Lucy was looking at him. Straight in the eyes. God, that sexy pair of eyes-

"What is it you don't understand?" Lucy said taking a nearby chair,sat on it and squeeze her hair as she tilt her head , still looking at her best friend. Best friend. Yeah, he was just that. She thought.

"Uh..." He hesitated as his eyes look everywhere in the room, trying to avoid her eyes. Suddenly he heard something and found it was only Lucy sneezed.

"My nose is runny. Sorry for that." She pulled out a tissue and wiped her that, she leaned her back on the chair and sighed, looking at the ceiling. Natsu turned, looking into her eyes again and felt nervous. He massages his head again as he look at the floor. I've heard Mira talk about that before...Just what is it? She never told what the symptom was for.

The sunlight had faded and a gust of wind is heard. A few minutes later, it was raining cats and dogs.

Lucy, forgetting she is still in her towel, tries to stand up but before she can, Natsu was already up. Both hands on her shoulders, Natsu told her not to do anything. Anything.

"Just sit here and I'll close the windows so your bed won't get wet." And went to kneel on her bed as he reached to close the window. Lucy walked in later, switched on the lights and sat on the bed.

"You're quite sharp, knowing what I wanted to do."

"Of course I do, I don't want to sleep on a soaked bed." He paused as he sat cross-legged on the bed and arms-crossed. "How do you feel now?"

"Never better. But my nose is runny - Wh,what?"

"I asked if you feel better now."

"No,no, the other."

"How do you feel now?" He replied in confusion. That was the same question he asked Lucy. What's the point asking him twice anyway?

"No, I mean, about my bed."

"Ah...That explains it. I said I'm not sleeping on a soaked bed." He replied. "It was sunny minutes ago and now it's raining. Say, do you have tea? " He said, trying to change the subject.

"You want to sleep on my bed? Then where the hell do I sleep?"

"Luce, your voice is getting worse. Have a drink, will you. Do you have tea? I'll be making the tea so remember not to do anything." He said with his finger pointing at her. "The sickly should always rest."

"Hmph. It's stored inside the cabinet on the left." She put her elbow on the table and rested against her palm, puffing her cheeks again because Natsu kept treating her like that. That made Natsu secretly find too adorable to be told. And then, there was that feeling about flying somewhere and felt nervous again. This time, his heart had joined the other parts of his feeling. Beating faster than before. He felt like hugging her and think that there's something needs to be done with her pouting cherry lips. Just like last time, he shook his head to remove the weird idea. Had Lucy rubbed her weirdness on him?

Back at the kitchen, Lucy could hear something like, "Oh shit!" and "She'll murder me!" Sighing, she had to do something like walking into the kitchen. She felt her blood boiling when she saw the condition of her used-to-be-clean kitchen. She went dark on the face. The sugar spilled on the floor and the salt too. The floor is wet with water and some flour was on the floor too. Flour plus water is quite a pain in the ass to clean.

"I know you want to make tea but what's with the spilled salt and flour?" She asked as her voice changed completely. Natsu shrieked in horror not realizing Lucy was there, dark on her face and the dark, killer aura around her. The front door was opened but no one heard them because of the rain. A few people tiptoed in and stole something and quickly tiptoed out and closed the door.

"Y-you see...I want to put some sugar in the tea but I kind of knock those with my hands and I was spacing out, I swear I didn't mean to cause such a mess!" That terrified look was priceless. Natsu had just triggered the demon inside of Lucy and he knew he need to watch his words carefully.

"You?"

"You what?"

"Why are you spacing out? You're spacing out because of what?"

"Just something i couldn't get my minds off. Happened today."

"Tell me about it."

"No way, it's too embarassing!" Natsu said as he seemed to stir the tea too fast causing some of the tea spilled.

"...Okay, but do it quickly already so I can clean the floor." She 'tch'-ed at this, arms-crossed, stomping her feet rapidly on the floor.

Natsu shooked his head. "Hey, you mustn't do anything. You're sick. And why aren't you dressed?"

"I'm fine this way. Who's going to clean those mess up? If you're going to go and ask Mi-" Natsu put down the finished cup of hot tea on the table, turned Lucy to the front and pushed Lucy back inside her bedroom .

"Yes, yes. As much as I would hate to do cleaning I'll do it for you, okay?" He stopped and went back to the kitchen to bring the cup of tea. Lucy reached her hand for the tea but Natsu stretched his hand away from her and Lucy frowned.

"Oi, this is mine." He said.

"You only make for yourself? How selfish..." She puffs her cheek again forgetting about her anger about her messed up kitchen. Natsu chuckled. This is what he had expected to see. He had loved the cute expression on her face. "Go sit there." He motioned the bed.

Lucy listened to him and said, "Tch. You just wanted my bed after all." She sat on the bed as she crossed her leg in the lady-like-way (sorry, I don't remember what the name for how girls sit with the other leg on the other leg) and looked at Natsu in front of her holding the cup of tea. "Can I have a sip or two? I'm thirsty."

"Sure,sure." Instead of giving Lucy the cup of tea, he drank it.

"Hey-" Natsu's lips was on hers, delivering the warm tea into her mouth. Her eyes shot open and she had to hold the tea-kiss to prevent any tea spilling on the bed. Natsu pushed her head towards him to deepen the tea-kiss and release her when she finished drinking. Lucy, eyes widened and red as a crab, touched her lips, unable to believe what Natsu did to her. She was blushing madly and her knees felt weak. Her heart beat wildly fast and blood rushing over to her face.

"You have some of the tea there." Natsu said and wipe the tea with his thumb at the near end of Lucy's lips. "Want more?" He asked, grinning. He was enjoying himself looking at Lucy's state at the moment. Blushing because of him. Lucy didn't reply to him. She just sat there, red all over.

She lowered her hand from her lips and snatched the cup of tea from Natsu and filled her mouth with tea, wiping some of tea at the back of her hand.

She pat on the bed signaling Natsu to sit beside her and quickly delivers the tea into his mouth in which he accepted. After he finished drinking, he was about to release himself from the tea-kiss, only to be pulled back as Lucy kissed him harder with her eyes closed and cupped his face with both her hands.

Well, he couldn't resist the feeling of sweet her lips so he kissed her back despite being shocked at Lucy's act. They stayed like that for a while and only break the kiss for the sudden blackout.

"Oh, the heater!" Lucy panicked.

"Why do you need the heater for ? I'm here, you know." Natsu grinned and hugged Lucy from behind and rested his chin on her hair that is still wet. "You smelled like apple."

"S-so what?" Lucy replied leaning her back on him. Oddly enough, her towel hadn't fell off for a while after so much moving.

"I love eating apples. But that's sad because I can't eat you." He said, laughing and sniffs her exposed shoulder. "Wanna know why I did that?" He can feel Lucy shrugged him off her shoulder. But she still let his muscular arms wrap her anyway.

"...No."

"Because I want you to know I care and loved you."

"Hey, I thought I said no." Lucy laughed.

"I don't care. Seeing you in this piece which can be pulled off easily..." Natsu reached for the pit of the towel between her breasts and pulled it off, leaving Lucy half naked as the downward part was still covered. Lucy flinched the moment Natsu trailed his finger downward between her breasts...and stopped as he hugged her tightly. "...makes me feel like eating you. It's tempting me. Are you glad we're in the dark now? And it's raining." He bite her neck leaving her moaning in pleasure.

"Who would've thought you have own way of kissing me?"

"Ngh...Does that matter?" He replied, making her lay on the bed . Even in the dark, Natsu can see his partner's big and deep brown eyes looking straight at him. Natsu was on top of her trapping her between his muscular arms.

"I'm glad we're in the dark." Lucy stretched her hands and brought her best friend's face to hers and kissed him. He bit her upper lip and licked her tongue. "Natsu, I like you."

"You don't love me?" He asked, burying his face in Lucy's hair, making her laugh. "Just like?"

"I'll love you if you make me healthy again. Natsu, you're so out of character." Lucy said as she run her finger at his wild salmon hair multiple times. It felt...smooth.

"Aren't you?"

"I lo-" Lucy tried to confess to him only to be cut off by another wet kiss.

The next morning after making out the whole night and warmed by Natsu, Lucy had woken up with Natsu sleeping beside her. His right hand were wrapped around her body and his legs as well. She turned only to find Natsu was awoke, looking at her, and quickly turn at the opposite side from he is now. Lucy sat up and she can see him back to his old self, and he was blushing madly. She pulled his ear, causing him to catch her hand.

"Hey, your ear is red as a tomato."

...What the hell did I just wrote? Okay, I planned on writing something short and sweet but my brain betrayed me, and I was supposed to submit this early in the morning. I realised, I can't write humour. Well if you laugh, please tell me okay?