Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters. If I did, there would be way more fluff.

Lucy Heartfilia awoke to the soft whoosh of wind blowing in from the open bedroom window and the melodic chirping of birds. The young woman pushed herself up in a sitting position and yawned, stretching her arms above her head. She then crawled out of bed and grabbed a towel to take a bath.

She turned on the hot water and filled the tub with it. While waiting for the tub to fill up, she thought about the dream she had that night, or at least, the parts she could vividly remember.

It was late, probably after midnight, at Akane beach, and she and Natsu walked down the shoreline, hand in hand, with him staring lovingly into her eyes. The view was almost ethereal, she recalled, with the full moon glinting off the crystal blue ocean, and the white sand slipping between their bare toes. Yet the sight couldn't compare to Natsu, with his soft, rose-colored hair, sweet, loving smile, and-

Lucy snapped out of her thoughts before they could go any farther. She shouldn't think of her partner like that, shouldn't want him like she did, and yet...

She shook her head in an attempt to physically remove the thoughts from her brain. When she decided the thoughts had finally disappeared from her brain, she removed her towel and climbed into the steamy bathwater.

Lucy had just climbed the steps of the Fairy Tail guild when a loud boom resounded against the doors. She jumped back, expecting furniture or a guild member to crash through the door, but when nothing crashed through, she opened the door and entered her guild.

The place was slightly more messy than usual, with overturned furniture, broken glass, and unconscious guild members as far as she could see. Lucy heaved a deep sigh and rolled her eyes at the sight in front of her. Typical. She looked around the guild to spot the guilty mages involved, and wasn't overly shocked when Natsu and Gajeel crashed into the ground floor from the second floor, wood splintering the ground while flaming embers and bits of iron flew into the air. Lucy avoided the debris and took a seat at the bar, resting her head in her arms.

"Good morning, Lucy!" a cheerful voice said to her. The blonde looked up into the kind blue eyes of Mirajane.

"Good morning, Mira," replied Lucy.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine." Her eyes quickly darted over to the dragonslayers, who were currently sprawled on the floor with Erza towering over them. She diverted her eyes just as fast and hoped the barmaid wouldn't notice.

No such luck. The woman followed Lucy's gaze and her smile turned devious. She looked at the celestial mage.

"Natsu, huh? I'm not surprised. I always thought you two would make a perfect couple!"

Lucy groaned and slammed her head back on the table. "It's not like that," she grumbled.

Mira frowned slightly, and a moment later her eyes lit up with realization. "Why don't you tell him then?"

Lucy stared at her, dumbstruck. "I can't do that!" she said after a moment of incoherent muttering. "What if he won't talk to me or even want to be around me anymore?" The distressed girl hid her flushed face in her hands, wishing this conversation had never happened.

"I'm sure that wouldn't happen. But I really do think you should tell him, Lucy."

She moaned loudly. Tired of talking about her love life, she made up an excuse to get away from Mirajane and walked over to the request board to pick out a job. She was so lost in thought that when someone tapped her shoulder, she squealed and jumped into the air. She spun around to face the culprit and instantly blushed. It was Natsu. She felt her heart pick up its pace in her chest.

"Oh... Hi, Natsu."

"Hey." He grinned his usual happy grin. "Can you meet me tonight?"

"Yeah, sure. But why?"

"I wanna take you somewhere and I want it to be a surprise."

Is he asking me out?, she thought nervously to herself.

"Okay. Yeah, sure," she replied.

"Great! See you tonight, Lucy!" Natsu turned around and left the guild, Happy flying out after him.

Lucy stared at the request board, lost in thought. She took one last glance at Mirajane, who smiled and winked at her, and sprinted out of the guild and back to her apartment.

Lucy faced a serious problem. She had no idea WHAT TO WEAR! She couldn't go out looking like this! If she wanted to see Natsu, then she had to look amazing. If only she had help picking out an outfit that would be perfect for tonight.

Then, like a fire dragon iron fist to the face, an idea hit her.

She picked up one of her Gatekeys. "Open, Gate of the maiden, Virgo!"

"Hello, princess. Anything I can help you with?"

"Yes! Virgo, I need you to help me pick out an outfit for tonight. I need to look amazing!"

"Wow!" Lucy exclaimed after about forty-five minutes of prepping. She looked great to say the least. She wore a black leather miniskirt over glittery leggings that looked almost invisible, a loose, off the shoulder pink blouse, and cream platforms. It wasn't overly dressy, but it was comfortable and seemed perfect for the occasion.

"You look stunning." said Virgo.

"Yes I do. Thank you so much, Virgo!"

"Now will you punish me, princess?"

"No!" She thanked Virgo again and closed her Gate.

Now it was time to see Natsu. And maybe, if I'm brave enough, I'll tell him how I feel.

Lucy opened the door to find Natsu leaning up against her house.

"Hey." she said with a nervous smile.

He stared at her for a few moments before answering. "Hey. You ready?" She nodded.

He looked up at the sky. It was starting to get dark.

"Let's go." He grabbed her hand and they left.

Natsu took her to a lake. There was a full moon out, the stars twinkled brightly in the sky, fireflies flew around everywhere she looked, and even though it was dark, she could still see the brightly colored flowers, the breeze making them sway slightly.

To say that the sight before her was pretty was an understatement.

They sat down on the thankfully dry grass and Lucy smiled at him. "Natsu, this place is... it's beautiful!"

"Yeah." Lucy could have sworn she heard a tinge of sadness in his voice.

Natsu didn't look at her or say anything for a while, and then he faced her.

"Are you mad at me?" His normally cheerful face turned gloomy. Seeing him upset nearly broke her heart.

"No, of course not, Natsu. Why would you think that?"

He sighed. "It's just... You've been acting different around me lately and you haven't wanted to go on jobs with me either."

She looked down. "It's not like I'm trying to act different or that I haven't wanted to go on jobs with you. I just..."

"Just what, Lucy?" She looked up. He was only a few inches away from her now.

"I... I like you, Natsu. I've liked you for a while now." She sighed. "I understand if you don't want to be around me anymore." She got up and started walking away.

"Wait! Lucy, come back!" Natsu cried. She felt a hand grab hers and then Natsu spun her around to face him.

"Luce." he said softly. Hearing him call her that sent tingles throughout her body. He grabbed her waist and pulled her close. Before she could even ask Natsu what he was doing, he kissed her.

Lucy never felt anything like it before. It felt like her whole body was on fire, her heart was about to explode, and feelings she couldn't even begin to describe were flowing into her. She loved it all so much that tiny moans escaped from her lips.

She reached up and buried one of her hands in Natsu's soft pink locks. He pulled her closer and the kiss became more passionate. Lucy parted her lips, and then Natsu's tongue slid out and caressed hers.

The kiss lasted a few seconds longer. When they broke apart, they stared into each other's eyes lovingly. Tears started brimming in Lucy's eyes and Natsu gently brushed them away.

"I like you too, Lucy." He grinned.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"That was the first time I kissed someone."

Lucy grinned back. "That was my first time too. I'm glad it-" She was cut off by another kiss. She kissed him back, thinking about how beautiful this place was, and that it was the perfect place to have such a perfect moment.

One month later...

Natsu and Lucy finally returned from a job. They were tired, hungry, and really quite filthy. Defeating ten Vulcans can take a lot out of you, Lucy thought wearily. Her mind returned to Hakobe Mountain, from which the couple had just returned from mere hours before.

They only managed to defeat two of them when one of the Vulcans picked Lucy up and ran off with her, the other six trailing behind. They fought over her, each one saying that she was their woman.

They didn't fight over her for much longer though, because Natsu beat all of them, but not before saying she was his woman, and that he-

Lucy's eyes widened, remembering that particular moment. She looked over at him. He looked exhausted. She sat next to him and he put his arm around her, pulling her close.

"Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"When you defeated the Vulcans, did you really mean it when you said?..."

Natsu smiled sweetly. "Yeah, I meant it. I love you, Luce."

Lucy blushed and smiled back. "I love you too, Natsu."