Chapter 1
When Lucy woke up she stayed curled up under the covers, reluctant to get up. She was still amped from her first photo-shoot with the Weekly Sorcerer the previous day, and was reliving it with a smile on her face. In her thoughts, the camera was still flashing away as she struck various sexy poses. Lucy pulled the covers up to her face and giggled.
"Lucyyyy, you're making that weird face again…" chimed Happy from somewhere above her head.
"Kyaaaa! You damn cat! This is MY room!" Lucy screamed as she jumped up off her bed and kicked the cat out of her window.
She sat down, fuming. "Trust Happy to try and ruin my good mood," she thought "and if it's not Happy, it's Natsu. Idiots."
She flopped on her back and her thoughts trailed back to the beach where the shoot was done. She felt her mood brighten – not even Happy or Natsu's frequent and unwelcome visits to her room could get her down today. She got dressed, summoned Plue and made her way to the guild she loved with all her heart.
"Morning Mira!" Lucy said brightly to the S Class mage behind the counter.
"Oh, hi Lucy!" Mirajane chimed, "You know, a request came in this morning that's right up your alley. You up for a solo mission?". She handed the request form to Lucy.
"Escort Lady Angeline of House Gilbert safely from Magnolia to Hargeon Port. 50 000 Jewel Reward. That's almost a full month's rent just for an escort mission, they must be loaded!" Lucy exclaimed.
Mira laughed, "I thought it would be perfect for you, as you know a bit about how the Houses work. If I send someone else, they'll probably end up embarrassing the whole guild… There is a chance of bandits targeting the girl, but you'll be able to handle it, right?"
Lucy smiled and nodded, "Of course. I'll be fine as long as I have my spirit friends with me." She got up to leave, but then paused for a moment. "Mira, please tell the others where I've gone when they get here. The last time I left a note, they freaked out a bit." she said.
"Will do!" Mira said, and went back to polishing glasses.
"Natsu even cried back then…" Lucy thought and shivered. The image of the happy-go-lucky dragonslayer with tears in his eyes bothered her more than she would ever admit to anyone. She put it out of her mind and left the guild in a hurry, eager to finish the mission and collect the much needed rent money.
OOO
BANG!
Natsu burst into the guild with his usual enthusiasm, Happy right behind him. He walked straight to the table where Lucy and Levy always sat, which was now empty. He looked around, sniffed the air a few times, and sat down looking thoroughly crestfallen. Gray, who was watching him since he entered the guild, took his chance to escape from Juvia and headed over to the dragonslayer. He secretly considered Natsu as a brother, and thought a good fight would bring him back to his usual self.
"What's with the frown, Flamebrain?" he said, crossing his arms and smirking.
Natsu looked up, immediately irritated. He had picked out a mission to go on with Lucy and Happy, but she was late. Not to mention that she didn't even pitch up yesterday. Now Gray was in front of him, stinking up the area. "Move it, Droopy Eyes!" he shouted.
"What? You wanna go Ashface?! Or are you scared?" Gray tempted.
"Put on your pants first, you pervert!" Natsu screamed while he threw a punch at the ice mage.
Gray looked down and found, to his surprise, that he was once again only in his underpants. When he looked back up he had just enough time to see Natsu's fist inches from his face, about to hit.
"Distraction successful" he thought.
With Fairy Tail being such a rowdy bunch, a full scale fight was soon in progress, with mugs, chairs and tables flying everywhere. A few of the girls tried to stop it in vain. It was only when Erza arrived that the guild quieted down. It took only one look from Erza to turn even Natsu and Gray into cowering statues.
"Mira, where is Lucy?" Erza asked. The moment she said "Lucy" Natsu was there, followed by Gray.
"Oh, yes!" Mira exclaimed, "I almost forgot. She's on a short escort mission I picked out for her today. She should come by later."
"Aah that's too bad. I brought her a copy of the Weekly Sorcerer. They printed it this morning already" said Erza.
"What's so special about it that you had to bring it to her?" asked Natsu sulkily. He was angry that Lucy left without him. "We are supposed to be partners!" he thought.
"Did you forget, Natsu? It was Lucy's first photo-shoot yesterday! You're in the same team, you should show your support." Erza said sternly.
"Well let's see how she looks," Gray said, earning a few feverish nods from Macao, Wakaba and the few others that crowded behind Erza the moment they heard about the shoot.
Erza paged to Lucy's interview and within a few seconds of the magazine being passed around, the only noses that weren't bleeding were those of Mira, Erza, Gray and Natsu. Strangely, the dragonslayer was turning redder by the second. Finally he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Oi, give me that, you perverts!" he yelled, snatching the magazine from Nab's hands, "Stop drooling over pictures of my partner or I'll blow you out of the sky!"
He was starting to burn up, and the magazine was just about to alight, when he turned around and stalked out of the guildhall. Those that were shocked at his outcry, now had knowing smiles on there faces, having realized the reason behind his actions – Natsu had a thing for Lucy!
OOO
That night, Lucy sat at her desk and wrote to her late mother. She was feeling smug at the guild's reaction to her photo-shoot. When she came back from her mission, they had greeted her with great enthusiasm (especially the men). Her initial embarrassment soon faded, because of all the compliments she received. Levy, one of her best friends, was congratulating her on the interview she gave, Wendy was blushing furiously while asking for tips and even Juvia said she looked good. Her heart panged a bit when she thought about Natsu. She was looking forward to telling her partner about her mission and the photo-shoot, but he didn't turn up. Usually, he would always listen to her stories. Even with his denseness and rash temper, he was still the best partner she could ask for. He always went out of his way to protect her. He was her best friend…
"Friend… not boyfriend,"she thought yearningly, "Oh, get a grip, Lucy Heartfilia! Why am I worrying about that idiot? He wouldn't understand anyway and it's not like he finds me attractive. I would just about have to be naked for him to notice, and even that might not work… Wait… What…? What did I just think…?!"
"Kyaaaaa!" Lucy squealed, blushing. Her thoughts were becoming a little too dangerous for her liking, and she got into bed, hoping a good night's sleep would get her mind in order.
Unbeknownst to Lucy, Natsu was sitting on her windowsill, watching her. He had seen all the emotions pass on her face as she wrote: happiness, sadness, anger and then shock. She had blushed a beautiful rosy colour and jumped straight into bed without noticing Natsu. When her face was sad, he had to resist the urge to jump in and hug her. Oh, how he wanted to know what she was thinking.
"I missed you today Luce… and I was worried about you. And then those idiots were drooling over your pictures… I just couldn't take it." he thought.
His mind trailed to the pictures in question, seeing her beautiful smile and her hot body… A blush crept to his face as he realized what he was imagining.
"What is happening to me? Lucy is my partner, why do I feel like this?" His thoughts were all jumbled.
He took one last look at the sleeping celestial mage and jumped from her window, feeling confused, but also elated. He would figure this out later, for now he needed to find Happy and rest up for tomorrow's mission.
