This is not a NaluLoveFest submission- just a little funny that I had in my head and wanted to get written down. Anyway, the last two one-shots I wrote are going to be my only NaluLoveFest entries for this year. With this little gem now written up, any other posts are going to be for my Multi-Chapter stories!

Enjoy!

"Did… did that Lady just steal my twenty?!"

This was, quite possibly, the strangest day in Natsu's life. That was quite an easy feet to achieve, however, as his life wasn't all that odd to begin with. (At least, not to him it wasn't.) A side job over the summer to help pay off some broken windows was perfectly plausible for a College Student. Not even for the windows, but just for money on the side before the next term ate up all his resources.

Perfectly normal for a millenial. Even if he had an annoying, green apron on, and a black cap covering up spiky, pink hair. (He refused to dye it, no matter how many marks were put against him. Nothing in the employee handbook said no against colored hair and he was FIGHTING for his rights thank you!) Yes, the essence of normal. Even the way he stifled constant yawns as he checked out the multitude of shoppers that day.

Nothing was out of the ordinary until she came in.

Natsu hadn't noticed her at first. He was busy juggling a handful of canned goods while an elderly woman demanded he rescan her coupons. - 'They're supposed to stack!' She snapped! - It was irritating to have to tell her, for the third time that week, that no, it did not matter how many times she screamed it, the discounts did not stack as she wanted them to.

In fact, they rather canceled each other out- as the small print on the back would say, but would she care? Never. The lady wouldn't even bother to put on her reading glasses to squint enough to see it. Instead, she'd demand to see the supervisor, and he'd quickly flag the other down, happy to get her out of his amazing, but hidden, hair.

Before he shouted and got written up again. He really wasn't great for this sort of job, why was he doing it? Ah, yes, he owed Igneel money for busted windows. Quite honestly, he knew it was his fault they were broken, but he still swore up and down that it was the wind that had magically changed direction rather than his own poor aim that caused the travesty. How was HE supposed to know a snowball could be so dangerous?

What had been meant to hit his best friend, Gray, in the face, ended in him being forced to work once things warmed up. (More like once his finals were through. His Foster dad already REPLACED the windows, he was just being forced to pay them off to learn responsibility.)

Now here he was, grumbling at the cash registered as the living terror that was this woman, finally conceded and left. His normal, average day continued on, but he had completely missed the frazzled blonde that had come running in, hair falling out of its ponytail, cheeks flushed and clothes looking like she'd failed at tie dying.

She ran through the aisles, grabbing small things here and there, stuffing them into a tiny basket with barely even a glance on the shelves. Twice, she almost hit a customer and apologized profusely while sliding around them to the next corner. By the time her mad dash through the store lead her right back to the front, Natsu had a new line forming and his coworker had just went on break.

A shame for her. But that gave him an interesting change to his droll routine. She tapped her foot impatiently, shifted from side to side, and made it quite clear she didn't have the time to be in a line, but had no other choice. A few others eyed her with each new change in position, but not once did she try to rudely shove someone aside or skip. He'd give her credit for that.

The weirdo only got weirder the longer she stood there. Randomly checking her phone on and off, furiously texting a message while grumbling under her breath. Even through the loud beeps of food items going across the scanner couldn't silence her words.

"I can't believe Levy's making me-

Just so she can screw around with…"

A deep breath here and the muttering continued, "I am SO going to make her pay!"

That last addition wasn't even quiet. Natsu was certain the entire STORE heard her. But the line just kept moving along, people went about their shopping, and he had to bite back a snicker when his current customer glared at him from the side. Come on, what did he look like? A robot? Of COURSE he was going to laugh at that!

Finally, after more muffled snickers and her creating the subtlest of scenes, it was her turn to scan her purchases. Ignoring him as she furiously dug through her purse for her wallet, the pink haired grocer finally got a decent look at her and honestly? She didn't look too bad. Nice shape in the eyes, pretty brown- he made an effort NOT to sweep his gaze over her body. (Though that was nice too from what he saw-)

"Why couldn't this place have a self-checkout?" She mumbled as he finished scanning a pack of gum and froze over the contents of what she had grabbed.

Oh, well- that would definitely explain why she was so agitated. Natsu couldn't even bother with hiding his snicker that time- and the mortified glare she sent him only made it worse. "Well, no sneaking in and out like the Trojan's at this place."

Crap, did he ACTUALLY say that out loud? What was a cute blush turned to mortified shock and embarrassment and his own face heated up. Yup, he definitely said that out loud. Stuffing the box of condoms into the nearest bag, he laughed it off and continued with the rest of her questionable items. "Not for you I take it?"

"Is that ANY of your business?" She snapped. Covering her face with one hand, she whined. He decided he rather liked teasing her. Her reactions were priceless. "Can you, just, please hurry up? So I can crawl under a rock and die already?"

Oh yes, he definitely liked her reaction.

"Goin' as fast as I can." He answered, and that was no lie. The scanners were a little old, so it took a few swipes from time to time. The speed at which he was going was entirely out of his hands. Thankfully, the blonde didn't seem the type to shout at him for things beyond his control despite the circumstances. Another mark in her favor it seemed.

Though, was it really professionally to be considering marks into an attractive person's favor while on the clock? He chose not to comment on her first question, well aware the answer towards his business clearly had nothing to do with her- though he was starting to wish it did. The moment her final item was canned, the total flashed across the screen and Natsu felt a strange sense of disappointment come across him.

She didn't seem the type to come to a small corner store often. In fact, he had never seen her before until that day. The likelihood of catching her here again was zero. Oh well, that was life, as it was. He'd just have to wash away his woes by slugging Gray in the face later.

And as far away from Igneel's windows as he could manage.

Card approved and the whole register chimed as the receipt was printed. He was severely tempted to write his number down on it, but thought better of it. That's what creepy dudes did and he was not a creepy dude. (So he hoped.) Instead, the receipt was passed on to her and she, still thoroughly embarrassed, swiped it from his hand, grabbed her bags and moved to rush right back through the doors she had come from.

Except, her purse hadn't been properly zipped and what looked to be a thin slip of money fell to the ground. "Oi- H-hey, Lad- err, Ma'am?! You dropped your-" It really sucked having to be polite, but the sentence never left his mouth. During the time he'd been fighting with the scanner, his associate came back from break and had just finished checking out another customer who stepped right next to the fallen object and cut him off with a firm glare.

Wait a minute, why was she- the blonde chose at that moment to turn around, eyes bugging out as the realization hit her. The other woman had swiped the dollar and Natsu could see it clearly now: a twenty. "Oh gosh, thank you for picking that up for me, that would have ruined my entire day-"

Her hand had been held out to receive the money and what looked to be a good samaritan act unfolding right before him took a turn he was not expecting.

"What falls to the ground becomes gifts for others." She said and pocketed the twenty.

A few seconds of silence followed, and with her two bags full of groceries, the woman walked by Natsu's register and the blonde as if nothing had happened. And that was when it all truly happened-

"Did.. did that Lady just STEAL my twenty?!" The cute blonde screeched, enough to make his ears ring, but he couldn't bring himself to complain about it. Instead, his hand swiftly began to untie his apron, intention already set to go after the woman.

"Dragneel, what in the HELL do you think you're doing?" He froze, face paling as his supervisor, a rather short old man who still managed to pack a wallop if you crossed him, eyed him from the office doors. "Tie that back on, you're not on break!"

"But- " He stammered for a moment, pointing towards the doors, "That lady just-"

"No buts- get back to your post!"

He wanted to tell the old geezer to go screw himself, but remembered he was on his last write up for bad behavior. And he REALLY needed to pay Igneel off. Morality warred inside his head, but the decision was made before he could even budge another inch.

The blonde had run right out at the door and from the windows, he could see her rushing towards the other woman, shouting what looked to be obscenities- her small purchased bag of trojan condoms flapping about as she moved.

"Holy shit-!" Well, he could at least be a witness right? Running towards the windows, Natsu watched the situation unfold, jaw slack in shock. The other woman seemed very unhindered by the blonde's insistence. Ignoring her with each step as if she'd done this sort of thing every single day. And who knew, maybe she did. Not many others just throw punches at women over a twenty dollar bill now do they?

And a punch never came. She sat her bags on the ground, fumbled with her keys to open the trunk of her car, and the one thing Natsu never expected happened. He could just BARELY catch the loud shout of blonde and she rushed the woman, grabbing the left alone items.

"WHAT FALLS TO THE GROUND BECOMES GIFTS TO OTHERS!"

She took the woman's bags and ran. Ran right out of the parking lot and towards a small, motor bike, set the bags in a basket and took off without a second glance back. The look on the other woman's face was one of pure, shock and befuddlement.

Natsu was unable to check out another person for fifteen minutes- his gasps and laughter far too loud and constant to handle focusing on the register. "Oh my god, she fucking- she seriously just.. .Oh my god!"

By the time his supervisor threatened ANOTHER write up, he'd been able to get his act together and go on break- fits of chuckles and giggles escaping him every time he thought of the events of that day. It wasn't how he expected his day to go. In fact, he never expected to see anything like that in his life or for the rest of it. He did know one thing-

"I think I'm in love!"

He NEEDED to find that girl again.

"...ah crap!"

He never did get her name, did he?

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