AU, obviously. Sorta. Well, you'll see. This is dedicated to James. Without him, this wouldn't be here.

Lucy was on her way to the next town to buy a new key. She wasn't a fan of walking through the woods to get there, but she had no other choice. She was strapped for cash and a train ticket would leave her with no money for her key. That's what she got for running away, living with bare minimum comfort. She wasn't going to let that stop her from becoming a better wizard though, that's for sure. However, it was getting dark. Lucy knew she'd have to stop for the night; even she wasn't brave enough to travel though the woods alone in the dark. With a sigh, Lucy sat down under a tree for the night.

"This key better be worth it," she mumbled before drifting off into a restless sleep.

The sun shining through the tree canopy streaked Lucy's face with strips of early morning light. With a yawn, she opened her eyes and stretched before standing to resume her journey. That's when Lucy came out of her groggy stupor with the horrifying realization that she, Lucy Heartfilia, had gotten lost.

"Now I'll never make it to the town today," she whined, "and who knows if the key will still be there tomorrow!" She groaned as she sat on a nearby rock. Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind a tree.

"Happy, come on, we're going to be late if you don't fly me there! Who knows, my lead might be gone by then!" the voice said.

"Aye, Sir, but wouldn't it have been faster if we just took the train?" a second voice responded. Lucy just heard a moan in response.

"Happy, just hurry up so we can get to Hargeon," the first voice responded.

"Hargeon… that's the town I'm going to!" Lucy exclaimed. She ran off to where the voices originated from to see a blue cat flying off with a pink haired boy.

"Wait!" she called after them, but they kept flying. Lucy did the only thing she could think to do; she followed them through the forest.

Eventually, she lost them, but in front of her stood a large house. Lucy decided that since she was already lost, then she'd have nothing left to lose if she went inside. Oddly enough there was only one door inside, and it was a terribly small door at that. Lucy, thoroughly confused at this point, looked over and saw a table that she must have missed when she first walked in. There on the table was a small silver key. Lucy couldn't believe her eyes, that was the key that she had been looking for, Canis Minor.

"I guess I was supposed to follow that pink haired idiot," she murmured to herself. Lucy picked up the key and was about to leave when she realized that the door she used to get in was gone. She turned back around and faced the small door.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to try out my new key and see if it'll help me out. Open gate of the Canis Minor!" she tried. Suddenly, a small snowman-like spirit appeared before her.

"OH MY GOSH YOU ARE SO CUTE!" Lucy exclaimed as she knelt down to start a contract with her. After they shook hands to seal the deal, Lucy looked at Plue.

"Alright, little buddy, can you open that door for me?" She asked the spirit. He wobbly nodded and reached forward to open the door. However, the size didn't change, much to her chagrin.

"Well, what do we do now, Plue?" Lucy asked. The snowman-like spirit just shrugged and scratched his head.

"Wow, what kind of weirdo can't even open a door?" a voice laughed from behind her. Lucy turned around to see the pink haired boy stepping out from the shadows behind her.

"Come on, I'll take you through," he told her as he reached out his hand.

"I don't even know your name," she replied.

"Natsu Dragneel," he said as he looked at her expectantly. Lucy took a deep breath and took his hand. The second their hands touched, she felt warmth spread through her like fire.

"Come on let's go," he smirked as they walked to the door. A bright light was shining from it as they drew closer and the door grew. With a flash of fire in his eyes, Natsu stepped through with Lucy in tow. And that my friends, is where the adventure begins.

A/N: Hello Readers, I thought I'd get my feet wet with a short NaLu fit in preparation for a multi chapter project I'll be starting soon. Reviews and Follows would be great.

Love to all,

Abby