"So," Gray said teasingly, " Are you ever gonna ask out Lisanna?"
"Well... I had someone else in mind..." Natsu said blushing.
"Ohhh?" Gray said as his eyebrow creeped up high.
"Told you so." Cana said as she walked by with Gildarts in her tow yelling
"FATHER DAUGHTER BONDING TIME!"
"KNOCK IT OFF THIS IS BOOZE BONDING TIME!" she yelled back.
"So Natsu, if its not Lisanna, then is it Erza?" Mirajane asked.
"NO! I WANNA LIVE!" Natsu yelled clearly frightened by the idea
"Yeah Natsu, who is it?" Gray asked very intrigued.
Suddenly, Lucy walked through the door ready to go on a job.
"Good morning everyone!" she said.
As soon as Natsu smelled her, his mouth closed.
"What are you guys chatting about?" Lucy asked.
"NOTHING!" Natsu yelled awkwardly.
Gray and Mirajane exchanged looks smiling slyly.
"Good morning, Lucy." They said in sync.
"I FORGOT I GOTTA GO CLEAN OUT MY... HAPPY. BYE." Natsu said, flustered, rushing out the door.
"What was that all about?" Lucy asked.
"Oh, nothing..." Mirajane giggled. "So Lucy, what do you think of Natsu?"
"Well, I guess he's a great partner and all... but I wish he would stay outa my house!" She replied.
"Oh my," Mirajane giggled, "Maybe I shouldn't have lent him that key."
"WHAT?!" Lucy exclaimed. "WHY WOULD YOU EVER DO THAT?!"
"It's just that Natsu's your friend and I thought he might wanna check on you..." she said crying.
"I'm sorry, I just wish he would stop eating me out of house and home." Lucy said glumly.
"Oh yeah," Gray said slyly, "That reminds me, Natsu has a job for you."
"Oh really? I've been needing some money for my rent... Thats so sweet of him." Lucy said blushing.
"Yeah, he sure does care about you..." Gray said smugly.
"Oh, Gray, why don't you ever bring me a job?!" Juvia said, bawling.
"Jeez! I didn't think you had money problems like Lucy over here!" Gray said, obviously annoyed.
"HEY LAY OFF!" Lucy yelled.
"Why don't you go catch up with Natsu," Mirajane said, trying to ease the tension.
Gray smiled, knowing that this would send Natsu through a loop.
Lucy knocked on Natsu's door.
"Natsu? Gray said you have a job for me or something?" She asked.
"Uhh... Natsu's not here right now, he's busy." Natsu said trying to imitate Happy's voice.
"Oh, I see." Lucy said sarcastically, "I guess I'll just leave then."
She quickly sneaked over to the window and looked in. Just as she suspected, Natsu was crouched by the door.
"Thinks he can fool me huh?" she thought, "I'll show him."
She opened the window and jumped in.
"So Natsu's not here, is that right Natsu?" She said grinding her teeth.
Natsu jumped up, shocked to see her.
"Why are you avoiding me?" she asked.
" I am not avoiding you!" He replied, "I'm hiding from you."
"Ugh.., Either way, do you have a job or not." She said.
" Yeah! It's on the request board back at the guild." he said.
"YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO GRAB IT?" she yelled.
"Why don't you just go get it?" he said.
"Fine, which job is it?" she said annoyed by his stupidity.
"It's the one where you have to do something and you get jewels for it..." he mumbled.
"THATS EVERY JOB ON THERE!" she yelled, dumbfounded.
"Just ask Gray, he knows."Natsu replied.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to a rock..." she said as she walked out.
"Phew, that was close! Good thing I saved it with my wits."
He thought as he walked right into a shelf.
"STUPID SHELF GET OUT OF MY WAY!" he yelled, angered with an inanimate object.
Lucy hurried back to the guild, ready to embark on another adventure.
"I wonder whats up with Natsu," she thought, "Sometimes I don't even know how he manages to not get himself killed with all the stupid stuff he does."
"Back already?" Mirajane asked.
"Natsu freaked out and told me the job was still on the board... idiot." she said. "He said that Gray knew which one it was."
"Well sorry, but you just missed him. He went to run some errands." Mira replied.
"I guess I'll just wait here... Sometimes I really don't understand how Natsu can be so thick." Lucy grumbled.
"He can just get a little tongue tied sometimes. Do you think maybe he gets that way cuz he likes you?" Mira asked.
"No! I'm sure he's just being plain old, dense Natsu." she said letting it slide off her shoulder. Though the more she tried to ignore it, the more she thought about it. As she thought of her... and Natsu, her stomach did a gymnastics routine.
"There's no way he would like me," she thought, "I'm just plain old Lucy."
Juvia then came and sat by Lucy, clearly down about Gray.
"Oh Gray, it appears that we are star-crossed lovers, doomed to never be together! Why must you ignore my advances of love?" Juvia said.
"You know, maybe if were a little less clingy and a little more friendly, he might agree to go on a date with you." Lucy told her.
"Why would take advice from my romantic rival?" Juvia replied.
"I'm not your rival." she said annoyed.
"Well you must like Gray! If not him then who?" Juvia asked.
"No one in particular, just definitely not Gray." she said blushing.
"But Gray is the sun the moon and the stars! How could you not be madly in love with him?!" Juvia said, star-struck.
"I just don't think of him like that." said Lucy.
"I need to go on a job now... A mission to find out what groceries my love is buying!" Juvia exclaimed as ran out of the guild, eager to catch up with Gray.
"So Lucy, who do you like?" Mirajane asked.
"Oh, I'm trying to focus on working my way up the guild, not really on boys." she said.
"Then why are you blushing?" Mira asked.
"Huh? Umm, I'm just a little to hot." she said.
"Really? Are you turning into an ice wizard, cuz its freezing in here." Macoa said.
"Nah I think she's just having a hot flash." Wakaba said, teasingly.
"I AM NOT HAVING A HOT FLASH!" Lucy yelled, "I'm leaving, just ask Gray to get the job for me!" she rushed out, embarrassed.
"I wonder if those 2 will ever figure it out." Macoa said.
"Ehh, I don't think so... Maybe if Natsu gains a brain cell." Wakaba replied.
"Don't be so hard on them, neither of them has ever dated anyone." Mira said.
The next day Lucy walked into the guild, still confused on why Natsu had been acting so strange lately. She went up to the counter and sat down next to Cana.
"I wish Natsu would talk to me already." she said glumly.
"He's probably trying to get up the guts." Cana said while chugging down a keg.
"Guts for what?" she asked.
"Oh I don't know, guts to go on a job, guts to ask you to go on a 'job', guts to pick a job." Cana replied.
"Why would he need guts to ask me to go on a job?" Lucy asked.
"Some jobs can be different than others, maybe even a little scarier in some ways." Cana said.
"I don't understand what you're trying to get at, but what I do understand is that I need to pay my rent and soon." said Lucy.
Natsu walked in, then saw Lucy and immediately ran out of the guild.
"I wish he would stop acting like I'm a plague or something." Lucy said, glumly.
"I wouldn't be to worried about it, Natsu gets that way when he likes someone a lot. Same exact thing happened when we were little with Lisanna!" Mirajane chuckled.
"Ya, Natsu was head over heels for her. He could barely talk to her without blushing." Cana added in.
"I guess maybe he does like Lisanna, to bad she's out on a long job right now." Lucy thought, "Maybe I remind him of her."
"I think I'm gonna go grab a job, see you guys later." Lucy said, " Hey Levy you wanna come with?"
"Sure Lu, I'd be happy to help!" Levy replied.
"NO YOU CAN'T LEAVE US!" Droy and Jet yelled.
"Come on guys, its just one little job. We'll be back by morning." replied Levy.
As Lucy walked out of the guild she wished that Natsu would come with her.
"Maybe I should ask him," she thought, "Oh never mind, he probably would pretend to be Happy again."
"So which job did you grab?" Levy asked.
"I got the one to retrieve a magic box from Mt. Hakobe, it looked to be a pretty easy job so we should't have any trouble." Lucy said back.
"Sounds good to me!" Levy said, "Let's go!"
After they finished the job, they decided to go get some food.
"I think I'll have the beef curry." Lucy told the waitress.
"That sounds pretty good, I think I'll have it too." Levy said.
"Ok, it'll be right out!" the waitress said cheerfully.
"So hows your novel going Lu?" Levy asked.
"It would be going great, if I didn't have such a bad case of writers block." Lucy said.
"I wonder what could be causing it." Levy said.
"Maybe its my nerves, I haven't gone on a job in while, on account of Natsu acting nuts, so I may not make my rent this month." Lucy replied.
"Or maybe its Natsu in general." Levy offered.
"Why would Natsu being a weirdo give me writers block. He's always pretty weird." Lucy said.
"Well, I think this time is different. Plus you do like him a lot, don't you?" Levy pondered.
"Why does everybody keep asking me that? He's just my friend. He probably doesn't even like me that way!" Lucy told her.
"I don't know, I think he likes you a lot." Levy said.
"I really don't think he likes me! Besides, I'm pretty sure he has a crush on Lisanna." Lucy said.
"No, they're just really good friends. That's almost like suggesting Elf Man has a crush on Mira!" Levy joked.
"I guess that would be pretty crazy" Lucy laughed.
"Here you go girls." the waitress said as she handed them their food.
"Oh this looks delicious, thank you!" Lucy said as she eyed her curry.
Lucy and Levy headed back to the guild excited to tell the exploits from their job.
"And so then the vulcan tried to lunge toward Levy, but before he could get to her, Levy used Solid Script Iron and crushed him! She was great!" Lucy told everyone.
"Oh you should've seen Lucy, she was awesome too! She summoned Cancer and gave the vulcan a great new hairstyle!" Levy laughed.
"Oh all I did was ask Cancer to give him a mohawk. Cancer was pretty pleased with the outcome too!" Lucy chuckled.
"Hey Lucy, Natsu finally found that job he left on the board. We're gonna leave on it here soon. It has a 200,000 jewel reward." Gray said.
"Wow really? When we split it, it should be just enough to cover the rest of my rent! Wait, so who all is coming with us?" Lucy asked.
"Oh just the usual, you, Wendy, Natsu, Erza and me." Gray replied.
"Oh sounds good! What's the job?" Lucy asked.
"We have to go hunt down a pair of mercenaries, the Vanish Brothers." Gray told her.
"Aren't those the ones that Natsu fought at Everlue's Mansion?" Lucy questioned.
"Yep, those are them. They've gotten a lot stronger so we might wanna be a little more careful." Gray said.
"Ok, sounds a like a plan, lets go!" Lucy said.
"So how far away are these mercenaries?" asked Lucy.
"Not that far, most say that they are hiding out in Hargeon." Erza said.
"I'm guessing we're going by train, you cool with that Natsu?" Lucy asked.
"Ya sure..." Natsu muttered.
"I don't get whats you're deal with me, I haven't done anything mean to you lately!" Lucy said angered by his indifference towards her.
"Hey! I'm not mad at you! I just don't feel like talking right now!" Natsu shouted.
"WELL THAN WHY WON'T YOU TALK TO ME?!" Lucy screamed.
"Can you 2 keep your little lover's spat to a minimum?" Erza exclaimed.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN LOVER'S SPAT? ITS NOT LIKE WE'RE DATING!" Lucy shouted back.
"Don't be so grouchy, just try and calm down so we can get this job done." Gray said.
"Whatever, just make sure Natsu doesn't vomit on me." Lucy said.
As they rode on the train past the beautiful countryside Lucy thought about whether or not Natsu really did like her.
"I guess that would explain why he's been acting so strange." she thought, "But why is he just acting weird now?"
"Hey are you ok Lucy?" asked Wendy.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little distracted." Lucy replied.
"We're here. Let's go." Erza said.
As they walked towards where they thought the Vanish Brothers were hiding Natsu perked up a bit.
"I can't wait to whoop their tails. This is gonna be so much fun." Natsu said ready to rumble.
"Oh, so now you talk." Lucy said clearly annoyed.
"Please try and concentrate Lucy." Erza demanded.
Just then, the 2 brothers burst out of the house.
"So your here to catch our bounty!" one of them said as he wielded a huge frying pan.
"I doubt if you can," the other boasted, "We have gotten much stronger than when we last met!"
"Don't be so quick to judge that we will not be able to defeat you, we're fairy tail wizards!" Erza shouted.
"Ya! We would never lose to scum like you!" Lucy yelled back.
"Ice make: Lance!" Gray yelled.
The wizard with the gigantic frying pan shoved it aside.
"My frying pan will absorb your atta-" he was interrupted by Natsu.
"Whatever! I've heard it all before! Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu rushed forward.
The man was knocked back, then his brother burst forward attacking Natsu with all he had.
"No one treats my brother like that!" he yelled.
"Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" Lucy commanded.
"Yes Princess?" Virgo asked.
"Beat up those 2!" Lucy said.
"As you wish, Princess." Virgo replied.
She quickly drilled down and then went beneath one of the brothers.
"AHHH! WHAT IN THE WORLD?" he yelled.
"Sky Dragon Roar!" Wendy bellowed.
"My frying pan will absorb it!" he yelled.
but he was wrong, as soon as it hit his pan it broke of its handle.
"WAHHH? WAS THAT WIND MAGIC? MY PAN CANNOT ABSORB THAT!" he screeched.
"Requip! Black Wing Armor!" Erza yelled.
She attacked the remaining brother fiercely until he too fell.
"Looks like we're done here." Erza said.
"Lets go get those jewels!" Wendy said cheerfully.
"Ya, finally I can pay my rent!" Lucy said relived.
"Maybe you should get money saved up instead of spending it all on clothes." Gray retorted.
"Hey! All the moths got to my clothes while we were gone!" she yelled.
"Lets just head back to the guild." Wendy chuckled.
"You gonna say anything Natsu? Or are you still ignoring me?" Lucy asked.
All Natsu did was turn his back, trying to hide the fact that he blushing.
"Jeez, just ask her out already." Gray said.
"Huh?" Lucy muttered. Her heart started beating like she had just ran a mile. Was this true? Did Gray mean her? Maybe he meant Lisanna. Or maybe Erza? No. Thats crazy talk. Could he really mean her?
"Lucy?" Gray snapped his fingers, "Lucy! you there?"
"Ummm, ya, I just... Think I need to umm.. Go pay my rent." she stuttered.
"But we haven't even gotten the bounty." Wendy said.
"That's right we should probably get going." Erza said, shouldering both the men.
Natsu still had his back turned around.
"Maybe she doesn't like me. Maybe it was a bad idea to even think she did." he thought.
"Come on man, just get it over with." Gray pushed.
"Fine," Natsu thought, "Its worth a shot."
"So Lucy, will you?" He said, "I mean will you go on a.. d-d-d..." he couldn't seem to say it.
"Oh for Gods sake! Lucy will you go on a date with Natsu?" Gray said.
Lucy was speechless. She tried to reply, but all that came out her mouth was silence.
"Uhhh," she finally managed, "I... Uhhh... I..."
"Its ok if you don't want to... I understand.." Natsu mumbled.
"Yes!, no... Umm," she stuttered, "I mean, yes I will go on a date with you!" she finally managed. She ran towards him and hugged him. Natsu looked turned redder than a lobster. At first he stood, frozen, but then he hugged her back.
"Took you long enough." Gray said.
"I thought it would never happen." Erza laughed.
"That's so cute!" Wendy said.
After they collected the bounty, Natsu and Lucy decided to go on a picnic in the park for their first date. Luckily, there was no transportation required.