Lucy was ready to go home and relax. She had just gotten back from a taxing lesson with Laxus and Gajeel who were teaching her how to fight. All she wanted to do was go home, take a bath, maybe eat some left overs and then go to bed. She hummed to herself as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. She stopped outside when she heard what sounded like things crashing in her apartment. Lucy carefully unlocked the door and peeked around it. She was not ready for what she saw. There, in her kitchen, was Natsu and Happy. Natsu was frozen mid stir of what looked like a soupy mess. Batter was splattered everywhere, the fridge was wide open, something was burning on her stove. Natsu was looking at her with wide eyes.

"L-lucy! You're home early," he said with a terrified smile.

"Natsu, you're on fire," Lucy told him.

"Well, thanks, Luce, I mean, I know I'm hot and all," Natsu started to ramble.

"No. You're literally on fire," she told him as she pointed to the pink apron, emher pink apron, /emthat was slowly being engulfed in flames.

"Oops!" Natsu said as he picked up the end that wasn't engulfed in flames and proceeded to eat the fire. Lucy reached over and shut off all the burners on the stove.

"Natsu, what are you doing?" She asked in a voice that sounded slightly strained.

"I know you were training and I'm always hungry after training, so I thought I'd cook for you," Natsu said sheepishly. His hand reached back to scratch the back of his neck nervously. Lucy turned and wordlessly took in the state of her kitchen. It was much worse up close. Here, she could see the food splattered and the dishes that were piled in the sink, not to mention the food that spilled over onto the stove.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Happy mumbled.

Lucy couldn't help herself. She laughed.

"Huh? Why are ya laughin', Luce?" Natsu asked in confusion. Lucy turned to look him up and down. There was flour on his face, her apron was half charred, and his hair was messier than usual. She laughed even harder.

"I-it's just, you l-look so ridiculous!" Lucy said in between giggles.

Natsu and Happy turned to look at each other and the kitchen and started laughing with her. After a couple of minutes, Lucy sobered up.

"You're going to clean this up, right?" Lucy asked them.

"Of course!" Natsu told her.

"That's my cue to leave," Happy replied as he flew out the window.

"Hey, Happy! Come back here!" Natsu called out after him. However, the blue exceed just kept flying.

"Hey, Natsu?" Lucy asked, drawing his attention back towards her.

"Yeah, Luce?"

"It was a sweet idea," she told him. She brushed some flour off his cheek with her thumb.

"T-thanks," Natsu told her as he started to blush.

"You want to know what would've been just as nice?" She asked. She was slowly closing the distance between them. Her eyes burned into his and Natsu was at a loss for words.

"What?" Natsu swallowed. Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck.

"This," she whispered before closing the distance completely and pressing her lips against his. Natsu went stiff for a second before sliding his fingers into her hair to deepen the kiss. Slowly, they pulled apart and Lucy looked up at him with half lidded eyes.

"Have fun cleaning the kitchen," she smirked before walking off towards her bathroom to take a shower.

"Aw, Luce!" Natsu groaned before turning back to take in the mess. It was going to be a looooong night.