* I do not own Fairy Tail, but I wish I did.

Lucy POV

I was dragging my feet as I walked into the guild. I was just so tired. It took a lot of energy just to make my way to my usual seat at the bar. Luckily, Mira saw me coming and had a cup of tea waiting for me by the time I sat down.

"Thanks, Mira."

"Why so tired," she asked me.

"Natsu…" I grumbled before taking a sip of my tea.

She giggled. "Oh, come on. What did he do this time?"

Taking another drink of my hot tea, I let out a sigh. "I went to bed alone last night and Natsu snuck into my bed while I was sleeping. He must have been thrashing around and pushed me out of bed because I woke up on the floor. And not only did I end up sleeping on the cold, hard floor; when I woke him up, he was expecting me to make him breakfast!"

"Aw, but that sounds so cute!" Mira said with a sweet smile on her face.

I scowled at her as I took another sip of my tea. Of course she would say that, she's been trying to set me and Natsu up for a while now.

"I just wish he would give me some privacy," I told her.

"I don't know. Sounds like he just wants to be close to you," Mira said as she wiped down the bar.

"Sounds to me like flame-brain is just being annoying," Gray said as he took the seat next to me. He'd apparently been listening in on our whole conversation.

"You have no room to talk, Gray. You break into my apartment almost as much as Natsu does," I said, directing a glare in his direction. Hearts appeared in Mira's eyes at that statement. No doubt, she was wondering who would be a cuter couple; mea and Natsu or me and Gray.

"At least when I come over it's for a good reason. And I don't ransack your fridge or sleep in your bed," he argued.

"That may be true, but Natsu is fully dressed when he breaks in," I countered. "I mean really, Gray. Put on your clothes!"

"Crap!" Seeing that he had stripped down to his boxers again, he went off to locate his clothes.

I sighed, thinking that I should have just stayed at home to get some more sleep. But I had to take a job soon to pay my rent and get some money for food. Taking another sip of my tea, I was unprepared for the arm that was thrown around my shoulders.

"Hey, Luce!" Natsu practically yelled in my ear.

My entire body jerked in surprise and my tea spilt down the front of my shirt, burning my skin. I heard an "oops," an "oh dear," and someone else was laughing. I didn't care who said what, all I knew is that I was going to kill a certain pink haired idiot.

Gray POV

I saw Natsu throw his arm around Lucy and the tea spill down the front of her shirt. Then I saw the dark aura surround her and felt myself sweat. The look on her face was just as scary as Erza's when she got mad and I was grateful that it wasn't directed at me for once.

Not wanting to see the carnage that was about to ensue, I turned away. But I couldn't help but hear my frienemy pleading for his life.

"What's going on here?"

I turned and saw Erza striding toward the partners, ready to break up the fight. My hand shot out and took hold of her arm to keep her back. Even though she shot me a look that said "release my arm or you shall receive horrific punishment, I didn't let go.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I told her before she could kill me. "Natsu has had Lucy in a bad mood all morning and he just made her spill hot tea down the front of her shirt…"

"LUCY KICK!"

Erza and I turned back in time to see Natsu sailing through the air, a boot mark on his face, and fly head first into one of the guild's pillars. The impact was enough to crack the wood as his body fell to the floor in a heap. I couldn't help but cringe, having been on the receiving end of a "Lucy kick" in the past, I knew how much they hurt.

She kept her head down, her bangs hiding her eyes, and muttered that she was going home before stomping out of the guild. I saw other members move out of her way as she left.

Lucy POV

I searched my apartment for intruders when I got home; ready to hurt anyone who was dumb enough to bother me right then. When I was sure that I was alone, I stripped off my tea-stained clothes and threw them in the dirty laundry. Then I grabbed a towel and went to take a bath.

A soak in the hot water helped my mood a lot. I even started to feel bad for beating up Natsu. I know that he means well but he's got to understand boundaries. Stretching my arms, I decided to take a nap after I was done with my bath then go back to the guild to apologize.

By the time the water started getting cold, I was half asleep. I went to my bedroom, letting my towel drop to the floor and grabbed a fresh set of sleepers from my dresser. Dressing quickly, I collapsed on my bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. "Yes, I'll apologize to Natsu when I go back to the guild," I said sleepily. "Or maybe I'll let him apologize to me first. He's so cute when he apologizes to me…"

Natsu POV

My head was still spinning from Lucy's kick. I should have run away as fast as I could when I saw her spill her tea but it was too late. Sitting up, I touched the back of my head and felt a large bump growing quickly. That's going to hurt for a while.

Shaking it off, I walked over to the bar and took a seat. "Mira, can I get the usual?"

"Coming right up, Natsu," she said in her usual sing-song voice.

Sitting there, I couldn't stop wondering why Luce was so mad at me. I understood her being mad because of the tea, but that wasn't enough to deserve a "Lucy kick." If something else had made her mad, I'd have hoped that she would tell me. I'm her partner, after all.

Mira brought my plate of fire chicken and a side of noodles in spicy sauce. "Here you go, Natsu! How's your head?"

"I'll be fine, but what's wrong with Lucy?" I asked. "She's been weirder than usual today."

"From what she said earlier, she's just tired," Mira told him before walking off to get Cana another barrel of beer.

Huh, that makes sense. When I'd gone to her apartment the night before, she'd been having a fitful night's sleep and had fallen out of bed. I had picked her up and put her back in bed, but she'd immediately started tossing and fell out again. The next time, I decided to climb in bed with her, thinking that maybe if I held her she would calm down. I fell asleep a little while later and woke up to a pillow hitting my face; I left not long after that.

After finishing my food, I decided to go check on Lucy, maybe ask her if she wanted to go on a mission with me. I walked out of the guild, barely thinking as my feet took the familiar path.

When I climbed through her window, I didn't she her in her bed but a quick sniff confirmed that she was in the apartment. Seeing that the bathroom door was closed, I decided to wait until she was done. Walking to the kitchen, I was looking for something to eat when I heard the door open.

I looked around the corner and saw Lucy in nothing but a towel. Just as I was about to let her know that I was there, the towel dropped to the floor. My face turned bright red as I ducked back into the kitchen. Crap, crap, crap! I can't let her know I'm here now! She'll kill me! Afraid to even breathe, I was motionless until I heard the bed creak as Lucy climbed under the covers.

Peeking around the corner, I saw that her eyes were closed. If I was going to make it out of the apartment alive, I'd have to wait until she was fully asleep. When I heard her talk, I thought I'd been caught, but her voice was so calm and quiet I decided that she was talking to herself.

"Yes, I'll apologize to Natsu when I get back to the guild…" a sleepy smile spread across her face. "Or maybe I'll let him apologize first," she sighed. "He's so cute when he apologizes to me…" She drifted off, sleep finally taking her.

Seeing my chance to escape, I slipped out the window to the street and started running back to the guild. My mind was racing as even faster than my feet. I made it out alive! I just saw the naked backside of my partner! She thinks I'm cute?

Bursting through the guild doors, I went to the bar and sat down to catch my breath. The shock of what I'd seen and heard was still on my mind. I mean, I know that people think I'm dense when it comes to women, and I kind of am, but I still know when a woman looks sexy. And, Mavis help me, nothing had ever been sexier than the sight of Lucy's bare ass. If I hadn't been so terrified of what she would do to me if she found out I was there, I might have kept staring.

"Are you okay, Natsu?"

Looking up, I saw Mirajane standing in front of me. From the look on her face, she'd been trying to get my attention for a while.

"Something strong, now!"

Though she looked concerned, she went to pour my drink. Then I felt a cold presence sit next to me.

"What happened to you? You piss off Lucy again?" Gray asked me.

I felt my face start to burn up. What am I supposed to say? That I saw Lucy without clothes and almost got a nose bleed? That I heard her say that I was cute? Crap… ugh…

"None of your business, ice princess," I yelled at him.

"What did you call me, flame-brain," he yelled back.

"Shovel the snow out of your ears already, snowman!"

I saw the punch coming but I didn't bother dodging it. At that moment, I would prefer to take a hit so I could dodge the question. We started fighting and I was able to relax. Still, what would I do when Lucy came back to the guild? How was I going to look at her without picturing her naked?