Team Natsu had just gotten back to the guild after a week long journey. Their mission was relatively simple, but traveling with Natsu was always a challenge. Lucy thought that after all this time he would be able to control his motion sickness, but apparently some things just never change.
The team sat down at a table and Mira promptly bustled over to take their order. There weren't many places to stop for food on their way back, so everyone was starving by the time they reached the guild. Mira had prepared a wonderful meal for them, and while Erza and Lucy ate in silence, Gray, Natsu, and Happy scarfed down every last bite in a matter of seconds. Lucy couldn't help but giggle at the boys; they could always make her smile by doing the simplest things.
Once the group had finished eating, they all sat and talked about the success of their mission, and how Lucy was grateful Natsu didn't burn down the city this time. She could barely afford her rent, let alone pay for the damage he caused periodically. Right in the middle of their discussion, Natsu jumped out of his seat and yelled for Mira.
"Geez, Natsu. What is it?" She said.
"Mira! Do you have any of your famous chocolate chip cookies left? They're so delicious and I could really use one right about now!"
"Me too, me too!" exclaimed Happy as he did a backflip in the air.
"Oh gosh, I'm sorry Natsu, but Gageel took the last one before he left on his mission with Levy."
Heartbroken, Natsu and Happy sunk back down on the bench in defeat.
"Oi," Gray chimed, "you don't need cookies anyway. They'll make you fat and useless for missions."
Before Natsu and Gray could start one of their fights, Lucy came between them and said, "Natsu, you're in luck! I just so happen to have the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies at my house!" The look of excitement was back on their faces as Natsu grabbed Lucy's arm and pulled her towards the front door of the guild.
"Come on, Luce. Let's go make cookies!" Natsu grinned.
"Aye, sir!" Shouted Happy as he trailed behind them.
"Good luck, Lucy." Erza said as she exchanged looks with Gray ad Mira.
Natsu practically ran all the way to Lucy's house with Happy floating along behind them. Lucy knew she was in for a treat with these two clowns. There was never a dull moment with them, and it secretly warmed Lucy's heart. Once they reached her house, Lucy hunted for the ingredients. "Okay, Natsu. You and Happy mix the dry ingredients while I preheat the oven and mix the other ingredients." Natsu and Happy exchanged glances and then looked back at Lucy like she had grown a second head. "What is it, Natsu?" Lucy asked.
"Uh, well, it's just…" Natsu stammered.
"We've never made cookies before, Lucy!" Happy finished. Lucy couldn't help but giggle at the pair. They really were adorable sometimes.
"Okay. Here's what we'll do then!" Lucy stated. "Natsu, you grab a large bowl. And Happy, you hand me the ingredients as I ask for them. I'll teach you boys how to make some yummy chocolate chip cookies in no time!"
Lucy added each ingredient one by one, explaining what she was doing each step of the way. The boys looked fascinated as they watched her in awe. Once all of the ingredients were added to the bowl, Lucy mixed everything well and tasted the dough to make sure it was okay. "Ew, Luce. Why did you just eat that?" Natsu asked.
"I always taste the dough before I bake them to make sure they taste right and I don't need to add anything else. Here, try some." Lucy took a small dollop of dough and handed one to Natsu and Happy. They both tried the sample at the same time, and Lucy could not tell by their expressions what they thought of the pre-baked treat.
Natsu was the first to speak and said, "Luce…that…that was really good. Why do people bake cookies when the dough is so much better?!" Happy nodded vigorously in agreement with Natsu.
"Natsu," sighed Lucy, "you can't eat the dough because it has raw eggs in it and that's really bad for you." Natsu scrunched his face into a pout, but before he could say anything else, Lucy had taken the bowl away from him and started to portion the dough on a tray.
"Wait, Lucy! Can't I just have one more bite? You know…just to double check the taste."
"Absolutely not!" Lucy screeched as she smacked Natsu's hand away from the bowl. "It'll make you sick. And besides, if you eat all of the dough, there won't be enough to make the cookies."
Lucy went back to portioning the dough, while Happy flew over to Natsu and whispered something in his ear. Natsu gave a mischievous grin and delivered Happy a high five. The two scooted closer to Lucy, and Natsu struck up a conversation with her about a topic he knew would pull her attention away from baking - her novel.
At once, Lucy dropped her spoon in the bowl and began chatting away about her latest chapter. While Lucy was off in her own little world, Happy snuck up behind her and grabbed a handful of dough from the bowl. It was hard to contain their laughter, especially since Happy looked like a chipmunk with dough stuffed in his cheeks. Once Happy was done eating the dough, it was his turn to distract Lucy while Natsu took his share of the snack. Happy asked her another question about her novel, and once again, she became animated as she told her elaborate story. Natsu was very careful while he slid over to the bowl. Happy was a lot smaller than Natsu, and had a much easier time achieving his goal. Natsu reached his hand into the bowl and seized a good amount of the gooey substance. He tried desperately to put it all in his mouth at once, but while attempting to do so, he slipped and fell on the ground, taking the bowl and all the dough with him.
"NATSU!" Lucy shouted, but it was hard to be mad at him when he was sprawled on the floor, covered in cookie dough, giving his ever famous Natsu grin. The three of them erupted into laughter. "Well, looks like we're not making cookies tonight then."
While Natsu was in the shower cleaning up, Lucy couldn't help but think of how lucky she was to have these goofballs in her life. Even when they're being mischievous, her heart warmed at their antics. She honestly couldn't imagine her life without these two.
"Hey Luce, can Happy and I just stay here tonight?" Natsu yawned as he crossed the room over to her bed.
"If you two plan on sleeping here every night, you're going to have to start paying some rent!"
But before Lucy could finish her rant, Natsu and Happy were fast asleep and snoring on her bed. She smiled, and climbed into bed with them. Giving a soft sigh of happiness, Lucy turned off the light and drifted into sleep, dreaming of her two loveable dorks.