BEFORE BEGINNING THE NEXT CHAPTER, I JUST WANT TO THANK KNOW-YOUR-PLACE FOR BEING MY FIRST EVER FOLLOWER AND REVIEWER. I WAS SO EXCITED THAT I CALLED A FRIEND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TO EXPRESS MY SPILLING JOY. JUST ASK MY GOOD FRIEND, OH-TANGLED. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY ALL THE REVIEWS AND FAVORITES HAVE MADE ME!

ANYWAYS, I WAS SURPRISED TO GET SUCH A POSITIVE RESPONSE TO THE STORY. FOR THAT, I'LL WORK EXTRA HARD ON THIS SHORT STORY!

I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL. HIRO MASHIMA DOES.

CHAPTER 2: THE MEANING OF PARTNERS

Lucy woke up that morning feeling colder than normal. It had been happening a lot lately. At first she was relieved that her best friend had stopped breaking into her house and inviting himself to spend the night. But inside, she deeply missed her partner's terrifyingly warm presence.

The celestial mage was accustomed to waking up with strong arms wrapped around her that made her feel safe and secure easily melting in them. Somehow, the smell of ash and smoke that burned her nose didn't bother her. In fact, she liked the smell that woke her up.

Lucy found it cute how her partner would whimper words and twitch in his sleep. He looked like a child, so vulnerable. It was a side of him that only a handful of people saw. But she hated it when Natsu would have a spontaneous muscle contraction that knocked her out of bed and onto the piercing cold floor. The guy dreams of fighting Gray in his sleep! That's when she would push him out her window and lock her window. But still he'd manage to melt the metal lock and break in as she was changing her clothes.

But as of now, she missed him terribly. She missed the annoying cat that would constantly tease her. She missed them breaking into her bathroom when she was taking a shower. She missed the chaos she would always hear as she got dressed. She missed yelling at them for breaking her furniture. She missed his funny grin he'd give her when she caught him in the act and trying his best to blame Happy for the chair that now existed as ash. She missed the times when Natsu would make her breakfast "better" by adding Tabasco sauce or chilies to her cereal or smoothies. But most of all, she missed their company. She missed him. It was something she had grown used to. The chaos she knew so well was a typical morning routine.

It was hard not to think of him. The empty sound of her apartment screamed his name. The void, the nothingness, the cleanliness, the silence that rang through the house was something that Lucy wasn't used to.

Lucy had been used to being by herself in a big and empty mansion. For the vast majority of her 16 years of life, she was all alone. Sure maids and butlers kept her company, but she had no one that truly understood her and all her quirks the way he did.

Sulking about the past like this wouldn't help her. With that thought in mind, Lucy got up from her bed and quickly got ready. She tied her golden locks up to the side with her blue ribbon and grabbed her belt buckle that held her keys and whip. She looked out her bedroom window one last time hoping that he'd come in. Some part of her wanted Natsu to come in and ruin her mission. If only he was there with her, she knew that everything was going to be okay. Just that little action, she would know that they could continue being friends. But Lucy knew didn't want to let her heart down. After all it was just a stupid crush.

With that, Lucy locked her door and began her solo mission.

-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-

The pink haired dragon slayer walked through the streets of Magnolia with his hands behind his head and his trusty feline friend flying behind him. The duo was headed for the (in)famous guild known as Fairy Tail. The sun shone brightly with such ferocity with no cloud in sight. It was a perfect day to be outdoors doing something fun.

"Happy," the Salamander called, "what should we do today?"

"We should go fishing," the catamander answered with glee.

"Nah," Natsu rejected, "Didn't we do that yesterday with Lisanna?"

"Aye, sir!" the cat answered.

"We should go on a mission," Natsu suggested. "It's been a while since our last one which means Lucy's rent is due soon."

"Aye," Happy commented, "If Lucy doesn't pay her rent we can't come over and work out in her bedroom."

"Yeah," Natsu agreed, "Plus her bed is much more comfy to sleep in than our old hammocks."

Happy agreed with that. The two continued to walk down the streets of Magnolia until they reached a big gate. Above it read: FAIRY TAIL. Natsu was proud to be a part of his guild. And why not? Everyone here was his friends. To the public, it was a rowdy bunch that seemed to destroy everything in its path. To him, Fairy Tail was more than just a rowdy bunch of destructive mages. They were his family, his nakama, and he was willing to fight for any of them including Princess Popsicle Stick.

Natsu and Happy entered the two double doors of the guild. Everyone was there and accounted for but Natsu knew something was missing. There was a missing scent in the air and he couldn't quite figure it out. But before he could ponder on it more, Happy suggested a small race to the job request board. How could Natsu resist such an offer?

Happy and Natsu raced to the job board knocking down a few guild members along the way. Some even yelled profane words towards him. The early morning ruckus was a clear signal that Natsu Dragneel had entered Fairy Tail's doors.

Natsu's white scaly scarf and salmon colored hair didn't go unnoticed by a certain Strauss sibling who was waiting eagerly for him. Yesterday, they had gone fishing. The day before, she came to his house and he showed her pictures and items that pertained to their past before she died. The day before that, he took her their favorite picnic spot in the park. And the day before that, he took her to their place where they first found Happy and started their family together.

"Good morning Natsu! Morning Happy," Lisanna greeted.

Natsu looked at the silver haired woman and said, "Oh, hey Lisanna."

Afterwards, he went back scanning the board. He wished that his partner liked challenging missions the way he did. But for some odd reason Luce preferred an easy job over defeating a bunch of monsters. He would never understand that. Lucy defeated a giant rat that weird pink haired girl controlled. She was strong enough to beat one of the members of the Thunder God Tribe in which Gray miserably failed at. She saved a bunch of people from Naked Money, a dark guild, who was stealing money in which the army failed to help the people inside. She saved Loke from that cool-mustached spirit king. She withstood Oracion Seis's Angel when he couldn't because he was dying on a floating raft. She even fell off a waterfall to save him and she gave him new clothes since there was barf all over his. She defeated a humongous octopus in Edolas that was almost the size of a dragon.

What a waste of strength Natsu thought to himself.

"What'cha doing?" Lisanna asked.

"Looking for a job to do," Natsu answered.

"Oh," Lisanna replied. "A job does seem fun right now." Lisanna emphasized her words hoping that Natsu would invite her. She missed her best friend and first love dearly. Seeing Edo-Natsu everyday in Edolas made her miss the real one all the more. Sadly, Natsu is oblivious to the subject of the heart. He didn't understand Lisanna's hidden innuendo.

"Uh-huh!" Natsu agreed shaking his head. "Me and Lucy have so much fun going on missions together, huh Happy?"

All of a sudden Lisanna felt her heart stop. Shock consumed her. She couldn't quite piece it together. Edo-Lucy and Edo-Natsu were close friends, but never considered an item because of their differences. But two years couldn't possibly be enough time for Natsu to forget what they once had!

"Aye sir!" The cat agreed while biting on a piece if fish that he grabbed from his green knapsack.

"Aha!" Natsu exclaimed. He had found the perfect job for his team. It was beating a few vulcans who were causing some farmers distress. Natsu thought that since the reward was huge that there would be a bunch of them. He was all fired up for the action. He was determined to beat up more monkeys than Lucy or Gray or both combined. Natsu grabbed the paper and headed toward the bar where Mira was wiping down the counters.

"Mira," Natsu called, "I found a job that Lucy and I are going to do." He was waving the paper in the air. Lisanna grimaced at what Natsu said. Lucy wasn't even here and he already asked her to be his partner in this mission. Whatever happened to her being his partner? How could this happen?

Mira was cleaning the countertop of the bar. She looked up at Natsu and said, "Lucy isn't here."

"I'll wait for her. When she comes here today, we'll do this job," he said.

"No, I mean Lucy isn't in here," Mira said with emphasis. "She went on a mission already."

"SHE WHAT?!" Natsu exclaimed loud enough for the whole city of Magnolia to hear.

"She went on a mission already," Mira repeated. "She should be in Shirotsume now."

"But why?" Natsu whined. " We're partners! She can't just leave me."

"She said she needed money to pay her rent," Mira answered.

The word "partners" pierced Lisanna's heart. What happened while she 'died'? In just two years, Natsu found a partner and it wasn't her. She always imagined that she and Natsu would go on missions together fighting criminals and monsters side by side. They would fall in love just like in one of those fairy tales Mira would read to them when they were younger. He would propose to her on the spot where their first "home" and "family" began just by the forest. Then one day, she pictured herself in the most beautiful and elegant white dress in all of Fiore. Down the aisle was her childhood friend with his familiar toothy grin. He would be wearing his scaly scarf that looked surprisingly good with his white tuxedo. Hand in hand they would get married, say their vows, and live a happily ever after together with their beautiful children. They were supposed to grow old together. Did her dream die with her?

"Y-you have a p-partner?" she asked him. She could barely bring out the words from her lips. Her face slightly heated up and her pulse began to beat faster. Her palms began to grow clammy giving evidence that she was growing nervous over the topic. Natsu shook his head up and down childishly with a proud grin. "When d-did this happen?"

"I don't know," he answered. He places his finger on his chin trying to remember how it all started. "I saw a job request for burning a book in a fat guy's mansion. It paid a lot of money. But the only way to get into the fat guy's mansion without look suspicious was by becoming one of his maids."

"So you asked her?" Lisanna it inquired.

"No," Happy answered for Natsu, "From what I remember, he tricked Lucy into making a contract to be his teammate."

"But my plan didn't work out," Natsu stated. "Her sex appeal failed during the mission."

"R-really?" Lisanna asked. Natsu had never shown any girl interest. She spent a lot of time with him when they were children and even more during their teen years. All her life, Natsu had been blind to her growing affection toward him. His obliviousness only made her fall for him all the more making her determined to make him fall for her the way he made her fall for him. But all of a sudden, he thought that Lucy had a sex appeal? Lisanna wasn't even sure if Natsu thought that she was attractive.

What had happened while she was gone! Yesterday it seemed that nothing had changed. Lisanna thought.

"It's seems that you're very fond of Lucy," Lisanna stated trying to act normal and attempting to control this nervous feeling.

Lisanna couldn't help but feel jealous the way Natsu's face lit up at the topic of his female partner. He even gave her a nickname while she had none. She couldn't help but wonder if she could make his face light up like that. In just a short amount of time, Lucy was able to weave her way into the depths of Natsu's heart, and Natsu wasn't even aware of that. Lisanna feared that Natsu just saw her as a friend and that it was too late to become more.

"Luce and I have always been going out on missions together," Natsu stated. "We're a team!"

"You weren't always been a team," Mira corrected, "Before you met Lucy, you'd do your missions with Happy."

To Natsu, it seemed like they had been partners for a long time. Maybe it was because they worked so well together. Lucy was nice and strong. She was different compared to most female mages in their guild.

"Why don't you go and take another damn mission?" Cana slurred in on the conversation. She was tired of listening to Natsu's complaints. He was interrupting her precious time with her beautiful keg of sake. "Just go back to the way things were." Cana took a gulp of sake before ordering more from Mira.

"I don't want things to go back to the ways things were," Natsu whined like a little child. "Jobs are always more fun when she's around."

Natsu didn't want things to go back. He liked the way his partnership with Lucy was right now. He enjoyed her company. They worked well together. Natsu liked Lucy's place. It smelled better, was a lot cleaner, and it was closer to the guild. Her cooking was a lot better than his cooking that's for sure. His only critique is that her food needs to have a little spice in it.

There was a rumor that Gray was going to ask Lucy to be his partner on a mission. Of course, Natsu wouldn't let that happen. So he asked Lucy to accompany him on some random mission. He wouldn't allow Gray to take his partner. He could find his own. There was something that Natsu liked about Lucy being his partner, and only his partner. To make sure Lucy wouldn't desert him, he followed Igneel's guidelines on partnership including: fighting together, walking home together, sleeping together in the same bed, eating together, traveling together, doing missions together, protecting each other, and making as many babies as you can together. Natsu didn't know how to do the last one. Igneel never fully explained that one. If they weren't partners, then things would have to go back to the boring way it used to be and Natsu didn't want that.

"Natsu liiiiiiiiikes Lucy," Happy teased rolling the word extra long for his dragon slaying friend. Lisanna couldn't help but cringe at Happy's innocent teasing.

"Well of course I do," Natsu said nonchalantly. At this sudden outburst, Cana spluttered her sake out of her mouth. Mira gasped at his sudden confession. Inside Lisanna felt like crying. He had openly admitted to having feelings towards the blond. "Doesn't everyone in Fairy Tail do?"

He's so dense. He doesn't know his own feelings for Lucy. Cana thought.

Natsu was surprised at his friends' response. He really did like Lucy. She'd pay for his food; let him stay at her house; take care of him on train rides unlike Erza who would put him out of his misery in just one punch; let him sleep in her comfy bed; if he was injured she gently took care of him; she gave him a new strength when he felt weak.

"Why are you so bugged about Lucy going on a mission?" Cana said as she wiped the remnants of her drink off her face.

Natsu honestly didn't know why. Knowing that his partner left him, he sort of felt like a part of him was missing. Lately, he began to miss his friend's company- her radiant presence, her smile, her laugh, her constant yelling, and her complaints of her rent. He was hoping Lucy would help that feeling go away.

"You know, Lucy's a strong mage too," Mira informed him. "You don't have to worry about her safety. She could take care of herself and her spirits care for her deeply."

"Yeah, I know," Natsu said.

Natsu was too familiar with Lucy's strength. Her Lucy Kick was very painful as he had first-hand experience himself; and damn, Lucy knew how to use a whip. Her keys were strong too. The cow was a buff pervert, the mermaid spirit was vicious and evil-she wasn't at all nice like the maid that could turn into a gorilla- and Loke was pretty strong as well. He didn't like the way he or the buff cow treated Lucy-especially Loke. He couldn't quite explain the feeling he got in his chest when Loke would sweep Lucy off her feet and say words that made her blush madly. But that feeling would go away when Lucy would make him disappear with her magic or just plain out reject him.

"Really?" the three girls looked at him in surprise with his response.

Cana and Mira were used to Natsu's overly protective feelings for Lucy, but Lisanna was still learning this. She didn't think that anything could have changed while she was gone. Would things be different if she hadn't "died" in the first place? Would she be his partner instead of her?

"Yeah, I know that Luce is strong," Natsu repeated. "But I don't understand why she didn't tell me she was going on a mission. She usually tells me and I go with her because we're partners."

"I told you," Mira began. "Lucy said that she needed to pay her rent."

"But Luce would have at least told me!" Natsu said. He was trying to figure this out. This didn't make any sense to him. Lucy was always rational aside from all her weird quirks. Lucy was his best friend. He knew her well.

"Why do you care so much for Lucy?" Lisanna asked with a little roughness in her tone. "What's so wrong with Lucy going on a mission without you?"

Lisanna had been quiet for a while as jealousy began to swell inside of her. She couldn't believe this. Lucy had a nickname. Whatever happened to hers? While she was gone, it seemed to her that Mira had been meddling in Natsu's relationship. Mira knew how Lisanna felt for him. How could she! Maybe if Mira allowed Natsu to go on missions with the Straus siblings, it would her as Natsu's partner. Hell, Lisanna had carved their names on the tree where their family had begun. It was supposed to be their fate! Now she wasn't sure if her dream would even come true. How could fate be so cruel to her!

"Of course I care for Lucy. I care for all my nakama," Natsu answered. "She's my partner and my best friend even though she's so weird. We're supposed to do everything together since we're partners."

Lisanna had heard enough of it. Her heart was at its breaking point. She couldn't take it anymore. She was his first best friend. He was her first love. They used to be pretend to be a married couple when they were younger. They even argued custody over Happy.

Damn it all! Lisanna screamed in her head.

It was like she had lived in a nightmare, knowing that she would never see her Natsu ever again. But one day, she woke up and found the Natsu she knew. It wasn't Fireball Natsu. It was her Natsu, her Natsu! When it was all over and she came back to Earthland, she learned that he was far from arm's reach. Oh, how screwed up fate can be! She just had to "die" before Lucy came to the guild. Things would have been definitely different, if she hadn't "died" in the first place. It might have been her instead of Lucy as Natsu's partner.

"Well maybe she doesn't want to go on a mission with you anymore," Lisanna said a little harsher than she intended. "You know I ha-"

She was cut off by Happy who was tugging gently at Natsu's puffy white pants. "Natsu," the cat said with teary eyes. "Does this mean that Lucy doesn't want to be partners with us? It explains why she always kicks us out of her house and why she didn't tell us about her mission."

Happy liked Lucy too. They became best friends. Happy didn't even mind sharing a piece of fish with the Stellar Mage if it brought a smile on her face. In fact, he'd gotten used to Lucy. He couldn't bear the thought of Lucy breaking up the team. She made a promise on her honor as a Stellar Spirit Mage.

"No," Natsu patted his cat's head. "Lucy is Lucy. She just wanted to do a mission by herself, right?" Happy felt a bit assured as Natsu bent down to wipe away one of his falling tears. "While she's out on a mission why don't you and I go on a mission for old time sakes?" The feline nodded.

Yes, things can go back to the way they are supposed to be. Lisanna thought

"Aye sir!" Happy said with new happiness.

"While we're at it, let's find a job that's more difficult and beat more bad guys than she can," Natsu suggested.

"Aye, sir!" Happy said with more emphasis than before. "What kind of job did Lucy take?"

"It's the one of capturing a bunch of bandits outside of Shirotsume," Mira answered.

"That one?" Cana asked. "Did you hear that the reward went up to one million jewels?"

"N-"

"Really?!" Natsu and Happy exclaimed in unison giving Mira no chance to talk. Both of them had a surprised expression plastered on their face

"Yeah, apparently they got some new mages that could use magic very well," Cana answered.

"Dammit Luce!" Natsu snapped. He was angry at hearing the news. He was so angry that he punched the job request back onto the board where a new visible crater could be seen. Knowing that Lucy had left him behind hurt, but what the hell was she thinking of taking a difficult mission without him to go along. At least Natsu had the decency to invite her along. Lucy could have done the same thing. He left the guild in a hurry leaving the three women baffled with his reaction and the rest of the guild in hushed whispers.

"Did you just lie to him?" Mira asked Cana sternly.

"Can I have more sake?" Cana answered.

-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-

PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW- WHEN I WAS WRITING, I FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO WRITE UP NATSU. I HOPE HE'S NOT TOO OOC. I TRIED TO MY BEST TO KEEP HIM IN CHARACTER. THEN AGAIN, IN THE MANGA I WAS SHOCKED TO SEE NATSU MAKE A SMART MOVE. MAYBE I COULD BECOME SMART TOO!

ANYWAYS, THE NEXT CHAPTER IS ENTITLED: JUST A MEMORY