A soft breeze blew against Natsu's face, he closed his eyes smiling while he inhaled deeply. The scent of salt water and fish wafted heavily around his nostrils from the vast open sea he was standing in front of. Natsu and Happy finally made it to a little fisher town called Hargeon where they planned to stock up on supplies before moving on but not until they explored the place first.

They have been on the road for little over a year and Natsu was loving every minute of it, from the different sites and sounds to the wonderful people he's met along the way, he's never once regretted his decision to leave the mansion.

Natsu was quick to learn that being able to summon the Celestial armor was nothing short of amazing to the outside world and ranked him to be a very powerful wizard. He supposed the training he was forced to endure was the only thing he was actually grateful to his father for but he was more grateful to his Uncle Atlas for kicking his ass into shape.

Unfortunately, he also had to learn that life outside of the mansion isn't full of the luxuries that he's grown accustom too. He learned after the first month that he wasn't going to be able to afford a hotel every single night if he wanted his money to last for as long as possible at least until he could figure out a way to make more jewels.

He will admit, the first night he decided to 'ruff it in the woods' was nothing short of miserable. He wasn't sure what was worse, the constant bugs nipping at his skin, the sudden downpour of rain that literally came out of nowhere, the horrible back pain he had the next morning from sleeping on a rock or the random wildlife that decided he and Happy looked tasty. But he refused to let a little camping fluke detour him and the next town Happy and him had made it too they bought camping supplies which proved that all their future night outs that much better and Natsu actually found that he enjoyed the peace and quiet of the outdoors to the hustle and bustle of the towns. Though he still stayed in hotels if not for the simple fact that Natsu couldn't stand being dirty for longer than a few days, nice hot showers or baths were always a must in his books.

He wasn't exactly keen on looking and smelling like a mountain man no matter how much he might like the outdoors…

Natsu opened his eyes and sighed happily at the view that Hargeon provided before it immediately dropped into an irritated glare when Happy fluttered right in front of his face with a frown and his tiny arms crossed over his chest, "what Happy? You're blocking my view…" he wined and Happy merely rolled his eyes, "Natsu, you need to figure out what you want to do…we can't keep huffing it in the wild like we have been, we're going to run out of money soon and you can't do any jobs as a mage without being in one of those guild thingies..." Happy wined, he's been trying to get Natsu to understand their situation and find them a place to live but he's been quite the brat about it…

Natsu sighed and dropped his chin to his chest so he was looking at the ground now, "I know…I know Happy…I'm just not ready to settle down yet, to have to get a job…work and pay bills…" Natsu gagged at the thought and looked back up at the feline, "I'm not ready to give up my freedom…there's still so much of this world that we haven't seen yet and I want to see it all. We've been cooped up in that mansion for years and now that I've had a taste of freedom I refuse to give it up…" Natsu reached a hand up and scratched behind Happys' ears.

Happy purred slightly but then sagged, "I'm not asking you to give up your freedom Natsu. I know better than most how miserable you were in that place," he dropped down into Natsu's arms when he opened them wide gesturing for the cat to land. He rubbed his head against Natsu chest," I just…I just want a place that we can call ours…that we can call our home and actually have it feel like a home. We have no idea how guilds actually work or even how you do a job for them or whatever but we can't keep doing what we are doing…" Happy teared up and pushed his face farther into Natsu's chest.

Natsu sighed heavily again and looked back out to the ocean, the sun was just setting and painted the sky in a brilliant flame of reds, pinks, oranges and blues, it was truly a site to behold, "I'm sorry Happy…" he whispered still looking to the ocean. He felt Happy move and could feel his eyes staring at him, "for what Natsu?" Happy questioned his best friend.

Natsu let out a long breath through his nose then looked down at the cat, "I've only been thinking about what I wanted…I haven't been taking into consideration what you want and for that…I am sorry." he brought Happy up to his face so he could look the cat in the eyes, "I have been looking into the guilds and out of all of them that we've researched I've narrowed it down to three possibilities for us to join: Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Fairy Tail. However out of those three, the only one that really catches my eye is the Fairy Tail guild, while the other two seem nice enough Fairy Tail seems…I'm not sure…more wild and adventurous I suppose. I've read a lot about some of their top mages and a few really peaked my interest though everything I've ever read never showed pictures of them so I have no idea what they look like, only a seemingly long list of destruction," Natsu laughed, "I have to say the one they call Salamander has really caught my attention, that guy causes more damage than all of them combined but everyone seems to love him. Plus, it says he's a fire mage so maybe he's like Uncle Atlas."

Happy's eyes grew wide and he placed his paws on Natsu's cheeks to keep him from talking more, "you've really been looking?"

Natsu smiled and nodded, "aye, I do understand how important it is to you for us to have a home again. I just wanted to put it off for as long as I could and I see now that my decision has caused you to suffer and for that, I am truly sorry…"

Happy smiled back and smashed himself against Natsu's chest again, "I understand Natsu and its ok, I forgive you."

Natsu patted the feline's head and finished watching the sun completely disappear and allowed the moon and stars to come out to shine, he shivered slightly when the breeze picked up, "come on Haps, lets head out and find a good spot to camp for the night."

"Aye sir!" Happy shouted summoning his wings to fly next to Natsu

Natsu and Happy were just about to walk away from the ocean side when a faint call for help stopped them in their tracks, "…did you hear that too Natsu?" Happy whispered while he looked all around them

Natsu's eyes narrowed and he nodded his head, "aye…I heard it but where did it come from…"

Happy shook his head, "I don't know…but it didn't sound close to us…"

They stood quietly and listened for any signs of the distressed voice again, "…help please!"

It sounded closer and much to the two males surprise, it was coming from the ocean.

Natsu walked onto the beach and stopped just before the water could reach his feet and waited, suddenly he could spot what looked like a white blob quickly making its way to the town, "HELP! PLEASE! MY FIREND NEEDS HELP!" the blob shouted

Natsu lifted his hand above his head and waved it, "OVER HERE!" he shouted

Whatever it was seemed to have heard him and speed towards him, though the closer it got the wider the boys eyes seemed to get. The white blob…was a cat and not just any cat…a flying, talking cat, just like Happy, all this time they thought Happy was the only one…guess they were wrong.

The cat stopped in front of them finally, panting slightly to get air back into its lungs and Natsu studied the small feline some more, it was completely white in color except for the circle of orange that covered its mouth and nose, "p-please…." the cat huffed, "p-please…m-my friend…s-she needs help…" he finally said in between breaths.

Natsu looked confused for a second and raised a brow, "she?"

The cat took one last deep breath in through his nose and let it back out, "aye she, Lucy, I told her not to go on that boat but she neeeeeeever listens to me. I told her we needed a plan to get them off the boat so she could take them all out easily but then we started arguing and she was saying that she doesn't like planning that she would rather just smash their faces in and I told her that she was being stupid that she knows she can't handle transportation if the boat all of a sudden started moving but she waved me off like it was nothing and it made me angry cuz I'm just trying to look out for her like I promised I would. Then she jumped on the boat and started fighting everyone before I had a chance to stop her and then to make things even worse the boat started moving and she immediately dropped to the floor and started getting wailed on. I followed and tried to fly closer to her to pick her up so she wasn't on the boat anymore but the boat was going really really fast and they had magic guns and were shooting at me so I came back to town to try and find someone that can use magic to push that boat back to shore, so here I am…" the cat rambled on and on so fast that Natsu and Happy could only get bits and pieces of the explanation.

Natsu put his hands up and waved them back and forth, "woah woah wait a second," the cat stopped his pace flying and rambling to look at the two, "alright, so let me see if I understand this. Your friend, for whatever reason, attacked a bunch of people on a boat while the boat was in the port. Then the boat moved to head out to sea and it caused your friend to become sick, I'm guessing and took her down for the count. Then when you tried to swoop in to save her you were shot at by the people on the boat that she attacked and came back to town to find, I'm guessing a mage, to push that boat back to port and save your friend?" Natsu questioned hoping he understood the fast paced explanation he was given.

The cat rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest giving them a bored look, "well duh, that's exactly what I said. You're not very smart are you?"

Natsu felt a tick mark appear on his head and he gritted his teeth and balled his fists, this cat was aggravating… "just lead the way to this boat, I'll get it back to shore."

The cat nodded his head and took off over the ocean towards the boat, Happy grabbed the back of Natsu's cloak and followed after the white cat, "I'm Natsu by the way," he stated once they were flying next to the feline. He pointed over his shoulder, "and this is Happy."

The white cat smiled big and pointed at his chest, "I'm Plue, nice ta meetcha!"

It didn't take them long to catch up to the boat and true to Plue's words the moment they were spotted the people on the boat started shooting at them, Plue frowned, "I don't see her…they must have moved her inside…"

Natsu gave Plue a worried look then pointed past the boat, "take us in front of the boat Happy," as Happy was getting him into position Natsu reached into his key pouch and touched Aquarius' key while unsheathing his sword, "Aqua, please grant me your powers for just a little bit. I need to help save someone." he heard a growl in his mind, "I'm on a date brat!" Natsu sighed quietly, "I know, I'm sorry but someone needs my help. Please just this once and I promise I won't call on you for a while. I only need your waters around my sword not the full armor."

He heard her let out an aggravated sigh and it caused him to smile because a second afterwards his sword was covered in Aquarius' familiar waters, "thank you Aqua." she tsked, "whatever brat, just make it quick."

Natsu looked over his shoulder, "alright Happy, drop me directly in front of the boat."

Happy hesitated, "are you sure Natsu?"

Natsu smiled and looked down at the boat, "aye"

Happy whimpered but complied to Natsu's request and let go, he watched Natsu plummet towards the ocean with his sword above his head and just before he hit the water Natsu swung the sword over his head and down on the ocean's surface with enough force that Aquarius' water created a tidal wave that rocketed the boat back to shore.

Happy and Plue flew down and both plucked Natsu out of the water and quickly dashed back to shore, Natsu winced once he seen just where the boat ended up, "…I guess we let out too much power," he chuckled at the destruction Aquarius' waters had caused. The boat was now laying on its side in a crumbled mess on the beach, Plue took off towards the boat shouting out for his friend and Natsu silently cursed himself, his friend was probably hurt more now because of him.

Natsu and Happy took off towards the destroyed boat and were praying to the gods that nobody was injured, they stopped dead in their tracks, however, when they were almost mobbed by screaming and panicking women who were running out of the wrecked boat. They watched the women sprint away leaving them with more questions than answers and again seemingly out of nowhere they heard a laugh. The sound floated around Natsu like a gentle breeze of warm summer air and he felt a pleasant chill roll down his spine, "THAT WAS FUN!" he heard a female voice shout out, he turned his body and darted his head in all directions trying to find the source of the laugh and shout, "LUCY!" he heard Plue shout and he looked up.

His entire world seemed to stop completely, his breath hitched, his eyes grew wide, his mouth dropped open and his heart started pounding fast, was he looking a goddess? She was absolutely stunning; her long golden hair was tied up into a high ponytail, she had bangs that dropped down into her eyes, her face was in the shape of a heart, her nose was small and cute, her lips were full and plump, her neck caught his attention because wrapped around it was what looked like a white scaled scarf which was odd considering it was the middle of summer. Her body on the other hand, holy shit, VERY generous chest that was wrapped up in what looked like bandages, she was wearing an open, long sleeved black and gold vest allowing him to drink in the site of her toned tan stomach, her right hand was covered in a black glove and he found that odd since the other was bare. Natsu's eyes followed the curve of her waist into the swell of her wide hips and long smooth legs that were covered in white clothed capris pants with black sandals covering her small feet.

Natsu felt his mouth run dry, "…w-wow…" he croaked out only to flush bright red and quickly turned his head when he heard Happy snickering beside him.

"Lucy…I was so w-worried about you!" he heard Plue wail and watched as he tackled his friend, "I-I was t-trying really hard to get t-to you b-b-but then they started s-shooting at me and I got s-scared so I flew b-back to town to try t-to find somebody who c-could help me and then I ran into N-Natsu and Happy and they helped me g-get the boat back to s-shore!" Plue explained still burying his face into her wrapped chest.

Lucy patted the white cat's head, "come on Plue, I told you I would be fine but thank you for helping me."

Lucy was about to say more when the sound of someone angrily screaming hit her ears, "how dare you!" the voice shouted and a man with purple hair and a tattoo above his right eye appeared from the rubble of the ship, he was quickly surrounded by several guys that Natsu noticed were on the ship before, he was glaring at Lucy, "HOW DARE YOU!" he shouted once again and summoned his magic launching a large stream of purple fire directly at Lucy.

Natsu's heart stopped as he watched, with wide eyes, everything happening in slow motion, Lucy turned her head to look directly at him and she smiled brightly then she grabbed Plue and threw him right at Natsu just before the flames hit her, "NO!" Natsu shouted after catching Plue, taking a couple steps forward only to be stopped by Plue quickly flying out of his arms to hover in front of him, "it's alright Natsu, just watch."

Natsu heart pounded and uneasiness settled in his chest but he waited for whatever he was supposed to be waiting for, "why are we waiting Plue…she took a direct hit from those flames! She needs our help!" Natsu shouted and made a move to get closer to the boat hands already reaching for Aquarius' key.

Plue turned to look directly into Natsu's eyes, "Natsu…calm down. Lucy is fine, just watch, please."

Natsu whimpered and gritted his teeth but complied anyways as much as he didn't want to, Happy landed on his shoulder and placed a reassuring paw on his cheek, he didn't like it any more than Natsu did.

Then they started to hear what sounded like slurping. Like someone was eating a plate of spaghetti and was sucking up a long noodle, they watched with wide eyes as the flames began to shrink and were pulled into one spot, "are you sure you're a fire wizard?" he heard Lucy's voice from the flames and within a matter of seconds what was once a raging inferno was now absolutely nothing. Lucy wiped her mouth with the back of her gloved hand, "those were some of the nastiest flames I've ever tasted…" she shivered in disgust but smirked at her enemies' pale faces and shaking bodies, "now…I don't take kindly to those who tarnish my guilds name so easily."

"WHAT DOES IT MATTER?! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU MONSTER?!" the purple haired flame wielder yelled out.

Lucy held her smirk and lifted her gloved hand placing it over her heart, Natsu watched, with growing fascination, as her hand suddenly burst into flames and incinerated the glove revealing smooth tanned skin and a pink mark, he's sworn he's seen before, for the world to see, "my name is Lucy and I'm a wizard from the Fairy Tail guild," she then pointed her flaming hand towards the other fire user and glared darkly at him, "and I've never seen you before…"

Natsu turned his head to look at the man and his lackeys seeing them all pale in complexion and shaking at the mention of who Lucy was, "…she's…she's from Fairy Tail?" Natsu whispered

"Boss…I know I've heard of this chick before…the blond hair, the scaled scarf, the pink symbol…she's the real deal, she's the real one Bora" one of the henchmen spoke pointing a finger at Lucy, "DON'T CALL ME THAT YOU FOOL! I DON'T CARE WHO SHE SAYS SHE IS, TAKE HER OUT!" the man dubbed Bora shouted and all the men that surrounded him charged for Lucy.

Natsu watched Lucy move with speeds even he wasn't capable of moving without the help of his Celestial armor, both of her fists were lite on fire as she punched her way through all of Bora's henchmen shouting 'FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!' as she bowled through them, "Plue…explain" he quietly asked the floating white cat while still watching Lucy.

Plue looked at Natsu and Happy and smiled scratching his head, "I probably should have mentioned that Lucy was a wizard, hee…sorry bout that," Natsu turned his head and gave him a look that clearly stated he wanted some answers.

Plue shrugged his shoulders, "it's simple really, Lucy and I are mages from the Fairy Tail guild." he turned his head back to Lucy and watched Bora launch himself in the air using his own fire with Lucy hot on his tail her own fire pushing from her feet so that she could get to Bora. They all watched them struggle in the air for a few seconds before Lucy caught him with a nasty punch to the face that sent him flying through several buildings, "We came to Hargeon because Lucy got a tip that her mom might be here. While we were here we caught word of salamander in town and Lucy automatically thought it was her mother and took off to where we heard it was supposed to be. However instead of finding her dragon, we found Bora surrounded by a bunch of love crazed females, it wasn't hard to see that Bora was using charm magic to manipulate the girls and when Lucy confronted him about it he said he had no idea what she was talking about and said that if she ever wanted to become a 'real' wizard someday that she should go to his yacht tonight like all the other girls and he would get her into the Fairy Tail guild. He kept saying he was salamander which didn't make since because Lucy is actually the salamander…" Plue crossed his arms over his chest watching Lucy take off in the direction Bora landed, "anyways after that is when she took off for the boat and you know everything from there." Plue smiled big but it quickly dropped into a frown when he seen Natsu and Happy's faces, "guys?" he questioned, "what's wrong?"

Natsu snapped out of it first, "HOW IS LUCY'S MOM A DRAGON?! AND IS SHE REALLY THE SALAMANDER?!" he shouted plucking Plue out of the air to hold him close to his face.

Plue put his paws on Natsu's face and pushed himself away, "aye, Lucy's mom's a dragon and yes, she is the so called salamander."

"B-B-BUT…HOW?!" Natsu staggered backwards suddenly feeling light headed, "salamander is actually a girl…and not just any girl but Lucy…her mom's a dragon…she's from Fairy Tail…I don't feel so good…" Natsu whispered feeling his face flush and his stomach roll.

Before he had a chance to sit down and collect himself Lucy popped up and grabbed Plue and Happy while wrapping her small hand around his wrist, "WE GOTTA GO!" she shouted and then sprinted away. Natsu barely had enough time to get his feet underneath him so he didn't face plant while Lucy practically dragged him behind her, "WHA-…WAIT A MINUET!" he yelled trying to keep up with her speed, "HOLD ON A SECOND!"

Lucy looked back quickly and smiled brightly at him and Natsu felt his heart flutter in his chest again at the site, "I wouldn't do that if I were you, unless you want to be arrested by the Rune Knights." she smirked at him when he paled at the thought then looked forward again.

She didn't stop until they were well out of the town and away from prying eyes into the safety and cover of the forest, "that was close!" she chuckled placing her hands behind her head and shifting her weight to one foot.

Natsu was heavily panting while sitting next to a tree, "how…a-are you not…winded?" he huffed while asking, he had closed his eyes and concentrated on getting his breathing under control.

Lucy crouched down to his level and scooted closer to him, she poked his cheek, "who are you?" she questioned

Natsu snapped his eyes open when he felt her prodding his face only for his eyes to widen at her close proximity, her scent was drifting all around him and he could feel her breath on his face as she studied him. Her eyes were mesmerizing and he was quickly lost within their golden, chocolate depths, "I-I-I'M…" he squeaked, he cleared his throat, gently placing his hands on her shoulders and pushed to give himself some breathing room, "my name is Natsu," he pointed to where Happy and Plue were sitting, "and he is Happy."

Lucy sat down in front of him with her legs crossed, "COOL! I'm Lucy and that's Plue, we're mages of Fairy Tail." she beamed him another brilliant smile

Natsu smiled back, "aye…Plue told us a little bit about you, is your mother really a dragon? and what kind of mage are you?" he questioned her and Lucy smiled even brighter if that was even possible, "AYE! Mama is a dragon, her name is Layla, queen of the fire dragons and I'm a fire dragon slayer! Mama taught me everything I know." she boasted jamming a thumb into her chest.

Natsu gawked at her for a second, "a dragon slayer! I've read about that magic is some books, it's said to be so rare that it's considered a lost magic now days!"

Lucy tilted her head to the side and gave him a confused look before shrugging her shoulders, "if you say so," she waved him off before scooting into his personal space again, "I've got questions for you now!"

Natsu leaned his head backwards away from Lucy but she just followed him," where ya from?" she quickly questioned

"wha-…" Natsu couldn't get his mouth to work, she was just too damn close

"what kind of magic to you use?" she didn't even wait for an answer to her previous question

"C-C-Celes- "he started but she interrupted again

"why is your hair pink?"

"h-hey now! It is NOT pi- "he began to protest but the words died on his tongue when she ran her fingers through his hair. He hummed in pleasure and closed his eyes when she raked her nails against his scalp, "so soft…" he heard her whisper

"are you two in a guild?" she pulled her hand away when she asked and he almost ALMOST whined at the loss of her fingers, "...no..." he opened his eyes back up and slightly moved away when he seen her excited face.

"if you're not in a guild then you're coming with us!" she shouted startling him

"wait a min- "

"and we can have Mira make you both members as soon as we get there!"

"hold on jus- "

"oooohhhh, I hope Erzie will let me keep you!"

"I-I BEG YOUR PARDON! I AM NOT A DOG!" Natsu shouted and glared at her but she ignored him

"I'll bring you both home with me and take care of you!" she had stars in her eyes now and clasped her hands in front of her chest.

"n-now see here! –"

"THAT IT! I've decided!" she shouted out and jumped to her feet

Natsus' cheeks were burning a bright red at this point

Lucy reached down and grabbed his hand hefting him to his feet, "wow, you're really tall…" she stated then quickly started walking away, Natsu dug the heels of his boots into the ground, "HOLD ON JUST A DAMN SECOND NOW!" he shouted finally gaining her attention. Lucy turned around and looked at him, "what?" she tilted her head to the side and he swore he could see the question mark forming above her head.

Natsu pulled his hand out of her grasp and pinched the bridge of his nose with his other hand, "you can't just go making decisions for someone…"

Lucy again gave him a confused look and furrowed her brows, "I don't understand…"

Natsu sighed and shook his head, "it's not your decision to make about our lives…" he gestured to himself and Happy who was standing on the ground next to him looking up at Lucy, "it's our decision on what we want to do."

Lucy's lips formed a hard line and her brows pinched, "I don't need you to tell me what you want and don't want, nor do I need you to tell me what you want to do with your lives. I can see it in your eyes…you want a family and a place to call home…it doesn't take a genius to see that you want both of those things and I'm offering to take you to a place where you will have both of those."

Natsu opened his mouth to deny her reasons but nothing was coming out, she was absolutely, 100% right…he did want a family and him and Happy were just talking about finding a place they could call home.

Why was he fighting back so much?

Lucy was offering him everything they've wanted…hell she could probably even make his dream come true and show him the rest of the world if he asked her.

So why was he hesitating?

Natsu looked down at Happy already knowing what he wanted and that was everything Lucy was offing them…he looked back up at Lucy and sighed loudly before smiling softly at her, "alright…take us to your Fairy Tail."

Lucy smiled back and held her hand out for him to take, "let's go then…"

~AN~

Wow…

Seriously you guys…just wow…

I really didn't think I would get this big of a turn out for this story!

So as promised, here is chapter two XD, I have to say I LOVE how Lucy's character turned out!

Anyways, let me know how I did :)

Until next time!

Much love from a tkitty! XD