Natsu's eyes threatened to narrow at the customer in front of him. He stood at the counter with his slimy hand pressed on it, wiping goo all over the place. Natsu wasn't OCD, but the disgusting act squelched his cheerful attitude.

"I want that one!" he pointed at the person next to him with his other hand, a demanding tone to his voice. The person next to him sighed and shelled out the money, handing it to Natsu with a lifeless look in his eyes. They looked tired and bored, like they had been dealing with this person for quite a while.

Such was the life of a parent and a child. Not that Natsu would know, anyway. He was twenty six and didn't have any children of his own, much less a girlfriend. With a quiet sigh, he handed the cotton candy to the boy and grinned when they walked away. It finally gave him some peace to be able to think about what exactly he wanted with his life.

Pondering over the future didn't bother Natsu anymore. He knew he couldn't be at this damn amusement park forever. He had a degree in Computer Science, and this was one of the only jobs that he could find. It was the highest paying, of course, which didn't mean a whole lot. When he finally found a new job that actually paid him salary, he wanted to find the girl of his dreams.

She actually was in his dreams once. He had been in a field of golden plains, and she had waltzed up to him with a beautiful smile. Her golden hair fell down her back in waves, and his fingers ached with the desire to weave through the soft tendrils. She wore a v-necked casual white dress with a slight slit up the side that revealed the tops of her tanned thighs. Natsu's eyes threatened to wander, but she reached out her hand before his eyes could travel anymore.

"Come with me, Natsu! Everyone's waiting!" she said with that grin again. As they stared into each other's eyes with longing and love, Natsu reached toward her to grab her hand.

Sadly, it was then when he woke up from his dream, sweating and clutching his chest. It was thumping in his chest harder than he had ever felt, and his eyes were wide. He didn't know who it was, but he guessed that it was a girl that he was to meet very soon.

Four years later, he hadn't met any women that compared to the one in his dream. And now he was working at a crappy amusement park for barely above minimum wage even though he had a degree that he worked his butt off to earn for four years. Great.

The next customer wandered up to Natsu, but he went through the motions and did the transaction without a delay. He was too in dreamland to even realize that they were standing there standing at him.

"Sorry, what?" he asked, zoning back in.

"I said, do you have a tip jar? This is the best cotton candy I've ever had, and I want to thank you for it," the woman in front of him said, and Natsu's jaw almost dropped.

Describing her as beyond gorgeous was an understatement. Her hair was in a side ponytail, and she wore cargo shorts and a tank top which showed off her assets in a way he didn't even think he would have found attractive in the first place.

Closing his mouth and shaking his head, Natsu finally replied after her forehead wrinkled with a confused expression. "Yeah! We do."

He cursed himself for a second for being so uninteresting. He could have thrown out a one-liner or something like that, but it seemed more like a Loke thing to do than a Natsu thing to do. The man tossed out pickup lines like they were autographs, which ironically he signed a lot of as well.

"Great!" she held out a bill, waiting for him to actually pull over the tip jar in the back corner of the store to her. She couldn't see it until a moment ago when she tipped her head slightly to see the jar behind his attractive pink head. Maybe his green eyes had dazzled her a bit too much…

Natsu grinned at her, and she smiled softly back. Her smile was nice, he noticed, and they stood making dopey faces at one another for a few moments.

Natsu could stare and smile at her forever.

"Um… can I please put the tip in the jar please?" she asked politely, and his eyes widened.

"Shit!" he cussed, diving to the back of the store and grasping the empty tip jar, holding it out for her to drop the bill in. She giggled with her hand not holding the bill over her mouth, charming him a little more. She let go of the bill and it tumbled into the plastic jar and landed with a soft tap.

"What's your name?"

"Natsu Dragneel. And yours?" Natsu said, reaching out to shake her hand.

"Lucy Heartfilia. It's nice to meet you, Natsu!" she held out her hand to press her hand into his palm.

"Nice to meet ya, Luce!"

They dropped their hands to their sides, both looking down at their feet. Neither knew what to say or do.

"Luce," Natsu said, peering up at her. She looked up expectantly with a smile.

"Would you wanna go get some food with me? I mean, not carnival food. This stuff is junk," Natsu said, and Lucy chuckled and leaned over the counter.

Natsu's eyes grew large-she was revealing quite a lot of her creamy cleavage right then, and it was so tempting to him.

A grin on her face, Lucy grasped Natsu's chin and tipped his head so her mouth was close to his cheek. She kissed him on the cheek softly then, her lips gentle but firm. Then she pressed her lips to his ear, giving him his answer.

"I'd like that, Natsu."