All rights to Hiro Mashima

I would like to dedicate this chapter to DIGIKO12 for all the amazing reviews. I'm glad that I made your morning and I hope that you enjoy this next chapter.

BEWARE: Crack ships abound!

~ Part One: Spark ~

Noun: an ignited or fiery particle such as is thrown off by burning or produced by one hard body striking another

"We made it back alive!" With a rousing chant, Natsu kicked in the back door of the club and stomped right up to a clearly hung over Gray nursing a drink at the bar without a second glance behind him. He knew that Lucy would be okay here with this family, she was safe for the time being. He had other problems on his hands at the moment, like Gray, for example, the man who wanted to know his Lucy in every sense of the word.

It was a teensy bit disenchanting for Lucy to see Fairy Tail in the light of day. As with anything that operates exclusively at night, the daytime version is slightly banal and dare she say…dingy.

But it had character.

Where most clubs were chrome and black with accents of bright colours, Fairy Tail looked exactly like an old style tavern straight out of Dublin in the early days. This decorating style was most likely left over from when the founder emigrated to Magnolia all those years ago. Lucy could tell that the walls held countless stories, and she was happy to say that she might even like the place better now than she did last night.

"Dammit, Natsu! We just fixed the lock on the back door yesterday! You're paying for it this time you idiot. You ever hear of knocking?" A large man with white hair rubs his hand over his face, maybe because he had to replace that damn lock every third day, but more likely because he knew that Natsu would never stop acting like an excited child.

Even though it was around one in the afternoon, the club was packed full of people. Lucy assumed that these were the regulars that Natsu was talking about. They looked fascinating, and Lucy couldn't wait to meet them all properly.

However, at the moment, they were all silent and staring directly at her, some with funny looks on their faces and others in weird frozen poses.

Lucy gave a small wave to everyone and cleared her throat. "Uh...hi. I'm Lucy."

"Oh! Lucy! You're back, thank goodness. I had no idea where you lived or what your phone number was so I couldn't call you about your purse." Mira looked as lovely as ever and strode up to Lucy with a delicate grace that Lucy knew she would never be able to replicate no matter how many dance lessons she took.

"Thank you so much, Mira! I panicked this morning for a little while but remembered that I had left it here. Natsu was kind enough to bring me back so I could get it." Mira led Lucy back towards the bar and slapped a glass of water in front of her when she sat down on a stool beside Gray.

"Hey, Gray! Nice to see you again. How's your hand doing?" Gray, who had a whopper of a headache and was slightly nauseous at the moment gave Lucy a slightly pained smile and chuckled.

"Hands fine Lucy. Thanks for patching me up yesterday." Gray couldn't help but take in what she was wearing as Lucy stood up and switched the heels she was wearing for her more practical sandals she had stored in her purse for just such an occasion. A man's shirt – most likely Natsu's – and a belt. It was a refined 'morning after' attire that looked delicious on her. Half-formed fantasies grew in Gray's head about how it would feel to wake up next to a woman like Lucy. He just couldn't stop looking at her.

Granted he didn't actually try. Just because that flaming turd deemed her 'his property' didn't mean that he owned her like an object. He could sneak a peek if he wanted to. But only if he was stealthy.

Gray didn't choose to notice how long her legs were, or the fact that her hair was shining like a river of gold. It just happened. He might have been staring at her breasts for just a little too long because he could practically feel Natsu's burning glare on the back of his skull like twin laser beams. He wouldn't be surprised if his hair suddenly caught on fire from the intensity of Natsu's gaze.

Even though Gray thought he was under the radar with his sidelong glances and such, he didn't count on the fact that Natsu could smell just how turned on Gray was in Lucy's presence. Huffing slightly, Natsu decided to remove his Lucy from Gray, instead of detaching Gray's throat from his body. Mira had a lot of work cut out for herself cleaning the club, she didn't need a bunch of blood on everything as well.

"Luce, come here and meet some people." Natsu held out his hand with a grumpy look on his face and beckoned Lucy to join him further down the bar where people were sitting. Gray saw the smile she gave Natsu. It lit up her face like the sun and the way she tucked herself under his arm as if that space was made just for her. The rational centre of Gray's brain knew that he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell with her now, but another part of him screamed that he was the 'IceKing'. Snow and ice were his specialty.

"Cana, this is Lucy, you may have talked to her last night. Lucy this is Cana, the second bartender and Mira's girlfriend." Natsu waved his hand at a brunette with lovely violet eyes, wearing a bikini top and khakis.

"Nice to meet you formally Cana. Thanks for taking such good care of my purse last night. I ended up tearing apart Natsu's bedroom this morning before remembering that I had given it to you."

At this admission, Cana choked on her drink and spluttered half-formed incoherent sentences. Mira, who was standing nearby stocking shelves with liquor, patted her gently on the back until Cana stopped hacking her lungs up. When Cana spoke, Lucy could tell that she was already three sheets to the wind, but decided that she needed to get to know Cana more before telling her how to live her life. No one else looked bothered by her drunken slurs so she would roll with it.

A lecherous grin adorned her otherwise beautiful face. "You stayed with Natsu last night? So tell me…was he any good?" Mira tried to look like she wasn't eavesdropping on their conversation, but she was failing miserably, seeing as she had a bottle of whisky half way onto a shelf but had stopped moving altogether.

Lucy knew that Cana's question was about Natsu's performance between the sheets. Natsu also knew this. But both were frozen with wide-eyed expressions on their faces, unable to quite comprehend the situation at the moment. Luckily Lucy came up with a half way decent answer first before Natsu could start stuttering. "Oh, he was the perfect gentleman. He let me have his bed while he slept on his couch."

Incredulous, Cana peered over her tankard of honey ale at the two blatant liars in front of her, trying to call their bluff. Lucy was only wearing a man's dress shirt for Mavis' sake. Who were they trying to kid? "You sure about that sweet cheeks? Nothing happened at all last night?"

Saving them from answering, Gray scoffed loudly behind them. "Come on Cana, you should know better than that. Natsu wouldn't know what to do with a woman even if she was in his bed completely naked."

Lucy's face was swallowed up by a pink blush as she thought about just how accurate that statement was, while Natsu growled at Gray. "Shut the fuck up you stupid stripper. At least I would treat a woman with respect and not the way that you do. Who was that girl you went home with last night? I bet you can't even remember her name!" It was one thing to insult Natsu on a daily basis, but to insinuate that Natsu didn't know who to use his 'equipment' properly was going too far apparently.

Like all other arguments between Natsu and Gray, it eventually went beyond throwing petty insults back and forth like five-year-olds. This fight, because it was damaging Natsu's pride and also because he had some underlying sexual tension left over from last night that he needed to work out, dissolved quickly into an all-out brawl on the dirty floor.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Lucy was new to the whole bar scene, but even she knew that fighting wasn't necessarily allowed.

Mira just tittered behind her hand. "Oh. No. They do this so often it's just easier to leave them be. They'll stop soon enough."

To pass the time waiting for Natsu to stop pummeling Gray's head into the ground, Lucy decided to take herself on a tour to meet some of Natsu's other friends.

The most notable of the people she met were two who looked very much alike even though one stood at least four heads taller than the other. Elfman, Mira's younger brother and the bouncer here at Fairy Tail, was the classic manly man who had serious sideburns and looked like he could bench press a small house. The second was Lisanna, Mira's younger sister, who had the most striking blue eyes Lucy had ever seen and talked in a soft but confident tone that instantly put everyone around her at ease.

As Lucy was explaining to Lisanna the outline of her book about the Zodiac, Natsu ambled over towards them and threw his arm over Lucy's shoulder tucking her into his side and giving her a quick but heartfelt squeeze. "Hey, Lis! Glad you're showing Luce the ropes around here, I kind of got sidetracked when I needed to teach that Ice Princess some manners."

Lisanna laughed in a way that sounded slightly reminiscent of Mira shaking her head at Natsu in mock anger. "Natsu, you know you should never leave a lady alone in a place like this! You never know what would happen to her."

Lucy knew with her whole heart – even though she had only spent a couple of hours with these people in this bar slash club – that she would always be safe no matter what here. She could feel the positive energy and comradery wafting off this makeshift family in tangible waves.

Natsu though felt like an idiot. He shouldn't have fallen for Gray's bait and left Lucy's side after what happened last night right in front of Fairy Tail. "Damn, sorry Luce. That popsicle is just so good at riling me up I forgot that I said I would introduce you to people."

Lucy smiled and patted his arm in a comforting manner. "Don't think about it too much. I enjoyed looking around for myself. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming, I didn't mind introducing myself, and I have done it before you know." She made sure to keep her tone light and teasing so that Natsu would know that she held no ill will for him and his friends. She actually did love it here.

"Thanks Luce. You're the best you know? Why don't we get out of here and grab a snack? I'm starving!" They both waved goodbye to everyone and walked towards the exit.

Mira peered down at her lover from behind the bar counter. "Did you see that Cana?! Looks like Natsu's finally found her in the flesh!"

Cana just nodded, completely engrossed in her thoughts about the two new love birds and the fact that Gray looked like he was in physical pain when they were together. 'How interesting. My cards didn't say anything about a good old fashioned love triangle…'

-ooo-

One smoothie bar, three clothing boutiques, and a shoe store later and Natsu was standing outside kicking his heels against the pavement while waiting for Lucy to finish up the grocery shopping for their dinner tonight. She didn't want him peeking at what she was going to make for them saying that it was a way to repay him for saving her yesterday. Natsu had waved her off at first, but he found that she was surprisingly stubborn and was entirely convinced once he thought about the pancakes she made when he had woken up this morning. They were like little pillows of heaven, and he silently wondered what else she could make.

To pass the time, Natsu wandered down past a couple shops looking at the wares that were being shown off in the windows. He strolled past a few clothing stores that sandwiched a high-end jewellery place in between.

Something pinged in the back of his brain.

Never one to go against his instincts, Natsu backtracked until he was standing outside that small jewellery store, disbelief and shock warring on his usually calm face. He couldn't believe his luck. Lucy definitely needed to see this.

As if conjured by the thought of her name, Lucy tapped Natsu on his shoulder causing him to flinch. "Natsu, what are you looking at so intensely?"

All he could do was point at a shining golden key nestled on a white satin cushion displayed in between pendants made of amber and gold.

Lucy sucked in a short breath. "Oh Gods, it's Virgo's key! And it's made in the same style as the ones that I already own. Natsu…I have to go in there and check it out. See if it's for sale. What even is this place, I've never seen it before."

They both looked up at the tacky awning overhead that held an overly complicated stylised script that read 'Duke Everlue's Gold Emporium.'

"Wait, Duke Everlue? As in the Everlue that owns half of Magnolia's skyscrapers? What is he doing with this tiny jewellery store?" Lucy bypassed answering Natsu's question in favour of going straight to the source. Mainly, the stoic, blank-faced employee behind the counter. She had short cropped magenta hair and stunningly electric blue eyes. She was dressed in a black pantsuit with a white shirt adorned with small ruffles. The overall effect was one of professionalism, although it wouldn't hurt if she would smile at them.

The employee bowed low behind the counter. "Welcome, sir and madam. How may I be of service to you today?"

Jumping over the pleasantries that he was sure Lucy would have been obliged to take part in, Natsu decided on a course of action. Which was blurting out the question over top of Lucy trying to say hello. "How much for that key in the window? The one with the sign of Virgo on it?"

If Lucy and Natsu had known the mystery employee standing before them a little more, they would have seen the almost imperceptible widening of her eyes in surprise. She knew that not just anyone would see the actual key there, more often than not, the illusion of a delicate gold and ruby necklace was sustained in its place. Duke Everlue liked to show off what he owned to the 'little people' of Magnolia, even if most of them were fooled into thinking that it was something else. It's the principle of the thing of course.

"I am terribly sorry, but that is a piece that is very cherished by Master Everlue. It is not for sale." Even though the employee didn't sound all that sorry, she really was. These people before her seemed kind and infinitely nicer than the Duke.

Lucy's face fell. "Crap, I really wish that it was for sale. I wanted to gather all the gold keys up in that particular collection so that it could be with all its friends." Lucy reached under the shirt – dress she was wearing and unhooked the key ring from the garter belt that she had not taken off since yesterday. The keys were all warm and tingly, and Lucy could feel a sense of happiness radiate off of them like they knew they were in the presence of another key. They jingled lightly when she set them on the counter.

The employee bowed low again uttering a small 'sorry' while admiring the ring. 'So many gold ones. And she calls them friends? I don't really want to tell the Master about her, but I have my orders.'

Lucy, looking crestfallen, took out a scrap piece of paper from her purse and wrote her name and phone number down. "Please contact this number if Mr Everlue ever decides to part with that key, I would cherish it forever. Thank you so much, have a nice day."

And then they were gone. The woman behind the counter twiddled the small slip of paper between two fingers while observing the couple walk down the street, turn a corner and disappear from sight.

She picked up the phone once she couldn't see them anymore and called a number she knew off by heart. Even if her morals were screaming at her to shred the number in her hand and forget the nice blonde girl and her smiling companion, she was honour bond. It wasn't her choice anymore, it was out of her hands.

-ooo-

Lucy's depressed mood at finding another golden key, but not being able to physically have it lasted until Natsu and she got back into his apartment with all their shopping. As if sensing her distress, Happy rubbed and purred his little heart out in an attempt to soothe her feelings.

It worked quite well. Lucy felt better from the attention, Happy got a good scratch behind the ears, and Natsu got to see Lucy interact with his little buddy that made his heart swell with good feelings.

So it was a win-win-win situation, and everyone involved felt ultimately better than they had a scant two minutes ago.

Lucy clapped her hands with unrestrained joy in her eyes. "Alright, Natsu! Out of the kitchen! I want to make a surprise for you and Happy, and you can't see it until it's ready to eat, so go shower or get ready for tonight or destroy zombies on your Xbox or something."

Natsu gave her a quick one-armed hug, wished her luck with the dinner, and ran off into his bedroom already fantasising about stripping Gray of his better kill-death ratio.

Two hours and forty-five minutes later, a clean shaven and showered Natsu – having beaten Gray in the game and in real life today – sat on his bed giving Happy a well-deserved tummy rub while wondering what in the god's names could smell so damn delicious. He was so antsy and extremely hungry. He didn't mind being sequestered in his room for most of the afternoon with only his computer for company, but the fact that he couldn't watch Lucy while she cooked killed him a little on the inside. She was so graceful that she made every move she took between tasks look like a dance. She also hummed, which was adorable. But it let Natsu know that she was happy and centred on her work, shutting out the rest of the world for a while and just being.

A knock on the door signalled the long and arduous wait was finally over. Lucy popped her head through the now open door and smiled at the scene of Natsu laying on his bed with a curled up Happy on his stomach. "It's all finished! Wash up and then go sit."

Natsu took his seat at his kitchen table, setting Happy on one corner, and propped his head in one of his hands. "What did you make Luce? It smelled so good all afternoon I had to restrain myself from coming out here and devouring everything I saw." '…Including you.' Natsu wished he had the balls to tack that thought on at the end of his sentence, but he didn't know if being so forward with her would win him any points.

"Well, we have baked potatoes with all the toppings, oven roasted vegetables, and marinated steak. The reason it took so long was the marinade had to sit for at least an hour, but it gave me time to make the dessert." Lucy pointed to a plate that held a magnificent looking cake dripping with whip cream and mounds of strawberries.

Natsu was starting to sense a theme from Lucy. A strawberry looking theme.

He was drooling, he was sure of it. All of this smelled as good as Mira's cooking, but he knew that it would taste infinitely better because Lucy made it. "Thanks, Luce." And that was the last thing he said until both his first and second helpings were finished. He watched Happy rip into a mackerel that Lucy had got for him and hummed in contentment. This was the life. A Beautiful woman across from him, an exciting family, delicious food in his belly, Natsu couldn't ask for more.

Until he tried the cake and then he was sure that he had died and gone to dessert heaven. Forget pancakes, he would rather have this for breakfast any day. He should really tell Erza about this cake.

"Did I kill you? You look a little dead…" Lucy was a touch worried about Natsu, his eyes were all glazed over like he was in the biggest food coma she had ever seen. Serves him right with the three helpings of cake he ate. Truthfully she didn't know where he put it all if this is how he usually ate.

"No, I'm fine. No, I'm better than fine. I'm fan-fucking-tastic. That was the best damn dinner that I have ever eaten Lucy. I'm serious!" Lucy blushed at his praise and then tried to start on the dishes from their meal.

"Oi, enough of that. Go get ready for tonight, I'll do the dishes seeing as you cooked. Deal?"

She nodded, happy to have the chance to have a shower and change into some new clothes. "Thanks, Natsu, oh…is there any way I can check my email and such? I haven't been at a computer since yesterday morning."

"Yah, go ahead and use mine in the bedroom, just remember to log out when you're done. Wouldn't want anyone to mess around with your account, now would we?" Natsu wiggled his soapy fingers at Lucy, flicking drops of water at her. There was a playful spark in his eyes that shouted that he wanted to play with her. But they really didn't have time if she wanted to make it to Fairy Tail to talk to Makarov on time.

She bats his hands away squealing like a little girl and then zoomed into the bathroom to escape Natsu and his immature ways leaving him alone in the kitchen with a mound of dirty dishes and Happy as company.

"What do you think little buddy? Should we keep her? She is a bit weird." Natsu glanced at the closed bathroom door once more and smiled. "Aye, I think we should."