I tried to stay awake and listen to what was happening between Natsu and Vijeeter, but it was hard because I was tired. Getting shot at took a lot out of you. Anyway, whatever was happening took a really long time and I'm a girl who likes her sleep.

When I did wake up, it was still dark and my back was pressed up to something hard and warm. Something heavy and warm was wrapped around my waist.

Natsu.

Natsu Dragneel was in bed with me.

Holy fucking shit.

You see, there were women in Magnolia who would pay a lot of money to be in this exact situation. Hell, there were probably women all across Fiore who would do it.

But not me. No way.

That particular boat had sailed.

There was a time when we were kids that Natsu, Cana, Gajeel and I slept together all the time. Our parents would have dinner parties and we'd be tucked in to Grandine and Igneel's big bed, all four in a row, according to age. This put me between Natsu and Cana. Of course, once we got older, we were separated.

Then there were the times when we were in the tent when Dad and Igneel would take us camping in the mountains. Always, I was stuck between Natsu and Cana in my sleeping bag.

As I tumbled headlong into my teens, and thus more and more desperate for Natsu to declare his undying love for me, this was a form of torture. I couldn't exactly throw myself at him when Gajeel, Dad and Igneel were around (Cana would have slept through it).

And then there was that brief time when Cana and I were nineteen and had gone off rock 'n' roll and discovered cowboys. Natsu took us to Edolas for the rodeo and we got a motel room that just had a big king-sized bed.

Out of necessity, we all slept in it together and I slept in the middle. Or at least I slept in the middle until Natsu moved to the floor, likely to give me room to move. I never woke Cana up with my restless sleeping. Cana could sleep through an earthquake.

So it wasn't as if I hadn't already slept with Natsu.

But not alone. Not just the two of us. Not when we were full-fledged, consenting adults. Not ever in his bed.

I moved forward, thinking the floor sounded quite comfy.

The heavy warm thing around my waist tightened.

"Don't move," Natsu mumbled, his voice kind of husky.

My stomach fluttered, and as Natsu's hand was splayed and pressed against it I was pretty certain he could feel it.

Shit.

"What're you doing?" I asked.

"I was sleeping." His voice was still husky.

"I mean in this bed," I clarified, what I thought was unnecessarily.

"It's my bed."

True enough.

Time for a different tact.

"I'm gonna sleep on the floor," I said.

"No you're not."

I hesitated for a moment, confused, and then tried for Plan C.

"Then I'm gonna sleep on the other side of the bed."

"No you're not."

What in the hell? I didn't get it.

"Why?"

"Because you were sleepin' over there and you hit me in the chest twice and kicked me in the shin three times."

Oopsie.

I'd heard that before.

"I'm kind of an active sleeper," I informed him.

"No kidding."

I thought about my options.

There was the floor, which apparently wasn't an option for me.

There was the Command Center, which I probably couldn't breach and likely didn't have a couch or bed, considering in my imagination it was filled with supercomputers that had a direct line to the Royal Armed Forces.

My cobwebby mind chugged along for a moment, registering somewhere deep down how warm and cozy I currently was.

Vijeeter was a little guy, only a couple of inches taller than me and wirey. Vijeeter was also kind of asexual and never had a girlfriend. His life was coffee, pot and rock 'n' roll.

Natsu, on the other hand, was not asexual. He might think of me as his little sister and could calmly sleep next to me without his nipples getting hard (or anything else getting hard for that matter), but I was pretty certain I couldn't do the same.

Natsu had one of those big, deep-seated couches, the better to sit on and watch Monday night football.

Maybe both Vijeeter and I could fit on the couch.

"I'll go sleep with Vijeeter."

The reply was instantaneous.

"The hell you will."

Hmm, all sleepy-husky gone from his voice. Natsu was now all business and using that 'brook no argument' tone.

I was stuck.

See, I was too afraid to go against Badass Natsu Dragneel and I was too tired to try to get comfortable with Vijeeter.

Actually, bottom line, I was just too comfortable even to contemplate moving.

So I went back to sleep.

It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

I woke up again hours later in an entirely different position. Natsu was on his back and I was sprawled half on him, half off him.

Yikes.

I blinked at the clock on the bedside table. It was seven after six.

I might be a party girl, but I'd never been able to sleep late. Even when I fell into bed at four a.m., I woke up before seven.

This caused me, over the years, to perfect the art of the midday Disco Nap. Today was going to be a Disco Nap day. I could feel it.

There was no way I was getting back to sleep and no way I was gonna remain sprawled all over Natsu.

I moved to get up and the arm he had wrapped around my lower back tightened and his fingers dug into my hip.

"Mavis, what is it with you?" He grumbled.

"It's morning."

He opened an eye and glanced at the clock. Then he closed it.

"Barely," he muttered.

"I'm gonna make coffee," I announced.

This was apparently an acceptable reason to move as his arm fell away.

"Do you have an extra toothbrush?" I asked.

"Probably."

That was a stupid question. Natsu may not still be the player he was in high school, but that didn't mean he didn't nail his fair share of anatomically impossible babes. He probably had a box full of extra toothbrushes.

"Do you have two?" I went on.

The eye opened again and focused on me.

Yikes part deux.

I jumped out of bed, grabbed my clothes and ran to the bathroom. I located one extra toothbrush still in its packaging and went to town on my teeth.

I took care of my teeth. I made a promise to myself that I'd die with my original set and that's what I intended to do.

I opened the door to the bedroom. "Do you have floss?" I asked.

"For Mavis' sake."

Obviously, Natsu didn't care that much about his teeth.

That's okay. Natsu seemed to be doing a very good job at taking care of other parts of his body.

I pulled on my jeans and struggled into my bra under the wife beater because I'd decided to steal his wife beater if I could get away with it to keep as a little momento. Then I paddled into the kitchen trying to be quiet for Vijeeter.

Vijeeter had a big day ahead of him and he needed his beauty sleep.

The living room, dining room and kitchen were open plan in an L shape. The condo was on a corner and the entirety of it had a balcony wrapped around it. There were French doors from the dining room, which was across from the kitchen.

There were also French doors from the living room, which was an extension of the dining room, and French doors in the bedrooms. Big money for this kind of location, the huge, airy rooms and the view afforded.

The kitchen was state of the art and mostly hidden from the living room behind the wall that made up the bathroom and extra bedroom.

Still, I had to be quiet.

Normally, I'd have the coffee ready to roll the night before so I could just flip a switch after I'd stumbled out of bed and across the apartment.

Normally, my coffeemaker had a cup under the spout, rather than a pot, so I could just stand there and wait until it was done filling the cup, and then switch it over to the pot so I didn't have to wait until the pot was full.

Normally, I didn't function properly until cup number two.

Caffeine was my drug of choice.

It took me a while to find all the coffee paraphernalia. I lucked out because obviously Natsu liked his coffee and he had a high-quality bag of Java.

I made it strong and did the cup thing. It was pretty clear from his Mr. Grouch impersonation that Natsu wasn't getting up anytime soon, and there was not a sound from the couch so I could be greedy and selfish with the coffee.

I was concentrating on the stream of life-affirming joe filling the cup, so I was a little surprised when hands settled on the counter on either side of me and I felt the warmth of a body against my back.

They weren't Vijeeter's hands.

I looked over my shoulder.

Natsu had fenced me in.

His cherry blossom hair was wild in a very sexy way, and his eyes were soft, as were his features. His chest was bare. I knew this because I could see his shoulders.

I didn't dare look down.

After ten years of practice, I was able (barely) to put the wild, sexy hair out of my mind and to ignore (barely) the fact that he was bare chested. However, it was kind of hard to ignore his proximity.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He glanced over my shoulder. "You makin' coffee for everyone, or just you?"

There were certain times where honesty was the best policy. In my life those times didn't come very often, but if there was the possibility that you might not get the first cup of coffee, and brutal honesty would get it for you, you had to be brutally honest.

"Just me, for now."

I turned back to the coffee, deciding I didn't want an answer to my question about what he was doing. Something was going on and I was three quarts low on caffeine, not to mention sleep.

I could hardly think past the next second, much less figure out what game Natsu was playing. Likely he was still pissed at me for bringing trouble to his doorstep and decided to make my life miserable as repayment.

I could understand that. I'd probably do the same.

I went back to ignoring him, as the coffee cup was full. I expertly switched out the cup for the pot, intent on my first sip, all the while wondering why Natsu still hadn't moved.

Then he did. A hand disappeared and a second later I felt my hair being swept off my left shoulder, around my neck and over my right.

I jumped at this intimate gesture and so did other parts of my anatomy. I didn't even try to ignore it. Any effort would have been futile.

Natsu's chin went to where my hair used to be just as his hand slid across my abdomen and pulled me to him.

My entire body went still.

"We need to talk," he said into my ear.

I stood there, frozen, coffee cup aloft, nowhere near awake enough to process his extraordinary actions, and also in kind of total shock.

I said the only thing I could tho k to say.

"I need milk."

Without moving his body or his head, his hand left my middle. I heard the fridge open and the glue of milk against plastic and then the fridge closed again. Natsu set the milk in front of me and his hand went back to the counter, keeping me where I was.

Real slick.

My stomach fluttered.

"Thank you," I said politely, blinking a lot and wondering if I was still asleep and dreaming.

I poured some milk in my joe, concentrating on not letting my body tremble. I was trying to be cool, but I was confused. This kind of behavior from Natsu had never happened before.

As in ever.

I took a sip of my coffee and tried to get my mind in gear.

"Do you want to explain to me why you have me pressed up against the counter?" I asked, using what I hoped was a questioning yet diplomatic tone rather than a freaked-out 'ohmygod, hell has just frozen over' tone.

This was hard for me. I needed to be alert and aware in any situation involving Natsu in order not to snap and declare my undying love for him, but I'd only had one sip of coffee.

And somehow, this was definitely a situation involving Natsu. In fact, it was more like a dangerous situation involving Natsu.

I took another sip, going for the gusto, and burned my tongue.

"Yeow!"

While I was recovering, Natsu turned me around and moved further into me.

He did this well, considering there wasn't a lot of space to move and even less space to move into. Not to mention I had the coffee cup between us. He settled his hands on the counter on either side of me again.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" he asked.

Yikes. Direct shot. He didn't even lead into it.

Although his eyes and features were still gentle, it wasn't from just waking up. I could tell Natsu was as alert and aware as you could get. The gentleness was from something else.

Shit, shit, shit.

What in the holy hell was going on?

I decided to play stupid.

"What?" I asked.

"You heard me," he answered.

Then there are those times when honesty was not the best policy.

"I haven't been avoiding you." I took another sip, thinking I should have put another scoop or two of coffee in the filter.

"You're lying. The last time we were both at dinner, you got up in the middle of Mom's fajita presentation and said you forgot to feed your cat."

Uh-oh.

"So?"

"You don't have a cat."

"I was cat sitting," I lied.

He smiled.

He smiled The Smile.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Man, Natsu could smile.

Then he said, "Alright, I'm all out of patience with this one. You have two choices. Either you talk to me about what's been botherin' you for the last decade, or I tell you how you're gonna pay me back for this Vijeeter debacle."

"Is there a choice number three?" I asked.

He shook his head.

I slid my eyes to the right, chewed the inside of my bottom lip and thought about my choices. I did my best to forget about the glimpse of hard, muscled chest and six-pack I'd seen in the weak moment I allowed myself to look down.

And he was wearing faded jeans with the top button not done up.

Yikes.

Okay.

Focus.

Choices.

Firstly, I was never, never, never in a million years going to tell Natsu Dragneel that I'd been in love with him since I was five and he sat next to me during my mom's memorial service and held my hand.

I was never going to tell him it was a Bon Jovi-style shot-through-the-heart when he told me he wasn't interested in me because I was his little sister's best friend.

And I was never, never, never, ever going to tell him that something had changed in him and he scared the pants off me.

Secondly, no matter what he said, he was Natsu and he was right all those years ago. In a way, we were family. We did all our holidays together as family and went to SaberTooth games with our dads when we were kids.

We had BBQ's at each other's houses nearly every Saturday during the summer, even now. Hell, it was mid-June and I'd just had the BBQ at my house two weeks ago, and Natsu had been there.

Even though he'd changed, he would always be Natsu. He probably wanted cheap maid service or something. Someone to do his laundry. Take his car in to have the oil changed.

I could do that.

All this business with sleeping together and swiping at my hair and talking in my ear was just him trying to intimidate me. He probably wouldn't let Cana sleep with Vijeeter or on the floor either.

"I'll choose door number two," I decided.

The smile widened and something happened to his eyes that made my nether regions quiver.

"I was hopin' you'd say that."

I scrambled. "Maybe I'll rethink my choice."

"Too late."

I scrunched my nose and narrowed my eyes at him. "Why can't you just be a nice guy?"

"I've never been a nice guy."

This was true, mostly.

"Yes you have," I returned. "You used to come pick Cana and me up from parties so we wouldn't get in trouble."

"I hate to burst your bubble, but that was for entertainment value. You and Cana were hilarious drunks. Once, you sang 'My Favorite Things' all the way home and got all the words wrong."

I made a frustrated noise then stated, "There was that time when I was grounded and I was climbing out of my window so I could go to Toby Horhorta's party and I got stuck between the tree and the house and you came over to get me down."

"I could see up your skirt."

I gasped.

Then I sighed.

Only I would try to climb out of a window in a skirt.

I knew better than to agree. The only time Natsu could say for certain he was a good guy was when he was in the army, and during some of that time I was ignoring him, and most of his missions were top secret so I had no examples to give.

I took another sip of coffee before I gave in. "Alright, what do I have to do to pay you back for Vijeeter? And I'll warn you, I won't clean your bathroom."

"You sure that's the only stipulation you wanna make?" I thought about it for a second, wondering what else I should throw in when he said, "Time's up."

He was playing with me and I was losing my temper.

"Oh for goodness sake, just tell me!" I snapped.

No sooner had I got out the word 'me', he moved.

And he moved fast, faster than I think I've ever seen anyone move, especially at that hour of the morning.

My coffee cup was gone. He had his hands at my ass and then I was going up, my behind settled on the counter and Natsu moved in. Both his arms went around my back. I had no choice but to spread my legs or I'd gouge his abs with my knees.

His arms pulled me to him, my nether regions pressed to his crotch, and he bent his head and kissed me. The first time in my life that Natsu kissed me.

Holy shit.

Holy, holy, shit, shit, shit.

He was a fine kisser.

In fact, just that one kiss blew the entire Joe Perry experience out of the water, and that's saying something.

When he lifted his head, I said (or kinda shouted, at this point I'd totally forgotten Vijeeter), "What the hell was that?"

I was covering and recovering. My mouth was the only thing that worked. Every other part of my body had been reduced to Jell-O.

"Advance payment on services rendered," he answered.

I stared at him, thrown.

He looked down, likely to further assess my reaction.

"Is this my shirt?" His hand came from around my back and lifted to touch the wife beater, very close to my breast. I slapped it away, feeling my nipple harden and thanking Mavis above for lightly padded bras that hid hard nipples.

"Yes, it's your shirt, and what do you mean, advance payment on services rendered?"

His hand went to the side of my breast, rather than to the actual breast, which was only a relief for about five seconds as it then slid around my back, pulling me to him again.

This was not brother-sister behavior.

What was he playing at?

He told me.

And he told me bluntly.

"I do this thing for Vijeeter, you sleep with me."

I stared at him, open-mouthed and in stunned silence.

I did, of course, understand what he meant, but he explained further.

"Not like last night. We'll both be naked and sexual acts will be performed."

My expression didn't change, except maybe my mouth opened wider.

"I'll expect your participation," he went on.

Holy shit.

He kept going. "Your avid participation."

Dear Mavis in heaven.

Eventually, I whispered, "You must be joking."

He shook his head and watched me.

I dropped my eyes, unable to hold his stare.

"I think I need more coffee," I told his throat.

His hand went into my hair and with a gentle pull he tilted my head back again.

A light bulb clicked on. A way out.

"You're already involved. You made the call last night, you said you would."

Natsu verbally waved it away because his hand was twisting in my hair.

"I know the principles. I can back out this morning. Vijeeter will be on his own."

This, I thought, was not a bad thing, considering the expected payment.

"Okay then, Vijeeter will be fine. I'll go with him," I declared.

"Vijeeter will do this alone. You're not going anywhere near these guys. You don't exist to them and I'm gonna keep it that way."

"There's a flaw in your plan, Natsu. They saw me last night," I pointed out.

"Minor blip. During the call I told them you were mine and that's why I'm getting involved. They'll keep a distance."

Holy shit! He was already telling other people! And I hadn't even agreed!

"I'm not yours!" I snapped.

"You will be tonight," he returned smoothly.

Holy shit, shit, shit.

What was happening here?

Was I in an alternate universe?

"You can't do this! We can't do this!" I stated loudly.

"Why not?"

He was calm and blasé. One of his hands was tangled in my hair and the other arm was wrapped around my back, the hand resting at my waist like we did this every morning of our lives.

Both my hands were pressed on the counter and I was about ready to shoot through the ceiling.

Natsu was not just a Bad Boy, a Badass or a Badass Extraordinaire. He was a fucking crazy man.

I thought hard about it for a second, partially hysterically, and then came up with something. It wasn't original but it was something.

"You're like my older brother," I told him.

"Is that why you tried to stick your tongue down my throat when you were fifteen?" he asked.

Yikes.

"And sixteen?" he continued.

Crap.

"And seventeen?" he carried on.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Jeez," I broke into his trip down memory lane. "You said you thought of me like your younger sister."

"I lied."

My eyes bugged out at this piece of information.

"What?"

"I was into some serious shit back then," he replied. "Depending on the assignment, I didn't know if I'd come home breathing and in one piece. You were twenty years old and hung up on me."

Oh for fuck's sake.

"I was not hung up on you."

He grinned. "Yes you were."

I was but I wasn't going to admit it.

I narrowed my eyes and he kept talking.

"I didn't need any entanglements. I didn't need anything in my mind that I wasn't doing. I didn't need to worry if I'd leave a girl at home heartbroken because something happened to me."

I had to admit, that made sense and it was kind of thoughtful.

I wasn't going to acknowledge that to him either.

He kept going.

"By the time I got out, you backed off. You had a man then and I thought you were over me."

He shrugged, nonchalant, like he didn't care, and that kind of pissed me off.

No wait, that really pissed me off.

He wasn't done.

"Then that guy was gone and you kept avoiding me. Guys came, guys went. I figured you had no trouble approaching me before. When you were ready, you'd come to me."

I was no longer avoiding his eyes or him. I was staring daggers at him.

What an arrogant jerk!

He calmly returned my gaze. "I'm a bit tired of waiting and I'm definitely tired of your man parade." His voice was slightly edgy and a little scary. "Fortunately, you've presented me with this golden opportunity."

He could damn well wait until hell froze over. He wasn't going to keep me at arms length for ages and then just reel me in when he felt like it.

"Well, I'm not done avoiding you!" I said.

As he was talking, he had moved slightly back.

He came in close again.

"Nope." He shook his head. "No more waiting, no more games, no more avoiding and no more other guys. You want this and I want this, and it's going to happen."

"I don't want this," I lied. Self-protection and all that. He was an arrogant jerk. He was scary as hell. He was trying to force me to sleep with him and using my friend to do it. He was bad news. I wanted no part in Natsu Dragneel.

And that was that.

He laughed softly. "Bullshit."

He thought I was funny.

I saw red.

"Of all the—"

He kissed me again, and this time Joe Perry was a fleeting memory.

I gave into the kiss immediately.

What could I say? It was Natsu.

It was getting good. His mouth was open and so was mine, his tongue was in my mouth and then mine was in his. My legs opened further and he got closer. His arms tightened and my breasts flattened against his chest. My arms went around his neck and I pressed against him.

Then his lips tore away from mine as his head shot up and twisted around, his entire body tensed, coiled, waiting.

Then Grandine and Cana turned the corner from the entryway into the kitchen.

Grandine's hand went to her throat. Her eyes widened and then, I swear, they filled with tears.

Cana started laughing.

I looked to the ceiling.

Shit.