A/N: I really hope I warned you about how horrible I am with updating! To be honest I forgot about this fic but I'm recently getting back into writing and I found my outline for this fic as well as where I left off so time to finally finish it! Better late than never right?

Bzzt Bzzt

One of the worst decisions Lucy ever made was giving that damn Salamander her phone number.

Do you have tuna? Happy is having a sad day

(Cute photo of a blue cat)

Lucy smiled at the picture before getting up from her desk to check for tuna.

Yeah I have a can.

Omg thank youuuuuu

Lucy rolled her eyes and took the can back to her desk to keep writing.

Bzzt Bzzt

Lucy groaned and checked the message.

She smiled at the blurry photo of a confused looking blue cat whose paw had been forced up by the pink blur hiding behind it.

Happy liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikes you

One of the best decisions Lucy ever made was being friends with that damn Salamander.

Lucy gave a little stretch and went back to her writing; her protagonist had just met the fearsome dragon…

Bzzt Bzzt

Who was going to talk the protagonist's ear off and never let her finish their quest.

Lucy gave a little huff of frustration, hoping it was at least another cute picture or something equally as worthy of her writing time.

We still on for 2night?

Lucy frowned and looked at the contact's name and gave a startled hum. It wasn't from Salamander, it was from Nick, one of the guys she'd met online in her personal quest for a soulmate… who she'd agreed to go out with on her night off… which was tonight!

Lucy quickly typed back.

Yes, we're still on

Gr8, Magnolia Movie Theatre - 8 o clock?

Sounds good

Lucy bit her lip in thought, she wasn't the biggest fan of movie first dates because there really weren't a lot of opportunities to get to know each other, which in her mind was the whole point of dating. However, it was close by and less expensive than a fancy dinner. She just had to pick out an outfit now.

Lucy gave another glance at her open laptop. Looked like she wouldn't get a night of writing after all.

With another sigh, she typed out a message to Levy, her fashion advisor, and headed for the closet.

You have to wear that new skirt! The blue one we got Heart Cruz

Thanks Lev!

Lucy grabbed the skirt in question and combined it with a white V-neck shirt and a blue vest. She frowned at her shoe options. She liked the height heels gave her, but they had proved disastrous for getting away from less-than-ideal dates. Erring on the side of caution, she chose a cute pair of ankle boots that had a sturdier chunky heel.

Outfit picked!

Bzzt Bzzt

Sooo when can I get that tuna?

Happy is sssstaarvingg

Lucy finished tugging on a boot and giggled at the latest texts from Salamander, then frowned. Hanging out with him and getting the chance to meet the world's best cat was very tempting. Especially since she knew it was a guaranteed good time, whereas dating was always unpredictable. And yet, a quest was a quest, and a hero must put aside distractions if they want to succeed!

Can't tonight, but if you pop by Fairy Tail tomorrow I have a shift and I can give you the tuna then

Awwwwwwww : (

Lucy gave a sigh and checked the time. She should probably head to the movie theatre. She chucked the phone in her purse and slung it over her shoulder. Time to see if Nick was the one.

Nick was not the one.

First, she had to awkwardly stand around the theatre lobby waiting for him, awkwardly smiling at the bored ticket vendor, as she stood there for twenty minutes.

When he finally showed up, he didn't bother to apologize for being late and it was too late to watch the movie they had decided on, so he just decided for them on a horror movie that Lucy did NOT want to see.

Not that he seemed to want to watch it either, he kept trying to pull a move on her during the movie which was horribly uncomfortable and not what she had signed up for. She managed to dodge him and made an excuse about needing the bathroom.

Now she was trying to say goodbye and he wasn't getting the hint.

"Look, I'm sorry you didn't like the movie, but we can still have a good time. Let's go back to my place"

"No, thanks, I just want to head home"

"Sure, your place works"

Lucy's eyes widened in baffled horror. Was this guy serious?

"No, Nick, you're not invited"

"Oh, c'mon you've gotta let me make up for the bad movie, at least lemme give you a kiss goodbye"

Lucy jumped back as Nick leaned in. She had half a mind to slap this guy, but she didn't want to make more of a scene. There were a bunch of people wandering the movie theatre lobby as they were exiting their respective movies, a couple of girls were giving her pitying looks as they headed towards the exit. Lucy was so ready to follow them out, she just had to shake off this idiot who was still trying to kiss her.

"Look I said no!"

"C'mon, one little kiss goodnight, unless of course, you want more"

Lucy tried not to gag at the disgusting pickup line and continued to edge away from Nick, who was sadly blocking her path towards the exit and edging her back towards the washrooms. She gave a little gasp as she felt herself bump into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry"

"Is this guy bothering you, Luce?"

Lucy turned around to see familiar pink hair, although his usual smile was missing. Instead, there was a tense frown and a small crease between his eyebrows which was kind of cute but so out of place on his usually carefree face.

"S-Salamander?"

"She's fine, we were just having some fun, you can get out of here man," Nick said shrugging but looking at Salamander wearily, the tank top the pinkette wore was leaving his muscular and tattooed arms on display.

Lucy frowned at Nick too. She had had enough of this date. Drawing confidence from her friend at her back she drew herself up and fixed Nick with her best evil eye.

"No, you can get out of here Nick. This date is over"

Nick seemed surprised and like he wanted to protest but seemed to think better of it when the pinkette made a small almost growling noise. Instead, Nick simply turned away and slunk out the exit.

Lucy gave a sigh of relief and instinctively leaned against her friend who was still right behind her. He seemed to relax once Nick was out of sight and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You ok, Lucy?"

Lucy groaned and rubbed her temples. She was not okay. Yet another date ending in disaster, at this rate she was never going to find her soulmate. Maybe the spell had been wrong because so far, she hadn't met a single N-named male who was even close to dateable let alone happily ever after material. She should just give up, accept the fact that she was going to die alone. Focus on writing her novel instead.

"Are you crying? Did that guy do something to you? I'll get him I swear, or maybe sic Erza on him, once she gets her hands on him, he will never recover, the last time someone tried to pull something at Fairy Tail she totally demolished a table with him and – "

Lucy hadn't realized tears had been forming and now Salamander seemed to be on a tangent about different ways his friends could inflict bodily harm on jerks which was making her feel a bit better but honestly, she was too tired to track him down and wait, what was he going on about now?

"– and since we know people on the force we can totally make sure the investigation doesn't go anywhere – "

"Whoa! Slow down, no need for murder! I'm fine, I'm fine" Lucy exclaimed, pulling away from Natsu and making startled flapping motions with her arms.

"Are you sure? Cause even if murder is too much, I'm sure I can teach him a little lesson" Salamander said, slamming a fist into an open palm and an almost evil grin lighting up his face.

"Yes, I'm sure, thanks for offering. Right now, I just wanna go home and cry over my horrible dating life, or rather lack thereof"

"Well, that sounds depressing, though I can understand the need to cry. For me, I usually just throw on Lion King" he wiped at an invisible tear, "gets me every time".

Lucy laughed, "The Lion King?"

"Oh yeah, guaranteed to make you laugh, cry, and feel better about whatever's got you down"

Lucy smiled, "Sounds like it's worth a try"

Salamander gave her a crooked grin that lit up his whole face. "You better! It's my favourite movie of all time"

"You want to watch it with me, then?"

"Absolutely! Let's go!"

And with that, the pinkette took her hand and went running for the doors to exit the theatre, dragging the blonde behind her.

"Slow down!"

Salamander skidded to a halt, Lucy crashing into him.

"Sorry, I get over-excited," he said, rubbing his free hand against the back of his neck embarrassed.

"It's ok, but let's keep it to a walk, yeah?"

"Yeah, of course!"

The two fell into step comfortably, still holding hands as they walked down the lamp-lit streets. The silence broken only by their footsteps, until Salamander broke it.

"So, who was that guy? If you don't mind me asking, of course"

"Promise not to try to hunt him down?" Lucy teased.

The pinkette sighed, "I promise" he grumbled.

Lucy giggled, then sighed.

"His name is Nick. I met him online, decided to give him a shot. Didn't work out, as you can tell. It never seems to, I should probably stop trying to find dates online"

"Yeah, online is the worst. You can't get a vibe through a screen. You seem to be doing a lot of dating, why?"

Lucy frowned at him.

"Well you gotta date to find love, right? Don't wanna end up alone or anything"

"That's dumb"

"Wha- "

"Love is everywhere, right? It might not all be romantic mushy kinda love, but family love and friendship, as long as you got that you can never be alone, right?"

Lucy blinked at the tall boy next to her.

"Uh, yeah, that is true, I guess. I never really thought of it that way"

"Yeah, I kinda like to focus on the things I do have, and then I figure that whatever I'm missing will just fall into place"

"That's a pretty optimistic attitude there"

"I'm a pretty optimistic person," he said giving her a full grin.

Lucy couldn't help but smile back. There was something so comfortable and familiar about Salamander, she felt like she could fully be herself and that maybe just maybe everything would fall into place. Just like he said.

At around that point, they had made it back to her apartment. The pinkette followed her up the stairs and Lucy fished the key out of her purse and let them in. She dropped her purse on the coffee table and welcomed her friend into her apartment.

"Mi casa es su casa" she said.

"And your washroom?"

"Oh, that door right there'

"Thanks!" he said, rushing into the washroom.

Lucy chuckled and went about finding The Lion King so they could watch it. Just as she had it loaded up, she heard the toilet flush and the sink running. In a few seconds, the pinkette was bursting out of her washroom and hopping on her couch.

"Lion King!" he cheered.

Lucy chuckled and hit play, getting comfy on the couch.

"Ok, random question, I know we're getting your mind off the bad dates but what is your criteria for these guys anyway? Like that guy didn't seem anywhere near your level"

Lucy blushed at the compliment and squirmed in her seat. She also had decided to rethink her criteria as it was starting to seem silly to base all her hopes of a relationship on a spell that might not even be real. Yet, it had seemed so real, the straight lines in a round bowl, something that should be physically impossible…

"Do you believe in magic?" she asked, as the wildlife gathered around Pride Rock.

"Absolutely!" Salamander said, absolute sincerity in his voice as he glanced over at Lucy.

She squirmed a little more, letting the song reach its conclusion before speaking again.

"A magic spell told me my soulmate's name would start with the letter N, so that's been my main criteria. Kinda silly but the things we do when we believe in magic right?" Lucy said, a strained smile as she glanced over at the pinkette, ready to gauge his reaction.

"Names that start with N?"

"That's right"

"Huh," he said thoughtfully, his gaze distracted by the cartoon lions.

"Yeah," said Lucy, hugging her knees to her chest. "It's kinda silly, isn't it?"

"Hey, a starting point is a starting point, I just wouldn't stick to it too hard, especially if it's leading you to guys like Nick"

Lucy chuckled, "Fair enough".

"Oh, I love this song!" Salamander exclaimed as Simba launched into the first verse of Just Can't Wait to Be King.

Lucy giggled and settled into the couch, relaxing her pose as she let herself savour the moment. The comfort of childhood movies and friendship washing over her as the upbeat melody filled the small living area.

She wasn't sure when, but slowly she relaxed to the point of falling asleep. Her blonde head falling into place on a strong shoulder. A perfect fit.