A/N: A nice long chapter! Thanks for reading!

Lucy and Salamander fell into a comfortable pattern.

She worked mostly evenings and he worked odd hours depending on what the firehouse needed but when they had days free, they would hang out, Salamander trying to drag her to all his favourite places around town, and Lucy doing her best to keep up. On days he worked, Lucy would work on her writing which was interrupted whenever her pink-haired friend could sneak his phone out to shoot her a stream of text messages. He usually got off work in time to walk her to Fairy Tail for her shift, she would then give him permission to catch a nap on her couch since her place was closer than his. By the time she finished work, he would be there waiting to walk her home. Depending on how early he had to get up, he usually did his best to convince Lucy that a sleepover was a good idea. It usually was.

The two of them were basically inseparable.

Which made Lucy embarrassed that she wasn't fully confident she knew what his name was. At this point in their relationship, she was too awkward to ask, and he seemed to respond to literally anything anyone called him – Salamander (the most common), Dragneel (his last name, she was pretty sure), Flame Brain, Fire Eater, You, Dragon (even if you weren't addressing him specifically he would respond to any mention of dragons), Dragon Breath, Idiot, Delinquent, Slanty Eyes, Pinky, anything. He knew when he was being addressed so people just talked to him leaving his name a mystery to Lucy.

She knew she could probably ask but since he was always around, she didn't want him to overhear (and his hearing was freakishly good) so she just paid close attention in the hopes that SOMEONE would use his real name so she could commit it to memory.

Not that it seemed to matter, he was Salamander, and he was one of her closest friends.

Soon to be her best friend now that Levy was spending all her time with Gajeel, the guy with all the piercings from Fairy Tail's open mic nights. The two had met at the restaurant and somehow got into an argument that ended with Levy giving him her number so they could keep arguing. Levy said she just enjoyed debating but Lucy could tell there was something more going on, and besides what were the chances his name also happened to start with a G.

Lucy's own quest for a soulmate was on pause. The blonde had decided to trust her friend's advice and focus on enjoying the love she did have with all her new friends from Fairy Tail and trusting that the rest would fall in to place. Besides, she was way too attached to the pink-haired fireman to try dating other guys.

Today was one of the rare visits to Salamander's shoebox of an apartment to make sure Happy got attention. The Russian Blue was a very sweet and vocal kitty who absolutely loved pets and tuna. Lucy was sitting on the pinkette's bed with the cat curled up happily on her lap as she stroked his soft fur, Salamander was digging through the fridge for the ingredients to his famous "Dragon Dragneel Super Sandwich" which Lucy was both curious and nervous to try.

"Are you sure you don't want help with the sandwiches?" she called out, trying to peek around him at what the mystery ingredients were.

"I'm good! Don't want to give you a chance to question it," he called over his shoulder.

"Should I be?!"

Lucy's voice of concern made the pinkette laugh which to Lucy sounded evil, but she was choosing to trust him as he continued to chuckle and tell her to stay where she was. She kept stroking the soft cat and smiling at the vibrations that rumbled through him as he purred.

Happy jumped off her lap as the pinkette excitedly approached with two plates. Just as Salamander was handing her the fully assembled sandwich, his phone started ringing.

"Oh, better get that, don't try it yet I want to see your face when you try it!" he said chuckling as he headed back into the kitchen to retrieve his phone. Lucy made a face at the sandwich, it looked innocent enough but the pinkette's evil chuckle was making her nervous.

The blonde strained her ears to try and eavesdrop on the conversation, hoping maybe she could hear the voice on the other end say her friend's name…

Alas, she could only hear Salamander's loud and cheerful voice as he responded to the caller.

"Hey little sis"

"Yeah, I'm good, just hanging out with Happy and Luce" the pinkette flashed Lucy a crooked grin, making her blush and look down at the sandwich.

"Oh, for sure, his birthday is coming up soon, eh?"

"Wait, THIS weekend?"

"Pffft, no I didn't forget!" though Lucy could tell that he had completely forgotten, and she was sure he wasn't fooling his sister.

"Yeah, of course, I'll be there"

"Yes, I'll remember to pick up pizza"

"Of course, I got him a present…"

"Ok, ok, I'll see you soon Wendy"

Salamander hung up and immediately bounced down on the bed next to Lucy who made sure to grip her plate tightly so she wouldn't drop it.

"Aww man, I totally forgot that this weekend is my dad's birthday" he whined.

"And you forgot to get him a present?" she teased.

"I did!" he exclaimed.

Lucy giggled, "We can probably head to the mall right now if you want, I'll help you pick something out"

"YES! You're the best, Lucy!" he said, throwing an arm around her and giving her a strong one-armed hug, Lucy giggling and trying not to drop the sandwich as he squeezed her in gratitude.

"Let's go then!"

"Sure, after you eat your Dragon Dragneel Super Sandwich of course" he said grinning evilly.

Lucy gulped.

Lucy's tongue was never going to forgive him. Never.

Apparently the "Dragon" part of the "Dragon Dragneel Super Sandwich" was throwing in the spiciest ingredients available which just happened to be Jalapeño slices, Sriracha Sauce, and a Scotch Bonnet Pepper. It had taken a second to hit her, but when it had it felt like her whole mouth was on fire. She had had to spit it out and was crying as her lips went numb.

Salamander had laughed at her face but when she started swatting him and making choking noises, he immediately went to help her, offering her a glass of milk which unfortunately had gone sour and aggravated her taste buds further. After that, he had given her water and helped her rinse and spit in his kitchen sink. When the feeling of being on fire finally wore down, he added insult to injury by taking a bite of his own Dragon sandwich without even flinching. Lucy was just glad she managed not to throw up.

The pinkette had felt bad when Lucy was still upset and had kept apologizing and even bought her ice cream when they got to the mall. Which made her feel better…she was just never going to eat his cooking again. Ever again.

"Feeling better, Luce?" he asked her, looking like a kicked puppy.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I'm never eating one of your sandwiches again though"

Salamander laughed, "Fair enough, but we're okay right?"

"Of course!"

He smiled one of his big smiles that lit up his whole face and Lucy couldn't help but smile back.

After ice cream, they went from store to store trying to find a present for Salamander's dad.

He eventually found an apron with a flame print pattern on it that he thought his dad would like and the two of them headed back to Lucy's place.

"You're going to come with me, yeah?" Salamander asked as they walked.

"Go with you, where?"

"To my dad's birthday, duh"

"What? Me? Isn't it a family event, I'd hate to intrude"

"What are you talking about? It's a party, the more the merrier!"

"But I've never even met your dad"

"You'll meet him at the party! I'm sure he'll love ya, plus Wendy's been dying to meet you too"

"She has?"

"Yeah! So, you'll come right?"

Lucy looked at his eager expression and couldn't help the smile creeping up her face.

"Sure!"

"YES!" he cheered, spinning her around in a hug making her laugh as she tried not to trip over him. A birthday party sounded like fun.

Saturday rolled around and Salamander was at Lucy's bright and early to drag her around town. It turned out that the pinkette had been sent a list of all the last-minute items that needed to be picked up as well as the pizzas.

Lucy didn't mind though; she was just excited to be part of the party set up. She eagerly listened to Salamander as he told her all about his family and everything she would need to know.

"Wendy is two years away from graduating high school now, she's totally going to be a doctor"

"Watch out for Charle, she's not as friendly as Happy and always gives people really judgemental looks"

"Gramps is a little grabby with the ladies but ultimately harmless"

"A bunch of the Fairy Tail regulars will probably pop by so you can stop worrying about not knowing people"

"My dad's a real chatterbox so don't let him corner you unless you want him to talk your ears off"

Lucy giggled as Salamander kept telling her about his family and all the shenanigans that normally went down at a Dragneel family and friends get together. She felt like she knew all of them just from his stories and she couldn't wait to meet them.

They finished grabbing the party items and the two soon approached the cozy cottage-like house just outside of the city limits. They'd had to grab a cab and the poor pinkette had gotten motion sick. Luckily, he perked up as soon as his feet were on solid ground again.

The two walked up to the front door, carrying the pizza boxes and grocery bags full of snacks and bottles of pop, Happy slinking between their legs as he followed them up the paved driveway.

Salamander knocked out a rhythm with one hand while precariously balancing the pizza boxes in the other. He flashed Lucy a crooked grin just as the door swung open revealing a sweet blue-haired teen with a big smile to match her brother's.

"Natsu!"

"N-Natsu?!"