Storyline: Lucy runs away from home and runs into Gray, who comforts her. He introduces her to his friends Erza and Natsu, thus how everyone meets.


"Layla, please," Lucy heard her father sob quietly in his and her Mom's bedroom. "Please, don't leave me."

"She will wake up in a few hours, Mr Heartfilia," The doctor said. "She just needs rest."

"But she'll recover? She can beat this?"

The silence was long before Lucy's father's sobs filled the air once more.

Lucy winced to herself before standing and running away from the house. She clutched the end of her summer dress she thought her mother would like to see her wear on her birthday as she fought tears. She ran out of the estate, past the large gates and further than she had ever gone before but she continued to run, small sobs breaking through her lips.

"Hmph!"

A body collided with her own and she stumbled to the grassy ground, though the other person stayed standing. The usually polite girl didn't even look up. She just curled her knees up to her chest and she cried into her knees.

"Ugh," a boyish voice met her ears, and she stiffened before looking up. A boy stood before her, rubbing his – oddly enough – bare chest as he looked down at her with eyes full of alarm. He looked about a year or two older than her. He had spiky black hair that stuck up in all directions and stormy blue eyes. Lucy's bottom lip quivered, and she buried her face in her knees again.

"Are you okay?" he asked uncertainly.

Lucy shook her head without looking up, her platinum blonde pigtails swaying. The tears streaming down her face shown no sign of stopping. She thought the boy would leave – but he didn't. She lifted her head to set her tear filled, amber eyes on him. The boy crouched down until he was at her level to shake her shoulder gently.

"Hey," he said softly, his eyes pooled with concern as she met his gaze, her face twisted with pain.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked squeezing her shoulder.

Lucy said nothing, she just released another cry and fell forward to wrap her arms around the boy's waist. The boy's eyes widened with shock. Lucy felt him stiffen and was prepared for him to push her away.

But he didn't. He released a deep breath before shuffling so that he sat up straighter. Lucy settled more comfortably against his chest and more tears pooled in her eyes as she felt his arms wrap around her. He stroked her hair every now and again and whispered kind nonsense in her ear.

That is how Lucy met Gray.


"Oh, come on Lucy!"

Lucy grumbled behind the book she hid her face in. It was her ninth birthday, and Gray (who thought he had all authority since he was two years older than Lucy at eleven) insisted that Lucy met his new friends from the high school he had just started going to.

"No, Gray. You know I don't like to talk to anyone else," she grumbled, and Gray released a long groan.

"Come on, Lucy! You would love it! Erza is just as nerdy and scary as you, and you could hit Flame Brain just as much as you hit me! Hell, even more since I'm so much better than him."

"Oh, yeah of course," she agreed, her voice thick with sarcasm. Gray huffed in annoyance and snatched her book away from her. Lucy jumped up from the bench and rounded on the elder boy.

"Hey!" she said, jumping up as he held the book high over his head. When they met, they were the same size but now Gray was annoyingly a little taller than herself.

"Ah, ah, ah," he warned, waggling a finger at the smaller girl, and grinned cheekily. "I will give you back your weapon once we meet with my friends."

Lucy scowled and Gray sighed.

"Lucy, you need to interact with people more." He said much more seriously. "Ever since your mom died, the only people you ever talk to is me and those few friends at your own school."

Lucy frowned at him. She only ever spoke to Loke because he came from the same background as her. Aries and Virgo inevitably came with him since the three were so close, and the four became friends. They were all one year older than Lucy and would be joining Gray's school soon. But Gray was Lucy's best friend, and he most likely always would be.

"Gray," she began, furious that her voice sounded so small. "I don't want to do this. You know I don't like this sort of thing and what if your friends don't like me? I have enough people bothering me as it is!"

Gray's eyes hardened. "No one will bother you ever again when you go to my school. Loke and those girls plan to go there too, right? And hey, knowing you, you might even be in my class! You're real smart, Lucy. I'll bet they throw you a year or two ahead."

Lucy fought a smile, but it obviously tugged at her lips. She sighed loudly before muttering in defeat. "Fine."

"Okay?" Gray clarified.

"Okay," Lucy said, feigning an annoyed tone. "Let's go."

Gray led her to the grassy area they met and wouldn't shut up the entire way – It turned out she hadn't run as far as she thought the day they met. Gray and his friends lived on the estate over.

He led her further than she ever had gone before, and they eventually came to a basketball court. It was nice, with benches on either side. Lucy's stomach clenched when she spotted two figures at one of the benches. It seemed a girl was sat cross legged on the bench while a boy lay on the floor in front of it, his forearm laying over his face to shade his eyes from the beaming sun. As Lucy approached, she took in their appearances.

The girl had long, sleek scarlet hair that was let loose and hung just past the middle of her back. Her chocolate brown eyes were narrow but kind. She looked immediately like an approachable girl since her eyes looked so nice. She seemed to be talking firmly to the boy laying on the floor. She sported a plain white polo top and light blue skirt that went to her knees and some combat boots. It was a hot day, but Lucy spotted a jacket at her side.

Then Lucy cast her gaze down to the boy on the floor. He wore some black shorts that went just past his knees and red sneakers. He an open black vest with nothing on underneath. His hair, to Lucy's surprise, was a pale pink and almost as long as Gray's but just as spikey. His face was hidden due to his arm blocking it, but she could see a scorn on his face as the crimson-haired girl scolded him.

"Hello, losers!" Gray yelled through cupped hands as they got closer. The girl's head snapped up and she smiled happily at Gray. Her smile widened when she noticed Lucy and she stood to run over excitedly.

"Hey guys!" she said once she met them in the middle of the court. She looked down at Lucy who was a little smaller than her. "You must be Lucy! Gray has told me a lot about you."

She grinned as she took Lucy's hand to shake.

"Same here," Lucy said timidly. "You're Erza, right? Ugh… Protector, right? Strong name."

Erza beamed and nodded. "Yes! How did you know that?"

Gray laughed fondly and shook his head. "She knows everything."

Lucy scowled and hit him upside the head. When she looked back to Erza, the boy on the floor was suddenly stood beside her.

"Hey Lucy!" he said, grinning cheekily at her. Lucy fought the urge to gasp when she saw his eyes for the first time. They were a beautiful dark green, almost emerald. He offered her another fanged grin at her expression.

Lucy hid her surprise and smiled back.

"Then you must be Natsu," she replied, shaking his hand and he laughed.

"Yeah," he nodded at her and looked to Gray. His eyes widened slightly, and he laughed. "Whoa, Ice Freak, what're you doing with a book?"

Gray laughed too and handed it back to Lucy. "Ah, I had to confiscate this from Lucy to get her to come today."

Natsu laughed mockingly. "Seriously? What a book worm."

Without missing a beat, Lucy immediately whacked Natsu on the head with the spine of the book, making the boy hiss and jump back as Gray clapped his hands while he laughed loudly.

Lucy just smiled again and hit the spine of the book to her palm.

"Sorry, what was that?" she asked innocently. Natsu looked up at her and grimaced.

"Alright, alright, I get it," he grumbled but eventually laughed along with the three.

And that's how Lucy met Natsu and Erza.


Lucy took a long deep breath before finally pushing open the heavy door of the classroom. The room was somewhat full, but she didn't like going into a room she wasn't familiar with, especially if everyone in the class was either one or two years older than herself.

Her teachers just had to choose her sixteenth birthday to move her up to the upper classes! Ages seventeen and eighteen were the only ages in this class so she would be the only sixteen-year-old. And barely sixteen at that. This was her worst nightmare.

"No… No, it couldn't be…"

Lucy stiffened as she took a seat, looking up to meet her best friends disbelieving blue eyes.

"…Hey Gray."

"They moved you up? Finally?"

Lucy laughed heartily and stood so Gray could pull her into a huge bear hug. He filled out during the years, relentlessly working out with Natsu and Gajeel (Gajeel, who was Natsu's cousin and went to their school), so his hugs could be pretty painful.

Gray had met a girl named Juvia and started a relationship with her when they were fourteen and the relationship was still going steady. Lucy had to be careful around her, as the blue haired girl often dubbed Lucy as her 'Love-Rival'.

Erza joined Gray and Lucy to give her a quick excited hug. Erza had reunited with a childhood friend she thought she'd lost named Jellal, and they only confessed their feelings at seventeen, but both seemed very happy.

Lucy had grown a tiny bit but stood no taller than 5"3. Her hair had grown tremendously and now hung just past her hips, but other than that she didn't see a difference in herself, though others certainly seemed to. Her amber eyes grew brighter and wider, and her eyelashes grew longer and became thicker.

"It's about time, Bunny girl," Gajeel called over from his desk beside Levy. Levy was a close friend of Lucy's who had moved up grades shockingly fast. Lucy was proud to call her her friend and was certainly shocked when the petite blue haired bookworm told her she had a crush on Natsu's older, pierced, and tattooed cousin. But the two were one of the most stable couples Lucy knew. All of Lucy's best friends were here but one.

Natsu and Lucy had gotten very close over the years. When Gray and Erza met new people and started relationships, Natsu and Lucy became the best of friends.

Lucy had always known that she was in love with Natsu. When he was seven, his adopted father disappeared, and he was put into a children's home named Fairy Tail. Natsu always tried his best, but he found himself missing his father more and more, and often left for weeks on end to search for him.

Once Lucy had finally plucked up the courage to tell the pink-haired man how she felt, he announced that he was leaving for six months after receiving a tip about Igneel's whereabouts. He told them he was pretty sure it was a hoax, but he wouldn't forgive himself if he didn't try. At first, six months didn't sound too long, and the group were quite optimistic.

But now Lucy was certain she was going insane.

She sighed as she turned away from the group to sit at her desk and sit through the lesson, knowing full well that now her thoughts would not be on whatever the teacher was saying.

The blonde sighed with relief when the lesson finally ended. She slammed her book shut before making her way from the classroom without waiting for any of her friends. She worried they'd realise the date before remembering with a chuckle that it would mean nothing to them.

Seven years and she still didn't tell her friends when it was her birthday. Well, Natsu had found out, but she had told him never to tell anyone since she had so many bad memories related to her birthday because of her mom's death.

Lucy sighed with contentment as she opened the door to the roof. Lucy and Natsu used to go here for dinner every single day at school even though Lucy wasn't any of his classes. He would wait for her outside of her classroom with that stupid, fanged grin before walking her up to the rooftop.

"Fuck," she muttered to herself as she got to the railing to glare over the edge. She missed him so much it hurt. She closed her eyes as she wondered if he felt the same torment. He wouldn't eve-

"Hey there, Lucy."

Lucy's eyes flew open. She whipped around immediately to come face to chest with the one person she was missing. She had to arch her neck more than she remembered to meet his gorgeous green orbs that were turned up in obvious amusement.

He smirked, exposing his pearly white teeth that grew sharper and sharper before they disappeared behind his cheeks. His old worn scaled white scarf was, as usual, wrapped snuggly around his neck. His pale pink hair was longer and as wild as she remembered but hung dangerously over his eyes. Lucy's breath caught in her throat.

"You were meant to be coming back in a month!" she exclaimed, nearly forgetting how to breathe as she pulled him into a tight embrace.

Natsu chuckled. The sound sent shivers down Lucy's spine.

"Well, here I am," He laughed as he wrapped his arms around her. Lucy could feel his voice rumble in his chest as she pressed her ear against him. His spicy, campfire scent washed over her with a wave of nostalgia, and she felt her eyes prick with tears.

Lucy pulled back to wipe her eyes, but Natsu didn't release his hold. She looked up to watch him tilt his head, a mischievous glint in his eye Lucy knew all too well. He took a step forward to wrap his hands around the railing on either side of her, effectively caging her in between his arms. Lucy arched a brow as she tried to avoid the hammering in her chest.

"N-Natsu?" she asked, hating how she stuttered. He just chuckled before raising a hand to trace a single finger under her chin, tilting her head up to look at him better.

"I missed you a lot, Luce," he muttered, and Lucy's chest tightened at her old nickname.

Before she could even form a coherent reply, soft lips pressed against her own.

All thoughts about her stupid birthday and this being one of her best friends bled from her mind the moment his lips touched hers. His hands moved from the railings to clutch her waist and Lucy's hands drew up over his chest and onto his shoulders, pulling him closer.

They parted for a second to breathe but the moment air re-entered her lungs, Natsu's lips were on hers again. He tilted his head to deepen the kiss as Lucy's hands travelled up to bury her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck.

When they finally parted, Natsu pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. Lucy gasped silently before forcing her lips to finally form words.

"What was that for?" she asked, and Natsu chuckled again at her tone. He pulled her closer to him by her jacket.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I've just always wanted to do that."

Lucy laughed and buried her face in his neck while her heart hammered in disbelief, breathing in his familiar scent.

"Oh, and Lucy?" She looked up when he pulled away to look down on her. He smirked at her cheekily before nuzzling his face into her neck.

"Happy Birthday."

And that, is how Lucy and Natsu finally got together.