Chapter 8 – Surprises

Natsu and Happy were getting ready to leave for the guild. As usual, the house was a mess and they were wasting time trying to find their stuff. Natsu sighed, sitting on his hammock as his exceed friend flew over the mess, looking for his backpack.

"Found it!" Happy exclaimed, picking his green backpack from under the couch.

"Okay, so I guess we can go…" the dragon slayer started talking, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. They looked at each other. It was unusual for them to have company. Natsu didn't recognize the scent of the person at the door. The knock sounded again, and he finally moved to answer it.

"Hey!" he said, opening the door. They met a short middle-age man with a mustache, wearing nice clothes and pulling a big chest with little wheels under it. "Can I help you?"

"Good morning! I'm looking for Natsu-san and Happy-san" he informed in a grave tone.

"That's us! I'm Happy, and he's Natsu" told the exceed, pointing at himself then at his partner.

"I see. Very well. Can I come in? I need to talk to you both about a matter of supreme importance."

"Sure" Natsu step back and the man came inside. "Happy, go fetch some chairs"

They tried to get most of the mess out of the way and in some minutes were sitting at the couch while the man sat at a chair in front of them.

"Do you remember when you bought this house?" the man asked.

"We didn't buy it, we built it ourselves" Natsu corrected him. "I was like what, Happy? 15?"

"I guess so… That makes 10 years ago… Oh, but we have to count the 7 years we were trapped… So 17 years" Happy said as he made the math in his head.

"So it is true you were trapped for 7 years…" the man repeated.

"Yes, at Tenrou Island" Natsu complemented.

"Right. And when you came back, did you find anything out of order?"

"Yes. Someone stole all of our savings" Happy told, crying. "All the money we gathered all our lives!"

"I see" the man looked down, seeming miserable. "Well, I came to talk to you about that. My name is Zander Waters, and I stole your money while you were away"

"WHAT?" they yelled in disbelief. The man nodded gravely, and then got out of his chair to kneel in front of them.

"I came to ask for your forgiveness!" he shouted, his head on the floor. Natsu and Happy were thunderstruck, they had no idea what to do.

"You stole our money? But why?" asked Natsu.

"I found your house I think five years after your disappearance." The man raised his head, but remained on his knees, sitting on his ankles as he told his story. "I was broke, cold and tired. I had lost all of my belongings to gambling, and it was a winter evening. I thought I was gonna freeze. Then I found your house and broke in to protect myself from the cold. After spending the night… I went through your stuff and found the money. I was desperate, so I stole it."

"Your money was the beginning of a new life for me. I put it to good use and became very rich. But I could never shake off the guilt of what I did. When I saw the news of your returning, I thought maybe you were the owners of the house. I was so disturbed I fell ill and remained in bed for many months. When I came back to my health, I learned you had departed again, and that your guild had dissolved."

"In that meantime, I had to travel to make business in another country. I just recently came back and found out you were back and living in this house. So I came to make things right. I come to ask for forgiveness, to thank you, and to offer my life, if you decide it's worth taking it."

The man bent again, falling silent. Natsu and Happy stared at each other.

"Well… It's water under the bridge, really" Natsu said, uncomfortable. "We're not going to take your life for that"

"Yeah, we're glad to know it was put to good use" Happy considered.

"You're very gentle souls" the man said, raising and smiling, even though he had tears in his eyes. "Well, I know there's really no excuse for what I did, but to make myself feel a little better, I decided that maybe you could consider that the money was an investment. You invested on a broke man and his dream of making it."

The man turned to the chest and pushed it towards them.

"So I'm giving you the result of your investment. All the money I stole from you, plus the fees of the years you waited for it" he informed, opening the chest.

Natsu and Happy's chins fell to the ground. They had never seen so much money in one place.

"O-Old man! Are you serious?" Natsu stuttered. "T-This can't be right!"

"I'm happy to show you the math if you wish!" the man beamed, happy to see their reactions. "Don't worry, it's all rightfully yours! I'll be going now. I leave my card with you. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask me!"

Natsu and Happy shook hands with Waters-san and thanked him a million times, even though he kept saying he was the one who should say thanks. At last, he was gone, and the two friends remained sitting on the couch, considering all the possibilities in front of them.

"Natsu, we're rich!" Happy yelled, paws in the air.

"I know! Can you believe this?" Natsu was still blinking and pinching himself to make sure it wasn't a dream.

"What are we gonna do with all this money?"

"What are we gonna do…" the fire dragon slayer whispered, biting his thumb. Happy stared at him for a while, in silence, and noticed he was smiling.

"You're thinking about something, aren't you?" the exceed confronted him. Natsu looked at him, surprised.

"How do you know?" he blinked.

"You're not that hard to read, Natsu. I know you've been keeping something from me lately. Just spill" Happy asked, and Natsu sighed.

"Okay, fine, you're right. I've been meaning to talk to you about something on my mind…" the mage admitted, seeming embarrassed.

"What is it?" Happy sat on the chest, facing his friend.

"I… I'm thinking about living with Lucy" he told, determined. "I think we're ready for this. I remember the time when she fell and twisted her ankle, or the time she came to help us when you got sick, or when we had that stupid fight… If anything like that happened again, it'd be so easier if we lived together, you know?"

"I see" Happy was not surprised. Natsu already passed a lot of time at Lucy's apartment, this seemed like a logical next step for their relationship. "So you're thinking about moving out?"

"No!" he answered fast "Lucy's apartment is too small for the three of us!"

"Three? You want me to live with you guys?"

"Yes, of course!" Natsu grinned, and Happy couldn't help feeling relieved. He didn't want to live alone.

"But what about Lucy?"

"I haven't talked to her yet, but I'm sure she'd want you to live with us, too. She loves you, Happy! You think it's a coincidence she always has fish on her fridge?"

"I guess…" Happy smiled, blushing. "But our house is also too small for the three of us! And it's… Well… Not in the best conditions…"

They looked around, noticing that the paint was peeling off the walls inside, while there was moss growing outside. Some windows were broken, as well as their furniture, and the ceiling dripped when it rained.

"Yeah, I'm well aware" Natsu scratched the back of his head. "This is why I still hadn't talked to any of you yet. I can't ask Lucy to move in with the house looking like this"

"And now all of this money is the answer to your problems?" Happy concluded.

"Kind of, yes!" Natsu's face lighted up thinking about it. "At first I thought we could repair the house and maybe add an extra room… And still I would have to work my ass off to get all the materials…"

"But now" he looked at the money in the chest, eyes twinkling. "With my share of this money, I can expand the house to meet all of our needs with all the best materials and still have some left!"

"Your share…?" Happy repeated, confused.

"Well, half of it is yours, of course!" Natsu grinned.

"Okay, Natsu! Let's do this! But I want to help with my share as well, since I'll be living here too!" the exceed proposed, excited. "Let's build the best house ever!"

"Let's do it! I'm all fired up!"

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"Mira, what kind of job is this?"

Gray was in front of the job board, and one of the flyers got his attention, since it specifically asked for an Ice Mage. However, it hadn't much more information about the job itself. It only said "Wanted an Ice Mage with creation type magic".

"Oh, you saw that?" Mira answered him, looking satisfied. "It's a very simple job, you should definitely take it!"

"Yeah, but what would I have to do?" he insisted. He was a little suspicious of the lack of specifics.

"Just use your ice magic" Mira smiled at him.

"That doesn't really help…" he mumbled, raising an eyebrow.

"Come on, Gray, take the job! It's close by and it'll only take a day!" Mira argued. "I promise you won't regret it!"

"Hmm… Okay, fine, I'll do it!" he agreed at last, and Mira clapped her hands. She wished him good luck and he left.

Mira was right, the job was pretty close, still in Magnolia. He had the impression he had seen that address before somewhere, but couldn't remember where exactly. He kept walking, each step making him more certain he had taken that path before. That was when he saw the sign.

"Natsu and Happy" he read, finally remembering it. This was the way to their house. Which meant…

"Hey, Stripper, you made it!" the fire dragon slayer greeted him.

"Natsu? What are you doing here?" he asked, confused. "You also took a job around here?"

"No, idiot. I'm the client!" he explained with a smirk.

"You…" Gray was at loss of words from the shock. Then he shook his head and gained his cool again. "Oh, I see. It was just a prank after all. I can't believe you even dragged Mira into it!"

"Hey, where are you going?" he yelled, running after Gray, who was leaving.

"I'm not going to do any stupid job for you, I know you're just gonna humiliate me!" he answered, annoyed. "I have better things to do!"

"This is nothing of the sort! It's a real job!" Natsu assured him. Something in his voice made Gray stop and turn around. "I need your help, come on!"

"If you're lying, I'm going to kill you" Gray warned, but came back. Natsu asking for help was something unusual. "Fine, what's the job?"

"First, you need to sing this contract of confidentiality" the fire mage handed him a paper and pen.

"What?" Gray took the contract. It said he shouldn't tell about his job to anyone. "Are you serious?"

"Geez, do you want your reward in advance to believe me?" Natsu asked, impatient. "We're wasting time!"

"Okay. Now I'm curious anyway" the ice mage angrily signed the contract and handed it back to Natsu. "So, what's the big secret?"

"Come with me" he instructed, walking along the path with a wide grin. Gray followed him, already regretting this.

They arrived at Natsu and Happy's house. However, it wasn't like Gray remembered it. The little old house was nowhere to be seen, and in its place was a new house under construction. And it was going to be a big one.

"What is this? Are you building a house?" he asked, surprised.

"We're expanding our old house!" Natsu told, seeming pretty satisfied with himself. "It's gonna look great! But it's a surprise for Lucy, that's why I made you sign the contract"

"For Lucy?" Gray's chin fell. "You're building a house for her?"

"Well, not for her exactly… For us to live in" the dragon slayer scratched the back of his head. "After it's done, I'm gonna ask her to live with me!"

"Wow, I never thought I would hear these words out of your mouth" the dark haired man said, astonished.

"That's no reason to take off your clothes, man" the other pointed out, and Gray yelled, realizing he was shirtless.

"Hey, Gray!" Happy came flying, wearing a safety helmet. "You took our job!"

"Yes. What was that all about? How did you manage to put out a job?"

"Well, after we started to build the house, we realized it was easier said than done" Natsu explained, showing him their plant. "So we thought we might need some help. If I just asked, the secret would be out, Lucy would find out for sure… So we had the idea of the jobs! We asked Mira what we had to do to send an official job to Fairy Tail and she guided us through it!"

"Jobs? You mean other people have worked for you?"

"Yeah! First we needed Laki" Happy told him, pointing at the wood beams. "She helped make all the frame of the house, considering all the rooms we wanted, with her Wood Make magic."

"Then we ran out of wood, so we put a job for Erza to help us cut some trees from the forest" continued Natsu, showing a gigantic pile of processed wood behind the house. "She has a lumberjack armor, and got us all of this in one afternoon"

"We also had Gajeel to help us with the iron supports, Levy to make some materials with her script solid magic that were lacking in the market and Gildarts to make these nice rock bricks" Happy counted them.

"That's why you haven't gone to the guild so much anymore…" all the pieces were falling into place. Gray still couldn't believe it. But there was still something bothering him. "Well, and what do you need an ice mage for, anyway?"

"Oh, we want to make these columns" Natsu picked up a magazine and showed him a bunch of decorated pillars. "So we thought you could make the mold with your ice magic. We pour cement into it, let it dry, then, after the ice melts, it's ready!"

"Oh, I see. That's actually pretty smart" Gray took the magazine out of his hands and then stared at him. "Who are you?"

"You can save your jokes for later" Natsu frowned. "I want two big ones and twenty small ones. Can you do it?"

"Yes, it's pretty simple" Gray leaf through the magazine again. "Which ones do you want?"

"Well, these for the small" he pointed at one already circled in ink. "And the big ones I want kind of like these, but I would like them to have a dragon around it, you know?"

"Okay… I guess I can do that" Gray scratched his head. "But it's better if we make some try-outs."

"Yeah, that's a good idea, let's try that" Natsu agreed.

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"So, you've been to Natsu's house too, huh?" Gray asked as he sat next to Erza, who was eating a strawberry cake and chocked on it.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" she yelled after recovering her breath.

"It's fine, I've been there too, I did a job for him" Gray laughed and showed her the sign.

"Oh! That's a relief!" she smiled. "How's it going? Last time I was there, there was still much to be done"

"It's good! I think they're definitely more than halfway through" Gray told her, remembering the day before. "We made some pretty cool columns and put them on the balcony of the master bedroom."

"Were you shocked when you realized Natsu was the client?" Erza chuckled.

"Of course! I thought for sure it was a prank!" he laughed too.

"Hey, you guys are talking about Natsu's house, right?" Levy and Gajeel approached their table and sat across from them. "Good! It's killing me to hide this from Lu-chan!"

"It's gonna be worth it in the end" Gray considered. "She's gonna flip when she sees it all done!"

"If Slamander gets it done" Gajeel smirked, crossing his arms. "I'm not sure yet he's not gonna give up on the whole thing eventually"

"I'm more concerned with their house building skills…" Erza frowned. "I'd hate to see the whole thing falling apart"

"Hey, I made the iron support, believe me, it's not falling down" the iron dragon slayer assured her.

"Oh, shhh, Lucy's coming!" Gray warned. The blonde mage indeed was entering the guild and came in their direction, sitting at the end of the table, between Levy and Erza.

"Hey, everyone!" she greeted them with a smile. "What are you talking about?"

They all panicked and answered different things. Luckily, Lucy didn't understand anything since they spoke at the same time.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"N-Nothing important!" Gray said loudly. "What about you, Lucy? Where's Natsu?"

"Oh, he's off doing some work…" Lucy told with a sad expression. "He's always out and really busy these days, we almost never hang out… I just see him in the morning and in the evening, but by then he's so tired he just goes to sleep immediately"

"Well, that's to be expected" Erza said without thinking.

"To be expected? Why do you say that? You know what he's been doing?" Lucy asked, curious. Erza's face turned as red as her hair.

"NO! I have no idea of Natsu's activities!" she shouted, and everyone in the table quietly panicked with her. "What I mean is that it's normal for couples to experience a phase in which the man is really busy!"

"Really? You think so?" Lucy put her finger on her chin.

"Yes, definitely! Look at Jellal, he's always busy somewhere else, but he always comes back to see me!" she explained, her hands shaking.

"Well, I guess you're right!" Lucy said, smiling. "Thank you, Erza!"

"You're welcome…" she mumbled, looking really tired. The others at the table let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, but regardless, I still miss him. Plus, I really wanted to talk to him about something important…" Lucy's expression went down again.

"What is it, Lu-chan?" Levy asked, concerned.

"My rent contract is about to expire…" Lucy explained, taking some papers out of her purse. "The landlady sent me these to renew it… I have to give her until Monday."

"What does that have to do with Salamander?" Gajeel questioned.

"Well, it doesn't, really" the blonde mage blushed with a small smile. "But it's a three year contract, and Natsu and I have been dating for almost two years now… I don't know, I thought maybe he would like the idea of living together."

"Live together? Wow, that's a big step!" Gray commented as everyone held their breaths again.

"Yeah… I thought we could be ready for this, but… With him gone all this time… I don't know" she put the papers back in her purse again. "Maybe I'm rushing things. I'm gonna get a milkshake, do you guys want anything?"

They declined her offer and watched her walk away to the counter to talk to Mira, then looked at one another with serious expressions.

"Natsu needs to know about this!" Erza said. "If he tells her about the house, she won't renew her contract."

"But the surprise…!" Levy considered with a miserable expression. "He's worked so hard on it!"

"You were the last over there, weren't you, ice boy?" asked Gajeel. "How much until it's done? Do you think he can finish this weekend?"

"Absolutely not…" the ice mage replied, worried. "Well… At least not without help."

"Maybe we can go help him, then!" Levy said with a smile.

"Yes, maybe we can…" Erza agreed, thinking. "You know what, I had an idea. I'm gonna go talk to Mira about it. But clear your weekend schedules! We're gonna get busy!"

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Natsu was really happy when Lucy told him she would be gone all weekend to accompany Wendy and Charle to Lamia Scale. The sky dragon slayer would be making a presentation with her good friend Sherria as the sky sisters again and she asked Lucy to help them with hair, makeup and clothes. They were all grown up and starting to care a lot about their appearance.

Lucy was a little hurt to see that Natsu wasn't sad about her departure. He was gone all week and they only had the weekends to spend time together for the past couple of months. But that night he made such sweet and caring love to her, she left satisfied and still very confident on their love for one another.

Of course, the reason Natsu was happy that she would be gone was that he would be able to continue working on the house. Now that he could see it was almost done, he wanted to work nonstop to finish it as soon as possible. Being away from Lucy for some days was a small price to pay, since once it was done, he would bring her here and they would spend every minute of every day together. And even when they got apart, she would always be there when he comes back and he would always be there to welcome her.

So, after walking Lucy to the train station and saying goodbye to her, Wendy and Charle, he ran all the way to his house. When arriving, he was very surprised to meet everyone from Fairy Tail.

"W-What are you guys doing here?" he shouted in desperation. His secret was out. "I knew I couldn't trust you, Ice bastard!"

"Calm down, there's a reason we came here" Gray said, laughing, as Natsu tried to punch him.

"It's true, Natsu. We came because of this job!" Erza showed him a sign, and the fire dragon slayer snipped it from her hands.

"Wanted help to finish Natsu's house" he read out loud. "I didn't put this job!"

"I know. I did." Said Mira, coming from behind him. "Natsu, things have changed a bit"

"Lu-chan needs to renew her apartment's contract" told Levy, also holding one of the flyers. "She has to give the contract back on Monday. We thought you wouldn't want to let her do that"

"What? She didn't tell me anything about it…" Natsu mumbled.

"Because you're busy with the house. Of course, she doesn't know that" the bluenette shrugged. "And she thinks you won't want to live with her."

"So we arranged this plan" explained Erza. "Wendy will keep Lucy busy all weekend, and all of us from Fairy Tail will help you so the house is finished by tomorrow."

"B-But I don't think I can pay you all!" Natsu replied, worried.

"That's okay" Happy came flying next to him and showed the end of the flyer. "Look: the reward is that everyone from Fairy Tail can spend the night at Natsu's house whenever they want!"

"I have a feeling Lucy's not gonna appreciate that…" he shivered.

"No, you know what Lucy won't appreciate?" Cana asked with a reprehension frown. "Those stupid garden decorations you put in the living room!"

"Of course she will!"

"Come on, Natsu, admit it, you need our help" Mira insisted. Natsu pouted for some time, considering.

"Fine, let's do it, then!" he agreed at last with a small smile.

"Great! Then no wasting time! I already divided us in teams!" Erza informed, always organized. "Team 1 works on the chimney! Team 2 works on the roof! And Team 3 starts painting the first floor! Let's go!"

Natsu didn't really like having to follow Erza's rules, but after half a day of work, he had to admit she was efficient. He helped each team a little and had to make several choices he hadn't really given much thought yet.

"Natsu, what color do you want this room?" asked Levy after lunch. Her team had already painted all the first floor and was now at the second.

"Hm… I don't know…" he scratched the back of his head, thinking.

"What is this room, anyway?" asked Reedus. All the other rooms seemed to have a clear purpose, but not this one.

"Well, it's an extra room, for when we have… You know… Guests" he explained, blushing and avoiding their gaze. Levy and Reedus looked at each other, smiling.

"Fine. We'll just paint it white, then" Levy decided. "So you guys can repaint depending on your 'guests'"

Cana was surprisingly good regarding the decorations and some other practical details that slipped Natsu's mind. Juvia helped him with the plumbing, and Laxus with the electrical lacrima system.

"What do want a chimney for, anyway?" asked Gray cleaning the sweat from his forehead, after they were done with it. "You probably can provide heat for the whole house!"

"Hm, I guess you're right" Natsu considered. "Take it down!"

"What?!" he yelled. "After all this trouble? I'm going to kill you!"

"Gee, just kidding" Natsu laughed as he held him by the collar. "Lucy can light it whenever I'm gone. Plus we can make smores and stuff."

"Roof is done" informed Gajeel, coming down the ladder. "Now we just need to put up the gutter, where is it?"

"Oh, I knew I was forgetting something…" Natsu put his hand on his head. "I didn't think I would need it until at least a week from now!"

"You're hopeless…" he mumbled.

"I can go buy it, Natsu! We also need more nails… Someone ate a whole bag of them!"

"I was hungry!" Gajeel explained when they stared at him. "Nails are great snacks! In fact, buy me an extra bag!"

"You're the hopeless one…" declared Natsu, going with Happy to their hidden chest to get more money.

"Wow, Natsu, I really like the way you made your kitchen!" complimented Mira, observing the room.

"Oh, thanks, Mira!" Natsu grinned.

"Wait for it…" Lisanna warned as she passed behind him carrying some bricks.

"But don't you think this counter is way too high?" she started criticizing him still with a smile on her face. "I bet you considered your high, not Lucy's! And the position of the sink is not really helpful to someone who's cooking… Where are you going to put the stove?"

"Told ya" Lisanna said as she went the way back to pick more bricks.

Natsu rolled his eyes and considered if it was worth arguing with her.

At the end of the day, everyone went home after Erza set the time they would meet the next day. Since the fireplace and the chimney were ready, Natsu lighted it and he and Happy opened their sleeping bags on the wooden floor. The exceed quickly fell asleep, but Natsu remained awake for some time. He couldn't believe it. The house was pretty much ready. The next day would be only final touches and cleaning. And it looked amazing. In two days' time, Lucy could be sleeping with them under that roof already. With that thought, he fell asleep.

The next day went by quickly. One group painted the second layer inside the house while other painted the outside. They finished and had lunch, which Mira brought for everyone. Then Juvia cleaned all of the rooms with water and Erza polished the wooden floors with a polish machine. In the meantime, the others took away all of the trash and remaining materials. Then it was time to test if everything was working. Natsu turned on the water and electricity and they tested the lights, showers, faucets and toilets. Everything was working perfectly.

"We did it!" Natsu yelled, as everyone celebrated. "Thank you so much, everyone!"

"Aye!" Happy added.

Everyone went back to the guild to celebrate their accomplishment. They partied until nighttime, as usual for the guild.

"Hey, guys!" Wendy greeted them at one point of the evening. "Are you celebrating something?"

"Wendy, you're back!" yelled Natsu, anxious. "Is Lucy with you?"

"No, she was too tired and went straight home" the bluenette explained. "Erza-san mentioned a surprise for her… Was I suppose to bring her here?"

"No, the surprise isn't here" he said, and she sighed in relief. "You did great, Wendy, thank you so much!"

"Are you leaving already, Natsu?" asked Erza, coming closer.

"Yeah, I'll show Lucy the house!" he was so excited he was jumping up and down. "Let's go, Happy! See you guys tomorrow! Thanks again!"

Natsu and Happy quickly got to Lucy's apartment. However, the lights were out, and she was already sleeping.

"Should we wake her up?" asked Happy, uncertain.

"No, it's okay, she's tired" Natsu whispered. "You know what, let's take the furniture back to the house. She can see it in the morning"

"Good idea" Happy agreed and left through the window. Natsu leaned and kissed Lucy's forehead. She moved, but remained asleep. "I love you, Lucy"

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Lucy woke up early the next day. She took a shower, had breakfast and got ready for the day. Today was the last day to send the renew contract. She sighed, filled all the papers and put them in an envelope. Then she left to send it.

"Lucy!" she heard just as she stepped out the door. Natsu was coming to her, running and grinning.

"Hey! Aren't you busy today?" she asked after he kissed her, surprised to see him at this hour.

"Nope, not today! I have something to show you!" he told her, really excited.

"Well, okay, I just have to give this to my landlady" she showed him her envelope. "And then we can go"

"Wait" he asked, holding her arm. She turned, expecting an explanation. "Give her in the afternoon."

"But…" she started, but he interrupted her.

"Trust me, you'll want to wait just a little more" he grinned, touching her nose with his.

"Fine, if you say so" she agreed, putting the envelope back in her purse. "What is it that you want to show me?"

Natsu didn't say anything else, just grabbed her hand and walk with her the way to his home. Lucy kept asking what it was and trying to guess it.

"A big fish you caught with Happy?" she tried one more time.

"No, not even close" he answered.

"Lucy! Natsu" Happy came to greet them.

"Hi, Happy!" she beamed at him. "Well, it's clearly something at your house… Let me take a last guess! You finally bought a bed!"

"Well, I guess that's closer than the fish thing" he laughed. "Close your eyes."

"What? Is this really necessary?" she whined.

"YES!" Natsu and Happy yelled at the same time.

"Ugh… Fine" she closed her eyes, but kept complaining. After making sure she wasn't seeing anything, Natsu guided her the rest of the way to his house. Then he positioned her in a way she could see the whole house once she opened her eyes.

"Okay… This is it" the dragon slayer felt his heart racing. "Open your eyes!"

Lucy opened, excited. She had big smile that froze once she saw the big house in front of her. She blinked and her chin fell. Natsu's little house was nowhere to be seen. She was looking at a dark green house with two floors. There was a big wooden door in the middle and two wide windows on each side of it. The roof was made of orange tiles and framed a balcony on the second floor. She could see a chimney coming out of it, too.

"Wh-What is this? Where is your house?" she asked, suddenly alarmed.

"Surprise!" they shouted, opening their arms.

"We expanded it!" Natsu explained. "What do you think?"

"You're telling me that is your house?!" she confirmed, pointing at the green building and then at him.

"She hasn't seen the inside yet, Natsu" Happy noticed.

"Oh, yeah, let's go inside!" he pulled her by the hand again. She followed him, still open-mouthed. They climbed three little stairs to get to the door and entered.

"This is the hall, where we can put our coats and stuff" he took her purse and put it on a hanger. After the hall, there was a passage to the left and other to the right, and right ahead were stairs. Natsu took her to the right first.

"See, this is the living room" he showed her a very wide room with sparkling wooden floor and a fireplace. Sunlight came through the window she saw from the outside. There was only his couch and a bookcase. "Sorry, it's a little empty. We just finished it yesterday, so we have yet to furnish it."

"Where are your stuff from the jobs?" she asked, missing them.

"Oh, they're right behind us" he opened another door deeper inside the house and she saw another big room very similar to the previous, but this one the left wall covered with the jobs Natsu and Happy did. In the back were the objects he kept as mementos of them, like her maid outfit. To the right, were two wooden desks next to each other and facing another window. "I thought you could use this place to write, you know, if you want"

Lucy touched the table and looked out of the window. It had a beautiful view of the forest and the river. She still didn't know what to say.

"And there's a door here to the backyard" he went out, and she followed. It lead to a porch with a bench. She could also see the forest from it and it seemed really quiet and peaceful.

"Hey! Through this door, you get to the kitchen!" Happy came from a door on the other side of the porch. They followed him inside. "See, I'm gonna buy a mini fridge and put it right here, it'll be only for fish!"

The kitchen had a wide window on the right side, with a sink and counter under it. Not far from the sink was another counter and a lot of cabinets under it. On the left side, more cabinets and a small table with four chairs. There was no stove or fridge yet, but it was clear the place where they were supposed to go. On the far end of it, a passage led to a dining room, still empty.

"I thought here could be the dining room, but we can see about it later. Plus, there's a small bathroom here!" he pointed at a small door on the corner. "Now let's go upstairs!"

They had made all the way back to the beginning, and now they climbed the stairs that were across from the entrance door. Lucy arrived at a hallway with three doors.

"This is my room, Lucy, come see!" Happy called her, and she looked up. There was a hatch leading to what she imagined was the attic, and she climbed one more set of stairs.

"Wow!" she said, amazed. It was a little more than a room. Happy had his own little miniature house up there, with three different rooms.

"I'll put a mini fridge with fish in here too" he considered, already smiling in advance. Lucy went back to the hallway. "I bought the furniture from the exceeds, they build all kinds of stuff!"

"Well, this is the bathroom" he told, opening one of the doors. She saw a big bathroom with not only sink and toilet, but a shower and a tub, very similar to the one in her apartment. "And now, I saved the best for last!"

He opened the door more distant from the stairs, grinning to Lucy. She let out a gasp when she entered. It was a huge beautiful bedroom. To the right, there were two big wardrobes. In the middle, adjacent to the wall where was the door they just came from, was a double bed, still without a mattress, with one nightstand on each side of it. To the left, was a door leading to another bathroom, this one with two sinks, two mirrors and a much larger tub. Across from the bed, were glass doors that led to the balcony she had seen from the outside. She opened the doors and took a few steps. On each side there was a big column with a dragon carved in it, and in between them and following all the length of the balcony were several small plain ones forming a railing. She leaned against it and admired the view of the town, feeling a pleasant breeze on her hair.

"So? Do you like it?" asked Natsu, leaning next to her. She gave him the big smile he adored.

"Yes! It's amazing! I can't believe you did all this!"

"Well, we had help" Happy admitted.

"Still, it's really, really impressive!" she said, looking at the top of the house. Natsu and Happy shared a look.

"Well, Lucy, now that we have all of this space, I'd like to ask you… I mean, it would make me really happy… Not just me, Happy too" Natsu stuttered, scratching the back of his head. Suddenly he felt really nervous. What if she said no anyway? "We would like… I would like… Well, we, but mostly I…"

"Come live with us!" interrupted Happy. The couple looked at him, astonished. "Sorry, it seemed you needed a little help"

"I was getting there!"

"You weren't getting anywhere!"

Lucy watched them argue, covering her mouth with her hand and trying to fight back her tears.

"Luce…" they both called, realizing she was crying.

"Yes, I'll live with you guys!" she yelled, hugging both of them. Happy snuggled against her breast and Natsu involved them in his arms, grinning. "I'll tell the landlady I'll be moving out as soon as possible."

"There's still a bunch of furniture missing…" Natsu started, but she interrupted him.

"It's okay. Let's finish these things together from now on, deal?"

"Deal!"

"We should celebrate!" suggested Happy, as they let go of the hug, but Natsu kept holding Lucy's hand. "Oh, and don't worry, Lucy, we made all of the bedrooms soundproof, for when you two decide to get dirty"

"HAPPY!" she yelled, turning red as a tomato.

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Two days later, they were at Lucy's apartment, packing her things. They borrowed Erza's moving cart, the one she always used to carry her baggage when she went on a job. Even with all of Lucy's things, it only occupied half the space.

"Well, I think that's it…" the stellar spirit mage said, taking a last backpack and looking around.

"It's not like we're moving to another country, if you forget something, you can always come back to pick it up" Natsu pointed out.

"True… It's kind of hard to say goodbye, though" she let out a sad smile and sat on the bed. "You know, we had our first kiss right here"

"I remember" he smiled and sat next to her. "We also did a bunch of other stuff here… And in the tub, and on the couch, and on the table…"

She giggled as he came closer and kissed her, holding her waist. They were interrupt when Gray came in and saw them.

"Can't you wait to do this at your new house?" he teased them as they separated.

"What's going on here?" asked Erza, coming in after him.

"They're sucking face again"

"Gray!" Lucy protested.

"Leave them alone, they're in love" the older woman chuckled. "So, Lucy, are you ready?"

"Yes! This is the last backpack!" she informed, and took her key out of her pocket. "The landlady just asked me to leave all keys on the table. Natsu, you still have yours, right?"

"Right" he took his key and left it next to hers.

"Oh, that reminds me" Erza went through her own pocket and took a key just like theirs and also put it on the table.

"Since when do you have a key to my apartment?" Lucy asked, astonished.

"It's not mine, it's Mira's" the red haired explained. "She had a copy and always lend us when we asked."

"So this solves the mystery of how you always broke in" the blonde sighed. "At least that is over… I'll always know that Natsu's gonna be there"

"We can be there sometimes too… After all, we can crash there whenever we like" Gray considered.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing, nothing!" Natsu hurried to say. "Let's go, we still have a lot to do, come on, come on!"

He left pushing Gray and Erza followed them, warning she didn't want any fighting. Lucy gave a last look to the apartment and all the sweet memories she made in it. She smiled and closed the door.

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The next week was pretty busy for Natsu, Lucy and Happy. The house was finished, but there were much to be done to turn it into a home. After Lucy heard the whole story about the old man who stole and gave back their money, she was really excited for them. But she insisted that she paid for the rest of the furniture. She wanted to contribute for their house as well. She and Natsu argued for hour about that. She had some money her parents left her that she was saving for emergencies, and she wanted to use it to buy the furniture, and he didn't think it was necessary. Happy got tired of their discussion and went to bed, and the next morning he found out Lucy was victorious, and thanked God for the soundproofing bedrooms.

So, besides unpack all of Lucy's things, they had to go out to buy stuff, then go back to wait for them to be delivered. Natsu hid the chest with the remaining money behind the wardrobe, which had a secret door, and only the three of them knew the location.

Soon, the house was much more alive. Their bed now had a mattress, their kitchen, a fridge, a stove and a fish mini fridge, and the dining room had a long table for six people.

"Lucy, your new bookcase is ready!" informed Natsu, climbing the stairs. He had been assembling the piece in the living room while she was finishing putting her clothes in her wardrobe.

"Oh, great! Thank you!" she kissed him and started to descend the stairs, but suddenly stopped. "Natsu, I've been meaning to ask you, what about that room?"

"That's just an extra bedroom" her boyfriend shrugged, looking at the door she was pointing. "You know, in case we need one."

Lucy looked at him with the sweetest of smiles, and went up again. She threw herself at him so hard he lost balance for a moment, but quickly regained it, supporting her back as she kissed him deeply.

"Wow, if I knew you'd be so happy about an extra room I would have made two" he said after she stepped back. She chuckled and went downstairs to see her new bookcase.

When Natsu got down, she was on the top of a ladder, putting her books on the new case. She was wearing shorts and he didn't resist hugging her legs and biting her thigh.

"Natsu!" she hit his head with one of her books playfully.

"Sorry" he released her and looked at her boxes. "Do you want some help?"

"Yeah, pass me some more books, please" she asked, and he did. While he waited, he noticed a particular book. It was pink and it had Lucy's name on it.

"What's this?" he questioned, picking up and opening. On the first page was a picture of a baby with big brown eyes and a small amount of yellow hair. "Oh my God, it's your baby pictures!"

"What?!" she asked, dropping a book on the floor. "Natsu, give me that!"

"No, thanks" he kept leafing through while walking away from her. "Look at this baby Lucy taking a bath!"

"Noooooooooo, give me back right now!" she ran after him, but he was much faster, even while laughing at her.

"Hah, you even have the classic picture of baby covered in cake!" he teased.

"Are you done?" she demanded, hands on her waist.

"No, but I'm halfway" he said. In all that time, he hadn't taken his eyes off the album.

"I can't believe you!" she whined.

"I can't believe what I see!" he laughed. "You had a thing for being naked ever since you were a baby!"

He showed her a picture of little her running while her nanny ran after her with her clothes. She went red.

"Natsu, you will regret this so much when I catch you!" she started to chase him again.

"I know, but it's totally worth it!" he grinned, running away from her.

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"Wow, I never noticed how many shoes you own!" Natsu observed, watching his girlfriend take more and more pairs of shoes out of a box to put them on the closet.

"Well, they're the only piece of clothing you never burn when undressing me, so I figured it was worth buying them" Lucy laughed, kneeling next to the closet to arrange the shoes to her liking.

"Is that a request?" he asked with a smirk.

"No! Please don't burn my shoes!" she pleaded, hugging a pair of boots and red scarpins heels. He just chuckled and disassembled some empty boxes. Lucy glanced at his side of the closet. "What about you? When will you bring the rest of your clothes?"

"Those are all my clothes" he answered, raising an eyebrow. "You know that, you've seen them all"

"Are you serious?" she asked as if he had said something horrible. "Natsu, you need more clothes!"

"Why would I need more clothes?" he shrugged. "I never ran out of anything, so it's a good amount!"

"You poor thing" she had stood up and was now hugging him. "Don't worry, from now on all of my gifts to you will be new clothes!"

"Such a weirdo" he replied, unhooking her bra. "I'd rather less clothes on you"

"Hey!" she protested, stepping back and hooking the bra again. "Wow, you did it over the shirt? You've gotten pretty good on it!"

"Lots of practice" he grinned, remembering how he would just rip and burn those annoying piece of clothes the first times they made love. Having to replace them made him try and be a little more careful. He still couldn't believe girls would pay so much for so little fabric.

"There's still something on this box" Lucy noticed, bending over to check a box on the floor. She stood up quickly when her boyfriend grabbed her bottom. "Geez, Natsu, you're overly handsy today"

"Sorry, I can't help it, I'm just too excited you're moving in!" he said with a grin that made impossible for her to even pretend to be mad at him. She just smiled and looked at the thing she had fished out of the box. It was a picture frame. With a picture of them.

"Oh? Where did this come from?" she questioned, blinking. The picture showed them from profile, looking at each other with loving smiles in front of a Christmas tree. It was from one of their very first dates, she knew it had been taken just after they kissed.

"It's the picture from the time we were on Sorcerer Magazine" he explained, coming closer to her. "Where do you think we should put it? Here in the bedroom or downstairs, over the fireplace mantle?"

"But where did you get it?" she was still confused. The picture in the magazine had written all over it, and this one was clean.

"I asked Jason for a copy of it" he replied, still looking around for the best place for the picture. "Or maybe you'd rather have it in the office?"

"When did you do that?" she insisted. The picture frame didn't look like new.

"I don't know, a couple of days after the magazine came out" he answered, shrugging. "I told you I liked this picture a lot"

"You really did" she said with a warm smile. "So you have this picture in your house ever since?"

"Of course! Normally, if I was home, it meant you weren't with me, so I had to have something to remember you" he explained, gathering the boxes to hide his embarrassment.

"I came here a bunch of times and never saw it!" she argued.

"I would hide it inside the oven whenever you came" he revealed, scratching the back of his head. "I was kind of afraid you would want to take it to your apartment"

"I admit it was a strong possibility" she chuckled, admiring the picture again.

"So, where do you wanna put it?"

"Let's go with the fireplace mantle" she decided, and made her way downstairs. "It's nice because it's the first thing we see when we get home"

"Smart" he agreed, following her "As expected from my Lucy"

"Well, you were the one who framed it" she said, arriving at the living room. "Thoughtful, as expected from my Natsu"

"Hey, it looks good!" he noticed after she positioned it in the middle of the mantelpiece.

"It really does" she smiled, taking a step back to see it better "But it looks a little lonely up there"

"Guess we'll have to make some new memories to keep it company" he grinned, putting his hands on his hips.

"We'll work on that!" she agreed with sparkling eyes.

Over the years, the top of their mantelpiece became really crowded with all the pictures they considered special enough to frame, to the point some had to be hang on the walls. But the first picture never left its place, and Lucy never let Natsu replace its frame. It was too special, and the old appearance only made it more precious to her.

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Hey, readers! I just want to say that I hope you'll forgive me for the big Deus ex machina I pulled on this chapter with the money falling on Natsu's lap. The idea popped in my mind and I couldn't help to use it so they could jump to their next step, and this story is mostly for the fun of seeing them as a couple.

That's it, I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story and thank you so much to everyone who followed, favorited and reviewed it.