This one is a tad short, but if I hadn't cut it off where I did, it would have been twice as long as usual by the time I found a good stopping point.

Savwafair: Initially I hadn't chosen where I was sending them, but I like them too, so it wasn't hard to find a way for them to hang out where we could see them on occasion.

As always, thanks for all the love and happy reading!


"I don't understand," Virgo said.

"I don't either!" Natsu exclaimed as he threw up his hands. "But it has to mean something, right? I mean, she gave me the weirdest smile after that and refused to tell me why she asked! What does it matter if I like black?"

"That's not what I'm talking about," the angel said. "I meant I don't understand why you're asking me."

"You're the only one I can ask. It would be weird to ask any of her friends, Happy isn't here and probably wouldn't know anyway, and I don't know where Loke is."

Virgo continued to make her way around the bar, the polishing rag in her hands moving in quick circles. "You know where Loke is."

"If I knew, I would be talking to him."

Virgo paused and looked up at him. "Natsu, he hasn't returned yet."

Natsu felt his stomach drop as he watched the other angel return to her work. "What do you mean? Hasn't returned from where?"

"From the Dark."

"What?!" He shot to his feet. "Then let's go get him! We can't just leave him in Zalanoon's clutches if he's stuck in there!"

"I have my orders. I can not return to the Dark while Loke is absent from the human world."

"Then send me!"

"I can't do that either."

"Why not?!"

"In the event of Loke's absence, I must move into the primary role of Lucy Heartfilia's guardian angel. Not only would I have to go with to send you there, but the king has informed me that I am to make sure you remain with Miss Lucy here as well. In fact, I should be forcing you out of here and making you go back to her apartment, but I sent the twins as soon as you showed up. Also, the Leezars agreed to help keep an eye on her as well in exchange for being able to live in this world."

Natsu blinked, completely confused. "The Leezars?"

"The pair that we saved from the Dark," she said as she moved behind the bar once more. "They are currently residing in the formerly empty home next to Lucy's."

"I've never seen their race before, so I didn't know what they were called. I knew they were there, though. They showed up earlier to introduce themselves."

"I'm glad. Part of their task is to befriend Lucy so they will have reason to spend time with her."

Natsu couldn't quite stop the growl that rose up in his throat. "Why do you guys think you need so many people watching Lucy?"

"I would think that was obvious. With only you and Loke watching her, she was easily snatched up in her own home. We have increased safety measures within her home, as well as increased the number of people watching over her to make sure it does not happen again. We are in a crucial time frame right now where we can't risk Lucy being taken away again."

"What's so crucial about it?" Natsu asked.

"I can't tell you." She leaned forward to remove his arms from the bar and polished the exposed wood. "Now please return to Lucy's so the twins can return. I am in charge of the bar while Loke is absent, but they know more about running this place than I do and I need to speak with them before we open later."

Natsu pushed the chair back in after he stood up. "I still don't understand why this place isn't open for lunch."

"They tell me it's because of the aesthetic, but I don't quite get it."

He shrugged as he headed for the door. "To each his own I guess."

Just before he opened the door, Virgo called out to him again. "Natsu."

"What?"

"I believe that you will like the reason Miss Lucy asked about the color black."

He turned around and cocked an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

Virgo gave him a sly smile. "You'll find out. Just trust me."

"But-"

"I'll see you later, Natsu. I promise Loke will be back before you know it, so don't worry. Now, please leave. I have work to do." With that, Virgo left the bar and made her way towards the kitchen.

"Why are all these guardian angels so weird?" Natsu mumbled as he left.


"Well, what do you think Plue?" Lucy asked as she turned in a circle. The white feline continued to sleep, completely ignoring her words. "That's fine. It's not meant to work on you anyway." She grabbed her small black purse off the hook next to the closet and then began transferring her things from her other purse.

There was a soft knock on her door. "Hey, Lucy?"

"What is it Happy?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." She turned around as the Exceed pushed open the door. "What's up?"

"I was just… what are you wearing?!" Happy began to slowly sink towards the floor as he stared at her, wide eyed.

"Uh, a dress? What's wrong?"

"Take it off!" he yelled as he zoomed towards her. "Or put something over it! Natsu can't see you like this!"

Lucy swatted his hands away as he tried to grab at her dress. "Happy, what the heck are you talking about?! Leave my clothes alone!"

"Then at least put on a shirt or something else with it, please! Natsu really can't see you like this!"

"And why not?" Lucy asked as she put her hands on her hips. "It's never mattered what I wore before, so why are you getting so angry now?"

"Why are you wearing something so revealing?" he asked.

Lucy ignored the color she could feel rising to her cheeks. "Wh-what does that matter?"

Happy floated closer, so he was only a few inches away from Lucy's face, and squinted his eyes as he studied her. "What are you hoping is going to happen tonight?"

"I'm not hoping anything is going to happen!" Lucy grabbed her purse and then pushed her way passed the demon. "I don't have to defend myself just because I dressed up nice. Go away, you flying furball."

"Lucy, I don't think it's a good idea for Natsu to see you like that."

"Why? What's so wrong with Natsu seeing me dressed up?"

Happy's hands fluttered around nervously as he followed her. "Lucy, please…"

She paused as she studied him. He looked nervous. The last time he'd looked that nervous had been when… "Does this have something to do with his lapses in awareness?" she asked.

He crossed his arms and turned away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I knew it. "It is, isn't it?" she asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said more firmly. "I'm going back to our room."

Lucy caught him at the door and shut it before he could leave. "Tell me Happy."

"I- I can't," Happy stuttered.

"If you don't tell me, Happy, I'll tell Natsu about the gold eye stuff."

Happy twisted around and grabbed her face. "You can't! You already promised you wouldn't!"

"If you really don't want me to, then you'd better answer me, Happy." Lucy tried to look firm, even if she knew she wouldn't break the promise she'd already made him.

"But Lucy-"

"Tell me, Happy."

"Fine! It does, but I can't tell you anymore than that, okay? Please Lucy, just put something else on!"

"I think I'll be fine, Happy."

"It's not you I'm worried about," he said.

"I'll make sure to keep Natsu from doing anything crazy, okay?"

"But Lucy-"

"Happy, enough! There's a reason I'm wearing this, and I'm not going to change, so just leave it alone already."

Happy's eyes went wide. "You're wearing it on purpose?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I am," she said, crossing her arms.

"But are you…" Happy's eyes went wide, and then he gave her a knowing smile. "What's the reason?" he asked.

Lucy stuck her hand in his face and opened the door. "It doesn't matter, Happy, now get out of the way. Natsu will be back soon."

"Where is Natsu?" he asked as he followed her.

"He said he had a quick errand to run before we left," she said as she made her way through the kitchen towards the entryway.

Happy giggled as he sat on the table. "That sounds right."

"What?" Lucy pulled her leather jacket out of the closet and turned his way as she shut it. "What do you mean by that?"

"Step Two," he said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Confused, she walked towards him and hung her jacket on a chair. "What's step two?"

"Nothing!" He hopped back up in the air. "I'm going to our room, have a good night!"

"Wait, Happy! Come back here!" Unfortunately, he was too quick and she was unable to even cross the kitchen before she heard the door slam behind him. She sighed as she moved to put on her shoes. "Damn demon, being so cryptic."

Meanwhile, Natsu returned from his trip to the store. He'd told Lucy he had a quick errand to run so he could run out and get her a new bouquet of flowers. He'd been unable to salvage the first one after Ova had gotten into it, so he'd had to toss them and get a fresh one. As he walked toward the front door, he could see Lucy at the kitchen table through a slit in the curtains. He took a deep breath as he paused at the front door.

Step One: Wear something nice.

He'd changed into the same outfit he'd chosen initially for their date, so he was good on that one.

Step Two: Bring her flowers when you pick her up.

He subconsciously tightened his grip on the bouquet in his hand as he lifted them in front of himself, before quickly putting them behind his back. Happy has said something about surprising her, so perhaps they shouldn't be immediately on display?

He sneaked a look through the window and could just make out the clock. Seeing that it was time, he decided to go with hiding the bouquet right away and knocked with his free hand.

Step Three: Pick her up.

Natsu saw her stand immediately and move to open the door. "Hey, Natsu," she said, surprised. "Why didn't you just come in?"

"I'm picking you up," he said with a wide grin. "Here, these are for you!" He pulled out the flowers with a flourish.

"Natsu! They're so pretty!" She immediately took the flowers and brought them to her nose to smell them.

"Not nearly as pretty as you," he said, not at all concerned that he was following Happy's steps out of order.

Step Six: Compliment her.

Lucy looked away with a small smile. "Oh. Thank you, Natsu." She took a step back and said, "How about I put these in a vase quick and then we can leave?"

"Sounds good," he said, moving to follow her inside.

She gave him another smile before returning to the kitchen. After Natsu shut the door, he turned back and got his first full look at Lucy's outfit. She was reaching up into one of the high cupboards, easily showing off her lithe body. As she carefully pulled a glass vase down, Natsu got a great view of her back and butt, not to mention the mile long legs her short dress revealed.

As Lucy finished filling the vase and adding the flowers, she felt Nastu move to stand behind her. She set the vase back down on the counter, but before she could turn, Natsu's arms wrapped around her and he buried his face in her neck. Lucy's voice fled as he began to purr against her skin.

His hands grabbed on to her sides and then slowly slid up and down, instantly sending waves of heat through her body. His nose slid upwards and buried into the hair on top of her head, causing shivers to spread across her skin. Lucy had to try several times to make enough room for her to move in his arms.

When Lucy finally managed to turn around, she was able to clearly see the gold through the slits of his eyes. As they opened, they instantly shot down to stare at her front and study her intently as his hands continued to move up and down her sides.

Lucy was glad she'd decided to wait to put on her jacket until after Natsu saw her and fervently hoped that he wouldn't respond like this when they arrived at the restaurant. Either way, she'd figured out she was right about why Happy was concerned, and figured out that this side of Natsu, at least, definitely liked her outfit. Now she just had to figure out if the rest of him did too, and move on to the next stage of her plan.

"Natsu," she whispered. His eyes didn't leave her figure. Instead, they closed and he moved forward to lightly rub his nose against her neck.

Lucy cleared her throat and gave him a small push. "Natsu, if we don't leave soon, we're going to be late."

The movement caused Natsu to blink and he took a step back as his eyes cleared. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked with a shake of his head.

"We should leave," she repeated as she moved to grab her jacket. "We don't want to be late, do we?"

"Yeah, I mean no, sorry. Yeah, we should leave." He glanced between the entryway and the sink before slowly following her with a very confused expression.

When had he gotten over there?


I know I said next time you'd see Loke, but that was a fib. It'll be awhile before we find out what's going on with him. He's a little… tied up at the moment.