"Are you starting a rivalry with Grey or somethin'," Natsu asked with his hands on his hips as he watched Lucy scramble to wrap a towel around herself. "Half the time I see you, you're naked."

Lucy's cheeks pooled with blood and her skin turned cherry red. "That's because you're always walking in on me in the shower! It's not my fault!"

He threw his hands up in defense before dodging a shoe that flew past his head at dangerous velocity. "Relax! I'll go get you some clothes."

Lucy and the girls had stopped by a community bath house on their travels but as usual, something had happened that left Lucy naked and unable to leave the change room in fear of being arrested for indecent exposure. Natsu had wondered in searching for her. He was only hungry and he wanted to get something to eat. He did not expect to be confronted with this whole shenanigan.

"No! just go to the reception and get me my keys. Virgo will bring me something."

"Aye, sir!" said Happy as he saluted her and dashed out the door. Natsu followed but stopped him before he entered the room with a plaque on the door that read, 'Reception'.

"Natsu, we gotta get Lucy clothes."

"That's what we're doing! We'll go shopping and we'll get her an outfit ourselves. Have you seen the way she dresses? I think we owe it to her as her friend to help her out here." Natsu gestured to his own clothes as if to say that he was some kind of fashion icon.

Happy thought about it for a while before agreeing.

"But I need you to stay here, Happy. You've gotta make sure Lucy's safe. She doesn't have her keys."

"Aye sir!" Happy, content with the idea of having a mission to protect Lucy all his own, flew back into the change room while Natsu set out on the town to do himself some shopping.

Thinking to himself, he realized that Lucy would probably be furious with him for leaving her naked while he went shopping but he had an overwhelming urge to buy something for her. The thought of Lucy wearing something that he bought her filled him with a fluttery feeling. Besides, he really did think she would be grateful when she saw whatever it would be that he picked out for her. He thought of himself as sort of a fashionista and Lucy's choices in clothes were kind of… tacky for his tastes.

It was strange though. Usually, he wouldn't care about what Lucy wore. Lately, he'd been wanting to just be near Lucy a lot. Why, just the other day he'd actually had his mail redirected to her house because he was sick of never receiving letters until he actually went back to his own house. He figured she wouldn't mind, he practically lived there anyway. He was always annoying her, but these days he just wanted to know everything she was doing. He'd even gone grocery shopping with her earlier this week for no other reason but to see what she liked to buy.

Truthfully, he couldn't remember when these feelings had started to develop. He'd heard her swoon over her romance books, speaking about how one day she hoped to have someone fall in love at first sight with her. He couldn't understand that. You have to get to know someone a little before you can say you love them, even he knew that. Even if it was only just an hour. He loved all his friends, so he hadn't understood the big deal. Likewise, he had loved Lucy for a long time and he had always felt that that comradery stretched just a little further with her than it did anyone else, but he'd always assumed it was because she relied on him. She needed extra protecting, see. These days, she had come to be able to handle herself in a fight but when he'd first crossed paths with her, he knew that he couldn't let her leave his side.

Yes, Lucy had always meant just that little bit more to him than the others. But everyone knew that. He wouldn't dare feel comfortable enough sneaking into Erza's room at night. Definitely not Grey. Not even Lisanna, and the two of them went way back. There was just something about Lucy that made him feel like he was home, regardless of where he was. After knowing Lucy, he never felt truly rested until he could see her. He thought that was just something that came with partnership.

Eventually, he'd found a store that looked like it sold women's clothes because there were women inside. There are some men in this world that would sooner give you their lives than set foot in a shop made for women. Call it a sensitive masculinity if you will, but Natsu had no such thoughts. He needed to get clothes for Lucy, and that's all there was to it. He had a job to finish.

After all this time, he realized he didn't know what Lucy liked to wear. Thinking to himself, he remembered her in a lot of blue and he thanked some higher power that the outfits on the racks were color coded. He also briefly pondered the fact that her outfits seemed to get smaller and smaller over the years. Was the temperature getting hotter with passing months? It was a possibility but he rejected it. Despite what may be on the outside, Natsu was no idiot. He could admit to himself that perhaps he was a bit dense, and he liked it like that. Ignorance is bliss, as they say, but he was definitely not stupid. Most of all, he wasn't emotionally stupid. He knew why her skirts seemed to creep higher with every new purchase and it was because Lucy grew more confident. Never knowing exactly why, Natsu hated the fact that more of her skin showed because when other guys oggled her, he felt his cheeks reach temperatures hot enough to fry an egg. But in spite of this, he wouldn't say a thing. Lucy was gaining confidence and trusting herself, and he wouldn't dare interfere with that. He could handle anyone that looked too long, anyway.

As he scoured the racks, he came across a denim skirt. 'That will do,' he thought. For a top, he found a white tank with little pink cats on it. He pulled it off the rack and draped it over his arm on top of the skirt, smiling to himself because the little cats reminded him of Happy. He went over to the shoes that were showcased at the back of the store and came across a pair of bright orange high heels. These would suffice because orange was his second favorite color after red and he figured Lucy would be grateful for the heels because she was short and these would help her… not be short? Okay, now then what else do women wear? He thought over what he was wearing. Shirt, bottoms, shoes… did women wear underwear? Better to be safe than sorry. Quickly, he located some bright yellow underwear because they matched her hair and scooted off to the register.

"Are these for your girlfriend?" asked the woman behind the register as she bagged the clothes. Natsu was oblivious to the way she eyed his torso, unaware of the way his shirt barely hid the mounds of his abdominal musculature.

"Yep," he replied. Or course. Lucy was his friend and she was a girl.

"Shame," she sighed.

"It's not a shame," he defended. "Lucy's awesome."

"Mhm, I bet she is." The register attendant rang up his till and he rushed out the door on his way back to Lucy. He didn't know how long he'd been, but he didn't want her waiting there wrapped in a towel for ages. She might get cold.

See, the difference with Lucy is that he thought about her even when she wasn't in front of him. He'd never done that before. Natsu was very much accustomed to the idea that out of sight meant out of mind. But Lucy would pop into his head every now and then when he was alone. Lately, it had been happening a lot. He wondered what she was eating, what she was thinking about. When he was out by himself, he'd see clothing on other women and think that Lucy would probably wear it better. He'd see items in store windows and weigh up if Lucy would like it or not. Sometimes, he'd even wonder if she'd approve of his own clothes as he got dressed in the morning. Right now, the thought of her sitting at the bath house, shivering away made his legs work faster.

When he returned to the bath house, he rushed straight back into the women's section, ignoring the shrieks of the other guests. By the time he reached the dressing room, he had pretty much cleared the place. Except for Lucy, sitting on a bench with the ends of her towel pulled tightly across her chest. Oh no, she did look cold.

"Don't worry, Lucy! I'm back!"

"Where were you?" she scolded. "You've been almost an hour! I told you to go to the front desk and get my keys! Virgo would have brought me something from the Celestial World!"

"Sorry," he muttered, bringing the hand that wasn't holding his shopping back up to ruffle the back of his hair. "I wanted to pick you something nice."

At this confession, Lucy softened. The crease in her brow melted away and her shoulders slumped. "It's okay. Thank you for thinking of me."

He blushed a little, before remembering his shopping. He lunged the bag at her with an outstretched arm, a grin stretching across his face. He just knew she would LOVE his selection. She would probably love it so much that she'd make him her personal shopper. For a moment, he entertained the idea of dressing Lucy up like a doll every day. "Here," he said. "You'll love it."

Happy crept upon his shoulder, just as eager to see the clothes as Lucy was. She dipped into the bag and one by one, laid the clothes out on the bench before her.

"Wow, Lucy! There's cats on that one!" Happy exclaimed.

Lucy's face morphed into an expression of confusion as she held the skirt up in front of her. Natsu peeked over the skirt, still grinning. "Well, what do you think?"

"Natsu, these clothes are all different sizes. This skirt is actually 5 sizes too big!"

His face fell, crushed by her words. "What?"

"I'm sorry, but none of these will fit me."

"Oh," he said, his shoulders slumping as his chin touched his collarbone in shame. "I forgot about sizes." It was the truth. He had been too excited to pick her clothes for her that the thought of sizing totally slipped his mind.

"Just go and get my keys from the reception, please!" she begged.

He nodded in defeat and he and Happy went to collect the keys. "What's wrong Natsu?" asked the blue cat.

"Nothing, I just thought those clothes would look great on her."

They brought the keys to Lucy and stepped outside to let her change. Just as Natsu lent his back against the closed door, two large men approached him, both in dark sunglasses, black pants and white collared shirts rolled at the forearms.

"C'mon, ya perv. Get out of the women's section."

"What?" he replied, throwing a hand to his chest. "Me? Perv? No, I was just here for my friend. She's right inside-"

"Yeah, that's what they always say," one of the guards accused as he placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder.

"Hey, get your hands off me!"

In an attempt to help Natsu, Happy flew at the man's face. "You heard him, take your grubby paws off him!"

"Get that cat!" he yelled, and the second of the pair ran off chasing Happy.

Now, Natsu and the guard had begun to struggle. "Man," the guard huffed. "Just come outside, it doesn't have to be like this."

They fell to the ground, rolling over each other. Natsu rolled on top of him, holding him by the collar on his shirt. "No, I told you I'm waiting for a friend."

The guard rolled himself over and Natsu was pressed to the floor. "And I told you I don't care. Just wait outside."

"Lucy Kick!"

The guard toppled off Natsu, holding his face in his hands and groaning.

"Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. Natsu paused and observed her. Standing there, breathing heavily with her fists clenched to her side, she was wearing some stupid get up that Virgo had brought her. It was a black skirt with long arm coverings. But Lucy's top didn't really match the whole magical vibe the outfit was giving off. Wrapped around Lucy's chest was the kitten top, and the hem of the material was tied in a knot just under her bust exposing her stomach. "You're wearing the kitty top!" he said with a smile.

"Yeah, it was too big to wear just as it was, so I tied it up. It's a gift from you," she explained. "I had to make it work."

He stood there for a second and smiled, just examining her. It definitely suited her. But his thoughts were cut short as the guard began to rise to a standing position, still clutching his face. Quickly, he grabbed Lucy's hand and dragged her out of the bath house. They passed Happy in the street, perched in a near by tree throwing branches at the other guard. "This is for Natsu," he yelled, throwing a particularly large branch.

"C'mon, Happy," called Natsu and Happy obliged.

Together, they raced through the streets of this foreign city until they found an alley way to catch their breath for a while. They were sure they had lost the guards aged ago, but neither of them stopped running until it occurred to Natsu that Lucy was looking a little too winded and he pulled her into the alley way, Happy trailing behind. He sat on the ground with his back to the side of one of the buildings and pulled her down next to him. For a moment, he watched her chest rise and fall with her panting until her breath steadied.

"Wow," she breathed. "We haven't done that in a while."

"Fun right?" Natsu said through a smile that made his eyes squint.

"You guys call that fun?" asked Happy, quite literally about to lose his breakfast from all the flying.

"I do," said Lucy. "If it's with Natsu, it's always fun."

Natsu paused then, because he noticed the way her approval made his chest jump. When she looked up at him, a reaction to his silence that showed she was worried that she had said something out of line, it took every last ounce of his strength not to grab her by the hair and kiss her. The realization of such a thought felt like a slap across the face and for a moment, his face fell in shock and he pressed himself up against the wall even further. He knew what kissing was. He'd seen it before. It disgusted him. Never had he ever felt like doing it himself. The outrageousness of it all had him taken aback for a while, and only the sound of Lucy's sweet voice when she asked him what as wrong broke his train of thought.

"Nothing." He shook his head. "Nothing at all."

He didn't kiss her. He wouldn't. This right here; himself, Happy and Lucy. This little arrangement was what he was sure people scoured the world to find. Friendships like these were to be cherished and he realized how foolish it would be of him to risk it. His relationship with Lucy transcended the blood bond of family and it was something else entirely. If he were ever to lose that, well, he didn't know what he would do with himself. He was confused, indeed. He knew things were about to get complicated. He had always loved Lucy but now she was making him feel things that he wasn't sure anyone could ever feel in the history of forever. How he was going to deal with all of this was an issue for another day. Right now, he was just glad she was here with him.

He put an arm around her shoulders and noticed her cheeks deepen in color just a little bit. He ignored it for the moment. Natsu pulled her into himself so that her torso lent across his crossed legs and her head rest on his chest. It was dusk now and any sort of sunlight was almost gone. He placed his chin on the top of her hair and stroked her shoulder with his thumb. Happy, who must have felt left out, came to sit in the empty part of Natsu's lap.

"What's all this about," she asked. He felt her body relax into him anyway.

"I'm just really happy we're friends," he said.

"Oh... Me too."

It was silent then. Lucy listened to his heart beat while he noticed the buzzing of the cicadas as they rose from their slumber, ready to start their days.

"Hey Lucy," said Happy, never being one to read a room. "I really like your shirt."

So this one-shot was inspired by a moment in one of the filler issues in the new manga. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll be vague, but Lucy loses her clothes again and Happy remarks that she wouldn't want someone with Natsu's taste buying her clothes. I really wanted to see what Natsu would buy her but they don't show it. Truthfully, I think that in canon, he'd get her some Halloween consume or something. Natsu bein a fashion icon in his own head was also drawn upon by his disgruntlement when his scarf is turned black in one of the early episodes and he says something like, "A black scarf with this vest?"

It was cute so now I have this mental image of him meticulously picking out his clothes every morning. lolz.