It's been a month since the incident with the Duke that ended with the royal losing his highly sought-out position. At first the man was livid, even going as far as raising his hand against the Princess but the emerald-haired royalty easily swatted his hand and glared, telling him that the King had threatened to deport the Duke for laying a hand against the nation's citizen and that he should actually be licking the heel of the King for such a light punishment.

When the Duke had calmed down, he was forced to spill everything he knew about the terrorists and anything that could become a new lead that could potentially help Natsu and the others with their infiltration. With the investigation done, the royal guards took custody of the denounced Duke and brought him back to Crocus for further questioning.

With the information the Duke had unwillingly given, they now knew that Avatar was indeed but a small part of a massive syndicate that spread through the country like the plague. The Duke had told them about the remaining two branches of the band of terrorists and what every branch were assigned to do. At the end of the day, Natsu was feeling a bit thankful that Lucy had went against her word because if it weren't for her knocking two of the Duke's teeth out of his foul mouth, they wouldn't have been able to catch the otherwise surprisingly secretive man.

Luckily, the Duke was able to connect them with the guy he did business with and once the case was officially handed over to Jellal and Gray, they immediately had someone tail the guy. Eventually, after days of waiting and being led to wrong places, they were finally able to locate the small factory Avatar used for their illegal business and the whole squad couldn't have felt stupider that moment.

Avatar was using the old ship dock by at the other side of the city as their base and transported the women from there to God knows where. Although the port was still being used by smaller ships, they still felt like it should have been a given that it would be where the terrorists would conduct their illegal activities.

When they busted the port, Avatar's main members were there, enjoying their cups of ale like some old farts. Still, Natsu was impressed that despite the surprise attack, they were still able to immediately put two and two together, gather up arms, and put up a good fight. That was of course, until Laxus and Elfman came inside and started knocking them all down with brute force.

Their timing must have been blessed by the Gods because they couldn't have arrived at a much more perfect time. Thankfully, the girls were still there; all ten of them, including the beauty pageant and turns out, they were scheduled to ship the ladies to wherever they ship them the next day.

Gray was assigned along with Erza to make quick work of securing the safety of the kidnapped women while Jellal stayed behind with Laxus, Elfman and a couple more uniformed officers to await for the arrival of the boat the next day. The rest of them, namely Natsu and Gajeel, were ordered to go back to the precinct and continue with the planning for their mission.

After the girls were taken into custody and questioned, they were picked up by their loved ones after they said their utmost thanks to their saviors.

Just as Natsu was about to enter the briefing room for what felt like the millionth time that day, Gray called and approached him, the beauty pageant trailing timidly behind him.

"I want to say thank you for finding me. If there's anything I can do to help you with anything, please don't hesitate to let me know." She said, her head bowed in gratitude towards the two detectives.

"There's nothing to thank us, we were just doing our jobs." Natsu grinned, "Nine-nine will always be here to protect every single one of Magnolia's precinct."

"Still though, I want to give back somehow." The beauty pageant insisted, lifting her head in the slightest to look at Natsu. "Anyway, here's my number. Call me if you need my help or, uh, even if you d-don't, you can still call me."

Natsu, bless his soul, didn't notice the raging blush that was creeping from the woman's neck until it welcomed itself into her beautiful face, and he just grinned at her, and accepted the paper. "Thanks, I'll be sure to keep it."

The beauty pageant nodded her head, thanked Gray as well, and dashed off. Natsu pocketed the piece of paper and received a judgmental look from the ice dick, his eyes squinted and brows furrowed. "What are you staring at, ice freak. Your face is ugly enough for you not to do that."

Gray decided to ignore the insult. "Are you seriously keeping it?"

"Yeah, sure. I don't see the harm in it."

"I bet you don't even have half a brain to comprehend what that lady was trying to tell you." Gray scoffed, pushing Natsu aside to get inside the briefing room.

"What's there to comprehend?!" Natsu exclaimed, following right after him. "She wants to help me when I need it, she said it herself! Maybe you're the one who doesn't have a brain, idiot."

Gray was about to spell it all out for Natsu when another familiarly annoying scoff cut him off and he decided to shut up. "She wants to bang you, salamander." They both turned to Gajeel who was sitting at one of the metal chairs, his legs resting atop the table.

Natsu's eyes widened and he stood still for a good few seconds before regaining his composure. "Pfft, no way. She was kidnapped, we helped save her, she wants to be of help in return! You guys are just thinking with your miniature-sized dicks."

Gajeel and Gray turned to look at each other before letting out a chuckle. "Sure, keep telling yourself that, fire boy."

Before Natsu could retort, Erza entered the room, silencing all of them. Natsu decided to sit quietly lest he pisses her off and she's already in a sour mode; probably because Jellal's been spent way too much time at the case for the past few days and they probably haven't fucked each other for so long now. Well, at least that's how Mira's speculation goes.

"We were able to gather a buttload of information within the last few months than we ever had for the past year." Erza stated. Updating them about the recent bust they did with Avatar and connecting it with the upcoming mission.

Lately, their meetings had been more frequent and it made Natsu unable to pick up Lucy from work. This usually wouldn't bother Natsu but ever since she had told him that she just found out that one of her childhood friends turned out to be one of the firemen at Magnolia, he had been on edge. Though he couldn't really give you a real reason as to why even if you asked.

Another thing was that Lucy only ever gave him a smile whenever he apologized profusely for not being able to pick her up which added unnecessary tension to his already stiff shoulders. Honestly, he would much rather she lashed out at him for being so busy instead of just giving a sweet smile when he doesn't even deserve it. At least then, he'll actually know that she's angry and upset with him. But that smile? Oh that could mean anything.

"Natsu, focus." Erza waved her hand in front of his face to get his attention and he blinked, forcing the thoughts of Lucy to the back of his head. "We need you here. Stop daydreaming."

"Yeah, flame brain, stop daydreaming about Lucy." Gray snickered to which Natsu replied with a hit to the shoulder that made the taller man sputter in surprise.

Natsu smirked and faced Erza again. Oh if only Gray knew how right he was, he'd definitely have a party. "I'm sorry, please continue."

Erza nodded her head and pointed to the white board that they were currently using to keep track of the information they hold. "We already know about Oracion Seis, the one that Jellal was able to bust wide open, as expected of him."

"Stop daydreaming of your husband, please." Natsu bit back, laughing with Gray until they were fixed with a cold glare from the red-head. They both cleared their throats and Natsu motioned for her to continue.

"Idiots," Natsu heard Gajeel mutter from the high horse he must have seated himself upon and if Erza wasn't glaring at them like she was, he would've punched that metal face's ugly mug.

"Anyway, the other two largest groups of this band of baboons are Grimoire Heart and Tartaros. According to the Duke, Avatar is a smaller branch growing under Tartaros. Now that Oracion Seis is gone, their influence on the West has waned and Grimoire Heart is trying to make up for this by doubling their efforts in spreading their influence North." Erza ended.

Natsu nodded his head and looked back at the paper in his hand. "So the Duke was helping them because their leader promised him a higher ranking position when they emerge victorious, yeah?"

"That's exactly it, yes."

"Now that we know about the remaining branches, will our course of action change?" Gray asked.

"Yes actually, I was just about to go over that." Erza answered, voice as stern and level as a military captain. "Instead of Dragneel being sent East to gather information about Tartaros, he will be sent South. With the recent bust we had, Fernandez and Dreyar were able to get valuable information from the ship's captain about its route."

"What about me?" Gajeel asked.

"It remains the same." Erza answered and Gajeel nodded without further questions.

"Following this, there are more changes that we have to do with the planning but I still have to talk it over with the Captain before I present it to you." Erza informed them. "After that, I'll make sure to call up another meeting and see whether the plan I created with the Captain sounds good to all. Sounds good?"

All three men nodded their heads and left the room one by one and of course, not without bickering.

Night had fallen on another Friday night and Natsu found himself sitting beside a tipsy Lucy at one of the booths at Fairy Tail. She had insisted they skip movie night for a night out with friends which was unusual since she was usually too tired for a drinking session with the whole gang.

He was going to refuse, knowing that she needed to have some rest but then he remembered that it had been weeks since she was able to hang out with them because of her busy schedule; what with trying to write her book and the latest news, taking extra responsibilities to be promoted, and training newbies, she had her hands full.

And so he had ended up agreeing, knowing that she wanted to hang out with all of them despite being tired and he didn't have it in him to stop her. Natsu was enjoying the view of Lucy laughing at something Gray had said until he had switched the subject. "How's work, Lucy?"

"Oh, Gray, let's not discuss work related stuff please." Lucy laughed, waving her hand in front of her face and giggling like a little child.

"Come on, I'm excited about your novel! When will it be ready?" Gray pushed, grinning from ear to ear. Natsu had never understood why Gray was so fond of Lucy and doted over her like she was his own little sister because one, ice pants didn't have feelings like a normal person and two, he had only known Lucy for a few months.

"I'm not even half-way through!" Lucy exclaimed, clearly on the edge of being drunk. She turned her head to Natsu and grinned, her cheeks blushing from the amount of alcohol she had consumed and making Natsu's heart jump in adoration. "Besides, Natsu's secret mission is much more interesting!"

Natsu's eyes widened and he hurriedly placed a hand over Lucy's mouth before she could utter another word but then she licked his hand, making his stomach drop at the feel of her wet muscle making contact. "Ew, stop it!"

"What did Lucy just say, flame brain?"

"What? Nothing! She was hallucinating! She's drunk, I better get her home."

"No way in hell." Gray spat, gently grabbing Lucy from Natsu and placing her in Levy's care at the next table.

"What did you tell her." Gray demanded more than asked.

"I kinda slipped and told her I had a mission in a couple of months but then I told her it's a secret so she can't tell anyone. Nothing else!"

"You know you're putting her in danger just by telling her about this." Gray spat, anger and disbelief swimming in his eyes and they were on the verge of spilling. "I swear if anything happens to her because of your stupidity, I will kill you."

"I get it, okay?" Natsu exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do it."

"Sorry's not gonna cut it this time, idiot." Gray growled before he looked at Natsu's face and he sighed. "I'm telling Erza about this. There's no way I'm letting you get the chance to just slip again and tell her any more."

"Gray, don't." Natsu urged, standing and leaning against the table to get closer to Gray. "Please don't. If you tell her, Erza's gonna make me stop seeing Lucy. I can't stand that. Please."

Gray looked at Natsu's sincere face and sighed. "No, man. I gotta. I don't want to put Lucy in any more danger."

Natsu sighed and sat back down at his seat with a thump, defeat clear in his body. "It's not like I did it intentionally."

"That's exactly why it's dangerous for her to be around you." Gray pointed out. "You're too open and lax with her, you have no full control over yourself."

Natsu looked at Gray and back at his hands that were resting at his lap. "This is just shit."

For the rest of the month, Natsu was sent out along with other squads whenever there were calls and once he gets back, thrown inside the precinct's archives or made to process all paperwork.

The mornings were dull which meant he was forced into the parchment smelling room, making him think about the blonde haired beauty who was probably surrounding herself with confusing words as always. He would usually drink two full mugs of coffee to keep him going but with the way everything was too slow, he had to drink an extra mug just to avoid getting sleepy during his shift.

By the time the caffeine kicks in, the precinct would start to buzz with energy and action and he would finally be out and about around the city hunting out culprits and bad guys. As he was being dragged in and out of the precinct, he finally started to realize the worth of a break. Honestly, this was too much. Couldn't he just get a little bit of everything during the day?

Natsu was an all-or-nothing kind of guy, sure, but wasn't this too much? His mornings just whispered nothing in his ear the whole time but once the clock strikes twelve, it seems like all the bad guys just want to take him out on a joy-ride across town and now his day was full of screaming on his ears all! for the rest of his shift.

Once he gets back to the precinct, it would have already been the end of his duty and Lisanna would be greeting him at the counter with a smile and a hot cup of freshly brewed tea; the only good thing out of his shitty day. After his tea, he would be too beat up - something that doesn't really happen to him - to even try and get home which led him to actually living at the precinct for the past few days.

And so, today wasn't any different. Well, not entirely because today, he was finally given the permission to see Lucy again with the threat that if he ever spills anything about the mission, he's never seeing Lucy again.

Getting back at the precinct, he was all smiles despite the tiring and not to mention nauseating ride around town with Gray, nonetheless.

"Wow, someone's in a good mood." Lisanna giggled, handing him his cup of tea to which he gladly accepted. "Did something happen?"

"Something good is gonna happen, for this idiot atleast." Gray rolled his eyes and thanked Lisanna for the tea she handed him as well. "Lucy's waiting for you, isn't she?"

Natsu childishly nodded his head and drank the tea in big gulps in an effort to finish faster. "Gotta bounce!"

"What a dork." Gray scoffed and was about to walk away.

"He's still seeing Lucy?"

"Nah, just this once. Gramps finally gave him the go after three days. I guess there are some good things that comes with being stupidly stubborn."

"I see," Gray looked at Lisanna and couldn't really figure out the meaning behind her soft smile. "Good for them."

"That's where you're wrong." Gray chuckled, looking back at the direction Natsu had took off. "It's only good for that guy, I don't know if it's going to be any good for Lucy. Besides he's been too grumpy lately. He hates paperwork but when he's being called for outside duty, he's also even more uncooperative than usual. Actually, it might be the reason Gramps allowed it. We're a bit afraid he might lose it if this goes on a bit longer."

"She's that important, huh?"

Gray remained silent for a second, contemplating what to say and decided to go with the truth. "We all are. You know how he is with the ones he loves."

Lisanna smiled and nodded, "I know."

"Luce!" Natsu exclaimed once he spotted the blonde haired girl, still inside their building where she was bidding her farewell to the front desk. From afar, Natsu could tell something was different but he couldn't decide whether it was a good kind or not.

She had her hair in an up-down do which spoke volumes considering it was currently the summer and she must be enduring the hotness of the weather. Lucy was a self-proclaimed fashionista but Natsu knew that no matter no obsessed she was with the latest trends in the fashion world, she never really cared about how her hair looked, especially when it comes to the hot season.

Ignoring his observations, he got out of his car and waved his hand once Lucy spotted him and ran around, opening the car door for her.

"It's been a while, Natsu." Lucy smiled, patting his shoulders as he held the door open for her and placed his hand against the spot that could come in contact with Lucy's forehead and true to his assumptions, she bumped her head against his hand. "Thanks."

"No problem." Natsu ruffled her hair once she was inside and jogged to the driver's side to start the ignition.

"How's everyone?" Lucy asked, fastening her seat belt once Natsu was on the road.

"They're being really strict with me, it's so stupid. Can you believe it? I've been sleeping at the break room for the last three days, you know!"

"How pitiful." Lucy joked. "You did bring this upon yourself, you know. You weren't supposed to go around spilling the secrets of the station. What kind of detective even are you?"

"Hey!" Natsu stole a glance at Lucy. "You promised me you wouldn't tell and you did! In front of Gray, of all people!"

"Why? Would you rather I did it in front of Erza?"

Natsu remained silent and gulped. "Okay, you have a point there."

"I always do."

Natsu looked at her for a second, his brows furrowed and cheeks raised in confusion. "What does that even mean?"

Lucy only laughed at him and they remained quiet for the rest of the ride home and Natsu relished in the kind of comfortable silence he could only experience with Lucy. Whenever he was with her, he liked to talk non-stop but once the buzzing in his brain stops and he's left without anything to say, he doesn't really have the feeling that he had to continue when he doesn't have anything in mind.

Once they arrived at the underground parking of their building, Natsu parked his car and turned the ignition off. "You can go ahead and choose a movie for us. I'm just getting something at the lobby." Lucy informed him as she unbuckled her seat belt.

"Want me to go with you?" Natsu offered, unbuckling his seat belt and reaching behind for their belongings. He handed Lucy her bag and they both went out of the car.

"No need. It's just some of my notes."

"Why would your notes be there?" During the time Natsu had known Lucy, she was never one to just leave her notes around but then again, she was clumsy enough to lose her manuscript so maybe she wasn't really all that attentive when it comes to her belongings.

"I forgot it at the cafe and asked Loke to get it for me." Lucy answered nonchalantly, as if the foreign name didn't spark millions of questions in Natsu's mind. "You're not the only one who's been drowning in work, detective."

She was gone without another word and Natsu moved on instinct, following her once she turned her back on him but stopped mid-stride and decided it would be better for him not sneak around behind her back and follow despite his overflowing curiosity.

Who was Loke? It's the first he's heard of the name but maybe he's her assistant or something or one of the characters of Lucy's gossip that he had zoned out on.

He took the elevator from the basement all the way to their floor while Lucy took the stairs to the lobby to take her notes or something. By the time he got to their floor, he punched in the password to Lucy's unit and welcomed himself in.

As always, the smell of her overwhelmed his senses and he could already feel his head relax and his heart pump in a familiarly comforting rhythm. It was unbelievable how even his very body was so attracted to Lucy that it starts to relax without him even meaning to, his guard all the way down the to lowest level whenever he's around her.

His mission was still weeks away but he could already see himself longing to be back in this very place, where he could drown in her fragrance and fill his heart with the sight of her, sitting hunched in her desk while she wrote and he shook the thought out of his head.

He can't afford to miss Lucy so soon. It was definitely going to be the end of the mission once his urge to see Lucy gets stronger than the thought of saving his nation. No, he has to be logical about this instead of thinking and acting like a starving puppy.

The door clicked open and he looked back to see Lucy with stacks of paper and he groaned, how could everyone expect him to run away from such a sight? How could they ask him to go to this mission and separate him from the one person he loved above anyone else? But then he remembered himself foolishly volunteering for the mission, his hands way above his head and shaking it against the air in excitement.

Well, in his defense, he didn't really know Lucy by that time nor did he have any idea that he would be this wrapped around a single woman's finger. If someone were to tell him that someone like Lucy was able to capture his heart and gain total control over it, Natsu would have scoffed then punched that person for a joke like that.

"How did you manage to forget that?" Natsu lightly laughed and took the stacks of paper from Lucy's grasp as she struggled with the straps of her heels.

"I placed them below the table, that's how." Lucy grumbled as she continued her fight with her shoes.

Natsu scoffed and placed the papers on her desk. "Well, while you're in the midst of a fierce war with your shoes, I'm setting up the television. Anything you want to watch in particular?"

"Not really." Lucy mindlessly answered then hastily added. "No horror movies. I don't want to get punched in the gut today."

Natsu let out an embarrassed scoff and scrolled through Netflix. "That was one time and it didn't even hurt much."

"Hey! I was the one who got hit, not you!" Lucy shouted from the door. Then, Natsu heard her heels hit the marble floor and her light steps in the wooden area of the room. "Anyway, is ramen good? Don't worry, it's not the instant type. I bought noodles yesterday and forgot to cook them."

"Yeah, anything's fine."

Once they got settled, Natsu hurriedly slurped his noodles so he could focus on the movie playing.

"Natsu, slow down. Your slurping sounds disgusting."

"Hey, in the Japanese culture, slurping is a compliment!" Natsu finished his food in three big gulps and settled the now empty bowl in Lucy's coffee table. "Which means you should see it as such."

"Oh shut up. You're just looking for reasons to justify your disgusting eating habits." Lucy rolled her eyes at the pink haired man and silently ate.

Ever since they sat down to enjoy each other's company, there was no other thought that plagued Natsu's mind but of that Loke guy. Now that he was given more time to ponder, he realized that if the guy was her co-worker then he should have just given Lucy's notes to her while they were at the office. There really wasn't any need to go out of his way to go here.

Wait, was Loke even a guy? Well, that's a pretty manly sounding name so he must be, right? Natsu was about to agree with himself when he remembered what Lucy told him about stereotyping people based on something abstract. Do names fall under that category? Are names concrete? Why was he suddenly pondering over what names were!?

He quickly shook his head and groaned, startling Lucy who was placing her empty bowl of ramen beside Natsu's. "Is there something in your mind?"

"Are names abstract?" Natsu blurted out in panic.

Lucy's eyes widened in surprise, not really expecting such a nonsense sounding question. Then, she visibly relaxed, her frown turning to a smile until she was full on laughing. "I'm not even going to answer that!" She wheezed, clutching her stomach in an effort to not throw up.

"Ugh, stop it." Natsu grumbled, trying to cover up his blush both from embarrassment and from Lucy's adorable face that he didn't realize he had missed so much until he saw it for the first time in three days.

"What were you initially thinking about that it led there?" Lucy eventually asked once her laughter subsided.

"Who's Loke?" Natsu asked without preamble.

Natsu saw Lucy's face drop her smile and her eyes widen for the second time that night. It took her a bit longer to gather her composure than before and Natsu couldn't figure out why the name would spark such a reaction out of her. "He's the childhood friend I told you about, he wants to take me out on a date."

All of a sudden, Natsu remembered his silent promise to both himself and Lucy; a confession after his mission. Natsu wasn't the most thoughtful or considerate guy around but even he wasn't clueless enough to actually profess his undying love to a girl just weeks before he leaves her. He could be dumb sure, but not to that extent.

During the time he made that promise to himself, he was alone inside the interrogation room and he thought then that nobody could ever come between them. No, he wouldn't let anybody come between them. He vowed to himself that after his mission, he would reward himself and what better was there than Lucy in his arms?

But now, looking at the dreamy look on Lucy's face, he realized how wrong he was. She was smiling at him but he knew he wasn't the one who's causing it. Her cheeks were flushed but he had enough wits to realize that it wasn't because he was making a move on her.

No, not this time. Someone had finally beaten him to the punch. The thought seemed so bizarre to Natsu that he had to let it sink in.

He felt himself smile despite his heart breaking inside of him and he had no idea how good of an actor he was until now and how much of a liar he was because the next words surprised even him. "That sounds good!"

Lucy's shy smile turned to a toothy grin as she looked at him. He continued smiling at her as if he wasn't breaking his own heart.

Natsu turned to look back at the TV, silently letting out a breath he realized he had been holding and tried to relax.

He was aboard a train he had no control over and it might as well bring him to his death but one look at Lucy's wistful expression and he knew he was fine with it. He had to be fine with it. He released a breathy chuckle and realized he was too much of a fool for her and scarily enough, he didn't mind it as much.

He nodded to himself, mentally patting his shoulders for a job well done. He turned to sneak a glance at her face again only for their eyes to meet. Natsu smiled at her and he couldn't help but admit to himself that he was too deep in love with her to even deny her happiness, even if that meant he was out of the picture.

Natsu grumbled as he crossed off another mistake a rookie had made with the paperwork, his mind at the edge of blowing up with boredom. He was back on paperwork duty like a fucking newbie cop but he had to admit, albeit himself, that it did help him keep his mind off of what Lucy just told him yesterday evening for the past few hours.

He didn't really want to know anything about this guy or their stupid date but if he were to give up the only girl he had ever loved, the guy better be perfect. There was no way he was letting some prick just date Lucy just because they think they have a chance. No way in rotten hell.

When he asked her about it, Lucy told him that she agreed to go on a date with the Loke guy but they haven't settled on a date yet and it's bugging him to no end because four days from now, him and Gajeel were gone for their mission.

"What's stuck up your ass, flame brain?" Gray asked as he sat himself down at the seat in front of Natsu's desk. Looks like his constant mumbling of profanities and grumbling finally reached someone's ears.

"None of your business."

Natsu heard Gray sigh before the raven-haired man tapped his desk twice with his fist to get his attention. "Come on, man. You're leaving in four days, I don't have it in me to be so rude so just spill. Does it have something to do with the mission? Or is it Lucy?"

"Both." Gray stayed silent and Natsu took it as his cue to keep talking. "Lucy's gonna go out on a date with a guy one of these days and I don't know when. I can't keep looking out for her when I'm leaving in four days."

"So what? Just tell her how you feel."

Natsu looked at Gray as if he was out of his mind, which he was, if they were being honest. The man was so out of his mind since he was born Natsu doubts he was ever born with one.

"Are you crazy? I can't tell her I like her days before I leave! I don't even know if I can make it back." Natsu said, his voice falling to a whisper at the mention of how his future was going to fold out.

Gray stayed silent for a couple of seconds before he sighed, ruffled his hair and stood up. "I'll keep an eye out for her while you're gone. It's the least I can do."

Natsu nodded, keeping his head down. "Thanks, man."

Before lunch could end that day, Natsu was beckoned to the briefing room. Erza was waiting for him behind the podium while the Captain stood beside her, his small frame hidden from view. With the way Erza was staring at him, her eyes sharp and wise, it wouldn't surprise him if she was mistaken as the Captain instead of Gramps.

Scanning the room, Natsu opted to seat behind Gajeel and away from Gray. Seconds later, Laxus arrived and seated himself at the very back of the room while Jellal sat behind the table that was left unoccupied.

"Good, you're all here." Erza nodded her head at them and flipped the whiteboard. He wanted to comment that it's beginning to get a bit too messy but he wasn't really in the mood to invoke her anger so he decided to shut his trap. "Let's do a final briefing before we move on to the final preparations."

And so, Erza started explaining for what seemed like the hundredth time how the mission will pan out. Natsu was going to be sent South to collect more information about Tartaros and infiltrate them once he gets the golden chance while Gajeel was going West where Grimoire Heart was currently in.

They were to communicate to each other using a police-issued smartphone that was embedded with a tracker if anything were to ever go south and were told not to use it unless they think it's of utmost importance. Smartphones were convenient, sure, but they were also easily hacked and that could easily go wrong in so many ways. As back up, they were to be given beepers just in case anything unprecedented were to ever happen to them.

"Any other comments or inquiries?" Erza ended, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I have a few last words." Natsu stood up and waited for Erza to let him speak.

"Are you finally dying, flame brain?"

"Shut up, Gray." Erza threatened and motioned for Natsu to speak.

"We've been planning this mission for almost a year now and even with the amount of preparation we've done, nobody still has any idea how this could actually pan out." Natsu started. "For now, this mission could last for a year at least so while I'm gone, ice dick, I hate you with all I have but you can have my desk."

Gray grinned, "Heck yeah! I finally have the best seat in the precinct, sucks to be you losers."

Natsu nodded, feeling proud of the placement of his desk. It was a sought-out desk with its location right beside the break room - where the Wi-Fi was strongest, might he add - and you could slip out unnoticed if you were stealthy enough.

"Jellal, you can have my locker." He continued, looking at the blue-haired man and shook the older man's extended hand.

"Thank you," Jellal said, going back to his seat.

"And Sergeant Dreyar, you can have all my open cases." Natsu turned to the golden-haired man who was silent the whole time.

"I don't want it." Laxus grumbled.

"You don't have a choice." Natsu cackled. Then he turned back to Erza. "Sorry, I got nothing else to give away. You can take care of Lucy, though?"

"You do not have the authority to do any of this." Erza dead-panned. "Also, Lucy doesn't need taking care of, she's perfectly capable of handling herself."

"Hey, Laxus doesn't want your open cases, flame brain!" Gray shouted from his seat. "Just give 'em all to me!"

"I said, Dragneel doesn't have the authority to do that!" Erza shouted, making everyone cover their ears.

The remaining three days were spent inside the precinct and Natsu had completely forgotten about Lucy and her mysterious man, his mind filled with the mission and preparing everything to make sure that he could come back alive. The only time Lucy had ever entered his mind was when he was alone inside the break room, enjoying (or not) his twelfth cup of coffee.

Today was the last day he had in the city and he was determined to make sure that they had everything ready before tomorrow. Everything was set up inside one of the interrogation rooms where it was safely locked away, Erza the only one to possess the key to open and close the room.

While both him and Gajeel were given a two-hour break from the preparations, Natsu decided to spend it writing a letter to Lucy. After days of thinking about it, he decided that a letter was the best way to tell her he was leaving. Gajeel was sitting beside him sleeping because he has the chance to meet with Levy before they leave before dawn tomorrow. They might even spend the night together.

Sure, Natsu was given the go to spend his last night in the city however he pleased but he knew that once he sees Lucy's face, he would cave. Once he sits with her at her couch, browsing movies, he would never have it in him to leave again.

And so, after pondering so much about it, he came to the conclusion that a letter should do the job just fine. He would have enough time to write his thoughts so that he wouldn't say anything he didn't mean or spill anything about the mission that could endanger her. He also wouldn't need to see her face as she processes it in her pretty little brain how he's leaving her with the possibility of never returning to her side.

No, that would break the resolve he had been solidifying for the past few months in a second.

He took a deep breath for the tenth time since he sat down at the park near Lucy's house. He was waiting for it to be late enough to drop his letter off at her doorstep instead of at her mailbox so that he wouldn't get caught sneaking around.

Taking a look at his watch, he decided that 9PM was late enough and that she should be home by now, probably enjoying a hot bath or sitting hunched at her desk.

He entered their building for the first time in what felt like an eternity and nodded at Maximo who must have started his shift hours ago. Pressing the button to their floor, Natsu felt his hand sweat profusely. When the elevator doors opened, he was met with the one person he didn't expect to see.

"Levy!" Natsu smiled, stepping out of the elevator and greeting the tiny woman. Don't tell Levy he described her as such or else he might never be able to see tomorrow.

"Natsu!" The blue-haired woman greeted back, a dazzling smile gracing her face. "Are you just going home? Lucy told me she hasn't seen you in days!"

Natsu blinked back in surprise. "Weren't you supposed to spend the night at Gajeel's?" He asked instead, confused why she was at their building. "Oh, are you on your way there?"

"No, that guy said he was working an extra shift today and he doesn't know when he could meet with me again." Levy grumbled, a cute pout replacing the smile on her face as she huffed and cross her arms. "I was helping Lucy prepare for her date with Loke!"

Gajeel isn't spending the night with her either? Weren't they going out? Well, that does make sense because if he were to spend the night with Levy tonight and disappear the next day, someone outside the force would have an idea when they left for their mission. He had to give Gajeel props for - wait, what?

"What?" Natsu asked, his mouth hanging open in surprise. "What?"

"What?" Levy laughed, finding amusement in Natsu's displeasure.

"Lucy's out on a date?" Natsu asked, wanting to hear Levy say that no, he just misheard her.

"Yeah, didn't she tell you?" Gee, thanks Levy, definitely what he wanted to hear. "She left about an hour ago."

Natsu could hear his heart shattering inside his very body. Or wait, is that his soul? He's too disconnected with the present and himself right now to properly tell. There he was, sitting like the pathetic, love-sick fool that he was while Lucy was preparing for a date. He could've stopped it if he weren't being such a big baby about all this.

He sighed, reminding himself that he couldn't let Lucy wait for him - if she would - when his life isn't even guaranteed in this situation. "Anyway, I'm going home, Natsu. It's pretty late, already."

"Oh yeah, you go ahead. Be safe." Natsu nodded his head at the petite woman and pressed the down button for her.

Levy waved her hand goodbye at him before the elevator doors closed. He thought about going inside his unit and sleeping the night off but then he remembered he had to be at Gray's before 12 tonight so he could wake up on time.

Pressing the down button for himself this time, he descended down the building and was about to go out when he felt the paper crunch when it came in contact with his hand the moment he shoved it inside. Not having the energy and fight left to go up the building again, he dropped off the letter he wrote for Lucy at her mailbox.

He waved a defeated hand at Maximo before walking towards the garage and starting his drive to the popsicle pants' house.

TL: I'm sorry it took me so long to update! But here it is! And the better news is, I might update tomorrow! I hope everyone is liking the story so far :)