~ The Bad Boy Moves In ~

The sun was high in the sky but Lucy lay sprawled over her bed with most of her covers on the floor, leaving only part of herself covered. As she tossed around in her sleep, her pink nightie rode up her thighs and exposed her panties. Her large chest formed a seductive cleavage and she wore no bra beneath her nightgown. Fortunately, nobody was likely to barge into her room on a Saturday afternoon.

Gatan! All of a sudden, a noisy crash stirred Lucy from her deep slumber.

Bang! A loud thud followed.

The clamorous noises persisted and it was disrupting her beauty sleep. She tried to block it out by putting a pillow over her ears but she could still hear it.

"…oi! Levy or whoever, stop making such a din…!" She half-shouted sleepily.

Kiiiii! A high-pitched screech ensued as though in defiance to Lucy's request.

"Urgh!" With an exasperated groan, Lucy threw her covers aside and got up. She stormed out of her room and followed the noise downstairs. When she got to the first floor, she realized that no one was home.

Katakata! There was the sound of a clatter that came from outside.

What are Gajeel and Jellal doing this early in the morning? Lucy, still half-asleep, made her way to the main door, intending to give them a full dressing down.

"What's with all the ruckus–" However, when she flung her door open, she was stupefied.

"Good afternoon, princess!" Natsu greeted her in passing as he carried a bedside table into the apartment opposite from Lucy's.

Wha…?

Lucy was confused. There were only two penthouse suites on this floor and she knew her father had rented both of them. Yet, the lift landing was cluttered with various furniture and boxes, as though somebody was moving in… And then it hit her.

"Oh my God, what the hell are you doing here?!" She yelled just as Natsu emerged from the opposite door. His hands were empty now.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Natsu said as he made his way through the heap of furniture to Lucy.

Lucy noticed his outfit was outlandish again. He wore a black one-sleeved long robe held together by a belt at his waist and his usual white scarf wound around his neck. Beads of sweat glistened on his forehead, showing that he had been running around all morning.

Lucy eyed him with suspicion. "What are you up to this time? And what strings did you pull?"

He gave her a huge carefree smile and replied, "Whatever do you mean?"

"My father paid for that apartment."

"So?"

"So he couldn't possibly allow some stranger to move in unless you did something."

"Stranger?" Natsu frowned.

Ping! Suddenly the lift door opened and out stepped Gray and Jellal.

"Jellal!" Lucy called. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Why don't you have look around first? I'll join you soon," Jellal hastily said to Gray and then he walked over to Natsu and Lucy.

"Lucy, you should really go back inside," said Jellal.

Lucy didn't get what he meant. She just wanted to get an answer. "Is Gray moving in as well?" Her tone expressed her incredulity.

"Yeah, there's been a bit of a situation. Didn't Erza tell you last night?" Jellal said.

"No, last night…" Lucy's voice trailed off as she remembered she had been partying at The Tavern with Natsu. She didn't tell anybody about her date and by the time she got home, it was already 3 in the morning. "I got home late last night," she ended off.

"Well, I'll just tell you now then," Jellal said. "The school dorm is full so they needed a place to stay."

"What– so you just offered to let them move in?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"No, that's not the whole story," Jellal said. "Besides, Erza wouldn't allow it even if I offered."

That's true, Lucy thought. "So what's the full story?"

"Hey, Jellal? Is the air-con spoiled or what?" Gray's voice called out.

"Just go inside and I'll explain everything later," Jellal said and he rushed into the door across.

Why would anybody need the air-con in such cool weather? And why does Jellal keep telling me to go inside? Lucy wondered.

"Are you angry again?" Natsu asked.

Lucy wanted to snap back and go 'Of course!' but then she realized that wasn't true so she said, "Not really. It's just that, my father didn't even tell me about this…" This was something Lucy didn't like about her father. He never seemed to think of her whenever he made a decision. His idea of taking care of his daughter was to shower her with endless amounts of money. At times, it made Lucy feel like an expensive pet.

At this point she realized something. "When was this decided?" She asked.

"What, you mean about me moving in?"

"Yeah, did you already know about it last night?"

"D-Does it matter?" Natsu was nervous.

"Yea it does! Answer my question!" She folded her arms beneath her chest and leaned forward, staring intensely into Natsu's increasingly shifty eyes.

Natsu slouched and scratched the side of his head with one hand, guiltily looking down. His eyes unintentionally fell onto Lucy's breasts and he understood why Jellal had told her to get inside.

She has no idea, he thought. A mischievous smirk formed on his face along with the return of his self-assuredness.

"You're playing with fire, you know that?" His voice got deeper and huskier, and his eyes glimmered with a familiar playfulness. It was like a warning to Lucy and she backed away. Natsu, on the other hand, took a step closer.

"W-What do you want?" Lucy said as she felt her back hit the door of her apartment. Natsu had gotten way too close and she blushed under his intense stare.

"I must say, your night gown is simply the most tempting, princess," Natsu teased.

"What?!" Her hands flew across her front and she covered herself. Lucy cursed inwardly as she realized she was still in her sleepwear.

"Pfft– ahahahahaha!" He broke into light-hearted laughter upon looking at her nervous appearance.

"Hah?!" Lucy didn't get it.

"You're so completely defenceless; it's interesting!"

"What? Me?" Lucy didn't know whether that was a compliment or an insult.

"Yup! So cute!" Those words caught her by surprise and his bright smile tugged at her heartstrings. She was flustered as nobody had ever called her 'cute' before.

"Y-You're making fun of me again, aren't you?" She pouted. "Just leave me alone!" Her cheeks were flaming as she fled into her apartment.

The door slammed in Natsu's face and he heaved a resigned sigh; he was relieved… which was weird. He didn't understand the other weird feelings in his chest either. It was almost like… No, it can't be. …can it?

"Oi, dumbass," Gray shouted and interrupted his thoughts. He came out from the other door, half-naked. "Quit spacing out outside her door like some creepy stalker, would you? Stop slacking and start moving the stuff!"

"I don't want to hear that from a pervert! Put some clothes on!" Natsu yelled and he got back to work.

Back in her own apartment, Lucy's heart was pounding. She distracted herself with her relaxing beauty regime and manage to calm down somewhat. She had changed out of her nightdress, put on undergarments and now wore a black tank top with denim hot-pants.

She finished by splashing water at her face and wiping it dry with a face towel. By then it was 1pm and time for lunch. In the kitchen, she looked inside the fridge and didn't find enough ingredients to cook a meal. She decided she was too lazy to cook anyway and so she was going to eat out instead. Just as she was about to text her friends and find someone to lunch with, someone rapped on the main door.

"Lucy, come over for lunch," a voice yelled. It was Jellal.

Bringing just her phone with her, she went over to the neighbouring unit. The lift landing had been cleared so she assumed they had finished moving in.

The layouts of the two penthouses were exact mirror images. When Lucy stepped in, Jellal was in the open kitchen and she saw Gray in the living room with three boxes of pizza on the coffee table.

"When did the pizza man arrive?" Lucy asked as she entered.

"I'm the delivery guy," Gajeel's gruff voice came from behind her as he came down the stairs. He took a slice of pepperoni from one of the boxes and plopped himself down on the 3-seater couch beside Gray.

"Does that mean Levy's back?" Lucy's eyes lit up.

"I'm here!" Levy emerged from the bathroom.

"Here, drinks!" Jellal set a tray of mugs down on the coffee table and sat on the floor by it.

To Lucy, Natsu was suspiciously missing but then again she didn't want to ask after him and make it seem like she cared, so she just sat herself down on the single-seated armchair and pulled a slice of Hawaiian from the box.

When about half of all the boxes were empty, Natsu reappeared with dripping wet hair and a white towel hung lowly around his waist. His torso had not been dried properly either. Gajeel hastily put a hand over Levy's eyes, causing her to protest, "Gajeel! What are you doing?"

"Shut up, pipsqueak, hurry up and eat."

Lucy kept silent upon seeing him. Her lack of reaction from his spectacular display troubled Natsu and he made up his mind to do something about that.

"Natsu…" Jellal sighed. "Put on your clothes."

"Later. I'm hungry," he replied. Next he squeezed between Lucy in the armchair and the coffee table, purposely facing her as he went toward the last seat in the 3-seater couch. This time, Lucy blinked and slightly turned away.

Jerk, Lucy thought. Two can play at that game.

She watched as Natsu grabbed a slice of pizza and then slumped back into the sofa, sitting with his legs wide open.

"Don't invade my space, you creep," Gray complained.

"Then just move, you prick," Natsu hurled back another insult.

The 3-seater, although rather large, was beginning to look a little squeezy with three fully-grown males sharing it. Gajeel could not take it any longer and he stood up. He took Levy's hand, pulled her up from the cushion on the floor, and they left the apartment. Gray then abruptly stood up and walked off without a word.

"What's up with them?" Natsu commented nonchalantly before taking a huge bite out of his pizza. Lucy rolled her eyes and then took out her phone. She was beginning to wonder where her other blunette bestie was. She opened up Facebook and rather quickly found the answer.

Juvia Lockser at Magnolia Marine Life Park

It's Juvia's turn to feed the fish today!

Below that was a selfie of Juvia in her scuba diving gear with her snorkel perched on her head. That told Lucy that Juvia would not be back till evening and she wondered what she would do for the rest of the day.

"Well, I have to go back to school and deliver lunch to Erza, so…" Jellal looked at the half-naked Natsu and the indifferent Lucy.

"Bye," Natsu said dismissively.

Jellal sighed and got up. As he left, he hoped Natsu would behave himself. His harassment of Lucy was not only upsetting to Lucy herself but to Erza as well. And so, it was just Natsu and Lucy now – alone in the living room.

Natsu watched as the busty blonde scrolled through her phone and completely ignored his presence. He kept his eyes on her as she smiled, chuckled and frowned at whatever she was seeing on her Facebook news feed. He continued to stare and stare until Lucy became conscious of him and a faint blush surfaced on her cheeks.

Nevertheless, Lucy was determined not to say the first word but things were fast getting awkward. She focused on her phone and kept her eyes on the screen, not looking up to look at the pink-headed guy in the towel even once. Natsu, on the other hand, did not notice her feeling awkward – or even if he did, it merely meant he was one step closer.

Finally she had had enough. "Stop staring at me," Lucy threatened and turned to glare at him. "Or I'll start asking you awkward questions."

"Awkward questions like what?"

"Like how many moles do you have on your body?" She asked the first thing that came to her mind.

The sturdily-built male stood up and Lucy automatically leaned back in her chair. He bent forward, placing each hand on the armrests, encroaching into her personal space for the second time that day.

"Would you like to count?" A drop of water from his wet hair dripped onto her cheek and his voice sent a chill down her spine.

Pervert. After wiping the wetness from her cheek, she stared back defiantly and said, "No thanks." Then she shoved him away and stood up, swiftly making her exit. Outside, she slipped on her boots and strode the few steps to her own unit. As she stepped before the door, a squelching sound that came from her boots made her look down – there was water on the floor. Why's the floor wet?

She punched in the pin for the digital door lock and when the door swung open, a wave of water rushed over her feet, wetting her suede boots, causing a surprised yelp to escape her lips. From the other apartment's living room, Natsu heard her and came rushing out.

"What's wrong?"

But Lucy was too fixated by the plight of her living room to reply him. In fact, the entire first storey of the penthouse apartment seemed to have flooded during the short time she had left for lunch.

"Whoa, what happened over he– ahh!"

"Eeek!" Lucy shrieked, covered her eyes and turned away as Natsu's towel unravelled itself in the midst of his fall. Having run over a little too hurriedly, he accidentally slipped and landed on his butt at her door. As soon as he got himself together, he yanked his towel over his male parts but by then, the awkward tension in the air had become palpable and both their faces had turned red.

Moments later, things were beginning to settle down. Lucy called everyone and told them about the flooding. One by one, they returned home and everyone had gathered in the living room of the guys' penthouse except Juvia who could not get away.

"Well, I shut off the main pipe like the guy on the phone told me to," Jellal said. "But the plumber will only be able to come on Tuesday to fix it."

"Until then, I guess we'll be crashing here," Levy said as she looked at Gajeel.

Lucy didn't have a good feeling about this arrangement and she seriously contemplated moving back to Heartfilia Konzern temporarily.

"Levy will move to Gajeel's room and I'll move into Jellal's room, of course," Erza said.

"Then I'll gladly share my room with Lu–"

"You'll do no such thing," Erza silenced the now clothed Natsu with a glare. "You'll move in with Gray and let Juvia and Lucy share your room."

"WHAT!?" The two boys yelled harmoniously.

"You two got a problem?"

"I'd rather sleep in the living room!" Gray yelled.

"If I find you in your underwear at night, I will burn every last pair you have," Erza threatened.

"Gah–!" Gray exclaimed. "Alright fine, whatever." He stormed off and shut himself in his room again.

With that, Lucy decided against going back to her real home in the end. The distance from school was not what made her reluctant to go back – after all, there were always cars. But she just didn't want to have to live under the scrutinizing dictatorship of her father who had a tendency to control everything that went on under the roof of his mansion.

"I'm going to move your stuff over," Gajeel told Levy and the couple went off.

"Let's go move your stuff too, Erza," Jellal said.

And so, Natsu and Lucy found themselves alone in the living room – again. The awkwardness from before had simmered down and they could look at each other without turning red now. But Lucy didn't want to have anything to do with him and so she got up from the armchair.

"Where are you going?"

"To bring my stuff over." She wasn't sure why she even bothered to reply him.

When she got to her own apartment, the water level had decreased and it didn't touch her ankle anymore. Still, she hated how they would ruin her suede boots but she didn't have a choice. She made her way to the stairs, tiptoeing and being careful not to make any splash with each step. Her possessions, being in her room on the second floor, were safe at least and she was relieved that her collection of books would remain dry.

What is this weirdo doing? Natsu thought as he observed her movements. Lucy didn't notice he had followed behind her. It's like… a chicken dance!

Up in her room, Lucy dug out her backpack and stuffed in all the clothes she would need for three days. She grabbed a hairband from the drawer and wore it around her wrist. Then she looked at her shelf and took her copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream with her. Lastly, she got her uniform on a hanger and she slung her backpack over her shoulder. When she turned to leave she was startled by Natsu's quiet presence, leaning against the doorframe of her bedroom entrance.

"God, you scared me," she said and then walked past him out of the room.

"I was just seeing if you needed any help," he said as he followed her down the stairs.

"I won't hesitate to scream for Erza you know," she threatened.

He chuckled under his breath and then said, "I love how you're so mean."

"I'm not mean," she scowled.

They were now in the guys' apartment again and without much thought, Lucy headed upstairs. She had already assumed his room would be on the second floor.

"This one." Natsu opened the door to the last room along the corridor and Lucy fought back a surprised look. Her room in her own apartment was the last room on the second floor too.

"Thanks, you can go now." She put her things down on the bed. Although she was in a guy's room, she didn't hesitate to make herself feel at home since she knew he hadn't even lived in it for a day.

"Are you sure you don't want to room with me?" He teased with a smile.

"Idiot."

"If you change your mind–"

"I won't. Thank you for the offer, goodbye!" She pushed him out the door and shut it in his face.

For the next two hours, Lucy lazed around in Natsu's room reading. Her tank rode up her tummy as she rolled around in bed, switching positions every now and then. More often than not, the quietness on such afternoons would lull her to sleep and this afternoon was no different. But just as she was drifting into dreamland, almost as if on cue, the door suddenly opened and Lucy scrambled into a less obscene, more ladylike position for she already had an idea who the intruder was before she even looked.

"What do you want?"

The pink-headed teen walked over to his drawers and opened the bottom one. "Getting underwear." He held out a red pair of boxers to her.

"What for? Didn't you already shower?"

"Yeah, but I forgot to wear them when I got dressed afterwards."

The blonde's eyes widened and she buried her nose back into her book.

Five minutes later, Natsu barged into the room again. "Lucy."

"What?"

"How do you use the microwave?"

"Just set the timer and press start," she said without looking up from her book.

"Ok."

However, another five minutes later, he was back again. "Hey."

"What!?"

"Just one last question, really!"

"What is it?"

"Where're the plates?" He asked.

"Bottom… left cabinet?" She wasn't sure herself.

"I looked there already. They weren't there."

"Then try the right one! Or the middle one!"

"I did! I tried all of them."

"Ughh," she groaned, put her book down and reluctantly got out of bed.

She went down to the open kitchen with him to help him find a plate. Straightaway she went for the bottom left cabinet but only managed to find saucepans and cooking pots in it. Then she tried the one beside it and then the one beside that yet she didn't find any plates.

That's odd. Lucy frowned. Then she reached up and opened the top cabinets.

"Oh! There they are!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Didn't you say you tried all of the cabinets?"

"I must have missed it or something." He went forward and reached up to get one of the white ones with blue details along the circumference of the plate but Lucy stopped him.

"No, that's the china set," she turned around to say and discovered he was an inch or two away from her. She was backed up yet again, this time against the kitchen counter.

"Whatever, a plate is a plate." He didn't seem to notice the proximity and went for the plate anyway.

"Put it back! Just eat without a plate!"

"No!"

"I said put it back!" She reached up for the plate now in his hand but he, being taller than her without her heels, held it just out of reach.

Just then, the main door opened and an orange spiky-haired male entered. The second he saw Natsu taunting Lucy he felt protective of her and sprang into action.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He came in between them.

"Who the hell are you?" Natsu went.

"I'm the boyfriend. Who the hell are you?"

Natsu calmly put the plate down on the counter and then smugly replied, "I'm the guy who's trying to woo your girlfriend."

Hope you enjoyed it!