A million thoughts went through Lucy's head. There was one in particular, What if she saw Natsu naked? What would she do then? Natsu had seen her many times without clothes. He always managed to barge into her room or bathroom in the middle of her changing. She didn't even think he noticed her nakedness, if anything he seemed immune to it. At one point she even thought he was gay, but when she asked him, he had almost lost it. And to prove his "manliness" he went off and picked a fight with Grey, the whole thing was stupid really.

While Lucy was busy overthinking the idea of naked Natsu, she didn't notice how her face began to flush a deep pink and it slowly turned into a Scarlett red. Natsu at first thought Lucy was mad, but then he knew her flushed embarrassed face way too much, she was always blushing for the tiniest things. He wondered what she might be thinking of, did she think him too blunt? No it couldn't be that, she knew he was blunt from the beginning they met. So then what could she possibly be thinking of?

Both Lucy and Natsu were to busy with their own thoughts that they didn't even notice the moment when Erza left. In fact there were not many people out on campus since class had started for a lot of students, and it was just the morning. Lucy was still very close to Natsu, and it didn't take much for Natsu to take Lucy's hand and snap her out of her trance.

"So what do you say Lucy? Can I stay over?"

Lucy thought he asked the dumbest question ever, "That has got to be the dumbest question ever, of course you can stay idiot!"

Natsu clearly surprised raised his eyebrows and ran his hand through his pink locks. "Wow Luce you took that better than I thought you would."

"Yeah we'll I mean it's not like I'm going to let you live off in the streets," Lucy responded. What Natsu didn't know was that Lucy didn't mind at all. In fact she was kind of excited, Natsu and her would finally catch up, and not via phone but face to face where she could feel his presence and indulge herself in it.

"Let me waste my last twenty dollars on you Luce, for being the bestest of friends."

Lucy blushed, but she suddenly remembered she had class, and being late for her first day did not give the best impression. She thought it over for a moment and decided to skip instead, after all all they would do is go over the syllabus. She sighed and the looked at Natsu, "Alright then, let's see what we can make of those last tweety bucks of yours."

Once again Natsu was taken aback by Lucy's answer. Usually she was the most geekiest and studious out of all his and her friends. Yet he didn't dwell long on his thoughts instead he grabbed her hand and dragged her at inhuman speed, just like old times.

They went to the nearest ice cream place. Since it was morning it wasn't even open yet, but they decided to wait since it opened not long after they got there. Natsu looked over at Lucy and for a moment he got lost in her beauty. It wasn't anything romantic, Natsu had never had a girlfriend, not because he couldn't get one, but because he didn't see the need for one. He had his friends and that was all he needed. Yet sometimes when he looked at Lucy he got this little warm feeling that started from his chest and spread down to the middle of his stomach. After a year without seeing Lucy and only having a picture to remind him of her features, to see the real life Lucy was like seeing the sun for the first time. He smiled at the though, because Luce could really be compared to the sun. She was so warm, so bright, and when she smiled it was almost blinding. He wasn't oblivious to this, he saw how other men looked at her. He detested those men, he detested them because they saw the outter Lucy, they didn't see Lucy for everything good she was. "I missed you," he whispered. He thought that maybe Lucy wouldn't hear but as soon as she turned her head to face him, he knew she had.

"Are you going to confess your love for me now?" Lucy was only joking but even then her cheeks were pink from her question, and it didn't make it better to see Natsu with eyes wide, face red and struggling to get words out of his mouth.

"Ew gross Lucy," he finally said, trying to sound as normal as possible.

Lucy began to laugh and she had to hold her stomach to try and keep it from hurting, but deep deep down she felt a little hurt. "You're not a romantic Natsu, I feel sorry for your future wife. I wonder how you will propose."

For a moment Natsu wondered too. He didn't think he had a romantic bone in his body, he didn't even think any girl would ever want to marry him. "I probably won't get married, I'll just travel the world and send you postcards." With that he smiled a full on smile, with teeth and all.

"So you're leaving me again?"

Natsu didn't realize the meaning behind what he had said. And it hurt him because he had broken his promise. In junior year, when Lucy lost her mother and she was broken in the floor crying, Natsu had promised to never leave remember that day and how she seemed to be much better just by his words, that alone triggered something in him, something he had never felt before something he didn't have a name for, and today years later he still had none.

He also remembered the broken look on Lucy when he told her he was going to study abroad, rather than to go with her to college like the rest of their friends. They all wanted to go to the same college, but Natsu even though he liked the prestigious college had other plans. When he told Lucy he knew she would understand, he knew she would because that just Lucy. She put others before herself no matter what, what he was worried about was of how she would take it. Lucy smiled at him and wished him the best, there was no sourness to her voice, in fact she even helped him back,when she didn't look, he took out a picture he always hid under his bed. The picture was of her, he had taken it for his photography class, but he never gave that picture to the teacher. Instead he kept it. It showed Lucy on the grass reading a book, he face scrunching in thought. When he took the picture he didn't even know her name. He was one of those men who admired her outter beauty, like the ones he despised. After taking the picture he went off to try and talk to her, but before he could reach her, she had left and was walking towards the stairs. It was then when he found the stupid disgusting pervert trying to take advantage of Lucy. He didn't have to think twice on defending Lucy, and to this day that was one of the best decisions he ever made.

He was so lost in his thoughts that for a while he forgot where he was, coming back to reality he looked over at Lucy, who was no longer looking at him, instead she seemed engrossed on her key necklace. "I'm sorry Lucy," he gazed at her waiting for her to look at him. She was looking at her necklace with more concentration than before. "I know I don't deserve to be forgiven, I know I don't because what kind of bastard breaks a promise right? I don't even know why or how you stand me."

"I never blamed you Natsu. I knew you would leave, not because I didn't believe your promise, but because that is the way things always go. And you know what? You never left, you were always there. Every night when you called even though it was three in the morning in whatever country you were in. You always called. Remember when you had to run to a public phone in the rain because a crocodile ate your cellphone? Or when you had to climb up a mountain to get reception. The biggest effort I made to talk to you was when having to run from my room to the kitchen to get my cellphone." At that she laughed and it rang in Natsu's ears, like sweet music, like a chime, like the rustling of leaves in a late fall evening.

"Here you were giving me a lecture of how I'm not romantic and you just told me you made no effort whatsoever when I climbed mountains for you!" Natsu's hoped his response would get her to laugh again, instead he was rewarded instead with a smile. He didn't complain.

"I'm am too a romantic! After all I am a writer, it's what I do."

Both of them smiled and watched as a man in his late sixties came and opened the ice cream shop. The man looked at the two young adults, and felt his heart swell. It reminded him of him and his wife.

Natsu was glad the ice cream shop was finally opened, and as he entered he became even more glad. There seemed to be a ton of flavors. Lucy came after Natsu, she made a little "o" shape with her mouth, the place was huge. She had the sudden want to live in the ice cream shop. "Alright Luigi, what would you like?"

Lucy had to remind herself that it was Natsu's first day back, and to not hit him or throw anything at him because she did miss him. Instead she settled with sticking her toungue out at him, while making a face.

"Oooh look how scared I am Lucy, I'm shaking down to the bone." He laughed at her childish comeback.

"You should be scared, afterall when you go to sleep at night tonight you never know what will happen to you." She tried to make the scariest and creepiest face she could manage but it only made Natsu laugh harder.

In the end Lucy got chocolate and strawberry and Natsu got almost every flavor in the store. Lucy was positive that if he had more money he would have probably gotten all the flavors.

"Don't you think it's too early for ice cream?" Not that Lucy was complaining but it seemed like every time she was with Natsu all her sense in reason went out the window.

"What?! No such thing Lucy, no such thing. Ice cream was meant to be devoured at all times. I of course would prefer something spicier and hot,but I can settle for this."

Lucy only mumbled an "mhm" and went back to her ice cream. They walked back to campus with only the sound of her feet shuffling against the pavement. Lucy only had ten minutes left until her next class started, so she tried to make the best of her time.

Suddenly Lucy raised her cone and shoved it into Natsu's nose. Natsu at first was confused on what was going on, but then when he realized that the blonde was laughing her head off, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. He tried to ignore the rush of heat that was running up his arm and concentrated on smashing -gently of course- the last of his ice cream against Lucy's soft lips. She chocked on her own laughs but seemed to be alright, so he himself began to laugh.

They didn't realize they were still holding hands, until they both heard a rough deep voice behind Natsu scream, "What the hell Lucy, what are you doing with this dipshit? Who the hell is he and why is he holding your hand."