If one were to ask Natsu if there was anything he disliked about his job, he would have an answer readily available: any time on shift when he was not on a call or training. Not that he minded when things weren't on fire, but there were some parts of the job which were so. Damn. BORING.

Equipment checks, for example, were not particularly fun. But one thing topped even that bit of tedium… inventory. Spending hours with a clipboard and pen, writing down how much toilet paper was still on hand and whether or not the station needed more truck wash was a shit job that should have been assigned to the rookies. Natsu had been forced to do more than his fair share when he was new, and felt the responsibility should be someone else's duty by now.

Times had changed, however, and now who did inventory on any given day depended completely on the morning's shift lottery system. Natsu decided his luck had been cursed after his car accident, as that particular day in early March, he found himself stuck with it for the third time in as many weeks. Instead of bitching about it, he set to work; no matter how much he hated it, it needed to be done in a timely manner, and he would make sure it was accurate.

The rest of the crew had their own duties to attend to around the station, and Natsu rolled his eyes when a wolf whistle echoed through the bay shortly after he bent over to count bottles on the bottom rack of a shelf. Fucking idiots. And perverts. He worked with a bunch of idiotic perverts, and someone was going to get an earful… Again.

"Hot damn," Macao called out, "now that's a sight I wouldn't mind a little more of."

At least he knew who to yell at when he was done, though Macao was usually only perving on women. Straightening himself up once his count was finished, Natsu turned towards the other man, only to be halted by a second voice.

"Well, damn, there goes the view."

His turn towards the owner of that voice was immediate, all irritation gone for a moment as he beheld the vision in front of him. Lucy was the last person he expected to see once his shift started, so seeing her standing in the open bay door, wearing a floor-length sweater over a flowered dress and knee-high boots was a pleasant surprise. Natsu made his way towards her as if in a daze, wrapping his arms around her when he was close enough and picked her up in a tight hug.

"Hi to you, too." She let out a giggle as he placed her back on her feet. "Wasn't expecting you to be so cuddly when we had an audience."

Her eyes flicked deeper into the station, his gaze following her line of sight to find the Macoa and several others standing by and watching them.

"No fucking privacy," he grumbled, earning another giggle from his girlfriend.

"I don't think you're supposed to have privacy at work, Natsu."

"Not the point," Natsu sighed and did his best to forget his coworkers to focus his attention on Lucy. "And not that I mind, but what're you doing here?"

"After hearing about your atrocious eating habits while on shift, I decided to do something about it." Grasping the strap he hadn't noticed, she pulled the cooler off her shoulder to hand to him. "There's enough for lunch and dinner, and yes, I do expect you to eat the veggies as well."

He peeked inside, seeing his favorite spicy chicken dish wrapped up in two containers. She had made it for the first time several weeks prior on a whim when the hand-written recipe fell off one of his shelves. It was a specialty of his step-mother's, one he sorely missed once she and his father began traveling more. She had written it down for him, but it was a recipe he had never managed to get right.

"Mom's chicken?" Lucy bit her lip and nodded in reply. Overwhelmed by how much Lucy cared for him, Natsu set the cooler down, then proceeded to pick Lucy up again and twirl her in a circle. "This is amazing, Lucy! I love you!"

The whole of the world stopped as Lucy gasped, Natsu realizing the words that had slipped out of his mouth. Not a sound came from anywhere else in the station. No birds chirped, no breeze blew past; just nothing as Lucy looked at him, lips parted in shock. A matching expression stared back at her. An eternity passed as they watched each other.

Natsu had no clue why he said those words at that moment. Well, he knew, since his feelings had been growing faster than a wildfire over the past month. Every time she entered his mind, his chest was filled with warmth. Contrary to popular belief, Natsu was not stupid. He had fallen hard and fast for Lucy, and his love deepened with each passing day. But that didn't mean that he was planning on telling her so soon… Nor was he planning on blurting it out while he was at work. With most of his crew watching.

Fuck, he'd forgotten they were there. All of them witnessed him telling Lucy he loved her for the first time. And she was still just watching him, not saying anything. He watched as her eyes widened a moment before she ducked her head against his chest. With a dull, wet slap, a rag hit him in the back of the head, restarting all life around them as it left a trail of soap and grime down his shirt.

Lucy shook in his arms, and Natsu thought for a moment that she was so upset at his words that she was crying. Until her sounds caressed his ears; her laughter grew louder until it echoed through the bay and was joined by a chorus of his coworkers.

The arms that had been so tightly wound around her loosened, and Lucy looked up as she composed herself. All the mirth disappeared at the sadness in Natsu's eyes. She knew how to take the sadness away; it would not be a difficult task. So she leaned in and whispered three words into his ear…

"It was Gray."

Whatever tension he had held was released, and the smile he gave her made her day that much brighter.

"Wanna meet the crew?" Without waiting for a reply, Natsu took her left hand in his right, scooping the rag off the floor as he pulled her further into the station. He slapped Gray in the face with the rag, ignoring his indignation and introduction.

Natsu's thumb rubbed against the soft skin on the back of her hand as he introduced his girlfriend to his crew. She knew or recognized several from high school, though most she had only seen around town, and shook hands with each in turn. Macao was last in line, giving Natsu a confused look.

"I thought you were dating that chick who fixed you up? Gajeel called her 'Bunny Girl,' but it looks like you upgraded to a fox."

The subtle pressure on Natsu's hand as Lucy pulled hers out of Macao's grasp told him all he needed to know. He tugged her gently against his side.

"That would be Lucy." That comment was two strikes against one of the senior firefighters at the station. "We knew each other a bit in high school, and by random chance she's the one I booked an appointment with after my accident."

Macao took a moment to look her over. "You probably would have been back at work sooner if you got your massages from someone with a little more strength, but I can see why you stuck with this one instead."

"It's not manly to disrespect women!"

"I'm not trying to be disrespectful," Macao tried to defend himself. "I'm just sayin' that she's a pretty face, but her hands are too soft to be of use outside of… relaxation."

Natsu snarled, but Lucy put a hand on his chest, quieting him almost instantly.

"It's fine, really," she told him before looking the older man in the eyes. "I don't mind proving myself to the ignorant, as long as I get something out of it. Natsu, what did you pull today?"

"Inventory."

"Alright. I propose a wager. When I win, you will take over inventory today on top of whatever task you drew…" Her statement hung in the air for several moments, as she waited for him to take the bait.

"And if you lose?"

"Whatever you want."

"Sounds good to me. So what is it that we'll be doing?"

"I'll be taking seven minutes of your time. Right here, right now, without assistance. And if I can change your mind about me, I win."

"Two minutes."

"Six."

"Four."

"Deal." He held out his hand again, which she took just before the door to the office slammed open.

"What the fuck is going on down there?"

Two men stepped through the door, both imposing in their own ways, and both of whom Lucy recognized. The older of the two was her assistant's father, Gildarts, the other her cousin, Laxus.

"Macao's being a prick, and Lucy's gonna put him on his ass," Natsu announced gleefully to them.

"How long did you give her?" Laxus called down.

"Four minutes," Macao answered proudly, obviously convinced he would win.

"Well, you're screwed," Gildarts chimed in, both heading back into the office without another word.

It didn't take long for the demonstration to be set up. Natsu fetched Lucy's table from her car and she had it set up with impressive speed. Erza pulled up four minutes on her phone, and on her signal, Lucy began. She took less than a minute to analyze Macao's posture, stance, and various movements, the same as she had with Natsu the first night he came in. She smiled as she told him to go through the full range of motion of his right arm, highlighting his many previous rotator cuff injuries.

Nearly two minutes had gone by when she started her work, coaching him to breathe when necessary, and pulling her hands away just before the timer went off. Lucy stepped away, allowing Macao to sit up before asking him to go through the motions again. Irritation at the pain she put him through was replaced by awe. His shoulder was not miraculously healed, but he could tell that the pain was downgraded to soreness and some mobility restored.

"Holy shit."

She smirked at him, but he couldn't think of anything else to say, merely picking up the clipboard and pen Natsu had dropped earlier and starting to work where he left off with inventory.

Everyone else dispersed back to their duties after that, saying quick congratulations to Lucy as they scattered. Natsu took her hand again, leading her to the kitchen to put the food she had prepared him into the fridge. Once it was safely away, he turned back to her, his nerves from earlier returning full-force.

"About what I said…"

"Natsu," she started, sliding her free hand through his hair, attempting to distract him from his growing anxiety.

"I know it was impulsive, and blurted out because you brought me food, but…"

"But…?" She prompted, a trickle of her own anxiety breaking through her calm demeanor.

"Well, I wanted to make it special… y'know, when I said it the first time. But, I didn't not mean it, and I won't take it back because it's true."

"You…love me?"

"I… Yeah, I do." Natsu leaned his forehead against Lucy's, looking into her eyes as he spoke. "I love you, Lucy. I didn't know it could happen so fast, but it did, and I'm not sorry."

Her eyes glossed over as he watched, the breath leaving her lips quavering softly against his own. Lucy closed her eyes and a tear streamed down her cheek, which Natsu wiped away with his slightly-calloused fingertips.

"Say something…" he begged.

"I…" Still-shimmering eyes opened once more. "I love you, too."

Natsu grazed his nose against hers before pressing a kiss to her lips.

"No making out in the kitchen!" Erza's voice startled them out of their moment as she walked past the door.

Natsu and Lucy jumped away from each other like a pair of teenagers caught doing something bad. Snickering at the interruption, Natsu took Lucy's hand one last time, both agreeing that they could talk about it tomorrow morning when he got off shift.

Brief as it had to be, they poured all their love for each other into one more kiss before they parted. Even in its brevity, the promises of 'tomorrow' could be felt lingering on their lips until they were together again.