Yeah I know, I haven't updated in like, 6 months. In my defense, it was a really rough semester, and I haven't really had time to do anything. But, enough excuses, it's winter break now, and next semester doesn't look quite as bad, so maybe I'll be able to find more time to work on my writing, but no promises.

Anyways, thanks to everyone who has followed/favorited this story, or even just given it a cursory read for fun! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations! As always, I love to read your reviews and learn what I can do better.

Once again, this chapter is pretty heavy on the NaLu, but fear not GraLu fans! Change is fast approaching, mwahaha!

Enjoy!

Chapter 3: The Late Days of August

"Geez, this place is a pigsty. Don't you ever clean, flame-brain?"

Lucy sighed to herself and ran a hand down her weary face as Natsu moved to initiate yet another brawl with Gray. This time however, the fight would not be located in the reasonably open (and somewhat broken-in) space of the guild, but in Natsu's small cabin, which was, as Gray had so eloquently stated, "a pigsty". No matter how many times Lucy tidied the rustic abode, it always seemed to breed more filth, and unfortunately she hadn't found adequate time to remedy said situation before Gray arrived.

"You say something ice cube?"

Natsu was in Gray's face at this point, fists already lit aflame, and eyes narrowed to slits.

"Maybe if you weren't such a dumbass you would have gotten it already!"

"And maybe if you weren't such a stuck-up Popsicle you wouldn't feel the need to barge in!"

"You invited me, Idiot!"

"No I didn't! You are so going down!"

"Yes you did flame-tard! Bring it on!"

Lucy could feel the air pressure rising, a side effect of the temperature differences radiating off of the two young men, and she decided to step in before the cabin collapsed, or she got caught up in the brawl. The latter was more likely to happen first, and she did NOT want today to end in yet another concussion or broken bone.

"Natsu! Gray! Stop it, stop it, STOP IT! It's my fault! Just stop!" Lucy yelled frantically, waving her arms back and forth as she approached the pair with haste. It was nigh impossible to get them to focus on anything but their opponent when they got like this (unless your name was Erza), and she hoped that her increase in volume would at least get them to break eye contact with each other.

"I invited him over! I'm sorry I didn't clean! Please don't do this here! I just wanted to fix the floorboards! Stop! I'll cook dinner again! Just STOP! NATSU!"

Lucy's voice was so high-pitched and fast by this point that her words were beginning to echo off the interior of the cabin, and her shoulders were beginning to burn from the exertion of her constant flailing motions, yet she braced herself mentally to continue screaming as a small voice in the back of her mind offered the disparaging thought that these sorts of efforts never really worked where the guild was concerned anyways…

"Really?! You'll cook dinner again?!" Natsu eagerly exclaimed, breaking her train of anti-motivational thought and causing her to let out a relieved sigh.

She had noticed just within the past week or so that some of the wooden boards that formed Natsu's floor were in rough condition, with well-defined cracks in a few of them that were threatening to give way to splinters. It hadn't bothered her much initially, since she was never in their cabin barefoot anyways, but then she remembered that Happy didn't wear shoes, and the thought of having to remove a splinter was enough to motivate action. It wasn't necessarily the notion of performing the procedure itself that she dreaded, but she sensed that a great deal of squirming and crying would accompany the task unless she chose to utilize the tried-and-true "cat burrito" method, which would ultimately result in a great deal more crying later on.

And though she would deny it if ever asked, the building sexual tension between her and Natsu was causing her to consider the possibility that soon enough she might end up walking around his cabin without shoes… or socks… or clothes… Hmm… striding confidently towards him in nothing more than a negligee, watching as his eyes widened appreciatively… The way his lips would caress her skin as she gripped his shoulders tightly, her breath hitching in a pleasured gasp…

ACK! Lucy mentally slapped herself and redirected her attention to the two young males in front of her. Natsu's eyes were lit up hopefully with a signature grin hiding beneath the surface (oh, right, she had promised to make him dinner again, friggin baka), while Gray evaluated his surroundings with evident distaste.

"Yes Natsu, I can make you dinner again. Just not tonight, okay?" Lucy spoke with relief in her tone, then clapped her hands together.

"Yoosh! Here's what I had planned! I want to get these," she tapped her toes on one of the more damaged boards, "out of here. They're getting dangerous Natsu, especially for Happy!"

Natsu looked at the boards in confusion, as if wondering when they managed to become so beaten up, and Lucy felt her heart stutter at the adorable face he was making. Honestly, had there ever been a time when he wasn't attractive? Wait, scratch that last… he was kinda gross to be around on trains… No, that was still sorta cute, in a really weird way… Focus Lucy! Focus!

"So we are going to move everything outside, tear up the old boards, and put down new ones! Gray!" she pointed imperiously at him, her other hand on her hip, "Go out and make some new boards! Natsu!" her finger shifted its aim, "Move all your crap outside! And no complaints! The faster we get to work the faster we get finished! Let's do this!"

Lucy finished her motivational speech by striking a pose, with one hand on her hip, and the other in a tight fist. And though the response from the two young males was sorely lacking in enthusiasm (Gray actually rolled his eyes, while Natsu continued to look confused as he evaluated the condition of his flooring), she knew that they were on board for the project. If they managed to work cooperatively, the new floorboards would be set in just a few hours! If they didn't though…

8 hours later.

A neat pile of freshly made floorboards lay outside the cabin, courtesy of Gray's ability to slice trees using his ice blades, and Scorpio's sand blasts, which had worn down the rough patches left in the grain. Inside the cabin, the only remnants of the damaged boards were the occasional pieces of ash that were being kicked up by the gentle evening breeze, and visible only if the light from the setting sun hit them just right.

Standing on the steps of the cabin, Lucy was coated from head to toe in dirt, pine sap, sweat, sand, and ash. She could feel the grime sticking to the sweat on her body, and knew that she probably resembled someone fresh out of a warzone. Not a bad comparison, she thought to herself, no thanks to friggin' Natsu.

The entire day had been rife with tension, starting immediately from the point when she went to help Gray by sanding the new boards, leaving Natsu with the task of moving his stuff outside. The pink-haired dragon-slayer had pouted and muttered something about her preferring the ice-cube over him before grudgingly setting to his task as she departed. Though she had felt a strong urge to throttle him for acting like a child, she knew that acknowledging his behavior was the equivalent of encouraging it sometimes.

Then, while helping Gray, she had accidentally given herself a splinter while assessing the edges of a board, which actually didn't hurt as much as it could have. Gray, however, had heard her pained yelp, and quickly run over to ask what was wrong. In retrospect, the way he had tenderly held her hand as he examined the puncture site may have looked a touch romantic, but in truth it was just a friendly sort of thing. Lucy hadn't thought anything of it, but apparently it had been enough to send Natsu over the edge.

One second, she had been standing next to Gray with her small hand in his larger icy ones, and the next she found that he had been replaced with a flame-encased Natsu as Gray sailed through the air to make a shattering impact upon a nearby tree.

Needless to say, what followed was at least a ten minute brawl that resulted in the partial destruction of every tree within a quarter mile radius, but miraculously left the new boards untouched.

Afterwards, once the two males had exhausted themselves to the point of barely being able to stand anymore, Lucy had dragged Natsu off by the ear back to his cabin, where they finished moving furniture out and tearing up the remaining boards in silence. Tension had filled the air as they worked, and every time Natsu looked as if he were about to say something Lucy would shoot him a glare that just dared him to speak, scaring him back into silence.

When Gray had dropped by the cabin to announce that the rest of the new boards just needed sanding, Lucy had come outside and thanked him with a smile, then offered her own help with any renovations that needed to be done in his own home. His raven locks had lazily drifted across his face in the breeze as he laughed and said that her spirits were potentially some of the best construction workers he had seen in a while, his laughter bringing out the sparkle in his dark eyes. She giggled at the thought, imagining the chaos that could ensue if Gemi and Mini were allowed to handle any form of paint, until she considered the things that Aquarius might say if Lucy asked her to perform manual labor, at which point her grin morphed into a somewhat terrified grimace. Gray's quizzical look led her to explain her fears, and they were soon laughing together as they pictured her various spirits doing home repairs.

Meanwhile, Natsu had sulked within the cabin, burning up the last of the damaged boards with a little more vengeance than necessary before stomping outside in the direction of the river, making sure to "accidentally" brush against Gray with just enough force to test the ice mage's balance. Thankfully, Gray had seemed to sense that Lucy was in no mental condition to deal with another all-out brawl, and had graciously let it go, deciding to head home. As he walked down the path, Lucy waved goodbye one last time before emitting a tired sigh and hanging her head in a silent prayer of thanks to whatever forces had gotten her through the day.

All things considered, the job had for the most part been finished, and nobody was injured. Raising her head, she looked in the direction of the setting sun, and paused to appreciate the beauty of the pinks and reds that lingered behind the trees. It reminded her of a sunset she had seen long ago, shortly after she ran away from home.

The shrill cries of seagulls were muted as she gazed at the brilliant hues coloring the horizon of Hargeon port, a smile gracing her lips. Tonight was the night! She would get on that yacht in her prettiest red dress, and use her charm to finally earn her rightful place in Fairy Tail. Oh, Fairy Tail! She had wanted to become a member for so long, and now her lifelong dream was finally within her reach!

Still, she would have to put up with that creep… Ugh. A shudder ran down her spine at the thought of his greasy smirk, and the unashamed evaluation he had given her body when they ran into each other at the park. So creepy… If it hadn't been for that pink-haired idiot… what was his name again? Oh, right. Natsu. If it hadn't been for Natsu showing up, she too would remain under Bora's spell…

Lucy smiled as she considered that. If it hadn't been for Natsu, who knew where she might have ended up! Although her best friend could be unbelievably aggravating, and at times just plain ridiculous, he was a genuine person who had saved her life more times than she could begin to count, and he never ceased to amaze her with the depth of his emotions. Like the season after which he was named, Natsu was the physical embodiment of warmth. A glowing sun that had burst onto the horizon of her life and filled it with more colors than she had ever known existed.

With this in mind, she quietly walked around the house toward the river bank, looking for the flash of pink hair that would mark the presence of the dragon slayer she sought. A short distance from the edge of the woods, there he was. Sitting cross legged on the riverbank with one arm propped on a knee, holding his head while the other mindlessly tossed pebbles at the small eddies gently tumbling in the current. She began to approach, and he glared at the river as he continued his small game, paying her no attention, even when she sat down next to him and began to emulate his actions.

"Natsu…"

His only response was a short grunt. Lucy inhaled deeply and mentally arranged her thoughts into a coherent monologue.

"Natsu, I know that you and Gray don't get along sometimes. Deep down though, he really does care about you, and I know that you care about him too. You're nakama."

At this point, Natsu stopped throwing pebbles, and his face morphed into one of resentful consideration, but he still didn't make eye contact with her. She watched him to make sure that he seemed to be following her train of thought before turning to throw a final pebble of her own, and observe a few salmon fry darting back and forth near the edge of the water in rapid motions that mirrored the tempo of her heart.

"I won't say that I'm sorry for getting frustrated with you, because from my perspective it's totally justifiable. The things you do sometimes just, yeah. But I will say this… You have nothing to worry about when it comes to Gray..."

As one of the fry took a mad leap towards a midge floating downstream, she averted her eyes from the aquatic drama to check Natsu's reaction. He was actually looking at her now, his onyx eyes reflecting confusion mingled with something that she couldn't quite put her finger on… Quickly turning her eyes back toward the water, she continued.

"He and I… I just don't see it ever happening. Not when… not when you are here, Natsu. I guess, what I'm trying to get across is… that I don't feel anything special for Gray. So you don't have to worry about he and I being alone together, because even if he tried something, I wouldn't go for it."

This being said, she looked away from the fry again, who was now happily munching away on the midge, and into the unreadable eyes of her best friend, who was staring at her with the expression of someone who had been recently hit on the head by a club-wielding vulcan. Once again, it appeared he had nothing to say. If he still couldn't understand what she was saying, maybe they weren't ready for this conversation yet. Sighing, she pulled herself to her feet and was beginning to walk back towards the cabin when she felt a warm and calloused hand gently grasp her own.

"Lucy… wait…"

Her heart pounding in her chest, she peered over her shoulder through the blonde curtain of her hair and looked upward through her lashes in askance. He was closer than she had thought, and the scent of cedar and smoke, combined with his warmth, heightened her senses as she pulled in a shaky breath. She gazed into his onyx pools, and he took hesitantly began to speak.

"Lucy, I…"

She waited as he struggled to put words to his thoughts, until eventually he looked at her with fiery determination and swore.

"Fuck it."

And then he was kissing her. She instantly responded, lifting herself onto her toes and wrapping her arms around his torso as his hands cupped her face. Everything she had dreamed of as a kiss from Natsu was there. The passion, the strength, and the heat. His lips were far from gentle, but she would never want something that out of character for him. Natsu was a man of action and unapologetic emotion. What he felt, he shared, and the depth of his feelings for her were carried through his lips onto hers. Like a red-hot brand, he was marking her identity with his own, concentrating years of unspoken yearning into a single blazing moment.

Caught in the whirlwind of passions, Lucy gently pressed the tip of her tongue against his lips, asking for entrance, and he responded quickly by allowing it and invading her own mouth in kind. One of his hands traveled from her face to the back of her head, where he tangled his fingers into her blonde mane, tilting her to allow himself better access. Meanwhile, Lucy's hands tightened their grip on his black jacket, relishing in the feel of the defined muscles hiding beneath the fabric.

All too soon, they were forced to break away for air, but Natsu refused to relinquish his hold on Lucy, enfolding her into his arms and bringing her tighter in to his chest. Lucy inhaled his warm scent and let out a contented exhale, until a sudden thought occurred to her, and she began to giggle.

"What is it?"

Natsu's voice, huskier than normal, reverberated as she giggled into his chest, shaking her head, then pulled back to stare into his quizzical face.

"'Fuck it?' That's one hell of a confession Natsu."

At this, the dragon slayer flashed his signature grin, and kissed her again before replying,

"Never been good with the words Luce."