Hello again :) For the third time today! I hope you enjoy this chapter! I tried putting in a bit more fluff, I'm not that great at it, sorry :P Thank you for all the reviews! I can't believe I have 51 reviews up to now! It's wonderful and I'm so glad that you all like it! Here we go!

Last time:

~Normal POV~

Erza and Gajeel looked over to each other and gave a small nod before looking at the small blue-haired girl.

"Okay, your knowledge will come in handy," Erza said, rubbing her on the head.

"Yeah, shrimp," Gajeel added, much to Levy's annoyance of being called shrimp.

The three of them then headed outside, thinking of new places to search with Levy at the head of the team.

~Normal POV, Lucy and Natsu~

Lucy was half-asleep, getting tired from waiting for what felt like hours to her, but she heard a rustling in the bushes nearby and put herself on high alert.

Natsu popped out of the bushes and Lucy had just stood with keys in hand, but when she saw it was Natsu, she calmed down and let her hand put the keys back in place.

"Natsu! You scared me!" Lucy scolded, but let herself relax in his presence.

"Oh, sorry," he laughed, scratching the back of his head.

"So, did you get Levy and tell her that Gajeel wanted her help?" Lucy asked, a small smirk appearing.

Natsu nodded quickly, laughing as he said, "Yeah, she seemed pretty eager to help too!"

"That's because she likes him," Lucy explained, remembering how dense Natsu could be.

"I would hope she would like him," he responded.

"What? Really? Why!" Lucy asked, shocked.

"Because, we are all in the same guild! If she didn't like him, that'd be bad on teamwork if they had to work together," Natsu answered with a look that made it seem like what he said was obvious.

"No, Natsu, not like that," she stated, and continued with, "she really likes him, probably almost loves him! Friendship, it is a whole step past that."

He nodded as if he understood, but she knew he probably had no clue what she was talking about.

"Hmm... she likes him more than a friend? That's possible?" he questioned, scratching his head.

"Oh, I should not be telling him this," she thought. "Well, you see, when you like someone like that, you get butterflies in your stomach, and it will start to twist around whenever you see them! Sometimes, if they do something, it can even make them blush too," she explained, trying to think of ways to make him understand.

"Oh, I see! But, what's a blush?" he asked, confusion striking across his face.

"Uggh... Let's see, whenever you feel your face heat up, that is a blush. To someone else, it will appear as if they have suddenly gotten really red," Lucy said, wondering if she should say it could be a mini-sunburn.

He nodded his understanding though, and answered, "So, kinda like what your face does sometimes? You get that redness on your cheeks sometimes! Is that what it is? It looks kinda cu-". He stopped himself, thinking, "Whoa, wait, did I almost say it looked kinda cute! AH! Lucy's weirdness has infected me even more! What do I do?"

Lucy blinked and looked at him thoughtfully before deciding he wasn't going to finish, answering his question, she said, "Yes, Natsu, like how my face turns red sometimes."

As if on cue, her face began to heat up, and she felt herself blushing lightly, she decided to make an example of it, "Like this, Natsu."

"I see! So you can control it?" he asked, excitement in the undertone of his voice.

"No, you can't control it!" she yelled back at him, looking away quickly.

He nodded and smiled, not asking anything else, and suddenly, he got serious again. Natsu looked over his shoulder and ran over to Lucy quickly, standing in front of her. She was about to ask what he was doing, but he covered her mouth, signaling for her to stay quiet. When she nodded, he turned around and faced towards the small opening that was there.

The bushes near the opening began to move slightly, and a figure walked out of the bushes, chuckling lightly. Natsu didn't say a word, and kept Lucy blocked entirely with his body, not letting the person know she was there.

Natsu spoke first, "Hey, ice-for-brains! What are you doing here! Not trust me to look hard enough?"

Gray laughed the insult off and responded, "No, flame-brain, I came here looking for Lucy, I didn't expect to find you here though!"

Natsu frowned at his comment, and smelled the air lightly, it didn't smell like ice block, and he couldn't put his finger on who it did smell like. He watched as the supposed ice mage made his way closer to them, and it hit him who it was.

"Mira! What are you doing here? I thought you stayed in the guild and served drinks all day long," Natsu said, catching the take-over mage by surprise.

"Aww! You caught me, I should've known I couldn't trick your nose Natsu," she exclaimed, letting herself turn back to normal.

He smiled and asked, "Well, what are you doing out here?"

"Oh, a little birdie told me that they had seen Natsu and Lucy together running into the woods. So, I figured I'd take it upon myself to see if this was true or if they were just pulling my leg. I'm glad it's true," Mira responded, her hair blowing lightly in the wind.

"What! Who is this little birdie? Wait, how did you know Lucy was with me!" he responded, letting Lucy come out from behind him.

"I'm not going to let you know my little birdie, or else, it wouldn't be a secret anymore! And, I know because I saw her, you didn't hear or smell me as soon as you should've Natsu, my silly boy. I guess her scent is just too intoxicating for you to realize others quick enough," Mira giggled, waving her hand lightly in the air.

"Natsu, what does she mean?" Lucy asked, slightly alarmed that Mira had in fact snuck up close enough to them to see her before Natsu noticed anyone.

"Nothing, Luce, nothing! I just didn't smell her soon enough, this is my fault, I'm sorry," he apologized, as if he had done something wrong.

"Natsu, don't apologize, you didn't do anything," Lucy responded quickly, not wanting him to feel guilty.

"Don't worry yourselves over me finding you, I won't tell anyone," Mira said suddenly, her warm smile covering her face.

"Really? Thank you so much, Mira!" Lucy answered, running over to the take-over mage and giving her a tight hug.

"No need to thank me, just enjoying my favorite couple getting along," she responded, covering her mouth as she giggled the last part.

Lucy turned red automatically and made her way carefully back to Natsu, not taking her eyes off of Mirajane. Natsu pulled Lucy beside him when she got within arms reach, and he held her tightly, not letting her go until Mirajane disappeared into the shadows once more.

"What was that about?" he asked himself quietly.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Lucy admitted, pulling herself closer to Natsu subconsciously.

"Me too," he agreed.

They stood together like that for a while, before pulling apart when they realized there was no space between them. As soon as they did that, Lucy felt cold once more. She wanted to pull herself back over to her heat source, feeling the evening chill set in.

"Na-natsu?" she shivered, the cold air getting to her quickly.

"Yeah?" he asked, the air not affecting him at all.

"Ca-can I-I stay close to you?" she stuttered, feeling flustered and cold at the same time.

He smiled and pulled her over to him, not letting her get an inch away from him.

"Luce?" Natsu spoke, breaking the still air.

"Yeah?" she responded, turning to face him.

"I.. I feel like something is fluttering around in my stomach, but I haven't ate any of the butterflies you mentioned earlier, how'd they get there?" he asked innocently.

She laughed lightly, and answered, "Natsu, they are always there, it's just, usually, they stay asleep. Only when you are with the person that you really really like do they wake up and move around."

"I see...," he responded quietly, as if he was deep in thought.

Lucy looked up at him a little while longer and smiled lightly, a small blush brushing her cheeks. "That dense dummy, he doesn't even realize he just confessed to me, does he?" she thought as she looked away to the the setting sun.

"Luce?" he said again.

"Yeah?" she answered, feeling a sense of déjà vu.

"Does.. does that mean that I really really like you?" he asked, looking down at her.

"I don't know, Natsu. You have to answer that yourself," she replied, giving him a side glance.

"Luce?" he repeated.

She looked over to him carefully, wondering what he was going to say now, her eyes met his and they locked in place. She felt like she couldn't move at all, even though she knew he wasn't holding her still.

He leaned slightly over her, and she followed his face, her eyes never leaving his.

When his face was only a few centimeters away from hers, he whispered, "Luce, I think I'm in love with you."

Before she had a chance to respond, he pushed his lips onto hers, ever so gently. She closed her eyes quickly this time, and kissed him back, enjoying the moment. Deepening the kiss, he pulled her closer to him, and felt her relax entirely in his arms.

When she licked his bottom lip, he gasped lightly and felt her tongue begin to wrestle against his. He didn't let his confusion distract him, he wanted to win the little contest she seemed to have with him. When he claimed his win by pushing her tongue back into her mouth, he separated from her and looked into her chocolate eyes.

"Natsu, I think I'm in love with you," she echoed his words he had said earlier, and smiled sincerely.

He smiled back in response, a different smile than she had ever seen, a very warm welcoming one. He grabbed her hand without saying a word and led her off, he had smelled Wendy approaching them, and hoped he didn't smell her too late.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :D I think we are definitely coming to a close soon now *thinks she wrote that a few chapters back* this time for sure! Haha, y'all will soon learn what the bet was! :D Come again :)