Here's chapter three :) This one was by me! Update will now be coming on Saturdays because of conflicts. Sorry guys! Be sure to leave us a review and tell us what you think!

Dog Days

Chapter Three: Ollie, Ollie Oxen Free

One dog down, fifteen to go, and only a few hours to go before he's murdered by angry pet owners for losing their dogs.

Fucking great.

Natsu checks his watch for the who the hell knows how many time today, watching the little hands race around in circles, showing time that they don't have pass. It's been nearly twenty minutes since they found Sammy and they haven't seen hide nor hair of any of their other furry children. Dooms Days is getting closer and closer and they have found exactly one dog. One dog, and that's only because some little girl found him first.

He was kind of hoping it would be one of those "the first step is always the hardest" situations, but that is definitely not the case. And to make things even better, the dogs seem to have scattered themselves across the city. Meaning they're going to have to check everywhere, and then repeat the process because the dogs are still on the move.

This is like some hellish game of hide-and-seek and he's losing.

Dammit, he's never been good at this game! He was always too loud to hide without being found and too easily distracted to find anyone. This is like some twisted, childhood nightmare coming back to bite him in the ass.

It's totally because of the strip-poker incident to. He should have known that cheating his girlfriend into taking her clothes off was a bad idea—not that their clothes would have been on at the end of the night anyway—but apparently cheating is so wrong that it'll give you horrible karma for the rest of your life!

He was twenty dammit! He was twenty and it wasn't like he had never seen her naked before! Besides, it's not like Lucy had any complaints when the clothes came off. Actually, she seemed to enjoy it very much when he—moving on!

They are such horrible pet parents. No one is going to want to bring their animals back. Natsu and Lucy will be out of the business. They'll have to drop out of college and live in his father's basement for the next three years while they struggle to find jobs. Their pets will probably be taken away and never seen again. Lucy will leave him for being a deadbeat boyfriend and then he'll be all alone with nothing but his cat and a fish. Unless there's some kind of custody battle, then he'd be alone, because he just knows that Lucy would win.

No. No, no, that is not going to happen, he can't think that way. They will definitely find the dogs before their owners come to collect. He won't have to find a "real" job and Lucy can follow her dream of becoming an author—because he is not going to let something like this ruin that dream for her. He would fight tooth and nail to make sure that she's happy—They'll graduate college next year and he won't end up living in his father's basement until he's thirty. That's not going to happen. Not while he still has…

His fingers slip into his pocket, fingers skimming over something smooth.

Things can't go sour for them. Not yet.

Natsu glances at Lucy out of the corner of his eye, smiling as she hugs the little terrier in her arms just a little bit tighter. She hasn't put Sammy down since they found him, opting to carry the small dog rather than have him walk. Not that Sammy seems to mind at all. He looks perfectly content cuddling up against Lucy, his nose buried against her neck and his tail wagging happily.

A smile tugs at his lips despite the situation. He's just so glad that she's here with him. When he came up with the crazy idea to start a doggy daycare business she agreed right away, a smile lighting up her entire face and a happy giggle bursting from her when he picked her up in his arms, twirling her around as her arms slipped around his shoulders.

Sometimes he can't believe how much faith she has in him. She trusts him completely, to the point where he'll suggest something completely insane and she'll just smile and agree, because she knows that everything will be okay in the end. He's with her and she's with him, so everything is going to end up just fine. They can't fail when they're together.

Lucy giggles, squirming as Sammy licks her neck, tickling her. The dog yips happily, nuzzling her and she gives him a quick kiss.

"Lucy," he blurts, her name slipping from his lips unintentionally, his lips automatically quirking up. He loves the taste of her name on his lips. It's harsh sounding, gruff when he says it, but it's sweet and leaves his heart swelling in his chest and he knows he never wants another name on his tongue.

Her head snaps in his direction, a sunny smile immediately spreading across her face, her lips turning up at the edges as her eyes lock with his. He feels time stop for a single second, like everything is frozen around them and all he can see is her smile and her warm, brown eyes that he get's lost in despite seeing her everyday. He figures that he wants to get lost in her eyes, as sappy as that sounds.

"Natsu," she replies, his name sounding sweet on her lips. He smiles, a thrill running up his back at the sound of his name.

He takes a step closer to her, his arm slipping over her shoulders as they walk down the street. She shifts Sammy in one arm, the other slinking its way around his lean waist, giving him a quick squeeze. "We'll find the dogs," he promises her, leaning over to kiss her temple. "And then we'll pretend this never even happened." Because God help them if the pet parents find out.

He's dealt with them before over smaller, less life-endangering things—such as that one time one of the dogs accidentally swallowed a handful of decorative beads that Lucy had in a vase, which the dogs knocked over and shattered into a billion pieces. Not that Natsu really cared. It was an ugly vase—and nearly had a very important body part ripped off by Princess's owner Butch, a tall, scary-looking tattoo artist that happens to love his baby very, very much. Natsu nearly pissed himself when Butch came knocking on their door at two in the morning after that incident. He was more than terrified when Lucy went to answer the door—because Butch could have easily snapped her in half and he was scared the other man was going to kill his girlfriend for what happened to his dog.

It was almost funny. How all five feet of Lucy woke up at two in the morning to find a six-and-a-half-feet tall biker dude with tattoos covering his arms and piercings on his face standing at the door. She stared him down though, arms crossed over he chest as she glared at him, tapping her bare feet against the cold floor as he rambled on and on about safety and how they need to be more responsible and then—get this, he said he understood that it was "all Natsu's fault" but she should really "learn to control her boyfriend."

He looked over her head to lock eyes with Natsu as he said that, giving him a ferocious glare and all but snarling at him. then, he just left, like none of that even happened.

Natsu didn't sleep that night.

Lucy laughs, bringing him back to the present. "You're just scared Butch will find out," she teases, nudging him with her shoulder, her fingers playing with the waistband of his pants, tickling him as she grazes his hip.

"Damn right I'm scared," he laughs. "He stood outside of our house in the middle of the night and threatened to cut off my—"

"He did not!" she protests, giggling. "He just said to be more careful and that if something happened again, he wouldn't be bringing Princess back," she sends him a look, rolling her eyes at the dubious look he sends her.

Yeah, that is totally not what happened. As soon as Lucy turned her back, Butch made a very threatening snipping motion with his fingers.

He's no genius, but he knows that that is not something friendly.

"Does that mean if we tell him about this I'll never have to see that demon again?" he asks jokingly. Okay, maybe half-jokingly. He loathes that dog. He would agree to never kiss Lucy again if it meant never having to see the she-beast again. Nah, that's a filthy lie! He loves kissing Lucy way too much to never do it again. It's kind of funny actually. Them kissing is what got them into this mess. Oops. "Because I am totally okay with that."

"Natsu!" she laughs, shoving him playfully. He gives her a goofy grin and she shakes her head, smiling as she sets Sammy down. Her grin slips away, sadness clouding her eyes as she bites her lip, tears shinning in her eyes. "We can do this, right?" she whispers, voice cracking. "We can find the dogs before anything bad happens to them?"

He stops her on the sidewalk, paying no attention to the dirty looks he gets from people trying to pass them, and turns her to face him with a gentle hand, taking her face in both of his hands, thumbs stroking her soft skin. "Of course we can," he promises, leaning down to press a chaste kiss to her lips. The contact doesn't last nearly long enough for him, but he pulls back nonetheless. Natsu smiles, bumping his nose against hers, making a smile creep onto her face. "We're in this together," he reminds her. "And together we can do anything."

She nods, giving him another quick kiss before pulling away. "I know," she whispers back. Sammy "woof"s in agreement, standing on his back legs to place his feet against Natsu's knee, furry tail wagging excitedly. Lucy giggles, shifting to rest her forehead against his shoulder. "I love you," she tells him softly, nuzzling his neck.

His lips press to her temple, a low, happy sound rumbling in his chest. "I love you too," he replies, eyes slipping shut as he holds her to his chest, an arm slipping around her back as he tugs her closer. At their feet, Sammy yips happily, jumping up and down and chasing his tail. Natsu smiles, watching the happy little dog for a moment before shifting Lucy in his arms, nudging her with his nose. She pulls back, lips turned up and determination shining in her eyes. He takes her free hand in his, tugging on her fingers and turning towards the street. Lucy does the same, both of them looking for cars.

It's not a car that they see though.

Beside him, Lucy gasps, her eyes widening in shock. Natsu's mouth drops open, a disbelieving look plastered across his face as his eyebrows screw together, his head cocking to the right as he forgets how to breathe for a second. Both of them stare at the sight before them, the sound of wheels against pavement filling their ears. Even Sammy stops to look.

"Lucy…" he trails off, swallowing thickly. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing, or did I just bump my head really hard earlier?" There's no way this could be real. He has to be dreaming. Things like this don't just happen in real life. Right?

He squeezes her hand slightly and she squeezes back twice as strong. "No," she squeaks. "No, I see it too."

Both young adults simply watch, completely flabbergasted, as Scooter the border collie rolls by them on a skateboard his leash flapping in the wind behind him and a couple of angry teenagers chasing after him and shouting as he continues down the hill, tail wagging and tongue hanging out.

"What in the world?" Lucy murmurs.

"Hey, dog!" one of the kids shouts, pushing his blond hair out of his eyes as he chases after Scooter. The kid nearly trips, but manages to catch himself before face planting—which Natsu would have loved to see! Seriously, that would have made his day!—onto the concrete. "Give me back my board!" the kid screeches, shaking a fist at the retreating animal before disappearing down the hill.

"Sting!" another kids—a shorter, dark-haired male with a bored, frustrated look on his face—shouts, trying to keep up with his friend. "Slow down! The dog will stop at the bottom of the street and you can get the board back! Just calm down!" The second kid blazes passed them.

Two more kids run by, a boy and a girl holding hands, the boy with a board tucked under his free arm and the struggling to keep up with his fast pace, her blue hair billowing out behind her. "Sting! Rogue!" the boy shouts. "Guys wait up!"

Ahh, teenagers. To be young again. Wait, he isn't even that old! He's like, twenty-two. Probably. He'll have to ask Lucy when they get home. Hopefully she won't laugh.

Natsu glances down at Lucy, blinking at her, and she stares back at him, a blank look on her face. Between them, Sammy yips, hopping up and down, happy to see his furry friend. The footsteps disappear, but Natsu can still hear that one kid-Sting or something-what the hell kind of a name is "Sting?" What idiot names their kid "Sting?" And wasn't the other one called "Rogue?" What are the other two called? "Romeo" and "Juliet?" Hah! That would be a riot!"-shouting obscenities after the retreating dog.

"Well…" he trails off, still confused as he stares down at Lucy, hoping she can figure this weird situation out, because he certainly can't. Like, what just happened? Why was Scooter on a skateboard? Wait, did he steal it? Goddamn—the dog's a thief! He's going to end up in puppy jail—or something, and that is probably not a good thing.

It would have been funnier if Scooter was on a scooter, but whatever. Maybe they can try that next week… you know, assuming they aren't fired.

"Umm…" Lucy tilts her head to the side, a frown pulling at her lips. "We found Scooter," she whispers, her eyes leaving his to go back to the street. They just stand there for several seconds, more than a little bit confused. Sammy barks again, gaining Natsu's attention as he bounces around, twirling in circles and staring after Scooter with big, sad eyes, obviously wanting to be with his friend.

"Natsu?" Lucy whispers, tugging at his fingers. He glances down, momentarily entranced by her hand in his. He'll never get over the fact that his hand is so much bigger than hers. Her little palm soft against his calloused skin, slightly cooler than his own warm skin. She tugs his hand again, impatient this time. "Natsu!"

His head snaps in her direction. "What!?" he yelps, shocked by the urgency in her voice.

Her eyes meet his, big and terrified and all sorts of other emotions that he can't even begin to figure out. He knows he doesn't like it though. He never wants her to be scared, not while he's right beside her because that means he's doing something wrong. She isn't supposed to be scared or upset while he's holding her hand.

Her mouth opens, but she doesn't say anything, just closes it again, her eyes glossy, like they are when she's about to cry and—oh shit! He turns to her fully, cupping her face in his big hands. "Lucy, what's wrong?" he asks, ducking his face down next to hers, eyes pleading with her as his nose brushes her cheek.

The fingers of her free hand curl into his shirt, squeezing tightly. "Natsu," she repeats, slower this time. "Scooter is getting away. And he's really, really fast." His heart drops into his stomach and he winces. Yeah, he kind of forgot about that part.

"You were in cross-country back in high school, right?" he asks.

She nods, "Well, yeah, but that was almost four years ago and—"

"Great!" he cuts her off, grabbing her hand and whirling around on his heel. "Let's go!" He bolts forward, nearly pulling her to the ground do to the sudden change in gravity. She yelps, but manages to stay on her feet as he nearly yanks her arm off.

(Sometimes she forgets that he plays sports. Even though that should be impossible because he is really, really fit. Like, what the heck? He's only twenty-one, he shouldn't be that built. Not that she's complaining.)

Sammy barks in excitement, running as fast as his little legs can go, which is surprisingly fast for a little dog. Natsu grins, tightening his grip on Lucy as the chase after the teenagers chasing after their dog. What an adventure!

Lucy laughs behind him, nearly tripping but managing to catch herself as she speeds up, keeping pace with her boyfriend. He grins over his shoulder at her, his eyes crinkling up at the edges. A chuckle escapes him and he shakes his head, pulling her down the street with him as they go after the convict dog.

Together they stumble, laughing—somewhat hysterically, but laughing is always good for you, right? It helps ease the tension and stress—and boy do they have a lot of stress right now.

They stop at the bottom of the hill, both out of breath from the running, Lucy more so than Natsu, but that's besides the point. He's totally not bragging about how in shape he is. What with college hockey in the winter.

Lucy gasps at what they see, trying to hold back the laugh bubbling in her chest.

Natsu isn't quite as tactful.

He bursts into laughter, doubling over himself as he watches the three teenage boys take turns eating dirt as they try to catch Scooter—who has the skateboard in his mouth and is running around like he's playing the best game ever—who merely dances out of their reach, tail wagging happily. The girl stands behind the three boys, peeking at them between her fingers and cringing when her boyfriend hits the ground—well, Natsu assumes it's her boyfriend. They were holding hands after all. Then again, he and Lucy used to hold hands all the time before they were dating. Maybe these kids are like that.

Natsu collapses on his knees when the blond lunges for Scooter, who merely sidesteps him, ducking out of the way as the two other boys do the same, their heads knocking together painfully as they jump at the same time.

He can feel tears burning at his eyes, that's how funny this is. Above him, Lucy sends him a glare, rolling her eyes as Natsu bites his lip in a poor attempt to hold in his obnoxious laughter. Her glare intensifies, her leg shooting out and kicking him in the stomach. It doesn't hurt, but it does make him lose his breath. Which is bad, because he's still laughing.

The outcome is him laying on the sidewalk, choking as a bunch of teenagers injure themselves in an attempt to get a skateboard. Lucy is not amused.

"Oh, for the love of—Scooter sit!" she snaps, placing her hands on her hips. Sammy freezes, immediately dropping to his butt at the command. Natsu freezes, flinging himself into a sitting position just as quickly. Scooter stops running and sits, the skateboard dropping to the ground and Sting flying over his head because of a poorly timed attempt at retrieval. The other three go stock still, shocked by the authoritative tone.

Damn, he loves it when she gets bossy. Her taking charge is such a huge turn on, usually because it leads to her topping and—Natsu wriggles in his spot, blushing at his own dirty thoughts. Yeah, totally not appropriate for the situation. He should stop that, or something.

Sting pops his head up from the other side of Scooter, quickly grabbing the dogs leash, a smirk pulling at his lips like he's just accomplished something great. Whatever kid, you just took a nosedive into the asphalt. He didn't even stop the dog.

Natsu rolls his eyes, stopping halfway as Lucy steps forward, dropping Sammy's leash into his lap, hips swinging slightly as she walks forward. He immediately zeroes in on the movement, his breath catching in his throat. His eyes trail up her body slowly, watching her move. A smile tugs at his lips, that is, until he notices the blond kid doing the same, his blue eyes wide and his jaw dropped open as he stares at Natsu's girlfriend.

A low growl bubbles in his chest. One of the other boys—the one that's not Rogue—sends him a terrified look, his eyes going wide as the threatening sound tears from Natsu's chest. His hand latches onto the girl's, to which she sends him a strange look. Rogue stays on the ground, propped up on his elbows with a bored expression on his face as he rolls his eyes.

Lucy stops in front of the other blond, one hand on her hip with the other reaching out in front of her as she looks up at him. Sting's eyes practically pop out of his skull as he stares. Natsu snarls again, too quiet for him to hear.

Lucy sighs. "Can I have my dog?" she asks, irritated. Scooter stares up at her, whining slightly as his tail swishes against the ground. He always has been a mama's boy, cuddling with Lucy whenever he got the chance.

Sting's mouth hangs open, his eyes raking up and down her body. "Your what?" he blurts. Rogue smacks himself in the face and the other boy groans, leaning his forehead against the girl's shoulder, who blushes and shakes her head at the scene.

Meanwhile Natsu is fighting the urge to stand up and strangle the kid.

Lucy is less than amused. "My dog," she repeats, slower this time. "The one you're holding." She points at Scooter, who whines again. Yeah, Scooter, you're the dog. Though Natsu thinks there's two dogs over there, one of which he definitely doesn't like.

The taller blond gapes. "I don't know what you're talking about," he tells her, eyes finally—finally—meeting hers. He can't see the expression on Lucy's face, but he knows she's not happy about it, judging by how tense her shoulders are. "But hello, Gorgeous."

"Excuse me?" Lucy snaps, both hands going to her hips as she glares up at him. "You're like fourteen," she replies, words nothing more than a hiss.

Natsu smirks. That's his girl right there. She doesn't take shit from anyone, especially not dweeby skater kids that think they're all that. Suck on that Sting. He would stick his tongue out, but that's immature.

Who is he kidding? He's not mature!

Sting blanches, looking offended. "I'm sixteen!" he cries, eyebrows knitting together, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Serves him right. Unfortunately, he recovers soon enough. "And how old are you, pretty lady?" he asks, trying to be smooth. Natsu cringes at the horrid pick up lines. If he can even call them that.

Lucy shudders. "Too old for you," is all she says, reaching out for the leash once again.

He ignores the hand. "I happen to have a thing for older women," he says, winking. Natsu feels like he's going to puke. Can this get any worse? God, and he thought Bixlow was a horrible flirt. Next time Natsu sees him he's going to have to apologize for all the things he said at the Christmas party—admittedly, some of which was incredibly uncalled for, but that's what Bixlow gets for putting his tongue where it doesn't belong!

A sigh leaves his girlfriend, her hand running through her hair. "Too bad I don't like younger men," she counters, reaching for the leash. Sting moves out of her range, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"Aww, don't be like that, Sweetheart!"

Rogue groans, shaking his head. "Sting just give it up!" he tells his friend, glaring at him. Natsu agrees, Sting should just get the hell out of here before Natsu gets angry, which will happen sooner rather than later

Sting, apparently, does not agree with Rogue, judging by the way he completely ignores his friend. "You know," he continues. "We should go out sometime. I know this really nice place down by—"

"Not interested," she cuts him off, making another grab for Scooter, who's starting to get antsy, his whines becoming more frequent, the young dog not liking being handled by other people. He can tell Lucy is getting frustrated too, not liking the conversation.

"That's too bad I think we'd have a great time together," he says almost lewdly—almost, like it was an accident that it was said that way. There's no malice in his eyes, nor bad intentions, but it doesn't sound right. Lucy flinches at the tone and Natsu's restraint snaps.

His hands clench into fists as he pushes himself to his feet, shoving Sammy's leash into the brunet kid's hand before stomping over to the other two. He places a hand low on Lucy's back, glaring over her head at the younger male, who shrinks back slightly. He doesn't say anything, just glares, softening slightly as Lucy leans back into his chest. His arm slips around her stomach, fingers spread wide over her stomach. A low sound rumbles in his chest and Sting takes a step back.

Lucy sighs, her hand coming up, fingers threading through his. The other three come forward as well, Rogue rolling his eyes at Sting.

"Sorry about him," he apologizes. "He doesn't know when to take a hint," he says, glaring pointedly at Sting, who shrinks back. Rogue turns his bored gaze back to Natsu and Lucy. "I'm Rogue," he tells them, before gesturing with a thumb to the unknown pair. "And that's Romeo," Natsu's eyes widen—there is no possible way—"and Wendy." Dammit! So close!

Wendy smiles at them, waving shyly. Lucy smiles back kindly. Natsu nods at the two, lips quirking up at the edges. Romeo is too busy gawking at Wendy to notice anything else around him, even as Sammy chews on his sneakers.

String gives him a funny look, resting an elbow on his shoulder. "Rogue, why don't you introduce me?" Rogue glares, placing a hand on Sting's face and shoving him away, making him stumble away.

"I don't think they want to know you," Rogue says sarcastically, crossing his arms as Sting pouts. Lucy giggles a little, fingers squeezing Natsu's hand. He smiles, arm tightening around her waist as he presses his chest against her back, kissing her temple lightly, letting his lips linger longer than necessary.

He glances at sting, watching the realization hit him like a hammer. Yeah, eat that kid. Natsu grins against her hair, nuzzling her lightly. Sting has the decency to look ashamed.

"Can I have my dog back now?" Lucy asks, giggling as Natsu's lips brush against her ear.

"How about I give you the dog if you give me a kiss," Sting blurts. Rogue whirls on his heel, open palm smacking against Sting's cheek. "Oww! God I was just kidding!" he snarls, glaring at his friend. "It just kind of slipped out!" Rogue snorts, ripping the leash from his hand and shoving it into Lucy's before grabbing the forgotten skateboard and walking away.

"Sting, I'm telling Yukino you were flirting with another woman." Wendy giggles, dropping Sammy's leash into Lucy's palm, whispering a quick goodbye before following him, Romeo trailing behind her, seemingly in a daze.

"What!?" Sting screams, scrambling after them. "Yukino and I don't even like each other like that!" He stumbles, over the sidewalk, hurrying after them. "Rogue, don't you dare!"

Lucy laughs as they walk away, leaning back against Natsu, who smiles and places a kiss on her bare shoulder. "Hey, Natsu?" she murmurs, glancing at him over her shoulder.

"Yeah?"

She spins in his arms, mindful of the leashes, and presses a quick kiss against his lips.

"Onto the next dog," she whispers against his mouth.

Dammit!

AN: Anyone curious about the Strip poker incident? If we hit 50 reviews, you guys will find out! That means 19 more reviews, and you guys get a special chapter!

Thanks to everyone who's read/reviewed! They make Kaeli and I really happy :) Next chapter will be out on Saturday!