Aimlessly pushing his cart down the isle marked Cleaning Products Isle One, Natsu read the bottles trying to figure out what product would be best for getting rid of years of dirt and rat feces, not to mention gods know what else he might find. He'd passed a few store clerks but was reluctant to talk to them. Years of serving people in silence, or with very few words, he was reluctant to talk to anyone outside of his social circle. Mainly consisting of ilk of his own kind. Drifters, swindlers, anyone that attacked first and asked questions later.

Thanks to that aspect of his life left behind him, he found himself standing in the middle of Isle One questioning the use of bleach versus all purpose cleaner. Right off the top of his head, Natsu knew that bleach and scalding hot water removed blood stains from almost any surface as long as it wasn't fabric or untreated wood. Bleach and scalding hot water was used to clean most if not all surfaces in his old coffeehouse. In Jude's coffeehouse. Just thinking that mans name sent chills down his spine. He'd come this far away through hell and back again to get a fresh start of his own. He would do it to!

Determinedly, Natsu shelved the bleach and tossed the all purpose cleaner in to his cart. Looking at the list he'd written off the top of his head, he worked his way down the isle gathering the other needed supplies. A couple of buckets with mops, a few dozen wash and dust cloths, brooms, dustpans, more all purpose cleaner. Satisfied with his selections and unsure if they would work but willing to give it a shot, Natsu made his way over to the cashier, wandering a side isle looking for dinner.

As he worked his way through the isles, he couldn't help but notice how friendly these people were. All excuse me's and pardons, smiles and shifting of carts so he could make his way through with his. Normally a nice person in public, today this seemed to get under his skin. It was bad enough that he had to deal with that sleaze of a salesman, now he had to deal with the store! All he wanted was to just get back to his bar and begin the process of cleaning it, setting it up to look legitimate, then begin working on his coffeehouse! The sooner he began selling caffeinated items to the desperate and addicted, the sooner he would be able to live normally again. Ignoring the world and blasting his music as he worked nights in his bar and days in his coffeehouse. Simple, right? One would think...Not!

"Hello, Darling! You're a new face in town, mm?"

Fighting the urge to tug his scarf over his lower face and pop in his ear buds, Natsu instead smiled and nodded as he placed all of his cleaning supplies on the belt. The woman scanned the items, seemingly unsurprised. When he took out his wallet and waited for the total, the woman tried to strike up a conversation rather intrusively. Once again the seductive thought of his scarf and ear buds crossed his mind.

"You lookin' for a job, Hun? We're always hiring!"

Taking a look at the store around him, the rotting produce sitting in dirty bins and covered with fruit flies, dirt covered white tiles, half empty shelves, bored looking staff, bad yellowish lighting, elevator music blasting from to obvious speakers and "SMILE you're on camera!" stickers tacked to the cashier tills, all on top of overly nice people blatantly ignoring their crying and screaming children...? Not his idea of a good place to work...! Smiling to the overly kind and intrusive woman, Natsu let slight sadness fill his tone.

"Sorry – ah, Debbie is it? - I actually have a job. I just bought the bar over on Blossom avenue and Lily street. Just today in fact. It's a fixer upper, but it'll be good!"

Debbie's stance and face fell so severely, it was like Natsu had just kicked a puppy in front of her! Did they get brownie points or something for every person they hire?! Paying his bill and grabbing his bags, he smiled once more to the cashiers and the elderly man at the door before setting off in his car once more. Cleaning supplies in hand, he was going to have to pull an all nighter to get this place even close to passing as dirty, never mind clean. To get it actually spotless?! Just thinking about the hours of work ahead already made Natsu's bones ache. It needed to be done! He knew what he was getting in to when he first decided to break away and continue in the illegal business of being a caffeine smuggler, seller and barkeep. Still though, he could allow himself a little bit of self pity, couldn't he!? Geezsh.

As he pulled up in to his new parking space, he took a moment to look at the state of the outside of the building. Cracked side walks, chipping brick on the front of the store surrounded two large windows, one on each side of the thick oaken door. Not the greatest, but it could've been worse, that was for certain! The thing that surprised him the most was the woman that stood in front of the door, seemingly waiting to be let in. If he wasn't really paying attention, he probably wouldn't have noticed her. As he climbed out and grabbed his bags, he peeked once more out of the corner of his eye – she just kept standing there!

"Um, hi. Can I help you?"

Natsu's simple words seemed to be the right ones as a smile broke out over the woman's face brightening it to the point where he found himself smiling right along with her! Looking into her brown eyes, he took in her short – compared to him – height, blonde hair in two low pigtails, white t-shirt and faded blue jeans, right down to the red slip on shoes on her feet. He was about to speak again when her small hand burst in to his line of vision and he found himself again looking in to her brown eyes, automatically taking her hand in his.

"I'm Lucy."

"Dra – ah – Natsu."

"Hello, Draahnatsu!"

Surprisingly enough, a blush raced up his cheeks as he fought it down, gently releasing her hand. All of this begged the question – why was she coming and introducing herself to a complete stranger? Adjusting his bags in his hands, he asked as much of her, earning a laugh in return, soft and sweet. He tried once again to fight down the blush, murmuring instead.

"It's Natsu – just Natsu, by the way. Anyways though, my question?"

"What am I doing here standing in front of my home?"

"You...live in my bar...?

That was defiantly not told to me!

As he plotted ways to hunt down Jon what ever his last name was, Lucy's laugh filled his ears once more, distracting him.

"So you're the new landlord?"

"Wait – what! Landlord? No, no, no – I bought the bar, not an apartment complex! Look, these are heavy, come inside and make yourself useful at least."

Shaking his head at how easily she followed him in – he could've been an axe murderer for all she knew! - he dropped the bags on the nearest and least rickety looking table and began to unpack. He would clean while he tried to work out this whole landlord business. No where in the lease agreement or any of their meetings was it mentioned that this bar had some one – a woman! - living in it!

"Where...exactly do you live, um...Lucy was it?"

"That's not something you ask a woman you just met!"

Caught off guard by her anger and flustered beyond words, Natsu was about to apologize when he noticed the grin fighting at the corners of her lips. When he tried to look fierce, her grin finally broke and he found himself laughing with her. As he sorted supplies and figured out where he wanted to start – the windows – Lucy caught him up to speed with all that was going on involving the bar.

This old building used to be a bar owned by her father. At first it was doing well, she herself worked here in the kitchen as the cook on weekends. All too soon however, the typical thing happened. Competition. Another bar had opened up down the road and it catered to – special needs – of it's clients. The possibilities of what that could mean were thick in the air, though Natsu had a feeling he could guess all to well. Coffeehouse – a secret illegal bar for selling and consuming food and drink with caffeine. A way to get that fix one desired under the nose of the law. It was dangerous to frequent a coffeehouse – to own and run one? The most idiotic and dangerous line of work anyone could have chosen.

A grin slipped over Natsu's lips at the thought of it. He liked to play with fire...so owning and running a coffeehouse was just perfect for some one like him!

Lucy went on to say that her father's bar fell through, he moved out to 'work on his other investments', saying he'd be back. That was just under a year ago. Right around the time that Jude's Coffeehouse was raided, Natsu realized. He couldn't help but thank whatever gods there were that it wasn't just his old coffeehouse that was raided that night! Less focus on them that way. Lucy broke into his thoughts, further explaining her father left her living in the small two room apartment by herself, forcing her to take a job at the local grocery store – she'd been there since then, stocking shelves and working her way to the day shift manager in a few short months. When Natsu casually mentioned Debbie, Lucy laughed once more and explained all he had to do was smile and nod, she would do all the talking. Then the conversation shifted to more unsteady grounds.

"It'll be nice to see this old building in use again, but are you sure that a bar would be the best idea?"

Immediately this question set him on guard. Although she'd asked it in innocence, Natsu didn't survive for thirteen years in the world he had answering questions – even innocent ones – that didn't sit right with him. So instead, he did one of the things he did best – lie. Even if it did feel wrong lying to Lucy...

"Ah...yeah! It's always been my dream to own my own bar. I worked with my – Dad – at his in the back ever since I was a kid...aaand once I was eighteen I waited ten months then I walked out and decided to start my own! So here I am!"

"You're eighteen?"

"Nineteen actually. I ah – just turned nineteen a week ago."

As she gushed over a belated happy birthday to him and how her nineteenth was a few days away, he couldn't help but notice calling Jude his dad was enough to send his guts reeling, instincts going against it. Lucy's gasp as she reached out and took his wrists surprised him enough that he looked down at his hands – and the fire that surrounded them! Gently releasing his wrists, he took a deep breath and gathered his flames under control, his stance shifting defensively as he waited for Lucy's reaction. Expecting questions, fear or even confusion, the normal responses to his body language and reaction, all he simply got was a smile and the jingle of keys in his face. It took him a moment before it finally dawned on him what she was trying to tell him.

"You're a celestial mage!"

"Yes, I am! And judging by what just happened, you're a fire mage...?"

"Yea...ah – fire dragon slayer actually..."

"You're a dragon slayer?! Levy and Gajeel will be so excited!"

Only half listening, Natsu just nodded, grateful she didn't run away screaming. As he tossed the rag aside and sighed, taking in the work that still had to be done – they'd managed to clean only one window on both sides in three hours – he flopped down in to the chair closest to him and groaned. Lucy sat across from him after cleaning the seat and lay her chin in her hand.

"Ya' know, why don't I call Levy and Gajeel? I know they'll come and help clean!"

At this point, any help would be greatly appreciated. To clean the bar and to lighten the strange atmosphere surrounding the last three hours he'd spent with Lucy. Weirdly enough, he'd felt...safe around this strange blonde woman. She'd made him smile and laugh, made him drop down his guard. Made him happy! And that was not a good thing! As she excused herself to make her call, Natsu once again found himself with his head in his hands, this time wondering what the hell he'd just gotten himself in to in the span of five hours...