All Rights to Hiro Mashima

Good day to all you shippers of Nalu. I bring you tidings of great joy. Nalu Week has officially started (yay) and there should be ridiculous amounts of stories to read out there. If you haven't read the opening to this story, I would like to remind you that this is a modern AU with no magic and all seven days, plus the bonus day will be part of the same story.

Happy reading!

(This story goes super-duper fast in terms of the romantic aspect, but with only like…seven freaking chapters I needed something a little…crazy. Fair warning :3 Also, I have nothing against the name Marvin…)

BEWARE! THE INSTANT ATTRACTION! THE PEEPING!

~ Nostalgia ~

In which Natsu realises just how much trouble he's in and Lucy flips shit for an hour before finding her cool again then becomes a peeping Tom.

This entire, giant, Alvarez sized mess of shit started a little over two months ago.

On an entirely normal morning, Lucy had awoken, showered, dressed in some boot cut jeans and a blue t-shirt with silver stars, eaten her customary piece of wholegrain toast with peanut butter, realised she was going to be almost ten minutes late to work and dashed out the door.

Typical morning, nothing new.

Until she had arrived at Crocus' premier magazine producer – Sorcerer Weekly, even though it was a strange name no one questioned it – and her whole adult life was shot to hell.

Her boss, named Jason – who thought everything was so cooooooool – slipped up on her last article. Usually, she was produced under the pseudonym Fairy Heart. Something so innocuous that no one would ever think it was her who wrote the more…investigative pieces in the magazine. She had once interviewed the King of Fiore for Mavis' sake and enjoyed her chat with his daughter Hisui. They corresponded through email on and off, but that wasn't the point.

The point was…Jason had accidentally published a piece of hers, on the MMA fighting expo going on in the Domus Flau – which she was going back for a follow-up piece after all the round robin fighting had finished, two months from then – under her actual name; Lucy Heartfilia.

Most people only knew that name and associated it with the blonde heiress 'Lucky' Lucy who had any number of suitors asking for her hand (and fortune) in marriage. They would have also heard that Lucky Lucy had been missing for almost three full years now, having vanished mysteriously one night without a single note and her whereabouts were unknown.

Until now, at least.

Thousands of copies of the magazine had been printed and shipped out to various vendors across the country, some even making it into Bosco and the outskirts of Seven. There was no way for her to get them all back, so Lucy – after thoroughly freaking out for a little over an hour – decided that there was nothing to be done and she couldn't worry about this.

She knew that word of her existence would make it back to her father somehow and Lucy was tired. Tired of running and always being vigilante and watchful for someone to come and pluck her out of her desk chair and spirit her away back to the Kozern.

She was done running away.

So, Lucy stayed at her job at the magazine, continued to publish under the name Fairy Heart and prayed to all the Gods above and below that her father, one Jude Heartfilia – cold calculating bastard of a man – wouldn't realise that she had been almost right under his nose all this time.

What was that old saying? Keep your friends close but your enemies closer? Yeah. That one. And he was definitely the enemy.

It took almost two full months of silence before anything happened. The day that she was to go back to Domus Flau and interview the two MMA fighters who were to go head to head against each other in an all-out smack down of epic proportions, a gilded letter had shown up in her mail, edges lined in what looked like actual gold leaf, inviting her to a ball.

And not just any ball – who has balls nowadays? It seemed so primitive and old-world – it was a ball to find her husband. Essentially her father was inviting her through a letter – didn't even call her to see how she was – to her own party, to be auctioned off like a prized steer to the highest bidder. Then she would have to marry one of those ridiculous men, have – blech – sex with them and then push out a son, because God forbid she have a beautiful baby daughter.

Oh, no. It was a son or nothing in her father's eyes.

This was the reason she had left in the first place. She didn't want to be an object to be desired. She wanted to be just Lucy, a person with feelings and dreams and her own wants and needs.

But that just wasn't the way of the upper class. Apparently, marriage for love was unheard of and people joining for political reasons were all the rage. The nostalgia of her teenage years washed over her, and not in a good way. It kind of made her want to retch, then cry. She hated everything to do with the Kozern after her dear mother passed. She hadn't thought of that place for months and now she had to go back.

A small typed – Gods, he even had his secretary copy this down so he wouldn't have to waste his expensive ink on her – postscript at the bottom of the page had her squinting in annoyance before groaning.

I will be sending a car for you at six o'clock sharp the evening of the nineteenth.

The driver will escort you to the dining hall when you arrive.

In other words, he was sending Capricorn and most likely Taurus to "chaperon" her – more like hold her hand like a child – so that she wouldn't run away again.

Lucy had glanced at the calendar on her lacrima com and blanched, seeing that the nineteenth was in three days. There wasn't much time to do anything but buy a dress – even though anything she put on would garner nothing but disapproval by her father – and basically sign away her future.

After much deliberation – like…two full minutes of it – she thought screw it and would let Cancer (Her mother's favourite designer and fashion forward friend) take care of all the little details. Lucy decided to make an appointment tomorrow with the man who still called her 'Shrimp' and the burden of dressing herself in something that she wouldn't normally be caught dead in was lifted from her shoulders.

She let Jason know that she would finish the MMA piece, but that it might be her last one as something had come up at home – Jason was privy to her slight freak out earlier and her rant about her father and how her last name brought nothing but trouble – and he looked guiltily at her and gave his apology. Which she accepted gracefully and with a small smile. It wasn't like he knew why she kept her name hidden, but he sure as hell understood now.

Trudging back to her desk, she sorted through everything on her table and placed most of the papers that she had wanted to look into, or projects for the future into a box that she wanted to label "Dreams My Father Fucked Over" and shoved them to the back of her desk.

Lucy searched the internet for some way to get out of an arranged marriage. What else could she do really? Lay down and take his backwards ideals?

Fuck no.

However, two hours and six mildly reputable sites later, she had her answer, and it wasn't really what she wanted.

There were only four ways to either physically or legally get out of this arranged marriage (seriously…this wasn't the dark ages!).

1. A death of one of the parties.

2. A problem with the written contract that results in the nullification of said contract.

3. One of the party's whereabouts is unknown.

4. Marriage to another person before the contract is signed and sealed bearing the crest of both parties.

If Lucy knew her father, that contract would already be drawn up and ready for her signature – as well as her eager husbands – and there was no way that he would make a mistake on anything that would make him richer than he already was. She didn't want to die, and she was done with running.

So.

That left her with one option. Marriage to another person, which was less than likely in the three days that she had left before the ball.

Lucy was suddenly kicking her own ass for not putting herself out there more often over the years, she had barely dated before, and only had a meaningful relationship with a kind man named Drew a year ago that had ended after they found they worked better as friends, and had focused on her writing and the magazine as that had been her dream since a very early age.

She signed off her computer and gathered her purse and keys to her car in the parking lot downstairs, waved at Jason before resigning herself to her fate.

Her hopes soared for a moment when she remembered she still had one last piece to write before she was locked down in some cold mansion with a man who didn't give a crap about her dreams. She would make this her best article yet, and she was determined to give it her all.

Look out world, Lucy fucking Heartfilia was ready to take it by storm (for exactly two days and eleven hours, then she would become nothing better than a doll to some rich billionaire).

-ooo-

The fight between the two headliners had been riveting. Both men were large, had well-defined muscles and trim waists. Although, that was where their similarities had ended.

While Black Steel had been all dark and brooding, scowl plastered on his face and eyes full of determination as black as his hair, Salamander had been the complete opposite. Yes, he had been determined to win, Lucy was sure of it, but the man weaved and dove and struck Black Steel with precision she had never witnessed before. Salamander made MMA fighting look like a goddamn art and with his pink-hair, forest green eyes that seemed to crackle and spark with live flames, tanned skin littered with an array of scars, tattoos and piercings (not as many as Black Steel, seriously the man looked like he had walked into the business end of a tackle box) he was one of the most stunning men Lucy had ever seen in her entire existence.

She watched with bated breath as Salamander had wrangled his opponent into a sleeper hold and used his weight to pin Black Steel to the mats, their limbs twisted in combinations that looked entirely impossible from her angle, the pink-haired man's eyes met hers briefly and he smiled at her.

Not a smirk, not a grin. A full blown toothy smile that made his impossibly perfect white teeth (she was suddenly jealous and wanted to ask him who his dentist was) glint in the light of all the flashing bulbs. His canines were slightly longer than most she'd seen, but it gave him a feral edge that sent shivers down her arms and left her fingers tingling.

Lucy looked around her discretely, was this gorgeous man – who honestly looked so damn lickable even with sweat shimmering on his tensing muscles – actually smiling at her?

Or probably, someone else around her. But Lucy couldn't help the little thrill that ran down her spine when his eyes had met hers. She had to actually look down at her feet to make sure that he hadn't literally blown her socks off before she remembered that she wasn't wearing any, to begin with.

While those around her were dolled up to the nines – did she just see an actual ball gown? – Lucy had opted for comfort over glam. Strappy gladiator sandals, khaki shorts and a blue shirt that accentuated her generous chest without being obvious was the standard. She definitely stood out like a sore thumb.

Maybe that's why the Salamander had been looking at her.

Suddenly she was giddy to interview these two, she had a feeling that whatever she got from them would be enough to make this last piece that she wrote the best one yet.

She could feel it in her bones.

As the bell rang and the winner was announced, Lucy had no doubt that it was Salamander, the fierce fighter that moved like fire and had the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. He caught her eye again and gave her that exact full, tooth exposing smile once again and Lucy all but melted into her seat, but this time, she did send one back his way.

-ooo-

"DRAGNEEL!"

Shit.

He was in trouble. Massive trouble. Especially because his trainer, one Laxus Dreyer, didn't ever call him by his actual given name (usually it was something bitchy that had something to do with his love of fire) unless he was in deep shit.

Natsu backed up against his locker, trying to make his body as small as possible, he didn't need to look like he was trying to challenge the only trainer that could handle his explosive and uppity personality. Granted the massive blonde could probably pile-drive him into the ground using a single finger and that honestly terrified him.

But he would never, ever let anyone know that. He was supposed to be the Salamander, fearless fighter of the MMA. Not Natsu, scared little boy that wet himself whenever Laxus yelled at him.

Although, most would understand his problems. Laxus had made a name for himself once upon a time as the "Thunder God" who to this day, remained undefeated. There was no one at his calibre, except, perhaps Gildarts, but that man was a drunkard lately that couldn't find his own ass with a simple map.

Also, his PR director, Erza, was known as the "Titania" and that brought a huge amount of other crap his way because even she terrified Laxus.

"Why in the hell am I just finding out you're about to be DEPORTED! You dumb piece of shit! When were you going to tell me?" Laxus' eyes sparked with barely contained fury.

Natsu rolled his eyes slightly, mumbling a response that sounded a lot like "didn't wanna die" before whimpering slightly when his trainer through his hands up in the air in the universal sign for 'fuck it.'

"Who's going to fight now dipshit? Who's going to take this shit all the way to the top? I'm going to look like a pussy in front of everyone once they figure out just what the hell is going on! Yes…I have Fullbuster, but even I know he can't hold a candle to you! You're making me look like a sucker here!"

Natsu growled at Laxus' insinuation. "I'm not going anywhere yet. I made peace with the ERA rep that's after my hide and they gave me three more months to figure out a solution, I just…haven't found one yet. Don't worry so much, I'm not going down without a fight."

"When is the dead line?"

"…seven days from now."

If someone could actually physically combust without any outside help, he was sure Laxus was about to do it.

Honestly, the whole thing was ridiculous. Just because the deportation agent – fucking Lahar – had a beef with his older brother Zeref once upon a time didn't mean that he was the same! He had a respectable job, paid his taxes, and didn't make too much trouble for himself, most of the time. He had been born in Seven but had come here when Laxus' grandfather, Makarov, had seen him fighting on the street with a bunch of older kids.

He said that Natsu had promise, and Natsu would only come here and train if his older brother Zeref could come as well.

While Natsu had been under training filled with discipline and rigor, Zeref had decided to do the opposite by starting the very influential gang named Tartaros, blowing up a building that belonged to ERA killing many innocent people (in the name of freedom or chaos or whatever), and then when the law had cracked down…he had fled to Alvarez like the coward he was while letting everyone else take the fall. The only thing they could really get on Zeref was that his visa had expired and was trying to deport him back to his home land so that the authorities in Seven could deal with him. Zeref was crafty and there were no official charges brought down on his head.

His brother was the epitome of an evil genius if he ever saw one, and Natsu hated that he still loved him. Blood was blood, but if came down to it, the family he had made here in Fiore, more specifically in Magnolia wound always come first no matter what.

Natsu kept his last name seeing as people didn't associate him with the Zeref that was essentially a terrorist – not many knew his full name was Zeref Dragneel – but the deportation section of ERA had come after Natsu first when had just turned eighteen, but luckily Makarov had shielded him and made sure everything was in order. He had once petitioned the court for asylum for Natsu on the grounds that Zeref was fucking crazy and could come after him again – his scar on his neck still had phantom pains after all these years – but it was denied because of insufficient evidence or some shit.

So all Natsu could do was keep up with the law, until he forgot once…just once, about his visa renewal. Now, he was in violation of the terms and about to be deported. But he had sucked up to Lahar and his lackey Doranbolt and received an extension.

Which would end, unfortunately, in one week.

He had been desperate enough to call up his trainer's lawyer friend Freed that represented Fairy Tail in everything that had to do with money or justice or criminal charges – Natsu just really liked to fight and didn't tolerate anyone badmouthing Gramps or any of his family – and had found out that to keep fighting here in Fiore he had only a couple of viable options.

Because of who his brother was, it severely cut down on the type of visas that would be allowed to accept. He had applied for full citizen status months before, but the government here was slow and more likely than not, would be denied because of Zeref and Lahar had a stick up his ass a mile long.

One option was the work visa, but that didn't apply because he had never really gone to school for fighting or martial arts, the family petition was out because his only living relative up and vanished leaving nine followers behind that swore vengeance on his whole family should they be released from prison. He wasn't a student, nor was he a tourist.

He used to hold a visa called "Extraordinary Ability" but they weren't handed out to just anyone anymore. So, that left three options.

1. His employer, who was technically Makarov who owned the gym that he trained at, could petition for a "skilled worker" visa.

2. He could get married to someone born and raised here in Fiore before the time limit was up.

3. Say screw you to the man and entirely disregard their rules, live as an illegal alien and go on the lamb like his no good brother. He could run, but he was such a high-profile fighter that he was always being recognised by someone, it wasn't like he could just escape anyways.

Damn his salmon coloured hair to the pits of hell, but he refused to dye it under any circumstances. It was all that was left of his real father, that and a ratty white scarf.

MMA fighters were in such a grey area that they were technically athletes who contracted themselves out under Fiore law so the first option was out, and he didn't want to be anything like Zeref, so that left option two.

Which made him want to cry because who in their right mind would to marry him of all people? He was brash, spoke his mind, cried at every children's movie that involved a dog, owned a blue (yes that's right, blue) cat named Happy, loved fire a bit too much and was a massive child at heart.

Also, he ate enough for three grown men almost every day, and messily if his friends were telling the truth.

Truthfully, he wouldn't mind a wife and a family, he just hadn't found anyone that fired him up like that. Natsu had once thought that Lisanna could be someone who he could comfortably fall in love with, but that just wasn't in the cards for them. They had agreed together that they were better as friends, and she was basically half in love with a woodworker named Bickslow by that time.

Natsu sometimes believed in love at first sight, but at the moment, didn't truly think it would happen to him. He had nothing against those who had all the luck in the world, but it seemed that his had run out.

When he did finally find a woman that could take his shit and weird habits and still love him, then he would marry her the next fucking day.

Because why wait?

At least that's what he used to think before all this deportation nonsense. But, at the most, he would be shipped back to Seven where no one had ever heard his name before and become a firefighter or something.

Actually, that didn't sound half bad.

Natsu nodded to himself as Laxus ranted and raved, calling him names the whole time while taping up his hands. Whatever happened next, would happen and he couldn't think too much about it because he had his last fight against 'Black Steel' – one of his good friends who sometimes fought at Makarov's gym – and he wasn't going to win if he psyched himself out now.

If this was truly his last fight, he would make it one to remember, so that everyone knew his name.

His decision made he knocked his fists together to make sure the tape was correct – just like every time, it was a sort of ritual for him now – and grinned at the irate blonde still scowling down at him.

"What's done is done Laxus. There's nothing we can do about it now."

The Thunder God let out a long slow breath and nodded slightly. "Fine. Whatever. Knock em dead Salamander."

Natsu jumped in place slightly, his excitement building for the upcoming fight. "I'm all fired up!"

Look out world, Natsu fucking Dragneel is ready to take it by storm!

-ooo-

His fight was going better than he thought it would.

It could have something to do with the fact that Black Steel – his actual name was Gajeel Redfox – was slightly distracted by his very pregnant fiancé sitting in the front row looking like she was about to pop and push out his shorty any moment now.

Oh well, it worked in his favour either way. Gajeel was distracted and he had to wait for his child just a little longer, or Levy would finally go into labour and Natsu would become an uncle.

For a split second, Natsu was inexplicably jealous of Gajeel. He had a soon to be wife and was a soon to be a father in his own right. And what did Natsu have?

A fighting career that he might have to leave behind, a terrifying PR director, a sort of cousin in Laxus, Gramps, and thousands of adoring fans. And Happy.

And that's it.

No ring on his finger, no bun in the oven. No house in the suburbs with white picket fence and two and a half dogs to feed.

He burned a bit from the need to experience that, to have a place where he was entirely accepted and could be someone that his girlfriend…wife…lover…friend…whatever could count on to bring home milk or buy her chocolate ice-cream and chicken wings at three in the morning if she had a weird craving that she would eat together in a big bowl that sat on her huge tummy while he talked nonsense to his unborn daughter and son.

Yes. He wanted twins. He was a winner at heart and knew that his little swimmers would do their damndest to make him a father twice over on the first fucking try.

Natsu wanted a home more than anything. Sure Gramps gave him stability and had come to see him as a son over the years, but Natsu was brought from Seven for his fighting skills and potential, not because Makarov had wanted to adopt him.

Essentially he had no one truly close to him and Natsu wanted…someone. He wanted something more.

His train of thought cost him as Black Steel got his focus back after his fiancé had screamed something that sounded a lot like "if you don't get your ass in gear I'm naming this baby Marvin!". Natsu caught a right hook to the jaw that snapped him back to the present and pushed those depressing thoughts back out of his mind.

Future Natsu could deal with that shit. Right now he needed to focus on the man that was hitting him with fists that felt like they were made of iron.

He ducked, then feinted right, then used a sleeper hold on Black Steel to keep him subdued while trying to keep the fucker – who outclassed him in weight alone, the bastard was a heavy one – from slipping out of the hold to get the drop on him.

Natsu tangled his legs with Gajeel's when he felt his hold loosen slightly and they came to a stalemate. With nothing better to do while Black Steel struggled to find leverage, Salamander swept his gaze out towards the chairs and stands that crowed the cage. Flashes temporarily blinded him from fans and the press before his gaze landed on someone who looked a little out of place.

While most were dressed in fancy clothes that looked entirely too uncomfortable, the woman who had captured his attention sat still, pencil at the ready above her notebook, a look of awe in her wide brown eyes which sparkled with something that he couldn't see. She was wearing a simple t-shirt and shorts combo and Natsu liked that she seemed to disregard everyone around her and focused solely on him.

She was beautiful, that much was sure. So Natsu flashed her his best smile, hoping to get a reaction out of her and he was entirely amused to see her look around as if he could be smiling at someone else.

His interest was piqued. Didn't this woman know how enticing she was? Didn't she feel the gazes of the other males in her vicinity? How could she ever doubt that he was giving her his best grin?

He wanted to show off for this pretty stranger a little bit, and he was going to put his all into it. When she wrote about him in whatever paper she represented, she would have to say it was the most exciting fight she had ever witnessed.

Their gaze was broken once again as Gajeel brute forced his way out of the hold and they grappled and tumbled for a while. A grunt tore from his lips and Black Steel laughed his stupid 'gihi' as the wind was knocked out from his chest from a well-placed knee to the gut.

Natsu backed off and chose to circle instead, calculating the best angles and looking for his chance to end this once and for all. He wanted the title of 'Best in Fiore,' he owed it to himself for all the shit he had to put up with in his life, owed it to Gramps and Laxus and Erza too. But he also owed it to that mystery woman who had given him her complete attention, if only for a moment.

Gajeel left his left flank unguarded and Natsu saw the opportunity and took it. Thirty seconds later, Black Steel had tapped out and the ref was lifting the Salamander's fist up, announcing for all to see that he was the champion.

Finally.

Natsu heaved for breath and searched for that blonde that he had seen before. If he was truly leaving soon back to Seven, he would take any chance at being happy here in Fiore he could take, even if that only meant that he got a smile from a pretty woman.

Their eyes connected once again across the crowd and he sent her another overly enthusiastic grin that he knew lit his face up, but he just couldn't help it.

He had won.

And this mystery woman, this unknown stranger, was the only one who he felt he had a connection with – however tenuous and small – and he wanted to share this feeling with her, and only her.

To Natsu's surprise and delight, she smiled back, and damn if that didn't that make him feel like he was on top of the world.

-ooo-

"Thank you Gajeel, I know you probably want to get back home, I'm sorry about all those questions. You did come out all this way and I know it must be hard on both of you, especially Levy." Lucy crossed her legs and shifted into a more comfortable position.

She had nearly sprinted backstage after the fight was over, waved her press badge from Sorcerer Weekly in the guards face quickly before ploughing head long into Black Steel's back. He had picked her up, dusted her off and set her back on her feet before dubbing her "Bunny Girl" and demanded to know what she was doing back there.

After the small blue-haired woman Lucy had learned was his fiancée named Levy McGarden – a fellow bookworm and gatherer of knowledge – had slapped his elbow (she was too short to reach anything else) and told him to play nice, she had wrangled them both into a sitting room to ask the MMA fighter a bunch of questions.

Levy had left to pee once again and Lucy decided that the woman looked adorable as she was eighty percent belly and waddled like a penguin. She was just so cute. Lucy had accidentally said that last part out loud but was surprised to hear laughter come from Gajeel, and they got along swimmingly ever since.

"All good Bunny. The drive back to Magnolia isn't that long, only an hour and a bit. She'll fall asleep helping me navigate…happens every time. Shrimp's been moody lately, so talking to you gives me a bit of a break from her mood swings."

"Pregnancy is pretty insane isn't it?"

"Tell me about it. She pees constantly, is always swelling, and eats weird things. I can't wait till this boy is born, I know he'll be a strong one if what the Shrimp says about him kicking the shit out of her bladder constantly is true."

Lucy could see that he was mostly teasing, but the love and devotion to the woman who was just now waddling her way over to them with both hands pressed to her back was almost blinding.

What I wouldn't give for someone to think that sunlight shone out my ass as well.

"Lu! I think we need to get out of here for the night, this little monster is craving mountains of pancakes with strange toppings," She pulled out a business card from her purse and handed it to the blonde, "Call me and we'll do lunch or just chat or something. I haven't met someone so in love with books in a long time and can't wait for you to tell me what you think about some of my favourites!"

Lucy took the card and stowed it in her back pocket for safe keeping. She smiled sadly at Levy, doubting that they would ever have the chance to become best friends like she knew they would if she didn't have to go back to her father. She didn't live anywhere close to Magnolia – the Kozern was closer to Acalypha than anything – but Lucy vowed to herself right then that if she was ever in the neighbourhood then she would visit Levy and her new little baby. "Thanks, Levy!"

The couple strode out after saying goodnight, playful banter following them out about something to do with the name Marvin before the door swung shut.

Lucy huffed and fell back against the black couch she was now sprawled across. One interview down, one to go.

A bright smile lit her face when she thought about Salamander. Giddiness swept through her at the memory of their little moment before she left the room and made her way down the long hallway reading the names of the multitude of doorways on the left-hand side.

"…maintenance…dressing room A…security…dressing room B…AH!" She had found what she was looking for.

The men's locker room. Gajeel had mentioned that it was the most likely place for Salamander to be after a fight. Apparently, the man took ungodly long hot showers to soothe his muscles or something like that. Lucy had let out a simple 'Amen' because long hot showers – and baths – were the most amazing things in Earthland after a long day.

But now, as she pushed the swinging door open and getting a blast of heated air that was mixed with a ridiculous amount of steam, she realised that there might actually be such a thing as too hot.

And then she realised that she had just barged her way into a men's locker room without knocking or announcing herself beforehand.

How embarrassing.

However, there was no one to witness her blunder – thankfully – so she corrected it by yelling out into the haze, hoping that Salamander was truly in here and not someone else.

"OI! Salamander! You in here?"

Not her finest hour, but she was tired and a bit wound up, so her politeness had already gone the way of the dodo bird.

A figure pushed his way through the steam coming to stop before her. The man was covered by a white towel around his waist – showing off that delicious 'V' that Lucy hadn't even known she could find sexy before – scrubbing another white terrycloth towel through his salmon locks.

"Yah. Erza…couldn't you just wait outside?! I know we used to bathe together as children but damn it I don't need help with my back- Oh. You aren't Erza."

Speechless, all Lucy could do was shake her head.

The man before her that looked like he was chiselled from marble and designed by the Gods himself smiled as recognition lit in his eyes. "It's you! The weird one!"

"Eh? Weird? What the hell does that mean?" The strange compliment from Salamander seemed to be enough to knock some sense into Lucy.

He grinned and tossed his towel away to the side. "I didn't mean to insult you, I just meant that you didn't dress all fancy-like. You look…comfortable." His eyes raked up and down her body like a physical caress and Lucy couldn't even deny the shiver if she wanted to.

"Why waste money on a dress for one night? I'll never understand the need for extravagance. Give me a t-shirt and jeans and I'm a happy woman."

The man threw his hands up in the air. "Thank the Gods someone understands. I knew I liked you! By the way, names Natsu…Natsu Dragneel."

Lucy stood for a moment in stunned silence before she gripped the hand he offered and shook it robotically. "…Dragneel?" She whispered.

"Yah? What about it?" He looked at her sceptically. Perhaps this woman was even weirder than he originally thought.

Her voice was still lowered when she answered. "I was the one who covered the bombing of ERA. I write for Sorcerer Weekly usually, but freelance for the local paper under the name Fairy Heart."

Natsu ripped his hand out of hers as if he was physically burned by her statement. Lucy scrambled for the words she needed to keep him from running away like his eyes told her he would. Away from this situation, away from her. He looked so panicked and worried that it seemed like he was a small child to her and that didn't sit right with Lucy in any way.

"Wait! Believe me, I know what it means to be related to someone whose name is all that people look at. Please…Don't worry. Just because Zeref's your brother, doesn't mean you're anything like him." And she did believe that. This man before her, so full of joy and passion and drive was nothing like the cold, calculating murderer of all those innocents.

"How do you know what it feels like? No one really understands…" His eyes were still wary, but they pleaded with her for something to latch onto, something to show she wasn't lying out her ass for a good story.

Lucy huffed, then looked at her toes. "My name is Lucy." She looked up into his burning deep green eyes. "Lucy…Heartfilia. Heir to the Heartfilia estate." She didn't know why she told him, she had never told anyone her full title outside her boss and the landlady who she rented an apartment from her secret. But he just looked so trustworthy, and it didn't really matter anyways now.

She was going to be shipped off to be married to someone she had never met before, who cared if the world knew her as the pretty little princess Heartfilia who got lost one day and never came home?

"You're the one that ran away all those years ago!" His voice boomed as it bounced off the tiled floor and walls, making Lucy jump and swat his arm playfully.

"SHH! Not so loud! Yes. That was me, I left one day and I don't really want to go back, it was unbearable. So…I know what it's like to have your name dictate who you are, and people watch you because of who you're related to. I understand."

Natsu licked his lips and his easy smile slid back onto his face making Lucy sigh in relief. She really didn't want to lose this chance to speak with this man.

"So…why are you here anyways? Turned in your writing career and became a freelance peeping Tom?"

She snorted. "Obviously, however only in men's locker rooms, I haven't graduated to window watching yet. But I still write on the side, binoculars with night vision attachments are expensive."

He laughed, the sound deep and rich. It seemed to reverberate around them for much longer than it should. "I really like you now. But seriously, why did you come to find me?"

"Oh! For the interview! Didn't your PR director inform you I was coming?"

Natsu's good mood slightly fell, he thought she had snuck back stage to come find him specifically because he was just that good at charming random women with a single smile while he had another man in a head lock. But she was there for the interview that he might have heard Erza mention once before in passing. "I probably wasn't listening. But hold on for a second, I'll put some clothes on and we can go somewhere more comfortable. Feel free to snoop into the other's lockers if you feel like it."

Lucy laughed and raked her gaze down his retreating form. He really did have a nice ass.

He emerged from behind a wall a few minutes later, threw a towel into a bin with many other dirty ones, and pushed her out the door into the long hallway.

Natsu made a split-second decision that would change his entire life when he would look back after many years, this would be the turning point. But there was just something in her eyes, or in her expressions, of maybe it was just…her that made him want to be with her as much as possible.

And if he was leaving back to Seven in a couple of days, he was going to enjoy ever last moment with his new friend. "Want to get a drink? There's a bar attached to the hotel here…"

He chuckled at the way her face lit up with childish glee. "Sure. Lead the way Dragneel."

Grabbing her hand and taking off towards the back door, he shot her a saucy grin. "Don't mind if I do Heartfilia."

Next: Tarot

So get ready for when this story really takes off. :3

It ramps up a bit and speeds through the love and attraction aspect. So like...beware and shit.

Stay Crazy,

LoadedEel