Ok! So we're (finally) moving along with another chappie! I'm so sorry for my absence; July was when the proverbial excrement hit the fan and then we had to deal with a natural disaster and the aftermath on the tail end of August… I won't go into details because that would take up way too much space, but let's just say I'm ready for some normalcy!

I hope that you guys are enjoying this story as much as I am! I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head that I want to include, but I don't know where I want to put each of them yet. They're such small scenes, but I think that they help define relationships (both romantic and platonic) to give the characters depth and believability. If there's anything in particular that you wanna see, please let me know and I'll see if I can squeeze it in with what I've got going on.

Disclaimer: My cat says hi again! She decided that she wanted to mention that she isn't owned by anyone and telling her otherwise will get you a boop on the nose! So I guess I really don't own anything… :P

Hey There… Ch. 5

"Natsu! There is no way that we're walking all the way to my apartment! I live 13 floors above the ground with no elevator, I'm not going to walk all the way there!" Lucy exclaimed as she grabbed the collar of his jacket.

"But Luuuuuussssshhhheeeee!" Natsu whined as he turned around to face the blonde. "I can move about as fast as a car! I'll be way faster than if we get stuck in traffic…" The end of the pinkette's reasoning turned into a soft grumble.

"I'll consider that next time," Lucy huffed as she had to keep a straight face from his antics. "Right now, I have no clothes and my dog is probably worried sick about me. Come on, I'm going to hail a cab." At that, Natsu knew he had been defeated and sulked outside with Lucy as she hailed a cab. As she slid in, Lucy noticed that Natsu looked a little paler than normal and he bit his lip in discomfort… THAT was a little too attractive for Lucy.

"Come on Natsu! At this rate, we're not going to make it this year!" Lucy snapped, trying anything to keep her thoughts to herself. Natsu sighed once more in defeat and sidled into the car next to her. As soon as the door was shut, Natsu turned green, raising a chuckle out of Lucy.

"We're going to Strawberry Street. Anywhere is fine." Lucy quickly told the cabbie, shoved the money in his hand, and they zoomed off without another word. The blonde watched with increasing amusement as Natsu sank further and further into the seat, obviously trying not to hurl on anything.

The silent car ride wasn't over soon enough; Lucy really didn't like seeing Natsu so dull and pathetic. It was totally against his personality to be this passive about anything, which Lucy found that to be surprisingly true despite the fact that she had only known him for a few hours. When the cabbie pulled over on Strawberry Street, he tipped his hat and watched Lucy drag a nearly catatonic Natsu out onto the curb.

As soon as Natsu realized that they had been removed from the moving metal (plastic?) box of death, he laid stomach first on the pavement and kissed it.

"I am never leaving you again," Natsu murmured as he almost lovingly caressed the sidewalk and Lucy was almost jealous… until she realized that AGAIN her mind was getting a little desperate if she was jealous of CONCRETE.

"Are you through with your moment?" Lucy deadpanned. Natsu looked a little sheepish as he quickly stood up and dusted himself off.

"You don't understand the severity of what I just went through."

"No, I don't. Let's just go and get to my apartment already." With that last jab, the pair walked in the direction of Lucy's apartment. They walked in comfortable silence until Natsu snagged Lucy into an alley and pushed her up against a wall.

"What the hell are you t-" Natsu hushed Lucy with a hand over her mouth. He peered around the corner scanned the area to see if they were spotted. He breathed a sigh of relief finding that their followers hadn't found them just yet and as he moved back into the alley, he realized how good the person he was shielding smelled… like Chanel No. 5… he shook his head and grinned at the blond.

"Sorry 'bout that Luce, I saw some more people who were probably not friendly and didn't want them seeing us just yet. Is there an entrance to your building on this side?" At his question, the blonde stopped squirming and drew up her face in thought.

"Yes, the stairway right there can take us to the right floor." The pair then rushed up the 13 flights of stairs and halted at the doorway at the top.

"Okay, I'm going to peek around the door to see if there are any baddies roaming the hall. What's your apartment number? If there's no one nearby, I'll go ahead and sprint that direction."

"It's 1325." Without a reply, Natsu opened the door to find no one in the hallway. He motioned for Lucy to follow and they both bolted for door 1325. After unlocking the door, Natsu slid Lucy behind himself, just in case there were intruders waiting inside and crept into the apartment. He let out a deep breath when his superior senses of hearing and smell didn't detect any new and different human scents recently.

"Okay, we're clear. Just hurry Lucy." With that comment, Lucy huffed and walked into her apartment. Natsu took the opportunity to survey the apartment while Lucy was busy, just in case he'd ever come back; he wasn't one to be caught off guard and knowing the layout was very important.. or at least that was what he told himself.

The apartment was simply yet tastefully furnished, the living area was of moderate size and flowed directly into a similarly proportioned kitchen. There weren't any crazy bold colors; just simple neutral tones with a dash of soft pink here and there to keep it interesting. There was a wood burning fireplace in the far corner that had a few trinkets placed on the mantle. Natsu found it somewhat odd that she didn't have a single family photo on display. He himself didn't have many pictures of his family, but that was hardly surprising given his background.

The pinkette was interrupted from his thoughts with a high-pitched, panicked scream. Without any pause, Natsu sprinted in the direction her heard the noise to find Lucy backed up against the wall and pointing at something across the room from her.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked worriedly, not liking the look of confusion and shock on her face.

"Why is there a talking blue cat in my apartment?" At this, Natsu abruptly spun in the direction she was pointing and saw a blue cat tail waving out of a deep opened drawer.

"Natsu, you've gotta come see what I found!" the cat exclaimed as his head perked up from the drawer.

"You know this cat?" a very angry Lucy asked in a low tone, one that Natsu didn't like at all.

"Yes? He's my cat… Happy…" at this, the cat jumped out of Lucy's drawer with an "Aye!"

"Why the hell is he in my room, going through my drawers?"

"That's a very good question…" Natsu gulped.

"I was getting tired of waiting for Natsu at the guild, so I decided to follow you and see what you were up to." Happy said proudly and looked at Natsu again. "But really Natsu, you should check out some of her clothes, I don't understand what she'd use some of them for… Take a look at these for example!" Happy then held up a skimpy pair of lacy red underwear that was practically see-through. Natsu swallowed and nervously glanced towards an embarrassed and infuriated woman, which read as only one thing in his mind: pain.

"LUCY KIIIICK!" Lucy yelled as a battle cry and decisively bowled over the pink haired man in her room, followed swiftly by yanking the annoying blue cat up by the tail. She glared at the cat, causing him to cower and cry. Once she felt like the message got through to him, Lucy released a wailing furball into the arms of a very stunned and very in pain Natsu.

"Naastuuu! That scary lady is so mean! Not to mention a weirdo for having such weird taste for impractical clothing! What would you even wear this for?" This caused both Lucy and Natsu to blush. Lucy knew exactly what she could use that pair of underwear for, and that it could be very beneficial in the right circumstances…

"Okay!" Natsu said abruptly and gently pulled the cat away from his chest. "I think it's time to leave Lucy alone to finish packing. Where's your dog Lucy? I'll go round it up and get some supplies for it."

"Oh that would be great! Thanks!" Lucy quickly replied, grateful for the change in subject. "My dog is in the hallway bathroom. I just keep him in there when I'm away because it's his favorite room in the apartment. His food and leash should be in the kitchen." And with that, much to Lucy's relief, Natsu stormed out of the room with Happy in tow.

After she watched the door to her room shut, Lucy set to finish her packing. Even though Happy brought them out as a joke, I might wear these one day for a confidence boost. She picked up the lacy panties from where they were dropped on the floor and stuffed them quickly into her suitcase. She then went to go find her toiletry bag in the en suite master bathroom and returned to her bedroom in a thoughtful frown. What else do I need? She quickly realized that she had only packed three days' worth of clothes and quickly discerned that her situation probably wouldn't blow over in a day or two… she then decided that three weeks' worth of clothes would probably be more accurate and if she had to stay longer, she could always find a washer. She made sure to bring a variety of clothes, just in case she would have to travel in different climates as well. When she was finished packing, she zipped the suitcase closed with a satisfied grin.

Natsu needed some air after Happy's little… scene in Lucy's bedroom. He was a red-blooded male after all; it wasn't like he didn't know what Lucy could do with that pair of underwear. He himself hadn't ever been in an… intimate… relationship before, but he'd heard enough from the other male members of his guild. Sometimes heightened senses were a definite drawback…

The pinkette found Lucy's dog very easily. When he opened the door to the bathroom, the little white ball of fluff wobbled around his legs and gave a weird happy bark that sounded more like "puun-puun(?)". At this, Happy stifled a laugh.

"Even her dog is weird Natsu!" Natsu simply grinned and shook his head in amusement as he bent down to pet the dog.

"This dog is very nice Happy. Maybe you should try to make friends with it." Happy had no choice but to heed Natsu's request. The male watched as the cat and dog sniffed each other with mild amusement. After a few moments of watching the two animals interact, Natsu quietly walked to the kitchen and decided to start his search with the cabinet right next to the pantry's door. Behind door number one was the bag of dog food and the leash folded up neatly next to it. Odd, that's exactly where I'd put my pet supplies. The pinkette simply shrugged it off and found a decent sized shoulder bag to put the supplies in.

As he was returning to Lucy's room, he heard her scream once more and rushed to her room to find her being cornered by a black cloaked figure. Natsu cursed under his breath and swung the bag containing the pet supplies at the attacker's head. It connected with a solid thump and the assailant stumbled back a few feet away from the frightened woman. Natsu next dropped the bag and jump kicked the man into the en suite bathroom and shut the door.

"Quickly, we don't have much time," Natsu said as he held the door closed. He shouted for Happy and the blue cat appeared with the shaking white dog a moment later. "It's time to fly the coop buddy. I want you to take Lucy and fly to the guild ok? I'll follow behind to make sure that you get away safely. Here-" he cut off and whipped around the bag holding the pet supplies. He pulled a magical space enhancer charm out of his pocket and dropped it in the bag and watched it glow before he looked at Lucy.

"I'll answer any questions later, I put a charm on the bag so that it'll hold a lot more. Put your suitcase in there and carry it out; I'm going to need my hands free to fight." Lucy just nodded and did as she was told. As soon as the bag was cinched up tight and on Lucy's shoulder, the bathroom door broke open and four black cloaked figures tried to rush out.

The little white dog thought that it was a great time to defend its master and stood on its two wobbly back paws to try to act as a shield. No one noticed, however, that the little dog briefly glowed a dazzling gold before changing back into its current appearance. Natsu had to stifle a laugh at the house pet's antics as he defended himself and the others from the Phantom Lord pursuers.

"Happy, take Lucy and Plue and go!" I'll hold these guys off until you're airborne!" Happy didn't need to be told twice and hauled Lucy out of her bedroom window by wrapping his tail around her. Natsu spied the little dog and pitched it out the window for Lucy to catch. He sighed internally as he watched the trio float further away from the building.

The pinkette was doing well until one of the cloaked figures decided it would be a great idea to start torching the place with a flamethrower. Natsu cursed under his breath as he watched the apartment become engulfed in flames and he knew that he couldn't eat them all for fear of a commotion in front of innocent bystanders. He tried to take in small gulps that would slow down the progression slightly, but realized that he'd have to bail because the guy with the flamethrower just kept hosing down the entire apartment in flames.

Natsu kicked one more Phantom, and leapt out the window to the adjacent rooftop to start his retreat. He really didn't want to get any more involved than he had to at this point. It was already looking bad on him, and if he didn't know any better, he'd think that they were trying to frame him for a magical crime.

He caught up with Happy and Lucy easily and they slowed to watch as the flames started consuming the entire building.

"My apartment," Lucy softly cried and Natsu could feel the sadness in her voice.

"Sorry Luce," Natsu grimly replied and he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed. "Unfortunately, my hands are tied. The fire has become too big and too noticeable for me to try to eat all of the flames. Someone would notice and Fairy Tail would get a lot of heat for it. I would totally do it if there wasn't so much at stake, but with Fairy Tail, the magic council, and Phantom Lord all butting heads, there could be some serious consequences…"

Lucy nodded and brushed away a tear. "It's ok. I know that you didn't do it. I saw those guys with my own eyes use that flamethrower and if you were in a different position, you'd totally go 'vigilante badass' on them and make them sorry they messed with us." At that, Natsu grinned.

"Damn straight Luce! Don't worry! I'll let you have your revenge when we go raid Phantom Lord's guild. I'm sure you'll be a force to be reckoned with! Now let's get you back to Fairy Tail; I think it's time we call it a night."

"I couldn't agree more!"

And one more chappie is off the presses! Yay Happy has made his grand entrance! Teehee! Silly Natsu and his new perverted friend… Thank you again to all you readers. It would be a little pointless to post a story for no one to read it so I appreciate your time greatly! Kudos to anyone who caught my 'hidden" references and extra cheesecake points if you can name where they're from!

I want to give a personal shout out to Alyss Hatter, 4evrDorkly17, Cami-Chan23, Animallover (Sorry I didn't say thank you earlier, my computer was being silly and didn't show your review until later…), and Life Death rabidlovingfangirl for your reviews! I really thank you for all of your support and I hope you will continue on this journey with me! Until then! :D