I just want to say a big thank you to leoslady4ever for her sweat review and words. :)

Natsu huffed as he burrowed into the bed and followed the pair with his eyes. Damn his luck at Happy choosing that moment to wake up. He was pretty sure since she hadn't pushed him away after his comment that they would be able to stay put for a while longer. Sighing he realized he couldn't be completely mad at Happy, maybe the little guy's stomach though. As if on cue his own stomach protested it's emptiness. Grumbling he tossed off the blankets and padded his way to the kitchen in search of a snack before breakfast.

That was when he realized something strange. He had never changed his attire before leaving his home last night. So here he was standing in Lucy's kitchen sporting a pair of boxers, a super old and comfortable Fairy Tail insignia shirt and his scarf. It's a wonder he didn't get in trouble for walking around like that last night. Frowning at the thought of being compared to the striping ice queen, he asked, "Hey Luce?" hearing her hum in acknowledgment as he searched her frig he continued, "Ohhh apples!" Shaking his head for getting off track he asked, "Uhhh anyway do I still have some clothes here?"

Luc y was too busy trying to mix the pancake batter to really care if Natsu was rummaging in her frig. She knew there wasn't much in there. However when his actual question came she stopped what she was doing to turn and regard the man standing in the room with her. The sight she took in forced her to try and not choke on the laughter attempting to break free. Given she had seen Natsu in much worse, and even less, attire, that wasn't what it was. What was making her attempt to not laugh was the fact that his boxers were decorated in tiny little chibi style dragons. Some were flying others spitting fire and a few looked to be sleeping on flower beds. The sight of a bed rumpled Natsu wearing something like that was too much.

Natsu frowned while taking a bite of the apple he found. Looking down at himself and back to his partner that looked ready to burst any moment, "Wha?" he grumbled out around his bite.

At his confused reaction she let out the laughter she was holding back. This was too much! He didn't realize that what he was wearing wasn't something a grown man should ever be caught dead in. Then again this was Natsu and for him it was kind of fitting and, dare she say, cute. Noticing the harder she laughed the grumpier he looked she tried so very hard to stop. It took a couple minutes but she finally did compose herself enough to answer his questions. "First of all yes you do have clothes here." Chuckling at her perfect opportunity to tease him she continued, "But I don't know why you'd want to change when you could go out sporting those cute little dragons of yours." She finished pointing at the offending clothing while laughing harder than she did the first time.

Scratching his cheek in an attempt to ease the slight blush forming he attempted to lash out at her, "Dragons aren't cute and little Lucy! They're all big and ferocious and stuff! You know that." Crossing his arms and huffing a bit he tried to look like her laughter wasn't affecting him.

Lucy laughed outright at this, "You're right real dragons are beasts but those… pft…" She couldn't finish her thought because the laughter wouldn't subside. Between his reaction and half assed defense her sides were in pain.

At this point Happy had even joined in on the laughter. He normally didn't pay much attention to clothing but in this case he could admit Lucy had a point. "Natsu…" he giggled, "They are sleeping in… pft… flowers!"

Poor Natsu stood there growling at what was supposed to be his two best friends. All this fuss over a pair of boxers, jeez. "Whatever, just tell me where my damn clothes are and make me some pancakes already."

Her laughter subsided to giggles at this point, "Aww come on Natsu. Don't get mad I was only joking." She smirked. "Honestly they are adorable on you." Her eyes widened at her own admission and she turned around quickly to hide the blush that crept along her face, suddenly finding the batter more interesting again.

Dropping down in front of the now flustered woman Happy tried to stifle his giggles. Looking at his friends red face he called out to her, "Oh Lucy…"

"Stuff if it you damn alley cat." She grumbled.

"But," he giggled again, "You llllliiiike him!"

"KKAAAAA! OUT OUT OUT! LEAVE ME ALONE OR I'LL PULL OUT YOUR WISKERS!" Lucy screeched as she lunged for the ever elusive flying exceed.

"WHAAAAA! Natsu! Lucy's trying to cook me!" Happy wailed as he flew off into the larger part of the apartment.

For his part, Natsu had been standing in shock after Lucy's initial comment. Had she just called him adorable? He twitched at the thought. He wasn't supposed to be adorable damn it! He was a Fairy Tail Mage, a dragon slayer, not some kid! Wendy was the only one that could acceptably fall into all those categories, she was still a little girl after all. Then again she didn't call him adorable she said his boxers were adorable on him. That was the same thing though, right? It would do him no good in the run of things if she thought he was adorable of all things. Hell, he could accept cute, better would be hansom, but ADORABLE? He was getting ready to try and defend himself and possibly get her to take the comment back when he finally noticed Happy in front of her. He only caught the tail end of what they were saying but that seemed to be enough to fix his bruised ego.

For the first time he could remember, when Happy rolled out his signature phrase she didn't deny it. Sure she still threatened the poor little guy but he could see the blush spread across her face. Was it just a slip of her mind or was there something to this? If she did by some chance actually like him in that sense then maybe, just maybe, he didn't have to worry about her pushing him away. Should he test that theory? She seemed to be more accepting of the physical contact he wanted since they woke up this morning. His prior thoughts came to mind again.

"LLLUUCCCYYYYY," he whined walking closer to the now cooking woman, "I'm hungry is breakfast almost done?"

"It would be if you two would leave me alone," she grumbled. Glancing over her shoulder she blushed and looked back to the stove. Did he have to stand so close? Didn't he realize what he was doing to her? She frowned a bit thinking that. He really didn't, she knew that. The fact that he didn't know the meaning of boundaries or personal space had become quite clear within a couple days of knowing him. She jumped suddenly realizing he was peering over her shoulder. Turning slightly she noticed just how close his face was to her, "What?" she squeaked out. She mentally slapped herself for her inability to keep her emotions in check.

Natsu smiled, "Need help?"

Lucy blinked a few times before his words took effect. Not only was he way too close but, did he just offer to help? Clearing her throat in hopes of sounding normal she asked as evenly as she could, "Since when do you help me cook?" She noticed that a simple shrug was his only response. He was acting as if this was normal everyday routine. She couldn't help but think how nice it would be if it was. Blushing at that thought she looked down suddenly, "W-well if y-you w-want to… umm… G-go g-get the p-p-plates and stuff." She cursed herself once more for stuttering like a fool, but sighed in relief when he went to do just what she told him.

Distance was key. That's just what she needed if she was to push down these dumb thoughts and ideas. So what if they woke up the way they did? Who cared if he seemed perfectly content cuddled up to her? They were friends, they should be comfortable with one another. What friend wouldn't be distraught over the actions at the beginning of the July? It was perfectly reasonable that they would be worried over her and want some kind of confirmation she was there, just like her. All this changed nothing! Nodding in determination to herself she vowed that she would try and ignore the evil thoughts going on in her mind. They would eat, dress, and head to the guild where there would be plenty of distractions. Nodding once more in satisfaction she loaded the last of the pancakes on the plate and headed to the table.

For anyone who has read prior works of mine, I know it's unnatural to find me putting AN in my chapters. However I feel gabby lately. I think this is going to be a bit more of a dragged out story then I first anticipated. I have come to enjoy where this is headed, but I feel like I'm leaving out our favorite blue exceed so the next chapter is going to be dedicated to Happy and his thoughts. Should be a fun challenge for myself, seeing as I've never delved into the mind of Happy.