Natsu's a soldier returning from the war,he's wounded and starved. Until he stumbles upon a small cottage, changing his life forever.

{People will never know how far a little kindness can go}

Natsu stumbled along, trying to control his labored breathing. He bent over on his knees, feeling his rib cage with trembling fingers. He pulled his hand back and squinted at it, feeling slightly lightheaded at the iron scent of blood.

Natsu gulped in a huge breath, continuing on through the forest as best he could. He had to get somewhere soon or he knew what his fate would end up being.

Gotta find someone. Gotta find someone! Was all he could think, frantically searching. He wasn't scared of death anymore, he had seen enough dead bodies to last a lifetime. He was scared of never seeing his family again. He suddenly saw a light ahead, over ecstatic and heart swelling, he ran forward without thinking, tripping on a loose twig. His vision blurred before he faded into darkness, the last thing he saw was a figure walking his way.

Lucy stared down in worry at the now-hopefully-sleeping man on her bed. She blushed slightly at seeing him without a shirt on, having to dress his wounds on his chest. She turned away, brushing her hands together before walking into the kitchen and preparing the man a meal. Anxiety filled her stomach, making her hands shake slightly. How would this man react to being in her house? Would he be rude or worse...?

But what if he was nice? Grateful in fact! Grateful enough to give her a big heap of cash?

Just that thought alone made Lucy swoon with hearts in her eyes. She always needed some extra cash to pay her rent. Lucy scrambled a few eggs before hearing the distinct noise of her bed creaking, a sweat breaking out on her forehead.

She was nervous to meet the pink haired man. By the uniform he was wearing, it seemed he was a soldier in the army. Which meant he might've known her father, or where he is now.

"Ughh where am I?" She heard the deep voice of the male. She gulped down her nervousness, sliding a pancake and three pieces of bacon onto a plate before sucking in a deep breath, walking stiffly back into her room with their breakfast in her hands.

She watched as the man looked up to her, black eyes widened slightly before he jumped up, instantly groaning in pain and curling into himself. Without thinking, Lucy put the breakfast down as quick as possible before jumping to his side, wrapping an arm around his torso and the other under his arm to support him up. She felt him stiffen but gradually relax when she helped him in a better position. She was leaning over him then, gazing into his hypnotic eyes. She could feel the blush crawling onto her neck and up to her cheeks, and by the looks of it, so was the man. But she couldn't look away at the same time, entranced by the man's seemingly dreamy eyes.

"Is that bacon?" His voice broke the silence, bringing Lucy back. She snapped into reality, blushing redder than before, quickly standing up straight and walking over to the plates. She turned around to notice the guy sighing in relief, blushing slightly. She stared sharply at him for a moment before putting his plate down, an awkwardly friendly smile on her face.

"Food!" He yelled happily, startling her. He started to dig in before asking her if she was going to finish hers. She chuckled slightly, knowing he must be hungry from the trip.

After he had calmed down and eaten his meal, Lucy decided it was time to question him.

"So...sir. I saw that you were in the army and..well.." Lucy trailed off, pouting. She didn't really know how to ask him her question.

"Yeah! It was kinda borinng~ They didn't give me extras like you!" He said, looking completely miserable. She couldn't help but giggle, catching the man's attention and making him grin at her.

She was once again startled, her heart beating wildly in her chest at his bright grin. She couldn't help but smile back timidly.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel, who're you?" Natsu decided to ask her. She blinked twice before blushing slightly, bowing her head bashfully.

"I-I'm Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia." She mumbled.

She heard Natsu start to choke, making her sit on the bed next to him, patting his back carefully. Once the choking subsided, he slowly turned to face her, eyes wide and jaw slack.

"Y-you're Lucy Heartfilia?" He asked. Lucy stared at him in confusion, nodding slightly.

"Yeahhh?" She didn't really know how to respond.

Natsu's eyes suddenly went downcast, a mournful frown on his lips.

"I-I-"

"Do you know who Jude Heartfilia is?" Lucy interrupted him, a shining light of hope in her brown eyes as she looked at him eagerly.

"Lucy-"

"Cos' he's my dad, and he was a soldier and since you're here I thought he might've been released, so I was wondering if you knew him-"

"HE'S DEAD!" Natsu roared, eyes burning with angry tears. He hadn't meant to yell at her, but the guilt was building up and it was too much for him.

Silence ripped through the air, tension crackling like lightning. Lucy hadn't moved one inch, hadn't even blinked. She suddenly turned to stare intensely into his eyes, her doe brown ones wide with fear.

"W-what?" Lucy's small voice broke the silence, making Natsu let out a shaky sigh, hiding his face in his hands.

"H-he died...saving me." Natsu whispered the last part, not being able to even look the girl in the eyes.

A sudden sob filled the air, his heart breaking into tiny pieces at the sound of it. Natsu looked up to see Lucy sitting there, crying into herself.

"N-no! He can't be dead! He..he can't be.." Crestfallen, Lucy jumped up quickly and ran as fast as lightning into the bathroom, locking the door and sitting against it. Dejected, Natsu got up, stretching before going to the bathroom door, knocking on it softly.

"Lucy..." Natsu whispered, trying to get the girls attention. She seemed to cry harder at his call, weeping loudly.

Natsu whispered comforting words to the girl, trying to coax her out.

"He always talked about you, said you were his pride and joy. He loved you dearly and never went a day without saying it." Natsu smiled wistfully at the memory. Jude had become a good friend to Natsu, always helping him.

After a few minutes, the sobbing subsided into sniffles when suddenly the door shot open, the girl running into Natsu's arms and wrapping hers around him. She then began to sob into his chest, not caring that she had just met him.

Natsu blushed slightly, picking her up into his arms and carrying her to the bed. He tried setting her down, but she would just hold tighter to him. Giving up, Natsu laid down on the bed with the girl still in his arms, softly petting her hair and letting her cry.

Edit 7/22/13:

I wrote this 10/28/12 so there are bound to be a lot of errors and stuff...? I dunno, but thanks for 400 reviews!~ :D Hope you enjoyed!

Please review, and if you want to take a story then feel free but credit...I...guess?~!