The next few days were mildly uneventful.

They were spent cooped up in the precinct, twiddling my thumbs and watching Natsu and Gray complete paperwork. I had taken to people watching to stave off the intense boredom. Somehow, even while sitting at his desk, Gray managed to randomly remove articles of clothing. I kept track of how many pieces he lost before someone yelled at him. So far, he hadn't gotten past removing his shirt, shoes, and socks. Someone always managed to notice just as he was reaching for his belt, and I was eternally grateful.

Watching Natsu was surprisingly boring. I would've thought that he would be my main source of entertainment; there was no way he could sit and do nothing all day. It's not that he was doing paperwork, really—though I did see him typing from time to time. No, he was sleeping. How a grown man could sleep for the majority of the day, then go home and sleep an entire night was beyond me. The one time I'd tried to follow his example and nap to pass the time, I'd been up half the night that night, unable to sleep.

The other officers in the station were a different story entirely. I'd learned so many things about Magnolia's police force just by watching and eavesdropping. Laxus Dreyer, a detective in his mid-thirties, had apparently been quite the handful earlier in his career. He was the chief of police's grandson, and he felt he deserved the title of captain. He hadn't been pleased when Captain Clive—Call me Gildarts. Everyone does—had been chosen. From what I'd heard, it had caused quite an uproar. Two other detectives, Freed Justine and Bixlow (I'd yet to hear anyone refer to him by any other name, so I didn't know if that was his last name or his first), had taken his side in the matter. Finally, Chief Dreyer had informed Detective Dreyer that if he didn't get his act together, he would be off the force entirely, then sent him to another precinct for a while. I was glad I hadn't been around for that.

I'd heard other things directly from the other officers. Warran seemed to be the office gossip. He knew everything about everyone. He told me all about Max Alors and his weird obsession with cleaning equipment. He'd shared stories of Gray and Natsu, back when they were patrol officers. Not much had changed on that front. Warran had filled me in on the drama involving Gildarts and the brunette woman in the photos, who turned out to be his daughter.

He'd even told me all about Lisanna and Bixlow, and how everyone had been terrified of what Natsu would do when he found out the two were dating, especially since it was after the Detective Dreyer fiasco. Everyone knew that Lisanna was his childhood friend, and some suspected more, and evidently, he had a bit of a temper. Even Bixlow was nervous to tell the pink-haired man about their relationship. The story goes that Bixlow had pulled Natsu aside one day, in the middle of the precinct, and had just let it out. Warran said Natsu had been silent and stiff for a moment, before grabbing the other man by the collar and throwing him up against a wall. He said that Natsu had gotten in his face and told him that if Bixlow ever hurt Lisanna—if she ever came to Natsu crying—he would make sure no one ever found Bixlow's body. This scared him so badly that Bixlow made Lisanna tell Natsu when they got engaged. Warran said that when Natsu found out about that, he was so excited that he grabbed Bixlow into a big hug, congratulating him. Apparently, he'd whispered something into Bixlow's ear that caused him to stiffen, but neither man would fess up to what it was.

As much as he'd tried to hide it from me, Gajeel had a new partner. She was a petite, blue-haired woman named Levy, and Jet and Droy were enamored with her. Gajeel, on the other hand, seemed desperate to avoid her. I hadn't heard any reason for his aversion, and it apparently frustrated the small detective to no end. I'd only seen her once or twice in passing, while she was angrily looking for Gajeel, so I hadn't had an opportunity to talk to her yet.

By the fourth day, I could tell that my questions and conversations were a distraction for the other detectives, so I set about finding another source of entertainment. This came in the form of messing with Natsu. After a stern lecture from Gildarts that morning, he was angrily typing away at his computer. Every now and again, he would drag a hand through his hair in frustration, causing it to spike out in all directions. Staring at his mess of pink spikes, an idea came to mind. I walked quietly to Gray's desk, which was situated behind Natsu's, and grabbed a small stack of scrap paper he used for taking notes. Gray raised an eyebrow at me as I meticulously began to ball up the small squares of paper. I held one finger up to my lips in response and shot a glance at Natsu. Understanding my unspoken explanation, he turned his office chair away from his desk and began to create little balls of paper of his own. When we both had good sized piles, he turned to me.

"What's our objective?" Gray whispered, giving me a playful smile.

"One who gets the most in his hair without him noticing wins," I explained, giving him a smile of my own.

"What happens if I win?" Gray asked cockily. I thought this over for a moment.

"Laundry. Whoever loses has to do the other's laundry for a week." This seemed to impress him.

"You're on."

Gray rolled his shoulders before he threw his first ball of paper. It missed Natsu by a wide margin and landed in the trash can beside him. I snickered quietly before tossing my own ball, nailing him in the shoulder. We both tensed, but Natsu gave no indication that he'd noticed. The next few balls either didn't make it all the way to him, or sailed clear over his head. One of my balls landed neatly on top of his head, and I threw both arms up in a silent cheer. Gray gave me a competitive look before throwing one of his own, lodging it in the disarray that was the back of Natsu's head. The game went on for another five solid minutes, each one of us silently celebrating our victories until Natsu reached up to run his hand through his hair again.

"What…?" he mumbled, feeling weird obstructions in his way. He glanced around him to see small balls of white paper littered over his desk and the floor. I threw my hands up and cheered.

"Yes! I won!"

"How do you figure?" Gray demanded.

"Because you were the last the throw before he noticed. Therefore, you lose, Fullbuster."

"But it wasn't my ball that caused him to notice," he argued, sitting forward. I waved my hand passively.

"Doesn't matter. Plus, I got more in his hair than you did," I added smugly, crossing my arms and daring Gray to argue further. He crossed his own and huffed.

"Man, that sucks. I suck at laundry."

Meanwhile, Natsu had been staring at us with a look of utter confusion. After a moment of listening to our argument, he seemed to catch on to what we had been doing. He opened his mouth, but was drowned out by a female voice.

"Gajeel!"

The three of us turned just in time to see Gajeel's new partner, Levy McGarden, storm into the precinct. She looked absolutely livid. Her face was bright red, her blue hair was slick with sweat, and she was breathing heavily. Her slightly crazed eyes scanned the room, searching for black hair and tanned skin. When she didn't find what she was looking for, she let out a strained scream through clenched teeth.

"I know you're here, Redfox! You can't hide from me, you coward!" Levy yelled, stamping her foot in punctuation. Seeming to calm down after that, she took a deep breath and sank down into the chair at her desk. She ran her hands down her face in defeat as Jet and Droy made their way over to her.

"What did he do this time, Levy?" Jet asked, sitting down in the seat next to her. Droy grabbed a chair from a nearby desk and wheeled it over.

"We'll take care of him for you. Don't you worry. He won't do it again," Droy announced, puffing out his chest. Levy looked over at them both before smiling wearily.

"Don't worry about it, guys," she told them. "He left me at a crime scene again, that's all. And I had to walk all the way back here. Took me an hour," Levy mumbled, her anger seeming to spike again. I felt my own begin to rise. Again? He'd done this to her before? I knew he could be an asshole, but this was pushing it.

Levy seemed to agree. "I just can't believe he would do this to me again! Seriously! I swear, when I get my hands on him…" she trailed off through clenched teeth. She silently seethed for a moment as Jet and Droy continued to coo at her in an attempt to soothe her. Instead of calming down, Levy's face got redder.

"I don't need you two to fight my battles for me!" she snapped, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "I am more than capable of handling an uncooperative coworker on my own!" She turned and looked directly into my eyes. "Can you believe this? Ugh, men, am I right?"

"Totally," I agreed vehemently. Secondhand indignation had risen in me. "That's total BS that Gajeel would leave you at a crime scene and make you walk back. You're in high heels. I can only imagine how much your feet must hurt right now."

"Thank you!" Levy said, throwing her arms around wildly. "You know that the only time Gajeel willingly talks to me, he does nothing but make fun of my height?"

"No!" I gasped. Seriously? He not only ignored her, but he bullied her, too? "You should kick him in the shin the next time you see him. See how much good those long legs do him then."

Levy laughed, leaving her seat to cross the room. "You know, that's a good idea." She extended her hand to me. "I'm Levy McGarden, by the way."

"Lucy," I introduced myself, grasping her hand warmly in mine. We smiled for a moment, reveling in our newly formed friendship, before she pulled away.

"So, how's it been living with those two?" she asked, gesturing to Natsu and Gray. I released a long-suffering sigh.

"It has its ups and downs. Natsu's a great cook, not a great housekeeper. I'm pretty sure Gray kept the house livable, but it still wasn't ideal. It took me three hours the first day to bring it up to my standards. Not to mention they fight…all the time." I ran a hand through my hair, blowing my bangs out of my face. Levy shook her head. We both ignored the two men's indignant protests.

The next few hours continued like that. Levy and I moved on to other topics; our favorite books (Levy was an even more avid reader than I was), our favorite movies, our hobbies ("Oh, Lu, you write? That's amazing! I'm an awful writer, but I love to read. Promise you'll let me read your novel?"). The time just flew by, so it surprised us both when Gray walked up and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Time to go, Lucy," he informed me, not unkindly. I could see that he seemed a little hesitant to break up my little pow wow.

"Oh…" I glanced at the clock. It was well-past seven. Since the detectives were on desk duty, they tended to get off their shifts around dinner time. Natsu was already gone. "Okay."

"Don't worry, Lu! I'll see you tomorrow!" Levy assured me. I smiled. She leaned in conspiratorially. "Maybe you can bring what you have finished of your novel for me to read. I'm really excited about it! It sounds like such an interesting story!"

I was right about to agree when I remembered: I didn't have the novel I had been working on. It had been destroyed back at the safe house. My face fell. I opened my mouth to explain this to her, but stopped short. I turned to Gray.

"Do you think we could stop by the store on the way back?" I asked intently. Gray raised an eyebrow at me.

"I don't see why not. What do you need?"

I smiled. Maybe Dan had torn up my first draft of my story, but he hadn't destroyed it completely. It was still in my head. Talking to Levy had gotten my creative juices flowing again.

When we arrived back at the apartment, a bag with a few notebooks and a pack of pencils in hand, Natsu was just putting dinner on the table.

"Perfect timing!" he beamed at me, gesturing to the food. "Supper's ready."

I couldn't help the giggle that passed through my lips. Supper's ready? Seriously?

The giggle didn't go unnoticed.

"What's so funny?" Natsu demanded. After a second of deliberation, he quickly ran a hand through his hair. Finding nothing, he began to blindly search his back. "You assholes didn't put anything on me again, did you?"

"Maybe she just thought your face was funny looking," Gray offered. "I know I do."

"No one asked for your opinion, Ice Breath. I was asking Lucy," Natsu growled, stepping into Gray's personal space.

"I'm sure Lucy would agree with me, Lava Butt," Gray retaliated, stepping more into Natsu's. That reminded me…

"Why do you guys do that?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. Both men turned to look at me.

"Fight? We hate each other," Natsu deadpanned, as if this fact was obvious. I waved my hand, dismissing his response.

"No, insult each other like that. Every single one has a fire or ice theme. I don't get it."

"Oh, I guess you wouldn't know, huh?" Gray said, rubbing the back of his head, slightly self-conscious. "Here, sit and eat, and I'll explain." Once we were all situated, he continued.

"Me and Fire Face here go way back. We went to high school together." He cringed slightly. "Anyway, we've never gotten along, so everything was a competition for us." That wasn't surprising. "We would compete in everything; sports, pranks, grades…The only class that we were equal in was chemistry."

That one surprised me. Gray being good at chemistry? I mean, sure, yeah, I'd buy that. But Natsu? It's not that I thought he was stupid, I just never imagined that he was very…book smart. Natsu always struck me as the street smart type.

"After months of getting the exact same grade on every assignment, we began to get frustrated. So, we escalated. Started mixing things on our own. Natsu always managed to create flames—didn't matter what chemicals he was using, it always generated fire. I've always been pretty partial to liquid nitrogen."

"Which freezes things," I realized. Gray nodded.

"So, we started trying to one-up each other in chemistry class. I got angry at him one day and called him 'Rotten Pyro,' then he called me 'Pervy Popsicle,' and the rest is history." Gray leaned back, hand on his now bare stomach.

"Ah, I get it!" I exclaimed, snapping at my epiphany. "The reason why you guys don't like each other! It's a fire and ice thing!"

Both men looked at me like I was crazy. "Huh?"

"You know, fire and ice don't get along? Natsu's fire, and you're ice, so obviously you guys would…butt…heads…" The looks they were giving me were making me feel dumb. "You know what? Forget it."

"Whatever you say," Natsu said, before leaning over to Gray and whispering, "I told you she was a weirdo."

"I heard that!" I snapped, grabbing both men's plates. Natsu complained, claiming he wasn't finished. I ignored him and went about clearing the table. As I passed Natsu a second time, I paused.

"The food was very good," I complimented curtly. "Thank you for the meal." Then I was gone. I heard Gray mumble something—something that sounded like Don't even think about it—before Natsu joined me in the kitchen, a dishrag in hand.

"You're very welcome," he said, grabbing the plate I had just finished rinsing to dry it. I ignored him, so he bumped my hip with his. An involuntary giggle escaped my lips before I could stop it. I bumped him back in retaliation. A grin split across Natsu's face as he reached down to poke me in the side. I yelped in surprise, jumping five feet into the air, before swatting his hand away with a fake scowl.

More and more often, this was how I found myself with Natsu. Laughing, joking, bumping hips…it was almost like having a best friend on the playground. It was just so…comfortable. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, relishing in the feeling of serenity that washed over me.

"I haven't felt like this in a long time," I whispered to myself, smiling.

"What do you mean?" Natsu's voice brought me back to the moment. I hadn't realized I'd said that out loud.

"Oh, nothing," I answered, waving my hand in a dismissive gesture and giggling nervously. Natsu didn't buy it.

"No, really. What did you mean?"

I watched him for a long moment, taking in the determined set of his jaw. He wasn't going to let this go any time soon. I let out a deep sigh, looking for my words.

"Well…I just…haven't been this…comfortable in a long time," I confessed, looking into the empty sink. Natsu leaned his arm against the counter, looking confused.

"You didn't feel comfortable with your ex?" he questioned me, his face open. It didn't sound like a judgement; he was simply curious. I relaxed slightly.

"I mean, there was a time…" I trailed off, remembering better times in mine and Dan's relationship. I shook my head to clear it of the cobwebs. "It doesn't matter. Don't worry about it."

Natsu shook his head as well. "It does matter. It was a time when you were happy. It's okay to remember the happy times, even if they hurt now."

This opened the flood gates. I told Natsu all about Dan and how he was so charming when we first met. How I felt so special, because he wanted to spend time with someone who was so much younger. I was only twenty-one when we met. He was twenty-six. I told Natsu about the happy times. About how Dan would bring me flowers randomly, how he would text me out of the blue just to tell me that he missed me, how he would insist that he pay on our dates…

Then I told him about how Dan changed. How it had been so gradual…I hadn't even noticed at first. How it had started with jokes. Jokes about my weight, about my height, about my breast size. Whenever I would call him out on them, Dan would insist that he had only been joking. C'mon Lulu, he'd tell me, It's just a joke. You can take a joke, right? Then, things escalated. He would make comments about the people I spent time with, about my writing, about my modelling. He would criticize the movies I liked, the books I read, the music I listened to. It began to bother me, so I quit watching those movies, reading those books, and listening to those songs. I started spending less and less time with my friends, just because it was easier than arguing with Dan about them. Then, the jokes about my appearance became legitimate sneers. My shirts were too low cut. My shorts were too short. My toes looked funny, so I probably shouldn't wear flip flops anymore. Changing my appearance was a harder fight, but eventually I gave in.

Sitting on the couch, me cross legged and him with one leg pulled up, I told him about my modelling. I explained to Natsu just how difficult it was, which seemed to surprise him. He told me that even though he had known Mira forever, knew she modeled, it never occurred to him that there would be actual skill involved. I told Natsu about my writing; about stories I'd written, and ones I hadn't. I told him about scenes that had made me cry, scenes that made me laugh, and scenes that were so badly written they made me cringe. He laughed, offered encouraging comments, but didn't truly interrupt. For the first time in a very long time, I had someone who was genuinely interested in what I had to say. Never once during our conversation did I feel like I was boring him, or annoying him, or burdening him.

Natsu, in turn, told me about how he became a detective. He told me about growing up with Gray, who's adoptive mother was a cop. Natsu's dad was one, too, and when they found out that they had children so close in age, they began setting up playdates. He told me about meeting Erza when he was in middle school, and how she made it her personal mission to stop any and all fights he had with Gray—violently. He told me about high school, his relationship with Lisanna, and then about her accident. He confessed to feeling relieved when she said she just wanted to be friends—it was all he ever wanted. Natsu told me about the teachers he liked, the ones he hated, and the ones he could hardly remember. He told me about how pissed he was when he saw Gray in his class that first day in the academy—and about how relieved he felt to see a familiar face.

Gray went to bed, so we lowered our voices. I told Natsu about my parents; how when my mom died, my dad kind of shut down. I told him about growing up in a mansion filled with staff, and never feeling more alone. I told him about how I would visit my mother's grave, which was located on the property, every day and tell her about my day. How I would tell her all of my problems, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to give me solutions. I told him about running away when I was sixteen, living on my own for two years, before my father came to find me. I told him about our tentative reconciliation, about how our relationship had been improving, until I met Dan. I confessed that I actually kind of missed him.

Natsu told me about his own father. He told me about being adopted when he was a child; his parents died in an accident and his older brother was unable to take care of him. He told me about waffles and Saturday morning cartoons. He explained that Igneel, his father, insisted on eating everything with hot sauce. It's an acquired taste, he told me, chuckling. Natsu told me that even though he grew up in a one-child household, he never really felt lonely.

He told me about Igneel's disappearance when he was fourteen. How he had shown up at the precinct every day for months, begging for information on the case. How Gildarts had taken notice, and had offered Natsu a job at his precinct the moment Natsu graduated from the academy. He sneered as he recanted the incompetence of the detective on the case. About how it felt to go years without hearing anything. His voice had cracked as he told me about the police finding Igneel's remains. Apparently, he had been dead for a long time. According to the coroner, Igneel had been murdered. Natsu's fists clenched as he informed me that they never found his killer. He confided to me that that was the major reason why he became a detective in the first place—so that no other family had to go so long without closure.

It was only when I could hardly keep my eyes open anymore that we parted for the night. A quick glance at the clock about the stove told me that it was around three in the morning. I felt a quick stab of guilt for keeping Natsu up so long, but the sleepy grin he threw me over his shoulder as he disappeared into his bedroom washed it away. I curled up under my comforter on the couch feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It had felt amazing; saying something and having my words mean something to someone. I sighed contentedly as I drifted off to sleep.

No bad dreams tonight.

Oh my goodness, you guys. Surprisingly, this chapter took forever and a day to write. There are quite a few things I'm proud of in the chapter-the largest of which is the bonding scene at the end.

So, I thought this was funny. I received a review asking if Levy would be joining the cast any time soon literally as I was writing her introductory scene. xNightDreamerx, I hope you enjoyed her introduction!

Just as a heads up, it might be a little while before I can get the next chapter out. I turn in my research proposal for my Master's thesis next week, and then have to defend it within two weeks after that, so things are gonna get a little hectic on my end. I promise that I will return to this story as soon as I can.

As always, I would like to thank everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed since the last update from the bottom of my heart. You guys are so encouraging, and every notification really brightens my day. Thanks for sticking with me as long as you have, and I promise to get the next chapter out as soon as things in my life calm down.