"And this one covers a substantial retail space with several extra rooms fit for conversion into staff quartering and storage space. There is ample space for tables inside as well as additional rights for pavement side seating."

Lucy followed along after the estate agent and nodded idly at each of the points that she made with her eyes wide. This was the third property that she had visited that day and had been growing thoroughly bored of it. She had a wad of papers in hand describing everything from square footage, the number of power outlets and development permissions. Yet despite this, she had felt no closer to finding a place suitable to start up a new branch of her business. That was until now.

The property seemed ideally suited for her. It was light and airy with wide windows facing out onto the street through which plenty of sunlight shone through. She could envision a wide counter set into the corner with plenty of space behind it for the team of baristas to work in. It was much larger than the original coffee shop and as the estate agent had said, there was plenty of room to put tables in to accommodate for more customers than the other site could ever manage. The idea of pavement seating was also an appealing one, at least for the summer months when the air was too warm and humid to stay indoors.

It was a far cry from the first two properties that they had seen. The first had been much smaller and more dismal than Lucy would have liked. It wasn't much different from the building that Love and Lucky currently occupied; only it felt a great deal less welcoming. Lucy just couldn't see herself establishing a business there. The homely feel was a key part of the experience that Lucy wanted for her customers.

The second hadn't been much better; it was larger but was hidden away in the side alley and largely out of sight. Erza had grumbled that it had a much shadier feel to it than was suitable for the business and even Juvia had agreed. They had ended the viewing before the agent had managed to get five minutes into her sales pitch for the site. After that, Lucy had begun to lose hope for ever finding somewhere that felt like the right place to establish the new Love and Lucky branch. But this third property had soon rekindled the spark inside her.

She looked over to her two friends beside her. Both Erza and Juvia seemed equally impressed by the building and walked around with expressions of reserved wonderment. Lucy looked over the numbers on the sheet in front of her and winced at the price. The rent was a little steep but it wasn't completely unmanageable with some careful budgeting and she wagered that income from the new branch would potentially offset the costs if all went well. She let the agent finish her pitch before looking around the property once more. Both of the other girls looked at her with hopeful smiles and nodded their approval.

Lucy looked at the forms again and quickly ran the numbers for what must have been the thousandth time. She felt the butterflies begin to flutter in the pit of her stomach as she flashed her best smile at the estate agent. Drawing a quick breath, she took the plunge.

"I think we will take it!" She laughed.

The estate agent smiled and produced copies of the required paperwork from within her briefcase. Over the course of the next half an hour, Lucy went over the rental agreements with a cautious eye. She packed them away into her bag and thanked the estate agent one last time before at last the three of them stepped out onto the street again. Lucy sighed thankfully, glad that the search had ended up being a relatively quick and painless one.

"I think this place will do just fine." Erza said with a smile, smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes.

"Juvia agrees, the place was perfect." The blue haired woman concurred.

"Yeah, it's perfect. It's just a little expensive. We may have to hold off on hiring the full number of staff for a while. Refurbishing the interior is going to be a big cost and the profits from the café will be spread quite thin to cover it. But I think we should be ready for a grand opening in a couple of months or so." Lucy stated. The profits from the café were coming through reliably, but it would undoubtedly be quite a hit to get the new place sorted, especially with legal fees and commission costs through the estate agents.

"Perhaps not…" Erza replied cryptically.

"What do you mean?" Lucy enquired with a confused expression.

"You'll see. Concentrate on the legal papers for now and trust the rest to me." The redhead answered with a knowing smile.

Lucy wasn't sure what to say. In the relatively short time that she had known Erza she had come to know the look that was currently on her face. It meant that she was concocting some kind of scheme, a scheme that wouldn't become apparent until the very last moment. Conceding with a shrug of her shoulders, Lucy resigned herself to trusting Erza's judgement. If she said that there was a way to get it all ready for launch in quick time, then Lucy knew it would happen.

That night Lucy sat at home reading through the various résumés that had been brought into the café applying for the new positions that she had advertised. It was a surreal experience for the blonde, given that she had only done so twice before in the time since she had taken over as the owner of Love and Lucky. Her eyes scanned the pages of text but struggled to actually take in the details. They all seemed qualified for the position, but without meeting them for herself, Lucy simply couldn't be certain of their suitability for the role. She had intended to shortlist a few of the applicants but thus far had failed to remove any of them from the running, and the idea of judging people as good enough or not wasn't one that she felt comfortable with.

Sighing, she took up a pen and went through them all, highlighting any spelling errors that had seemingly slipped through the cracks, as well as scanning the various qualifications. After an hour, she had thinned the herd down from twenty applicants to just ten. Sighing with exhaustion, she set the papers aside and groaned to herself. Working so hard for years had been tough, and at times had worn her down to what she had believed to be her limits but the work she had been doing to try and expand the business had been far harder still.

She was just about to haul herself to the kitchen and fix herself a late dinner when she heard a knock at the door. Groaning at the idea of company, she shuffled out into the hall and towards her home's front door. She paused for a moment to lazily tuck away a few loose strands before opening the door. Her fuzzy mind failed to comprehend the person who stood there at first, and so she stared blankly for a long moment. A blush steadily crept over her cheeks as the realisation at who was stood on her doorstep sank in.

"Natsu?" She asked, frantically trying to tidy herself up and smooth out her clothes. She berated herself internally for not having taken the time to make herself presentable.

"Hey Luce!" He replied cheerily, disregarding her blank expression. "Erza said that it had been a long day so I thought I would come by and give you these!"

As he spoke, he held up two brown paper bags with a proud grin on his face.

"I know that you don't really eat properly when you're working late, so I figured that I would come and make sure that you had something good to eat. I can't have you wasting away here all by yourself now can I?"

Lucy's heart beat quickened as she stepped aside to let him in out of the cold. The smell of fresh Chinese food filled the hallway as he came in and made her mouth water uncontrollably. She followed him through to the living room where he directed her to take a seat on the couch while he went through to the kitchen to dish up their food. He returned a minute later carrying two bowls piled high with noodles. Lucy took hers gratefully and gave him a warm smile.

"Thank you Natsu, this was really sweet of you." She said, shooting him a warm smile.

"Nah, don't worry about it Luce. We're friends right? It's our job to look out for each other." He answered, waving it off with a chuckle.

Lucy felt her heart skip a beat. Was that really all that he saw them as, friends? She couldn't help but feel a little dejected at the idea. Perhaps, that was really all that Natsu wanted out of his relationship with her. She frowned a little, feeling a lot more crushed than she might have expected. Shaking it off, she tried to rationalise it. It was just a common turn of phrase; it wasn't as though he had explicitly told her that he wasn't interested. There was still a chance for her.

"Everything okay Lucy?"

Lucy was pulled from her thoughts by his voice. She snapped back to it only to be met with a pair of sage eyes that seemed to pierce right through her. They held a look of concern that she hadn't really seen before. His face was only inches from her's. His lips were so close and yet out of reach. Her cheeks began to burn and take on a brilliant shade of red until she shuffled uncomfortably and finally forced out an answer, stumbling over her words.

"O-oh! Yeah, everything's fine. I uh… I was just thinking about something, that's all!" She managed, cringing at how shrill her voice sounded.

Natsu held her gaze for a moment before the concern in his eyes faded away and he moved back and away again. If he didn't believe her answer then he didn't show it, turning his attention to his noodles and consuming them at an impressive rate. The two of them ate, an awkward silence lasting between them for a long while. Lucy hated it, the normal comfortable atmosphere that usually existed between the two of them was nowhere to be found and had been replaced by an ever growing void. Or so it seemed. She tried to think of a way to break the ice, but nothing came to mind and so the silence between them continued.

After a long while, it was Natsu who finally spoke and when he did he seemed to lack his usual confidence. Looking at him, Lucy thought he more resembled an anxious high schooler than a fully grown adult in his early twenties.

"Hey Luce. I know that we've been hanging out quite a lot lately and that we're always messaging each other…"

This was it, Lucy thought, the final nail in the coffin. Natsu was about to make it clear that he was only interested in a friendship with her. He was about to sink the ship holding her hopes for anything more between them, sink it before it even left the harbour. Though that didn't explain the look on his face, nor the tinge of pink that coloured his cheeks.

"Well I was wondering if you'd like to hang out again sometime but not like we usually do. I thought we could do something a bit more… special, just the two of us…"

By the time he finished Lucy was at a complete loss for words. Her stomach had knotted itself up so tightly that it hurt, and her heart seemed to be doing advanced gymnastics in her chest. Any order that her thoughts had once been in was lost as her brain went into total meltdown. She stared at him blankly for a long moment until the system re-booted and a sense of newfound confidence filled her up.

"Natsu, are you asking me out" She asked in her most playful tone.

"N-no! well… I mean, not unless you wanted me to. I mean I'd really like to go out with you properly but I'll understand if you don't see me that way…" His reply was sheepish and he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. Yet beneath the thick veil of nerves, Lucy could still see the glimmer of hope shining deep within his eyes and it was positively adorable.

She couldn't quite believe it. All of her nerves, uncertainty and worry had faded in an instant to be left only with a sensation of unbridled excitement. It was the final confirmation that she had so desperately been hoping for. Mirth bubbled up within and burst forth until she was laughing uncontrollably. Tears rolled down her cheeks and her sides ached. Drawing breath and fighting to get her words out in between her laughter she gave him his answer.

"Natsu you idiot… Of course I'd like that!" She answered, laughing with a bright grin on her face.

"I-is that a yes?" He asked, his usual self-assured persona returning.

"It's a yes." She confirmed, wrapping him in her arms and squeezing him tightly.

As she held him close, once again savouring the rich and earthy scent of his cologne she thought back on the day's events. It seemed as though her life was moving forward in leaps and bounds so fast that it threatened to run away from her if she wasn't careful. But she had grasped it with both hands, and if one thing was truly certain, it was that she would not be letting go.

She felt her heart swell as she held him close. Just what did this make them now? Were they officially an item, or were they dating? It felt a little too soon to be saying that really, she thought it would be a little more time before either of them could be certain that it was the right move for them to make.

The change in Lucy's demeanour for the following days was obvious to anyone who knew her. She practically danced around the tables in her café, performing delicate pirouettes around her customers with a tray in hand. Never once did she spill so much as a single drop. So it was when Erza pulled her over to one side and gave her a smile.

"Lucy, they're here." She explained with a smile. Lucy nodded her understanding and moved through to the staff room of the café. She seated herself down at one of two chairs behind the table and hurriedly tried to make herself seem presentable. Before long, Juvia came through to join her in the chair beside her. Lucy hastily ordered the small stack of papers on the table in front of her and waited for the applicant to arrive.

This was as had been agreed by the girls in the preceding days while Lucy had been scheduling the interviews. Lucy was to sit in on the interviews as the head interviewer, while Juvia and Erza would switch out and alternate between interviews. Lucy had insisted on them both having a part to play in the hiring process, and so this was the solution that the three of them had composed in response and as far as Lucy was concerned it was the best solution. She simply couldn't afford to close down the coffee shop while interviews were being held, so someone had to remain in front of house to ensure that the customers were still being served. Service might slow down for a while, but it was better than shutting up for the day.

Before a couple of minutes had passed, Erza reappeared in the doorway with a smile on her face. Behind her trailed a young looking woman with long blonde hair and dressed in a smart looking emerald suit. Delicate looking half-moon spectacles rested on the bridge of her nose and behind them were a pair of sharp eyes. She had an imposing aura about her to be sure, that had Lucy frowning slightly. The blonde gestured to the free seat across from her and handed Juvia a copy of the résumé for her to scan through. The two waited for their applicant to take her seat and get herself comfortable before Lucy began to speak.

"So Evergreen, why don't you tell us a little about yourself." Lucy said with a smile.

"Well there isn't much to tell really, I worked as head barista in one of the larger chains in the city for over two years but recently I moved out towards the suburbs. The commute became a little bit unmanageable and the job wasn't what it used to be. I got tired of dealing with droves of droll teenagers and rude customers, so when I saw this position advertised, I thought I should at least apply. Really, I think I am a little over-qualified to return to basic work, but beggars can't be choosers." She explained. Her attitude was matter-of-fact, but the look on her face bespoke a degree of tired experience.

"Well here at 'Love and Lucky' we view our customers as guests more than as just being sources of money. We want them to experience a sensation of relaxation when they come in here, like a sort of home away from home. Were we to offer you the job, how would you ensure that our customers had the most relaxing experience possible with us?" Lucy continued, making notes on Evergreen's answer.

"Well, that is a very specific dynamic and honestly it sounds like a difficult atmosphere to create. Not that it would cause me any trouble that is. It all starts as soon as the customer comes through the door. I would welcome them with a warm smile and maybe welcome them home, if this place really is a home away from home." Evergreen began. Her speech was a little hesitant and it seemed to Lucy that the question had caught her off-guard. "After that I believe it all comes down to the little touches, attention to the details and taking every step possible to make sure that the customers' every little need is met, before the customer even becomes aware of the need themselves."

Juvia nodded and hastily jotted down some quick bullet points. Leaning forward, she levelled an unrelenting gaze at the woman opposite. She remained that way for a long moment before saying anything, but when at last she did speak, Lucy was surprised by the question.

"Lucy's café serves a lot of unique drinks that use her own particular blend of coffee and spices. Would Evergreen be able to memorise and serve all of them to the high standards that Lucy has spent years building a reputation for?" Juvia asked. Lucy couldn't help but smile at hearing her friend's words, feeling warmth in her heart at the sentiment behind it.

"Well of course I can!" Evergreen answered almost indignantly. "Memorizing a few recipes shouldn't prove too difficult for me."

Lucy nodded with a smile before writing a few more notes onto her jotters pad. The interview went on in much the same way, with Lucy or Juvia posing questions that related to the rather specific atmosphere that Love and Lucy sought to create, all the while making notes of Evergreen's answers. The answers that she gave were exemplary, but something just didn't seem to check out with Lucy. It almost seemed like Evergreen viewed the whole experience as an unnecessary use of time. Double checking over her notes and making sure that all of the important bases had been covered, Lucy set aside her pen.

"Thank you for coming in today. We have a few more candidates to interview over the coming days but we will be in touch once we have made our final selections. Please feel free to grab a free coffee on your way out and try our special blends." Lucy said with a sense of finality, offering a handshake. Evergreen took it, though the look in her eyes seemed to suggest that she wasn't entirely contented with the way in which the interview had concluded. Evergreen turned and left the room. Once she had gone, Lucy turned to look at her best friend with a frown.

"What did Lucy think?" Juvia asked, already confident of the answer.

"I think she had a real attitude problem." Lucy answered, puffing out her cheeks a little. "I just hope the others aren't as bad… No matter how rude she was, we can't deny that she had the right idea when it came to service and she is more than qualified for the position."

"Juvia is sure that Lucy will find a better candidate soon!" the blue-haired barista replied.

The rest of the week went by in much the same way. Lucy made her way into the café, and would sit through however many interviews that were scheduled for the day before closing up and finally going home. Some went better than others but despite that, Lucy could feel her optimism steadily wearing down. Despite the insistences of her friends that she would find the candidates, Lucy remained unsure.

By the end of the weekend, Lucy had settled on two candidates that she thought would fit the role. Both were polite young women, if a little shy. But that wouldn't matter really. Juvia had been shy when she had first come to work at the café, and she had quickly become a truly valuable addition to the business. No, Lucy was confident that Kinana and Laki (for that was the names of her newest employees) would work out well, both Juvia and Erza had been quite vocal in their approval of the two and as far as Lucy was concerned, that was the highest level of approval there was.

She sighed, knowing that even with two new-hires; they would still be short-staffed once the new branch opened. She felt like tearing her hair out from the stress of it all. Natsu had quickly become her rock throughout the whole ordeal. He seemed to have a sixth sense for when things were beginning to overwhelm her and always seemed to turn up just when she needed a distraction or some kind of sugary stress reliever. She felt a little bad for relying on him so much, but savoured every moment that she could spend with him.

On top of everything, Lucy still didn't know what was going on with the new property. She had submitted the paperwork and moved things onwards to finalising the sale, but Erza had insisted on taking the keys the moment that they had turned up without so much as a word in explanation other than; 'you'll see'.

Groaning at what she perceived as the futility of her situation, Lucy leant on her desk with her face buried in her hands. Just why was it that business had to be so stressful. It was starting to show in her skin, much to the blonde's dismay. To top it off, everything with the business had sapped all of her free time, so much so that she hadn't had chance to work on her novel in an age. She was pulled out of the depths of her stresses by the sound of her phone vibrating against the wood of her desk. She quickly scooped up the device and scanned the words on the screen.

'Hey Luce! I know it's been a tough week but hang in there! So about that date…You reckon that you'll be free next Saturday. I know you're real busy with the new place and all but it might be good for you to get away from it all. It wouldn't be anything too exciting really; just a little food and maybe a movie?'

Lucy smiled brightly as she read the message and quietly offered up a word of thanks for having Natsu around. Since their talk the previous week, neither of them had suggested making plans at all; both of them being snowed under with their respective responsibilities. Lucy had just chalked it up to Natsu having forgotten, so to see confirmation that he still wanted to take her out filled her with a warm sensation.

But then the reality of her situation came crashing back in again as she realised that the new-hires would need training and the budgets would need to be worked out ahead of the new branch opening. Then again, Natsu wanted to head out or dinner, she could still work most of the day with the others; she would just have to duck out a little early. Besides, she reasoned, if she was going to open a new branch she would have to start placing more responsibility on her two supervisors.

Lucy was positive that Juvia and Erza could more than handle the training of the new-hires. They both understood the way that the company functioned and the values that Lucy felt to be important. Smiling to herself, she quickly typed out a response and hit send. There was a sense of finality to it that granted her a feeling of satisfaction.

'Sure Natsu! I would love to. It's been rough trying to get everything sorted and ready, I could really use the break. Juvia and Erza should be able to handle things at the café for closing up, especially with the new help we are taking on. Shall I come by your place once I'm ready?'

'Don't be crazy! I'll come get you!'

Lucy reasoned that a little time out and away from the café would do her some good. It would be a good chance to just get away from it all and get her thoughts in order for the first time since she had decided to expand her business. Besides, if it meant that she could spend an evening alone with Natsu, then she would be all too happy to take him up on the offer. He had asked her out after all.

Things only moved to further support the conclusion the following day when she arrived for work. She unlocked the door and shuffled inside to escape the morning chill, followed closely by Erza, Juvia and their two new hires. Lucy had been hesitant at the suggestion that the new hires start their training so soon when work had yet to start to get the new location up and running, but Erza had been insistent and Lucy had ultimately relented.

Ushering Kinana and Laki inside, Lucy found them aprons and stationed them on the café's floor. Waiting on the tables seemed like a good place to start, she reasoned, after all service with a smile was a key value of the business as a whole. Juvia and Erza took up their usual places behind the counter and quickly set about getting ready for the first service of the day while Lucy went into the back room to finalise the paperwork for the new girls.

"Does Erza really think that it is best for Kinana and Laki to start training now?" Juvia inquired off-handedly as she started grinding the first batch of coffee for the day.

"Oh yes, I'm certain. Everything is moving along smoothly. I can't give you any details just yet, but everything will be ready and in order for Lucy's birthday next month." The redhead replied, tapping the side of her nose with a knowing smile.

Hundreds of questions sprang into Juvia's mind all at once, but she never got the chance to ask a single one of them as Lucy returned to the shop front with a smile and a sheaf of papers in her hands. She looked to the two girls standing slightly nervously out on the café floor.

"Well, its official!" she told them "You two are officially staff members of 'Love and Lucky'. Here are your name tags; I hope you both enjoy working here."

"Thank you, we won't let you down." Kinana answered with a shy smile. Beside her, Laki simply bowed her head in thanks. Satisfied that things were in order, Lucy was about to return to the back and file the papers away when she caught sight of her two friends behind the counter.

"And just why do you both look so suspicious?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"Oh, no reason really. Juvia and Erza were just… talking." Juvia answered frantically, her face turning a bright shade of red.

Lucy chuckled to herself and let the issue drop. Juvia may have been a terrible liar, but she was exceptionally tight lipped when it came to keeping secrets. In many a way, Lucy envied the ability. The blonde had never been able to keep a secret for long before someone managed to coax it out of her in some way or another, usually by plying her with wine... Shrugging off her suspicions, Lucy continued on into the back rooms and filed away the employee forms in the business folder and went about her day's work.

That night, Erza relaxed on the couch in her apartment and tapped away at her phone. Reams of text appeared at lightning speed as she worked her way through her contacts list and made the necessary arrangements for the refurbishment of the new location. She felt bad for keeping the plan a secret from Lucy, but she knew at heart that if Lucy knew what she had in mind then the blonde would never have gone along with it. Instead, Erza though it would make an excellent surprise for her friend's upcoming birthday. All that remained now was to get the final okay and everything would be ready.

No sooner had the thought left her mind than a message appeared on the screen. Hastily she opened it and read the text a few times over to make sure that there could be no mistake. The smile on her face only grew with each re-reading. It was simple, of few words and directly to the point;

'Yeah, everything is in order. We can start tomorrow night.'

Well here we are, another chapter is done and dusted. My work schedule is crazy at the moment with university so Ive just had no time to write anything but the shortest pieces. Its been a real journey to get this ready, but I'm finally happy with it. I hope that you all enjoyed it at least. Please do favourite and follow if you did, though I will apologise in advance for my erratic publishing schedule.

Please drop me a review and tell me what you thought and as always, I will see you all in the next chapter.