Hello!

Sorry for the delay... been a bit busy.

I figured this would be a good Christmas gift! Hope you enjoy!

Natsu threw in his last pitch to Gray before the coaching staff called them all inside. The players slowly made their way from the field into the halls towards the locker room. Natsu took a second to catch his breath and wipe the sweat from his brow.

A movement to his right caught his attention. He glanced over and saw a group of people walking up the stairs of the stands. It wasn't unusual to see people in the stadium while they were practicing but a particular person caught his eye.

Her long blonde hair cascaded down her back; its length only bested by her legs which were accentuated by a knee-length dress and heels. The fabric of the dress hung loosely on her body and did it's best to try to hide her form, but he knew full well the curves of her body. There's no way… he thought.

A sharp whistle drew his attention back towards the dugout. Natsu looked over to see his manager, Laxus, yelling at him to get inside. Not wanting to upset the man and eager to act on his hunch, Natsu jogged in behind his manager.

The players bustled about in their locker room, winding down from their latest practice. By the time Natsu had made it to his locker, Gray had already fully undressed. Grabbing a towel, Natsu wound it up and snapped it on Gray's bare butt. Gray screamed and clutched the hurt area as Natsu and the others laughed at his misery.

Laxus clapped his hands and shouted, "Alright guys, listen up." The players stopped what they were doing and turned their attention towards him. "I have very important news to share with you. We're making a movie." The room was silent before breaking into laughter.

"You can't be serious." Natsu chuckled.

"No joke, boys. The higher ups approved the project and have already begun preparation for it."

"A movie about what?" Sting asked.

"Baseball, idiot." Gajeel grunted before hitting the blonde on the backside of his head.

"Sorry, Gray, we aren't making Magic Mike III for you," Natsu jested, which earned him a punch in the arm.

"But Laxus, we aren't actors. How are we supposed to make a movie?" Max asked.

"I don't know the specifics, so Erza is here to talk to you." Laxus turned and nodded his head at Erza. Natsu couldn't help but stand up straighter at the sight of her. Being the Head Team Agent gave her incredible influence over the team and everyone was too scared of her to say otherwise.

"Thank you, Laxus." She tilted her head in thanks before raising it once more to survey the group. "Mira, Makarov and I have agreed to film a movie in an effort to increase branding. Various parts of the stadium will be used for filming locations; you will be notified prior to filming as to not interfere with the crew. Many of you may be used for background actors but some of you will have roles in the film."

One person in the corner of the room raised their hand to speak but was cut off by Erza. "And don't even think of getting out of it. It was pre-written into all of your contracts at the beginning of the year." A few aggravated sighs and curses could be heard under the breaths of a few players.

This had to be Mira's idea, Natsu thought. He couldn't help but cringe at the thought of what might happen knowing she was behind it all.

"With that in mind, I will need to see the following people outside," Erza glanced down at the clipboard in her hands. "Gray, Gajeel, Sting, Jellal and Natsu." His eyes widened slightly at his name being called. Something was definitely up if he was getting roped into this.

"Everyone is dismissed!" Erza yelled, causing most people to jump, even Laxus. Erza began to walk out but stopped in front of the group of guys she named. Her eyes trailed over each of them before she sighed. "Gray, get dressed." Said man looked down and shrieked at his lack of attire. "Don't disappoint me!" She stomped out of the room with her personal flare.

"You heard the lady," Jellal stated as he patted Natsu's back and left in her direction. The others followed behind, down the hall and ended at a conference room. Once they entered, Erza motioned for them to sit. Marakov, the team owner, was seated near the front end of the table near Erza, Mira and other executives Natsu only met when he first signed on to the team. The others there he guessed were from the film crew. Oddly, they all looked exactly alike.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen." One of them spoke.

"Gentlemen?" Sting joked under his breath.

"We are from the Fairy Tail Production Company. Mira has graciously allowed us to use you and your stadium to film our next movie." The second said. Natsu couldn't help but glare at Mira, who stood smiling sweetly behind the table.

"I understand you 5 have acting experience?" The third asked.

"Natsu is our resident actor here." Mira chimed.

"Mira," Natsu stated sternly, but she continued.

"He has been in countless commercials and even hosted one of those late-night comedy shows."

"That is excellent to hear." The fourth added.

"Here are your scripts," the fifth stated while handing out paper booklets to each of the players. Natsu looked at the stack of papers thrown down on the table in front of him. His eyes stared at the title 'The Girl from Left Field' before mindlessly flipping through the pages.

"The story is of the MLB's first female manager, the struggles she faces from the public and her own team while managing, and the struggles of the team itself to compete in the league." The fifth stated proudly.

"Sounds like a good story," Jellal commented.

"You said female manager, right?" Sting asked, to which the five executives nodded. "We can't exactly pull that off." He pointed at the players around him.

"We've got that covered." Makarov spoke up.

Mira clapped her hands together, a sign of great excitement, "We are proud to announce we have casted none other than model and award-winning actress, Lucy Heartfilia, as the lead!"

Natsu's body froze for a brief second before he quickly looked up from the script. His eyes were wide in misbelief, his chest was tight, and he had trouble breathing. His mind flooded with images of her, the years they had spent together, the memories they made. When was the last time he saw her? 10 years ago?

Questions swelled in his mind but came to an abrupt end as the door to the conference room opened. His eyes shifted over to the door, eagerly awaiting to see who passed through. From somewhere in the room, his mind registered someone saying, "And here she is now."

The moment he saw her, he couldn't help but stand suddenly in his seat. Gray, who sat beside him, noticed the pinkette's odd behavior, but everyone else was too enthralled in seeing a real-life celebrity to notice.

A trail of people followed her into the room: Levy, her manager, Juvia, her publicist, and Yukino, her stylist. Her trusted team that aided her in her career, but even more so, her confidants and support system that has helped her through everything.

"Lucy, so good to see you again!" Mira chimed. Lucy nodded at the executives before giving Mira a hug. "You too, Mira." As the two released each other, they turned to face the other end of the table, where the players sat. His eyes locked onto hers, and his heart panged. So many emotions ran through him and so fast he didn't know how to decipher them. He was silent, left speechless and breathless at the sight of her. She held the same composure she had when she first walked into the room; was she good at hiding it or did she feel nothing towards him anymore?

"These are the players that will be working with you; you will meet the rest of the team later." Erza began. She paused a moment, seeing Natsu standing at the table. "This is…"

"I know who he is," Lucy interrupted softly, her eyes still locked onto his. "Hello, Natsu." He melted at the sound of her voice.

"You two know each other?" Makarov asked, pointing back and forth between them.

Lucy looked away from him, giving him a moment to breathe. "Natsu and I are childhood friends." Childhood friends?

"Oh," Makarov responded. He looked back and forth between the two. "Well, I am glad we could help arrange this little reunion." Erza continued to introduce the other players one by one to Lucy. Lucy made sure to shortly converse with each one, all the while avoiding the stare of Natsu, who still stood at the end of the table.

"Lucy," Levy spoke up, "We have a meeting with the realtor." Lucy nodded and said goodbyes to the executives.

"We will set up a read through of the script on a different day," Erza said. Lucy nodded once more before walking out of the room. Levy stayed behind to talk to Mira for a moment.

Panic swelled within him as he watched her walk through the door. Don't. Not again.

Erza opened her mouth to address the players once more, but Natsu ran around his teammates and out into the hall. "Lucy!" The blonde had made it halfway down the hallway and turned to see Natsu running towards her. She gave a small wave to Juvia and Yukino, who seemed to be wary of Natsu but obliged and continued to walk towards the elevator.

"Lucy," Natsu smiled, still trying to catch his breath.

"Natsu," she began sternly. Natsu's smile dropped slightly at her tone. "Let's just get it out there that what happened between us is in the past." What? "You don't have to worry about that affecting our work together. We are both professionals, so I agree to be cordial with you during this process. And if it's hard for you to work with me, I completely understand. So, I will keep my distance from you when we aren't working."

Lucy smiled widely at him, but he could only match it with his own look of confusion. "What? No, that's not what I wanted to say." She raised an eyebrow at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but another voice spoke up from down the hallway.

"There you are!" Lucy and Natsu looked at the newcomer. Natsu had never seen him before. He wore a black suit, tinted sunglasses, and had orange spiky hair. His annoyance at being interrupted turned into shock when the stranger leaned forward and gave Lucy a small peck.

"Sorry, I'm late." He said as he wound his arm around her waist. "Traffic in this place is crazy." The man's eyes flicked up from Lucy's face and looked at Natsu standing behind her. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"No, no, just catching up with a friend," Lucy ensured.

"Is this the guy you were telling me about?" The man questioned as he pointed towards Natsu. Lucy responded with a nod. "My apologies, my name is Loke." The man extended an open hand towards Natsu. Natsu looked from the man's hand back up to his face. Mindlessly, Natsu took Loke's hand in his own and shook it. "I am Lucy's boyfriend." Natsu stopped shaking and Loke took it as a sign to let go of his grip on Natsu's hand. "You must be Natsu." Natsu watched as Loke's hand retreated back to Lucy's waist.

"Y-yes. That's me." Was all he could muster.

"I've heard a lot about you." Loke smiled back. Natsu sensed there was more to that smile, but he couldn't quite pick up on what it was exactly.

"Funny, I've never heard of you." Natsu quipped back.

"Lucy likes to keep her private life and professional life separate. It's better for her career to maintain a single status." Loke answered.

Before either male could speak up and continue their passive aggressive interrogation, Lucy placed her hand on Loke's chest. "We're gonna be late if we don't leave now," she urged.

Loke checked his watch and raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah, I totally forgot." Loke looked back up to Natsu. He didn't miss the way the pinkette clenched his jaw. "Sorry to cut this short, but I've got to steal her away." Steal? How appropriate. "Nice to meet you." Loke took Lucy's hand in his own and led the two of them away from Natsu, further down the hall towards the elevator. Lucy gave a small wave before the doors closed, closing her off from him once more.

Natsu stood bewildered in the hallway. The love of his life had swiftly and painfully been removed from his life years ago. He never understood what happened or why it happened, but he tried to convince himself to try to live with the fact he never would. But then… here she is, suddenly appearing in his life and everything he had been suppressing had come back up to the surface.

He wanted to run to her and take her in his arms. To tell her sorry for whatever it was that happened and to never let her go again. All that came crashing down the moment he saw him. Lucy had always been his; his friend, his girl, his whatever… seeing her with someone else cut him deeply. Logically, it was bound to happen, but he never wanted to entertain that reality.

What was he to do now? Here she was but there were clear boundaries placed to ensure he kept his distance. However, if they were working together, she would have to interact with him at some point.

Natsu was too caught up in his inner monologue to hear the door open and close behind him. The blunette looked down at her phone as she walked down the hallway. She glanced up at the figure blocking her path to the elevator and was stunned she recognized him.

"Natsu?" She asked gently.

The pinkette turned to look over his shoulder. "Oh… hey, Levy. Long time no see." He rubbed the back of his neck with a free hand. "How have you been?"

"Good, been working a lot; Lucy has been very popular lately."

Natsu nodded, "Good for her. I am glad she is pursuing her dreams and that she has you to count on."

Levy's unease dropped for a moment. She had only met Natsu once or twice all those years ago, but Lucy talked about him so much she felt she knew him. She knew him to be a kind and sweet guy who put everyone before himself… so the whole break up took her by surprise. She didn't know the specifics of what happened, but she never left Lucy's side afterwards.

As Lucy's best friend, her loyalty was to her; however, in this moment, she couldn't help but feel for Natsu. The pain in his eyes, the sincerity of his smile… she truly believed he was being genuine.

Shaking her head, she pressed the button for the elevator and continued the pleasantries. "Well, what about you? You seem to have made a career for yourself."

He shrugged as he rubbed the back of his neck again, "Yeah, I guess."

The elevator dinged, signaling Levy her ride was there. She glanced over her shoulder at the open doors. She took one last look at Natsu before walking into the elevator. Levy pushed the button for her floor. Just before the doors shut, she said with sincerity, "Take care of yourself, Natsu."

Natsu removed the hand from behind his neck and gave a small wave to her. "You too, Lev." The doors shut, leaving Natsu, once again, alone with his thoughts. Before he could dwell on them too long, Erza poked her head into the hallway to yell at him. "Natsu!" The pinkette couldn't help but jump. "Get your ass back in here. We weren't finished!"

"Aye sir!" He yelled while giving a salute, before rushing back into the room.

…

Lucy and her team slipped into their vehicle to leave the stadium. For the first few moments, they were silent. Loke glanced at her in the rear-view mirror, Levy looked on cautiously as well as Lucy stared out the window.

"Lu-chan?" Levy asked cautiously. Lucy closed her eyes, took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" Juvia asked from the front seat.

The blonde opened her eyes and looked at all her friends; each wore a look of concern on their faces. "I'm fine, guys." She ensured gently.

She expected to feel shock or anger or something at least when she saw him in person. Oddly enough, she didn't feel anything. She was genuinely just fine. What did that mean?

"Do you think he bought the boyfriend act?" Yukino asked.

Loke smirked, "Oh, he definitely did. I'm just wondering if all that is necessary?"

"For right now, yes. Until I can feel comfortable being around him in this situation, I will need to keep up the act." Lucy looked into the mirror to meet Loke's eyes. "Do you think you can keep it up?"

Loke smiled, "Please, Lucy. Do you know who you are talking to?"

…

After such a long and interesting day (to say the least), Natsu retreated to his apartment to unwind.

Natsu was lucky enough to find a stylish apartment in downtown Magnolia that was a good distance from everything the city had to offer, the perfect size for his lifestyle and was not too expensive. The doorman was always friendly and made sure to keep the paparazzi and crazed fans away. His favorite part of it all was the outdoor patio that connected to his living room.

He would spend hours there, soaking up the sun in the day and stargazing at night, which was hard to do given the lights of the city. His apartment was just on the edge of downtown, so he had decent views of the city and even the stadium.

Natsu opened the door and swiftly shut it behind him with his foot. He gave a large sigh as he took off his leather jacket and threw his keys into a bowl resting on a table near the front door. Absentmindedly, he threw the script onto the coffee table in his front room and headed straight for the kitchen. He had missed dinner that evening but oddly enough, he wasn't in the mood to eat. His brain was too focused on his encounter with Lucy earlier.

He grabbed a small glass before reaching into the cabinet above the fridge where he kept a bottle of Jameson. He poured himself a glass of the alcohol, taking the bottle with him, before walking to the living room. With a huff, he threw himself down onto the couch and rested his legs on the table. Natsu took a long swig from his drink as he stared out into the night.

What are the chances? He thought.

Before his brain could expand further on that question, there was a knock on his door. With an annoyed grunt, he stood and went to the door. He peeked through the security hole in the door and his annoyance level rose the moment he laid eyes on his visitor. He couldn't help but audibly sigh as he opened the door.

Gray looked up from the script in his hands once the door opened. He shut it with one hand and held it up near his head, "Have you read this yet?" Before Natsu could answer, Gray walked right passed him into the apartment.

"No, I haven't." Natsu answered as he shut the door.

Gray walked further into the apartment and eyed the open bottle on Natsu's table. "Wow." He muttered, earning a raised eyebrow from Natsu as he walked back to the couch. "Straight to the whiskey already?"

Natsu looked at the bottle, then back to his friend and shrugged. "So?"

"So?! You only crack that out when you're in a bad mood. You always say, 'alcohol is detrimental to an athlete's physique.'" Gray made sure to use air quotes at the pinkette. Natsu just shook his head, sighed and sat back down in his spot on the couch. Natsu could hear Gray open and shut the fridge, which he guessed meant Gray was helping himself to whatever he liked. Just as Natsu went to take a drink, Gray hopped over the back of the adjacent couch and settled in with his own drink.

Gray and Natsu had a weird relationship. They were both drafted to the same minor league team when they first started. Despite that, they seemed to butt heads constantly, but everyone who knew them knew they worked together well. Their rivalry continued when they were drafted to separate teams.

Gray and Natsu would compete for the best stats and made sure to keep in touch to brag to the other about their latest game. Then, four years ago, they became teammates again when Natsu was drafted to the Dragons.

Neither of them would probably ever admit it, but the two of them were best friends. Often, they would be found together at team-related activities and sometimes even outside of their professional lives… like barging into one another's apartments.

"Are you gonna tell me why you were acting so weird today?" Gray asked.

"It's just an off day, don't worry about it," Natsu snapped back.

"I've never known you to have an off day." Natsu remained silent as he sipped on his drink. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say it has something to do with the blonde chick that showed up today." Natsu's eye couldn't help but twitch at the comment. Gray seemed to notice his reaction and slowly lowered his glass away from his mouth. Confused, Gray continued, "But I've never known you to be girl crazy. Well, except for that one chick you couldn't shut up about when we first met."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, it clicked. His eyes went wide, and he turned his head towards Natsu. "No…" was all he could mutter. Gray swung his legs off the couch and planted them on the floor. "You're telling me that 'smoking hot model Lucy' is the same Lucy you dated in high school?!"

"And college," Natsu interjected.

"You dated a model in college?!"

"Don't talk about her like that, okay?" Natsu sighed and rubbed his face.

"Seriously?! You let that go?" Gray questioned.

"It's … complicated, alright?" Natsu took another swig.

"Complicated?! From what I remember you telling me, you had her on lock down. How did you go from soul mates to strangers?"

Natsu paused before almost whispering, "Touka Faris."

"Touka? Wasn't she your agent during the minor's phase?" Gray asked.

"Yeah, and into my first year with the Aces."

Gray remained silent, waiting for Natsu to continue his explanation. When he didn't Gray spoke up again, "So… how is she involved in all this?"

"Long story short…" Natsu gave a long sigh, "She thought the relationship would ruin my career, so she ruined my relationship instead."

"Dude, she cockblocked you?"

Natsu rolled his eyes, "Sure, let's go with that." Natsu emptied his glass.

"Well, in my eyes you have the perfect opportunity. Touka is gone and Lucy is here; just go for it."

Natsu shook his head as he swallowed. "She made it pretty clear she doesn't want to associate with me."

"How so?"

"For starters, she basically said not to speak to her at all then proceeded to make out with her boyfriend right in front of me."

"So, you have some competition, so what?" Gray shrugged.

"I know relationships have always been, for lack of better terms, a grey area for you, but I take those things seriously." Natsu jeered.

"Regardless, she can't not speak to you; you're costars for crying out loud." Gray deadpanned back.

Natsu stared at the bottle he had rested in his lap. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, so many things to explain… but how could he if she wouldn't even look his way?

"I just wish she would hear me out…" Natsu thought out loud. Gray's shoulders slumped at seeing his friend like this. Natsu was always energetic and high-spirited, so seeing him look so… defeated hurt.

"Maybe things will turn around with her being here." Gray offered. He wanted to help, but he wasn't sure if there was anything he could do. Instead of speaking, Natsu just shrugged a shoulder. The two continued drinking in silence, neither sure what to say.

Please let me know what you think! Stay tuned for the next chapter.