Summary: Habits have to start somewhere. This is the tale of the very first time Natsu snuck into Lucy's bed.

The first time Natsu smelled Lucy's scent he didn't really paid attention. He was too busy stuffing his face to care. He thought that he had finally found a lead on where Igneel was, only to find it was a dead end. Natsu just wanted to find his adopted father. He did run into some good luck though. He got a free meal from Lucy, who wanted to thank him for something he had no clue what for. Free food is always good in his book. He needed something to lift up his spirits. He was following a lead on Igneel, that turned out to be a dead end.

The trip to Hargeon was not a total failure. He did get to met Lucy. Even though at the time Natsu thought that he will never see her again and paid no mind to her scent. He just met her and she just seemed like a total weirdo, a nice one, who just randomly offer strangers free food for no reason. Even with the whole Bora incident and the trip to Fairy Tail, he didn't even think about what her scent smelled like.

The second time Natsu caught a whiff of Lucy's scent was during the ride to Mt. Hakobe to rescue Macao. This time he actually paid attention to the smell. She was nakama now and Natsu thought he should at least get to know her. His terrible motion sickness was eased a bit as he smelled her strawberry and honeysuckle scent. For the first time in his life he felt at peace in a moving vehicle. Which only lasted a few seconds after the carriage started to move. The events that followed on Mt. Hakobe lead Natsu to the Day Break job request.

In the early morning the day after they got back from rescuing Marco, you could find Natsu staring at the request board. "See anything?" Happy asked Natsu flying over to him from his spot on the bar, while finishing up his fish. "Maybe there's one that involves lots and lots of fish!"

"Hhhhmmm I don't know Happy. Do you think Lucy will go on this one?" Natsu asked pointing to a job about stealing a book from Duke Everlue. In small letters at the bottom it stated that Duke Everlue was currently looking for a blonde maid.

"Why do you want Lushy to come?" Natsu showed Happy the job and a grin spread on Happy's face too.

Natsu walked up to Mira, who was cleaning a mug behind the bar. "Hey Mira! Me, Happy, and Lucy will take this job.

" My, My What is this?" Mira said as she placed the mug down on the counter. "You want to take Lucy?"

"Don't scare the new girl flame brain"

"You want a fight ice princess! Bring it on!" Natsu yelled as he turned around, fist a blaze. A brawl started between them.

"Now it makes since why you brought her back with you." Cana lifted a barrel of beer and took a sip. " Our little Natsu is growing up." Those in the ear shot chuckled a little.

"You would make such a cute couple. Erza will love to hear about this." Mira said in a dreamy haze as she picked up the job request. Without even looking at the job Mira register the job before handing it back to Natsu. "Was it love at first sight? Lucy did go with you to Mt Hakobe."

Natsu punched Gray into Elfman, this lead to half the guild participating, before turning to Mira. Tiling his head a little he asked, "What are you talking about Mira? Do you know where Lucy lives?" Mira told Natsu the address and Natsu ran out the door, Happy close behind.

The first official job lead between them made Lucy scent being stuck in his head. The maid dress was something he had to keep. It was more than a memento from their first job, and is something he will never admit to. When her scent started to fade he stole something else of hers. It got to a point that there was always a faint scent of Lucy in Natsu house, but that is a tale for another time. After the Everlue and Lullaby was the first time he ever sneaked into her bed. It was more than just about a bed. Don't get it wrong, Natsu found the bed comfortable. For the most part it was about Lucy scent.

Lucy scent was addicting. It lured him to her. Made him want to be around her and try to figure out why her sent made him want to do things he have never done or thought about before. A dragon slayer has a sensitive nose and her scent was calling to him. He could barely remember Igneel telling him about mates and how one way for a dragon to help identify a potential mate was through their scent. Natsu never thought about mates, never wanted one. He just wanted Igneel.

But as he stood over Lucy's bed watching her sleep. Happy was already settled on a pillow near the top of Lucy's head asleep. He felt a surge of protectiveness. One like he never felt before. Lifting a hand, Natsu ran a hand through her golden moonlight night kiss hair. Letting it silky texture slip through his fingers. Her scent was calling. Her bed was beckoning. They were partners now right? And mates were a type of partner. And partners share things.

Natsu climbed into the bed without disturbing Lucy. He settled in right next to her over the covers. Lucy turned and snuggled into him. As he wrapped his arm around her waist a fleeting thought went through his mind before sleep overcame him. He was going to keep Lucy. No matter what, Lucy will be his partner. She will be his. He still did not know if he even wanted a mate, maybe after finding Igneel. But for now this is enough, being in this bed surrounded by her scent.