Her apartment had been burnt to a crisp.

This was bad enough, forgetting to mention the fact the certain dragon slayer who was at fault had even had the guts to tell her that this is why she should have fire resistant curtains right after he had set them ablaze.

Forgetting to mention the fact the fire department and her landlady had handed her enormous bill afterwords.

She had never been this mad at someone before. It was two o'clock in the morning when she came home, Natsu was there…juggling flames and ended up setting the house on fire.

The last hour had been spent yelling at him in front of what had been her beautiful house.

He just stood there and took it, straight faced. Happy had long ago flown away terrified, probably off to Carla's house.

But Natsu stayed and let her empty her emotions on him, which involved a few slaps and one kick but mostly words. Words pumped full of anger and hatred towards a stupid idiot that couldn't control himself and never cared about anyone else other than himself.

"I mean you seriously don't give a shit about me do you!" She screamed at him.

For some reason this one made him flinch, recoil only slightly. Nothing she had screamed before had done anything close to that but…she almost felt something switch inside of him.

His eyes bore into hers so intensely for a moment she stuttered and stopped yelling.

The only lighting they had right now was the moonlight and a few lamp posts and once she had quieted down she realized how exhausted she was. It had been a tough day and she hadn't been happy even before heading home. Her home burning down had just been the cherry on top.

"Come." Natsu barely muttered, taking her hand and pulling her behind him as he briskly walked away.

"W-what? Where are we going?" Lucy asked surprised, suddenly torn from her awful mood.

"You need somewhere to sleep don't you?" Natsu responded, his grip never loosening. Her eyebrow raised for a moment in question until she recognized the route they were taking.

"Your house? What makes you think I want to be anywhere near you right now! Just let me call up Cana or someone." Lucy grumbled, but she didn't pull away it was late it would be rude to wake them up if it wasn't necessary. She felt Natsu's grip tighten slightly, it wasn't uncomfortable but…

Lucy was still mad at him. He seemed so insensitive sometimes, he had burnt down her house and had said no words at all, not even an apology!

She sighed as she let herself get tugged along. She should probably be resisting but she was just to tired to care anymore.

Eventually they reached the little run down house. It was as messy as ever, everything was scattered over everything else and there were dishes in every corner, piled and stacked uponeach other.

It was a pig sty, even though Lucy had cleaned it up only a month ago.

Once the door was closed behind them Natsu let go of her hand and walked forward, with much difficulty she might add, over all of the stuff towards his own room.

Resisting the urge to light his house on fire Lucy followed him...there was no where to sleep out here.

When she got into his room she saw him ruffling though the mess that was his drawers of clothes.

After a few moments of zoning in exhaustion out she was brought out of her stupor when a shirt hit her face, and a pair of shorts followed soon after, which she caught this time.

She wasn't sure if they were shorts or if they were his boxers but once again she was just too tired to care.

When he started to strip Lucy took that as a cue to leave, he would probably not care either way but she'd rather not see everything…well…like that anyway.

Wait. What?

Shaking her head she stepped out of the room and changed quickly herself, throwing her other clothes on top of another pile…she'd find it tomorrow.

Waiting a few more moments she stepped back in his room, he was cleaning off his bed now, throwing anything that was on it onto the floor. He hadn't even bothered to put another shirt on for bed.

"Where will I sleep?" She muttered, not even feeling like talking to him right now.

"Right here." He stated, nodding towards the bed.

Well…that was rather courteous of him.

"Oh, where are you going to sleep?" She asked.

"…Right here?"

She couldn't believe him. He was still indicating the same bed as if it was a silly question. I mean, she had ended up sleeping in the same bed with him once or twice before but not intentionally…mostly him being sick or really tired and passing out in her bed for some reason.

"Seriously?" was all she could muster.

"Yeah? It's a bed…where else would you sleep? Aren't beds where you're supposed to sleep?" He asked.

So simple yet such a stupid statement. He just didn't get it sometimes.

"No. You should sleep on the floor." She growled, crawling into the bed.

"No. This is my house, my rules." He stated clearly.

"Well because of someone else I don't have a house with my own rules anymore! So this is my temporary house, therefore it has my rules." Lucy hissed, tender with the topic of her house being brought up again all her furniture and clothes! Gone.

Ignoring her words completely Natsu rolled into the bed too, so Lucy was between him and the wall.

"A-ah!" She squeaked in surprise as he pulled the blanket over the both of them like it was the most normal thing in the world. Glaring at him she rolled over to face the wall and get as far as she could away from him.

"Inconsiderate jerk…so rude and stupid and…" She muttered as her eyelids grew heavy.

Lucy felt him shift slightly and she felt his back on hers. She was already pushed up against the wall…she couldn't get any farther away. His bed wasn't that big.

That's when she noticed the heat. She hadn't noticed at first because of the fabric but she felt it now. The searing heat that almost burned her back, his skin temperature was ridiculously high.

Was he sick? His temperature must be at least 105 degrees! Whipping around suddenly she grabbed his shoulder and pushed to make him roll onto his back, so she could check his forehead.

In her haste she managed to flip him over but her other hand which had been balancing her slipped out from under her.

"…Uh…um…" Natsu sounded, rather nervously.

Lucy had fallen right onto his chest, her chest pushing up against his, her face had ended up just inches above his. Immediately she pushed away getting more distance between the two. Her hands pushed against his chest and she felt him tense beneath her, the muscles under her fingertips flexing. She felt a blush creep onto her face, the feeling of his muscles was almost...enticing. Knocking her out of her daydream she realized Natsu was looking at her.

Well...more like staring.

What was she doing again?

Gasping slightly as she remembered she got close to him again, hand placed on his forehead to check his temperature.

He continued staring at her.

"I knew it! You're sick!" She announced, yanking her burning hand away.

"I'm sick?" He asked, attempting to sit up.

"Yes!" Lucy stated, pushing on his shoulders to keep him lying down, "You're temperature is too high!"

Natsu looked up at her, she was still pushing down on his shoulders to get her point across.

His canines showed in his trademark smirk.

"Oh that! No, I'm not sick! My temperature just does that sometimes, depending on my mood. It's nothing to worry about!" He laughed, smiling up at her.

For a few moments she stared at his face to make sure he wasn't joking.

"But...thanks for worrying...I know you're really mad at me right now and yet you still..." Natsu mumbled, eyes cast sideways no longer looking at her.

Care? She was mad at him but not so mad as to not care what happened to the guy.

When his eyes finally returned to hers she could barely look at them. Those half-lidded dark orbs held such intensity for some reason Lucy felt it intimidating to look into them.

"A-ah. Mm...but don't think you're forgiven just yet!" She stammered taking her hands off his sculpted body quickly. A small smile on his lips made her want to smile...even though she wanted to stay mad at him longer.

Lucy was determined. She flopped back down on her side facing the wall.

"I'm sorry, Luce. I know you won't accept it yet but..." He trailed off, and she felt him shift again rolling over.

"...arigatou..."

And with that she drifted off to sleep.

She would like to say that she had a good deep sleep but she woke a few hours later to a surprise.

Lucy almost lulled off to sleep as soon as she awoke, she was just so darn comfortable there in Natsu's arms. He was ripped beyond belief for someone his age but for some reason his arms were so soft right now and gentle wrapped around her, pulling her into his chest. It was warm and she blinked her eyes a few times, letting the blurriness of her mind slowly dissipate.

Wait a second.

Her eyes shot wide open. What the hell was this!

Natsu had snuggled up to her in his sleep? He wasn't as warm as he was before so Lucy wasn't cooking when their skin touched.

No wait...he was still on his side of the bed. that couldn't mean she had instigated it right? Nah, he must have just pulled her over to him, perv.

Then she realized where her hands were, one between her cheek and his shoulder and the other...lower...she could feel his hip under her palm.

WHERE THE HELL DID HER HAND THINK IT HAD BEEN GOING!

Yanking her hand back quicker than she could even think she shifted in a mini flail.

"Mmm...ghehhh...w-where...'go Ig...neel."

Lucy's eyes moved to Natsu's closed ones. Igneel? Was he dreaming of his father?

"..'s...'s cold..." He mumbled, eyebrows stitched together in a pained expression.

Lucy felt her face and heart soften, was he having a nightmare? Soon enough with a small twitch and a groan he confirmed it.

As much as she was still 'mad' at him she couldn't help but feel bad for the guy right now. Sighing internally she wrapped her arms around him and gave a tight hug.

Natsu twitched slightly at the pressure but didn't pull away in his sleep. In fact he did the opposite, he pulled her in closer his face tucking into the crook of her neck almost desperately.

Resisting the urge to giggle as his face was pushed into one of her many 'tickle-spots' she let him snuggle up close to her, he was just sleeping anyway right?

She listened to him breathe deeply as it slowed down, his breath continuing to tickle her neck. He shifted again and then she felt his lips on her neck.

She froze. What did he think he was doing! Lucy was about to sit up and push him away, snuggling was one thing but this was beginning to feel like a lot more than snuggling. Before she could move she heard him mutter something incoherent into her neck and felt his lips turn up into a small smile.

Looks like the nightmare was over for him...she was glad she could help...even if he didn't deserve it...cause he...burned...her...burned down her...he did...burnt...charcoal.

With that she was asleep again.

When she awoke she noticed she was colder than before and Natsu was gone.

He was no where in the entire house actually.

Lucy frowned. Stumbling over the junk she managed to find her clothes again and got dressed. She stood in the mess that was Natsu's house and sighed, Lucy had planned to just do nothing the all day but...she just couldn't resist the urge to clean.

Lucy had planned to spend the whole day lying around, after all she didn't get that long of a sleep before and she felt emotionally exhausted as well. Yet she had ended up cleaning Natsu's entire house again, which was an entire day's work but man did it look nice now. It was midnight now.

She eyed the nurse outfit that Natsu had kept of hers...contemplating putting it on when he got back as a joke.

Wait a second. She had just cleaned his whole house...why did she do that? Damn it she was supposed to be mad at the guy and here she was doing him favors!

Sighing she stretched out on the couch. Where was he? It was starting to get late.

Lucy couldn't help it, she was starting to get worried.

Before she could even finished the next thought the door swung open and in slumped a pink-haired dragon slayer...probably the only one in existence. He wasn't wearing his usual outfit of pants and a vest, along with his scarf. Actually it looked like he had dressed warmer for this mission, darker pants with a tight beige jacket...and of course his scarf. He actually looked quite good...

Natsu seemed startled to see her for a second.

"Oh, Luce. You're...here again tonight?" He stated simply, dumping his backpack on the ground beside him with a harsh thud, kicking the door shut with his foot.

Lucy stared back at him for a moment. Again? Why wouldn't she be? Then it dawned on her, he probably thought she would've gone to another girls house.

Really, why didn't she? The thought had never even crossed her mind.

"Ya." Was all she responded with.

Slowly, he walked up to her and reached his hand out to her. He was handing her an envelope.

"What's this?" Lucy muttered, taking it anyway.

"It should...cover everything..." He explained as she opened it.

Money. Lots and lots of money. The entire envelope had been stuffed to the brim. It was more than she needed to pay off her expenses...

"Wha? Y-you're giving this to me?" She cried incredulously.

"Mm. I had a good job today." He smirked, walking towards the bathroom.

"Whoa! You cleaned!" Natsu laughed, taking in his surroundings suddenly.

"Idiot! You're so slow!" She half laughed half yelled at him.

"But...Natsu...I can't take all of this. This must be the entire reward from your job today!" Lucy stood, walking over to him.

"Luce, I burned down you're house okay? It was my fault so I'm making it right...Take it." He stated, looking rather winded.

"No, we can both go on jobs and work together for it. Why didn't you tell me you were going on a job today! I would've liked to go with you."

"Because it was my responsibility to do this, not yours. I wanted you to just take a day off today, you weren't very happy yesterday."

"Well of course not, someone burnt down my house!"

"Exactly, which is what...the money is for!"

"Yeah, but it's not the way I wanted to go about it!"

"Well too bad, it's done now so take it!" He growled, turning away.

"Hey! We aren't done talking!" Lucy exclaimed, grabbing his shoulder to spin him back around.

What happened next she hadn't expected at all. she had managed to turn his torso around, but before his feet could follow he winced and grabbed his side. Eyes squeezed shut suddenly his legs gave out on him.

Reacting on instinct alone she reached out quickly to catch him, managing to grab his arm and pull him towards her instead. She sank to the floor as he fell, allowing him to sink nicely into the comfort of her embrace instead of the floor.

"N-Natsu? Oi, are you alright?" She stammered, she had never seen him collapse out of the blue before.

His breathing came out fast and harsh, his hand never leaving his side. Now that Lucy was closer she noticed he was covered in a thin layer of sweat. He continued to lie in her arms, not bothering to answer to question, his eyes still squeezed shut.

"Are you hurt?" Lucy continued, hoping he would respond somehow.

It was obvious that he was, the way he was clutching his side made it seem like such a pointless question to ask but she couldn't help it.

"Come on Natsu, let's go look at it." She decided, pulling on of his arms over her head and beginning to head to the bathroom.

He had gasped a few times but managed to regain his bearings and help her help him over to the bathroom.

She set him down on the lidded toilet, he slumped slightly, his hand still pressing against his jacket.

Not wasting a moment she started to unzip his jacket, earning a rather alarmed look from the dragon slayer but she didn't stop. Carefully, trying to move him as little as possible, as it seemed it caused him pain, she slid it off of him.

He was wearing a black shirt underneath and she reached to pull it off at the brim but she stopped when she saw it shimmer sligthly, like it was wet. Reaching more carefully she touched the fabric and brought her hand back...red.

It was blood.

The entire lower half of his left side was drenched in it.

"...Natsu..." She heard herself whisper, carefully she grasped the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up slowly. Lucy continued through the twitches and grunts of the man until she had helped him get it off. Not wanting to she looked back at the damage.

The first thing she noticed was the bruising, it covered his chest and abs in long lines, almost like he had been hit across the chest with a lead pipe multiple times. There were small cuts everywhere but there was one deep gash on his side that was causing all the blood.

It was still oozing painfully.

"S'not as bad as it looks." She heard Natsu hiss.

"Idiot...why didn't you tell me..." Lucy whispered.

"Job was...just a little tougher...than I thought." He shivered, taking in a shaky breath.

"That didn't answer my question Natsu." She stated again, rummaging through the filing cabinet she had organized earlier that day. It was a good thing she did because she knew now what he had...and what he didn't have. Which was pretty much all the essentials.

"'Cause it's not that bad." The dragon slayer said again.

"Then why are you wheezing?" The celestial mage asked.

"I'm not wheezing." He wheezed.

"You barely have anything for first aid!" She sighed exasperated, it was probably because he used it all from the last mission. Natsu didn't bother with a response, looking back she saw he was on the verge of passing out, swaying back and forth on his seat.

"Hey! Don't you dare pass out Natsu! We've gotta get you fixed up first!" Lucy ran back and sat in front of him, grabbing his face so he would focus on her now.

His eyes were rather hazy but they still connected with hers.

"I just...wanted to make you happy...you had a bad day...I thought juggling fire would...cheer you up...I don't want you...to be mad at me..." he whispered his face pushing into her hand. Lucy felt her heart pang painfully in her chest.

Unable to say anything she glanced around for something to wrap his wounds. That's when she noticed the blood that had begun to pool underneath the toilet.

"Damn it Natsu!" She cried, pulling her own shirt over her head to use for wrapping. It wasn't like she had time to run around looking for something, he was going to bleed out if she didn't do anything soon. it had been an old shirt anyway, still she mumbled to him he owed her a new shirt. She felt her face get hot in embarrassment, being in her bra around the dragon slayer was really something she hadn't done intentionally before. His eyes had widened out of confusion then looked away quickly.

Using her teeth she ripped some strands off her shirt

"We should probably get you to a doctor, or at least get Wendy over here." She felt herself speak, beginning to clean his wounds with a handful of her shirt she wouldn't use for wrapping. It was soaked in what antiseptic he had in the house. As soon as it touched his skin he flinched and hissed, she worked fast to get it over and done with. The major cut was rather deep and even once it was cleaned it was still oozing, but not as fast as before. Quickly she sat up and began to wrap him, her knee between his legs so she could reach around him easily.

"Nah...I'll be f-fine." Natsu stuttered, face looking rather red.

"That's not very convincing when your shaking." She muttered, and he was. He felt hot to touch but he was still shaking slightly.

"A-ah...I'm just cold." He spat out quickly, avoiding looking towards her.

"But you're temperature is high again." Lucy stated simply, he couldn't be cold like that could he?

"U-uh..."

Finishing her wrapping she sat down again in front of the dragon slayer, who still was refusing to look at her.

She was getting curious now.

"Natsu look at me. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, now go get one of my shirts to wear now."

"Eh, why does it even matter anymore?" He had already seen her in her underwear, a towel, and a bathing suit...this shouldn't matter so much. Yet when he turned his face towards her she understood why he hadn't looked before.

Natsu was blushing. With another painful pang of her heart Lucy stared at him in disbelief. He was blushing!

She decided to have a little fun, but only a little.

"Oh? what's wrong with wearing this?" She sang playfully. She had to admit it though, this was one of her better bras, one with a lot more support than usual, and it did look quite nice on her if she did say so herself.

He mumbled something very quietly and she didn't hear at first.

"Hm? What was that?"

"...I said...it's...tempting to me."

Her jaw dropped. Whoa, wait a second here, did she just hear that right?

That was... adorable actually. A smile played on her lips as she inched closer.

A crimson face turning away from her only raised her suspicions. Was he nervous? Or was it difficulty in trying...to hold back? Lucy had never seen this side of Natsu before.

"Well whatever, I think I like no shirt more." She had never done this before, played with Natsu in this kind of a way...it was fun.

"Luce, please just...put something else on." He whispered quietly, looking at her from the corner of her eyes.

Her smile grew wider as she sat up and got closer to him.

"Mm, I don't really feel like it." She smiled, reaching up her hand to tuck her hair behind her face as she leaned over closer to him.

Natsu's eyes flashed dangerously as he grabbed her hand, pushing her backwards so she sat back down. He leaned forwards, slipping on the bloody bathroom floor. Before she knew what had happened he was straddling her to the floor, her back against the wall, his arms pushing against the wall behind her.

"You're forgetting that I'm a man too, Luce." He whispered to her breathing heavily, inches away from her face.

Her heart hurt it was pounding so hard. He was arched over her, staring into her eyes with such ferocity she couldn't move. For a few moments they sat like that, Lucy unsure of what to do. Almost scared to make a movement at all. Lucy almost gasped when his eyes drifted down to her lips.

"...Can I...just..." Natsu whispered beginning to inch forwards.

Just what? Was he? Was he going to kiss her!

Her mind flipped and flopped in inner turmoil as she strained her mind as to what to do...but nothing came. Her mind was completely blank. Shouldn't she be saying no or something? Pushing him away? But...she didn't want to.

In a way she was just curious, she wanted to know what it would be like to be kissed by the dragon slayer.

It was just curiosity.

It had nothing to do with the huge crush she had on him.

Nope. Not a thing to do with that. Notta. All curiosity here.

Lucy watched as he inched towards her, his half-lidded eyes rather distant but still focused on just one goal. She couldn't help but stare at him as he came closer, to the point where she could feel his breath on her lips. He was really going to do it wasn't he!

Though, he held his position there for what felt like infinity. It was almost painful, the anticipation.

For a few moments she felt that maybe he wouldn't do it after all, was he wimping out at the last second? Seriously what was taking him so lon-!

Of course he had interrupted her thoughts by pushing his lips on hers.

At first she was surprised at how warm his lips were, but that was to be expected as it was Natsu after all. The other thing that surprised her was how gentle he was, he was firm and direct but also gentle at the same time. Turning his head slightly he pushed to deepen the kiss.

Sometime along the way her eyes had slid shut and she accepted the kiss wholeheartedly, after all this was her first kiss. It could've been a little bit more romantic, but come on this was Natsu we're talking about. Bloody and bruised on a bathroom floor, it was his kind of style.

But something switched inside of her when he pushed his lips against hers with more pressure. Her hands reacted on their own, finding the back of his head and entwining her fingers in his hair. Then she grabbed a clump of his hair and pulled him towards her with new purpose. She just wanted to be closer to him, be in his arms, he responded by reaching behind her back and pulling her to him with ease, so their bodies pressed together.

The initial shock of the kiss was gone and yet Lucy could feel Natsu's heart pounding just as hard as hers was. Realizing she was only in her bra and shorts she blushed a little harder. It didn't last long as her mind got somewhat distracted when Natsu's tongue found it's way into her mouth.

When and how the hell did Natsu learn this! She didn't have any experience but she knew that he was good at it...really good at it. His hand slid up her back up to her bra.

Whoa, he wasn't actually going to go there was he? Kissing was one thing but she wasn't that easy...even if it was a rugged tough irresistible dragon slayer...well...maybe...

No. Seriously, no this is where she draws the line. She was about to push him away when his hand slid past her bra and up to the back of her neck. Almost sighing in relief she let him pull her towards him so they would both be sitting more upright.

Lucy was complying all too willingly when she felt him flinch and pull away from the kiss and gasp suddenly. One of his hands flew to his side over his bandages.

"Oi, Natsu. We shouldn't be doing this if your hurt." She frowned, grabbing his attention again.

His face looked into hers again a different look in his eyes now, looking at her they widened in realization.

"I-I'm sorry! I shouldn't have just...I'm sorry!" He apologized.

Lucy stared at him curiously, did he seriously think that he had forced that on her?

Resisting the urge to laugh she pulled his face closer and planted a solid kiss on his lips. It was almost like there were two sides to Natsu. One cute, loud and bubbly and the other...dark, dangerous and more intimate.

"Idiot." She smiled pulling away from the dragon slayer, "It took you forever to finally make a move."

He stared at her for a few moments, seemingly not understanding at first, then when it clicked he smiled. A smile so bright and happy it almost blinded Lucy.

"Come on, it's late and you need to sleep." Lucy stated standing and pulling on his hand.

Happiness still carved into his features he took Lucy's hand and let her help him to bed.

She slid in beside him no questions asked this time and scooted in close to him. Without words he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight, burying his face in her hair, giving the top of her head a small kiss.

"I love the way you smell...it's...the best..." He mumbled drowsily.

Lucy smiled too, their relationship was just starting to take a different turn and she truly could not wait to see where it took them. She knew she was falling in love with the dragon slayer and it wouldn't take long for her to be completely smitten with him.

But the more she thought about it, it was a good thing he burnt down her house.

That idiot.

Arigatou = Thankyou in Japanese.

Okay, I know a lot of people are gonna be pissed at me for not updating TFF and I do apologize, I've been working on that story a lot lately, the next chapter is important so I wanna make sure it's good before I post it. I'm thinking I'm just going to shorten it so I can update it really soon!

Xx-Confused-Angel-xX and FireDragonNatsu asked me to participate in a writing competition and I just couldn't resist the urge to say yes so this is my entry. Hope you enjoyed it!

Please read and review!