Crouching Mage, Hidden Dragon.
by abbeyabbey.

Crouched in the shadows, the blonde sized up her prey. She was getting pretty uncomfortable on top of the steel bin, but the boy was in her sight.

He didn't look like he would be too much trouble, and the size of the backpack was sure to hold enough food and money to get her through the next few days. Walking lazily down the street, he kept his arms behind his head and stomped his feet with every step. Beside him strutted a blue cat with a small bag over his shoulder. He smiled broadly as he took in his surroundings, obviously lost in his thoughts.

They were quite an adorable pair, but the girl had not eaten for two days and was getting desperate. Her plan was to always make money in an honest way and never force it out of someone. However, the mage guild in this area had a reputation for destroying anything and everything around them. This made it hard for even a freelance mage to get any work as they were immediately associated with destruction. Even though she didn't know who the guild was yet, she already despised them.

As Lucy prepared to attack, she reconfirmed that she had all her items. Whip – check. Skirt at appropriate length – check. Hair tight enough – check. Keys? As if she would need them – but check indeed.

The boy immediately stiffened in his step. Without looking in the alleyway, he knew there was a girl ready to leap out and attack him. Gheesh, maybe if her perfume weren't so strong, the whole world wouldn't know she was there. Glancing at her in his peripheral vision, he noticed that she was kind of cute too. Her pale skin contrasted against her dark skirt and shirt. Is she going to attack me in leather? Well, this was certainly going to be a fun ambush.

"In three, two, one..." he mumbled to himself.

"STOP!" Lucy barked as she jumped out of the alleyway. She crouched and rolled to soften the blow from landing on the hard cement.

That will impress AND scare them! I'm so glad I perfected that!

Getting up to her feet, Lucy had to hide her smile. After all, her victims would probably not take her very seriously if she smiled like an idiot and giggled the entire time. Or would that be creepier? Before she could decide on how to improve her performance, the boy interrupted her.

"Are you alright or are you just going to keep rolling around here like a weirdo?"

Excuse me? I'm about to attack him and he is making jokes at me? She took a moment to breath before she reinforced her bitch face.

"Just give me your money and you won't be hurt!"

Chuckling, the boy looked up at her from beneath his lashes. He had to get some entertainment before heading home, and this girl with the seriousness of a kitten seemed like the perfect distraction.

"I'm sorry Miss, but I don't have any money.

"Don't give me that crap," she spat out, "I can see how big your bag is! You wouldn't carry something so big around for no reason."

"Well it captured the attention of a pretty girl, so I guess it has a purpose now" he purred.

This young stranger had successfully made her angry. Or blush. She couldn't decide. She was not, however, going to show her weakness of cute boys with cute phrases. Lucy closed her eyes, and spoke each word deliberately.

"Give me your money, or you'll be sorry."

"Sorry because you'll leave?"

That's it.

Lucy opened her eyes and glared up at him. Ignoring his smirk, she mentally prepared herself for her next attack. Extending her fingers, she wriggled them at her hips. If she aimed well enough and he wasn't quick enough to dodge, she may just be able to smack that smirk right off his face.

He stared back, smirk still intact. He couldn't help it. He had never seen such an adorable attacker before. In his peripheral he could see her wriggling her fingers at her hips. A whip and a… pocket knife? Her feet were not in a position to launch herself at him, so the small leather case was out of the question. Looks like it will be the whip… Okay little miss, I'm ready if you are.

Without warning, the tip of her whip flew towards his face. He had incredibly reflexes though from years of fighting and simply tilted his head to the left to avoid the blow. My turn. While the whip was still near his face he reached out and wrapped it around his arm two times, ensuring a tight grip around the leather. The shocked look on her face was priceless, but he still wanted to have some fun with her. He glanced down at the blue cat, who was staring back at him with wide eyes.

"Happy, just step back and let me take care of this" the boy stated, slipping his large back pack off his shoulders and resting on the ground beside him.

"Aye, sir!" sang the cat he skipped across the road. Taking his bag off his back, he curled up in the sun at the entrance of the alleyway that Lucy appeared from. He knew the boy would have no trouble at all, so he might as well get comfortable and enjoy the show. The only thing that worried him was that he had never toyed with an enemy before. He was always too tired after a mission with no patience left, and would knock them out in one punch screaming "SHUT UP!" before continuing on their way home. But with this girl, he was joking with her, teasing her and if Happy was right, flirting with her! Happy smiled as wide as a Cheshire cat when it all added up in his head. He must liiiiiiike her.

Lucy's grip tightened on the handle of her whip as he further snaked it around his arm. There was no way in hell that he was going to take the whip away from her. It seemed the boy had different plans though, as he pulled her closer and wrapped his arm around her waist. He didn't try to escape her, but wanted to get closer! Fine, if he wants to get cosy then I'll show him how close I can be!

"I'm Natsu, by the way" he whispered in her ear. Lucy suddenly felt her face heat up from his breath on her neck and wriggled, trying to find an escape. He chuckled in her ear before holding her tighter and continuing on.

"If you're going to fight me then there are a few things you need to know."

Lucy tried to squirm free, but he was too damn strong! She even stamped on his foot with all her weight, but he just stood there looking pleased with himself. Maybe if she slammed her elbow into his stomach, his defensive reflexes would let her out of the arm prison she found herself enjoying. Or should she let him talk a bit more to stay there longer? No! He's just a pile of money. I need to finish this and get out.

"One," he murmured, "it's not proper to attack someone without first giving a proper introduction."

Deciding that he was thoroughly distracted by his need to lecture her, Lucy slammed her elbow into his stomach as hard as she could. Unfortunately, her elbow never made contact with his stomach as a warm hand cupped around it and lessened the blow. Tilting her head to look down, Lucy saw that the arm wrapped in the whip prevented her attack. She had to concentrate and not let herself be distracted from the feeling. His hand was warm, yet rough. Almost as if he had been fighting or working his whole life. Maybe he was burnt and the skin had never returned to its original state. Once more, her thoughts were interrupted by the voice in her ear.

"Two," he continued with a sweet tone, "you should probably know who you're dealing with before you leap out of a dirty alley way and attack them."

Thoroughly pissed off at the nerve of this man, Lucy swung her foot backwards and made contact to every mans private kill zone. His arms immediately loosened as he hunched over his knees with his arms protecting the very spot that was violated. A groan escaped his lips as she broke free of his arms, but he was surprised when he looked up and saw her standing there in front of him.

"I'm Lucy."

A look of concern flashed past her eyes as she stared down at him. If this was her technique to escape then she bloody well should have used it to flee. Lucy had different plans to what he thought though, as she tugged on her whip, trying to free it from his arm.

"I don't think so," he growled as he tried to stand up straight, "that was a dirty trick and I think you need to learn a thing or two." Suddenly, he used his strength to tug on the whip wrapped around his arm, freeing it from Lucy's grasp. For the second time that day, Lucy stared in shock. Natsu gained his composure again, standing up straight. His signature grin crept to his face once more as he twirled the tip of the whip in his hands.

"If you want a close and dirty fight, then you don't need this." Without looking away from her eyes, he tossed the whip to his side. Lucy only broke eye contact when she heard a splash, just in time to see her whip float for a moment before sinking to the bottom of the river down the main street.

She turned back to Natsu and clenched her fists. He would pay for what he did. Without thinking through her plan, she lowered her head and ran towards him. Swinging her left arm and then her right, she screamed out in frustration, as all she met was air. Natsu was too fast and simply dodged any punch or kick she threw his way. During one of her sloppily executed high kicks, Natsu grabbed the back of her heel and held her leg in the air.

Lucy shrieked in rage once more as she couldn't move and tried to hold back the tears from being so easily beaten. She hated this man, and wish she never chose him to attack. However, if word got out of a freelance mage mugging civilians, she would be chased out of the city by the official guild mages in an instant.

"That brings me to number three," Natsu said after a moment's silence, "I do not have any money." His eyes met hers once more - after staring momentarily at her underwear - and his face softened at her pained expression. Immediately he released her leg and looked down at the ground in shame. He had pushed her too far. It wasn't fun anymore because the girl he was trying to tease looked genuinely hurt.

From his seat on the sidelines, Happy witnessed Natsu's stooped posture, ensuring that he did not meet Lucy's glare. She however was still staring at him, with her fists clenched at her sides. She looked angry and hurt, but also confused. Happy didn't like seeing her like that either. She was much prettier when she was celebrating her barrel roll or trying to act serious when she demanded money. Happy wanted to help Natsu, but didn't think that tickling her would help.

That's it!

Happy didn't have any money in his bag, but he did have something that would cheer anyone up.

"Excuse me Miss Lucy," came a small voice at Lucy's feet. She looked down to see the blue cat staring up at her with wide eyes, holding his small backpack in front of him. Natsu also looked down at him, scowling at his friend who stole the girl's attention he wanted so badly. Why? He had no idea.

"You're going to give me money?" Lucy guessed, as a grateful smiled appeared on her face.

"Oh well we did have money," Happy explained, looking down at his feet and shuffling them embarrassed, "but we broke a few things and had to give it all back."

Lucy glanced momentarily at the tall figure with pink hair, before giving her full attention to Happy. Kneeling down by his side, she stroked the blue fur between his ears and explained.

"I'm sorry but even if you don't have any money, I can't let you guys go because you'll report me."

"We would never Miss Lucy!" Happy defended, "I just wanted to give you something else to see you smile!"

Lucy noticed that Natsu stiffened, as he held his breath. He looked completely different from the confident boy she met, with his arms now crossed against his chest. He was staring down at his friend with hard eyes, and Lucy could have sworn she saw him mouth the words "don't do it".

Oh, so that must be it. Her smile grew wider. Happy obviously wanted to give her some treasure that they came across on their trip, and idiot pink hair boy didn't want to share. Well, Lucy was grateful for the blue cat's gesture, and rubbed him extra hard on his head.

"You want to share your treasure with me?" she asked, making her eyes as wide and innocent as possible. Ignoring Natsu's chuckle beside her, Lucy fluttered her eyelashes at the cat. She didn't know if it was possible to allure a feline, but she was sure going to try before facing off with Natsu again.

Happy blushed at her obvious attention. He wasn't use to receiving such evident attention from people before, let alone girls. It was usually only Natsu that took him seriously. Lucy was actually kind of sweet when she wasn't trying to attack them, and Happy suddenly decided that he wanted to keep this girl and Natsu together. He deserved to be happy after all, and he did show this girl more interest than anyone else – even those he didn't meet from a dark alley way. That's why Happy pulled his treasure out of his bag and held it up to her eyes.

A fist suddenly collided with the side of his head and he skidded across the ground, landing near the river. Although his eyes were shut in pain he could still feel the fish in his arms, and could hear Natsu yelling at the girl.

"DON'T HURT MY FRIEND!" he spat at her in disgust. "He was just trying to do what he thought was nice!"

"He was holding a dirty fish right up to my nose!" Lucy retorted, stamping her foot in frustration. "He almost touched my face and I would of stunk for weeks!"

Lucy was shocked when she saw Natsu smile, and burst out in laughter.

"Smell? You're worried about smell when you're the one who hides on top of bins in dirty alleys?"

He began laughing harder, clutching his stomach as he leaned forward. Lucy only stewed over the various ways she was going to hurt him as he wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. Although she admired the pair, they were really getting on her nerves. Using his laughter as a distraction, she launched herself at him and tried to make contact between her fist and his face.

She should of known that it would never work.

Once again, Natsu simply dodged her attempts with a smirk on his face. Like a violent dance, she chased him with punches and kicks, while he waltzed around her.

"You give your moves away, you know," he stated simply, ignoring the glare from below her sweaty blonde fringe. "Not only do your feet point in the direction you're going to attack, but you look there beforehand to see where to aim."

When they had circled each other a few times, Lucy dropped her arms in defeat. She was quickly tiring and this boy was showing no evidence of being beaten.

She was going to be reported to the magic council for sure, and the more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. It had all been for nothing. She finally escaped from her father, only to be locked up in another prison cell. She had finally found freedom, only to be destroyed by a smiling pink haired boy and his adorable but messed up cat.

The tears came quickly. She buried her face behind her hands and let them fall. Would the boy report her if she gave up and fled? Would he track her down and make sure justice was served?

"Excuse me, uh… Lucy?" he murmed, "Why are you crying?"

Natsu didn't have much experience with women. He had only spent his time around two, and one died when he was a young boy. The other one was too terrifying to even think of in a situation like this, so he had no idea how to comfort her. Besides, this blonde hair girl, in leather skirt and shirt, who was really bad at fighting, and even worse at appearing aggressive was the only one who had ever interested him in finding out more about. He knew that her act was all a façade, and she was probably a super sweet girl. Heck, even her brown eyes screamed "I'm a gorgeous puppy, please take care of me!" If only she was a mage, then he could offer her a place in his guild. They could go on missions together, get to know each other better and who knows…

"JUST LET ME HIT YOU DAMNIT!" she screamed, stamping her foot on the ground again. Really, she acted like a child sometimes but he guessed that's why he found her so gosh darn adorable.

"Um, okay."

What the hell?

"What?" she questioned as she looked up at him. He was scratching his head in confusion, with his other arm on his hip.

"I'll give you a free hit. C'mon it will be fun!"

"You idiot!" she spouted, "You just don't go letting people hit you! How are you still standing here if you're that stupid?"

Furrowing his brow, he replied slowly. "Well, you wanted to hit me and… I guess I want you to hit me…"

An idea popped into the blonde girls head.

"With any attack?"

"Yeah, anything you got" he grinned, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"In that case…"

Natsu's eyes widened in panic as she reached for the leather pouch on her belt. She wouldn't pull a pocket knife out on him would she? Did she count a stab as a free attack?

"Open up! Gate of the Bull! Taurus!" she screamed, waving a golden key in the air.

Before Natsu could even comprehend why a girl would be waving her house keys in the air, a large bull twice his size loomed over him. Steam escaped his nostrils as he looked down at Natsu, allowing a deep chuckle to erupt from his chest.

"Miss Lucy! Am I yet to fight another of your admirers, cause you're looking tooooooo good!" he announced, crackling his knuckles, which were also twice the size of the pink haired boys head.

"Taurus!" she demanded, pointing to Natsu, "Just one punch to end this guy! And don't go too crazy, cause he won't fight back."

Taurus sized up Natsu with a huff. An opponent that wouldn't fight back didn't seem much like an opponent at all to him, but he was contracted to help Lucy in any fight, big or small. Putting his pride behind him, Taurus readied his fist.

"Anything for you Miss Lucy!" he proclaimed, thrusting his fist into Natsu's stomach.

True to his word, Natsu did not block or fight back. As he flew backwards through the air, Lucy felt guilt weighing down her stomach. Even though one of her strongest spirits just king hit him in the gut, his face was calm. Hitting the cement hard, Natsu's body skidded down the street. Even Happy, who was lying where he landed before was worried about him, shouting "NATSU!" when his body laid still on the ground.

Lucy immediately sent Taurus back to the spirit world and ran over to the lifeless boys body. All Happy did was watch, determined to let them figure it out themselves. After all, when he tried to help he just got slugged across the head. Getting down on her knees, Lucy shook his shoulder, fear betraying her voice when she tried to sound calm.

"Natsu… NATSU!" Still shaking his shoulders, he slowly opened his eyes and grinned. Lucy backed away in disbelief. How did he survive a hit that hard? And with a smile? Still, he kept surprising her and got up onto his knees, and slowly rose to his feet.

"Why didn't you block?" Lucy asked, continuing to stare at him in disbelief. Natsu stood above her with a smile, and offered her his hand to stand up. Accepting it, he pulled her to her feet.

"We agreed that you had a free shot," he concluded, running his hand through his hair lazily, "and besides, that was kind of fun! Do you have anymore of those guys?"

Lucy slowly nodded as she watched him straighten himself up. He pulled his long sleeves back down his arms to his wrists, and twisted his pants until they were sitting straight on his body. He looked back up to her, and thought about what he was going to say. He knew now that she was a mage, and obviously a powerful one. How would he convince her to join his guild? He suddenly got excited as his plan to spend more time with her could actually happen. Deciding that beating around the bush wasn't going to get him anywhere, he placed both hands on his shoulders, ignoring her wide eyes and shaking arms, and asked.

"Do you want to join my guild?"

Silence.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "but I already have a guild."

"What? Who?!" he asked with panic in his voice. Shaking her shoulders for an answer, he thought about his options. She could leave that guild and join mine. Or I could leave mine and join hers. NO! I could never leave. They're my family… I knew she was too cute to be true.

"Oh no," she quickly replied in defence to her last answer, "I'm not part of an official guild, yet… But I have a dream guild that I just can't wait to join! I just got to travel a bit to get stronger though so they'll accept me."

Relief washed through Natsu's body. This strange, adorable, peculiar, silly, stubborn girl wasn't part of a guild. Does that mean she was up for grabs? Natsu hadn't brought anyone to the guild yet, so he wasn't sure of proper etiquette when trying to convince someone to join.

"Please, you got to come with me! It's the best guild around!" Lucy could hear the begging in his voice, and decided to be straightforward with him too.

"I'm sorry but I'm set on joining my dream guild! They're in Sorcerers Weekly all the time and they have the most powerful and amazing mages! This one girl, Mirajane is SUPER pretty and is always the centrefold," she explained, holding her hands to her cheeks to hide the blush.

Natsu's eyes widened in shock. Did he just hear the name Mirajane?

"And there is another wizard – they call him the Salamander. Apparently he uses this reaaallllyyy old fire magic and he is a real. life. dragon slayer. Oh just to meet him and ask him about his magic would be the greatest experience of my life!"

Natsu smirked. He had definitely heard the name Mirajane.

"Happy!" Natsu shouted over his shoulder, "Can you take Lucy to our guild, and fast?"

"Aye, sir!"

Lucy stiffened and brought her hands to her side. There was no way that she was going to be kidnapped. The whole point of this encounter was to get some money out of them, and now she was the one who was going to be kidnapped? Not. On. Her. Life.

As Happy ran over to her, she dived to the ground near the river. So much for finding Natsu cute and charming. He was just a creepy pervert hoping to seduce and kidnap her! Oh boy, did she have a way of picking the losers.

Before Happy or Natsu reached her, she had grabbed another key and placed it in the water.

"Open up! Gate of the Water Carrier! Aquarius!"

The water glowed and swirled, creating a strong whirlpool where a beautiful mermaid with blue hair rose above the waves. Concentrating on her plan, Lucy didn't even hear Natsu cheering about how cool the new girl looked.

Knowing Aquarius' temper, she was sure to sweep Lucy up in whatever attacked she used. Therefore, if she attacked all three of them, they would all be swept off to different parts of the city. Natsu and Happy would immediately go and look for each other, and she would be free to run off on her own and escape. They would never know anything more than her name and that she had a few spirits, and she could roam the countryside and train before joining her dream guild. Perfect.

Here's hoping this works.

"Aquarius! Get rid of these guys please!"

"Tch."

As Aquarius went underwater to fill her jug, Lucy looked back up at Natsu. Confusion and hurt were etched on his face, as if he didn't understand why she was still attacking them. Happy just looked petrified as he eyed the water, hissing at the rising waves.

Although he attack didn't go to plan, she was glad she met them. She now had an idea of just how strong she would have to be before she even considered joining a guild – especially if she ever had to go against Natsu's guild. Realising that she didn't even know what type of mage he was, she opened her mouth to ask the question. Natsu wasn't even looking at her now though, as he reached his arm past her to Happy. For some reason this really hurt her, but she didn't have time to think about her feelings as a strong tidal wave rushed over her body. Holding her breath, she felt her body get thrashed in the waves as they flowed down the street.

Just as her breath ran out, the water subsided. The cement was hard and cold, and her hands were shaking. Looking around, she saw neither Natsu nor Happy. Feeling around the ground with her hands, she realised that she had been reunited with her whip.

Relief.

"Lucy! Are you okay?" a voice shouted.

What?

"Miss Lucy! Please don't be dead!" pleaded a higher pitched voice.

Crap.

"Lucy!" Natsu called as he got on his knees beside her. "Are you okay?"

"How… How did you find me?" she murmured, her eyes still closed from the water.

"Happy carried me silly," he cooed, wiping the hair from her face, "and now you get to join us!"

Too weak to move, Lucy just groaned as Natsu lifted her up into his arms. As he waltzed down the street, she felt her body getting warmer. This was a lot more intimate than his arm around her waist, but she had no intention to fight it this time.

Taking the opportunity while it was present, Lucy whispered, "What kind of mage are you?"

She felt him chuckle deep within his chest and she knew his smirk would be plastered over his face.

"I'm just the warming kind," he purred, gently cradling her body. Although it wasn't 100% the truth, he really didn't want to tell her just yet. Maybe he could get some more out of her about how "amazing" this Salamander guy was. Who knows, maybe she had a crush on him or something. He didn't exactly get how girl's brains worked. All he knew was that his body was feeling a whole lot warmer than usual, and he wasn't sure if it was his attempt to subtly use his magic to dry her wet clothes, or if it was his hormones going haywire at holding a gorgeous, wet girl in his arms.

It's got to be my magic. Yeah, let's go with that.

He let her sleep for a several hours as they walked back to the guild. Happy had gone ahead a few hours ago to warn the master of a new member, ensuring that there would be a party when they arrived. Natsu had also been staring at her for the majority of the journey, and he was pretty sure he had memorised every curve, dip and bump of her face and body. She was too gorgeous for her own good - especially now that her fake "aggressive" look was gone and replaced with a sweet, sleeping angel.

Angel? Gosh, he sounded like a lovesick puppy.

When they arrived at the gates, he gently coaxed her awake. Stirring in his arms, she wiped her eyes and looked around.

"Where am I?" she asked innocently, unable to read the words of the guild as her eyes had not adjusted to the sun yet.

"One," he gently whispered, "I'm really really glad you're okay."

Lucy looked back to him, sending daggers in his direction. Why the heck was he back to numbering things.

"Two," he continued, "I know for a fact that you've already met the Salamander."

Lucy scrunched her eyebrows up in confusion. Not only had he kidnapped her – as if that wasn't bad enough – but he also insisted on speaking riddles to her. That was just mean.

His eyes were alight with excitement, and his grin covered the majority of his face.

"Three," he spoke, bringing his face closer to hers, "you're at my guild, and the Salamander couldn't be happier."

As her eyes had adjusted, she looked back up and read the words. Remaining silent, she stared back up at Natsu, unable to breath. Only when he laughed, did she notice the flames dancing between his teeth.

Finally able to find her voice, Lucy let out an ear-piercing scream.

AN: Hey guys! I just wanted to thank you all so much for liking, following, reviewing and even just glancing at my story. I've spent the last 6 months on just reading stories and finally decided to let some of mine out in the open, so thanks :)
A few things I just wanted to rant about - for now this story is a simple one shot. I don't have plans to do anymore with it for now, but I may go back and add more in the middle or make it more in depth in the future some time.
Natsu and Lucy are not completely in character, but I don't think the story would of worked if they were (I mean Natsu would just want to fight and have no interest in Lucy! My inner shipper won't let that happen!). My favourite stories are about Natsu chasing Lucy after all.
Oh and I know some may find the end of the story a bit silly, but honestly, when does Lucy ever not freak out?
Okay, I'll shush now! Carry on and read all the other fantastic stories out there!

But thank you so much! I'm sure I'll annoy you with my imagination again soon.