P  R  E  P  A  R  I  N  G 
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  The blonde gazed intently at the spaciousness of the house, wondering how everything that he owned fit perfectly in it's place. The interior was actually quite appealing, and the rustic vibe of everything was practically obvious. The walls were also a light wooden shade, and so were the floorboards. There was a small mahogany coffee-table nearby the brown-leather lounge sofa, which had two sets of glass coasters and small, white ceramic mugs on top of it.

  In the center, there was a excellently decorated, blue, stained-glass vase, along with small cloth napkins for good habit. Under the sofa and table, there was a small rug, with an ancient, magic carpet look to it. It looked as if it was sewn by the natives, and it had brown fringes on the short sides, since it was in the shape of a rectangle.

  Hanging from the ceiling, there was a beautiful golden lantern, which was already alight, and almost brightened the entire room. On the opposite side of the couch, there was a clean flat-screen television, that was surrounded by pictures of Natsu and young girl with long, navy blue pigtails; they seemed rather enthusiastic about something. To the right, there was a small mirror with a golden trim, and a pure white pet bed, along with an assortment of cute cat toys. To the left, the archway to the kitchen, which was carefully designed with golden glittery paint, which shone brightly against the lantern's luminosity.

  Natsu motioned the blonde to follow him up the tawny staircase, in which she did. Following him up the steps, she took brief glimpses at all of the framed photgraphs of, what seemed like family, on the walls. "Do you live alone in here, Mister?" She questioned him, noticing how quiet and peaceful the place was so far.m"Unless you count Happy, then yes. And stop calling me 'Mister,' it's unsettling." Natsu responded, continuing to lead her down the narrow hall.

  "Who's Happy, Mister?" She inquired, tilting her head at him in confusion. "My cat….and stop calling me that." Natsu grits his teeth, grasping her hand and pulling her into a pitch black room. She sweat-dropped, realizing that it was so dark, that she couldn't even see her own hand in front of her face. Her mind instantly traveled to the darkest of places. Was he going to rape her? Or was this all a plan to sell her into human trafficking?! She began to hyperventilate and her heart almost stopped.

  Quickly, she gripped onto Natsu's arm, which she recognized easily. "And...lights." Lu heard a soft click of some sort and the lights were on. The room looked like one of the cool rooms from a spy movie, widgets and gadgets everywhere. "Oh~!!" Lucy bounced around, looking at all of the highly dangerous items. "Mister, what's this one for?" She picked up a blue lazer pointer, pointing it to her left hand.

  "Disintegration ray. Keep it steady for more than three seconds and it makes whatever it's directed at, well, disintegrate." He answered casually. Lucy yelped and immediately dropped the weapon to the floorboards with an exceedingly loud thud.

  "AND FOR THE LAST DAMN TIME, QUIT CALLING ME MISTER! THE NAME'S NATSU!" He roared, probably perturbed by her exasperating actions. Without a second thought, she stiffens and nods her head briskly. A moment of silence passes. "So..are you like, a secret agent?" She inquires, a bit of an enthused hum behind her words. "Something like that. Wait, no...nothing like that." He replies, pounding keys onto the electric-wired table.

  "This is so much like The Avengers!" Lucy cries out in an over-joyed manner, twirling around in utmost excitement. "What's that?" He stares at her, obviously confused. She looks at him dully and shake her head. He shrugs it off. "What's our first mission, sir?" She continued, boxing the air as if she was ready to kick serious ass.

  He pauses and pinches the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. "I'm glad you asked. Come here." He sighs in response, pointing to the cushioned gray chair next to his. She nods and capers over, plopping down quickly. "So.." He brought up a picture of a weird, creepy looking guy. His hair was a deep brown and his eyes were a forest green. His skin was a little tanned, but no more than Natsu's. His arms were a tad muscular and hairy, he kind of looked like a big-shot hustler.

  He was wearing a filthy brown jacket with a small silver pendant, which harbored a letter 'V,' which was most likely somehow connected to a group of some sort. "See this guy? This is Zaros Lâmina, commonly known as Blade, who works for the biggest and baddest Mafia boss in Queens...my rival. But also, Zeref's apprentice." He continued, clicking the screen and making another picture pop up."This is Juan Halberoś, his partner and assistant."

  Natsu continued on, a determined look on his face. The man was quite stubby, with a head full of unkempt midnight black hair and ocean blue eyes. His eyebrows were bushy and his back was hunched over slightly. Adding to his grotesque image, his face exhibited a smug grin, which showed a noticeable tint of mischief in his eyes.

  He was also wearing the same style jacket, with a gun obviously stuffed in the side pocket of it, which his left hand was buried inside of.

  "We're going to take them down." Natsu looked to her, smirking as if he'd come up with the most brilliant plan. "Now. Are you in?...Or are you out?" Natsu questions, his eyes flashing a fiery crimson.

  "For ten million? Hell yea, I'm in!" Lucy replied, pumping her fist into the air in exhilaration. "Well then, first mission starts tomorrow at six." Natsu winked, exiting out of the computerized program and standing up. Lucy stood up also, pulling her golden bangs behind her ear. "You can sleep here for the time being." Natsu pulled her to his room, throwing open the door. "I shouldn't inconvenience you, I'll just head home." She turns on her heel and he grips onto her of forearm. "You should stay here, where it's safe...with me." He pleads resting his forehead on hers.

  "Safe, with you?" She holds back a giggle as his cheeks flush red. "I don't want my only asset to get murdered after being seen with me." He scratches behind his neck and sighs. "You sleep in the bed, I sleep on the couch." Nastu continues, pointing to each spot. "But I want the couch!" Lucy whines, puffing her cheeks out. "I always sleep on the couch!" He growls, his eyes returning to their fiery crimson state.

  "But I don't have a couch!" Lu wails, stomping her feet childishly. "You don't have a bed either, Lucy!" Natsu mutters, gritting his teeth. He knew she hated that name..That's why she changed it.

  "What?" She questions, obviously not able to hear him. "Nothing." He responds, pulling the couch out into a matress. "I'll sleep on one side, you, the other."  Natsu continues, climbing under the heavy blanket. Lucy sighs in delight, then frowns, realizing that she didn't have a blanket; only her cloak. She laid down on the couch, wrapping her arms around herself in a minimal attempt to keep herself warm.  Her shaky breaths mixed with the cold air, flinging back into her face. Natsu grunts something inaudible and pulls Lucy closer to his body, causing her face to heat up.

  She tried to writhe out of his grasp, tossing and turning, knowing that in the morning, he'd murder her for this. Until she realized, she wasn't cold anymore. Snuggling into his chest, she sighed in relief. Soon after, she fell asleep, ready for their first mission together.

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