Well I didn't really answer many questions again XD sorry guys. But I think you will still love this chapter ^~^

~•*Lucy*•~

"What the fuck?!" I exclaimed, leaping back from the shattered glass and gaping at the guy who had busted through the bathroom window. How did he even fit there anyway? "Get the hell away from me!" I blasted the hair dryer and used it as a weapon, blowing the scalding air in his face. He sputters and grunts, momentarily stumbling back.

I hit the guy with the hairdryer before pressing the hot metal part onto his skin mercilessly. Natsu ran in just then, yanking the guy back using the back of his shirt, bringing him down to the ground before punching him and knocking him out. "You okay?" He asked, trying to keep a wince off of his face. I noted the trail off blood and I realized he must have stepped on multiple shards of glass.

"Yeah, thanks." I breathed, forgetting my hair was only half dry. "What's wrong with your feet, why are they bleeding?" I quickly ask him.

"The glass kinda blew up in the kitchen too. I think they broke all the windows as a distraction." He explained with a frown, sitting himself on the counter top. "Do you think you can pull the glass out for me? I'm gonna need to wrap it up before putting some shoes on."

I nodded, reaching into the cabinet and pulling out a first aid kit. He winced when the first piece of glass was removed and I quietly apologized. He waved me off, looking lost in thought. "Hey Luce, why were those guys after you? They didn't even give me or Erza the time of day." He suddenly asks.

I paused, my arm extended with the tweezers in hand. I felt my face pale at the question, and I saw him frown with a thoughtful look still on his face, making me wonder what it was he was thinking about. "I don't know." I finally replied tersely. Then I went back to taking the glass out of his feet, my lips tightly pursed.

"Lucy, they didn't even care about me or Erza, but they only came after you. You don't have any affiliation with them do you?"

"Of course not!" I snapped, setting the tweezers down on the counter beside him as I stood up. "I don't have and I don't want anything to do with them! They destroyed my life and I will do anything it takes to bring them down!" I yelled, my eyes welling up with tears of anger, frustration and confusion.

"I'm sorry, but I need to know everything Lucy. They wrecked my house and came here solely for you, I gotta know why! It's a war dammit, we need to know everything."

I ran my hands through my hair as I turned around, taking careful breaths. I finally turned back around after a minute, tears streaming down my face. I had to tell him the truth, at least part of it. He deserved that much. "Natsu, I lied to you." I whispered, pain written all over my face. "The lead on my mother's death never went cold...It was never even opened because they already know who did it--I already know who..."

"What are you talkin' about Lucy?" His face was hard, confusion flashing in his eyes as he looked at me. Guilt welled up in my stomach.

"Jude killed my mom, Natsu. It was Jude." His eyes widened and I was fighting the urge to run and just hide under some blankets.

"Why the hell would you lie to me about something like that?!" He shouted, standing up. In the small bathroom I was already backed up to the wall. I adjusted so I wouldn't hit anything, but I felt slightly claustrophobic.

"Because they told me not to say anything." Tears were running down my face steadily now, pain and regret evident in my voice. "I didn't have a choice Natsu!" He backed away a bit, sitting back down on the counter to give me enough room. He ran his fingers through his hair frustratedly, scratching the back of his head. I could tell he was trying to figure everything out and make sense of it.

"I'm sorry Luce." He eventually apologized with a sigh. "I just want to keep you safe. It's best if I know everything; there could be a potential threat anywhere." I only sniffled before nodding. Just then, Erza came back in, blood splattered on her clothes and face.

"I've taken care of the rest. We should have a couple of minutes to get out before backup comes, so hurry up and grab what you need. I'm going to head back to the warehouse and tell them what happened and to get Wendy prepared to fix your feet. I'll see you guys in a bit, and stay safe." She glared at us while pointing before walking away, the glass crunching under her feet. I cringed at the sound until it faded.

I stayed quiet for a moment before grabbing the tweezers and pulling out the remainder of the glass. "Go get dressed, you can brush your teeth at the warehouse." I stood up and walked across the hall to my room. After I shouldered my duffel and waited a few minutes just standing in my room with my eyes closed I received a text. It was from Erza and it told us to get a move on. I made my way over to Natsu's room and knocked on the open door. "Are you ready? I just go a text from Erza telling us to hurry up."

"Yeah, let's go." He nodded, grabbing a jacket before walking out. We got in his car and was on our way back to the warehouse. I leaned my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes, praying I wouldn't regret telling him. I needed him to help me, to believe me... I groaned softly at the thought of telling him I was undercover right now. He would hate me if I ever told him. I shoved the thought away, not wanting to deal with that yet.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier," I choke the words out softly, eyes still shut as an attempt at preventing tears from falling. Natsu was silent and I wondered just how mad he really was at me. I peeked my eyes open and flicked a glance his way. He was staring ahead with his eyebrows furrowed in thought, and I slowly reached out to place my hand on his arm.

"I'm sure you had a reason to not tell me." He finally responds, breaking the fragile silence and making me draw my hand back in slight surprise. I merely nod in response before hesitantingly placing my hand back on his arm that that was holding the clutch. He seemed a bit surprised by the contact, but I caught sight of a small smile on his lips. I closed my eyes again and drifted off, sleeping until Natsu shook me gently. "We're here."

I sat up and unbuckled, slowly getting out of the car and grabbing my duffel before heading inside. The noise and activity had died down from the last time I had been here--conscious that is. People were shooting us curious glances, but didn't press it for details after a look from Natsu. Wendy stepped out of the infirmary and called for us to come see her. Erza must have mentioned Natsu's run-in with the broken glass like she said she would.

We made our way up the steps and Wendy pushed us into one of the rooms before quickly shutting the door. "Natsu, shoes off. Now. Lucy, sit on that bed so I can check on your injuries when I'm done healing him up." She ordered and I nodded as I let my duffel hit the ground. She was surprisingly commanding when she got into her element, but I guess everybody was used to it. Natsu had sat down and pulled off his shoes already as Wendy began using her magic to heal his feet. I zoned out and eventually began dozing off on the cot I was sitting on as I waited for her to finish healing his feet. Eventually she let out a satisfied sigh and I reluctantly opened my eyes. "You're all good now!"

I looked over at them as Natsu got to his feet. Wendy made her way over to me and pointed at my pants. Then she looked at Natsu who quickly left the room with his duffel in hand and closed the door behind him. "Okay Lucy, let's have a look," Wendy inspected the stitching before giving me a small smile. "You're healing quickly! But I still don't want you pushing yourself. Natsu mentioned you wanted to go on a job," she pauses and hands me a piece of paper, "do this one. It'll be good for you."

I read over it quickly before nodding. "I'll tell Natsu," I grin and Wendy steps back to let me pull my pants back up quickly. I hurry to grab my duffel, though I don't move too quickly with Wendy watching me carefully. I swing the door open and Natsu is waiting opposite of the door, leaning on the railing. I hold the paper out to him and he reads over it.

"Gathering intel on Jude at a high class party...sounds a bit dull," he sighs and I raise my eyebrow before taking the paper back.

"That's the point Pinkie," I stick my tongue out at him and he shoots me an unamused look that makes me laugh.

"Don't call me Pinkie." He ruffled my hair and it was my turn to look unamused. I fixed it just as Erza walked up the steps to meet us. She caught sight of the paper in my hand before she spoke.

"I see you were given the request," she gestures to the paper and I nod.

"Yeah, we're going to take it," I tell her as I readjust my duffel, shifting my weight uncomfortably with a small grimace as the weight pressed on my leg slightly. Natsu seemed to notice but I kept my focus on Erza and ignored him.

"We are working on different living arrangements for you two. But for now you will be staying at a hotel close to the location that party will be held at. Natsu, Master wanted me to tell you no rash decisions or actions, this is to be a low profile job with absolutely zero conflict." Erza had an intimidating look and Natsu quickly nodded with a scared look. I fought off my laughter, but I did giggle quietly to myself.

"I'll see you two in a few days," Erza smirked after handing Natsu a key card. Then she walked away, down the stairs and into the crowd of the gang. Natsu suddenly reached out and grabbed the strap of my duffel.

"What are you doing? Why are you trying to grab my duffel bag?" My head snaps in his direction and he had turned to me, his scared look gone without a trace.

"Lucy don't play stupid, I saw you earlier as we where talking to Erza. Let me take the duffel bag." He used the same look he had last night at dinner and I gulped before shrugging the bag off of my shoulder. I watched him shoulder it along with his before he grabbed my wrist. "Let's get going, we need to get clothes for this job and then get to our hotel."

He leads me back out after he stops to brush his teeth and greet a few other gang members, and I make a quick stop to the bathroom. I get back into the passenger side and he tosses our bags in the trunk, and I dully thought about how pointless it had been to get them out in the first place. But we hadn't known about the job... I sigh and lean my head on the cool glass after buckling in. I close my eyes and a yawn escapes me. I hear Natsu get in and start the engine. Then I feel a hand brush my bangs back, but I don't react, staying completely still.

"Luce are you still tired?" Natsu asks and I barely nod in response. He draws his hand back, "Sleep on the way then, it'll do you good." I only give a soft sigh in regards to his words, sick of being worn down all of the damn time. Maybe I should make him go get some supplements or something to help me replenish the blood I lost. He pulled out and drove down the road, heading towards the highway. We were going deeper into the city, an area that was populated with more skyscrapers and felt like an entirely different world. I wasn't so used to skyscrapers anymore.

I dozed off again, Natsu's iPod playing on the car stereo. I barely payed any notice the music, it was only background noise to me before my drowsy state tuned it out entirely. When I woke up again, Natsu was pulling up to a designer store. I knew the items here were on the pricier side and I wondered where he got money for this, or if he even had money for this...

"Natsu, you know stuff here costs a fortune, right?" I peek at him after I had gotten out and began to walk in with him.

"Of course it does. If we're going to the kind of party the request mentioned, we're gonna need some fancy clothes to blend in." I nod before another question pops into my mind. "How are we going to even get in?"

Natsu smirked. "We have an inside guy, don't worry your pretty little head over it. We have things taken care of." He pulls open the door and I rush inside, wanting to hide the blush that crossed my face at his subtle compliment. I quickly begin looking at things and I see Natsu on the other side of the store. I blankly look over dresses, but they just didn't catch my eye. My mind whirled over Natsu's compliment and I ran my hands through my hair before gently hitting my cheeks to calm down.

After I got a grip on myself, I wondered over towards another rack began looking through a different selection of dresses. I had only browsed through half of the rack when my eyes fell upon a red silk dress that looked as if it stopped just below the knee. The skirt by itself was very elegant, the silk making it flow beautifully and allowing easy movement. The straps were a bit thick, but that allowed for it to plunge down in the back. There was a beautiful faint silver pattern of gentle swirls that traveled from the bust and down to the skirt, giving it the appearance of smoke. I picked it up off of the rack and tried it on. The back only plunged down to my mid back, a perfect length. I immediately fell in love with it.

I found a pair of black three inch heels that I would wear with them after that. They had a small space to allow a toe to peek out, adding to the class factor the dress already had. Natsu had a simple tux picked out and he paid for everything. I purposely didn't look at the price tag and the final amount he paid; I knew I would only feel guilt over it. I grabbed the bags and Natsu ushered me outside towards the car. I set the bags in the back seat before getting back into the passenger's seat. Natsu already had the car running, so he pulled out and headed for the hotel that had been pre-marked onto our job flier. It was probably most likely Erza or Wendy's doing.

The hotel was a tall posh building, elegant and extremely high class. I seriously wanna know how we can even afford things like this. We got out of the car and a valet drove it to the parking lot. I carried our shopping bags, Natsu carrying our duffel bags on one of his shoulders--we had denied help from a bell hop. Inside was a large lobby with a few wealthy looking people milling about. There was a crystal chandelier and shiny hardwood flooring. The walls were a bright white, colored with red and gold accents. I looked over at Natsu while he was checking us in at the desk and I walked over to him and nudged him gently.

He sends me a curious glance while the receptionist is typing and I stick my tongue out at him teasingly. He couldn't do anything back since he was busy and I inwardly laughed, my amusement playing in my looks. Natsu finished up and pulled me towards the elevator. He pressed the button for floor three and the elevator jerked slightly after a moment before ascending. He looked between the doors while we walked down the hallway before stopping at what I was assuming our room. He slid the keycard in and the door clicked, signaling that it had unlocked. We walked in and it was kinda spacious, but I noted that there was one slight issue.

"Natsu, there's only one bed... And the only other furniture in here is a chair and table." I say as I take our clothes out of their respective bags and hang them up in the closet. Natsu set our duffle bags by the wall before he turned to me.

"I think we'll be okay Luce," he chuckles. "Sleeping in the same bed as me won't kill you." I laugh at his sarcastic remark and just shake my head.

"Alright, you're right. Just make sure you leave enough room for me." I add the last part quickly.

"Who said I was gonna do that?" He grins with an evil glint in his eye.

"I did, just now." I put my hands on my hips. "Do you have a problem with that?" I raise an eyebrow and he shakes his head.

"Nope, no problem." He smiles before beginning to unpack. I smiled to myself before beginning to unpack some of my things as well. I don't take much out, just things to sleep in later. We had spent a good amount of time shopping and visiting Wendy, not allowing us much time to stop and eat. Right as I had that thought, my stomach grumbled slightly and I heard Natsu laugh beside me.

"Let's get ready to go to this party, you can get some food there," Natsu says as he stands up. I follow in suit and start to move to grab my dress from the closet, but Natsu stops me. "Luce, when we're there, I want you with me at all times, okay?" I meet his gaze and see that unfamiliar look again. I nod gently.

"Yeah, I won't leave your side."