This ficlet is dedicated to easyminds from tumblr, and also inspired by her very cute Next Door Neighbour AU Art!:3
But I also had this other idea and decided to incorporate it here, so it's your original AU but with a not so little twist!:O

(This is also the reason why T&T updates are a little slow at the moment, I hope you forgive me, and that this will make up for it hehe.)

I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did writing it! It's a little different from my usual writing style, but boy it was fun! :D And challenging. Who knew that being funny was this hard? And impossible :'D It cost me the one or other nerve. :p
This will be a four part fic!

"Locked out again?"

The young man sitting on the ground grinned up at his neighbour, looking almost toounashamed of himself as he pulled on his cigarette. Slowly, he exhaled the smoke and watched as a little cloud formed before the breeze carried it away.

Natsu Dragneel was not a women's man. He was, in fact, undeliberately qualifying for the exact opposite in various categories of his life. He had never hit on women with complicated and elaborate schemes; he had no playbook; he was, simply put, not even interested in dating anyone most of the time. If he won any awards for his feats, they would be titled By Now I Should Probably Know Women Will Misunderstand Me When I Say I Want To Show Them My Dragon, I Hit On Girls By Asking Them To Buy Me Dinner, or That One Time I Had A One Night Stand And Ruined It By Painting Her Face With A Sharpy While She Was Asleep.

Or at least that is what he would have told you, had you asked him.

So what in hell had driven him to take such measures?

The answer was as simple as it was new.

A woman.

The measures, too, were simple. He had 'forgotten' his keys at home. Now this act on its own would have been rather stupid, you might think, because all it would leave him with besides no woman would be no flat.

But Natsu Dragneel was not stupid either. He was a risktaker, and he gladly gave up his flat - temporarily - to obtain both home and woman in the end. Also, and more importantly, he preferred good company over an empty flat any day.

The flat that, coincidentally, was the one right beside hers.

Which was how it had all started, when he had actually locked himself out of his flat three days ago - only to be found and sheltered by her as they waited for the key service to arrive.

That hour had been the most enjoyable of his week.

She, the woman, was his new next door neighbour Lucy Heartfilia, a blonde with wit as sharp as a whip and a heart made entirely of kindness. That was everything he could be sure of as of now, plus the fact that she had a dog named Plue that looked like an unfortunate snowman in spring. But he was determined to find out more.

Because he liked her.

And he didn't even need to think further than that. All he knew was that she was fun to be with, and that he wanted to be with her again, preferably many times. That was another thing Natsu Dragneel was: straightforward, and impulsive.

And so, in the spur of a moment, he had slammed the door shut behind him, leaving his keys safely on the hook beside the door.

"Yeah," he answered with a grin, "locked out again."

Lucy gave an incredulous laugh, and he blinked up at her repeatedly, forgetting all about the glimmering cigarette between his fingers. It was almost dead, and, suddenly not very tempted by it anymore, he flicked it over the railing. Her eyes followed the stub until it hit the ground below.

"So, you need to be rescued again, do you? My phone is all yours."

He wanted everything about her to be all his - from her dazzling smile to her perfect breasts and the curve of her hips.

The thought came and went in a heartbeat, and it left Natsu a little surprised by himself. It had been a while since he had felt such a strong longing for someone or something, he had almost forgotten the joy of it.

As he worked himself off the floor, he readjusted the beanie on his head, trying to tame his salmon curls. But they were not to be tamed. Ever. His muscles ached too. He shouldn't have overdone it with that workout… again.

Lucy was giggling when he faced her, and he realized that, of course, she had been witnessing his whole struggle.

"Well, come on in before you accidentally kill yourself," she laughed, fumbling for her keys. Natsu was surprised that those space patterned leggins of hers even had pockets. He puffed his cheeks in protest, but she had already turned her back on him. The door with the brass 13 swung open.

The apartment had a similar layout to his, so he knew his way around without trouble from what he remembered from his last visit.

He walked a straight line to the couch, only momentarily peeking to the kitchen area to his right before flopping down into the soft cushions.

"Ahh," he sighed happily, inhaling the scent of flowers and myrrh. Boy, she sure loved her herbs. Maybe she liked to cook? Which gave him an idea…

"Do you have any snacks?"

The blonde's brow twitched, and Natsu wondered if she had stepped on something edgy.

"Do you want me to bring you the phone while I'm at it, too?"

"That would be awesome."

For a moment, she stared at him motionlessly, and now Natsu was sure there had to be a mean object digging into her sole. She looked like she was in pain.

"AS IF I'M GONNA BRING YOU THE PHONE!"

"Oh. Aw. The snacks though…?"

"No."

He pouted. "Last time we had tea and cookies though…"

Now, for some reason, Lucy's face softened.

"We can prepare it together," she offered.

His face lit up.

"But first," she continued, wagging her finger at him. "Call the key service."

By the time he returned to the kitchenette, the kettle on the stove was steaming. With curiosity, he eyed the small scythe on the wall. She had all sorts of interesting - and probably useful - kitchen utensils. A new How Can I Casually Spend More Time With Lucy-idea blossomed in his mind: he'd have to lend them from time to time. Considering that his supply of utensils consisted of a few different pieces of cutlery and one spatula, this idea of his might prove to be more of a neccesity than a plan.

In his own humble opinion, he was doing great at living alone, thankyou very much, but he had to admit that her flat possessed more than one thing that his was lacking. Not to mention she had moved in not more than two weeks ago, while he had been living here for half a year now. But, he thought with a small sense of victory, at least he had a pet.

That was when his eyes found the fishtank.

Oh damn it all.

He moved closer to inspect his 'cool pet' rival. But immediately, he realized this was a battle he would win.

"Wow, that's an ugly fish."

"I know right? His name's Ichiya."

Now if you want to imagine the fish named Ichiya, imagine an orange blob of modelling clay that has been slammed against a concrete wall several times before being handed to a toddler equipped with a sharpy and a weird sense of creativity. The result would almost come close to the thing in the fish tank.

Natsu leaned in closer, wondering if his cat would still consider this a fish worthy of its muzzle, or even a fish at all. His eyes were weirdly clever, almost desperate and pleading. Maybe it wanted him to end its agony? Natsu shivered and backed away.

"You can arrange some biscuits on this plate over there."

"Aye!"

Diligently, he scurried back to her side to lovingly arrange the biscuits - he recognized them, they were the cheapest from the supermarket next door - onto the pastel pink plate. He only stopped when the entire pack was empty, and Lucy eyed him as if he was a maniac.

He didn't understand why.

Just as they sat down on the couch, her phone buzzed and she pulled it out. He watched her fingers busily tap over the pink device. The little black cat figure she had fixed to it dangled loosely at the back. He crossed his legs on the couch and eyed the steaming tea. It was still too hot even for him. He looked back at her. She was grinning at the screen.

Say something, Natsu.

He shifted nervously. He didn't want this to become awkward. She looked up at him and smiled, seemingly waiting for him to say something. Was he looking like he wanted to say something? What was he supposed to say?

Not that.

Panic started bubbling inside him. She raised her brows. He reached for the tea, took a sip, and coughed his lungs out. It was as drinkable as liquid fire. Her eyes widened, and she looked like she was doubting his sanity.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah! So uh…"

Don't say it. Anything but that.

"Do you wanna see my dragon?"

Lucy choked on her biscuit.

You idiot. You ruined it. Now she's gonna throw you out and never talk to you again. You idiot. Why the hell would you say this? Again?

"Y-your what?" she wheezed, tears in her eyes. He wasn't sure, but she seemed amused rather than scared off or offended.

"It's uh, it's…a joke? But also not really a joke! I mean… I was quite proud of it when I came up with it…" He trailed off as he watched her pressing her lips together, desperately trying not to laugh. Her face was beet-red, but the amusement in her eyes was contagious.

"You were proud of… a dick joke?"

"Hey, I made it up myself!" he protested, and this time he joined in on her snorting. "It wasn't even meant as one! I was just being an oblivious idiot! See, it's my bike. And I genuinely wanted to show her but - well I never got that far. So then I kinda started using it as a joke-not-joke."

"So you…made it up by accident is what you're saying."

"That doesn't make it better does it."

"Not at all."

Silence settled slowly, driving out their laughter. Natsu's stomach hurt. Well, at least she didn't hate him. That was a start, wasn't it?

It certainly was new.

"So… I'd love to see your dragon."

"Seriously?!"

His eyes widened when she grinned at him.

"I'm quite interested in motorbikes myself, you see."

She looked rather proud of herself. His mouth dropped, and he jumped up from the couch.

"For real? Come on then, I'll show you!"

Her grin matched his as she stood up. He had left the tea untouched after his near-death experience, but her cup was almost empty. He cocked his head in confusion. Usually he was the one who was known as the one with the dragon lungs. Her eyes dropped to the ground, and his followed. With her foot, she kicked a thick book to the side before he could read the title. Sp-

"Let's go!"

"Alright!"

They dashed out of the apartment and down the outside stairs excitedly, almost tripping into the other on more than one occasion. The carpark was behind the building, and not fully occupied at this time of day. There were a few cars, three motorcycles, and one scooter.

And it was this scooter - a red Vespa, to be exact - in front of which Natsu halted with a proud grin. Lucy's eyes fixed themsleves on the flames that he had graffitied to the side.

"So this is…"

"…my dragon."

He beamed at her, patting the saddle with the chafed leather lovingly. The corners of her mouth twitched. And then she was giggling, clutching a hand over her mouth.

"What?" he was still grinning. "It's faster than it looks! My baby can go like… 60 km/h on a straight road!"

She burst into laughter, and he joined in. He was well aware that 'dragon' built up a reputation his beloved Vespa could not uphold, and that it was neither the fastest nor the coolest bike on the road - hell it wasn't even a bike, if he was honest, it was a fucking scooter - but he loved his Fire Dragon with all his heart.

"It's nice!" she agreed with a laugh, "but not as fast as mine."

Hers, you ask yourself? Well Natsu asked the same. And what he saw when she pointed at the motorcycle furthest from them, and he properly looked at it for the first time, made his chin drop in a mix of childish joy and reverential respect.

A Suzuki GXR-R750, all in black and lavender. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that she had graffities too. A little crown on the lower side, and a white princess lettering with bright pink lining on the frame protection.

Proudly she stalked over to her machine and swung a leg over its back, sliding into the saddle. With a coquette wink, she arched her back and leaned forward - and boy, did he love those space patterned leggins. And her dizzying neckline. And-

"Stop staring, you pervert!"

"Well I'm not the one posing on a motorbike in- in that!" he cried with a finger raised in a direction he should not have pointed it.

Before he knew it, his feet were in the air and his back on the ground. Sheepishly, he blinked up at her. It looked like she was standing in flames. Or maybe that was just the thousand blazing stars he was seeing.

Oh dear, he really liked her.

"You have a motorbike…" he managed lamely. "A real motorbike."

"Your dragon is still cool," Lucy tried to reassure him.

"Of course he is!" In an instant, Natsu was sitting upright, fire in his eyes. "I never said he wasn't! Bet I could beat you in a race."

"…"

"…"

They both shared the same mental image as they sat there, one kneeling and one on his behind, and both thier lips quivered at the mere thought.

"Do you have a scooter helmet?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"…yes…"

"Oh my stars."

"Race me right now!" he roared, and she giggled maliciously.

"Not until you have a real bike."

"Iggy is a real bike!"

"Iggy…"

"You got a problem with that?"

"No no," she reassured him, but then winked. "I'm more into Nikki. But seriously, why do you not have a motorbike if you're so dead set on racing people?"

"I… don't have a lincense." he grumbled, but then blinked. "Also I wasn't talking about therapper, duh. I have taste. Iggy is my father's nickname!"

"Fufufu… this just keeps getting better and better."

"RACE ME."

"Geeze, fine, if you insis- wait, no! What about the key service! We should go back!"

"But-"

"What if they were here already and left! Come on!"

With a panicked face, Lucy grabbed his hand and dragged him along behind her. After he had overcome his initial surprise (and glancing at their intertwined fingers for a second too long) Natsu caught up with her and dashed forwards, almost yanking her through the air.

"I can hear them, they're here! Guys, don't leave! I need my flat back or I'll be stuck with this weirdo!"

"Let me goooo…!"

Her crescent earrings bounced with each step, and Lucy almost tripped when he pulled her around the corner in a haste, but this time he noticed and caught her around the waist.

"Don't worry, I gotcha," he grinned, self-pleasedly noticing the slight blush on her cheeks. So he still had got it after all. You never could go wrong with the dragon.

By now, the reader will have noticed another thing Natsu Dragneel was: overconfident. That was a quality, of course, he carried with pride and confidence.

Which didn't save him from her panicked shreak as she kicked him into the wall.

"Pervert!"

He rubbed his cheek with a stupid smile. Smitten. He was smitten with her charms.

The woman that had been about to scale the stairs stood frozen, eyeing them as if she was already thinking of an escape plan. Her name tag identified her as 'Selkey' - a typo which she herself found hilariously unfunny, and was almost certain had been no accident.

"Hi, I'm Kelsey from Gajeel's Gridlock. Do you happen to know if a Mr. Dragneel lives here?"

"That'd be me!"

Natsu raised his hand, the one that was not still clutching Lucy's - high into the air and gave a mock salute. The woman's eye twitched, and she exhaled slowly. In her many years as a key service person - a job which, by the way, had never been her dream - she had met her full share of weird people. And if her weirdo-radar was not betrayinmg her, which it rarely did, the two in front of her would probably prove to be worthy of the Top Ten.

Only three more years until retirement.

Next time she would send the new girl, the short one with the blue hair. She was still young and innocent. She would learn that the life of a keyservice person was a hard one. She would learn. Kelsey smiled.

What happened next was too boring to tell, as it was what always happened when a key service person arrived at a scene: doors were opened.

And, even more unfortunate for Natsu, flats were entered. Separate flats. By separate people.

Now he was sulking on his small couch, his cat the only consolation as it purred in his lap. The more he had enjoyed her company, the more he didn't want to be separate from her anymore. He wanted to be a duo, a team, Natsu and Lucy.

And it was Selkey who had taken it all away from him, with her raincloud atmosphere and crowbar. Stupid Selkey.

"It's Kelsey, stupid! Stop being rude!"

He could almost hear Lucy's reprimanding words again,a nd obediently he corrected his thoughts.

Stupid Kelsey.

But his mind wandered on to more pleasant things in a heartbeat. He had never been one to dwell on things that cold not be changed anymore. No, he was a man of action. And of marvelousideas.

At least that is what he would have told you, had you asked him.

Time for the sex appeal strategy. Or, as he liked to call it, That One Single Time I Had A Successful One Night Stand When I Took Off My Shirt.

So he proceeded to do exactly that. With one last glance in the mirror - smaragd eyes, olive skin, defined muscles - he was satisfied. His workout took only an hour today, and he was happy to find himself drenched in sweat when he looked in the mirror again. His hair clung to his forehead. He grinned deviously.

With a hard tug, the door to the balcony slid open. The air was refreshingly cool as it caressed his heated body, and Natsu sighed in delight. Loud enough, he hoped, to catch her attention. The door to her balcony was open by a few centimeters, just as it had been the whole evening.

Now that he was outside, he could hear the muffled hammering of a beat. She had not been lying when she had told him about her music preferences, had she? And was she trying to rap along?

Natsu snorted. Now that was more like Iggy - and he wasn't talking about his bike nor his dad this time.

But now how was he supposed to catch her attention? How was he supposed to impress her with his body if she wasn't looking?

Unacceptable.

This sweaty goodness could not go to waste.

Leaning over the railing, he twisted his torso and squinted his eyes to try and get a better look into what he knew was her kitchenette.

And what he saw made his chin drop.