Brine spray was crawling up and falling off the sides of the wooden brig. The sea calmed Lucy, granting her a pensive mood. The memory of her late friend Aquarius flooded her mind. Even though the two rarely got along, it didn't stop her from missing the mermaid. With a sigh and heave of her shoulders, Lucy brought up her job contract. The details read:

Wanted

A Mage to help

Catch a bandit

Has been terrorizing the village

Bandit Name:

Daron

Magic:

Maker Earth

Reward:

2,000,000 J

Female mages proceed with caution

Lucy's head tilted as she read the last line. "Why have a word of caution to female mages?" She questioned the paper. Tapping her cheek, she pondered. Giving up, she shrugged it off. The blonde made her way below deck to her cabin. The cabin wasn't very big but it did have to hammocks. Grabbing her leather bound book, she flopped into the hammock nearest.

As it swung, she curled protectively around her single entertainment source. A loud thump startled the blonde. Sitting up quickly and almost falling out of her hammock, she turned to investigate the sound. She found Natsu, blue in the face and stomach gurgling. Rage began to fill her. "Baka! Why did you follow me?" She yelled at the defenseless dragonslayer. He groaned weakly with the swaying of the ship. Letting out a huff, Lucy picked up Natsu and laid him in the ther hammock. She quickly added a mop bucket which Natsu promptly grabbed and unloaded his stomach into.

Stretching her arms from being stiff from napping, she looked at the other hammock to find her companion absent. Agitated, she fell out of her hammock. Brushing off the dust, the blonde exited to the deck above. Standing near the rail was Natsu, still green around the gills. He looked off the starboard side just staring, with the occasional heave of his stomach. Lucy walked over to help the pinkette back down below, but suddenly a deafening roar stopped her. The roar was from a giant monster of a wave. The size of the wave would have dwarfed the Phantom Lord hall in its giant state.

The warm hand of her partner grabbed her arm as the brig listed to port. Everything and everyone launched from the splintering vessel. Natsu clung to his Lucy, not letting go as they hit the water. They sank beneath the surface, watching as the ship sank to the depths.

Surfacing, both mages gasped for air. Natsu grasped at a piece of broken mast floating near by. He drug Lucy to it and she grabbed the wooden piece. "Natsu!" She excitedly pointed behind him. In the distance was a lone island. He squinted to see how far away it was. Slowly he began to drag the mast to shore with what little strength he could summon. With the occasional glance back, he could see Lucy trying to help push.

As the Crimson sun was sinking, they finally made it to shore. Both of them coughed up a small amount of sea water. Lucy laid down and Natsu sat beside her on the white glowing sand. They both gazed up at the sky wordlessly.

Darkness had fallen after the pair found some high ground. Silence filled the air between the two causing Natsu to go get some wood. When he came back he made a fire. He sat down next to Lucy who was slowly falling asleep. "Natsu?" She murmured in a hushed tone. He looked at her with no expression. "We are going to be okay right?" She asked him. A soft smile spread on his lips as she set her head on his shoulders. "Of course. It'll be fun. After all, it's always more fun when we are together" he cooed to her putting an arm around her. Truth be told, he didn't know if they were going to be okay. Light snores alerted him to her falling asleep. He rubbed her arm and whispered, "Happy birthday, Luce."

Day 1

By the time Lucy woke in the morning, the sun was climbing higher. She noticed the small fire from last night had grown. It was now a fully outfitted cooking fire. Beside it on a leaf was a bit of cooked meat. She chuckled to herself and said "well I guess sometimes a dragon does come in handy." Gingerly she picked up the leaf and took a bite. What she thought was going to be bland, actually surprised her. It was bursting with a combination of savory meat flavor. Natsu was actually a good cook. She made a mental note to have him cook more when they got back. Suddenly she was filled with longing for her apartment.

Natsu came back with some fruits cradled in his vest he fashioned into a satchel. "Morning!" He called to the blonde. She waved back at him making his heart leap for joy. He held the fruit and fish high so she could see. She gave a thumbs up and his smile in response.

When he arrived, he saw that she had built a small sleeping shack. There were several baskets and there was a bigger one in a small pool beside the shack. "Wow, you did all of this while I was gone?" He asked her. She laughed and shook her head "not all of it. Scorpio dug the pit for the water while cancer weaved the baskets. Virgo brought water for the hole. Tarsus chopped the wood while Capricorn and I built the shack. I sent like back to tell the others what happened." Natsu beamed with pride. "Let's make the best of it right?" He asked. She nodded.

After filling the fish and fruit basket, Natsu cooked some fish up for him and Lucy to eat. He watched as Lucy began to drool over the smell coming from the fire. Natsu laughed. "Everything okay?" He asked her. She nodded and wiped her mouth "it smells good" she commented. That produced a smile on Natsu's face.

After the delicious meal, Natsu and Lucy went exploring. The jungle was thick with clingy vines that refused to let go. Each time Lucy got stuck Natsu was there to detangle her. About mid afternoon they found a small pool with a waterfall. Virgo popped out of nowhere with swimsuits. Natsu quickly stripped and put his shorts on. He climbed a small rocky outcropping to the top of the waterfall. "Cannonball!" He yelled jumping straight down. The splash hit Lucy as she slipped in. "10/10!" He cheered. She giggled as he almost drowned himself.

Later that evening, they say and ate Natsu's good cooking again. Natsu put his stick down and rubbed his stomach. Lucy put hers down. "I'm sorry Natsu, for getting us in this mess" she apologized starting to tear up. Natsu's mood turned to concern when he saw. "Don't be Luce. I should've remembered that it was your birthday" he tried to comfort her. He hated to see her cry. He loved her smiles not her tears. She weakly smiled wiping her tears away "I shouldn't have acted like a brat." He smiled his big toothy grin "It's okay. Besides, we are on vacation!" Lucy nodded and couldn't help but smile back. No matter what, he always seemed to make things better.

Night fell again and with it cold crept in. In the shack was only one shelf bed. On it lay Lucy on one side and the other far side was Natsu. You could have for another person between them. Lucy's teeth rattled as she secretly wished for a warm blanket. Soon a warmth enveloped her. "If your teeth keep going like that, we will never sleep" he muttered half asleep and irritated. Soon loud snores filled the shack making Lucy giggle. "Thank you" she whispers to the dragon slayer. His arms tightened around her. Lucy fell asleep smiling and inhaling a warm cinnamon and campfire smell. To her it was the scent of safety.