Hey guys! I'm sorry this took so long to come out! But please enjoy!
Also, PrincessBluetree your reviews are so lovely and I thank you so much! I miss Aquarius too. She was amazing!
dolphintale204- I really like your idea of them getting lost so I may use that within the next couple chapters!
Thanks again to everyone that has reviewed so far! You guys are the best!
So far, on their second day of travel, Lucy had managed to buy Natsu a whole new wardrobe, feed him at twice, and hit him on the should at least six. Best part, it wasn't even noon yet.
"Lucy.. I'm bored. Can we be done with shopping?" He rubbed at his eye trying to get the sleep out of them. She had decided to get shopping done early so that way they could do some adventures in the afternoon. Unfortunately, she didn't chance herself with waking him up like last time. So, she sent Aquarius in. Despite Lucy facing a pissed off woman all day, at least she had a dressed and ready-to-go Natsu by ten a.m.
"No. You only got three shirts, two sweaters, and two pants. You need at least another pair of pants." Lucy argued. Then brightened when she remembered the other things. "Shoes! You also need shoes!"
Natsu groaned but followed behind her anyway. Scorpio was acting as their tour guide, showing them where the best restaurants were and how to find the best deals on clothes. Aquarius had stayed at the hotel, planning a day trip for them when they returned. So far, neither of her bodyguards were suspicious of Natsu. It helped calm her frantic nerves and she knew it was helping Natsu feel a bit more open to being himself. Lucy enjoyed seeing Natsu become more of a person than a drone. He was different from what she expected but she was okay with that. Natsu Dragneel was a very interesting human, and the more she knew him, the more he became an adventure in himself.
Finally, around 1 o'clock, they all sat down at a local diner and grabbed some food. Lucy was happy with the progress they made today. At least Natsu had more clothes to wear and more clothes with style. Even if he did insist on wearing that scarf with everything. Lucy, with her sense of style, had found shirts that looked good with a scarf and was pleased to say looked good on Natsu. After they ate, they arrived back at the hotel to meet with Aquarius.
"About time you made it back." The fierce woman loomed over the two young adults with a menacing stare. Both started to mumble apologies and bowing to her. "Tch. I don't have time for your games. I made a schedule and you better stick to it."
Lucy took the schedule and looked at it. "Oh, Aquarius! This looks like a lot of fun!" First on the list was an Aquarium located outside of Perth. It was huge and supposedly had a large, glass tunnel you could walk through with sharks and sea creatures swimming around you. She guess with the way Lucy loved sea life they would spend a large sum of the afternoon there. Second, they had reservations for a ferry trip along the coast. It stopped at a reef mid-trip and allowed customers to dive in and take a look. Third, when they returned to the hotel the spa facility would have a reservation just for them.
Natsu leaned over her shoulder to take a look. "An aquarium, huh? Sounds like fun." Then his face turned green and he collapsed to the floor. "B-b-boat ride?"
Both Scorpio and Aquarius gave Lucy a look that was asking what the hell was wrong with him. The blonde just laughed it off and asked if either of them could get some motion sickness medicine for him. Of course, Aquarius did so but not before complaining that Lucy couldn't do anything herself.
"I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GET MEDICINE AROUND HERE!" She shouted. Again, it was just a waste of breath for her. "Natsu, get up. We aren't even on the boat yet. Nor are we even near water!"
Slowly, Natsu stood and took a deep breath. "Sorry. Just thinking about it makes me, ugh, sick."
"It's ok. As soon as you take the medication you should be fine. For now, let's go ahead and change our clothes. You'll also need a swimsuit for the second activity." Lucy headed for the elevator while Natsu made his way to the stairs. He would avoid elevators all his life if he could.
Lucy got to her room first and decided to look her best. She picked out her white bikini with a pink flower in the top. After she changed, she found some light pink jean shorts and a white tank top with black palm trees in the center. It worked for her. She quickly pulled her hair into pigtails and completed her look with black flip flops.
"Perfect!" She grabbed her tote bag and placed all her needs in it then left to see how Natsu was doing. To her surprise, she saw him waiting for her outside her door. He was dressed in his orange swim trunks and a grey jersey tank top. Of course completed with his white scarf.
"You ready? Aquarius just dropped off the medication." He held out three boxes of medication and Lucy put them into her tote.
"I'm all set! Let's go!" She grabbed his hand and forced him onto the elevator where he was glad he had taken some medication. When they arrived to the front of the hotel, they saw Scorpio and Aquarius waiting for them. Together, they got in the suv and drove out to Hillary's coast to the aquarium. It was only about a 30 minute drive and Natsu managed to sleep the whole way.
Once they got out, Lucy was practically jumping up and down. Natsu had to admit it looked like a nice place and he wasn't going to lie, he was pretty excited too. He had never been to an aquarium before. Plus it was Australia's largest aquarium. He was tempted to pinch himself again.
"Alright, listen closely." Lucy and Natsu turned and saluted Aquarius. Aquarius smirked. "Scorpio and I will be near by if you need anything. I expect you all to have fun and don't break anything." She hissed at them, causing them to sweat. "If you call us for no reason, I will dunk you both in the shark tank, understood?"
"We are, come on babe, let's go on and enjoy ourselves a while…" He gathered the swooning woman into his arms and off they went inside ahead of the two tourists. Both Natsu and Lucy looked disturbed.
"How does she go from mega scary to a mush puddle?" Natsu questioned.
"No clue." Lucy didn't care to know. Deep inside, she knew Aquarius cared for her, even if she would never admit to it. "Who cares, let's go on inside before it starts getting too busy!"
Natsu reached out for her hand this time and it was like they swapped personalities. "I'm all fired up! I wanna go see some giant squids!"
Lucy giggle as she followed behind his steps. It was an amazing aquarium with all sort of exotic fish from all over. Natsu grinned and pressed himself against every glas to get closer looks at the marine life. Natsu pointed at every shark, forcing Lucy's attention away from whatever had caught her interest. She didn't mind though. Seeing Natsu so happy and himself made her feel good. They walked around for about an hour and all the while Natsu had made Lucy both laugh and frustrated. He decided to find every ugly looking sea creature and name it Lucy. Of course the blonde retaliated by finding every pink fish and naming it Natsu.
"MY HAIR ISN'T PINK! IT'S SALMON!"
"Whatever you say, pinky." The blonde walked away to the next exhibit leaving behind the pouting man. Lucy found herself walking towards a glass cage filled with bright gold looking fish. Hr brown eyes were wide with wonder and awe. The fish were gorgeous and bright. They swam gracefully and when the light reflected off their scales, it seems like flashes of pure white light. Lucy fell in love with the way they looked.
"They're beautiful…" She stood by the glass just watching as each one made a shimmering path through the water. Behind her a few feet away, Natsu watched her. He didn't understand how out of all these amazing fish, she seemed to fall in love with those dingy yellow ones. He wasn't going to pull hr from her trance though. He too had been captivated by a golden color. He couldn't help but stare at her and truly see for the first time that she clearly wasn't some rich,spoiled brat. She was a girl who simply found beauty in everything. His heart skipped a beat when she turned and made eye contact with him.
What the hell? He thought. But when she smiled at him his heart did it again. Am I broken?
He decided to leave it alone for now and walked over to stand next to her. She still seemed to be captured by the fish and he looked down at the sign.
Golden Dorado (Salminus Brasiliensis)
The golden dorado has a large head, with powerful jaws filled with sharp teeth. It reaches maturity around 37 cm (15 in) long, and is golden colored. The average size of the golden dorado is about 3–10 kg (6.6–22.0 lb). The largest recorded size is 100 cm (39 in) length and 31.4 kg (69 lb).
"You're in love with some oversized goldfish?" He began to snicker and Lucy pouted at him. She slapped him on the shoulder but that only made his laugh harder.
"You are so infuriating! They are beautiful creatures!" She gestured to the tank in front of her. "They have to most beautiful golden color I've ever seen!" Natsu stopped laughing and then stared at her. He had an intense gaze in her that made her look away. "W-why are you looking at me like that?"
"Well 'cause I think your hair is a prettier than their scales." He stated. Lucy blushed and swiftly faced the fish again. They remained side by side silently for the next couple minutes. Natsu felt a bit foolish saying something like that outright and Lucy was still trying to calm her face down.
In the silence between them, Lucy started to realize that he was a good man. She still had many questions for him but decided that they should be answered in time. Right now, she was content with what she knew about him. Within the next half hour, they moved on from exhibit to exhibit, finally approaching the best part of the aquarium. It was the underwater glass tunnel. Lucy and Natsu stepped inside and gazed at the wondrous sights around them.
"Lucy, look!' Natsu tugged on her arm and pointed right above them. Swimming amongst the vast variety of creatures, was a massive great white shark. From where they were standing it must've reached at least 12ft. Lucy shuddered. She wasn't to fond of anything bigger than her that was a man eater. "Oh come on! Sharks are awesome!"
"I know that but looking at that thing gives me the creeps. I would hate to swim into one of his friends in the wild." Her eyes scoped the rest of the tunnel finding all sorts of beautiful sharks and fish swimming around. There were a lot of smaller sharks swimming around and Lucy was using her phone to take as many photos as she could. "I think the next exhibit is the one that houses the whale shark. Let's go!"
Lucy ran into the next room. It was dark except for the blue glow the ginormous tank gave off. In it was the largest creature she had ever seen. It was much larger than the shark they had seen earlier and it was littered with white spots. The head of the shark was wide and she could bet that it could swallow her whole if it wanted too. Thank goodness it fed on plankton.
"Holy shit. That's the biggest fish I've ever seen." Natsu stood in disbelief as the size of the whale shark. It swam along with many of the tinier fish and circled around the the glass of the tank. It's side fin brushed along the window and Lucy reached a hand out. The fin passed along her hand and the blonde was amazed at the size difference.
"Can you believe we're going to swim with these in two days?" Her statement made Natsu's face go pale.
"What?"
"Yeah. I guess I forgot to mention the reason we are going to Exmouth is because they have section of the coast closed off so people can dive with the whale sharks." Her excitement was a huge contrast to the look on Natsu's face.
"Uhh… Lucy?" He didn't want to kill her excitement but he really also didn't want to drown. "I can't dive… Or swim."
The blonde giggled and waved a hand at him. "Natsu it's okay if you're nervous. But don't worry! They only eat plankton!"
He crossed his arms, a little aggravated that she thought he was making an excuse not to dive. Of course he was a little nervous but who wouldn't be? Either way, he was being honest. Igneel and him never lived near water and since Natsu liked land better than moving things he never bothered to put him in a pool. Water was always moving.
"I'm telling the truth. Igneel never taught me how to swim. We figured I'd just get motion sickness."
"Oh." Lucy was in a stump. How was she supposed to teach someone to swim and dive within 2 days? She stared ahead of her watching the way the whale shark moved gracefully through the water. It reminded her of when she turned 8 and both Aquarius and Scorpio had flown in to New York for her birthday. Aquarius had even dressed as a mermaid and swam with her and her friends.
"Aquarius!" That was it! Aquarius had a license to teach diving. Swimming would be no problem for her! "She can teach you to swim and dive!"
"But she's scary." He shuddered as he pictured her trying to drown him.
"We don't have an option!" She tugged him closer to the tank and pointed up. "Don't you want to swim with one of these guys?"
If Natsu was honest, he wasn't sure. They were amazing creatures and being able to swim next to one would be a hell of an experience. Only, the thought of getting motion sickness made him sick. "I guess I do, but if I get sick I'm not going to. I'll just wait for you on shore or something."
"Sounds fair."
They finally met up with Aquarius and Scorpio after finishing the tour. Lucy told Aquarius all about how Natsu needed help swimming.
"No." the fierce woman crossed her arms. "I've got a date tomorrow with Scorpio."
That had been the end of the discussion. Lucy knew better than to ask twice when a date was involved. So, the blonde was miserable the car ride to the next event. Natsu wasn't worried.
"Hey, I'm ok. This is more your adventure than mine. You need to enjoy it more." He leaned over and whispered. When she looked at him with doubtful eyes, he gave her a reassuring smile. "I promise."
Something about his sudden gentleness made her chest feel warm. Her cheeks flushed so she faced away from him. Get a hold of yourself, Heartfilia!
Beside her, Natsu let out what sounded like a snort. She glanced over and saw him trying to stifle his laugh. Her eyes narrowed. "What's so funny, Dragneel?"
"I just can't believe you're real sometimes." His eyes were playful so Lucy knew he didn't mean that in any disrespectful way. "It's just so new to me having someone worry. Especially over the fact I won't go diving with whale sharks. This whole situation is so unreal it makes me laugh."
"I want you to enjoy yourself too." She placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned in so that Aquarius and Scorpio wouldn't hear her. "I know we haven't known each other long, but this is your adventure too. If there is anything you want to do, tell me. I'll try to make it happen."
Something again in his chest fluttered. He pulled away from her and nodded. For the rest of the ride, he stared out the window until they arrived at a doc, where a fast ferry was waiting for them. Natsu turned green to the face and quickly stuffed his mouth with medication. All four of the passengers got out of the car and neared the ship. Natsu was still slightly nauseous considering the medication hadn't yet kicked in. He was leaning against Lucy and both Scorpio and Aquarius were laughing at her. Childishly, she stick her tongue out at the couple.
"Welcome to 8 island's ferry! I am Ms. Evergreen!" A beautiful young woman greeted them once they reached the doc. Her brown hair was tied neatly in a bun and her uniform was a simple pair of brown khaki shorts and a green tank top with 8 island's logo on it. "Is this the Heartfilia party?"
"Yes! I'm Lucy and this is Natsu!" She manually moved Natsu's arm in a mock wave. "He's a bit sick right now but he should be good to go soon!" Scorpio and Aquarius introduced themselves next. As everyone was chatting, a very short man with a mustache appeared at the entrance of the boat.
"Hello! I am Mr. Yajima. I am your chef for the evening. I'm glad you've met Ms. Evergreen as she will be your waitress. I will have the rest of the crew introduce themselves as soon as we take off! I believe we have table for two set up?"
The blonde raised an eyebrow at her bodyguards. "Are you guys not coming along?"
Scoffing, the blue haired woman turned her head away. "Why would we tag along when Scorpio and I could have some alone time?" She leaned against her man.
"We are! Yeah, Lucy. My babe and I need our time. We are! Trust us, you are in good hands!" he scoops up Aquarius and they begin to walk away.
"Gross." Lucy scowled.
"You're just mad that I have a boyfriend and you'll never get a man with your attitude!" Aquarius shot at her over Scorpio's shoulder.
"I'M SINGLE BY CHOICE!" She didn't know why she bothered anymore. "Well, I guess it's just going to be Natsu and I tonight, Mr. Yajima!"
With a smirk, the old man waved them on the boat. "Right this way."
With a struggle, Lucy heaved Natsu onto the boat and followed along Mr, Yajima. He brought them to the second story on the boat where there was a lovely table set for two. She stuffed Natsu into the chair and took the seat across from him. His head fell onto the table and drool was coming out the side of his mouth.
"Hey, Luce… I think the medicine is starting to work." His head lifted about and inch then fell right back. "Give me 5 more minutes."
She rolled her eyes and smiled. He sure was something when he was sick. Even more of something when he wasn't. She enjoyed his company and each time he made her smile, she felt more secure in her choice of bringing him along.
"We will leave port in about 15 minutes. Until then, I shall have the rest of the crew com and tell you more about the boat and the plans for the evening." Mr. Yajima bowed and left to attend to the kitchen. Lucy was so excited because she had read so many reviews saying that once the boat got going, part of the crew did entertainment. The boat also stopped around the time the sunset so that people could view it from the best angle. 'Stunning' was popular word among the reviews.
"Uhgg… Okay. I'm ready to eat. My stomach need something to settle itself." Natsu finally sat up straight enough to be able to make coherent sentences. Just then, a tall man with long green hair approached them wearing a similar uniform to Evergreen. He had a red shirt with 8-Island's logo on it and khaki board shorts.
"Welcome, I am Freed. I will be your lifeguard for the evening. This boat makes two stops along the trip. One right by the coast and another father out at sea. Both time you will be able to swim alongside the boat." His tone was professional but still friendly. Lucy found herself thinking he was attractive. "Our captain on ship tonight is Bickslow. He will appear during these stops so you may ask him anything you would like. We have Mr. Yajima in the Kitchen who shall prepare your food to your liking and Ms. Evergreen will deliver it. Any questions you may have you can find me or any of the other crew members." He flashed a smile and Lucy felt her cheeks blush. Maybe she had a thing for guys with weird hair colors?
"Thank you, Mr. Freed. We are very excited to be here!" Lucy chimed.
'Yeah, should be fun. Anyway, you got any bread sticks or something?" Natsu asked, Thankfully he wasn't feeling too bad anymore.
"Natsu! Don't be so rude!" Lucy scolded. "You should ask more politely!"
Fredd was about to answer when a much larger man than himself walked up behind him.
"I got some bread right here." Lucy watched as Freed's eyes lit up and he spun on his heels.
"Laxus!? I didn't know you were going to be on board tonight!" Lucy sweatdropped as she swore she saw hearts in his eyes. I guess I'm not going to get anyone's number tonight…
"Eh, I wasn't. But I need cash because I'm running low on rent money." The tall man placed the bread on the table. Lucy took note of the tattoo that spread across his arm and disappeared into his own black uniform shirt. It looked a bit tribal which seemed to fit him. He also had a scar that stretched over his eye. He in his own way was very attractive she thought.
Natsu was observing the way Lucy bit her lip when both men had appeared. She must think they're cute. His stomach twisted and he was worried he was getting sea sick again. But it went away when she looked back at him. I probably just need food.
"Oh, Laxus! I'm so glad we can work together tonight!" Freed clasped his hands together and leaned against him. "We could always use another lifeguard."
"I guess. Anyway, Evergreen is on her way up with menus. Any questions try and ask someone else besides me." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and trudged down the stairs to the main deck. Freed followed behind.
"Those two were weird." Natsu commented. He grabbed a piece of bread and stuffed it in his mouth. Lucy agreed and started to eat a piece of her bread, although she wasn't about to stuff it all in her face like Natsu.
"I think Freed has a crush on Laxus."
"What makes you think that?" Natsu asked as he reached for another roll.
"Did you not see the way he was practically drooling on him?" Lucy pointed out. "He practically had hearts in his eyes."
"Yeah, I guess I saw that too." He gazed at Lucy from the corner of his eye. He grinned wickedly. "You jealous?"
"WHAT!? NO!" Realizing her outburst was super unconvincing, she cleared her throat. "I meant, no."
"Whatever you say." Lucy was about to argue but Evergreen was coming their way with the menus.
"I'll give you guys a couple minutes to look over it. In the meantime, what can I get you to drink?"
She took out a notepad ready to write.
"I'll have a strawberry lemonade, please!" Lucy requested. Evergreen nodded and then faced Natsu.
"Uh, I'll have a coke."
Evergreen left to get their drinks. The blonde was looking over the menu and couldn't decide between the salmon special or the steak.
"Steak or salmon?"
"Why not get both?" Natsu was looking at the steak too. But the salmon sounded good as well. "Or I could order the steak and you order the salmon and we can split them."
Lucy grinned. "Great idea!" They both set the menus to the side. Suddenly, the boat jostled. Both young adults felt the shift and noticed that boat began moving. "Looks like we're taking off!"
She stood from her chair and skipped to the railing and peered over. The water beneath her shimmered and the waves crashed against the ferry. From behind them, the port began moving farther away while the sea lay spread out in front of her. Her hands itched to glide against the surface of the water. She couldn't wait till the first stop. Lucy had been so enchanted by the sea, she had never heard Natsu or Evergreen. Already, Evergreen had taken their orders and left without her noticing.
Natsu was still leaning back in his chair but his eyes were caught on Lucy. Her pigtails swirled around with the breeze and she repeatedly stood on her toes to lean farther over the railing. He was almost afraid she would flip right over. Something was begging him to join her, He gave into that feeling and went to join his companion.
"Isn't it lovely?" Lucy asked once she felt his presence next to her. Natsu tried to see what she was seeing but failed. It was just water to him. Nothing to get all amazed at, but he didn't want to crush her mood.
"Yeah, it's really something, Luce." He grinned at her with a thumbs up. Lucy smiled back.
When the food arrived they ate and watched as each crew member performed a talent. Evergreen and Bickslow had done a dance while Freed had done some exercises with some swords and taught them how to write calligraphy. Laxus had gone around and given both Natsu and Lucy temporary tattoos on their arms. When the boat stopped finally to watch the sunset, Lucy and Natsu were given a chance to swim off the side of the boat. Lucy had been quick to strip down to her bikini and jump in. Natsu on the other hand was hesitant.
Then Lucy got back on the boat and promised to go in with him. Natsu agreed and he stripped down to his own swim trunks. Lucy couldn't avoid staring. He was hot. Like holy fuck hot. She quickly reminder herself she barely knew him.
"Okay… On the count of three, we both jump in. Got it?" Natsu nodded. He was positive that with Lucy he wasn't about to die. "One…" He got down in a crouching position next to Lucy. "Two…" He was ready. Then out of nowhere he realized he was being pushed. "THREE!" Then he was falling. He felt the coolness of the water surround him. His instincts kicked in and he frantically waved his arms around until he crashed through to the surface.
Lucy was doubled over laughing hysterically. "You should have seen your face!" Natsu should have been mad that she pushed him in, but seeing her smile like that, he just couldn't find it in his heart to be. Neither even realized that Natsu was swimming just fine within seconds of being in the water.
"Oh, Heartfilia, you are so going to pay for that." He smirked mischievously. The blonde made a face.
"Bring it, Dragneel!" She retorted. She was regretting her words as soon as she saw Natsu climbing back up the boat side. "Wait.. No!"
Before she knew it she had been slung over his shoulder and he was throwing her overboard. Between being thrown overboard or Lucy making an attempt to drown Natsu, neither had realized the sun was halfway to setting beyond the horizon. That was until they were called back on board so that they could depart back for land.
Halfway to land, Natsu and Lucy somehow had drifted off to sleep on a bench on the first deck. Natsu had been slouched and curled into Lucy's shoulder while Lucy had managed to lay her cheek on his head. When they arrived to shore, both Scorpio and Aquarius were waiting. Mr. Yajima had been polite enough to not wake either of the sleeping duo. He left that responsibility to the bodyguards. Somehow, they managed to get the two adventurers into the SUV without disturbing them.
"I think they had a good day." Aquarius commented while watching the two sleep in the rearview mirror. Scorpio nodded in agreement with his lover, and then they took off for the hotel. "Good thing I've got more planned in store for them tomorrow."
1) I'm so sorry this took so long. I couldn't find any time to write because of some family issues. I apologize!
2) I hope you like this chapter. I'm excited for more adventures!
3) If you know of any amazing things to do in Australia, let me know! Then tell me where they should go next! I've got some ideas but I love to see what you guys have to say.
4)Holy shit, again I am sorry for how long this took. But it's almost 5,000 words. BOO YAH!
5) Please review! They mean the world to me!
