Ch 11: Day at the Waterpark
All right a quick note at the beginning to let you guys know what's happening with the two polls. So first off I am not going to post the results to either of the polls since that would ruin the little suspense that is actually in the story. And it was also pointed out that it could also ruin more than just that so I'm going to keep the results to myself for now and only say that I was surprised completely on both of the polls so far since it could still go either way on it being a harem and the front runner for the girl is barely ahead. Also is chapter is longer than I initially planned and that's probably because it took me forever to update it so I felt like I owed you all something. That's it for this quick note.
A little after nine outside of Natsu's room:
"Here we are again, about to part ways." said Natsu with a little grin as he held his sleeping daughter with his right arm.
"Indeed we are, and thank you for doing all of that with me Natsu. I had a really good time with you and Akari, it really felt like we were a little family." replied Minerva with a slight blush.
"It was seriously my pleasure Minerva, and I had a lot of fun with you and so did Akari. And I think she might have a new favorite outfit now." he stated as he nodded towards Akari still in her tiger onesie.
"I bet she was always doing those cute little roars of hers for the rest of the night." she said with a loving smile as she looked at the sleeping little girl in his arms.
"And who's fault is that?" he asked with a sly grin.
"It's just as much your fault Natsu as it is mine, because if I remember correctly you fawned over her just as much as I did." she said while jabbing him in the chest with an accusing finger, causing him to start chuckling softly.
"You got me there, and it also didn't help that anyone else who saw her doing it instantly fell in love with her also." he stated with a cheesy grin.
"Fatherhood suits you surprisingly well Natsu." she said while turning away from him and walking towards her room.
"Thanks, and after today I would say the same about you to. Well not fatherhood since in your case it would be motherhood, gah you know what I'm trying to say." he said while progressively getting more flustered as he continued. While Minerva on the other hand couldn't help but to start giggling at him becoming nervous now of all times, when it was only just the two of them saying goodbye for the night.
"I do, and you look cute when you're embarrassed." she stated with a little smirk.
"I'm not embarrassed." he denied in a quiet yet angry tone since he didn't want to wake Akari up.
"Your slight blush begs to differ Natsu, and as much fun as it is to tease you I need to take a hot shower and get some sleep." she replied as she started to open her door with her set of keys.
"Whatever, but you're going to join us tomorrow right?" he asked with his usual grin that she started to enjoy just a little more each time she saw it.
"I wouldn't miss it." she responded with a wink before heading into her room and closing the door behind her.
"Well that's one down Akari and now just two more to go. Oh yeah you're asleep already since we had a long and busy day today." he said while looking for his keys and not having any luck. But while he was looking for them he thought he heard some whispering on the other side of the door. So going off of that assumption he tried to open the door but it ran into something that made a thud and two distinct grunts of pain before allowing him into his room. That now had both Cana and Kagura sitting in front of the door with guilty faces as if they were just caught red handed.
"So what were you two doing?" he asked with a knowing look on his face.
"If you must know Natsu I happen to find the floor extremely comfy sometimes." stated Cana with a smirk since that sounded like a reasonable excuse to her. While poor Kagura looked like she was a deer caught in the headlights and didn't respond back to his question.
"Sure you were Cana, and could you two please move so I can actually get in without possibly tripping over the two of you?" he asked while rolling his eyes at her explanation as to why she was on the floor.
"Sorry Natsu, and do you need any help?" asked Kagura as she got up and moved out of the way. Cana on the other hand remained sitting there not giving up on her terrible excuse.
"I won't move since this happens to be an extremely comfortable spot to me." she said while keeping her smirk on as Natsu slipped into the room.
"I guess you do end up on the floor a lot with all of your drinking." he said while shutting the door and then almost falling to his knees because of a hit he received to his left calf.
"I've already told you that I'm cutting back and that's not why the floor's comfy sometimes." she said while glaring at him.
"Then please explain it to me Cana and you do realize I'm holding Akari." he said with a little grin as a look of horror flashed across her face at hearing that.
"I'm so sorry Natsu you know I would never do anything to hurt her." she quickly apologized while getting up to make sure that the little girl was okay.
"It's fine Cana, I wasn't going to let anything happen to her." he replied with a confident grin as he made his way to the sofa with both of the women going to a side of him.
"Natsu, what in the world is she wearing?" asked Kagura as she tried to figure out what he put her in.
"She's wearing a Sabretooth onesie that Minerva picked out for her." he replied not noticing the upset looks that both women had at just hearing her name.
"I can't believe you'd let her wear something like that Natsu." stated Cana now having a disappointed look on her face.
"You're saying that now but wait until she does her cute little roar in it, and don't worry I made sure that she wore something with a Fairy Tail emblem on it first." he said with a happy little grin.
"At least you were smart enough to do that before she tricked you into doing this." she said with a little smile because Akari did look pretty cute in the onesie if she was being honest with herself.
"Wait how does that help anything at all?" asked Kagura with a confused look.
"Cana, Minerva didn't trick me into doing anything. Everything I did today was what I wanted to do, and I thought that you knew she is nothing like her old self from back then?" he asked with a little frown as he looked at her, while completely ignoring Kagura's question.
"I know that Natsu, but that doesn't mean you should trust her as much as you already do." she stated with a concerned look that he easily identified.
"You still haven't answered my question." stated Kagura with a slightly upset look directed at the two of them.
"I know you're just concerned about the two of us Cana, but I honestly know what I am doing. Do you really think I'd let someone who might hurt Akari ever even come close to her?" he asked with a confident grin.
"I guess not, but I'm still just concerned about you two becoming targets, like we discussed at the guild. And her past isn't one that inspires trust, also we had no idea where the three of you were at so we could keep an eye on you like we should have been doing." she said with a little smile trying to hide her slight embarrassment for worrying about them.
"Thanks for worrying about us and I'll try to not do that again to you." he said while giving her a quick one armed hug that caught her by surprise. That only took her a second to reciprocate and start enjoying the safety that he was somehow able to give off while doing it, until the other person in the room decided to clear her throat and successfully ruining their little moment.
"Sorry Kagura, and to answer your question I did that to make sure that she would most likely join Fairy Tail." he stated with a proud grin at making sure she would go to the best guild.
"That is probably one of the stupidest things I've ever heard." said Kagura with a look of disbelief since Cana seemed to be agreeing with Natsu on this one.
"He was just covering his bases on this one Kagura." said Cana with a little grin.
"You two have to know that something like that wasn't actually going to affect what guild she goes to in the future in the slightest?" she asked and could instantly tell the other two didn't believe her on this. "Never mind, so what did you and Minerva do all day?" asked Kagura while trying to hide her distaste for the woman when she said her name.
"We did some shopping as you could probably tell, then went to the park and talked for a while and then back to shopping for a little bit. We then finished the night by going to a fancy restaurant that she really wanted to go to." he answered with a fond smile that the two didn't like the looks of.
"Is that really all you two did together?" asked Cana with a skeptical look.
"Yeah pretty much, why are you two so curious about what we did together?" he asked while looking between the two of them.
"We're just concerned about you Natsu, and it feels like you're leaving something out." stated Kagura as she looked directly into his eyes with an intense stare, trying to see if he was telling the whole truth.
"Honestly nothing else happened." he replied with a little chuckle.
"That's a lie." declared Kagura as she continued to stare at him.
"Did she make a move on you Natsu, if she did I will have to give her a piece of my mind." said Cana as she stood up and headed towards the exit.
"I think I'll join you on that Cana, and I can also thank her for our last meeting." said Kagura as she grabbed her sword and had a look of someone heading off to battle.
"Hold up a second you two." Natsu said with a concerned look.
"I'll distract her with some long range attacks as you flank her." suggest Cana with a little smirk.
"This time I know her moves so she won't get the drop on me." stated Kagura still having that determined look on her face.
"You two are definitely over reacting here, and she didn't make a move on me." he said hoping to calm the two females that got fired up in less than a second.
"What room is she even in?" asked Kagura as she opened the door.
"Don't worry I got one of the male employees to give me her number in case something like this happened." replied Cana with a smirk.
"STOP!" shouted Natsu causing Akari to wake up in tears, which only infuriated the dragon slayer more. In one quick movement he slammed the door shut before the two could escape and started to try and calm down his baby girl while occasionally sending angry glances at the other two. Cana and Kagura realized they might have made a huge mistake and decided to try and sneak into the bedroom while he was preoccupied with Akari.
"Just going into another room won't stop us from talking about what almost just happened." he stated before they even got to the doorway. This caused both of them to now have slight frowns as they walked over to the sofa and waited for Natsu of all people to lecture them. And for the next fifteen minutes they quietly watched him put her back to sleep after her rude awakening.
"So as I was trying to tell the two of you earlier, Minerva never made any sort of move on me. Now would the two of you please explain why the two of you were ready to go and attack her if she had?" he asked in a quiet voice that the two knew he was only using because of Akari.
"We were both just looking out for you Natsu." said Cana while not looking at him in the eyes.
"Sorry but that's not going to cut it, there has to be more to it than that. Maybe if it was just Kagura going after her I could understand since they still haven't patched things up between the two of them, but you being the first one just doesn't make sense to me Cana." he said with a slightly confused face.
"I don't, well you see, okay how can I explain this? Natsu I think that I …" she answered having a hard time coming up with the words but got cut off.
"She got that upset because of me Natsu." blurted out Kagura a little louder than she intended to, then covering her mouth as she looked at Akari who was luckily still asleep.
"Would you care to explain in a quieter voice Kagura?" he asked with a slight glare.
"Of course, well after we found your note I was angry that you were hanging out with such a woman. But Cana reassured me that she was a better person now, which I wanted to believe but after what she did to Millianna and me at the GMG it's hard." she replied in a slightly nervous tone while looking at her hands folded on her lap.
"That sounds like it should have had the exact opposite effect." he stated with a questioning look.
"It would have if I didn't tell her how all of that other stuff felt and what she did to my best friend while I was completely helpless to stop her. It still makes me angry even now just thinking about it and then we find out that you and Akari are with her having a fun time." she explained and was almost in tears from the pent up anger and frustration she was keeping. But she was then surprised to be pulled into a hug by Natsu who somehow switched Akari to his other arm while not waking her.
"It's okay Kagura; I know how it feels to be completely helpless while those that you truly care about are in danger. It's one of the worst feelings out there, but you need to remember that in those moments we grow and become stronger. And you were fortunate to not lose her, so you need to let go of your anger towards Minerva on this because it won't help anyone." he said quietly to her while continuing to hug her.
"But it's so hard to forgive her after what she did." she replied just above a whisper.
"I know it took me a long time to stop think about getting revenge on Acnologia for what he did to Igneel. But after thinking about it for more than a week I could see that becoming consumed by revenge was only going to hurt those that I truly cared about. Now I'm not trying to say that you need to forgive Minerva right away for what she did to you, but you do need to let go of trying to get back at her. She's a completely different person now and she's just like the rest of us and just want's a place where she feels like she belongs at." he explained with a caring smile.
"I'll try." she replied quietly as she continued to enjoy the warm embrace that they were sharing together.
"That's all I can really ask for since she's going to be joining us tomorrow." he said not noticing the flashes of anger both women had when hearing that.
"She's going to be joining us in doing what exactly Natsu?" asked Cana with a slightly upset look.
"I got us all tickets to that water park we had so much fun at last time." he answered with a huge grin.
"You sly dog, you're only doing that since you want to see us in our bikinis." she stated with a sly grin.
"That's not true, why does everyone instantly think I'm doing it for some perverted reason." he replied with a pout, not noticing that Kagura was blushing immensely by all of this and was trying to hide that fact by still hugging him. This did get noticed by Cana, who would have pointed it out if she hadn't just saved her from a very awkward confession that probably wouldn't have gone over too well.
"They probably think that because that is the reason that most guys would do something like this, but we know you're not like them. So I take it Minerva was the other person that accused you for just wanting to see us in our bikinis?" she asked still grinning at him.
"Yeah and after I explained myself she decided that she needed to buy a new one since she didn't bring on with her and had me help her pick one out." he replied with a slight smile that she caught.
"And how exactly did you do that Natsu?" Cana asked with an even bigger grin than before since she could see that he was slightly nervous about all of this.
"She just showed me what she looked like in them and I told her what I thought about them." he mumbled back as he tried to not think about all of the different ones Minerva tried on and showed off to him.
"So you did like watching her strut around in them for you!" she accused while starting to giggle at his slightly embarrassed face.
"Of course I did, I am still a man after all." he replied while glaring at her as she continued to giggle at him.
"Then will you help me pick one out Natsu?" asked Kagura as she finally separated from him and looked at him with hopeful eyes.
"Do you really want my opinion on that, I wouldn't say I have a sense of fashion by any stretch of the imagination." he stated with a caring look now directed at her.
"Yes I do Natsu, so will you help me?" she asked again.
"Of course I will." he replied with one of his usual smiles.
"And just like that he's getting his own private show of the two of us trying on bikinis." commented Cana with a sly grin.
"Stop trying to make it sound perverted Cana, and when did you become a part of it?" he asked while giving her a slight glare for trying to make him feel bad about all of this.
"Just now, there's no way I'm going to be the only one not wearing a Natsu approved bikini. And since we're going to have to do a lot of shopping early tomorrow morning we should get to sleep right away." she replied while grabbing Kagura's hand and dragging her into the bedroom and closing the door.
"Maybe I should have gone with the idea of taking them to an all you can eat buffet like I first thought of." he stated to himself while shaking his head at how worked up they all seemed to get about picking out a new outfit. Something that he was sure he would never understand about women, but knew he had to get used to it since it was going to become a part of his life even if he didn't want it to be.
The next day outside of the changing rooms at the water park:
"What could possibly be taking them so long in there Akari?" Natsu asked his daughter who was now in a pink little one piece swimsuit that had a little skirt at the bottom of it. While he was in a pair of plain red swim trunks that let all of the other visitors look at his well chiseled body that was obtained by countless hours of training.
Akari responded with a happy little yelp and then started to babble away while sucking on his scarf. That she wouldn't let go of even after he tried to take it away from her for about two minutes, but relented and let her hold onto it while not having it loosely wrapped around her like it usually was and was now draped over his shoulder.
"They're of course trying to look their best for you Natsu." said Minerva as she came from inside of the water park. She was now wearing a black bikini that was trimmed in red frills that in Natsu's opinion made her somehow look even more attractive than she already was.
"Why would they be doing that, they already look good to me on most days. And I didn't know you were already here, I hope you didn't wait around too long." he replied with his usual grin as Akari started to reach for Minerva.
"You really are clueless about somethings aren't you, and you might make me jealous by saying things like that about other women Natsu. And I've only been here for a few minutes so you have nothing to worry about." she said while he passed Akari over to her.
"Good, and what exactly am I clueless about? Also why would you be jealous?" he asked with a confused face as he looked at Minerva starting to play with Akari.
"Sometimes your daddy is really stupid Akari, but it seems that's only the case when it's mainly about him. And he also doesn't seem to pick up on jokes very well either." she said while tickling Akari's little tummy and causing her to giggle.
"I'd really prefer if you didn't call me stupid in front of her Minerva. And she really does like you." he stated with a smirk.
"But what if that is what you're being?" she asked with a sly grin.
"I still don't see how I am being that in this instance?" he asked her back.
"Natsu!" yelled Cana as she came out of the changing room. Making sure to get his attention as she and Kagura came walking up to them. She was in a plain white bikini that had a red Fairy Tail emblem on the right breast but otherwise had nothing else. Kagura's was just a plain red one, which she chose only to match the plain red swim trunks that he told her he was going to be wearing after she tried to find out discreetly but ended up with Cana just asking him straight out.
"About time you two, and you both look really good." he replied with a grin as he checked them both out just for a second.
"Do you really think so?" asked Kagura with a slight blush.
"Of course I do otherwise I wouldn't have said it." he said as they finally were now all in a little group.
"Thanks Natsu and you're just so cute in that little outfit Akari." said Cana while completely glossing over the fact that Minerva was the one holding her right now.
"Minerva." stated Kagura as she glared at the woman.
"Could you hold her for a sec?" said Minerva as she quickly passed Akari over to an eager Cana.
"I honestly think you can make anything look cute." stated Cana as gently poked her in the nose making her smile up at her.
"Kagura I would like to sincerely apologize for what I did to you and Millianna at the Grand Magic Games. I know that it doesn't mean much but I truly regret that I did that day and want to make it up to the both of you. But I honestly don't know how or if either of you would even want to be around me after that, which is why I've stayed away." she said with a sad face and even gave a little bow to show how sorry she was. Kagura never expected to hear or see something like this come from Minerva, but both Cana and Natsu did say that she changed for the better. And this little action that she took right here was all she needed to see to know that they were both right about her, while also letting some of her anger wash away since Minerva was trying to make up for her mistake.
"I think that'll be enough for me, but Millianna on the other hand will need more than that." said Kagura with a stern look.
"Of course, but do you have any idea of what I could do to make it up to her?" she asked with a slight smile, glad that Kagura was no longer glaring at her. Because if she had kept that up she didn't know how long she would have been able to stay with them.
"If it's something cat related then I'm sure she'll love it and instantly forgive you." replied Kagura with a smile of her own since Millianna was really easy to make happy. That was probably due to her overall happy nature and eagerness to help others out.
"Thanks for the advice but I still don't know what I'll do." she stated with a frown.
"Why not just bring Lector and Frosch with you on your apology to her? I guarantee that she'll love becoming friends with those two." suggested Natsu with a warm smile since it looked like they were now going to be okay with spending the rest of the day together.
"That's a brilliant idea Natsu!" she cheered while hugging him and giving him a slight blush that the other two women instantly took notice of.
"Just trying to help so why don't we get away from the changing room and start enjoying ourselves." he said as she finally let go of him.
"Sounds good to us, right Akari." said Cana with a big grin as Akari let out a happy little yelp.
"It's why we actually came here." stated Kagura with a slight smile as Minerva just nodded her head.
"Alright let's go and did anyone else feel like we were being watched?" he asked as they started to walk into the water park.
"Natsu I know that you're not like most men but being with three beautiful women like us is bound to draw attention." stated Cana with a sultry grin sent his way.
"Then you also have to add in an adorable Akari." pointed out Kagura as she smiled at the little girl.
"And finally add in a smoking hot male into the mix and everyone is going to be looking at us." said Minerva with a confident grin as the other two looked at her with wide eyes. Both amazed that she would just say something like that about him without even a hint of nervousness.
"All very good points but this just feels like something different to me." he replied, making all of them think that he might not have been even listening to him.
"How so Natsu?" asked Kagura as she started to scan around for someone watching them.
"It just feels like we're being followed and I've had this feeling since we left the hotel." he answered as they continued to walk.
"Then it might be a good idea to keep an eye out for anything suspicious." said Minerva as she too started to scan the crowd.
"Don't worry about it too much guys, if anyone tries anything funny they'll instantly regret that decision with all of us being together." pointed out Cana who couldn't stop smiling since she was still holding Akari who was now wrapped up in Natsu's scarf just how she liked it.
"You have a point there Cana, if anyone tried to do anything to any of you I'd break every bone in their body since Akari is with us." replied Natsu in a slight growl as he cracked his knuckles.
"Your daddy might be what some people call overprotective." she said to the little girl in her arms smiling up at her.
"Dada?" asked Akari as she pointed at him.
"Yep, but that's a good thing right now to be but once you get older he's going to become a pain. He'll probably be like Gildarts and think everyone isn't good enough for you, but if that happens you'll be lucky enough to come to any of us and we'll knock some sense into him." she stated with a big grin as Akari once again started to smile back at her.
"Why are you telling her something like that, she's still just a baby?" he asked in a slightly angry tone.
"Just wanted to let her know what's most likely going to happen to her." she replied with a smirk.
"Minerva and Kagura please talk some sense into her on this." he said while turning to look at the other two.
"Sorry Natsu, but it does sound like something you might do when she's older." apologized Kagura with slight grin.
"I'm with these two on this one, you're definitely going to chase away any boy that likes her." stated Minerva with a big smile as she looked at him now having a face of complete disbelief.
"I really don't think I care about any of your opinions on this anymore, and I could back it up with a few facts but I don't want to ruin the day over something like this." he said while taking his daughter away from Cana with an upset look on his face.
"And what exactly were you going to say Natsu?" asked Cana, upset that she wasn't holding Akari anymore.
"I'm also intrigued as to what you were going to say." stated Minerva as she looked at him with a questioning look.
"Doesn't matter anymore just forget I said anything and let's go and do something." he replied taking the lead.
"Look what you did Cana, now he's mad at all of us!" hissed Kagura as she glared at her.
"You do know that you agreed with her about it and that he can definitely still hear us." pointed out Minerva with a slight grin as Kagura had a look of horror on her face since she forgot about that again.
"All I did was point out what's most likely going to happen since he's so protective of her." said Cana with a slight frown because she was afraid that she might have just ruined their day out together.
"I'm fine Cana and I'd like to state that I'm just the right amount of protectiveness with her and I know that she'll eventually start liking boys. But unlike Gildarts I will be reasonable about this and all they have to do to get my approval is beat me in a fight." he stated with a big grin. Letting them all know that we was indeed okay with them and was going to carry on as if none of that stuff happened.
"Natsu you do realize that pretty much means you won't be approving of anyone that likes her." she stated no longer frowning but having a warm smile replacing it instead.
"That's what I'm counting on, so what do you guys want to do first?" he asked while turning to look at all of them.
"I wouldn't mind going to the kiddy pool with you and Akari." suggested Kagura with a hopeful look.
"That's probably the only thing she can do." stated Minerva as she looked at all of the other things that the water park had to offer, none of which were suited for a baby at all.
"Then that's where we're going." declared Cana as she took the lead, hoping to be the one with Natsu as he took Akari into the water with him. But it seemed like the other two had the same idea, which resulted in them having a small race that left Natsu and Akari all alone.
"They've forgotten about us haven't they?" he asked his daughter with his usual grin.
"Nana!" cheered Akari as she clapped her hands and started to giggle.
"You really like saying that don't you?" he asked as she started to babble away as they started to head to the kiddy pool. And as they got there Natsu noticed that most of the other parents were leaving for some reason and was starting to grow worried. That is until he picked up three very distinct magic signatures that were emanating from the kiddy pool that now contained the other three members of their group.
"This was my idea first so you two need to leave." stated Cana as she glared at the other two. All of them glaring at each other just waiting for one of them to make the first move so they could counter it.
"Sorry ladies but all of you need to leave this area if you don't have a kid." said a terrified employee as she kept backing away from them.
"We already told you that she'll be here any minute." replied Minerva as she continued to watch the other two.
"You three realize that you just scared everyone else out of here." stated Natsu as he finally came into view of them. Instantly causing all three of them to stop glaring at each other and started to pretend that they weren't just about to fight.
"Just think of it as a pleasant bonus, it's almost as if you rented it out just for us." said Minerva with a warm smile as she beckoned them to join them.
"See now we have a kid so go away." said Cana as she looked at the female employee with a smug grin.
"Okay but usually it's just the parents that come in here. And aren't you a little cutie, so who's the mother?" asked the employee as she came up to Natsu and smiled at the duo.
"Actually none of them are, they're just really good friends of mine that I wanted to have some fun with today." he replied with his usual grin.
"Well that makes all of this even more interesting." she stated while taking a quick glance at the other three that didn't look too pleased with her talking to Natsu.
"Yeah and I think we'd like to start having some fun together." said Minerva as she came over and grabbed his arm, pulling him back over to the other two which were more than enough competition in her opinion for the day.
"See you around I guess." he replied giving the lady a quick grin over his shoulder causing her to have a slight blush that went unnoticed by him thanks to another pull by Minerva.
"This is going to be her first time in a swimming pool isn't it?" asked Kagura with an excited look in her eyes.
"Yep, but considering she's still just a baby all she's going to do is probably sit in it and splash around like she does when I give her a bath." he replied with a grin as he took her to the shallowest part of the pool and took a seat.
"True, but I'm still glad to be here to see it." she replied taking the spot to his right as Minerva took the spot to his left. While Cana on the other hand decided to take the spot right in front of him with a smug look on her face that only the two other girls could notice.
"Ready to play in the water Akari?" asked Natsu with a smile that he lost when she shook her head at him without her usual smile. So thinking that she didn't know what she was doing he went to set her in the water but was once again shocked that she held onto him letting him know that she didn't want to be set down.
"I'll take that as her way of saying no." stated Cana with a little smirk as they all watched Natsu keep trying to get Akari to let him set her down in the water so she could play. But each and every time she would just shake her head at him and hold on as tight as she could, which wasn't that tight but it did stop him from trying for a little while.
"Come on Akari, I know you're not afraid of water so why don't you want to play in it now. Why don't we just think of it as bath time?" he suggested with a smile and only received an upset look from her.
"She really is just as stubborn as you isn't she." said Minerva with a little giggle that caused the other two girls to look at her in shock.
"That she is, so I guess today won't be here first time in a pool." he replied with a little grin as Akari now smiled at him since he was no longer trying to set her down.
"Its fine Natsu, maybe she just wants to spend more time with her daddy is all." pointed out Kagura as she too noticed the smile Akari got after he stopped trying to put her in the shallow water.
"Is that what you want my little dragon?" he asked while looking down at his daughter who replied with a happy little yelp before going back to sucking on his scarf. That if he was being honest with himself was more her scarf now, which seemed right in his mind because he no longer needed it like he did when he was younger.
"So what should we do now?" asked Cana as she laid out in front of him in the shallow water that almost completely covered her, well most of her that is which he couldn't help but notice causing her to have a slight grin.
"We could go find some chairs in the main area and relax there." suggested Minerva as she sent a slight glare at Cana whose grin only got bigger after that.
"Sure, but don't you three want to go on some of the rides?" he asked while standing back up with Akari now happily babbling away.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say that we just want to spend some more time with you two." replied Kagura as she pointed at the father and daughter combo.
"Okay but now I feel like this might not have been as good of an idea as I thought it was." said Natsu with a slight frown.
"Come on Natsu, we're all enjoying ourselves. And you also get to see all three of us in our bikini's that you helped us each pick out, most men would kill to be in your place right now." said Cana as she hugged him from behind, knowing that he would definitely feel her assets firmly pressed against his back.
"I'm not like most men." he replied while trying to block out the sensation on his back as her hands roamed his abs.
"We all know that, if you were like everyone else then I'm sure none of us would even be here right now." she whispered in his ear while receiving death glares from the other two women. Both of them would have attacked if Akari wasn't in Natsu's arms happily looking around with her scarf in her mouth, but she was so they had to watch as Cana took advantage of the situation to the fullest.
"Thanks I guess Cana, so let's go find some spots to sit down and relax at." he replied while slipping out of her hug and heading for the main section of the pool with the other two now stuck to his sides. Seeing all three of them react like that caused Cana to start laughing to herself as she followed behind them thinking to herself that having some competition would make this entertaining if nothing else.
When their group got to the main section of the water park they weren't really surprised to find that all of the chairs were already occupied. But after Kagura and Minerva had a few quick words with a group of gentlemen they were more than happy to give up their spots for them and even went to get them anything they wanted from the concession stands. They at first only gave them three spots but the last one only took one look at Cana and decided to give up his spot as well.
Natsu couldn't help but feel that something was off about the other group giving up their spot like that, but he's seen guys do stranger things for beautiful women before. And the three with him right now were definitely that, although that didn't explain the slight hint of fear he smelt coming off of the men whenever they brought back food for them. But they kept smiling the whole time so he just guessed that he was reading too much into it and decided to just relax.
After sitting there and casually talking with all of them Akari seemed to no longer be as clingy to him as she was earlier. And seeing as he paid for them to be here Natsu decided that he was going to get them to at go on some of the rides at least once. So in a quick motion that caught all of the girls by surprise he passed Akari over to Minerva and pulled Cana up out of her chair with a mischievous grin.
"What are you doing Natsu?" asked Cana with a slight blush at how he quickly took control of the situation that she couldn't help but think it might be leading somewhere completely different.
"I've decided that I'm taking each of you on at least one ride with me." he said still grinning at her.
"What?" asked all of the girls together and looking at him strangely because they were all thinking along the same lines of Cana. But once again Natsu reminded them that he was constantly full of surprises.
"Yep, so you two look after Akari until we return and I know she'll be safe with the two of you." he replied with a smirk while dragging a still surprised Cana behind him.
"I thought he couldn't handle any forms of transportation?" asked Minerva as she looked over at Kagura.
"I honestly completely forgot about that, but he didn't seem to have any problems with it on the train or in the elevator at the hotel." she replied as Akari smiled at her.
"That actually counts as transportation?" asked Minerva with a little smirk.
"I think so, from what Erza told me anything that moves by itself can be considered transportation for a dragon slayer." she answered with a little smirk of her own.
"But I've seen him fly around with Happy all the time." stated Minerva as Akari perked up at the mention of Happy and started to look around for her blue friend.
"Natsu's explanation for that is friends can't be transportation." replied Kagura as she started to giggle at how odd he truly was. At hearing this Minerva couldn't help but join in, now wondering if Natsu learned some way to cure his motion sickness. If so Sting and Rogue would both do almost anything to learn that secret so they wouldn't have such a huge weakness.
"Your daddy is one of a kind Akari." she said while looking down at the little girl in her arms.
"Hap?" asked Akari with a questioning look on her face as she continued to look above them for the blue exceed.
"Did she just try and say Happy's name?" asked Kagura with an excited look in her eyes that only grew when Akari looked over at her and said "Hap?" again with a slightly sad look.
"I think she did, and sorry Honey but Happy's not here right now but I'm sure he'll be there when you return home." said Minerva in a caring tone, but had a small knot form in her stomach when Akari turned back to her with teary eyes.
"Hap!" she whimpered as tears started to come as she quietly started to cry.
"It's okay Akari, Happy's still at the guild with Millianna right now." said Kagura now right next to Minerva trying to calm down the little girl before she starts to actually cry. Something that both girls didn't want to happen since Natsu left her in their care and didn't want him to think that they neglected her because she was obviously his whole world right now. And that would probably be the easiest way to ruin any chance either of them had with him.
"Hap!" she cried out a little louder as she actually started to cry getting a few of the other people around them to look at them.
"Shh it's alright, we're both here for you and your daddy will be back any second now." said Minerva as she tried to calm down the sad little girl, but had very little effect.
"Here Akari, how about we play with your dragon." said Kagura as she pulled out the red dragon plushy and handed it to her. Only for Akari to instantly drop it and start crying even louder, making both girls start to freak out since up till this point they've only really seen her happy and if not Natsu calmed her down in a few seconds and then usually got her to go to sleep a few minutes later.
"Here, maybe she'll be happier if you're holding her." suggested Minerva as she passed her over to a stunned Kagura. But just like everything else that they tried it didn't seem to help calm her down at all.
"Akari please stop crying, we can't get you Happy because he's all the way back home." said Kagura as she mimicked what she saw Natsu do when she was just upset and started to rock her back and forth. But once again that didn't help the situation as she only got louder, making both of them start panicking since there was no way Natsu wasn't hearing this right now and was probably already destroying everything in his way to get back there.
"Would this help?" asked one of the men that they kicked out of their seats, standing to the side now holding a plushy of Happy. And just like that Akari stopped crying and was now reaching out for the plushy with a happy little expression on her face.
"Hap!" she said joyfully as the man gave it to her with a smile. All of them watched as Akari hugged it only for her to have a confused face for a little bit, causing all of them to realize she knew it wasn't the real Happy.
"Sorry Akari but this is the best that we can do." said Kagura with a hopeful smile.
"Hap?" she asked with a confused look still on her face.
"It's just a doll of him sweetie, Happy is still at the guild like Kagura said." stated Minerva, still hoping along with everyone else that she would be okay with that.
"Hap." she replied once again hugging it with a smile on her face, causing all of the people around them to let out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks for giving her that." said Kagura with a smile as she looked at the man still next to them.
"It's no problem at all, I couldn't stand seeing her that unhappy." he replied with a little grin as he looked at the girl still hugging the doll with a happy little smile on her face.
"I'm sure Natsu will really appreciate what you did for her, by the way where did you even get that doll?" asked Minerva with a smile, and noticed that the man had a slight look of fear at the mention of Natsu's name.
"I bought it at the gift shop, and I think the last thing anyone wants here is Salamander to be upset." he said with a little chuckle, as some of the stories about the fire dragon flashed through his mind. All of them having one distinct thing in common, whoever upset him usually ended up severely beaten and in the hospital.
"Well thank you again for your quick thinking because you are definitely correct about none of us wanting to see that. Especially if it's dealing with his daughter as the cause for him being that way." she replied with a slight shiver, knowing that everything he's done up till now would pale in comparison to what he would do for the little girl.
"I'm honestly just glad that it worked, so I hope you all enjoy the rest of your stay." he replied and headed off to where the rest of his friends were. All along the way getting pats on the back for getting Akari to stop crying before her daddy returned, which some of the employees were there the last time he and his friends came here and didn't want a repeat of that.
"I kind of feel bad for taking their spots." stated Kagura as she looked at the man now being treated like a hero.
"Don't be, just look at all of the attention he's getting now and some of it's even from women." pointed out Minerva with a sly grin.
"I guess, but know I'm curious as to why Natsu hasn't shown up yet." she replied while looking for a pink head of hair in the crowds.
"I think we should consider ourselves lucky that he didn't." said Minerva as she leaned back into the chair while letting out a content sigh.
With Natsu and Cana:
"I should have known that something like this would happen." said Cana as she had one of Natsu's arms around her shoulder to help him walk.
"I thought I was cured since I don't get sick with Akari, and did you hear crying earlier?" asked Natsu who still looked a little sick.
"Nope and she's in really good hands Natsu, those two wouldn't let anything happen to her as long as they are still breathing. But if you're concerned we can both go back there because I don't think I want to go on another ride with you if you're just going to be sick." she replied with a little smirk at definitively being better than him in at least one thing.
"No, you're right it was probably just my imagination and I know I can do this." he replied in a determined tone as they got back in line for the couples slide. That he really didn't like all too much because of the hearts and other romantic things plastered all over it, but it was the slide that Cana wanted to go on with him so he'd suck it up and not complain.
"Well what do you do with Akari that you're not doing with me?" asked Cana as they got closer to their turn.
"I guess I'm usually just focused on her and don't really realize that I'm on a form of transportation." he replied after a few moments of thinking to himself.
"Then why don't you just try that." she suggested with a bright smile.
"Okay, but then I might have to hold onto you pretty tightly." he said with a slight blush.
"That's kind of the point of this slide." she replied with a grin while rolling her eyes at him as they were motioned for them that it was their turn.
"Fine but you can't tease me or call me perverted for doing any of this." he said while sitting down first.
"I can't believe that you actually are trying this again." stated the lifeguard in disbelief, since he saw how terrible Natsu looked after he made it to the bottom.
"Me either." replied Cana as she sat down in between his legs. And let out a little yelp when she was instantly pulled against his chest with his arms wrapped around her stomach and him resting his chin on her shoulder. This allowed him to get a good whiff of her sent and to be able to whisper in her ear, which he did right away to her surprise.
"You smell like cinnamon with a hint of booze, its nice." he whispered, causing Cana to blush and be at a loss of words. Both things rarely ever happened for the notorious drunk of Fairy Tail that most would describe as honest to a point of sometimes being seen as mean to some people.
"Here you go love birds!" said the lifeguard with a little chuckle as he pushed them down the slide. Causing the two of them to go into a laying position as they went down the slide, and to her shock she could hear Natsu chuckling as they went down. Rather than possibly ruining the moment by talking with him and reminding him that they were on a slide, Cana decided to just enjoy him holding her in this protective manner as they went down the slide. The whole time listening to him chuckle until they slid into the pool at the bottom where they finally separated.
"I can't believe that actually worked!" cheered Natsu as he burst from the water with fire now coating his fist not realizing he was heating up the water to the temperatures of a hot tube.
"That it did Natsu, but could you please try and not boil me alive." stated Cana with a slight blush as she emerged from the water as well.
"Sorry about that Cana." he apologized with a sheepish grin.
"Congratulations man, now if you could get out of there so other people could go that would be great!" shouted the lifeguard from the top of the slide.
"Sorry!" shouted Natsu as he grabbed Cana and carried her out of there bridal style, once again not noticing that he left her speechless and blushing slightly.
"Alright who's next?" asked Natsu as he set Cana down in front of the two other women that were now staring at the two of them oddly. Both wondering what in the world caused Natsu to carry her back to them like that, but once again realized that it was Natsu so it was probably smart to not even ask.
"You can go next Minerva, Akari seems pretty content right now and I enjoy holding her." stated Kagura as she looked down as said little girl who was still happily holding her Happy plushy while also sucking on her scarf.
"Are you sure about that Kagura?" asked Minerva, still wanting to make up for her past wrongs done against the woman.
"Positive, I'm also curious why Cana here is blushing while also being surprisingly quiet for once." she replied with a little smirk that made Cana a little nervous. But it let Minerva know it was completely okay, which is a good thing because Natsu never being the one to just stand around was already dragging her into the park.
"Easy now, what's got you all worked up?" asked Minerva after getting him to no longer be dragging her around.
"Cana and I figured out a way for me to ride the rides without getting sick!" he cheered with a fist thrown into the air showing how excited he was by all of this.
"So you're saying that you were still planning on going on rides with us knowing that you'd get sick?" she asked in a stunned tone, because from what she's heard it was honestly one of the worst things that you could do to a dragon slayer. Given a choice between being beaten almost to death and a ten hour train ride, ever dragon slayer would choose being beaten over riding on any form of transportation for that long.
"Yep, because I want to make sure that you all have fun. Even though you all said that you were fine with just sitting around I could tell that you all wanted to at least go on some of the slides and other rides." he replied with a warm smile that she couldn't help but reciprocate.
"You're really too caring sometimes, you know that Natsu?" she asked him while still smiling.
"No such thing Minerva, so which one do you want to ride first since you get two before I need to go back and do the same with Kagura?" he asked while looking at all of the different rides.
"Then let's go on that one." she replied, not questioning why they were going to go on two rides together. And she pointed at the one that he and Cana had already gone down twice today.
"Okay, but I feel the need to warn you that I'm going to hold on to you pretty tight for me to not get sick." he stated while happily pulling her into the line.
"I won't mind that at all." she replied with a slight blush as she noticed how all the other couples were going down the slide together.
"I didn't think you would after we pretended to be a family last night, which I really did enjoy doing with you. It made me kind of want to start looking for a mother for Akari and me. Crap I didn't mean I wanted a mom, she would be my wife and her mother." said Natsu now all flustered and stumbling over his own words with a slight blush, only to stop when he heard Minerva start giggling at him.
"You're really cute when you get worked up like that over just a slip of the tongue." teased Minerva as his blush only got worse.
"You would too if your friends called you out on that stuff right away." he replied with a slight grin, no longer embarrassed since she seemed to not care about things like that.
"I probably would if people weren't too afraid of me to point things out like that." she replied with a slight frown.
"If you want I will try and point out anything you mess up on." he stated with a grin only for her to lightly elbow him in the gut like she did a few times last night.
"I don't want that, but thanks for the offer I know you meant well by it." she said while giving him a warm smile.
"Then why did you elbow me?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Habit I guess." she replied with a smirk while turning away from him.
"Well I'd really like it if we broke that habit right now." he stated with a pleading look that she didn't even look at since she was still looking away from him.
"Okay, but you have to do one thing for me." she said after turning back to him and seeing him nod his head in agreement and letting her know to continue.
"Let's do what we did last night but here when it's just the two of us." she stated nervously while looking at her feet. Not knowing if he would do something like that just to get her to stop elbowing him in the gut, but once again rather than responding he decided to let his actions speak for himself and brought her into a caring hug. That they only separated from after there was a large gap made between them and the people in front of them, but they still held hands making her smile at how right this felt to her.
And for the rest of the way through the line they held hands and she would every once and awhile rest her head on his shoulder while they stood around. But once they got to the top Minerva couldn't help but notice the weird look that the lifeguard was giving Natsu and decided to take it as a complement for herself. She thought that the man was just shocked that Natsu could be with a woman like her, but that thought was soon wiped away from her mind as they got into position and then went down the slide together feeling as if she didn't have to worry about anything while wrapped in his strong arms.
"So what ride now?" asked Natsu as he helped her out of the pool.
"What about that one." she pointed to the other couples ride that was actually a ride where a couple would get into a boat together and slowly float through a romantic tunnel together until they made it to the other side of the park.
"Doesn't look like something I'd normally ride but if that's what you want to do then I'm all fired up." he replied as he walked with a now extremely happy Minerva to a ride that took a whole ten minutes to complete. This of course caused the other two to start wondering where the two of them went.
With Cana, Kagura, and let's not forget about Akari:
"So that's what happened between you two while you were all alone, you're not leaving anything out on purpose?" asked Kagura with a skeptical look.
"That's what happened, and the only thing I left out are my own private thoughts." stated Cana with a slight blush as she realized she said a little too much when Kagura couldn't help but giggle at her right now. She would have yelled at her but Akari decided to join in on the giggling, which just made it too cute and got rid of the little anger that she had.
"Sorry Cana, but you're usually so how do I want to say this? Confident and composed about things like this, I mean you were about to confess to him last night when he realized we were acting fishy." said Kagura after she stopped giggling at her friend and possible love rival as Juvia would say.
"Fi!" cheered Akari while hugging her Happy plushy with all her might causing it to say "Aye!" in his voice. A thing that none of them knew at first about the plushy that she was definitely happy to discover about her new favorite toy for the day.
"It's fine, I kind of have it coming for doing the same to you when you get all embarrassed. And I want to thank you again for doing that last night, because that probably wouldn't have been the best time to tell him that I think I like him." replied Cana as she smiled at her, surprised at how much she's opened up during their little trip together.
"You were only going to do that so I didn't have to, so how could I let you do that when what I said was kind of the truth." she said as another "Aye!" came from the Happy doll causing Akari to start giggling.
"What are friends for, and did she just try and say fish?" asked Cana with a wide smile.
"I think so, not too surprising that after daddy her next words would be Happy and Fish." stated Kagura with a big smile of her own.
"Hap Fi!" cheered Akari happily with a smile at hearing them again.
"You're forgetting about her saying mommy." whispered Cana, not wanting Akari to hear her.
"Mama?" asked Akari as she looked at both of them with a confused look, letting both of them know that she heard Cana.
"We're both here Sweetheart." said Kagura with a warm smile, trying to hide how sorry she felt for the little girl. Knowing how hard it is to be without parents, but remembering that luckily Akari had probably one of the best parents possible who would go to the ends of the world for her.
"Yeah, and soon you're daddy's going to be here as well for a little bit until he takes mommy Kagura out for their little date." said Cana in a happy little tone as Kagura instantly became extremely embarrassed at hearing all of that. And started to try and deny it but was becoming all tongue tied and couldn't get a proper sentence out as Cana quietly laughed at her.
"Shouldn't they have been back my now?" she asked after calming down and realizing that it was just Cana teasing her again.
"Now that you mention it he should have been back a long time ago, and that's even if you count in the time for waiting in those lines." said Cana as she now had a concerned look on her face as she stood up to see if she could see his distinctive hair in the swarm of people.
"If you're looking for Salamander he should be with you shortly." said a man that looked familiar to both of them.
"And how do you know this exactly?" asked Cana as she grabbed a few cards she had tucked in her bikini top. Ready to fight this stranger if he so much as moved towards them in a threatening manner.
"Sorry, I can see why you'd react like that but I'm only an employee of Sorcerer's Weekly and would like to ask you two a few questions about your relationship with Salamander." explained the man with a kind smile that was lost instantly when two deadly auras started to emanate from the two women in front of him.
"You guys can't help yourselves can you?" asked Kagura in a disgusted tone as she continued to glare at him.
"Don't answer that, and I'm going to do you a big favor and pretend that we didn't learn about any of this just right now. On the one condition that you and the rest of your crew from Sorcerer's Weekly leave this instant and don't bother us ever again while we're in town." stated Cana still ready to throw a few cards at him.
"And why would we do something like that?" asked the man trying to sound not afraid but a little squeak he let out ruined that right away.
"Because if you don't then I'll tell Natsu exactly what you've all been up to, which would probably result with him hunting each of you down and beating you up until he's confident that everything you took of us today has been destroyed. And just so you know I would actually really enjoy watching him do that to each and every one of you but it would probably ruin the rest of our vacation, which is something that I care about more." she replied while slipping away her cards leaving the man now completely terrified.
"I'd run while you still have the chance, oh and he already noticed that people were watching us since this morning. So it's only a matter of time until he figures out." stated Kagura as the man lost all color in his skin and took off in a run to go get the rest of his friends and get out of there.
"What in the world got into him?" asked Natsu while holding Minerva in his arms like he did with Cana earlier.
"No idea, but why in the world are you carrying her?" asked Cana as she pointed at a smirking Minerva.
"Because I asked him to, and why are you upset he did the same for you." replied Minerva as he set her down.
"True but I didn't ask for him to do it." she countered in a smug tone that caused Minerva to glare at her. It probably would have escalated if Natsu didn't start talking as if everything was completely normal and they weren't about to start attacking each other.
"You ready to go Kagura?" asked Natsu with a warm smile.
"Definitely but I need one of them to hold Akari." she replied with a bright smile as she came up to Cana who happily took Akari from her.
"Hap!" cheered Akari while once again squeezing the doll getting it to say it's one line.
"Did she just say Happy and when did she get a doll of him?" he asked with a shocked expression.
"At least her version of his name, and a kind man gave it to her when she was becoming cranky and wanting the real deal. She also can say fish now." stated Kagura with a bright smile, as he now had a proud grin on his face at learning all of this.
"Fi!" cheered the little girl causing the three women to smile at her while Natsu started to shake his head.
"Man, Happy is never going to let me live this one down. You really are just a troublemaker like your daddy, first you start calling me by my first name and now you go and start saying Happy's guesses at what your first words were going to be." he said now smiling at her.
"Nana." she said with a little grin, causing Minerva to start giggling while the other two looked at her with shocked facial expression because they didn't know she could say his name. Well not his actual name but her form of it, which was pretty close for how young she is.
"Okay my little dragon, you win this round but I'm going to win the next six." he declared with a grin as he grabbed Kagura's hand and headed back into the park knowing that his daughter was completely fine if she was messing with him like that. At least what he assumed was her messing with him, which it had to be because there was no way she could keep accidentally saying things like that at the perfect time.
"She's very smart for how young she is." stated Kagura nervously since she actually hasn't been alone with just Natsu at all. He usually had Akari with him, or at least another girl fawning over how cute his daughter was. But here she was now holding hands with him, while he was just in his swimming trunks and showing off his well sculpted body. Something that she couldn't help but stare at whenever she knew he wasn't looking, which caused her to have a slight blush.
"That she is, which I'm really grateful for because I don't think I could handle it if she had to go through what I did when I was just a kid." he replied while leading her to the couples slide, assuming that was where they would eventually end up anyways.
"You turned out alright." she stated looking up into his slightly sad face.
"Yeah I guess I did, but that was because I got lucky that a few people cared enough to teach me things that most people just knew." he said with a fond smile.
"Who were those people if you don't mind me asking?" asked Kagura, who wanted to know more about the dragon slayer who kept surprising her at every turn. And was nowhere near the one dimensional character that she initially thought he was after only knowing of him through stories.
"I'll always answer any of your question's Kagura. And the two that probably helped me the most were Lisanna and Erza when I first joined the guild." he replied while giving her his usual grin.
"How so?" she asked, noticing that Erza's name once again came up.
"I'll tell you that, but first which ride do you want to go on first?" he asked her while gesturing to all of the rides.
"How long of an answer will I be getting?" she asked with a little smile.
"Not too long, but if you have more questions then I'll be more than happy to answer them. Oh and sorry about holding your hand like that." he replied while rubbing the back of his head hoping that she wasn't going to be upset that he held her hand this whole time.
"I actually liked it." she mumbled to herself, only for him to chuckle and grab it again while smiling at her.
"Then I'm more than happy to keep holding it, so which one?" he asked again with a grin, since she seemed to keep forgetting about his advanced hearing.
"Let's go on that one first." she said pointing to the boat ride that he was really hoping she wouldn't pick since it was so boring. But just like with Minerva he wasn't going to complain and was just happy to see all of them getting along with each other and having a good time.
"Alright then, and to answer your earlier question Erza was the one to teach me how to write and read. And pretty much anything that you would consider standard education, honestly I think she might have been the only to be able to do that." he replied with a chuckle.
"Why do you think that?" she asked starting to fear that her earlier suspicions might be correct.
"Because she wasn't afraid to beat me until I finally got it down, and I know that sounds a little harsh which it was. But I don't know if I would have learned otherwise, I probably would have just blown it off and thought that it was just stupid and I didn't need to learn it. Luckily Erza was stronger than me at that time and did what was best for me since no one else would or even could like I said." he replied with a grin.
"She's a really good friend." she stated with a slight frown that he didn't notice.
"Yeah she was." he replied with a sad smile. Causing Kagura to almost stop completely at hearing that, wondering if that was just a mistake or did he really no longer think of her as a friend. One side of her wanted it to be the case for some very selfish reasons, while the other side knew she'd rather have them both still being friends with each other since they both helped her out a lot and were two of the few people she felt safe being around.
"Are you saying that you're no longer friends with Erza?" she asked, having come to the decision that she had to help them if she could.
"No, we're definitely still friends I guess I was just wrong about how good of friends we were. But now I need to tell you how Lisanna helped me out when I was younger. And I'm guessing that you'll probably just laugh at this but she was the one that taught me how to interact with people, which I know I'm still a little odd about. But if she didn't help me at all I would be a whole lot worse and would probably just fight people right away without even trying to figure out what's going on." he said while giving her a quick reassuring grin.
"Then I need to thank both of them, because you are one of the nicest people I've ever met. And you've only treated me with respect and courtesy that most men don't even try to do." she replied with a bright smile, wanting to make sure he knew what she thought of him.
"Thanks, so how do you want to sit in the boat? I'm only asking since most people going on this ride are couples and like holding each other." he asked slightly nervous, causing her to relax a little knowing that he was kind of just like her with these things.
"I wouldn't mind sitting that way either." she replied with her blush once again reappearing.
"Alright, because I've been told a lot that I'm not the best with realizing when I'm invading someone else's personal space." he said with a little chuckle as they were ushered into a boat together. With him taking a seat first and for her to then awkwardly sit next to him but not touch him at all. Seeing this and how nervous she was Natsu decided he'd help her out and get her into the position that Minerva went to with no problems and seemed to enjoy.
So he slid one arm around her backside and pulled her in so she was right next to him and actually touching him now. And then he gently grabbed both of her shoulders and moved her so she was now leaning against his chest on the right side. The final touch was once again slipping his right arm around her backside and then holding out his left one for her to hold if she wanted to, which she did with a bright blush now clearly on her cheeks.
And for the next five minutes they stayed like that, both just enjoying the company that they were sharing with each other as they silently went through the tunnel. Until Kagura realized that this was an ideal time to ask him a few more questions while they were alone and no one could interrupt them, which is what she did and was happy that he seemed happy to answer them.
With the others:
"Is this how long it took when I was with him?" asked Minerva with an impatient tone in her voice as she paced back and forth.
"This is about half the time it took for you two right now, isn't that right Akari?" replied Cana as she smiled down at Akari who did one of her happy little yelps as a response.
"But you were only gone with him for just a few minutes." she stated as she took her seat with an exhausted sigh.
"Yep, makes me wonder what the two of you are getting him to do with you." said Cana as she gave Minerva a sly grin.
"You know, just things that couples would do." she replied with a smirk, hoping to get under her skin.
"Figured as much, and I bet Kagura is doing the exact same thing right now. But she's doing all of it in that nervous way of hers that some men like over a woman who usually takes charge." responded Cana with a bigger grin as Minerva now looked a little scared.
"You don't think Natsu is one of those guys?" she asked now moving over to the chair right beside the two of them.
"Honestly I have no idea with that man, because if I did then I would probably have him to myself by now. But considering that he's usually around women like Erza and Mira most of the time I would think that he could be into that thing. Then again that could also be the exact opposite and make him want to look for a girl that isn't so confident in all of her actions." answered Cana, enjoying how Minerva hung on her every word.
"That doesn't really help, and why aren't you concerned about this since you clearly have a thing for him like the rest of us?" asked Minerva, finding Cana's laid back attitude annoying when most women would be at least be doing something about all of this.
"I'd like to consider myself right in the middle of those two extremes which means I'm fine either way. Also we're in the same guild so even if he starts to like one of you more on this trip I'll make up for that by being around him more often than either of you two. I just have to be concerned about the other females at the guild." she said in a smug tone while adjusting Akari in her lap.
"You've just made a terrible mistake Cana; you should know what happens when someone is too confident. I mean isn't that why most of Fairy Tail's enemies fall to you guys, they always think they have everything planned out perfectly until Natsu or someone else does something completely unexpected?" said Minerva with a smug grin now on her face as Cana realized she was right and no longer looked so confident.
"Good point, thanks for pointing that out to me." she replied with a fake smile.
"Glad to help, but that's the only time it'll ever happen again when concerning who's going to be with him." stated Minerva, now mad at herself for pointing that out when she could have just let Cana continue on with her confident attitude.
"The same goes for me, but you're already behind since Akari is already calling me mommy." said Cana hoping that it would possibly cause Minerva to back off. But the grin she had on her face told her that was definitely not going to happen.
"So you're one of the other girls that she's said that to, I guess Kagura is as well." stated Minerva still grinning.
"Yes and judging from that grin I guess she said that to you as well." she replied only for Minerva to nod her head.
"Do you have any idea why she's doing that?" she asked while giving the little girl a sad smile, happy that she was apparently not paying attention to what they were talking about and just happily playing with her Happy doll.
"Natsu thinks it might be because we all remind her about her real mother in some way, which is sad that she won't get to actually know her." answered Minerva once again thinking about how similar she was to the little girl.
"It really was a terrible thing for him to find, but leave it to Natsu to take her in as his own without a second thought. It's really hard to grow up with just one parent, but if that parent is him then there's nothing for anyone to really be worried about." she replied only to look up at the shocked face of Minerva.
"She's not actually his?" she asked in a whisper, causing Cana to realize she might have messed up really big here.
"Yes, and from how you were just talking before I thought you knew that already. Okay Minerva you have to promise me that you'll never repeat any of this to anyone again and you're not doing this for me but for Akari. Because whatever happened that day has Natsu scared for her safety and he's someone that doesn't get scared too easy, but this time he barely even told the guild about what happened." stated Cana with a pleading look, hoping that Minerva would listen to her.
"Of course I will, I don't think I could live with myself if something happened to her because of me. But I'm kind of glad that I know since I was extremely curious at who Natsu would actually have a kid with." she stated with a slight smile towards the end.
"That's something I'm afraid a lot more women are going to be trying to find out after that article about him gets out. But luckily that isn't going to happen for at least a month so we still have time." said Cana with a look of relief now being on her face.
"We?" asked Minerva with a sultry grin that Cana instantly picked up on and couldn't help but blush at.
"Not like that you sicko, what I meant was that one of us could have him because as much as I'd hate to admit this. But I would much rather see him with someone that truly cares about him and can actually help him protect and raise Akari as she grows up. And most of the other women that might be coming after him won't be able to do any of that." she explained in a slightly embarrassed tone because of what she thought Minerva meant by we.
"I can see your point, but I think Natsu might be interested in that first thought of yours." teased Minerva as a complete look of horror came over Cana's face.
"I said no such thing, and don't you dare tell him that I did!" she hissed at her, only to then watch as she burst into laughter.
"Oh man that was too funny Cana, and even if you didn't say it that blush you had a little bit ago sure told me that you thought about it." said Minerva while still holding her sides from laughing so much.
"Not a word you hear me." declared Cana as she glared at her.
"Glad to see you two seem to be getting along really well together." stated Natsu as he set Kagura down since she too decided to be carried by him.
"Yep, we're the best of friends now isn't that right Cana? Some might say we're extremely close." said Minerva clearly enjoying the whole situation that Cana just put herself in.
"Natsu, you spent more time with them." said Cana quickly as she passed a confused Akari to Minerva only to grab an extremely confused Natsu and drag him away before Minerva could say anymore.
"What was that all about?" asked Kagura as she took a seat next to Minerva.
"Just a little fun, nothing to be too concerned about." she replied now starting to play with the little girl that was almost thrown at her.
"I think I should know if it got her of all people acting that strange." stated Kagura as she slightly glared at Minerva.
"Fine, so we were both discussing how we're all going after Natsu since he's one of a kind. And along the way things got slightly confused and it sounded like she would be okay with sharing him with the both of us which is crazy right?" she explained only to look up after not getting a reply for a few moments. And there sitting across from her was a completely red faced Kagura who was apparently overloaded by the mere idea of that and what it would mean. It probably didn't help her at all that Erza happened to let her borrow some of those books of her that she never would have guessed a person like Erza to read.
"What in the world is wrong with you two, more importantly what could both of you be thinking about that caused you both to start blushing like that?" asked Minerva knowing that she wasn't going to get an answer from Kagura anytime soon and really doubted that she would get it from Cana either if her sudden departure was a good indicator at all.
"Dada?" asked Akari with a confused expression.
"Yep, your daddy's the one to blame for both of them acting so weird about this. Actually that's not completely true since he doesn't even know about this little joke. But after seeing their reactions I wouldn't mind seeing what he would do if he heard this." said Minerva in a baby voice as she went back to playing with Akari and her Happy doll.
End of Chapter
Author's Notes:
Thanks for reading and I'm sorry about the long time it took for me to update this story. For some reason in the middle of this chapter I just felt like writing for absolutely any one of my other stories, which I decided to do rather than force it for this one. So yeah I'm not too sure how I feel about this chapter since something like that has never happened to me before since I usually only work on just one chapter until I finish it, but that didn't happen for this one. So it would be great if you let me know how it turned out so if that happens again I'll know if I should just scrap it and start all over again. Oh and to be clear just because I started a new story with Natsu being paired with Kagura doesn't mean she's removed from this one. I've only not done any double ups on pairing so far because I honestly like him with so many different women that I feel they each should eventually have their own stories with him. And hopefully I'll eventually be able to do that in the future, so as I always tell you guys feel free to leave me a review or PM and I'll respond back to you as soon as I can.
Until the next Chapter
Digem Out!