First up I'm sick. I hate being sick. My brain pretty much shuts down and I can think of nothing but sleep and how much I want to strangle my brother for making me sick. That's why this chapter is short. Most might think that 3,511 words isn't really that short, but y'all have seen my other writings. This isn't one of the shortest but it's still short.

Now last chapter we left off with a cliffhanger. Makarov had something to tell the returning team so why don't you read on ahead to find out what it is and I'll see y'all at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 14

Beach Vacation

Natsu P.O.V.

We stop just inside the guild doors as Gramps speaks, and turn our gaze up to the second floor, where he stands on the railings.

"Now listen up, the Grand Magic Games are coming up in a month's time, so the two teams that are going this time round will be…" he unfolds a paper before announcing the names. "The mages on Team A are Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Wendy, with Elfman on reserve."

I almost chuckle when I hear Juvia fall into a puddle at the sound of being on our team before turning back to listen to the Team B members.

"The mages on Team B include Gajeel, Laxus, Mira, Juvia, and Jellal, with Levy on reserve."

I'm surprised when he says Jellal, until Luce leans over and whispers in my ear.

"Magic council dropped the charges on the order that he stay in the guild."

Nodding, I hear Gramps finish out his announcement with, "I suggest you brats leave today to start training, and meet back here in three weeks."

After he jumps down we walk out of the guild, and a few hours later we're meeting back up at the train station, though I'm surprised when I see Gajeel and his team standing there with Erza and Gray.

When Erza sees us she smiles. "Glad to see you made it in time, Gajeel and his group are gonna be training with us."

I arch an eyebrow. "Where are we gonna be training, anyway?"

Ice dick reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out some tickets. I take one and look at it, before looking back at him in confusion.

"We're going to a resort further down the coast. It's called the Rod 'n' Reel Resort." He explains.

"Hey, Natsu, do you think there'll be fish?"

I look up at Happy and grin. "Of course, there's gonna be fish, buddy. I mean, it has to if it's called 'Rod 'n' Reel'."

Happy drools, and I laugh as Lucy takes my tickets and puts them with hers in her key pouch for safekeeping.

When the train pulls up, we get on and get a car to ourselves, allowing everyone to stretch out, mainly for Metalhead and Sparky's benefit. We sit down, and soon after the train pulls out of the station.

I lay an arm around Lucy's shoulder and play with her dragon mark, dragging my finger over her skin and causing it to move. As it moves closer, it tries to snap at my finger, but I move my finger away, causing the dragon to repeat the process.

I'm so caught up in what I'm doing that I don't make out that someone's asking me a question until Lucy elbows me in the side, allowing the dragon to get close enough to latch onto my finger.

I yelp, and pull my hand away, scowling at it. Its lip twitches, and I swear to all the gods of Earthland that it's smirking at me.

Turning my attention back to the train car, I see everyone is watching me, while my girlfriend is trying not to laugh out loud at me.

"That's what you get for teasing it," she sasses in my ear.

I huff at her murmured words. "No, that thing's just vicious."

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, please, no more vicious than you."

I stick my tongue out at her, and feel a jolt of electricity run through me. Pulling away, I raise a questioning eyebrow at her.

"Did you just shock me?" I ask incredulously.

She shrugs, but as she goes back to her book, I can see a mischievous glint in her chocolate eyes.

With a sigh, I lean back against her, and look across the train car to see Jellal with an arm around Erza's shoulder as she shines one of her swords. Juvia's glued to ice princess as he sleeps, stretched out across the seats, while Metalhead is on the floor curled around Levy's feet. Much the same goes for Laxus, though, he isn't so obvious about how he's curled around Mira's feet while she's watching us.

I lean forward a bit, and can see Wendy curled up, asleep, on Lucy's other side. Leaning back with a sigh, I lay my head on her shoulder and soon doze off.

Lucy P.O.V.

I'm curious as to why Master would put us in the Grand Magic Games, but he's the master so I'll go along with it.

I look out the window, and can feel the train slowing down as we approach our stop, and start waking Natsu up while Levy and Mira do the same with their slayers. At least now I don't have to worry about Natsu barfing on my shoes when I wake him up.

By the time the train stops, everyone's up and are grabbing their bags from the overhead racks. Or, in my case, I'm grabbing an out-cold blue Exceed, while Natsu is grabbing my bag as well as his own.

I'm surprised that no one asked any questions while we were on the train, but I have a feeling that's because Master's already filled them in on a bit of the situation.

As we walk away from the train station, my breath is stolen from me at the beauty of the resort. Instead of it being one tall hotel, it's actually wooden huts that sit out on the water, connected to the land by a wooden bridge wide enough to fit six people shoulder-to-shoulder.

The water itself is so clear that I'm able to see a fish swimming a hundred-yards out, while the sand is so white it reminds me of Weisslogia's scales.

The road we're on soon changes from pavestones to dirt, then brown sand, and eventually, as we reach the one hut where we check-in, the sand turns to white.

We get our room keys, and when we walk across the bridge, we are surprised to find that our huts are right across from each other, with another wooden bridge to span the open water between them.

I unlock the door to our hut, and Natsu sets our bags on our bed before digging through our cases for our swimsuits. He tosses mine at me, and I catch it as I shut the door with my foot.

As I look at it, I arch an eyebrow, and look back up to see him smirking.

"Seriously?" I deadpan.

"What?" His expression is innocent, but I know better.

I raise the hand with the fiery themed two-piece.

"What did you do with my other set?" I demand, not falling for that innocent smile one bit.

His expression changes again, this time turning sheepish. "I like that one better, it suits you." he states

I roll my eyes, and walk behind the divider to change. When I walk back out, I find him sitting on the bed, already changed into his swim trunks, which just so happens to match my swim suit.

"You know, I am so getting you back for that," I warn, as I walk past him and grab the door knob.

"I know, and I can't wait."

Chills travel up my spine when I hear his reply, and I throw the door open to see the women leaning on the railing, huddling around something, while the guys are throwing each other into the water.

While I walk over to the women, Natsu runs up behind Gray and pushes him and Gajeel into the water before cannonballing in himself.

When Erza sees me, she pulls away from the huddle, and I can see something gold flash on the railing. Stepping past her, my jaw drops when I see a golden-yellow Exceed with white fur on all four paws, and a white patch on the back of her neck that travels up and over her head, stopping at the base of her nose.

The Exceed's back is to me at the moment, but as she speaks I can discern that she is, in fact, female..

"Could you help me, please? I'm looking for a woman that goes by the name Lucy Dragneel." she asks.

My face flushes bright red when they all turn their attention to me, but I'm not really embarrassed, in dragon customs Natsu and I are married, even if we haven't tied the knot in human terms yet.

I clear my throat pointedly, and the Exceed turns around. The first thing I notice is that her eyes are heterochromatic. Her left eye is a light brown with golden specks while her right is black with emerald green. Then I pay attention to her voice, it's sweet like honey but has a steeliness to it that makes me listen, almost like the sweetness draws us in, but the steel traps us once we're there.

I'm drawn from my observations when she asks, "Are you Lucy Dragneel?"

I smile, and the tension she seems to be holding melts when I answer. "Yes, I am. If I may ask, who are you, and why are you looking for me?"

She nods, and takes off a tan pack before digging through it and pulling out an envelope. She hands it to me, stating, "My name is Clarisse, but everyone calls me Clare for short. As for why I'm looking for you, that letter explains it."

I nod, and turn the letter over, taking note of the wax seal—a wing—before breaking it and pulling out the paper. Unfolding it, I read:

Queen Lucy,

To honor the completion of yours and King Natsu's training with the dragons, I have asked Clarisse if she would be your personal Exceed, just as King Natsu has Happy as his.

She is a lovable and kind Exceed, but does not tolerate downgrading remarks, and will speak her mind if she wishes. Above all, she is loyal, and will help you in any situation you may find yourself in.

With that said, I wish you a fun month in the sun, and the best of luck in the games.

Queen Shagotte.

I read it a second and third time, shocked speechless that the queen of the Exceeds has heard about Natsu and I, and decided that I may need an Exceed of my own.

My eyebrows furrow, and I look up at Clarisse. "Do you want to be my Exceed? Because I won't make you do anything you don't want to."

She looks at me in surprise, but nods. "Queen Shagotte feels I may be of the best fit to your personality, as well as your lifestyle as a Fairy Tail mage."

I nod, and a second later I smile. "Well, then, welcome to the family, Clarisse."

She smiles, almost hesitantly, but it isn't long before all the women are welcoming her.

"Yo, are we training or not?"

We glance up at the voice to see that Natsu has Gajeel's fist in one hand, and is dangling Gray out over the water by just his trunks, which are slowly beginning to slip farther down the ice wizard's hips.

"Natsu, come here," at my command, he raises an eyebrow, but immediately drops Gray, causing him to let out a string of curses, before throwing Gajeel after him.

He walks over, and when he sees Clare he glances at me with a frown. "Who's the cat?"

There's a puff of smoke, and gasps can be heard as Clare changes from a cat to a girl that's about my height, with shoulder length golden-blonde hair that has white streaks.

What gives it away that she's a cat is the fact that she still has her white tipped tail, ears, and her eyes are still the same.

She stands up and bows to Natsu before stating, "I am Clarisse, and I am Queen Lucy's personal Exceed."

Natsu reels back a second at the formal gesture before getting his act together. "Clarisse, if you are part of the family there is no need to be so formal, just call us Natsu and Lucy."

She looks surprised and turns to me. My smile never fades as I step forward and extend a hand. "What Natsu said is true, Clare, we are all family here."

Finally, she smiles a real smile as she shakes my hand. "Thank you, Lucy, Natsu, for welcoming me with open arms into your family."

"Has anyone seen Gaj-who are you?"

I look up at the question to see Pantherlily in his warrior form, stepping out of the hut he shares with Gajeel and Levy.

Clare looks up as well, and Lily's jaw drops. She walks over and extends a hand to the warrior. "I'm Clarisse, but you can call me Clare, everyone else does."

Lily frowns and I can see the gears turning in his head. "Weren't you one of Queen Shagotte's royal advisers?"

She shakes her head. "No, sir, that was my mother."

He nods and shakes her hand. "Forgive me, where are my manners. I'm Pantherlily, Gajeel Redfox's personal Exceed, I take it that if you're here, Queen Shagotte has asked you to become a personal Exceed as well?"

She smiles and nods. "Yes, I'm Queen Lucy's personal Exceed, now."

I groan at the title and say loudly enough for her to hear, "Clare, drop the title, just call me Lucy." I walk over and lay a hand on her shoulder.

She turns to me, looking sheepish. "Sorry, Qu-Lucy."

I smile and turn to Lily. "Last I saw, Gajeel was being thrown in the water by Natsu."

He nods. "Thank you, Lucy; I wanted to spar with him, before he got into a fight with you and Natsu."

I raise an eyebrow at his statement but before he can explain, Gajeel jumps the railing to land beside him.

"Come on, Lily, you want a sparring match, you'll get your sparring match."

They walk back down the ramp, and we turn back to the ladies. We talk for a little while longer, until the boys grow tired of throwing each other into the water and Gajeel and Lily return from their sparring match further down the beach.

Then Erza approaches me. "Lucy, care for a fight?"

I frown, unsure of how to answer her. Finally, I shrug. "I guess, I don't see what could go wrong with a simple fight."

I look around the railing and take note of the differing expressions. Gray, and Gajeel look interested, while Mira, Levy, Elfman, Juvia, and Laxus look disbelieving. The only ones that know I can handle a fight against her, and show it, are Wendy, Erza herself, and Natsu who's grinning like a madman.

"Where would you like to spar?"

At her question, I look around, trying to decide, when an idea hits me. Grinning, I jump the railing and let the water catch me before pushing me up to the surface.

I look up to see all of them except Natsu staring at me, wide-eyed. Looking forward, I walk out from underneath the huts and over the open water before dropping my core to freeze the surface of the water.

Once a wide enough area is frozen, I turn to look at Erza with an eyebrow raised. "Shall we spar?"

She closes her mouth and takes on a stern expression before nodding and jumping the railing as well. After she hits the water, she swims over and I give her a hand up before walking to the other side of the ice floe.

When the ice floe moves, I look over to see Natsu standing on the edge.

He grins. "I'll be referee,"

I look at Erza, and when she gives her okay I nod, and he walks to the middle, taking on a serious expression.

"There's only one rule to this match: first one off the ice floe loses." He drops his hand at our nods and moves out of the way, as Erza's quick to change to her heaven's wheel armor and throw a sword.

Locking my legs in position, I cover my face with my arms, and my scales shoot out, causing the sword to bounce off without leaving a scratch.

I peer around my arms to see her staring at me, shocked, and I grin before moving. I slide along the ice quickly until I'm in close enough range before taking a deep breath.

"Celestial Dragon's Bullet Hell Roar!" As I move, flaming rocks about the size of my thumb shoot at Erza, some miss, but most hit their target, pushing the knight to the edge of the ice floe.

She requips, and I have to roll to dodge a spear before making a counter attack. "Water Dragon's Scouring Claw!" The water rocks the ice floe as it rises around the edges, giving me a wider coverage as I hit Erza, and knock her off the ice floe to win the match.

As she swims back to the ice floe, I offer a hand to her and she gratefully takes it, allowing me to pull her up.

"Wow, Lucy, you certainly have gotten stronger, I look forward to what the next month brings."

I smile at her compliment before turning when the ice floe moves to see everyone else climbing up.

They walk over, and I can see the shock and awe they have as they watch me.

"Wow, Lu-chan, when Master said you had gotten stronger, I didn't realize you had gotten strong enough to defeat Erza."

I look at Levy and frown at the look of awe. "Levy-chan, just because I'm stronger doesn't mean I'm any different then when we left."

She nods, but whatever she's about to say next is interrupted when the ice floe dips dangerously, causing us to turn to see Natsu pinning Gajeel down.

I sigh before turning back to Levy. "Why don't we go somewhere else and let the guys have the ice to spar and train?"

She nods, and I walk off the ice onto the water, towards the huts.

"Lucy?"

I turn at the sound of my name to see Mira watching me curiously. "Yeah, Mira?" She looks down and I follow her gaze to my feet.

"Why are you walking on water?" I open my mouth to reply, but Natsu beats me to it, calling out from where his face is now smashed against the ice.

"It's because we mastered water dragon slaying,"

"How many elements do you have at your hands?"

I look back at Levy and count them out in my head before answering her. "Eleven, why?" By now, we've reach the stairs leading up from the water, and Levy runs to reach my side.

"Because I've only seen you use two so far," then another thought seems to cross her mind because she asks, "Can you use Fire and Iron?"

Raising one hand so she can see it, I ignite it before turning it into a club. I look over at her and feel a grin appear at the stars that dance in her eyes.

"Oh, Lu-chan, me and you have a lot to talk about,"

I nod, and we resume making our way up the stairs.

~Three Weeks Later~ Natsu P.O.V.

Opening my eyes, I stretch and feel across the left side of the bed, only to find cold sheets. I turn my head, and my suspicions are confirmed when I don't see Lucy lying in the bed.

I get up and throw on a pair of shorts, ignoring the ripped shreds of what used to be boxers hanging off of the head board.

As I step out the door, I come face to face with Clare in her cat form hovering in the air.

"Ah, Natsu, Lucy just sent me to wake you up, and to tell you to hurry or you're gonna miss the buffet."

Grinning, I reach up and scratch her head. "Thanks, Clare, let me grab a shirt and then I'll be over there."

She nods and flies to Wendy's hut, most likely to retrieve Happy, while I walk back inside and throw on a black tank with gold trim before walking out and shutting the door.

I walk across the bridge to a pavilion, where I can see the others sitting along a table with everything from pancakes to a whole ham is laid out.

Sitting down next to Luce, I take in the fact that Metalhead and Laxus are sitting on my right, with their mates sitting across the table, while Wendy sits on Lucy's left. Though, I don't say anything about it, because what is there to say?

After we eat, we return to our rooms and pack before meeting up at the main hut to check out.

"You know what?"

I turn my head to see Luce staring at the huts and ask, "What?"

She turns to me and smiles. "This would be an amazing place to go for our honeymoon."

I grin. "Yeah, it would be."

Finally the time comes where we're boarding the train for Magnolia and then onto the Grand Magic Games.

If you remember back to when Natsu and Lucy were training with Aqua I had put in some heavy foreshadowing about the GMG, but it's okay if you didn't pick it up right away. But before we move to that matter I have to give major props to StrikeForceHeroeTeller for the celestial spell used in this chapter.

Which BTW, Strike, at the time when I told you a few chapters it was a few chapters. Your comment kind of irked me, but I was telling you the truth.

That's out of the way. I NEED IDEAS for the GMG. Strike's already giving me an awesome idea that I plan to take up an entire day but there's still four others that need to be filled. Before you ask. NO I AM NOT USING ANY FROM THE MANGA! This will be all original, but I want to hear your ideas. So P.M. or review with your ideas.

Now that you've heard from me, I'll let y'all go until next time.

Grizzly out for the night.

P.S. Welcome to 2017! While the new year may bring new fears, let it also bring cheers a plenty. Be it for a major goal you've accomplished or just the fact that you managed to get ahead of your chores for more then a few measly seconds. Trust me, I know how that is.