I'm so sorry for the long wait for this chapter! I hit some serious writers block with this story and couldn't get myself out of it, but hopefully that's all done with and Ill be able to finish this up. Anyway enjoy!

Lucy had to suppress a chuckle as she watched Natsu and Sting wallow in misery. Happy had explained the reason most of the dragons had familiars because of an inability to ride on any other form of transportation. He never told her why, but now she understood. The first ten minutes of their ride; the girls had spent it trying to help the motion sick dragons, but ultimately gave up as it was futile. Actually she found the whole thing quite amusing.

With the guys occupied with their sickness and Yukino still attempting to help Sting, Lucy took a few quiet moments to think about the world she was in. It was absolutely beautiful here. Just leaving the barrier around the dragons castle was an amazing sight in its own. She still couldn't get over the way it looked when one of the dragons parted it. The shimmering ripples of magick made the world look like an underwater scene.

After leave the barrier the guys had insisted it'd be both easier and quicker for the girls to ride on their backs. Lucy was a bit embarrassed about it but not nearly as much as Yukino. Lucy had been carried by Natsu before so it wasn't as big a deal for her, but Yukino went every shade of red and continued to refuse until Sting managed to convince her (in a very suggestive manner in Lucy's opinion). So beat red and shyly Yukino crawled on his back and they were off. Natsu and Sting were running at in human speeds and had the girls squealing in fright at first, then laughing right along with them as it turned into a race to see who could reach the train station first.

Sting and Yukino ended up winning thanks to Lucy. At the last minute the guys had jumped off a large cliff and Lucy had freaked out and may have sort of put Natsu into a choke hold on the way down. He wasn't too happy with her over that. The train station turned out to be just a transfer station in the middle of the country side. It had a ticket booth, snack booth, and waiting area, other than that there was nothing for miles. Lucy smiled remembering what she had thought while they waited for their train.

Yukino noticed and smiled at her.

"What are you thinking about Lucy-sama?"

"Just thinking...Even though the human and magick realms are separated and have many differences, they still have plenty in common. It makes me feel better about choosing to stay here."

Natsu, who'd been resting his head in the blondes lap, peeked an eye open and smiled. It was a big worry of his that she'd miss home so much and want to go back. Of course she had nothing to go back to and that normally reassured him but the worry still nagged at the back of his mind. So hearing her say something like that was a huge weight off his mind. For the rest of the train ride he listened to the girls prattle on about similarities and differences in both realms. It was boring but the soothing sound of Lucy's voice helped keep his mind off the unease in his stomach. Man when Igneel told him this was a side effect of gaining his dragon magick he thought the dragon had merely been joking! Nope. It was real, and it sucked like hell!

Eventually they reached the station at Akane and the second the train doors opened up Sting and Natsu were off the blasted thing in a flash. The girls laughed at their antics. As they headed away from the train station and into the fresh air of the town, Lucy could smell the scent of the ocean growing stronger and stronger. The distinct smell of water and salt was both soothing and exciting all at the same time. Her family had visited the ocean before when she was still a child before her mother had passed away. She remembered having a blast up until a huge wave caught her and dragged her out to deeper water. Her father managed to grab her in time but he'd been so furious they left right after he'd made sure she was okay. They never went back after that.

Looking around the street they were walking down, Lucy noticed with some surprise, That most every thing looked normal to her. Granted every now and then someone would use magick or a random creature would walk by and say hello to her, but over all it was not at all what she expected. Actually it looked a lot like the human realm! She also noticed many booths, decorations, and people in costumes.

"Hey Natsu, is there a festival going on or something?" Lucy asked and he laughed.

"Nah! Its always like this here."

"Akane is the place people come to forget about the craziness going on in the rest of the realm, no naturally it always one big party here!" Sting explained enthusiastically.

"Once we get settled at the resort we could come back into town and check out the booths if you like. " Yukino offered.

Lucy nodded excitedly. They made their way through town and up to the famous resort. Quickly checking in and heading up to their two room suite, the girls unpacked their bags quickly. Lucy found herself constantly drawn to the balcony connecting the two room and the main room together. It had the most perfect view of the oceans horizon. the sea seemed to go on forever and ever...

She was once again out on the balcony gazing at the sea when there was a knock on there door.

"Come on you two! We're heading for the beach!" Stings voice caries through the thick wood door.

The girls just rolled their eyes and giggled.

"Alright give a second to change." Lucy responded.

They quickly got changed and Lucy had to blush at the revealing swimsuit Mira had lent her a while back for"just in case" emergencies. The swimwear in this realm was much more revealing than in the human realm. Then again she could say that about most of the clothing here. The suit she wore was a pink two piece with yellow stars shrewn about it. Yukino's was a simple sea foam colored two piece with a ruffled neck line.

"That swimsuit looks wonderful on you Lucy-sama!" Yukino gushed. Lucy blushed and looked down at herself blushing more.

"Its a bit more...revealing than I'm used to, but thanks for the compliment."

They grabbed the rest of their beach stuff and met the guys in the hallway. Natsu and Sting had been leaning against the wall talking while they waited for the girls. When they finally came out, both boys did a double take. It was not lost on either Dragon why the other was there, and in that moment, they silently agreed on two things: they were going to show these two the weekend of their lives, and there was no way the girls were sharing a room tonight, at least not with each other...

X

Lucy had never had so much fun in her life! They spent most of the day at the beach laughing and acting like goofy teens. They played volleyball, buried Sting up to his head in sand, Saved him from drowning while buried, and tossed each other in the surf. At one point Natsu had even convinced Lucy magickal parasailing would be a blast (which it was), but the second it took off he turned into a sickly mess. She couldn't help but laugh, he could be so impulsive at times. When the sun started to set they headed back to their room to clean up and change before heading back into town to check out all the stalls and street performances.

Natsu and Lucy ended up getting separated from Sting and Yukino but didn't worry much. They could always meet back at the room. So the two took their time enjoying each others company. Natsu wouldn't stop making Lucy laugh all night and he enjoyed every minute of her laughter. The sweet sound was like wind chimes and made him feel so at peace. It was hysterical to watch her play some of the magick games, she reminded him of a little kid at their first street fair. At one point Natsu had to catch himself from leaning in a kissing her. She'd leapt into his arms, thrilled about winning one of the games. If it weren't for the fact that he still wanted to talk to her about the last time, he would have done it. He was still so confused about the whole thing. He was fairly certain she felt the same about that he did her, but there was always that little bit of doubt that said she wouldn't love a demon like him.

He knew he was being stupid but he still stepped away from her and gave her his toothy grin instead of pulling her close and kissing her. Frankly from Lucy's point of view he was giving off mixed signals and she was quickly growing tired of it. It was growing later in the night and Lucy was starting to feel the exhaustion from all of the days events hit her.

"Hey Natsu can we head back? I'm starting to get tired."

"Sure thing Luce."

Natsu wrapped an arm around her shoulders and lead her back to the resort. She was quiet the whole way and Natsu started to worry that it wasn't just from her being tired. Soon as they got back she said a quick goodnight and hurried into her room. Natsu frowned. Had he done something wrong? Feeling conflicted Natsu waited about five minutes before he knocked on her door. Slowly she opened it up and peeked out. She'd changed into a nightgown and brushed out her hair. The sight made Natsu's breath catch in his throat.

"Yes Natsu?"

"U-uh..Um, I was just wondering if...If maybe I made you mad or something. You kinda got closed off as we were heading back here."

Lucy blinked at him confused then blushed and shook her head.

"No, no! I'm sorry if it came across that way. I was just really tired and wanted to relax that's all."

Natsu breathed a sigh of relief. Scratching the back of his head he let out an embarrassed laugh.

"That's a relief, I'd hate to upset ya Luce. "

That made Lucy blush even more. She gave him a sweet smile and opened the door more.

"I was just gonna read for a while, wanna come in? I can read to you."

Natsu smiled and nodded his head.

"Let me go change real quick, then you can read whatever to me!"

He hurried over to his and Stings room and threw on a pair of flame print shorts and a green tee, before hurrying back to Lucy's room and flopping on her bed. Lucy laughed at his antics and sat down next to him. Natsu rested his head on her lap much like when they were on the train, and Lucy grabbed the book she was currently reading. It was a romance about a prince who fell in love with a dragon who liked to pretend to be a human. Natsu chuckled at her choice in reading material, but otherwise kept quiet and listened to the sound of her voice as she read.

After a few chapters Lucy looked down to see if Natsu was still awake, knowing he'd lose interest eventually. Sure enough his eyes were closed and his breathing was even. Smiling to herself, she put the book down and gently brushed his bangs out of his face. Natsu looked so peaceful when he was asleep. Sighing a bit, she leaned forward and rested her forehead on his. Why did he have to be such a confusing idiot? So many times since that first time in the castle yard had she wanted to kiss him, and from what she could tell he wanted it too, but he was always the one to pull back. It was getting infuriating!

"Why wont you just kiss me you idiot..."

As she pulled away Natsu's eyes shot open and she froze. He was awake the whole time!? His face was serious for a moment before breaking into that big toothy grin of his.

"Was just waiting for you to give me permission Luce!"

"Wha-?!"

She was cut off by Natsu pulling her down for a mind blowing kiss. She swore she could feel his heat radiating from there joined lips all the way to her core. She nearly melted into him, kissing back with all the pent up feelings she had. When they finally broke apart they were both breathing heavy and blushing madly. After catching his breath Natsu smiled again.

"So worth the wait!"

Lucy just rolled her eyes at the big idiot, but she did have to agree. Leaning down they kissed again, this time less rushed and more gently. Lucy could definitely get used to this...