Lucy face-palmed for what had to be the millionth time that day. They'd been searching the town for any traces that her research indicated might be found there, but it was taking much longer than they had originally thought it would. This was mainly due to an over-friendly populace that didn't receive many visitors. Whenever Lucy, Natsu, and the others would appear on a citizen's doorstep, they would smile widely and usher them in for tea.

They didn't have to worry about setting aside money for food, because their hosts kept them well fed on snacks throughout the day. But, Lucy couldn't help the frustration that was rising in her. These people would keep them at their coffee tables for hours on end, rambling about the same four or five subjects. Lucy was well-bred and generally would be too polite to be annoyed, but they'd been asking around for three days now with nothing to show. And, she didn't exactly have a lot of time to dally.

She glanced at Natsu out of the corner of her eye and saw that he seemed to have similar feelings to her. Perhaps he was more annoyed. And, agitated. Natsu had always been a man of action. Swoop in and attack first, because he could make everything work out in the end. But, after sending a hopeful look at her a couple of times the first day, he resigned himself to trying to be quiet.

Lucy appreciated his efforts, but his restlessness was just bugging her even more and her frustration was building. She felt close to exploding. So, after they escaped the house, Lucy made a hasty excuse to run off with Natsu alone. She dragged him behind her, not stopping until they had reached an empty and forested park.

Shoving him against a tree, Lucy pinned him with a kiss. The kiss was rough. She was pouring all her frustration that had been desperate for a release into it and could feel him doing the same. When Lucy retreated, she rested her forehead against his collar bone and panted, feeling much calmer.

Natsu squeezed the arms that were lazily wrapped around her waist briefly and she looked up to meet his eyes. He looked ecstatic, his eyes crinkling when he said, "Let's play."

"Okay," she said with a nod. They chased each other and climbed trees and rolled down the hills until Happy, Wendy, and Carla tracked them down. And, then they all played together, playing a long-winded game of tag that lasted past dusk and far into the night.

Natsu had been declared the champion, proud of his win even after Lucy told him that his prize was to carry the falling-asleep Wendy back to the hotel. Happy followed suit not long after, resting for a moment on Lucy's shoulder and then falling asleep in her arms.

It was a long walk back, but they were still smiling as they collapsed onto the bed. Natsu scooted closer to her, his dark eyes barely visible in the blackness of the room. She ran her fingers along his cheekbones, "Today turned out to be great."

"Yeah," he agreed, moving closer still. "It was fun. We should play more often."

"We will," Lucy promised. "I don't want to waste any time being unhappy. We can search for Grandeeney and have fun at the same time. We'll just have to balance the two."

Natsu agreed again and then closed the distance between them for another kiss. It was long and lazy. They were both worn out and fell asleep almost immediately after that, their noses just barely touching.

#28 Frustration & #29 Let's Play