Hiya!

I messed up again, I'm deep into renovating my basement and my mind is so, so very crowded I can only seem to remember this when it's super late. Anyway, here's 48!

Special mention to Violet lilaccs who read all of this fic in like 24 hrs. I'm impressed with how fast you read this and very very happy that you couldn't (or didn't) put it down. Thank you!

Happy reading!


Natsu woke up in the middle of the night, propping himself on his elbows and squinting against the light, finding Lucy at her desk, hunched over the journal she had taken home – she had found one that had her name on it, deciding that she might find all the answers there. He picked his phone to look at the time.

"Luce," he called her softly, his voice sounding whinier than he liked. "It's 3 in the morning, come to bed." When she didn't even flinch, he sighed and stood, moving closer. A tender smile pulled his lips when he saw she had fallen asleep at her desk. He carefully picked her up to bring her in bed, flicked the lamp off and stumbled back to the bed in the dark, snuggling close to her.

...

When morning rose, Natsu quietly slipped out of the bed, glancing at the still opened journal on Lucy's desk as he threw a shirt on. He didn't know how long she had been asleep for, but she had read through most of it already, with less than a quarter left. She had been so engrossed in it that Natsu and Anna had simply played games in the main room and let her be.

It was no surprise to find that Anna was already up, since it was past 8 AM. He was however surprised to find her staring intently at her computer screen, her reading glasses perched on her nose. Anna didn't usually do screens for a few hours after she had been up, but he guessed she couldn't read the paper since he didn't receive it.

"Morning," he greeted her, walking toward the fridge, missing her startle.

"You're up early," she pointed out.

"You were up first," he shrugged. "French toast?"

"Sure. Won't you wait for Lucy?"

"She was up late; she'll probably want to sleep in. I'll make more for her," he assured.

"Hey, Natsu." He looked at her, holding his ingredient in precarious balance. "Easy on the cinnamon, please," she requested before he could dump it in the mix, and he settled for a light dusting rather than his usual heavy sprinkle. He could add more on his after.

"Whatcha doing?" he asked, dipping the bread in his mix before tossing it in the pan.

"Just some reading," Anna replied. She glanced up at him with a frown. "What time do you work at today?"

"1 to 9," he replied. "Same tomorrow. Why?"

"Your hair is getting long."

"You always say that. I'm pretty sure you said it when I visited you."

"I know you like it a bit longer," she assured him, folding her laptop and scratching Happy's ear before she stood. "But that cowlick is starting to droop in your eyes." She brushed it back to make her point. It was Anna's criteria when it came down to his hair. As soon as that rebellious cowlick on his forehead started to be too heavy to be as rebellious, it was time to cut it. "When was the last time you had your hair cut?"

"Err… Probably in June." It had been one of his biggest issue with Mr. Capri asking him how he would fix his hair – he had it cut the week before.

"Well, you're overdue. How about I trim it for you before you go to work today?"

"Sure," he grinned. "Thanks, auntie!" He gave her a plate with a wide grin, and she smiled, moving toward the table to sit down.

"Did you manage to find a good hair-dresser in town, then?" she asked him, and he scowled.

"Nope."

"Wendy?"

"Yup."

"I hope you gave her some money."

"Of course, I did. But she didn't want it, so I bought her a new set of rash guard for class. She says she's still as short, but she's just about outgrown it already."

...

When Lucy got up an hour later, she walked out of the room, confused when she found Natsu sitting with what looked suspiciously like a garbage bag wrapped around his shoulders while Anna stood next to him, scissors in hand.

"Are you getting your hair cut?" she asked, surprised.

"No, I'm getting a pedicure," he smirked, making Anna huff. He winced when she gave it an unnecessary tug. "Ow! I was just teasing. It was getting in my eyes a lot lately. And awesome-wonderful-and-oh-so-very-kind-Anna here offered to give it a trim for me."

"You're pushing it," she warned him, and he gulped.

"Please don't mess it up. I still haven't recovered from last time."

"Wasn't it two years ago?"

"Yup. So please, not too short." Lucy wondered if maybe she hadn't noticed Natsu the previous year because his hair was much shorter and made him blend in more. She doubted he had any photos she could exploit of that knowledge.

"I wouldn't do that to you," Anna assured him, glancing up at Lucy. "But he's gonna need a good hairdresser in town."

"Oh, I'll send Carter a message. He's the best. He works from home, but he's done my hair all my life. Actually, I'm probably due for a trim too. I'll introduce you."

"Are you telling me you've lived with Lucy for a year and didn't even ask her where you could get your hair cut?" Anna asked him.

"I didn't need a haircut," he pouted.

"So why did you ask Wendy?"

"I didn't, she offered when I told her I was taking Lucy to prom." He glanced up at Lucy, taking in her long straight hair. "Would your hairdresser even know how to do mine?"

"I told you, he's the best. There's nothing he can't do."

"Well, I'll give him a go next time. There's mix for French toast," he added. "I was planning to make them for you, but I thought you'd sleep later."

"I thought about it," she giggled. "Thanks, Natsu." By the time she was done eating her food, Natsu was showering and Anna sweeping his hair off the floor. When Natsu was done with his shower, Lucy was sitting in their room, reading her mother's journal. She managed to finish it in an hour more, which was mind blowing for Natsu, who was a slow reader.

"Did you find out more?" he asked her.

"Yes," she admitted, sitting next to him. She summed up what she had read about Jose hanging with a bad kind of crowd and being violent to his new wife and her daughter. How Maria had helped her run away to an old friend of hers, the father of Michael Lobster, and how she had met Jude shortly after. There was no clear answer on why Layla had never talked to her family even after Jose had been incarcerated, only that she had decided it would be easier that way. Lucy still had so many questions, but maybe the more detailed journals would have those answers for her.

...

It was needless to say Natsu had an absolute blast throughout the shark tank on Thursday, especially because there was twenty people in the lineup. He didn't even try to submit anyone, happy to just go on for a full minute with anyone. Even with Gray's, Gajeel's and Jellal's best effort, Erza was the only one who actually submitted him, and Natsu huffed that she wouldn't have if he hadn't been sparring for twenty minutes already. Lucy had decided not to be part of it, instead filming the whole thing. She had been surprised when Virgo approached her to thank her for the job opportunity at the mansion and felt bad that in all their time training, she had never asked what she did for work. She never would have guessed she was a maid.

Then they went home and had cake, Lucy told him she would have his gift ready by the next week, Anna gave him a card with a two hundred dollars, and he had argued she already visited him and didn't need to give him anything else, but she had insisted until he took it.

Plus, there was the surprise she was taking him too now. Even though he had been scheduled to work today, Loke hadn't planned for him to show up and if Natsu had ever bothered to look at the paper schedule, he would have noticed the inconsistency.

"Don't forget we have to work at 2," he groaned, leaning his head out of the open window. "Where are we going anyway?"

"I told you, we're going to Levy's vacation house to get the book she forgot. Cana doesn't have time to get it, and Levy doesn't have a car," she repeated and he groaned, sinking further in his seat."

"But why did I have to come?" he whined. He hadn't expecting them to drive anywhere, so he hadn't got any of Mavis's motion sickness pills. Lucy glanced at him. The surprise was made easier by how clueless he was, and how forgetful. Cana had dropped off the keys the night before, but he still had seemed surprised to see the car when they had left.

"Because you'd be worried otherwise," she threw back. He mumbled an agreement. The surprise was made even easier by the fact that he wasn't paying attention to where they were, or really, anything else. She pulled over for him and he walked along the road for a few minutes, not paying attention to the signs, or the cars rolling by.

"How much longer?" he whined when Lucy beckoned him to come back.

"Ten more minutes," she assured him, and he frowned, finally looking suspicious as he fastened the seat belt.

"Why d'you pull over then?" He hadn't asked her to.

"Because it's down a gravel road." He paled at the idea, but Lucy was moving already, so he couldn't jump out and walk the rest of the way.

"Are you trying to kill me?" he complained, wobbling helplessly with every bump of the road.

"Just bear with me, Natsu. Please?" He hung his head out of the window, eyes closed. And never saw the surprise coming. Didn't notice the many signs, and stumbled out as soon as she stopped, looking around in confusion. This couldn't be a vacation house. They were in a parking lot, and there were a few familiar vehicles parked, as well as a large group standing in front of a shack. His confusion overtook his queasiness and he looked at Lucy as she locked the door.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Come on!" She simply hooked his arm and dragged him toward the group. He quickly recognized the people. Mavis, Zeref, Anna, Zera, Yury, Cana, Gray, Juvia, Levy, Gajeel, Erza, Jellal, Wendy, Shelia and Loke.

"What's going on, Luce?"

"Ah! There's the birthday boy!" Cana called out when she noticed him, everyone turning big smiles their way.

"And he has no clue what's going on," Gray chuckled. "Good job, Lucy!"

"Thanks. Although it wasn't that hard, thanks to Loke."

"Hey, no problem," he grinned. "Tricking Natsu is one of my favourite hobby."

"What are you talking about? What are you all doing here?"

"Happy birthday, Natsu!" Lucy smiled, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Happy birthday!" everyone else echoed.

"But… what about work?" he asked, glancing between Lucy and Loke.

"You're not scheduled today, don't worry," Loke assured.

"That was just a ploy so you wouldn't suspect we were coming here," Lucy added.

"Where is here?"

"Look around, hot head. There's a freaking sign!" Natsu was about to retort when he saw the sign Gray was pointing at. Magnolia's Paintball Range.

"No way! Paintball?" Well, that would explain the random blotch of colours all over the place. "Awesome!" They stayed out for a few minutes before being invited in the shack after the last group left.

They formed two groups of seven, Anna not wanting to participate, but armed with a camera and a high visibility vest as to not get shot by mistake. Once the teams were made, Natsu had to pick which one to join, and Gray was to commandeer the other. Natsu chose the one made of Lucy, Cana, Loke, Erza, Jellal, Wendy and Shelia. Gray's team was made of Zeref, Mavis, Zera, Yury, Juvia, Gajeel and Levy. They grabbed their gear, most of them choosing to wear coveralls, but a few – including Natsu – keeping their regular clothes.

"Let's have team names," Cana decided.

"We're the Dragon Slayers," Natsu grinned.

"Then we're the Demon Slayers," Gray followed. Lucy hopped excitedly on the spot at the idea for her novel surging with the new name and caught Levy's knowing look.

"I won't go easy on ya cause it's your birthday, flame head."

"You still won't win, ice princess." They grinned and fist bumped before parting way to their bases.

"So what's the plan?" Wendy asked Natsu.

"You and Shelia defend the flag," he decided. "The rest of us are going for plan T." Erza and Wendy grinned, but everyone else looked confused.

"What the heck is plan T?" Cana asked. "That's pretty far down the alphabet." Natsu and Erza shared a wicked grin.

"Take 'em by storm," he replied.

"Your plan is to rush in all gun blazing? Are you insane?" Cana argued

"Come on, it's part of the fun," he grinned.

"Sounds like fun to me!" Loke agreed.

"Honestly, I'm surprised he even though of defense," Erza chuckled. "Let's do it!"

After getting shot once, Lucy decided to stand back and hide for most of the games, playing snipers. The first time she hit someone – Yury, she thought – she screamed in victory and got shot a second later, cursing at the sting on her arm.

...

They played many games with their teams as they were alternating between capture the flag and team death match, but as it got closer to dinner time, both teams were even. Natsu stared at the last playing field, his expression unreadable.

"Scared of losing?" Gray taunted him. Plan T had not been as successful on the second round and it seemed it was the only strategy Natsu cared for.

"How about a free for all?" he asked. "First captain down loses."

As much as he hated to agree with Natsu, Gray laughed. "That does sound like a lot of fun," he nodded.

"Alright y'all!" Natsu called loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Let's do a free for all! No more teams, everyone is the enemy. I'll shoot 3 times to announce the start. Count your kills. Gray and I are worth five points, everyone else is one. Sound good?" Everyone cheered and spread out. Natsu ran in, his blood rushing. He knew he wasn't good at being sneaky or quiet, but he also had really good ears, sharp eyes and quick reflexes. He didn't need to be subtle. He'd go in blazing and take down anyone who had a crack at him. He waited for what felt like a minute, shot three time and started running.

He dropped to the ground when he heard the shot, rolled back to his feet and shot Loke square in the chest. One. He kept marching forward, straining his ears. A ruffle of leaved made him turn and he gave Levy a sorry glance as he aimed. Someone else took the shot. He barely had time to flinch before Gajeel popped from behind a tree, shooting his way. Natsu ducked behind a different tree, checking himself for paint, a wicked grin on his face. He leapt out, fast enough to dodge the waiting projectile. As he tried to retaliate, Gajeel staggered forward with a scowl and held his arm up, yelling a disgruntled "Hit". Cana didn't have time to gloat that Natsu shot her instead. Two.

He kept on marching, pausing when he heard voices, jumping behind a bush and aiming. Wendy and Juvia were marching by, their guns up above their head. He pouted and stood, making Wendy scream in surprise and she clamped her hand on her mouth.

"Sorry."

"All good," he grinned. "Who got you?"

"Zeref," Wendy admitted.

"Erza," was Juvia's answer. Natsu felt his blood run cold at the knowledge Erza was still in the run. As far as he knew, six people had already been taken down. He wondered how many more were left. He changed direction, not wanting to run into Erza so soon. It'd be better if someone else took her down. He didn't want to face retaliation from her. He ducked when he saw Anna, following the line of her camera's lenses to see Shelia. He shamelessly shot her down as soon as Anna moved on. Three. He raised his gun when he saw someone else, and hesitated when he noticed it was Lucy. He couldn't just shoot his girlfriend down, could he? He was still debating when he heard her yelp as someone else shot her. He aimed and shot and missed Erza, the ball of paint shooting through her ponytail. He flashed Lucy a smile and ran for his life.

"Natsu!" Erza's roar only made him run faster. Shooting Erza was already a bad idea but shooting and missing was suicide. He needed to take Gray down before Erza got him.

It was getting harder to find anyone on the large field. Little did he know that him, Erza, Zeref and Gray were the only ones still standing. He and Erza had three kills. Zeref and Gray both had two. Not only was it hard to find people, but with Erza chasing him, and the occasional splatter of paint ahead of him told him she was determined to get him, and he could not stop running.

"Out of the way!" he called, taking a shot at Zeref as he bolted past. Four. He made a sharp turn and leapt in the foliage, hoping to lose Erza. With his few seconds of advantage, he grabbed a branch and flung himself up into a tree. Erza ran by, slowing down. Before Natsu could shoot, someone else tried. Erza aimed and shot. Gray cursed from not too far and Natsu almost yelled in joy. He had won against Gray.

But his pride was short lived as Erza shot him down over her shoulder, the impact on his shoulder almost making him tumble out of the tree. He barely caught himself.

"You should know better than back yourself in a corner," Erza told him. "And to try and shoot me."

"Yes, ma'am!" he squeaked.

"Well, are you coming down?" Gray asked, moving closer. Natsu prodded at his sore shoulder, grabbed a low branch with the other hand and flung himself down, slipping and falling to his butt with a groan. His friends helped him back to his feet.

"Is anyone left?" he asked Erza.

"I took out Juvia and Lucy and the two of you," she gloated.

"I got Zera and Jellal, and I ran into Mavis and Yury," Gray relayed.

"I got Loke, Cana, Shelia and Zeref, and I saw Levy and Gajeel and Wendy as well," Natsu recalled. "How many is that?"

"That's everyone," Erza calculated. "Well, let's head back."

It was lucky Erza was there, because Natsu and Gray were bickering about which way they were supposed to go. As it turned out, neither were right, though Natsu was closer.

"Is everyone here?" Erza called out even as she counted.

"Who won?" Cana asked.

"I did. Twelve points."

"How?" Gajeel exclaimed in disbelief.

"She obviously took the two captains down," Levy huffed.

"Hey, don't be mad at me, shrimp!"

"You shot me down!"

"It was free for all!"

"I avenged you, don't worry Lev," Cana smirked

"Free for all!" Gajeel reiterated.

"I don't know man, I saw Lucy, but I didn't shoot her," Natsu shrugged.

"But you've failed to avenge me," she pointed out.

"Ooh! In your face!" Gray called out.

"You didn't avenge me either," Juvia scoffed.

"Who did it? I'll take them!"

"I accept your challenge," Erza replied and Gray flinched. Erza crushed him like a bug.

"At least the Dragon Slayers still won!" Natsu bragged. "Gray was taken out first."

"Cause you didn't have the balls to take a shot at her!"

"A win's a win," he nagged in a sing song voice that had them brawling in no time.

"Alright guys, we're just about to close," the clerk told them, eyeing the fight with worry and wondering why no one was stopping them. "No fig-"

"Food time!" Natsu yelled, letting go of Gray in a heartbeat. "I'm starving!"

"Group photo!" Anna requested. Erza insisted on a picture of the three finalists, where she stood with an arm on Natsu's head as he kneeled beside her and a foot on Gray's shoulder as he sat on her other side, imitating podium heights. Natsu had quickly fixed his scowl when he saw Gray's fate.

"Back to the cars," Mavis called up. "We've got a reservation waiting!"

...

Dinner found them, with the exception on Yury, Erza, Jellal and Loke, at an All You Can Eat Buffet, where Anna bargained with the staff to pay for one more person so they would let Natsu in.

"How did you get banned from here?" Wendy asked him as they sat at the big table.

"Turns out 'All you can eat' has a limit," he complained.

"You ate yourself out of the buffet?" Gray barked a laugh. "That's great!" Natsu scoffed.

"Not gonna lie, I'm impressed," Cana pitched in before they could fight. "My dad tried when he was our age, but he got sick instead." They all laughed at that. Anyone who knew Natsu knew that there was no end to how much he could eat. Eventually, Wendy shifted the conversation by telling them about a new rock-climbing gym that would open in April.

Then came the gifts. Mavis and Zeref only gave him a card and some socks, because Natsu had insisted they had spent enough on his suit and didn't have to buy him anything else for the next 5 years. He laughed at the joke gift. He did need new socks, he supposed. Zera gave him a box of the hot cocoa she made that he loved so much and admitted to adding cinnamon in it for him. Cana gave him a Kamasutra book that had both him and Lucy blushing dark, and Wendy as soon as Shelia told her what it was. Gray and Juvia gave him a wide variety of cinnamon candy that he was so impatient to eat that Lucy had to stow it away in her purse. Levy and Gajeel had a similar idea with cinnamon scented candles and body wash. Lucy had never been so glad that she loved cinnamon about as much as he did. Wendy and Shelia had bought him a new uniform for class, red with golden trim, and an inside lining with dragons.

"What did you get him?" Cana asked Lucy, waggling her brow suggestively. Lucy blushed a bit.

"Not what you're thinking about!" Although Lucy did consider it, she wouldn't admit it so publicly. "I haven't given him anything yet, so I won't say." She had ordered a new game for him and it would be showing up early the next week. But that was mostly an excuse. His real gift was the Babydoll negligee she had bought for herself for their first time.


EDIT: I received a few messages of people who can't see chapter 49! i'm not sure why that is, and I tried re-updating, but I am having the same issue with a fic I'm reading, I don't know how to fix it X.X

Oooh, things are about to get steamy! I had never paintballed before I wrote this chapter and have gone three time since, and honestly it hurt so much more than I thought. Last I went, I got a very good (as in very bad) bruise/blood blister on my thigh and I'm pretty sure it's scarred cause I can still see it and it was just about two months ago ^_^"
Anyway, Natsu had a birthday blast, I can totally imagine Loki sending out a fake schedule to trick Natsu, so I rolled with it. And my brother made it a goal of his own to get banned from an All You Can Eat buffet, so it's a thing (where I grew up anyway lol)
And Lucy is planning for their first time! They're all grown up now. 49 is going to be the last chapter, since 50 will be the epilogue and a few years time jump. If there is anything you guys are wanting to know about, put it down in a review or send me a DM. The epilogue is not written yet so I have plenty of opportunity to bring closure to some characters.

Valerioux: I hope that was enough closure with Layla's, I really didn't have time to go much further in the details at this point (without spinning off on a new arc)

DaynatheAmazing: I'm glad you do! Makes me happy I decided to post it!

Brick482: Nobody like Jose Porla, he makes a great villain to Layla's backstory!

Copperreign12: Thank you for reading! I never would have followed through with publishing this if no one read it!

52dreamer52: Natsu is not as clueless as we make him to be, especially regarding Lucy. He's just a great boyfriend!

Bookwork129: And what a journey it's been! But it's about the journey, not the destination!

Fafou14: I don't think anyone can blame her for being emotional. She's been through so much.

Mudskipper001: Thank you so much for your dedication! I love to know that my style is appreciated, especially since English is a second language! Thank you for your review!

Guest: I was planning to go somewhere with the Jose act, but I kinda ran out of time, though I might bring it back in the epilogue if people want to hear more. I did do some research on the jail time, it definitely doesn't seem like enough.

Violet Lilaccs: I admire your dedication to read everything and review along the way! Reading your reaction made me what to re-read the whole thing! I remember showing one of them to my partner being like: And that's the chapter where they kissed lol

Mushi9: From one writer to another, thank you! I am looking forward to sit and read the latest chapter of Fairy Tail GO!

EDIT: I received a few messages of people who can't see chapter 49! i'm not sure why that is, and I tried re-updating, but I am having the same issue with a fic I'm reading, I don't know how to fix it X.X