Prompt: Day 2—Explore

Summary: Though he never seemed to be the type of man she ever thought of herself falling in love with, she did. Even if he saved her from leeches rather than dragons.

Note: There's a reference from the GMG arc.

New Experiences

A blonde-haired mage couldn't help but let out a shriek, proceeding to fall into the shallow waters below. Brown eyes bugged out with crocodile tears threatening to fall as she shook her right leg into the air. Though the darn thing held a strong grip, not budging in the slightest. She raised her voice in panic.

"Get it off! Get it off!"

If Lucy wasn't too busy panicking, she would have clocked out the pink-haired idiot in front of her. He had the nerve to look at her with that bored expression. Only continuing to stare at her blankly as she tried splashing water at her leg. Even going as far to touch the slimy creature to yank it off but it wouldn't budge.

The celestial mage could have sworn that her blood pressure had risen as the dolt scratched his ear and examined his finger as if it was more interesting at the moment. The leech that was currently attaching itself tighter around her leg and held most of her attention. She didn't know what it was with leeches but they always seemed to be attracted to her. She was thankful that this hadn't been as huge as her last encounter but it was still a good two feet and very unsightly.

"Natsu!"

"Alright, alright!" Natsu huffed before crouching down, "You always attract weirdos."

"I do not! And this isn't—HEY!" Lucy squeaked as the fire-mage ignited his hands and torched the worm, causing the parasite to relinquish its grip as it shriveled in pain before stopping completely. He shoved the dead carcass off her leg before shooing away other tiny leeches that had been following.

Lucy stood up as she tried to wring out as much water as she could from her shorts, "Thanks."

Natsu only grunted. Lucy froze as Natsu pushed away a stray piece of hair from her face. Brown eyes immediately looked towards the fire mage though he was too focused on pulling the hair over her ear to notice.

The male squinted his eyes a little, mouth in a small frown as he adjusted the strand before standing back to examine his work. He stood like that for a couple of seconds before grinning, crossing his arms, "There ya go."

"T-thanks," Lucy mumbled as a light blush arose on her cheeks. She tried to search his eyes for something as he frowned as he started to look over her shoulder.

"He likes you~" Happy, who had been watching from the safety of a low hanging tree branch, drawled out as he snickered. Lucy shot him a glare as her blush only increased but again was stopped frozen by Natsu who walked behind her and examined her further, touching her hair again.

She could feel her cheeks burn as she shyly looked toward the male who had a concentrated look on his face, "N-Natsu? What are you doing?"

The man didn't bother to comment as he hummed in content, quickly walking around in front of the girl. He only gave her another grin, "It's as if it was brand new!"

"New?" Lucy furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Your hair."

"O-oh!" Lucy delicately touched the back of her head where her hair was placed up in an intricate bun. Or what was probably left of it anyway. Some strands had fallen loose and it was messier than what it had first looked like when they had come to the manor for their mission briefing. "Thanks." She responded quietly and Natsu only hummed in acknowledgement before walking forward. She brushed her hair with the tips of her fingers gently as she stared at the man's back in a daze. Heart beating a little faster.

When the three of them had taken a mission from a rich couple to make their daughter's birthday the best, Lucy had been so excited that she immediately dragged Levy to go shopping with her. Even if they were just being chaperones to a ball. As much as Lucy disliked these social events given her past lifestyle, it didn't mean she hated dressing up once in a while. And with all the hazardous missions they were going on, she thought this would be a good break.

Of course that thought had completely gone awry as the birthday girl had decided that the wizards were going to go on a scavenger hunt in the swamp for her missing dolly. (How she even got it lost there in the first place was befuddling to the blonde.) Lucy had been so annoyed that she was almost tempted to quit the mission but refrained as she needed the money and a client was a client. Though that also meant that the intricate bun she had practiced for hours went to waste and she had listened to Natsu whining from her bed for three hours straight for nothing.

Lucy was brought out of her musings as Natsu shouted out, "You comin' Luce?"

Happy only snickered, his eyes glinted mischievously as he non-discreetly "whispered" to Natsu, "I think Lucy got some of her brains sucked out by those worms."

Natsu blinked with wide eyes with amazement looking at the stellar mage, "Wow, really?"

The blonde-haired girl's previous blush was quickly replaced by red anger blooming on her cheeks as she stomped past the duo, glaring, "That doesn't even make sense!" The two only followed after her snickering.

It was only hours later after endless teasing from all parties and being covered in muck, that they ended up discovering that the girl hadn't lost the doll in the first place. The generous tip added to the award money along with a free night expense at a luxury hotel was more than enough to satiate the three as they left around dusk. When they had reached the hotel, the trio couldn't help but gape at the size. And their shock also hadn't been absent when viewing their executive suite. Lucy had been in absolute glee when taking a bath, gladly experimenting with all the different types of fancy soaps that they had contained. Though she could only wince for Natsu whose nose found the scents to be too repelling as he sneezed a couple of times. She ended up using her own soap once she was done with her fun so as to not bother Natsu, Mavis knew they didn't need another incident where he accidentally torched a curtain with a sneeze.

Lucy let out a content filled sigh as she stretched her hands above her head once she got out of the shower. She felt refreshed and clean. Free of dirt that Happy thought would be fun to have a makeshift snowball (or more like mudball) fight with and no longer drenched with murky swamp water. She hummed quietly as she dried her hair off with the towel around her neck before placing the cloth on the back of a chair, heading out towards the balcony. She leaned against the railing as she looked towards the beautiful view of the ocean.

Along the shoreline were groups of people with a bonfire straight in the middle. The hotel was in the midst of their annual summer event and this year the theme had been Hula. There was a huge feast to Natsu and Happy's delight, and Lucy could see them from a mile away as they hogged piles of food. She could only shake her head and let out a little laugh. Leaning against her hand as she smiled down towards her two idiots.

Natsu, who was busy shoving food down his throat, soon caught Lucy in his vision and enthusiastically waved towards her. Mouth full, much to the disgust of nearby guests, "Lu-cie, co'mre." Lucy couldn't help but let out a giggle at some of the faces she saw as she walked down the little path of stairs by the side towards the pink-haired man. Running a little to approach the two.

"Lucie!" Happy flew towards the blonde, eyes wide as he held up a fish as wide as him in the air, "Look at the fishes they have!"

"Wow, that's nice, Happy!" Lucy smiled encouragingly as the Exceed excitedly flew back to the end of the buffet in search of more fish.

Natsu let out a burp, which caused Lucy to scowl at him slightly and lightly slapped his arm as he let out a laugh. She smiled nervously at people who were nearby.

"Hey," she shivered a little as a warm hand came up against the back of her neck, the heat contrasting with the cool summer wind, "You got rid of that bun thing."

Lucy only smiled at Natsu's frown, shrugging a little, "Yea. Geez," she sighed as she started to walk towards the bonfire with the fire mage, "Guess you only had to whine forever for nothing huh?" She joked. She was only met with an unenthusiastic shrug.

They stood by the bonfire for a while, Lucy often having to scold Natsu when he kept trying to get licks from the fire by trying to be discreet (which meant he wasn't). Lucy had to all but lug him by the end of his scarf towards the buffet where the trio spent the rest of their night. By the time it was one in the morning, the vast amount of people had lessened to only a couple of thirty strangers when the trio decided to head to bed. The blonde had been beyond tired and was about to drop dead and Happy already had a couple of hours ago, sleeping peacefully in the blonde's arms. Even with his abundant amount of energy, the fire mage had worn himself thin trying to entertain the celestial mage and was equally as tired.

It was almost two when they all finally got settled for bed. Though sleep didn't seem to come to the blonde as she lay awake. Although Lucy had initially been happy that there were two beds when they came earlier in the night, she was disappointed as there was no comforting heat. The pyromaniac usually sneaking into her bed at her home or they'd usually get stuck sharing a bed when on missions (or Natsu would just sneak into hers when there were two). She tossed and turned a couple of times before finding a comfortable position to sleep in. Just when she was about to drift off, she felt a familiar heat dip down into her bed along with a furry surface tickling the top of her head.

Lucy's eyes sprang open as she looked towards the pink-haired man who swiftly brought the covers back over them as Happy purred from his spot on top of the pillow. Natsu froze when he realized that Lucy was awake, body stiff as he stared at her with wide eyes. Though he soon relaxed, she only scooted over to give him some space and he gladly accepted, sighing.

It was silent between the two of them before Lucy broke the silence, "Why are you in my bed?" She was too exhausted to argue with the male and plus, she really didn't want any complaints from other guests due to how late it was. This was a nice hotel and she would hope to be able to visit again someday.

"The other room was messin' with my nose. It's too close to the bathroom."

Lucy could only hum, wincing internally for the poor guy. His nose really was too sensitive.

Lucy shifted, attempting to get up but stopped short. Logically, her brain told her to get up but she was too tired to attempt to move. Natsu's heat only making her feel sleepier and comfortable. It also didn't help that his usual firewood and cinnamon scent was enticing her to stay longer. After mentally battling with herself, she decided against trying to move and chose to sleep in the bed. She could complain about it in the morning. For now, she allowed herself to slowly close her eyes.

"Hey Luce?"

She hummed quietly, mind already becoming foggier.

"Can I try to tie your hair?"

"Sure Natsu," she whispered.

"Good night Lucy," he whispered as he brought the blanket closer to her chin.

Lucy only smiled lightly, already drifting off, "Night."

But just before she fell asleep, there was a warm sensation placed on her forehead, Natsu's scent somehow even stronger and voice closer in a hushed whisper, "You looked really pretty today...tho..you...alwa...pretty..." Though she had knocked out before the end, falling into a blissful sleep.

When she woke up with bleary eyes in the morning, she couldn't help but blush when catching her partner's gaze. Scrutinizing him with squinted eyes for a bit before shrugging, passing off what she imagined last night to be the occasional romantic dreams she has of her partner. Not catching his chuckle as she went to wash up. Or how his eyes seemed to always soften whenever pointed in her direction.

Happy, who had been watching the two for years just shook his head as he giggled, happily chomping on his fish. He would leave it to them to figure it out.

Note: Sorry that there isn't anything really dramatic. I honestly really prefer small gestures that show that you really care for someone. That's what I was trying to do with this since Natsu always notices the little things about Lucy and tries to make her happy that way. I promise there will be more bigger events (hopefully) happening in the next one-shots. Also, can I just say I absolutely love the way Happy says Lucy's name, it's so cute. (Also yay! I managed to get in a forehead kiss! I also barely made it to posting this on time.)

Side Note: It's only a little stressful to be writing these fanfics in just one day but I think it's good practice to actually start writing more frequently. Though since these are all written in just a day, they may not be the best but I'll try my best to make them enjoyable for you guys! Hope you guys have a good night/day!

~writingamongstars