Chapter 44
With all the walking Lucy and Natsu will do at Kings Isle, they reason that walking over to the amusement park from the hotel is easy enough. There is a little walking path that leads right over to it. Besides, they will not have to worry about parking.
"And you remembered your medicine, right?" Lucy asks for the second time. The first time was inside of the hotel room before they left.
Troia tablets that help with Natsu's severe motion sickness. He even has to take them when he plans on driving. And since he plans on riding rides, he knows that he will need them.
"Yeah, Luce." Then he pats a pocket of his. "Got 'em right here."
"I'm just making sure," she says. "I want you to enjoy your time at Kings Island."
With a small grin, Natsu takes a hand of hers and laces their fingers together. "I'll enjoy my time anywhere just as long as you're there with me."
She smiles. "After all, it's more fun when we're together."
"Exactly!" Then he smooches the side of her head.
The couple already has the day planned out at Kings Isle. Half of their time will be spent in the amusement park while the other half will be spent in the water park. The mini bookbag that Lucy has on has their swimwear, sunscreen, and a towel. They are both ready for a day of fun under the sun!
After presenting their tickets at the main gate, Lucy and Natsu enter the part that has gift shops and some places to eat. The fountains down the middle are a sight to see. This is Lucy's first time being here, so she is making sure to take everything in.
"So whatcha wanna do first?" Natsu asks, looking down at the folded out map in his hands.
She looks over the map as well before looking up at her boyfriend. "Let's do the rides that you like." She trusts his judgment. For the most part.
He grins. "Stick with me and you'll have a blast here!"
"Sounds like a plan."
Natsu folds up the map, slips it into his pocket, and leads the way. Lucy matches his stride all while looking around at the different buildings. She does not notice that she is slowly but surely straying. So Natsu moves closer to her so she is by his side.
After a bit, Natsu finally reaches out to take a hold of her hand. "You keep walking away from me bit by bit," he chuckles, and gives her hand a squeeze. "So this'll make sure you can't escape."
Pink tints her cheeks. "Sorry…"
"You're fine. I know you're looking. But honestly"-he smirks-"I'm the best view here."
Lucy cracks up. "Oh, as if!"
"You're right. It's you."
"You're a weirdo."
"But I'm your weirdo and that's what matters."
Now it is her turn to squeeze his hand. "Definitely." Then Lucy grows a little excited. "So which ride are we doing first?"
"We're gonna do one that'll be a good start for you. You know, since you haven't been on a roller coaster before."
"You thought that part through."
"Of course, I did. You're involved."
"Because if it was your first time, you would have gone with the tallest and fastest coaster here," she muses.
Natsu awkwardly laughs. "S-sure, I would."
His tone does not slip past her. "You did that, didn't you?"
"You can't prove it."
A smug look comes across her face. "I don't need to. I know you."
"A little all too well," he teases.
She lightly bumps shoulders with him. "And then some."
x-X-x
When it comes to the line for the first ride, the wait is not bad at all. At least now they are under a shaded part to be out of the sun, a mister fan just up ahead to cool of the crowd in line.
"And this one doesn't have any loops, right?" Lucy asks again. She cannot see a part of the track due to trees.
"Not a single one," he assures her yet again.
Natsu is trying his hardest to give Lucy all of his attention, but a trio of boys behind the couple is a slight distraction for him. They are speaking low enough so Lucy does not pick up on any of it, but Natsu tuned in the moment he heard them talking about a cute blonde ahead of them. They think that Lucy and Natsu are just friends on a simple outing because they are not sucking face like another couple in line. The trio is admiring her assets, and one of them wants to ask her for her number.
Wanting to put an end to things, Natsu slides in behind Lucy, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her against him. Is his ulterior motive to hide her butt so the guys behind them stop talking about it? Most definitely. Is he pleased that they now know she most definitely is taken? Absolutely.
As extra emphasis, Natsu rubs the side of his head with hers. "I love you."
She giggles at his display of affection. "I love you, too."
Pretending to stretch his neck, Natsu looks back at the trio and sends a glare there way. Then he mouths "mine" to them.
They all stiffen up and look anywhere else except where the couple is.
Finally satisfied, Natsu is able to give Lucy his full attention. "So are you ready?" he asks.
"I'm feeling nervous."
"Oh, you'll be fine."
"I hope so."
He decides to mess with her for a bit. "It's not like your seatbelt will come undone and you'll fly outta your seat…"
Lucy stiffens up at the very idea of that actually happening. "That isn't funny," she scolds.
He chuckles. "It's okay. I won't letcha fall."
"I won't be falling in the first place," she huffs. "Or flying."
"You'll be sitting pretty," Natsu teases.
"Exactly."
"While screaming."
"Probably."
Minutes later, Lucy and Natsu are sitting side by side in a cart. Since they have the blue roller coaster, Lucy's bag is inside of the blue bin that holds other items from the passengers. She is getting a major case of the butterflies now, and not because of Natsu. "Are you sure this will be fine?" she asks.
"Wendy likes this ride," he replies. "You'll be fine. Just trust me, Luce."
"I do trust you… That doesn't mean I trust roller coasters."
"You'll be screaming with joy. I promise."
"Or just plain old screaming," she jokes.
"And if you don't like this ride, we can try other rides that aren't roller coasters," he assures her. "Or just go straight to the water park."
Someone by the microphone starts speaking, going through the normal spiel about the ride. Lucy pays attention because it is all new to her while Natsu completely tunes it out. When the ride lurches forward to go along the tracks, Lucy's breath hitches. She has a death grip on the bar in front of her.
"Relax, Luce." Natsu puts a hand over one of hers. "Deep breath."
She inhales deeply and holds it.
"You're supposed to let it out," he comments when her face starts turning red.
Then she exhales loudly. "Still nervous."
"Scream out the nervousness when we go down the first hill."
The roller coaster starts going up the incline, something to take in as a first time roller coaster rider. Her heart is already doing a thing, and this happens when she is super nervous and anxious.
"I'll scream with you if you want," Natsu says, wanting her to calm down.
She only nods in response.
When their cart starts going down the hill, Lucy's stomach does flips. She screams loudly as they descend. Wind is whipping her high ponytail around. She can hear Natsu laughing beside her. For the rest of the ride, Lucy is able to keep her eyes open to see what is happening around her. Some things blur together and before she knows it, the roller coaster is back at the start.
"Welcome back, riders!" a voice says over speakers. "How was your ride?"
People in the blue roller coaster cheer.
Lucy undoes her seatbelt before the bar is unlocked. She has somewhat mixed feelings about her experience, but she knows that she at least liked it. She will probably be up for more roller coasters after a little break. Her legs are a little shaky from the adrenaline still coursing through her.
Since Lucy is not moving towards the bin to retrieve her bookbag, Natsu does it for her. After slinging it onto his back, he catches up with her to walk along her side. Then they travel down exit ramp together.
"So what did you think?" Natsu asks, eager to hear her response.
"I'll need a little break before going on another one," she replies.
He smiles. "So you liked it?"
"It wasn't as bad as I thought," she admits.
Natsu then steers them over to a building that matches the roller coaster they were just on. Pictures taken during the ride are on display on monitors. When Natsu spots the photo of them, he points and cracks up. "Bwahaha, look at your face!" Did he think about telling her about the cameras? Yes, but he wanted her genuine reaction to be caught on camera.
She puffs her cheeks out as she looks over the photo. Her eyes are squeezed shut and she is really holding onto the bar. On the other hand, smooth as ever Natsu is winking at the camera because he had been ready for it. "I don't like you," she huffs, and turns on her heels to walk away.
"Aw, c'mon," Natsu says, going after her. "It's funny."
"Says you."
Lucy decides to change the topic from the photo. "Hey, if you want me riding more rides, I have to go to the bathroom first."
"Sure thing. Bathrooms are over"-he points a finger to where they clearly are-"there. I'll wait for you over"-he points by an empty bench-"there."
"I won't be long."
"You got five minutes before I bust down doors looking for you," he jokes.
She gasps, knowing that he would probably do it. "You will do no such thing!"
"Fineee," he sighs dramatically. "I'll behave."
"Good." Then Lucy pecks his cheek before going off on her own. Surprisingly, there is no wait so she is able to get in and get out relatively quickly. When she exits the bathroom, she heads towards where Natsu said he would be only to see that he is not there. She glances around for his familiar pink hair, but sees no trace of him.
Reasoning that he went to the bathroom while she was gone, she sits down on the bench and waits for him. And waits. And waits…
A/N Part 1: Am I fast walker? Hella. Does my fiancé hafta hold my hand so I don't lose him and slow my roll? Totally. So it made sense for Natsu to hold Lucy's hand to ensure that she didn't wander off when looking around XD And Natsu is totally protective over Lucy, even if she's unaware of it! And speaking of Natsu, where did he go… ?
A/N Part 2: Again, my wisdom teeth surgery is next week. I dunno if I'll have an update for y'all then, but if I can get it on Sunday, I will! But we'll see!
Craycraynalufan: Yay, I'm glad you like the fluffy feels :D I'm hoping future me will be all right after the surgery… cray cray indeed D:
Guest: Thank you, I hope it goes well, too… But I'm glad you liked the fluff :)
Anon: Fluff so goooood :D Omg, I'm feeling the hype for Ch 50, especially since this was supposed to be a one-shot XD Brah, Nathan totally is :P And I dig French-speaking-Natsu as well ^^ The plots come to me at random, sometimes good just to get outta my system. But others grow and expand in ways I didn't think of originally :P
Fairy Tail Lover: Fluff is great to have, and I love writing it :D I added more info on that work to show Natsu helping Lucy out XD
Guest: Yay, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter :D And no promises about an update for the 17th… I have no clue if I can write/post the chapter all that Sunday since I do hafta work for a shoot… And I know I'll need all the luck I can get with my surgery D:
