SO THERE ARE 2 BIG MILETONES FOR CAF. First of all, CAF's first birthday is today (just after midnight on Nov 2 so it counts!. I never woulda even thought that this supposed-to-be-one-shot would still be going on now! Also, CAF has just over 1k followers! Like, omsqueeeee! :D As a thank you, here's a new, longer than usual chapter ahead of normal Monday updates! I'm happy that I managed to find time to write it all so quickly, too. Anyways, enjoy, and thank you again so much!

Chapter 47

By now, both Lucy and Natsu are getting a better hang of things. The more she watches, the more she learns. The guys typically keep their weight on the left side of the board since they are right-handed. They purposely have their left leg barely hang over the edge of the board. Of course, practice out on the water helps as well.

The couple is having a mini competition to see who can last the longest. As of now, Natsu has the lead, but only by a couple of seconds. Lucy totally plans on beating him.

Being the only girl has attracted attention from the other guys similar in age. Most seem to absentmindedly forget that Lucy is here with her boyfriend. Some do strike up conversations with the couple, but she receives plenty more attention than him. The two men that can pass as her father clearly have an interest in just the water and having fun.

The current guy using one of the park's boogie boards only lasts seconds before the waves overpower him. He washes up along with the boogie board at the exit. He shakes off the fall and hands the board to the next person who needs it.

Natsu is wobbly from the start and it shows when he falls off the boogie board in the blink of an eye. He gets washed up, much like the person before him.

Now Lucy is towards the front of line without him to be besides her. Apart from the older guy about to go, there is another in front of her before she can take her turn. All she has to do now is put up with any unwanted attention from any guy she has no interest in. The only guy with her interest has pink hair…

"So you've never done this before?" a guy named Rory asks. He is the one in line before her on her left.

Lucy shakes her head. "Not until today."

"She's pretty good, huh?" Trevor asks from her right side.

Travis grins, also standing on her right side. "And getting better from the looks of things."

"Practicing helps." Then Lucy steals a glance at Natsu, discovering he is making small talk with the guys near him. So much for getting his attention.

"Do you want any more tips?" Trevor offers. He is being genuine about things and not trying to hit on her. In fact, he has been the one giving her and Natsu the most tips.

"I think I need more practice is all," she replies, looking at him. "You've already helped Natsu and me out enough. More than enough–"

Without warning, Travis reaches a hand over to Lucy and pulls at a string near her neck.

The bow comes undone, but the top portion stays around her neck all because she has it double knotted. She always double knots her bikini tops. Always. Lucy quickly reaches up to keep it secure. It is keeping her top from dropping down and flashing everyone in the nearby vicinity.

He laughs along with some of the guys who saw what happened. Rory is unaware about what just happened since he had been watching the guy out on the waves. On the other hand, Trevor gives Travis a look. "Not cool, dude."

She shoots him a glare and starts tying another knot and bow. "Don't do that again."

"Aww, c'mon," Travis chuckles. "It was a joke."

"I didn't find it funny," Lucy scowls.

Trevor whacks Travis upside the head. "If she finds it not funny, then it definitely isn't sorry."

Travis rubs his sore spot. "Hey!"

Now that Lucy has secured her top properly, she makes sure to face Travis. She will make a scene the next time he lays an unwanted hand on her. Perhaps give him a well deserved Lucy Kick without hesitation.

After a bit, Rory is riding the waves, and Lucy is next in line. She is listening to Trevor while he tells her how he got into boogie boarding. All the while, she is blatantly ignoring Travis as though he does not exist. She has yet to forgive him for what he did to her, and she has no intentions of doing so.

Trevor stops mid-sentence to crack up when Rory takes a tumble.

Lucy looks over just in time to see him and his board get washed away. "That seemed like it hurt."

"He'll walk it off," Trevor says. "He always does."

With park board in hand, Lucy walks over to the start of the ride. She takes a deep breath, feeling confidence rise within her. All right. She will make this her best run yet. She can feel it!

Then she drops down into the water. She focuses at keeping more weight on her left side, letting her left foot drag in the water. She is pretty much staying in place. Lucy is not going for fancy tricks like the guys can do. She just wants to stay out on the water for as long as she can. And for now, she is doing just that.

"Yeah, go, Luce!" Natsu cheers.

But soon enough, the power of the waves are getting to her. She is losing the battle. Then she really loses it when the waves carry her over to the right. She roughly gets thrown into the wall of the ride, some water unpleasantly rushing up her nose. As she is tossed around, Lucy releases the board to grab a hold of her chest. She needs her boobs to stop bouncing around all over the place. Having a well-endowed chest does have its downsides at times.

When Lucy gets washed up the ramp, something feels off. Her top is loose. When she looks down to see what is wrong, she makes an unpleasant discovery. The knots around her neck and back have both come undone! The two sets are hanging down in front of her. The only thing keeping her top in place is her hands!

She has no doubt that some of the guys are ogling her. She does not need to turn around to see it.

"Luce!" Natsu shouts, getting out of the line to help her. At least he is towards the end of it.

She only remains in place as she hunches over. Her wet hair is sticking to her, not acting like a curtain like she wants it to. She feels really exposed…

When Natsu reaches her, he pulls her to her feet and ushers her to the bathroom. Luckily, it is already in sight and not that far away. Perhaps someone planned having it practically next door to a ride where people can lose part of their bikinis.

"I didn't think something like this would happen," Natsu admits. "There was one time I thought I was gonna lose my shorts, but they stayed on. Tying a tighter knot helped."

"I had double knots on me." And one knot was better off than the other all because she had tie it again after Travis messed with her.

"I'll wait out here for you," Natsu says when they reach the entrance to the women's' bathroom. "Promise I won't disappear like last time."

Quickly making her way into the bathroom, Lucy goes into the nearest changing stall and closes the curtain behind her. Then she gets to work at adjusting her top and retying it in place. She is all sorts of fired up now. She had a great ride, her longest time yet, only to have it ruined because of a wardrobe malfunction. However, she does not plan on letting something like that stop her.

When Lucy exits the bathroom, she easily finds Natsu. "Hey," she greets, getting his attention.

He looks over, smiling at her. "Lookin' better than before." Then he meets her halfway so she does not have to do all of the walking. "So what do you wanna do now?"

She looks towards the giant wave machine. "I want to try again."

He blinks. "Say what now?"

She will not allow her last time on that ride end where she nearly ended up topless. She is too stubborn for that. Lucy looks at him. "I'm not giving up just yet."

He seems interested due to her passionate tone. "Oh, yeah?"

"I won't let my last time on that thing be when I almost lost my top."

"You practically did," Natsu comments.

She points a finger against his chest. "I didn't flash anyone and that"-she prods his chest-"is what counts."

He grins. "I like it when you get all fired up."

Then Lucy leans forward to kiss his lips. "I know you do. Now let's go."

Hand in hand, the couple makes their way back over to the ride.

An older guy towards the end of the line is the first to notice them. "Back so soon?" he questions.

"We're not done just yet," Natsu answers.

"Gimme a sec." Keeping his board in hand, the older guy steps out of line to walk over to the nearby stands. Belongings are strewn all about along the metal stands. He makes his way over to a bookbag that has a muscle shirt draped over it and grabs the top.

The couple exchanges a glance with one another. Neither of the two knowing what is going on.

When the older guy walks back over to them, he holds out the muscle shirt for her. "I shoulda given this to you sooner."

Lucy and Natsu are both confused. "Huh?" she asks.

"I thought your swimsuit was gonna be fine since it seemed to be staying on, but that wasn't the case. Wear this and it'll help keep things in place."

After taking the top from him, Lucy slips into it. It is plenty big on her, practically a mini dress. The big skull is not up her fashion alley, but she is not complaining about the design. Then she looks up at the older guy. "Thank you."

He grins. "Now kick ass out there!"

Lucy grins back. "You can count on that."

"Hey, got a trick for keeping trunks on?" Natsu inquires.

"Shoelaces help keep shorts in place." Then the older guy shifts his gaze to Lucy. "But they can't do much for what you're wearing."

She only shrugs. "That makes sense."

"Hey, look who's back!" a familiar voice shouts, gaining attention.

Lucy rolls her eyes at the annoying sound of Travis' voice.

"Aww, you got yourself a new top," Travis pouts.

"We liked the show from earlier!" another guy shouts.

"Hey, I'm the only who gets to see her show!" Natsu growls in a protective manner.

That is a total lie. The most naked he has seen her is when she is wearing a bikini.

"Front row seat, too!" Lucy adds with a wink.

Clearly, that is another lie.

However, no one else knows that besides Lucy and Natsu.

Then she looks at her boyfriend. "Speaking of kicking ass, I kicked your ass on my last go. I totally lasted longer than your longest run yet."

A glint appears in his eyes. "Did you, my girlfriend, just cuss not only once, but twice in a single sentence?"

She grins. "You bet your ass I did."

He cracks up, grabbing her head with a hand to pull her in for a smooch. He kisses the top of her wet head. "You're cute as fuck."

"Right back at you, Dorkneel."

x-X-x

More than an hour later, Lucy and Natsu are both tired and calling it quits for the day. They know they both will be sore come tomorrow morning. Since she is done, she has since taken off the borrowed top and set it out by correct bookbag to dry off. In the end, Lucy did much better than Natsu overall. She never did any fancy tricks or got up on her knees, but she lasted out on the water for a good bit.

"Look me up on Facebook!" Travis calls after the couple as they walk away. "It's Travis–"

Natsu waves a hand back at him, dismissing the thought. "Yeah, yeah! Whatever!"

As if either of the two will search for him. They both hope they never cross paths with him again.

Slipping his hand into hers, Natsu pulls her closer. "You have fun?"

She nods. "I did. A lot of it. We didn't even get around to the rest of the water park since that kept us occupied."

"I told you it was fun."

"It's not like I doubted you," she teases.

"Hey, when we get back to the hotel, can we nap?"

"A nap sounds good," she admits. "But shower first and then nap."

"Only if you shower with me," Natsu says in a suggestive tone to tease her.

She playfully rolls her eyes. "Swimsuits stay on."

"I know that," he chuckles, smooching her left cheek. "Rules are rules."

"Oh, and food," Lucy says when the idea occurs to her. "I want food."

Natsu's face lights up. "Now you're speaking my language!"


A/N: The boogie board portion happened to me XD Only girl in line. Country boys trying to flirt even though my then boyfriend (now fiancé) was with me. The hopeless flirting. A dude trying to make my top fall down by undoing a knot (I'm still mad about that). My top and bottoms coming both untied (but luckily still covering me) after a wipeout. I can laugh about it now at least haha And that "Travis" guy totally wanted me to look him up on Facebook, but I never did :P

PS. Unlike Travis, Rory and Trevor had been nice since they come from Elvina! From More Than a Princess, Loke became Rory while Gray became Trevor. However, their personalities do differ in some ways XD In reality, I didn't have a guy defend me when "Travis" tried undoing my bikini top. The now fiancé was out on the water and didn't see (had to board without his glasses so he didn't lose them :P). But I know how to handle myself!


Rusu-Chan the Scarlet Fairy: Aww, I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Yeah, about the personal experience bit… allll over this chapter XD

Guest: It feels like filler because it is filler. I'm using it as a stalling tactic, if you will. I need to think of things for how the Dragneel family leaving for France will go. And what Lucy will do while they're gone and so on. Give it a couple/few more chapters since they're vacation will be coming to a close soon!