Chapter 49

The Cerulean Aquarium is impressive on the outside, but it is even more impressive on the inside. It has over fifteen galleries and seventy-five exhibits. There are interactive parts with aquatic life as well. The Aquarium is well-known for their multiple, seamless acrylic tunnels people can walk through.

Lucy has heard so much about this place, but she has never been before. Well, until now. All because of her amazing boyfriend.

"I figured that we can take things easy today," Natsu says, locking the car as they head for the entrance.

Her eyes don't leave the building. "Have you been here before?" she asks.

"Nope. So it'll be a first time for us both." Then he takes a hold of her hand, ensuring that she doesn't stray from him.

After a quick exchange of tickets, the couple is admitted into the Cerulean Aquarium. It doesn't take long for Lucy to be completely enthralled at what she is already seeing. Right along with children, she is standing next to the glass.

It is like a whole other world on the other side. An underwater realm. Some kind of magical place with hidden wonders.

Something is stirring inside of Lucy. She can feel it.

All while Lucy is watching what is in front of her, Natsu is looking at what is in front of him. Well, specifically at a certain thing. A someone. His girlfriend. He is amazed that she is so amazed. Perhaps he should have taken her here before now.

Unbeknownst to her, Natsu takes a few photos of her. Maybe he'll text her a few later, just to tease her. But at that rate, she'll know that he wasn't paying attention to the fish.

When they move on to the next part, things fall into place when Lucy notices a diver in a tank. The writing fire in her is ignited, a spark in her eyes. She fishes out her phone. "I need a minute..."

"Or two," Natsu chuckles. "What's up?"

She already has a new note from her writing app open. "Idea. New idea. Different."

He watches her while she is in her writing zone. When she gets like this, there is no stopping her. So he waits.

"What do you have so far?" Natsu asks after a few minutes. He doesn't lean forward to peek at her screen. He knows how self-conscious she gets when people do that.

"The main girl has been mute since birth and works at an aquarium as a mermaid," Lucy begins to explain. "Like, put on a tail and swim around in a tank kind of mermaid. She's a free diver."

"Free diver?" Natsu questions, unfamiliar with the term.

"Like scuba diving, but without the air tank and some other equipment. Well, maybe she'll use a monofin or something to help her swim around. Goggles for sure so she can see. She has to hold her breath, but she can hold it for some minutes. Under five for sure."

"Oh, that's cool! Hey, since she can do all of that, she probably passes a real mermaid."

She nods. "Exactly."

"Got a name for her?"

She shakes her head. "Not yet. No names for the twins either."

"Twins?"

"A family moves in with twins. A boy and girl. I don't know who the older one is yet. Maybe the girl…"

"So what kinda universe is it?"

"It's like the real world we live in, but there's a parallel magical one. Mythical beings exist and everything. The twins and their family are magic users. Like mages since I like it more than sorcerers."

"The main girl learns about magic when she follows the girl twin. I'm still working out that detail, but I want the girl twin to be the reason she discovers that magic exists."

"What about the twin brother?"

"I'm still debating if I want him to be the love interest. His sister would totally ship it though."

"Wait, so if magic does exist, could somebody use magic on the mute girl to make her talk?"

Lucy shakes her head. "In this case, I don't want magic to be able to fix everything. Not all of the time. Even if it did work, she would have to learn how to speak properly. That would take time. So I can bypass all of that by keeping her mute. Besides, there's nothing wrong with a mute character or person."

"Huh, I wouldn't have thought about that. Err, the first half that you talked about. So what else do you have?"

"That's it."

"Really?"

"For now. I'm sure that more will come to me. Just give it time."

Natsu takes a moment to look at his girlfriend.

"Are you all right?" she asks with uncertainty.

"I look around and see cool fish. You look and see a whole other world. One that you took a few minutes to come up with."

"I like being creative."

"It's awesome. Amazing."

"We all have our skills."

"At least I'm good-looking."

She playfully rolls her eyes. "Yes, at least you have that going for you."

"Look who's talking."

"Me? What about me? You're the model in this relationship, remember?"

"Hey, we were photographed together, remember? There's even proof in my room."

"You can't even see my face."

"But I know it's you. And that's what counts for me."

"Whatever floats your boat."

"Speaking of boat, I hafta go to the bathroom."

She laughs. "That was a horrible segue."

"But you laughed so mission accomplished." Then Natsu leans forward to smooch her head. "I'll be back so stay here, Luce."

"Aye, sir." Then she gets back to her phone while he walks away.

Names… What names will she go with? Should the twins have similar sounding names? Heck, what about last names for everyone? What about–

"Hey, Lucy," a voice says from off to her right.

Lucy looks over to discover Nathan standing by her side. "Oh, it's you," she deadpans. Then she goes back to her phone.

"Pfft, what kind of greeting is that?"

She blatantly ignores him, acting as though he isn't next to her. She angles the screen of her phone so he can't possibly see what she is typing.

He playfully bumps her shoulder. "Do you remember me?"

"I remember the feeling of me wanting you not around anymore…" she sasses.

"Aww, you can't mean that."

Looking away from her phone, she looks him in the eye. "I do."

Nathan tries bouncing back from her shutting him down. "How about we start over?"

"Pass."

A look of irritation comes across his face. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Look, you're a pretty hot girl and I'm a nice guy. I want a fresh start between us."

After slipping her phone into a back pocket, Lucy is fluid with her movements. She takes Nathan's left hand and forces it behind is back, constraining him. Then she shoves him against the glass, the front part of his body smooshed against it.

Most people who notice back away from the small altercation. Some others take out their phones to record what is happening.

"You clearly can't take any verbal hints, so here's a physical one," Lucy says through gritted teeth. "I'm not interested in you. I won't ever be. I'm not even flattered by the attention you're giving me." She pushes his arm up higher along his back. "So leave me alone."

Having witness his girlfriend in action, Natsu approaches the duo. "Didn't I warn you that when the princess is pissed it ain't a pretty sight?"

Lucy releases her hold on Nathan and takes a few steps back, bumping into Natsu. She will have to call Capricorn later and thank him again for the mini self defense lessons.

Nathan flips over and presses himself against the glass. His eyes are wide, a panicked look to his face. He opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

"You better skedaddle so we can continue our date," Natsu says, wrapping his arms possessively around her waist.

Without a word, Nathan bolts.

"I can't believe that he found me," Lucy huffs.

"His Luce Radar isn't nearly as good as mine," Natsu comments, some sort of smugness in his voice.

She playfully rolls her eyes, turning to face her boyfriend. "Oh, not nearly."

"Hey, what you did earlier… was kinda hot," he admits. "Not gonna lie."

"You can thank Capricorn." In fact, she will have to call Capricorn later and thank him again for the mini self defense lessons. The skills have come in handy.

Then he smooches her nose. "Ready to continue this date?"

She smooches his nose back. "Of course."

x-X-x

It is well past midnight now. Wearing their swimwear, Lucy and Natsu are soaking in the tub one last time. The water is just right and the bubbles are going. The mood is more than merry.

"Sh-shhh!" she chides, trying to suppress her own case of the giggles. "You're t-too loud."

However, his face only turns redder from all of the laughing he is doing. He told a joke, and he still thinking it is the best thing ever. "But-but-but–" However, he can't get another word out in between laughing.

Lucy playfully rolls her eyes. "You're such a weirdo."

That seems to snap her boyfriend somewhat back to normal. "You're clearly the weirdo in this relationship."

She shakes her head. "No way."

"You're in denial."

"Da Nile is a river," she jokes.

He cracks up. "Okay, only a real weirdo would make that pun!"

"Only a true weirdo would laugh at it."

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-huh." Then Lucy splashes a little water his way.

Natsu holds his arms up to defend himself, but the water gets past him. He lowers his arms slightly, a different demeanor about him. "Did you just declare war on me, princess?"

"N-no," she practically squeaks.

Mindful of her body parts under the water, he moves closer. Before long, their faces are next to each other. "Are you sure?"

Her heart skips a beat. "Yes," she whispers.

He smirks and talks in a cheery voice. "Okay, just making sure!" Then he sits down next to her like nothing just happened between them.

She blinks at him, disappointed that nothing happened. "You're such a tease…" she pouts.

"Oh, c'mere." Natsu moves her onto his lap, starting a mini snuggle session. His arms wrap around her, keeping her close. Her back is against his chest.

The room is quiet except for the sound of bubbles. All of the laughter has since ceased.

"Hard to believe it's our last night here, huh?" Natsu asks.

"I've had a lot of fun," she says, being positive. "Like, a lot of fun."

"Me, too, Luce."

"I'm glad you decided to take this vacation with me."

"As if I would have brought Ice Princess along," he jokes.

"As if Juvia and I would have let that happen," she teases.

"He's not as great as a cuddle buddy like you."

"Besides, I don't like sharing my personal furnace of a cuddle buddy."

"So you do want me for my body."

"Well, you are a model…" Then she giggles. "It only took you two months to realize it."

Unbeknownst to Lucy, he makes a face from behind her. "Well, maybe I want you for your skills."

"Because my writing skills are sooo attractive."

"I meant your ability to kick ass."

"That was just a simple lock."

"It got your point across."

"That was the point of it."

Then a comfortable silence falls over them. Natsu lays his head back, closing his eyes. "I'm gonna text you every day," he says. "Maybe I'll call at least once a day."

"You'll only be gone for a week. Just seven days."

"It'll be seven days without you," he corrects.

"There have been some days we haven't seen each other before."

"Not a week's worth."

"It'll fly by before you know it. You'll be distracted by all the sights in Paris anyways."

"Even the beauty of the city won't be enough to distract me…" he sighs dramatically.

Lucy's cheeks pink a little bit. "What about the food?"

"Won't be nearly as tasty as you…" Then he leans forward to lick her cheek as an extra measure.

With a red face, she wipes her cheek clean. "The sounds?"

"They won't compare to you…" A sly grin on his face, he tickles her sides a little.

She laughs. "Y-you're such a weirdo."

"But I'm your weirdo."

She smiles softly. "Yeah, you're my weirdo…"


A/N: Y'all got a chapter earlier than Monday since I work on Monday. I literally got home from work today and wrote out this entire chapter to post it early! Anyways, I love aquariums. Love. So, of course, I made NaLu go to one! Oh, and the novel idea Lucy came up with is another original work of mine. That's about all I have figured out for it as of now XD I'm still waiting on names to come to me :P

PS. The Cerulean Aquarium is based on the Newport Aquarium! After writing this chapter (that I've been wanting and waiting to happen), I wanna go baaack!


Anon: Aww, thank you XD Sometimes the fiancé and I try haha Yesss, which is exactly why I had Natsu say it since the way Lucy looks ain't the problem! And writing NaLu comes naturally to me since it's relatable with the relationship I have. Well, at least how I picture NaLu :P For future works, I may or may not have Natsu be bilingual, especially for English/French! Omg, this NaLu combo for their jobs is definitely an odd one for me, too XD But it's growing on me! And you are most welcome!

Fairy Tail Lover: Ayyy, now you know :D And thank you!