Hi there. Thanks for checking out this story. The idea for this little story hit me out of nowhere, so I figured I should start writing it and see how far I can get. I hope you will enjoy it.
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Seagulls shrieked above Lucy's head as they swayed in the air, sometimes flapping their wings so that they would stay in the sky, observing the ground with their hawk-like eyes. When they found a suitable victim, they plummeted from the blue heaven not spouting a single fluffy cloud and stroke merciless. Angered shouts followed a moment later as said victim raced behind them, an admirable yet useless effort since humans were not meant for the skies. They could only observe as the seagulls flew their merry way to a nearby cliff, all sorts of tasty treats from the food stalls around the beach between their beaks.
Lucy paid little mind to the constant commotion the thievish birds caused as she simply lay on her sunbed, preoccupied with roasting in the burning, unforgiving sun showering the world with its rays of energy. The Celestial Spirit mage did nothing, absolutely nothing and yet beats of sweat streamed down her body as she laid shamelessly and very unladylike on her sunbed. If her father would see her current state, he would probably get a fit. Most likely her mother would join in, albeit in a more reserved manner. She snorted at the image her brain fabricated for her inner eye to see.
Aside from the ongoing war between birds and humans, the beach was pleasantly calm, the soft swooshing of the waves hitting the shore in the background slowly but surely lulling her to sleep, just like they had done the day before and the day before that. There were no wild fights around her, no magic blasts struggling for supremacy in the way too small fighting arena Fairy Tail's guildhall often turned into. It was always fun to watch, her friends roughing each other up in friendly manners. Sometimes Lucy even joined in on her own, yet those occasions were rare indeed.
However, with the constant commotion going on in her life she didn't notice how tired her body had been, not until the day when she fell asleep in the middle of the day on her couch. It had been a dreamless and peaceful slumber, or so she thought when she awoke in the early evening. Loud snores shook her small apartment as a certain pink-haired Dragon Slayer occupied the bed that was rightfully hers.
Sitting up, Lucy glared at the invader of her home, wondering when he had entered it this time. She observed the fire mage for a few moments, taking in his bare chest rising and falling in calm movements. As rowdy as he was when awake, Natsu was the complete opposite when fast asleep. The word adorable danced inside her mouth, tingling at the very tip of her tongue. She was even overlooking the fact that he was drooling all over her face. Before her claim managed it past her lips though, her eyes discovered a horrible object in the Dragon Slayer's right hand.
A marker, a water-proof marker, a water-proof marker that was open. Lucy gasped and moved at lightning speed to her bathroom, skidding across the cool tiles before she stopped in front of her mirror.
"NATSU DRAGNEEL!" the blond maiden screamed her best friend's name, louder than any dragon ever could as she took in the "artwork" as Natsu liked to call his scribblings on her face. The next moment she was already back in her common room, fuming that the dragon slayer could sleep so peacefully even though he had ruined her face. At least, he was defenceless if she wanted to enact her revenge now.
The smirk of a devil graced her face for less than a second, but it was still there. Lucy crouched down and then she jumped as high as she could. Sure enough, Natsu's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when Lucy landed on his stomach, sputtering as his limbs flailed out in every direction.
"What the hell Luce! I was just about to beat the shit out of Gray and-" the Dragon Slayer snarled to his harsh awakening. But when he saw the veins popping up one after another on Lucy's pretty face, his face became paler than snow, even more so when Lucy suddenly had a water-proof marker in her right hand.
"Uhm, Luce. I'm certain we can, you know, talk this out and stuff like that..." He knew it was a poor attempt to calm down his best friend, but it was better than doing nothing at all. "Like hell, we can!" she shouted in response and Natsu screamed in fright as the marker morphed into a sword more destructive than any of Erza's swords.
The fire mage tried to wriggle his way free from underneath Lucy, but her surprisingly heavy body made it a true endeavour for him. All the while Lucy slashed at him, marking his arms, chest and face with lines of thick black. One of her strikes missed though and she lost her balance, a chance Natsu wouldn't leave unused. He took advantage of her momentum and flipped them around so that he was on top, immediately jumping to his feet and taking a long leap across the room.
"Natsu Dragneel! Come back here!"
"Like hell, I will"
In a manner of seconds, a wild chase broke out in the small apartment, the mighty dragon fleeing from the furious princess. Neither of the two mages knew how long it lasted, but it was more than enough for the evening to turn into night. Natsu and Lucy found themselves panting heavily from the sudden chase, the Celestial Spirit mage sprawled out on top of her sofa once more while Natsu leant with his back against the furniture, his head resting on Lucy's belly.
"Geez," the fire mage breathed, unable to suppress the small laughter that followed alongside. "That was tiring but funny. Will you always chase me around like that when I train my art skills, Luigi?" He teased.
"Shut it." the blond maiden replied groggily. Barking laughter filled her home a moment later. It was contagious and Lucy found it impossible to not join in. Natsu was a fire mage through and through, always warm, always comforting, always a walking beam of sunshine though a little shit most of the time as well. Yet, this time, his smile and laughter, his other type of magic, didn't work on her and she realised how drained she was. Not from their earlier activities but just from everything that had happened recently.
The return of the main team from TenrÅ Jima, the events revolving around the Infinity Clock, her sisterhood with Michelle and its sudden end, the Grand Magic Games, the dragon invasion. Thinking about it, Lucy could hardly believe how they managed all these crises, how all of them were still in one piece. A little voice in the back of her mind whispered to her that this was not the case, that they weren't in one piece anymore. The marred skin on Natsu's left side and the meaning it held were painful reminders that the voice was right, but Lucy didn't allow the tune to overwhelm her.
The sudden loss of Natsu's head on her belly pulled her away from her thoughts. Her eyes followed his form as he stood, stretching his arms towards the ceiling until he was on his tiptoes. His prominent muscles flexed and his bones cracked all the while Lucy's eyes never left the Dragon Slayer's body. Lucy felt a little heat forming on her cheeks, reminding her that adorable was not the only word she had in store to describe her friend.
However, Natsu suddenly enveloping himself in flames right in front of her distracted her, much to her relief, from the path her thoughts had been about to venture down. For many, the sight of a living torch would probably be a frightening sight to behold, but Lucy trusted that Natsu didn't set her apartment on fire. His flames were only strong enough to eradicate all the black lines she had graced him with during their chase, one vanishing after another until no more were to be found on the Dragon Slayer's body. To be honest, Lucy was kinda jealous of Natsu's all-purpose flames but lucky for her, the pink-haired man was more than willing to share his godsend abilities with the people close to him.
Natsu pulled a stool to the sofa, giving her his signature toothy smile. "Let's get you cleaned up as well," he said, his heated hands already reaching for her face so he could do the same to her as he had done to himself moments ago. Lucy allowed her eyes to flutter shut as Natsu began to burn away the black lines created by the marker, his thumbs brushing over her skin as his flames consumed the ink, careful to not hurt her by accident. At first glance, Natsu was pretty rough around the edges, but Lucy knew him better. It was partly true, that much she had to admit, but when she felt how careful Natsu worked on her soft skin she knew that he had this gentle side to him as well. His next words were another proof of how perceptive he could be.
"You alright Luce? You seemed a bit out of it lately," he murmured as his thumbs flicked yet another line away. Lucy pondered what she should respond, the truth or come up with some lie so she wouldn't pull down the mood. She humoured both ideas, but right now she felt too comfortable to taint it with a lie, so he went for the truth.
"No." Brief and fast with no additions at first. Natsu's motions stopped altogether when he heard her reply. Even with her eyes closed, she sensed the worried gaze staring at her. She didn't feel like she was at one hundred percent and had no intention of hiding it anymore. She needed a break.
"It's just..." she paused for a moment "I'm so tired of everything. We went through so much lately. I know seven years have passed since that day during the S-Class exams, yet it still feels like yesterday to me. No to mention all the stuff that happened afterwards up to now." Lucy said as she poured out her heart and soul to the pink-haired man who listened to everything she shared with him.
Her mouth went non-stop since she didn't find a suitable end for her rambling. Her friend didn't care though as he sat in front of her and listened to what she had to say. When Natsu was certain that there was nothing left to give, he resumed his earlier motions and took away the remaining pieces of his artwork.
"I'm feeling the same," he admitted out of the blue when he finished his work, giving Lucy a final check-up to see if he had gotten rid of. everything or not "It would be nice to have some days off, with no mission waiting to be tackled by us or anything else. Just you, Happy, Erza, Wendy, Gray and me, doing absolutely nothing aside from lazing around."
"Yeah, that would be nice. I like how this sounds, almost like a holiday."
"Let's do this then," Natsu simply proclaimed without a care in the world. It was refreshing to see how easy he went through the world, something Lucy really admired about her friend. Not long after the whole gang was already on their way toward the Akane Resort, luggage in hand or on their backs. Even Erza had refrained from taking too much with her, the cart normally stacked with luggage as tall as a tree now containing not even half of it.
That's how Lucy ended up in her current situation, roasting in the sun. She had no idea where her companions were, but most likely they were at the beach as well, maybe in a somewhat similar position as she was. However, the sun was getting close to its zenith and Lucy had enough sunlight for the moment. Begrudgingly, she lifted herself from the rented sunbed and collected her stuff, preparing to return to her hotel room. She was uncertain what she would do afterwards, but she left that decision for her future self in an hour or so.
When she was finished, she marched out, making room for the next tourists, but suddenly stopped in her tracks. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt a flicker of magic she had never experienced before. It vanished as fast as it had appeared in the first place and she brushed it off as her imagination playing tricks on her due to her exhaustion. Unbeknownst to her, the flicker of magic had been real and it was getting closer and closer to the resort.
In the nearby forest, a man of ebony hair and eyes coloured in the black of s starry midnight had come to this place. Not intentionally, for he let his feet decide which way he would travel. Just like Lucy, he was tired, but for different reasons, too many to be counted. He could sense the masses of people nearby, each of them a life ready to be plucked when he didn't treat carefully. His inner voice told him to turn around and never come back, but his nose had already licked at the smell of salt in the air, telling him that the ocean was nearby. His determination not to be seen dwindled rapidly towards zero until none was left, the draw to the ocean and the memories he connected to it were too overwhelming for him to push away.
"At night when there's not a single soul around", he murmured to no one but himself as he laid down in the fresh grass covering the floor of the forest, closing his eyes as he drifted easily into sleep, captured by memories of a distant past, the one and only treasure he possessed. Instinctively, his right hand reached for the necklace hanging around his neck.
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I'm not quite sure how many chapters this story will have since I'm writing it without any notes. I have a rough outline in my head, but that's about it. I guess it will be a surprise for you as well as for me. Either way, I hope you will enjoy the future developments of this story.