On a humid summer day, the members of Fairy Tail were at Akane Beach, on vacation from all of the missions they had to take on. They deserved this much-needed break to rest their bodies, though on some days they would train to enhance their magical and physical abilities. Some were playing in the water, while others stayed on land partaking in a game of beach volleyball and watched Mirajane serve some drinks at a beachside bar. Little Asuka was building a sandcastle with her parents, using colorful seashells as decorations.
Laxus was relaxing in a hammock, reading an issue of Sorcerer Weekly Magazine when he paused to glance at Natsu and Happy running past him. In their hands were fishing poles, a bucket filled with worms for bait, and two empty buckets where they would place their caught fish.
"Hey, Laxus!" the Fire Dragon Slayer said to him, pointing to the shore nearby the hammock. "Do ya want me and Happy to cast out here so you can watch us?"
"Why don't you cast out over there so I can ignore you?" the blonde answered, pointing out to a dock sitting in front of the ocean.
"Okay!" the pinkette chirped, still sounding upbeat.
He glanced at Happy and said to him with a big grin:
"Come on, Happy! Let's go catch us some tasty fish!"
"Aye, sir!" the blue Exceed cheered. "I hope we get a big one!"
The two soon raced off to the dock, eager to catch their fish and cook them on an open fire. They set aside the buckets and got their fishing poles ready for casting, with Natsu standing at the dock and Happy standing nearby. Then, they each placed a worm on the hook and swung their lines out on the water.
Not long after having casted their lines, Natsu felt a tug on his fishing rod. It appeared that he had finally caught something!
Eager to find out, Natsu quickly reeled in the line, only to pull up a tiny red fish wriggling on his hook.
"Aww. I got a small fry!" he grimaced, pouting in disappointment. "But I can always give it to Happy."
With that said, Natsu placed the fish into his bucket and swung his line out on the water once more. He then glanced over at Happy reeling with his fishing rod and the sight of a medium-sized yellow fish made his jaw drop in astonishment. He could hardly believe that his best friend would catch a better fish than him!
"Hey, Natsu! Did you see that?" Happy asked him excitedly, as he held up the wriggling fish. "This is my lucky catch!"
Natsu, fuming with jealousy, gripped the handle of his fishing rod as his eyes were fixated on the fish. Even though he wanted to congratulate his best friend, his jealousy overshadowed his good sportsmanship like storm clouds concealing the sun.
So he's caught his lucky catch, eh?! he thought, his eyes blazing with rage. Well, I'll show him that I'll have MY catch of the day!
With a mighty battle cry, Natsu vigorously casted his line further into the water, eagerly hoping for the big catch he desperately needed. Then, he felt a tug on his rod and he reeled in almost immediately.
I've caught it! he thought excitedly. I can't wait to see the look on Happy's face when I show him the biggest fish we've ever seen!
Natsu continued to reel in until he heard a splash coming from the water.
"Hey, Happy!" he called out to his best friend. "How do you feel about THIS catch of the day?"
The blue cat paused, placing his fishing rod on the dock and trotted over to Natsu. However, Happy's reaction wasn't what Natsu expected, as he could hear snickering coming from the kitty.
"Umm, Natsu?" he asked.
"What?" Natsu inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Happy pointed out to whether it was dangling on the hook of his fishing rod with his paw, as he said to him:
"I don't think that's a fish you've just caught."
The moment he turned to see the hook, Natsu gasped in shock at the sight of Gray's navy blue swim shorts, which had two white snowflakes on the sides. He must have fished them unintentionally, when he was going stir crazy trying to catch a bigger fish than Happy's!
"Natsu!" the Ice Make Mage shouted, a red vein popping up on his head. "Damn it, you flame-brain! Give me back my shorts!"
Finally realizing the mistake, a bright red blush tinted on Natsu's face and he could hear the laughter coming from the guild members in the water. Juvia was blushing hard at the sight of her beloved without his swim shorts, and she tried her best to fight perverted thoughts as she swam away from him. She felt sorry for Gray; however, she felt that it was best for her to leave him alone and maybe she would come back once Gray would get his shorts back.
"Whoops," Natsu said, grinning apprehensively as he tossed the shorts back to his teammate. "Sorry, Gray."
The End
