Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.
"Natsu really is comfortable around you." Lucy commented about Natsu sleeping on Juvia's lap. Meanwhile Erza was looking at Juvia with a competitive eye. She held her hand out.
"Hand him over, I won't lose!" Juvia pressed Natsu deeper into Juvia's lap, staring squarely back at Erza.
"Juvia refuses! This is the one thing Juvia won't hand over!"
"Is that so? Then I have no choice." Erza folded her arms in surrender. A feeling of success welled in Juvia's heart. Levy was comforting Gajeel by rubbing his back and holding a sick bucket for him.
"This trip should be fun, there's so many people coming!" Lucy pointed out.
"When will they arrive?" Gray asked.
"We planned to gather at the inn, Mira and I already booked the rooms beforehand."
"How long have you two been planning this? It shouldn't be easy to coordinate with other guilds." Levy asked, rubbing Gajeel's back in a circular motion.
"Well, a few months, ever since we came back from the Grand Magic Games."
"Wow!"
"We wanted to build good relationships with other guilds."
"I can't wait!"
The sounds of two windows being smashed open invoked Erza's wrath. She followed after the two perpetrators and before long, two groveling dragon slayers were being lectured by a red demon.
"Natsu! Gajeel! Show some self-restraint! Do you have any idea how much—" Natsu was looking at Juvia hopefully. Juvia had to look away, afraid that the pleading eyes would tug at Juvia's heartstrings even more than they already have.
"Traitor…" He mumbled. Juvia is sorry Natsu…Juvia can't help you here, please forgive this girlfriend of yours…
"Natsu!"
"Y—yes!?"
"Gajeel!"
"W—what!?"
"Don't! Ever do that again!"
"Aye sir!" "Ye—yeah…"
"Good. Now, let's go find the inn. Mira, lead the way." As we walked, Juvia was tending to Natsu's wounds while trying to check out the town. From what Juvia can gather, this place is mainly a tourist spot, with stores selling local foods and crafts, signs were place at fountains and statues, explaining their origins or significant meaning they have. Of course, houses exist, they were made of stone, small and homey.
Our trek led us up a rocky hill, with a pronounced pathway from the countless tourists. Little plants were around, a couple bunches of weeds here and there, one or two kinds of flowers, white and yellow.
"Here we are." Mira gestured to a large building with three stories, each complete with a balcony for every room. At the back, Juvia can see walls made of tree trunks, forming a circle. Another ring was made with large rocks. Juvia's excitement rose with each step we took. How long has it been since Juvia has been in a hot spring?
"How come I don't see much people around? Is this place bad?" Erza asked.
"No, we just booked the entire place."
"What!?" Levy dropped her bags. "Isn't that going too far?"
"Of course not! We don't innocent people to get caught."
"In what?"
"Do you trust Natsu to not pick a fight with people from the other guilds?"
"I guess that's true…"
"Hey! I can control myself!"
"Natsu…" Happy sat on Natsu's head. "I think you should stop lying."
"What was that!?"
"See! You're already picking a fight with me."
"Doesn't count!"
"Yes, it does!"
"No, it doesn't!"
"Enough!" Erza roared. "What's done is done, let's just go in."
"A—aye!" "Aye sir!" When we reached the front door made of glass, a flying vehicle in the shape of a ship started to decent. Erza's face paled seeing the horse ornament at the front of the ship.
"Myyy Honeyyy!" A strange object dove from the ship, leaving behind an orange blur. That same object suddenly took a ninety degree turn as Erza slammed it as hard as she could. Erza summoned a spear and pointed it at Ichiya, who was planted in the ground.
"Why are you here!? I thought I got rid of you."
"M—men…" Ichiya pulled himself out of the crater he was stuck in. He jumped out of it and did his gro—signature pose. "I came to see you, my honey. I know, that even though you told me to leave, that's just your way of saying that you want me here." He started to shimmy closer to Erza, and she responded by backing away and assumed a battle stance with her spear.
"Sta—stay away!"
"That's right master, you should respect Erza-san's personal space." Three handsome people came down from the airship. It took no time at all to recognize 'The Trimen' of Blue Pegasus. The instant their foot touched the ground, they scattered and bombarded some of us—only girls—with pick-up lines and offering flowers to us. Hibiki-san pulled Juvia to a couch that came out of nowhere and placed an arm around Juvia's shoulder. Juvia was about to blast him away when an eagle made of ice beat Juvia to it.
"Are you okay Juvia?" Lyon-san took Juvia's hand. "I'm glad we decided to come early." A healthy blush decorated Lyon-san face as he pulled Juvia away from the couch and Hibiki-san that was being scolded by Jenny-san. "After we check in…d—do you want to have a drink with…with m—" A fiery hand punched Lyon-san away, sending him right to ground.
"Get away from her ya bastard!" Natsu growled, putting himself between Lyon-san and Juvia.
"I suggest you get out of my way!" Lyon-san formed a dragon and two gorillas behind him. Juvia overheard Happy saying something about Natsu picking a fight already.
"Why should I let some creep touch what's mine!?"
"Wha—what do you mean!?" Lyon-san looked at Juvia for explanations.
"Juvia and Natsu are in a…relationship."
"Ho—how could this be?" Lyon-san slumped to the ground, a petite girl with pink hair got to Lyon-san's level and comforted him. With that trouble out of the way, Juvia realized that the three stooges along with Ichiya were getting beaten up.
"Enough!" A bald man with a long beard walked into scene, releasing an impressive amount of magic, Jura-san. "We're here to relax, not cause injuries." As he was saying that, Wendy and Sherria-san ran around, healing the victims of the massacre. Grumbles from Natsu and Gray reached Juvia's ears.
Well, let's sign in!" Mira said, ignoring the tense atmosphere of the groups. Mira pushed open the doors and headed to the reception.
"Ahh, I'll go with you!" Lucy ran after Mira. Leaving Jura-san so sort out the mess. Once Ichiya was unable to move, Erza helped out with calming down the aggression
"But still, what do we do with these…intruders." Erza tapped the ground with her spear. "I don't think there's enough room in the inn. Regrettably, they don't seem to be willing to leave."
"From what I heard, when the inn was booked, it was intended for all guilds to stay, meaning Mermaid Heel and Blue Pegasus can also fit in." Jura stroked his beard.
"How inconvenient." Erza coldly remarked.
"Sorry we're late!" Sting-san waved at us, smiling brightly. Behind him, were the members of Saber Tooth.
"No need to worry, we've just checked in."
"But, judging from the mess around you guys," Sting-san pointed to the crater. "I thought you've been here for a while."
"No, that's just some…unforeseen circumstances."
"I see." Sting-san walked over to Natsu. "Natsu-san! You want have a drink with me later?"
"I don't know, depends if have something to do."
"Well, give me a call if you're free!"
"Everyone!" Mira called out from the inn. "Me and Lucy just checked in, there's still some time before dinner is served so, you can have some fun in the town, just remember to drop off your luggage first!
"About the rooms, I have the keys with me, you can pick whatever room you want, just give me a call. Also, girls and boys can be in the same room if both parties agree to it. Remember, don't do something too stimulating or Erza will be after you! Any questions?" A wave of silence. "Then, dismissed." Natsu pulled Juvia along at wick speeds.
"Let's get a room quick and explore the town!"
"Na—Natsu! Too fast!" Juvia's feet barely had any contact time, it was almost to the point of flying just from Natsu's running.
"Sorry but, I want to have fun quick!" Natsu zipped up the stairs and kept searching the rooms. He eventually found one of the biggest rooms, tossed both of our bags inside and rushed back down to find Mira. Natsu told Juvia to wait for him outside while he goes to lock the doors. Juvia did as told, expecting the wait to be quick. What Juvia didn't expect was Natsu jumping off from the balcony to meet Juvia. Embarrassing, seeing how Natsu is Juvia's boyfriend for a while.
"Are you done?" Natsu responded with a dazzling smile.
"Yup!"
"Then, hurry up!" Juvia waited until Natsu was beside her before clinging to his arm.
"I told you it's hard to move like this!"
"But you don't mind it right?" Juvia was feeling a bit cheeky. Natsu turned away and scratched his head.
"No…I don't."
"Don't complain then."
"Fine."
"Where do you want to go?"
"To find some food."
"Juvia shouldn't have asked."
"I lost my lunch in the hell ride!"
"Lead the way." Natsu's nose became active, sniffing the air for a few seconds. "Got it."
"Juvia wants to start sightseeing soon, please hurry up."
"I got it."
"If not, Juvia is limiting how much food you can buy."
"That's cruel!"
"Juvia bets you left your money at the room, so Juvia is in control."
"That's not true." Natsu patted his pockets, becoming more desperate as time went on. He hung his head in shame while Juvia tossed her head up, basking in the glory of victory.
"Just hurry up and nothing bad will happen."
"You promise?" He looked at Juvia with sad eyes. That's cheating! Juvia can't go against that! Then again, when has Juvia ever resisted Natsu?
"Yes."
"Follow me!" Natsu's vigor returned, grin adorned over his face.
Juvia enjoyed the local food, she didn't touch the roasted rats or the Velfer eggs, the adults don't look appetizing, so she refrained from trying the eggs, Natsu eat them. Judging from his reactions, Juvia is glad that she didn't eat any. Now that Natsu's stomach is happy, it's time to make us happy. We checked out the town, the friendly people, mountainous scenery, the quirky animals: a lizard with an arm for a tail, a butterfly the size of Juvia's palm, a large elephant with a horn in the middle.
We took time to hike up a mountain, Juvia pressed her body as close to Natsu as possible while doing so. The feeling of Natsu's warmth never got old, from the time Juvi first experienced it to now.
"Natsu?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for being in Juvia's life."
"What's with you all of the sudden?"
"It's nothing, Juvia was thinking about what Natsu has done for Juvia."
"That's not all right?" Natsu's face held a face of wisdom that he shows rarely, it held understanding and a bit of mystery.
"The truth is, when Juvia was a child and saw her magic as a curse, she could only stay inside because whenever she went outside, it would rain harder. So Juvia spent a lot time story books, most of them were stories about a princess being in trouble, locked in a tower, offered to a dragon, cursed with loneliness. The last one related with Juvia a lot. That's why Juvia has, for all this time tried to find someone to free her from this curse.
"When a prince arrived to save that princess, Juvia wanted the same. Juvia wanted to find someone to take away her curse. But, her first try with Bora didn't end well, he couldn't handle the constant rain. So when Gray made Juvia see the sun for the first time, Juvia thought that he was the one. And now, there isn't a shred of doubt in Juvia's mind that, you are the one Natsu. Thank You for being in Juvia's life."
"It's not just me, everyone else helped out too, as much as hate to admit it."
"But you're the most special one out of them all." Juvia wrapped her arms around Natsu and pecked him on the cheeks
"You've really been doing that a lot more lately."
"And you never returned them." Juvia put disappointment in her voice, hoping it would move him, pouting a bit.
"I don't need to do that to say I love you." Natsu pulled Juvia in close. "I think we should get back now."
"Yes…"
The dinner was great, the food was delicious. Surprisingly, no one started a fight, laughs and smiles were all around the hall. More importantly, Juvia got to feed Natsu! He wasn't very happy about it because it was much slower than just eating normally. However, Juvia was in paradise! Being so close to him and tending to his needs. Although lots of people was staring at us, Juvia couldn't care less right now, Juvia is so happy! After the lovely dinner, it was time for the main event, soaking in a hot spring. Though Juvia isn't elated about showing so much skin to people, the fact that it's been so long since Juvia took a soak override Juvia's concerns.
Thankfully, there wasn't a mixed bath, or Ichiya and his companions would be suffering something worse than hell, especially with Erza being so high-strung from Ichiya's advancement during dinner, Juvia feeld like instead of relaxing, Erza is undergoing extreme stress, maybe we should help her out. Reading the other girl's faces, they have the same intention.
Erza seem to be looking forward for the hot spring to loosen up. She opened the door to the hot spring.
"Heya Er-chan! Feeling spiffy?"
"Millianna! What are you doing here?"
Thanks for reading! I need change one tiny detail in the previous chapter but, you don't have to worry about it, I just made the story a bit more consistent.
Don't have anything to say today, just hoped that you enjoyed, and if you don't mind please let me know what you think of it!
