Day One on the school trip, Lucy was dragged off to the beach by Natsu. They were having a great time with Gajeel and Levy until she runs into Loke with another girl by chance and Natsu flares up upon seeing this.

~ A Sweet Warmth ~

Lucy was crouched beside Loke on the ground but her eyes were not on him anymore. No, they were fixed on Natsu.

The pink-head was livid and his outburst of shouting didn't make him any less angry. He stared at either of them, expecting them to say something. He could not read the expression on Lucy's face. Was it the bad kind of shock or the good kind of shock? Eventually, he'd had enough and he pulled her to her feet.

"Let's go." He walked off in big strides, wanting to bring her as far away from the jerk, as quickly as possible.

The blonde scrambled to keep up with his pace and that snapped her out of it.

"Natsu, wait," she said.

But he didn't pause.

"Natsu, slow down!" She raised her voice.

But he kept on walking, his eyes only looking ahead.

"Would you stop for one second?!" Lucy shouted and yanked her hand from his grasp. That made him turn around.

"What? Are you going back to that guy? After the way he treated you?"

"No, just…" She flinched at the hostility in Natsu's tone. Was he angry? But what was he angry about? The girl wasn't sure. Perhaps she could start by explaining her relationship with Loke to him, she thought. "Look, what's going on between me and him is no–"

"Sorry."

"What did you say?"

"I said I'm sorry." When he spoke again, all the edge in his voice had left. "I knew about it. I knew all about the kind of bastard that he is and I should have told you."

"Wait, what?"

"I should've told you he was seeing other girls, but now you've found out like this. I'm sorry…"

"Natsu… Loke is–"

"It's okay!" Natsu cut her off. "You don't have to force yourself to talk about it."

"No, but Loke and I ar–"

"Stop–!" He held a hand up to her. "I don't wanna hear you say his name again. From now on, every time you mention him, I will punish you."

"What–!?"

"Forget about him, Lucy. Don't let him ruin the trip. Let's just have some fun, okay?" He ended with a smile.

"…" Lucy was not fooled by his cheery demeanour; by now, she knew better than to take his words lightly. She wasn't too keen on finding out what the 'punishment' was, so she was conflicted over how to explain everything without bringing up Loke's name and for once she was stumped.

"Don't look so glum!" Natsu said when he saw her troubled face. "Is there anything you wanna do?"

"Huh?"

"We're still at Akane Resort, you know, might as well enjoy ourselves."

"Eh…?"

"Well? Anywhere you wanna go?"

Lucy sighed. She was just gonna have to tell him about it some other time.

"Mm…" She thought about it. "There is a giant amusement park…" She gave him a slight smile.

"C'mon then!" Natsu held a hand out to her. "We've got an amusement park to explore!"

Lucy looked at his outstretched palm and blinked in surprise. This was something he didn't usually do; he was always grabbing her and dashing off, and so she was momentarily stunned. Nevertheless, she took his hand and then, without warning, Natsu took off.

On their way there, a thought lingered in his head. Are amusement park rides considered transport?

Ah well, I'll just have to find out when we get there. He shoved that concern aside.

"…Geez," Lucy looked down at Natsu who was now lying on a park bench; his grown person occupied the length entirely. "You should have told me you weren't good with roller coasters." With one arm slung over his eyes, he was looking queasy and unwell, and Lucy wondered why he even suggested going on the ride in the first place.

"…ugh…" Natsu groaned in response. He was still reeling from the experience. It had been his first time on a roller coaster and, quite frankly, after this, he was pretty sure it would be his last. On the bright side, it didn't seem like his psyche thought of roller coasters as a form of transport so he didn't have to worry about any giveaway symptoms or the looming morbidity of his mortality. That being said, his threshold for roller coasters was disappointingly lousy…

"…ey…Hey!"

"…huh?" The pink-haired teen was finding it a little hard to pay attention.

"Are you alright?"

Natsu let his arm drop to his side and her concerned face came into view. Taking his time, he sat up, and then rotated his neck stiffly before craning his head up to look at her, all the while not saying a thing.

"Do you feel any better? Is there anything you need?"

His face was blank for a moment as he registered her words, then he thought of something and he patted the empty seat next to him. "Sit down," he said, pulling Lucy at her wrist.

Once she was seated, Natsu reclined again, shamelessly claiming her lap as his pillow. The girl opened her mouth to protest but before she managed to say anything, Natsu intercepted, "Just lemme stay like this for a while, at least until the world stops spinning."

His eyes were closed and he sounded so drained of energy that Lucy couldn't bring herself to deny him this one little favour. It didn't hurt to make a sick person feel better anyway.

"Just for a minute, okay?" She gave in.

"Mm."

She didn't know how long they stayed that way, but she knew that they must've been quite the sight because she saw the many glances that passers-by gave them. As the seconds ticked by, instead of paying much heed to the people in her surroundings, the girl amused herself with studying Natsu's features. Her eyes went over the brows above his shut eyes, then his eyelashes. They traced down the bridge of his nose to the lines of his lips, and she silently admitted to herself once again that she found him attractive.

Next, her gaze fell upon his hair – his unique hair. It was this shade of pink that she'd come to remember him by and, right now, the natural daylight filtering through the messy strands made them look so touchable.

Giving into temptation, Lucy reached out.

It's soft…! Her auburn eyes widened in surprise. Then, absentmindedly, she ran her fingers through his hair, gently teasing out his locks. The feel of it between her fingers was unexpectedly natural like a forgotten habit, and, she didn't notice it but, she wasn't the only one feeling contented; the crease between Natsu's eyebrows had also smoothened out.

To think it usually sticks out all over the place but is actually so sof– no, wait a minute. Almost as soon as she'd begun, Lucy realized what she was doing and caught herself.

"Don't stop," came Natsu's voice which startled her. "It feels really good when you do that."

The girl was already mildly blushing from his words, but then Natsu opened his eyes and something about their dark gleam in that instant made her blush harder; he was staring at her. Yet, even though her mind told her to, she couldn't tear her eyes away.

"Lucy, you…" He started off seriously.

Hm?

"Have you always been this pretty?"

"Wha…?" He's teasing me again right? Lucy didn't think his comment particularly meant anything but was nonetheless flustered by the implied compliment.

"Oh, and, one more thing."

"What?" She asked sharply, in a manner reminiscent of a tsundere.

"Did you know that your lap's really comfy?"

What the– "Get up!" She smacked the back of his head and stood to her feet before he could even fully sit up.

She walked off coldly and Natsu followed. When she glanced back, the boy was unabashedly ruffling the back of his head and smiling. Well, at least he's back to his usual self again.

Fortunately, there were plenty of other carnival games and slow rides that didn't make Natsu sick at Akane Resort's amusement park. As such, the two of them managed to move on and the rest of the day didn't go to waste. Coming into the games area now, both of them were instantly swept into the bustling atmosphere. Light bulbs shining pink, yellow and bluish-green framed the tentages of stalls everywhere and an accordion in the distance was playing a jaunty tune. Amidst the crowd walla and the peals of spritely young kids' laughter, the occasional faint screams from roller coasters far away could also be heard.

"Lucy, Lucy! That!" Natsu excitedly pointed at a dunking machine. "Let's go play that!"

"No," the blonde flatly rejected.

"Why? Wouldn't dunking people be one of the best ways to vent on a day like this?"

"Not unless it's you I'm dunking," she replied sarcastically.

"Really?" But he took her word for it. "Alright then, I'll take you on."

"No, Natsu– Wait, I didn't mean–"

Too late. The pink-headed idiot had already marched up to the person-in-charge. Lucy saw him handing the guy a thin stack of cash – seemingly a bribe for special treatment – and then the two of them talked shortly. Natsu looked pointedly in her direction, as though they were discussing something regarding her, before he eventually switched places with the staff in the dunk tank.

Lucy watched on in mild disbelief. What the heck is he doing? One of the stall helpers then went up to her and handed her a medium-sized ball. Armed with a new 'weapon', she looked bafflingly at Natsu who was seated in that contraption, grinning like an idiot, and sighed.

He gave her a thumbs-up and shouted, "I told them to let you have as many tries as it takes so FIRE AWAY–!"

A small smile turned up the corner of Lucy's lips and her heart faintly squeezed but she ignored it.

"Once is more than enough!" The girl swung her arm mercilessly and hurled the ball at the target. It hit the metal board somewhere near the centre with great impact and triggered the dunk tank, causing Natsu to fall with a huge splash. Lucy rushed up to the side of the tank after and watched as he climbed out the small ladder. His pink hair was dripping wet and his clothes stuck to his sculpted body like a second skin.

"You're one reckless idiot you know?" She chided, but Natsu just beamed. Then she saw his soaked scarf. "Oh no, your scarf's ruined…"

Natsu looked down at himself. "This?" He pulled roughly on the white fabric around his neck. "It's been through a lot with me so it's more durable than you think! Don't worry about it!"

Although Lucy wasn't aware of the full story behind his uniquely scaled scarf, she knew that it was something extremely precious to him because he never went anywhere without it. So to see him smile so widely despite its current state was deeply heartening to her in more ways than one.

"Come," she said, ushering him away from the dunking machine. "Let's get you some new clothes."

Twenty minutes later, the two of them emerged from the souvenir shop in matching AKANE tank tops.

"…Why did I have to change my shirt too?" Lucy didn't get it.

"It feels more like a vacation this way, that's why!" Natsu replied without a care in the world. He was donning new black AKANE beach shorts and had managed to somewhat dry out his scarf too.

Returning to the game stalls, they went on to have a blast and without knowing it, the day was coming to an end. With two demon horns sticking of his head and two furry feline ears poking out of her hair – just some of the prizes they'd won – they strolled along the setup of booths, trying to decide on their next and last game. Nothing else really caught Lucy's fancy until they passed by the Ring Toss and she spotted a peculiar plush toy sitting on the prize shelf behind the stall's handler and the array of coloured beer bottles. The way her eyes lit up when she saw the stuffed toy did not go unnoticed by Natsu.

"Let's go for that one." He steered her toward that stall, and for once, the girl went along without complaint.

"Ossan!" Natsu called out to the middle-aged man behind the counter. "How much for some throws?"

"I'll give ya 3 for 5 bucks."

"Ok," Natsu readily agreed and handed over the money.

He received three plastic rings from the stall keeper and wore two around his left forearm like bangles. Then with the third one in his right hand, Natsu prepared for a shot.

"You want that weird-looking white one with the carrot-stick nose right?" He asked Lucy without turning his head.

"Eh?" How did he know? "Ah, yeah…" …it's not THAT weird-looking… …

Natsu then looked at the sign. "I get two of these around those brown bottles and it's hers, right, ossan?"

"Hah! You can try," the stall keeper answered.

"Alright, here goes!"

Natsu loosened up his shoulder and then flung the plastic loop but came up a little short. It went around one of the green bottles in the row before the brown ones instead.

"Darn." He retrieved a second loop from his left arm and took another shot.

This time, it went around a brown bottle and Lucy found herself quietly rooting for him. However, when Natsu tossed the third loop, it landed on a green bottle again and she was ever-so-slightly disappointed.

"Three more loops please."

"You really want to make your girl happy huh?" The guy manning the game stall said.

"Oh, we're not together," Lucy clarified.

"He's not your boyfriend?" The stall keeper asked, looking a little surprised, and Lucy shook her head. "Well, then you should consider him!"

"That's what I keep telling her," Natsu said.

"Tell you what," the man went on. "I'll give the young man one more try for free. You can have the plushie if he gets the ring anywhere beyond the green bottles, but if he gets it around that black one right at the end over there–" He pointed. "–will you think about giving him a chance?"

"Well… Okay," Lucy easily agreed.

"For real?!" Natsu's entire face brightened up.

"Sure," she shrugged. Part of her didn't think he would succeed. After all, there was only one black bottle in the entire layout and it was the one furthest away from where they were standing.

But Natsu aimed for it anyway. Concentration furrowed his brows as he practised the flinging motion a few times and then, on the third swing, he let the ring go. He held his breath watching the plastic loop cut through the air like a Frisbee. He'd never been more nervous about any other outcome in his life, so when it cleanly landed around the black bottle's neck with a soft 'clang!' he instantly whooped and rejoiced.

Lucy could barely believe her eyes. I mean, what luck–!?

The stall keeper himself smiled, and, as promised, he went to get the white stuffed toy down from the shelf.

"You are one lucky lady, miss," he said as he handed it over to Lucy.

"Thank you…" Still in a state of shocked daze, she accepted it. Then, hugging the precious toy dearly to her chest, she turned to Natsu. So… I guess I'm supposed to say something to him now?

She was seriously contemplating her words when all of a sudden– Guuuuuuuu! His stomach growled obnoxiously, snapping the tension and causing them to both burst into laughter.

"We should get your stomach some food," she said.

"Heh, yeah," Natsu replied. "Seeya, ossan! Thanks for your help!"

The friendly stall keeper waved goodbye as they left his stall for the food stands. Somehow, neither of them had to say anything more and deep down it was understood. Maybe it was the amount of time they'd been spending together lately or perhaps it's to do with being in this unbelievable place with him, but how Lucy felt about Natsu was beginning to change a little – just a little though.

After scarfing down three chilli-murdered hotdogs and two ketchup-spammed corndogs, Natsu's stomach was finally appeased. Lucy, on the other hand, spotted an ice cream truck in the distance and she unthinkingly went towards it. Natsu stood in line with her amongst other young children and parents that formed the queue. While waiting, the blonde admired her new stuffed toy.

"Ok," she said. "I've decided."

"What, already?!"

"Yeah, I'm gonna name this little guy 'Plue'!" She squished Plue affectionately.

"Oh," Natsu went. I thought she was talking about– never mind. "'Plue' huh? What a weird name."

"Hey!"

"Why'd you want such a weird-looking thing anyway?"

The girl was appalled. "Stop insulting him! He's not weird, he's adorable!"

"Adorable?" Natsu voiced his disapproval. "A chibi doll of me is what you would call adorable, that thing's just weird."

"You really…" Lucy was lost for words. "A chibi doll of you huh?"

"Yeah. Or a chibi doll of you. Or, it doesn't even have to be chibi, a doll that looks like you would be adorable too."

"W-What…?" How random.

"Of course, the real you is still much cuter!" He smiled with his eyes and her cheeks turned pink.

At that moment, they'd reached the front of the queue and the guy in the truck was expecting an order.

"Ah, I'll have one vanilla please," Lucy said to him.

"Coming right up!"

"How much is it?" Natsu asked, and he reached for his wallet in his pocket. The guy raised two fingers in a 'V'.

"Oh, let me–"

"Why? You're not the only one who's rich," he interrupted her. "Besides, I'm a man."

"But you've paid for everything today. At least let me pay for this?"

"No. You're not allowed to pay for anything today," he said firmly and then handed a fiver to the ice cream seller.

"But–"

"Ooh!" Natsu got distracted by something he saw behind her. "Wait here, I'll be right back!"

"Ehhhhhh–?" She didn't even have time to protest; he whirred past her like a whirlwind.

"Here you are." The ice cream man handed her her cone and she didn't get the chance to see where (or what) Natsu was running off to either.

She quickly took the ice cream and, forgetting all about the change, she walked out into the middle of the clearing. Her eyes anxiously scanned the plaza area for Natsu. When she didn't find him, she turned, and there he was – rushing back to her with a bunch of vibrant balloons trailing behind him.

"Oh my God…!" She gasped.

Natsu closed the distance between them within seconds.

"Lucy!" He exclaimed. "I got you balloons!"

That sunny smile he had on his face made Lucy break into a smile that reached her eyes.

"Ah, you're finally smiling," he stated.

"Huh? That's not true, I've smiled a few times today!"

"No," he shook his head. "I meant a real smile, a smile that truly comes from your heart."

"Oh."

"I'm glad I ran after that clown when I saw him."

"You bought all the balloons off him?"

"No," Natsu said. "He kindly gave them to me when I told him what I wanted them for."

"Eh? Isn't it a bit much…?" She looked at the whole bunch. "I mean, what about the other kids?"

"Oh, it's okay. The clown dude said he had more– Ah! Your ice cream's melting!" Natsu abruptly bent over to eat the top off her soft serve.

"Ahhh, don't steal my ice cream!" She scolded, and then proceeded to lick it herself.

When she looked at Natsu again, she noticed how his windswept hair didn't stand out amongst the multi-coloured balloons backing him, but more than that, he was staring at her with this unreadable expression on his face and she just went, "What?"

"You're doing this to torture me, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

"You have ice cream on your lips."

"Eh?" Lucy wanted to wipe it off but her other hand was occupied with Plue and she didn't have a tissue.

"Give me that." Natsu took the half-eaten cone from her. "Hold this," he said and passed her the balloons' strings. Then he ran off.

When he returned, he had a serviette in his hand instead of the ice cream cone.

"Ahh… I could've gone to get it myself…" She said apologetically.

"This is bad," he said out of nowhere.

"What is?"

"I was gonna spare you today, but now I've changed my mind."

"Wha…"

Cupping her face gently, Natsu leaned in. He delectably licked the ice cream off the edge of her lips first before closing his lips around hers. The contact was light at first, but it was enough to make her lips part in exhilaration, and slowly, she lost herself in the sweet kiss.

His other hand was at the small of her back, keeping her body arched against his, but that wasn't enough for her. Lucy snaked an arm – the one that was not cuddling Plue – around his neck, and then released the balloons so that she could caress the nape of his neck. The helium happily carried them up high into the air, and the colourful balloons splayed across the sunset-streaked sky as they floated away.

When they parted, Lucy snuggled into his chest, burying the lower half of her face in his broad shoulder. Natsu seemed to be thinking of the same thing as his chin rested on her shoulder and his arms were now amorously wrapped around her waist. Neither of them felt like letting go.

The girl could feel his heartbeat – it was as wild as hers.

After a while, she wanted to say something so she tiptoed a little.

"Thank you," she whispered beside his ear, "For sticking around all day and for making my happiness so important to you."

Natsu didn't say anything in return; he simply responded by tightening his hold around her and Lucy found herself enveloped in a tender embrace of warmth.

It was this warmth that finally convinced Lucy to open up her heart.

Wooohoooo! Writing this chapter made me so happy ^^V

In case you were wondering, Lucy totally forgot about Loke (and about telling Natsu about Loke) because of Natsu. But that's gonna come out in the next chapter anyway, so yeah.

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading! ^^

P.S. – I bought myself a tablet, so I can finally start drawing NaLu scenes from my fanfics whenever I have time! *excited* I think I especially want to do the ending scene of this chapter. All the balloons! :D

P.P.S. – After watching ep198 (it's officially my favourite ep now, previously it was the rainbow sakura one), I realized this chapter actually has many similarities to the episode! And it's really surprising because I wrote the chapter first. But then, after seeing *spoiler* the NaLu back hug, I felt like writing one too, so here it is in the context of this chapter. (Note: This is not an 'alternate ending' to this chapter or whatever. It's just an extra for those who are having NaLu withdrawal symptoms from this week's episode like me.)

After wolfing down three hotdogs and two corndogs, Natsu was finally not hungry again. Lucy, on the other hand, spotted an ice cream truck in the distance and, probably not aware of it herself, walked away from him. Naturally, Natsu followed and then waited in queue with her.

"Ah, I'll have one vanilla please," Lucy said when they got to the front of the line.

"Coming right up!"

"How much is it?" Natsu reached for his wallet. The ice cream man signalled a two.

"Oh, let me–"

"Why?" He didn't want to. "You're not the only one who's rich. Besides, I'm a man."

"But you've paid for everything today. At least let me pay for this?"

"No," Natsu rejected. In his mind, he already considered this to be a date, so no, he wasn't going to let her spend a single cent. "You're not allowed to pay for anything today," he firmly told her and then handed a note to the ice cream seller.

"But–"

"No means no," he said and Lucy pouted.

"Here you are," the ice cream man set her cone down on the counter.

Ooh! Balloons! Natsu suddenly saw a clown walking away from the plaza and took off running after him while Lucy's back was turned.

"…and here's your change," the ice cream man gave the notes to Lucy.

"Oh, give it to hi–" Eh? Where'd he go?

She turned around only to realize that Natsu had disappeared.

"Natsu?" She looked left and right but did not see the pink-headed teen.

Forgetting about the ice cream and the money, Lucy walked away from the truck in search for him.

"NATSU?" She called louder as she went into the plaza.

I don't see him. Her eyes scanned the crowd for him but he wasn't among the people around. Why? Why can't I find him?

She spun on her heel, clutching Plue close to herself.

Ah– There!

She saw something pink in the distance and chased after it. Only, when she got nearer, she realized that it was a balloon and was disappointed. With her head down and dejectedly, Lucy carried on going forward. He's gone…

As she walked aimlessly, she felt an inexplicable hollowness within, and without realizing it, tears had trickled down her face.

"Tears…?" She touched her face and felt the wetness.

When she looked ahead once more, she had come to a different part of the amusement park and, for a moment she thought she was imagining things, but there he was…!

"Ah… But I really want to make her happy. You sure you can't sell them all to me?" He was talking to a clown.

"I'm afraid not, I don't have any more."

"I see… That's too bad then…"

The clown walked away and then Lucy couldn't see anyone else. All she saw was Natsu's back and she unthinkingly ran up to him.

"Oh–?" Natsu felt an impact from behind and turned to look. He saw a head of blond hair, smelled a scent that could only be Lucy's, and then relaxed. It's Lucy.

Her hands were around his waist and she buried her face into the back of his scarfed neck.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" Natsu asked.

"Nothing, just a feeling… …Thank you."

To be honest, I think 'nantonaku' in Jap is a little tough to translate (its nuance) into English, into this context. It actually means 'just feel like it somehow' but I didn't want it to be so long so I used 'just a feeling' like I saw in subtitles :D

Hope you've enjoyed reading this too! ^^