On the very first day of the field trip, things were pretty eventful for Lucy Heartfilia. She found out that Loke had a new girl, spent the rest of the day with Natsu at the amusement park, and then spent the rest of the night in the company of him and his friends. It's been all fun and games lately but now, the truth's about to come out.

~ The Knight's Gallant Exit ~

Well into the next morning, Natsu Dragneel was still half-asleep as he lazily nuzzled into his huggable bolster. It was soft and squishy and comfy, and for some reason, it smelled a lot like Lucy – not that it bothered him. In fact, he liked her scent, and so he tightened his hold around his bolster and snuggled. That was when he realized that his hand was touching something extremely familiar. Drearily the pink-head peeled his eyes open and, to his bewilderment, that familiar something was Lucy's boob.

"Uwa– Sorry!" He immediately retracted his hand and also removed his leg that was hooked around hers. "I didn't mean to–" Natsu stopped halfway when he realized that the blonde hadn't stirred from her slumber. Sitting up, he heaved a sigh of relief knowing that he had gotten away this time.

Ding dong~! Out of the blue, the doorbell rang and Natsu with a guilty conscience jumped.

"Lucy! Natsu-san! Are you two awake?" Juvia's identifiable voice came through the door.

Natsu looked at Lucy who lay unmoving. Not wanting to wake her, he crawled over her body carefully.

"Oiii, you guys up yet?" A male voice belonging to Gray called.

His call rushed Natsu, who was still bleary-eyed with sleep, so the pink-head missed his footing and tumbled roughly onto the carpeted floor.

Ouch. He soothed his butt as he got up. Realizing that Lucy still hadn't woken up after all the ruckus, Natsu felt something was off. He took a careful look at her face. Beads of sweat glistened on her forehead, and not only that, her chest heaved strenuously and her breathing was ragged.

It can't be… Natsu placed a hand on her forehead to confirm his suspicion. Hot! The scalding temperature of her skin told him he was right – Lucy was running a fever.

Bam, bam, bam! Somebody – probably Gray – banged on the door. "OI, NATSU!"

Not knowing what to do, Natsu went for the door.

"Maybe they're not decent yet?" He heard Juvia say.

"What the hell just went through that head of yours? No, on second thought, don't tell me. I don't think I wanna know."

Just then, the door swung open from the inside.

"Ah! Good morning, Natsu-san!" Juvia greeted politely.

"Woah, you look like death," Gray commented.

"Guys!" Natsu ignored Gray's 'compliment'. "Lucy's burning up! What do I do?!"

"What?!" The alarmed Juvia burst into the room and was immediately by the bedside. "Lucy? Lucy, can you hear me?" She nudged the blonde and the girl's dark umber eyes opened but they were glossed over and unfocused.

"She looks so weak," Gray said.

"Quick! We have to get her to the hospital!" Natsu cried.

"Don't be an idiot." Gray swatted the back of Natsu's head. "It's probably just a normal fever."

Reflexively, Natsu grabbed Gray by the collar of his open, unbuttoned shirt and yelled in his face, "Then what?! Look at how she's suffering! We need to do something!"

"Calm down, Natsu-san," Juvia said. "For now, one of us should go and get Reedus-san."

Gray yanked his shirt back from Natsu's grip. "I'll go," he offered.

"Ok…" Natsu said apologetically. He knew they hadn't done anything to deserve being yelled at. He just got a little too agitated and didn't know what came over him.

"Don't worry about it." Gray placed a reassuring hand on Natsu's shoulder in passing as he headed out the door.

Once Gray left, Juvia took in the glum look of worry etched on Natsu's face and she felt the need to do something. In the next minute, she remembered that the hotel room should have a First Aid kit somewhere, so she got up and searched for it. Easily, she found the box and then she rummaged through it until she found a thermometer.

"Let's check Lucy's temperature," she suggested.

The blunette pressed the button on the thermometer before sliding it into the patient's mouth. It was quiet for a while as they waited.

"She was completely fine yesterday," said Natsu abruptly. "How did she suddenly fall sick…"

"Lucy's immunity can be pretty weak sometimes," Juvia replied.

"Could it be something she ate?" Natsu wondered out loud. "Ah! Could it be because we went to the beach in this cold weather? She wasn't wearing much too…"

"That sounds possible," Juvia said without looking at Natsu. She stared at the digits on the thermometer as they increased decimal by decimal. Soon it beeped and Juvia took it out of Lucy's mouth. She frowned at the numbers.

"39.5* degrees," she read. Then she turned to Natsu, "It's higher than expected huh? But at least it's not 40 degrees, right?" She tried to make him feel better but it didn't help much.

"Damn," Natsu cursed under his breath.

"Juvia should have noticed it earlier…"

"There's no way you could've known she was going to get a fever."

"That's not true," she replied. "Thinking back now, Lucy most likely began feeling unwell last night."

"Huh?"

"The way Lucy acted last night was strange to Juvia," the blunette continued. "Because usually when Lucy's drunk, she becomes noisier."

Recalling what happened, Natsu realized something as well. "Dammit, I was the one who should've noticed. She was warm when I touched her but I thought it was just me or just the beer. This silly girl probably didn't even notice it herself." He cast an affectionate glance in Lucy's direction.

Juvia shook her head. "Everyone was drinking last night so it would have been difficult to notice."

"Dammit…"

At this point, the door flew open and Reedus came in with Gray following behind.

"I heard Lucy's come down with a fever," the teacher said.

"Yes," Juvia replied. "Juvia just took Lucy's temperature. It's 39.5 degrees."

"That's not good," Reedus said, slightly taken aback. His usual light-hearted demeanour had left him now as he pondered over the situation.

"What should we do?" Gray said. "Maybe we should send her to the hospital after all…"

"That's what I said in the beginning!" Natsu yelled.

"Now, now," Reedus intervened before the quarrel could escalate. "We have off-site tours scheduled today. As the only teacher on this trip, I'm obliged to accompany the students when they go out. However… I don't feel at ease leaving Lucy here alone with a high fever."

"I'm not going," Natsu said, and he plopped himself down onto the bed next to Lucy.

The blonde who had been lying semi-consciously the whole time suddenly reached out and grabbed Natsu's wrist.

"Huh?" The pink-head turned to her.

Lucy shook her head, seemingly in disapproval, and she looked like she had something to say so Natsu leaned in.

"Just go," her breathless whisper reached his ear.

"No way!" Natsu protested like a kid. "I didn't even want to go in the first place."

"Ah, that's right," Reedus remembered. "Master Makarov told me about your condition."

"What…?" Juvia muttered; she had no idea what they were talking about.

The adult in the room glanced at the clock and said, "We have to go now. The hired bus has to leave by 10:35. Take care of her, alright, Natsu?"

"Leave it to me!"

"Oi, oi… You sure about this?" Gray asked. "Maybe I should stay behind and help…"

"No need! You really think I'm some idiot?"

"Yes."

"Don't answer that! Idiot!"

"Juvia is wondering if Juvia should stay too…" She fidgeted uneasily.

"All of you…" Lucy's soft voice got their attention. "…should just go. Go and have fun." She ended with a weak smile.

"That's right! All of you should just go!" Natsu went.

I meant you too, Natsu, the blonde wanted to say but couldn't find anymore strength. Her head felt woozier by the second and she was so tired that she began floating in and out of consciousness.

"Alright," Gray said eventually.

"Juvia saw a pharmacy near the beach yesterday," said the blunette. "Natsu-san could probably get some fever medicine over there."

"I got it," Natsu said.

"Then… Rest well, Lucy." Juvia reluctantly turned away after one more look at her best friend, and then Reedus, Gray and Juvia left.

Shortly after, Natsu went out to the pharmacy and left Lucy sleeping in the room.

"I'm back, Lucy!" Natsu announced as he entered the room with a new grocery bag in hand and a blender in the other. He kicked the door shut and it slammed behind him as he quickly rushed to her bedside. "Are you awake?"

Her eyes opened to reveal her dark brown irises, which moved in response to the sound of Natsu's voice. Seated on the floor beside the bed, Natsu set the blender and the grocery bag down on the floor.

"Why do you have a blender?" Lucy asked.

"I borrowed it from the hotel restaurant."

Next, he held up the grocery bag by its bottom ends and emptied all of its contents. Lots of things poured out from the bag, a box of fever cooling patches… a root of ginger… a tub of ice cream…

"I found a grocery store along the way and bought some stuff too," he told her as he reached for the cooling patches.

"Eh…?" She looked at some of the stuff he'd gotten and wondered whether some of them were really necessary. Why is there a jar of garlic spread? And cayenne pepper?

Natsu tore open the box and took out one of the cooling patches. He peeled off the transparent plastic sheet and turned to Lucy. "Don't move," he said. Then he pasted the patch onto her forehead. "There!"

"Sorry for all the trouble. You didn't have to…"

"Save your breath, Lucy."

The girl was mum as she pulled the blanket closer around herself.

"Cold?" He noticed.

She nodded docilely.

"I'll turn the heater up." Natsu did as he said and returned to her side again. "Are you hungry?"

Lucy shook her head.

"That's not good," he said. "The person at the pharmacy said you have to eat something before taking the medicine."

"…Can you cook?" Skepticism lined her tone.

"No," Natsu replied. "But I bought ice cream!" He held the tub up to her and beamed.

Lucy laughed unenergetically and said, "I'd love some ice cream."

Lethargically, the girl sat up. Natsu set the tub down temporarily and moved to help her. Then he got a spoon from the hotel room kitchenette for her before ripping off the cover of the tub.

"Eat up!" He handed the tub and the spoon to Lucy.

She dug in. Seeing as she could manage, Natsu rounded up his assortment of ingredients, grabbed the blender and headed over to the kitchenette. He set the appliance down on the countertop before proceeding to wash and cut the ingredients.

"I thought you said you couldn't cook?" Hearing the sound of a knife against a chopping board, Lucy asked.

"I'm not cooking," Natsu replied.

"Then what are you doing?"

"I'm making a drink that'll cure you," he said.

"I-Is that so…" Lucy spooned another helping of ice cream into her mouth and sucked on the spoon. Why do I feel uneasy about this?

When he was done preparing the ingredients, Natsu threw them into the blender, shut the lid and pushed the button. The blender whirred to life, and for a moment, the entire room filled with the drowning noise of its motor as it did its job. A few seconds later, Natsu turned it off. The result was a frothy, earthly brown concoction which Natsu transferred into a mug he'd found in one of the cabinets. The pink-head then returned to the bedside with the mug in hand and, this time, he sat on the bed. He peered into the ice cream tub.

"You really don't feel like eating huh?"

"Mmhmm…" Lucy nodded, with the spoon still in her mouth. With a fever that high, she just didn't have much of an appetite, even if it was ice cream; somehow, it didn't taste as good as it did yesterday.

"Then, take your medicine and drink this." Natsu exchanged the mug for the ice cream tub and spoon, and then got the pack of tablets.

"What is this?" Lucy examined the suspicious drink.

"Say 'ah'." Natsu ignored her question.

Unthinkingly, the girl did as she was told and went, "Ahhh."

"You're more obedient when you're sick," Natsu noted as he popped two pills into her mouth. "Drink up!"

The girl tipped her mug and recoiled the instant her tongue tasted it. "Yech–! What on Earth did you put in here?"

"Hmm, some herbs, some ginger…" Natsu counted on one hand. "…Some lemon, and some apple cider vinegar!"

"Are you trying to kill me?" Lucy accused, trying to sound as convicting as she could in her fatigued state.

"It's good for your health, Lucy!"

"How so?!"

"I mixed all the remedies together into one powerful drink! Now you're gonna get better in no time!"

The girl sighed. "It doesn't work like that, Natsu…"

"Is it really that bad?" He put his nose near the mug and sniffed. "It smells alright."

"My taste buds may be spoiled now but this is still the most terrible thing I've ever tasted in my life," she said brutally.

"Geez, the one who's sick should not be complaining," Natsu rebutted. "Finish it, you hear me?"

"…" The blonde begrudgingly took a huge, brave gulp and downed half of it in one go. "I might die from this," she told him.

"Yea, yea," Natsu placated her. "If that happens then I'll make another cup for myself and die with you."

"Heehee!" Lucy giggled. "Then when Juvia and Gray get back, they'll find 2 dead bodies."

"Wow, the fever's really burning your brains huh?"

"Hey!" She sulked.

"Hurry up and finish it," Natsu said. "And then get looooots of sleep."

"Ok…" The patient looked at the remaining contents of the mug like it was a challenge, then she tilted it back and poured the stuff down her throat. "Blechh," she went as she handed the empty cup to Natsu.

"Yosh, good girl." He set the cup down on the end table and then helped Lucy into a lying position again.

"I'm not that weak you know?" She said.

"You're not fooling me," Natsu replied. "Stop forcing yourself and go to sleep."

"You're so naggy." The girl yawned after that and then shut her eyes.

"Yea, whatever."

"… …Natsu, you idiot…" That was the last thing she murmured before drifting off to dreamland.

While she was out, Natsu watched over her like a guardian angel; he stayed beside her the whole time, faithfully watchful. At times he would adjust her blanket, or sweep the stray hair from her face and feel the temperature from her cheeks. They were rosy and warm, and Natsu didn't think that's how they originally were, at least not when she wasn't blushing. An hour or so passed and the pink-head dozed off leaning against the headboard. When he next awoke, it was because of the frequent rustling of sheets and he thought that she had awoken.

"Lucy?" He called, but her eyes were not open.

"…no… …no…" The girl whimpered.

"L-Lucy?! What's wrong?" Natsu panicked.

"…noo.. no, no…" Sweating profusely, lines formed in between her eyebrows and her eyes were screwed tight. The sight of her thrashing about in her sleep made Natsu's heart drop.

"Shhh…" He tried to comfort her by gently stroking her brow. "Shhh, Lucy. It's alright."

"… …no, Mama! … …Mama…" Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes.

"It's just a dream, Lucy…" Natsu said softly.

"…Don't leave… me…" She talked through her nightmare.

"I'm not going anywhere," Natsu replied even though he was pretty sure she was talking to her Mama in her dream.

"…Ma- Mama… …" The girl mewled helplessly.

"Aghhhh," Natsu let out a sound of frustration.

He couldn't stand it anymore. He couldn't stand watching her and not doing anything. So, in the spur of the moment, Natsu slipped under the covers and wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin.

"Yosh, yosh…" He stroked the back of her hair, smoothly and softly, as he hushed her like a baby.

The bad dream went away a while later and Lucy calmed down; she carried on sleeping soundly. Feeling completely relaxed and comfortable in that position, Natsu's eyelids gradually grew heavier and heavier until he could no longer keep them open anymore. So he fell asleep with her.

Intense heat enveloped her person. It wasn't suffocating but it was stuffy enough to make Lucy stir. She opened her eyes and was so surprised to see Natsu so close to her that she nearly kicked him off the bed. What stopped her from throwing a fit was her name coming out of his mouth.

"…Lu…cy…" Natsu murmured.

What? The girl's eyes widened and she wondered if she had heard wrong.

"…Don't cry… …Lucy, don't cry…"

His murmurs softened her heart. She tried to wrap her mind around the fact that Natsu was hugging her in his sleep. Then she felt his hand on her back draw her closer and travel lower. The suddenness of it made her flustered and her leg instinctively moved on its own and kicked him off the bed.

"Ow! LUCY! What the hell?!" The rudely awakened Natsu yelled, rubbing the spot on his abdomen where she had kicked.

"What the hell is right! Just where do you think you're putting your hand?! And why are we sleeping in the same bed?!"

"Where else would I sleep? There's only one bed in this room."

"What's going on? What time is it?" She asked, disoriented.

"You're having a fever," Natsu said, pointing to the fever patch on her forehead.

The girl reflexively reached up and felt it. "Oh, right." She tore the patch off and stared at it oddly. He stuck this on me…

"How're you feeling?"

"Like I need a bath," she replied. "I'm all sweaty and icky."

Natsu smiled. "You look much better."

"Ahh, yea…" She realized it herself. "I do feel much better."

"I told you that drink was good for you!"

"No, I highly doubt that but…" She paused to put her next sentence together. She struggled and then gave up after a while, deciding that simple words were best in the end. "Thank you, Natsu. You didn't have to do anything for me but you did."

"That again? I told you it's no big deal. But, I guess, if you really want to thank me, you can always give yourself to me," he said cheekily.

"W-W-What are you saying?!" She flung her arms across her chest.

"What are you thinking of?!" Realizing the dual meaning to his own words, he yelled.

"N-Nothing!" The girl blushed and turned away.

"Weirdo."

Lucy pouted. It's funny… I swear he's teasing me, but my heart just speeds up so quickly every time he calls me 'weirdo'. Why is that?

Maybe I really am a weirdo. She sighed. Right. Ok. This can't go on, she decided. But first, there's something I have to settle.

One foot after the other, she swung them over the side of the bed and got out. She went over to her bag and dug around for her phone. When she found it, she dialed a number and put it to her ear.

Natsu crawled back onto the bed and lay on his side as he watched her. "Who're you calling?" He asked.

"Loke."

"What! Why are you calling that douchebag?!"

"Don't shout, Natsu, my head still aches," she said. "Also, would it kill you to use his name for once?"

"Yes," Natsu answered defiantly and Lucy rolled her eyes.

The blonde listened to the phone ring, but after a while the call went to voicemail. "Hey, Loke. Call me back when you get this," she left him a message and then put her phone down.

"I don't get why you even bother," Natsu said. "He's probably with that girl right now."

"Hm, maybe." She shrugged.

"Why are you calling him now anyway? You didn't even look at your phone yesterday."

"There's something I want to talk to him about."

"About yesterday?"

"Yes and no."

"What? Which is it, Lucy? Make up your mind."

"It's both, ok!" She snapped.

"Alright, alright, sheesh."

"This is all your fault." She blamed her internal turmoil on him.

"What? What did I do?"

"What did you do?" She echoed. "What did you not do? You barge into my life, invade my privacy. You say all these things and you do all these things that mess with my head like kissing me…" Her voice grew smaller and smaller until it faded away. Looking down at and playing with her fingers, she muttered, "Especially the kissing… It's so unfair, you can't just kiss me like that…" It's cheating…

"How should I kiss you then?" Natsu didn't get it. "With tongue?"

Lucy grabbed one of the cushions lying on the sofa and chucked it at him. But Natsu's reflexes were quick and he managed to catch it before it could smack him in the face.

"I'm saying," the girl stressed. "You can't just–"

Ding dong~! The doorbell chimed.

Lucy shot Natsu a quizzical look. "Who's that?"

"Dunno."

"Have they come back?" She asked absentmindedly as she headed for the door.

To her surprise, the person standing on the other side was Loke.

"Hey, princess!" He greeted her energetically. "I heard you're having a fever so I came to see you."

"Good timing. I just called you actually."

"Ah, I left my phone in the room and came straight here after–"

"What are you doing here?" Natsu came up behind Lucy.

"Y-Yo, Natsu," Loke greeted awkwardly. "Thanks for taking care of Lucy–"

"I didn't do it to hear your thanks."

"No, that's not what I meant…"

"Stop it, Natsu," Lucy said. Then she faced Loke, "I want to talk to you."

"Me too, actually," Loke replied. "Can I come in?"

"I was thinking of going somewhere else–"

"You're not going anywhere," Natsu cut her off. "You haven't completely recovered yet."

"But I want to talk to Loke alone."

"… …"

"Well… If it's just downstairs in the lobby it should be fine, right?" Loke peacefully sought Natsu's permission.

"Alright, fine, I'll leave," Natsu gave in reluctantly.

"Thanks," the orange-haired male said.

The pink-head slipped on his footwear and trudged out of the room.

"So," Loke began, now that they were alone. "How're you feeling?"

The two of them walked over to the sofa and sat down.

"Mm… My mind's still a little airy but other than that I feel fine."

Loke reached across and put a hand on her forehead. "Great, looks like your temperature really went down," he said, retrieving his hand. "I heard from Juvia that it was pretty high this morning."

"Yeah, it was. But…" Lucy hesitated. "Thanks to Natsu, I'm much better now."

"I see." Loke paused for a moment. "Natsu huh…?" He said pensively.

"Yeahhhh, sorry about earlier. Ah, and sorry about yesterday too," she said. "He's only so hostile because he thinks you're the enemy."

"Look at the bruise he made on this handsome face," Loke pointed at the injury. "But, well, I guess it's okay. It gives me points with the ladies; they treat me more tenderly when they see I'm hurt."

"Pfft–!" Lucy gave him the weird look. "Hey now, if you keep flirting around like that, that girl from yesterday's gonna cry."

"I'm joking, obviously," said Loke. "It's kinda embarrassing for me to admit but Aries – the girl from yesterday – she… I'm actually not sure she feels that way about me."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean, we talk and we hang out, but sometimes I think she only sees me as a brother."

This was the first time Lucy had ever seen Loke make a face like that over a girl. And she was happy for him.

"But let's not talk about me. Let's talk about you instead," he changed the subject.

"Me?"

"Yeah. What's going on? What are you going to do? Natsu's a good guy, you know? He has a few screws loose but he's a decent guy."

"More than a few, I think."

"So?" He pressed her for a proper response. "What are you going to do?"

"Ahhhhhh, I don't know. I don't know how I feel, I don't know what I feel. My heart's so unsettled and my mind's a mess."

"I see…" Loke thought for a while, and then said, "That's it. I'm ending our fake relationship."

"Wha–? But–"

"You have to face him, Lucy. I can tell he's serious."

"Noooo…" The girl whined. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. Then she sighed. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about but… I was still debating with myself…"

"Haha. That's so typical of you, Lucy," Loke said. "Stubborn and indecisive; you won't budge unless somebody gives you a nudge."

The blonde in question pouted cutely.

"I will always be here for you, Lucy," Loke went on. "But I'm not your prince; I'm just a knight. And some day, I hope that you'll find your real prince and that you won't need me anymore."

"Just a knight, you say? You know how important you are to me, right? And to call that idiotic pink-head a prince is just…"

"Hah! Yeah, but you know what I mean."

"Mmhmm…" The girl nodded distractedly. Then she glanced up at Loke through her eyelashes. "So, this is it huh?"

"Yea." Loke smiled and that familiar twinkle was back in his eyes. "Aaa-ahhh~ In the end, I didn't manage to make you fall for me," he jested.

Lucy playfully whacked his arm and smiled back.

"Ah! That's right!" Loke remembered something. "There's going to be a meteor shower tonight."

"Eh? A meteor shower?" The girl's brown eyes lit up.

"Yeah. Apparently Akane's beach is a great viewing spot. Why don't you go see it with Natsu if you're feeling up to it?"

"Ahh… I wonder about that. He seems to have no intention of letting me leave this room today. He's been sooooo bossy all day."

Loke chuckled. "That's because he really cares about you."

Lucy blushed.

"Right then! I should leave now," Loke said as he stood to his feet. "I wonder if that guy's pacing outside the door or something…"

Lucy walked Loke to the door and, when she opened it, lo and behold – Natsu was indeed waiting outside, leaning against the wall.

"Done?" He asked when he saw them.

"Yep," Loke stepped out. Walking pass Natsu, he casually put a hand on his shoulder. "She's all yours."

Natsu wasn't willing to let her go to the beach for the meteor shower, especially since it would be much colder at night. But Lucy pleaded and negotiated and finally got him to agree. His conditions were that she put on more layers of clothing, and that she tell him what she and Loke talked about earlier.

So after dinner – after going down to see all her friends and to show them that she was okay – Natsu, Lucy and the rest of the gang went to the beach. There were more people there than there were the day before, probably because they had heard about the meteor shower too. The couples split up, and Natsu and Lucy, too, broke away from the gang. They found a more private spot on the beach and laid out a beach towel she had bought yesterday. Then they settled down, leaned back and admired the heavens.

The night sky was a divine dark blue, flecked with little stars that shone like diamonds. The sound of the waves periodically crashing against the shore was relaxing and the incoming sea breeze was soothing. Lucy couldn't wait for the celestial event to begin; she loved this sort of thing.

"I hope it starts soon. Do you think it's gonna start soon?" She was all chatty. "Maaan, I should've asked Loke what time was it going to sta– Ah- Ah- Ah-choo!"

That sneeze earned her a glare from Natsu. "Didn't I tell you to put on more layers?"

"I did! I did! I'm wearing a jacket, aren't I?"

"What about that?" He pointed at her miniskirt. "I appreciate panty shots but couldn't you have worn something else?"

The girl frowned. "Stop criticizing my clothes, you perv! I didn't bring any other bottoms so at least I put on leggings alright!"

With a sigh, Natsu unwound his scarf from his neck and put it around hers.

"W-Wait, isn't this really important to you?"

"Just stay still." Natsu bundled her neck up, nice and snug. "Yosh," he admired at his work.

"…Thank you." His actions really warmed Lucy to her core.

"OHHH! LOOK!" The first star fell out of the sky and Natsu excitedly pointed at it.

Lucy instantly returned her attention to the sky and watched as more and more shooting stars rained down onto Earth. "Uwaaaaa…"

Natsu turned to her and saw the wide smile on her face as well as the sparkling stars reflected in her eyes, making them glimmer mystically.

"Lucy," he called.

"Hm?" She tore her eyes away from the sky, only to meet with his deep obsidian ones.

"…Nothing."

"Huh? What is it?" She tilted her head curiously.

"I like you."

Her heart beat went wild. "…I think I already knew that," she replied bashfully.

"Just wanted to be sure you knew." He smiled before turning back to the sky.

"What is it that you like about me anyway? I mean, we only just met a month ago or something."

He looked at her again. "Yeah… I've only known you for a month huh?"

"Then why–?"

"I know we haven't known each other for very long, but the thing is, I already feel like I know you. And if you want to know what I like about you… … …I don't know–"

"What?"

"–which I like more – your eyes, your smile, or your laughter?" He continued. "But if you ask me what I don't like about you, the answer is nothing."

Lucy took a deep breath after taking in his words.

"About my conversation with Loke just now," she began. "None of what we said actually matters because the truth is, Loke is not my boyfriend."

"What?" Natsu thought he had misheard her.

"Yeah, it's hard to explain, but he's just a really, really good friend who–"

"WAIT," he interrupted her. "You're telling me that all this while, you and him weren't together?!"

"Well… We were, on the surface. But in actuality, we're just friends."

"HUH?!" Natsu was confused.

"He acts as my boyfriend in public to draw away unwanted attention from guys. He's really just helping me out."

"WHATTTT?!"

"In any case, the point is, my relationship with Loke is fake. And just now, during that conversation, we decided to end it."

"… …" Natsu stared at her with his mouth open but wordless.

"Err… Are you still there…?"

"So all this time, he wasn't your boyfriend?"

"Um… Yeah… Are you mad?" She cautiously watched his reaction.

"Are you kidding?" He said. "I'M TOO FREAKING HAPPY TO BE MAD RIGHT NOW!" Without warning, he pulled her into a hug.

"N-Natsu!?"

"You have no idea how happy I am right now."

Lucy couldn't see it, but he was beaming from ear to ear.

"Natsu, you're crushing me too hard."

"Oops, sorry." He let her go. "Yooooshh–! I'm all fired up!"

Oh boy. Lucy knew that spelled trouble for her but his smile was so infectious that she couldn't help smiling when she looked at him.

"Actually, there's one more thing," Lucy said.

"Yea?"

"I've thought about 'us' for quite a while now and…"

"And?"

"I don't know, Natsu." She looked him straight in the eyes when she spoke. "One month isn't very long. I don't know whether what I'm feeling is momentary attraction or something else; I don't know what I'm feeling. But I know my heart beats for you sometimes… But with all the stolen kisses and special moments, I just can't be sure… That's why, I need some time to sort it out."

"Okay," he agreed readily.

"Really? But you can't ambush me during this time or I won't be able to think."

"…How long?"

"I'm not sure… until I figure it out?"

"But this means you'll be thinking of me right?"

"Well… Yeah… …"

"Then I can live with it. So, when does this start?"

"Err… That's… Tomorrow…?"

"That means I can still do this today right?"

With that, he swooped in and stole her lips before she had a chance to answer, and her uncooperative heart began hammering away. Natsu pulled her to himself, sliding his hands freely around her waist. Unintentionally, she clung to him, clenching at his shirt with her hands, and kissed him back.

The last meteor fell as they pulled apart and Lucy was breathless. Her cheeks were flaming and her thoughts were racing.

Keeping one arm around her, Natsu leaned in and whispered, "I'm really going to miss this."

The girl swallowed.

He's so unfair…

… I think I'm going to miss this too.

I think first aid kits don't have thermometers actually.

Anyway, kind of late with this month's update. It's been pretty hectic and finals are coming up.

If you're concerned about this development, don't worry, there are other things I could have Natsu do. And by the way, I do not recommend trying Natsu's concoction.

Hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading! ^^

* 39.5 degrees Celsius is about 103 degrees Fahrenheit.