No less than three bookstores later, Lucy handed Natsu another bag of books to load into the trunk. It was hard to resist bargains on the printed word on a regular day, and on vacation, it was pointless to try.

Lucy dropped into the front passenger seat and sighed happily. "We have time for one more stop and then lunch."

"More books?" Natsu was careful to keep a neutral tone to his voice. Lucy indulged his passion for his favourite subjects, and he could do no less for her. "Or lunch first?"

"Mmm." Lucy consulted her watch. "Food."

Grinning, Natsu pulled out of their parking spot and drove. "I made two calls while you were busy." He glanced sideways at Lucy. "Lodgings are booked and I got Monday and Tuesday off work."

Giddy, Lucy clapped her hands. "That's awesome!"

Natsu pulled into the parking lot next to the Blyth Inn. "I'll get our bags, d'you want any of your books right now?"

Lucy scrunched her brows. "Bags?"

"You spent close to an hour in the first bookstore. Didn't you wonder where I disappeared to?" Natsu pretended to take offence. "Huh. You didn't look for me once, did you?"

"It was a great bookstore." Lucy covered her smirk and said, "Did I really take an hour?"

"Yeah, you did. But it gave me time to get a few overnight necessities." Natsu grinned, scrambling out of the car. Lucy joined him at the trunk, pawing through her new purchases. "Hey, no more than three books. We're in a motel room and you know what that means!"

"I do." Lucy tossed her choices into the bag Natsu opened for her. She smiled, displaying dimples. "I need something to read while you take a bubble bath."

"Hah." Slinging both bags over his shoulder, Natsu slammed the trunk. "You caught me reading in the tub only once."

"A-hah!" Lucy was jubilant, "I only caught you once? You don't deny loving bubble baths. And, by your own admission, there have been many occasions where you've enjoyed reading in the tub!"

"Stop using my words against me!" snapped Natsu, but there was no real heat in his words. "You know full well what I'm getting at." He waggled his brows and winked.

Pretending to put hard thought into what Natsu was saying, Lucy pursed her lips. "Nope. Don't have a clue."

"I seem to recollect something about showing your appreciation towards me after the theatre." Natsu strode ahead of Lucy, towards the door marked 'office.' Over his shoulder, he said, "Well, if you don't want to bother with that, instead I'll show you my appreciation towards you." He lingered, watching Lucy's devious responding smile.

"Deal." Lucy winked. "Can't wait for bedtime."

A/N: Thanks to the people who have faved and/or followed. Each chapter has been kinda short, but overall, the story will end close to 5000 words. Hands up to vote for mature content and a rating change.