A/N: Yay another chapter! :)

Sondless-victory: Thank you so much! I'm glad to hear it! And yes, definitely ;)

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Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail!

Enjoy!

Chapter 18

After the incident with Sting and Rogue, Natsu spent more time with Lucy and Wendy.

While he still competed against Igneel, he wouldn't be too far away, and then he would even stop and spend time with the girls on the sand. Lucy could tell just sitting there frustrated him, so she always had snacks ready for him. She figured he would lessen his protectiveness soon enough.

"How can you girls just sit here?" he asked one day, as he munched on a packet of chips. "It's so boring!"

"It's relaxing," Lucy corrected. "And you don't have to stay if you don't want to," she added.

Natsu didn't say anything. He just looked away grumpily. Lucy chuckled.

It was only ten minutes before Natsu couldn't stand it anymore. He got up and ran to the ocean. He needed to get rid of some of his energy, so he swam out past the end of the jetty and back.

By the time he got back, the girls were packing up so they could go help Grandine with dinner. Natsu eventually decided to come with them. It would be boring out there by himself.

That night, Natsu still needed to get rid of some energy, so he convinced Lucy to play table tennis with him.

"Watch out, Luce, I'm not going easy on you," Natsu warned her as he served the ball.

It went straight past her as she screamed. So did the next one. And the next. The game went on like this for a while; Natsu smashing the ball as Lucy jumped around screaming, trying not to get hit.

"Okay, maybe I'll slow it down a little," he grumbled, getting bored.

He hit a nice, slow ball towards Lucy, who smirked before whacking it back to him. It zoomed past his head and he looked up in shock.

"Beginner's luck?" Lucy said innocently.

After a few more serves, Natsu realised that it was not beginner's luck.

"You – you tricked me!" he cried accusingly.

"Yep," the blonde smiled. "I couldn't let you have all the fun,"

Natsu scowled as they continued the game. He had to admit he was impressed, though. That was a good strategy and he'd fallen right into her trap.

"Okay, I'm tired," Lucy announced, stretching her arms over her head. "Let's stop,"

"Fine," Natsu grumbled.

They said goodnight and Lucy went to her room. She sat down at the desk and wrote for a bit. As she was walking to the bed she stopped, turning to the window. She walked out to her balcony and sighed happily.

The stars were beautifully bright, and she was happy just to look at them. Lucy had always loved the stars, and her mother used to show her all the constellations.

Lucy didn't know how long she was leaning against the balcony, gazing at the clear sky before she heard a voice.

"I thought you were going to bed," Natsu said.

Lucy jumped a little at his voice and turned to see him smirking from his balcony. She smiled sheepishly back.

"I couldn't help myself," she said, gesturing to the sky. "They're just so beautiful,"

"Yeah," Natsu agreed. "You like stars don't you?"

Lucy nodded. "How did you know?"

"You're always looking at them dreamily," he shrugged. "It's not that hard to notice,"

Lucy smiled. Nobody had ever guessed that of her before – most people were surprised when she told them about her love of stars.

"Mama and I used to camp out in the backyard during the summer, when the skies were clear," she said softly. "We'd set up the tent during the day, and we'd make a little campfire and roast marshmallows while she told me all about the constellations. It was always my favourite summer tradition," she smiled, remembering.

Natsu was quiet for a moment, watching her. She could feel his gaze, but it didn't bother her; she was too enraptured by the stars.

"One summer, it had been pretty overcast, so we couldn't go out," Lucy went on, and Natsu noticed a change in her voice. "It was a week before school started when the sky finally cleared up. I had gone to the market to get the marshmallows and other snacks for that night. I was so excited," she paused, a frown forming. "Mama got called into work that day, but it was only for a half day. We were supposed to get home at the same time,"

Lucy stopped there. She'd never told anybody about this before. A few tears escaped as she continued.

"She never made it home," she said finally. "There was a robbery that day, and she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I remember walking home and seeing the police cars. The shopping bags stayed outside on the driveway for three days,"

Natsu was quiet for a moment, not sure what to say. Lucy kept her face to the stars, letting the few silent tears roll down her cheek.

"Did they catch the guy?" he finally asked.

"Yeah," Lucy said, not looking at him. "He broke both his legs in the crash, so he couldn't run away,"

"So, she's a hero," Natsu said quietly, and Lucy turned to see him grinning.

"Yeah," Lucy smiled. She could never resist that grin. It made everything better. "She always was."

The two teens stood on their balconies for what seemed like forever, both watching the shining stars.

The next day, Wendy and Lucy had planned to go into the small town. During the year, it was mainly retirement homes, but there were a few bed and breakfasts around. It was a popular spot for the holidays, especially since it was warm all year round.

During the school holidays, they had markets that lined the streets, selling everything from food to clothes to souvenirs. The girls were excited to do a bit of shopping.

At the last minute Natsu decided to join them. He didn't want them to run into those assholes again alone. Also, he didn't think he could spend the whole day with just his parents for company.

So, he followed the two girls around the markets, hoping they could go to more food stalls than clothes stalls.

Unfortunately for him, that's all they seemed to do in the morning.

Lucy and Wendy were having the time of their lives as they looked through all the island-style clothes. There were colourful dresses, skirts, wraps, hats and even a few shirts that Lucy tried to get Natsu to try on.

By the time they stopped for lunch, Lucy was wearing a new pink and yellow sarong and wrap that could be made into a top. Wendy was wearing a cute blue dress. Both of their wrists and ankles jingled with all the bracelets they had bought. They each had three more bags. Lucy had managed to convince Natsu to buy a new shirt, which he was dragging along behind him.

After lunch, they decided that they had bought enough clothes for now, much to Natsu's relief, and spent the afternoon trying all the exotic foods and buying souvenirs for their friends.

All in all, the three had a perfect day. Lucy didn't think her smile dropped once.

Tired and worn out, they eventually headed back with food for dinner. They had offered to make a 'Super Special Dinner'. It had been Lucy's idea; she wanted to give Grandine a rest and say thank you.

"Natsu!" Lucy screeched as they ran around the kitchen, trying to put out the fire that he had started. "Are you trying to burn the house down?!"

"It was an accident!" he cried.

Lucy found the fire extinguisher and put it out, sighing heavily.

"You," she turned to Natsu, "are going to peel the vegetables. You are not allowed anywhere near the stove, got it?"

Natsu nodded, defeated. He loved fire; it was so much fun to watch. He didn't mean for it to get out of hand. He sighed as he got to work.

"Lucy-nee, you really know how to handle him," Wendy said, pointing to her sulking brother. "It's weird seeing someone other than Mama doing that to him," she chuckled.

"Erza does it to him, too," Lucy told her.

"Erza-san is like his school mother," Wendy giggled. "I wouldn't be surprised if they worked together – Erza sending reports home,"

They both laughed at that. Lucy couldn't say she'd be surprised either.

"What's so funny?" Natsu asked, looking up.

"Nothing!" they both sang.

Natsu huffed as he turned back to his work.

Lucy was having such a great time; she didn't want to leave. She would definitely miss this place.

The holidays were almost up, and they would be leaving the next day. They had one more full day to spend in this wonderful place.

That's why she was a bit upset when Natsu disappeared for the day.

"I've just gotta pick up some stuff for Mum," he told her as he ran off towards town. "I'll see you later,"

Lucy sighed as she walked out to the beach with Wendy. They decided to have some fun in the water, since it was a particularly hot day.

Lucy tried to concentrate on Wendy, but she couldn't help but wonder where Natsu was. Why did he have to go alone to get something for Grandine? And why was he taking so long.

It was mid-afternoon when she saw him come back, arms full of bulging bags. He headed straight for the house, hurrying to get past her. How odd.

Lucy shook her head. She was just overthinking things. This was Natsu; he couldn't keep a secret from her.

About an hour later, he finally came out to play with the girls.

"What took you so long?" Lucy asked, splashing him.

"Hey!" he cried, splashing her back. "I had a lot of stuff to get,"

Before Lucy could say anything else, he began splashing at full speed, starting a war between the three.

Dripping and exhausted, they eventually crawled onto the sand, panting.

"I won!" Natsu cried.

"No way!" Lucy argued. "There's no way you won,"

"I did!"

"No you didn't!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Dinner you three!" Grandine was suddenly standing over the two arguing, with Wendy laughing on the side.

"Hai!" they all called.

Natsu disappeared again after dinner while Lucy and Wendy watched a movie. But that probably had something to do with the fact that they were watching 27 Dresses.

Wendy fell asleep halfway through, worn out from the water fight earlier. Lucy carried her to bed when the movie finished, tucking her in.

Lucy then figured she might as well go to bed herself. She had just gotten into her pyjamas when she heard something tap on her window.

Frownign slightly, she opened the doors and stepped out onto the balcony, to see Natsu standing outside, waving up at her.

"Luce!" he called, grinning.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Come down!"

"What?"

"Come down here!"

"Why?" she asked. She had no idea what he was planning, and she had to admit she was kinda scared.

"Just hurry up!" he cried exasperated. "Or I'll have to come get you," he warned.

"Fine!" Lucy sighed, walking back inside.

Knowing him, he probably found some stupid bug and wanted to show her. He once found a frog that he thought looked cool and tried to give it to her as a present.

"Okay, what do you want?" she demanded when she got outside.

"Come with me," he said mysteriously.

He grabbed her hand and dragged her around to the side of the house. There, in the little clearing, he had set up a tent and made a bonfire.

"Th-this is…"

"Yeah," he smiled.

Lucy didn't say anything. She just stared at the familiar scene before her. One she hadn't seen in so long. Is this what Natsu was doing all day?

"Is it okay?" he asked, suddenly nervous at her silence. "I didn't cross a line or anything, did I?"

"N-no," she stammered. "Natsu, this is wonderful! But, why?"

"Well you seemed so happy when you were talking about it," he told her.

"Thank you," she smiled.

"Do you want to be alone for this?" he asked. "Or do you want me to go get Wendy and we can make it a party?"

"Wendy's asleep," she said. "So it's just you and me," she smiled at him.

They spent the night roasting marshmallows, looking up at the sky while Lucy told Natsu everything she knew about the stars.

Although it wasn't the same as when she was with her mother, it felt just as good to be able to share it with her best friend.

Lucy eventually fell asleep against Natsu, so he carried her into the tent.

"Natsu," she mumbled sleepily as he lowered her onto her air mattress.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," she told him. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm so glad I moved to Fairy Academy,"

Natsu didn't know what to say to that, but it didn't matter because she was asleep again. He just smiled as he watched his best friend.

"Me too, Luce," he whispered before climbing onto his bed.

A/N: Isn't Natsu just the sweetest? :3

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