Oh god I'm sorry this took so long to write, it isnt even that long! I rushed it abit to get it out today as I'm busy throughout the week with assignments but I hope you guys like! Lets just say I feel a little sorry for Natsu in this chapter!

I also want to thank Bakers28, Nina-chan202, MaraDragneel3113, Michiamotippete, Ushindeshi and everyone else who has reviewed. You guys literally motivate me and its probably bad that my happiness is tied to the reviews I get, but I honestly can't help smiling myself silly when I see the notifications! Thank you so much :)

And as always Fairytail belong to the great Hiro Mashima.

Chapter 4 – The Preparation

To Lucy, the next few weeks flew by. She had three books to read, multiple essays to write on those books, and a lot of her own writing to do. The details for the cabin holiday were no longer in the forefront of her mind. Sure she thought about it. How couldn't she? She had asked her sort of crush to be her pretend boyfriend, but she'd already made peace that he wouldn't feel the same way so it hadn't taken precedent over her work; she'd be damned if she didn't leave University without a 1st.

To Natsu, however, they dragged on. He had been lying awake at night thinking about it. After Gray prompted his little revelation he had freaked out. Lucy might not have noticed due to all the work on her plate, but he had been actively avoiding her under the guise of too many reports to do. To be fair, he had had to spend more time on the coursework because he was even more distracted than usual so it wasn't a total lie.

However, now that all of his coursework had been handed in, he had no more excuses. Thus was obvious when he ended up joining Lucy in a trip to Magnolia shopping centre because of his lack thereof.

They met outside her apartment building to walk there together, and though he initially felt a bit jittery with his newly realised feelings, he quickly fell into the same banter they always had together.

Whilst shopping Natsu ended up teasing her about the different clothes she had pointed out or tried on, leaving her to smack his arm and buy them just to spite him.

An hour or so passed, Lucy dragging Natsu into multiple shops, each one eliciting a louder groan than the one before. He was the one who agreed to go with her, why should she feel bad!? But she did. So she led him into 'Blue Pegasus', a small independent coffee shop she visited to write in or to clear her head.

"You take these and sit by that sofa there okay?" She dumped the bags on him and pointed to a small blue velvet sofa in the back of the shop. It was comfy and it had a little coffee table in front on it. Perfect for when she wanted to curl up and read or write, so she supposed it would be just as perfect now.

After making sure Natsu was walking the right way, or rather stumbling under the weight of their bags, she turned to walk towards the counter and immediately noticed how the blond barista perked up as she walked closer.

"Wow back so soon Lucy? Are you finally unable to resist my charm?" The blond raised an eyebrow as he winked at her, a permanent grin plastered on his face.

Lucy rolled her eyes and huffed out a laugh.

"Calm yourself Hibiki," It was no surprise to see him flirting. If it had a heartbeat and looked vaguely female he whipped out his trademark charisma. "I'll have my usual."

"A chai latte. Extra cinnamon." He noted down on a takeaway cup, and shot her a victorious smirk, as if it was a feat that he remembered. Which it was not. Despite his incessant flirting, they had actually built up a nice friendship from all the time she spent in the café. He reached for another cup and set it on the counter as she continued.

"Yep, and that one over there will have your Hot™ Hot Chocolate." Gesturing to Natsu, who had slumped into the sofa and crossed him arms. Lucy held back a smile, he looked like a child with a pout like that on his face.

"The hot sauce one? I always thought that was a joke drink."

"Honestly, I think it was until he tried it and decided to make it his favourite…" Lucy sighed and rested her head on the palm of her hand as she now leaned on the counter, as Hibiki flicked on the blender and frothed up the milk.

"Strange, but each to their own I suppose," Once the milk begun frothing and drowning out their conversation, Hibiki continued in a slightly hushed voice. "Is he the one you're seeing then?"

Lucy spluttered and slipped off her hand, whacking her head nicely on the counter. "NO. No we're- we're just friends."

Hibiki scoffed and continued making their drinks.

"Yeah 'cos that reaction tells all." He muttered under his breath.

"Luce! You okay?" In an instant Natsu had made his way to her and was fussing over whether or not she'd actually hurt herself from the counter incidence. She brushed him off and paid for their drinks, giving Hibiki a small glare, the 'say anything and I'll kill you' glare.

"Enjoy your drinks," Hibiki paused to smile a little too sweetly at them both, "Luce~" He finished with a wink as Lucy just hurried Natsu to their table.

They sat in a comfortable silence as the both relaxed into the sofa. Lucy slowly sipped at her drink as Natsu guzzled his and kept a trained eye on the barista that kept stealing glances over at them and then chuckling to himself whilst turning away.

"Natsu?" Lucy's soft voice broke him out of his trance, "you okay?"

He quickly turned to look at her. His face was blank. No expression but a deadpan met her concerned eyes.

"Psh, yeah course I am, weirdo." Natsu brushed her off and waited for her to continue. She huffed slightly at his name calling, but was long past the point of her caring about being called a 'weirdo' of all things. Especially by him.

"Okay.. so I've booked our flights for next week and-"

"You- You've what now?"

Natsu interrupted her, his previously deadpan face morphed into one of fear. His usually tanned skin paled almost to her porcelain complexion. A light sheen of sweat formed over his brow as she looked at him in confusion and repeated what she had said. She hadn't spoken that quietly.

"Booked our flig…h…t…s…? Oh god." Her expression of confusion quickly shifted to one of horror. "OH GOD. I forgot about your travel sickness!" Her hands flew up to her face and she began mumbling to herself.

"Ye- yeah my motion sickness. Just that." Natsu choked out, but Lucy was already spiralling.

Her mumbles had progressed into talking about about how there weren't any other ways to get there, and god how was she so thick, she knew he hated any and ALL modes of transport. Eventually she slowed and she met his eyes.

"Natsu.. I'm so sorry but it's the only way to get there.." Her shoulders fell as she curled in on herself a little, and began to think out loud. "You don't have to come.. I don't want to put you through that.. I can ask Gray, or he might actually be busy now though, I can ask Loké but-"

A heavy object landed on her shoulder and shut her up. As she looked towards it, she realised it was Natsu and he had slumped forward to lean his head on her. He shifted slightly to look sideways at her, and let out a shaky sigh and a hesitant smile.

"The things I do for you…"

Lucy nudged him off her shoulder and pulled him into a hug, unaware she was squeezing a little too tightly, not helping his previous paleness. But she was so happy, and confused, why would he still come if they had to take a plane of all things.

"You'll still come? Are you sure?" She breathed into his shoulder. Natsu pushed her away quickly after she spoke and held her at arm's length away from her. His trademark grin crawled onto his face, as he slightly side-eyed the barista from earlier, who had started watching them as soon as Lucy pulled him in for a hug.

"Yeah now stop being silly. I mean it'll be HELL so you betta make it up to me."

"I totally will! Come on, we still need to get your ski clothes!"

And with that Lucy jumped out of her seat, grabbing the bags that had toppled over slightly onto the floor, and dragged Natsu out the shop, shouting a quick 'goodbye and thank you' to Hibiki behind the counter.

Finally the day arrived when they needed to catch their (dreaded) flight. Leaving slightly later than Lucy would have liked, they made it just in time to check in their bags at the airport. After letting off some steam whilst making it through security, they hung about the food court and waited till their flight was announced. The time ticked on, and Natsu ended up going into Duty Free to pick up a box of chocolates or 'goodies to win the family over' as he called them.

Natsu Dragneel, trying to (fake?) impress someone's family.

Who would've thought?

Lucy on the other hand, headed to the makeup and beauty sections, picking out a few presents for her family before grabbing an expensive bottle of fancy Scotch for her dad. She supposed she should at least try and make an effort. Natsu made his way over to her as she paid for the Scotch. He had what looked like a rather large bag of snacks and a couple of nicely wrapped boxes, but before she could ask what was in them they heard a loud voice boom over the intercom system.

"FLIGHT TO GUILTINA BOARDING NOW AT GATE 4. FLIGHT-"

"Oh that's ours come on!" Lucy grabbed Natsu's free hand, not noticing the way he tensed his arm muscles slightly at the contact, and began rushing towards their gate in hopes of getting there before the crowds.

It turned out there weren't many people headed for Guiltina, apparently people preferred 'Winter Sun' holidays now.

Their passports and boarding passes were checked and they made their way onto the plane, quickly finding their seats. Lucy grabbed their shared carry-on luggage and shoved it in the overhead space easily. They hadn't packed much in that bag, so it wasn't as if it were hard to pick up. However, she struggled when trying to close it and was about to give up when she felt a warmth behind her and a familiar hand passed her own to shut it with ease. Lucy sighed in relief and turned to face her best friend.

"Thanks Nat..su.." As she had turned rather quickly he was still leaning forward and she had almost instantly collided with his chest. Catching herself before she did, she steadied herself by placing her hands upon that same sturdy chest, and looked up to note he was somewhat towering above her.

Since when was he that much taller than her? She knew he had had a little growth spurt over summer, but surely he hadn't been this much taller this whole term… right?

He smiled down at her and raised an eyebrow. After lowering his arm, he must've then realised he was on a plane because he instantly paled and flushed in short bursts and took a step away from her, causing her hands to drop to her side.

"You have the window seat, kay?" Lucy said, gently guiding him towards it. If he was already feeling motion sick he would hate the rest of the ride.

God forbid if there is turbulence.

Natsu mumbled out a small thanks and sat himself down, fidgeting the whole half hour they had to wait till they took off. He seemed a lot more apprehensive than usual though. Of course, he would avoid all transport where possible, opting to walk or cycle places, but his reaction seemed slightly stronger than usual here. As soon as the engines revved up Lucy figured out why.

He was afraid.

Natsu-fucking-Dragneel was not only motion sick on planes, but he was afraid of flying!

He was lying back in his seat, eyes shut tight, and trying to keep a blank face (as well as hold in the snacks he just scoffed). His hands were gripping the armrest so hard it looked like he could dent it. If Lucy didn't feel so awful for him, she would have laughed. Gray certainly would have had a field day with this situation.

In an attempt to calm him down, Lucy gently placed her hand on top of his. Just to let him know she was there for him.

As soon as her fingers brushed the top of his hand, his eyes flew open and he grabbed her hand. Tight. She only let it slide because she could see moisture at the corners of his eyes, and his face was screwed up so tight she thought he'd pull a muscle. She squeezed his hand back and for the remainder of the take-off she gently rubbed circles over his hand with her thumb.

Once the take-off had passed his grip lessened, but his groans of nausea began.

Clearly someone didn't take their anti-nausea medication this morning like she had told them to do.

Lucy let go of his hand, much to his disappointment, and reached into her bag for a slightly smaller pink purse.

It was her 'Emergency Natsu' bag. Hence the pink colour.

From there she pulled out some brown paper bags, two acupressure bands, some tablets (Meclizine), some patches (Scopolamine) and both ginger and liquorice root drops.

All the known and proven methods available to help motion sickness.

She had stocked up a few days ago, as they would probably need some for the trip, ski lifts and all that.

After grabbing out the bags (just in case) and placing the acupressure bands on a very, very green Natsu, she placed a patch behind his ear and began to pop out some of the motion sickness tablets she brought with her. It was then that a very grateful Natsu tried to show his said gratitude by smiling.

Bad idea.

All it took was for him to turn to look at her and attempt a smile that sent his stomach rolling. His gag reflex kicked in, and Lucy shoved a bag in front of him just in time for him to grab it and empty his stomach of the snacks he scoffed earlier.

Yeah. They were definitely a bad idea.

He tried to apologize but only gagged once more and coughed up the last of his breakfast. With a thin layer of sweat covering his brow, his throat and nose burning, and his eyes now streaming he slurred out apology after apology.

Lucy sighed out that it was okay and passed him some tissues to clean himself up. She very apologetically called over an air stewardess and got rid of the bag, making sure Natsu had another one within reach. She passed him a bottle of water and a few of the pills.

"Think you're okay to take them now?" Natsu let out a small grunt in return, opting to not move his head again after what had just happened and hesitantly held out his hand, taking the pills as fast as possible. After dry heaving a couple more times it was apparent there was nothing left to throw up. Lucy wished there was more she could do.

Well. She supposed she could do that? He liked it when they were on their way back from a party before… but they had both been drunk, and she hadn't done it since. But one look at his pained expression was all it took and she lifted up her hand slowly and placed it on his head, which was now slumped forward.

"The medication should start making you feel drowsy, so feel free to get some sleep okay?" And with that she began to tentatively stroke his head, almost massaging it to try easing his pain.

He froze not long after and she began to withdraw her hand, fearing that she had indeed crossed a line. Instead he held it in place and leaned into it.

"Don- ugh Don't stop, it helps.." He groaned halfway through, but she got the message and continued to draw her hands through his pink locks. They were deceptively.. soft.

After a half hour of this new technique, Natsu had drifted into a small and fitful sleep and every time Lucy would remove her hand he fidgeted more.

So it stayed there. For TWO HOURS.

He was a nuisance, but she supposed it was her fault. She dragged him along on this trip without a second thought. Hopefully he actually liked it, and didn't regret every second. Oh god, what if he did? Would he stop being her best friend? HER FRIEND?

As if sensing Lucy's idiotic train of thought, he head lulled onto her shoulder and despite a few more groans, his face relaxed and he sunk into a deeper sleep, probably thanks to the medication.

'Okay Lucy only another… THREE hours to go... great'

Natsu stirred just before the wheels hit the ground and woke up properly when they began unloading. Of course he was delighted it was over, and as soon as he was able to jumped out of his seat and ran outside to touch the ground.

The sweet, sweet ground.

This left Lucy behind to grab their backpacks and small suitcase; though she was secretly pleased she hadn't gotten off with him because from what she could see he was actually kissing the ground and she didn't reeaallly want to be associated with him doing that.

They collected their luggage from the conveyor belt and regrettably walked the distance to the cabin, it took a good hour with lots of slipping on sheets of black ice BUT she didn't want to put him through all… that again. Not so soon anyway. So she sucked it up and walked with him there.

"So-" Huff. "We should-" Huff. "Be the only-" Huff. "Ones there."

Lucy choked the words out between breaths, explaining how she'd arranged to get there earlier so he wouldn't be overwhelmed by so much of her family at once.

"Okay, awesome!" How was he not out of breath. Lucky bastard.

Lucy's expectations were soon shattered when she saw more than one car parked up next to the cabin she called her holiday home. And even more so when she saw both her cousins, and her dad through the window.

"Ah shit, Natsu I'm sorry I think they're already-"

She was interrupted by a towering blond man, a scar covering one eye and what looked like a permanent scowl on his face, flung open the front door and menacingly glared in their direction. Natsu shivered as he felt the 'welcoming atmosphere' Lucy had talked about.

"Who the fuck is this blondie?"

Ugh Poor Natsu Amiright?! And hmm who could this mysterious fella be? (I'm sure you can all guess XD) Thank you again for reviews, I hope you enjoyed. Tell me what you think!