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nalu-love-4-life · 7 years

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Making Waves (Completed) NaLu drabble request

The heat of the day was oppressive and sweltering, and the guild hall, usually bursting with the rambunctious noise of the Fairy Tail mages, was filled with all manners of groans and moans. Most members, I could tell, seemed to have stayed home, and the dreary atmosphere that surrounded the ones who had made the trek permeated the air.

I had just come from my apartment and was now standing by the large wooden doors, gazing about the hall.

Mira was standing behind the bar as usual, fanning herself with the day’s menu, her silvery hair swishing behind her with every wave. Erza, I saw, was sitting on a barstool wearing a crop top with a hot pink sarong tied together at the side of her hip. It bore a luau print with many beautiful white flowers. A few feet away, Master Makarov was slumped in his chair, sweating through his fur-lined coat. Why he didn’t bother taking it off crossed my mind, but I figured he would think to do so on his own sooner or later. Gray was lounging at one of the many tables, eating an icicle he must have made for himself. He was utterly naked aside for his boxer-briefs, again. Begrudgingly, I couldn’t blame him for it on such a smoldering day, even though the heat probably didn’t bother him at all.

At hip distance to him sat Juvia who was fawning as usual. Although Gray didn’t look all that enthused about the attention, he wasn’t eagerly pushing her away either. Seeing the two as they were, my closed hand lifted to my lips, smothering a soft chuckle. ‘One day he’ll tell her,’ I knowingly thought.

I decided to walk to the bar and let the two love-birds have some time to themselves. But before my foot could touch the ground, an orotund voice called out confidently behind me.

I slowly turned my head to the side to see who it was, and there in between the large open doors of the guild hall with his fisted hands at his hips, stood Natsu.

Seeing him, my eyes twinkled and my lips perked upwards. ‘Of course, he would be out and about on a day like this. The heat obviously wouldn’t bother him,’ I thought. ‘This is Natsu, after all.’

“Hey there, Luce!” He grinned and waved.

“Hiya, Lucy!” Happy called as he trailed, flying in the air behind him.

“Hi guys! Are you two here to grab a mission request?” I wondered aloud and shifted my weight to my right leg. Natsu shook his head ‘no’ and started walking to the bar. I followed suit, considering I was planning to make my way there earlier, anyhow. Happy flew about a foot in front of us before twisting around so he could look at our faces as we talked.

“Nope. Natsu and I are just here to get some yummy food before going to the Magnolia public pool to cool off later!” Happy said with a wide smile. He looked so thrilled about their planned trip that it was hard not to join in on the excitement.

“That’s right! We’re going to have a lazy day since we haven’t had one in a while. Yep,” Natsu sighed contentedly as he plopped down on a barstool. “Just a bit of RnR.”

I lifted a skeptic eyebrow and smiled wryly at him. “You’re going to relax at a public pool without somehow getting kicked out or breaking something? This I have to see,” I teased with clear amusement. At this Natsu’s mouth turned up in a huge smile, showing me his sharp white canines.

“Sounds great, Luce! Happy –” he called to the little blue cat, who was munching on a dead fish, beside him. Happy peered up from his meal with raised eyebrows and full cheeks.

“Gyah, Ngatzu?” He mumbled with his mouth full, and chunks of uncooked fish flying out. I stared at them while they talked for a moment before hearing an uncomfortable sound. Grumble. Grumble. It had slipped my mind to grab something to eat before leaving my apartment that morning, and now I was experiencing the consequences of my forgetfulness. ‘I’ll just order something small to nibble on.’ I mulled over the light breakfast options on the menu before calling Mira over.

“Hey, Mira. Could I get a bowl of fresh fruit please? I forgot to eat this morning before coming to the guild.” She smiled kindly and nodded her head before leaving to the kitchen to fix it up for me. “Thanks!” I said as she handed me the plastic yellow bowl filled with strawberries, purple grapes, banana slices, and pineapple cubes.

“No problem, Lucy,” Mira chirped happily, and with a nonchalance about her, she began wiping the counter down beside us. “So, you and Natsu are going to the pool together today, huh? That will be fun…” she trailed off.

“Hm?” My head sprang up too quickly and had to rub the tension out of the back of my neck. After the pain had subsided, I tilted my head in question and peered over at the two still vigorously discussing amongst themselves; Natsu as animated as ever. “I know Natsu and Happy are going together today, but I wasn’t planning on the pool, myself.” I pondered for a moment before asking: “What did you mean earlier, by the wa-” I stopped, looking up to see that Mira had already walked to the other side of the bar where Erza was savoring a slice of strawberry shortcake, and where Laxus had recently sat down on a stool nearby. “-y…” I finished softly, lagging the syllable.

Still somewhat confused by her cryptic tone of voice, I thought to myself as I brought a pineapple cube to my lips. As I closed my mouth around the piece of sweetly sour fruit, I almost choked when I was startled by a booming voice.

“Alright, it’s settled then! Luce, you’re coming to the pool to relax with us!” Natsu bellowed in my ear. Following his words, I could hear a woman’s soft chuckling from the other end of the bar. After coughing my lungs out for a good two minutes, I collected myself, sucked in a deep breath, and cleared my throat.

“I was only kidding before, you know, when I teased you about breaking something or getting kicked out.”

It wasn’t that I was opposed to going to the pool with them. I just didn’t want a moment like the last time the guild went to a pool resort to happen again. Lord knows the guild wouldn’t be able to cover such extreme damages like that again.

“Yeah, but why not come anyways? It’s wicked hot out, and you don’t have any actual plans today, right?” He beamed at me.

“I don’t know, Natsu.” Reluctance was written all over my face. The ever-pressing uncertainty of whether going with them would be a good idea or not weighed like an anvil on my mind.

“Come on, Lucy!” Happy cried after swallowing his last bite of fish. “It won’t be as fun without you there, too!” He stood up on the counter and walked over to stand a little closer to us. Natsu’s onyx eyes never left my face while Happy pleaded.

“He’s right, you know,” Natsu said in a much softer tone. The sudden shift grasped my attention and drew me in. My eyes flicked to gaze into his and it was difficult not to get lost in their swirling dark hue. “It’s always more fun when we’re together. Remember?” His deep voice came out as a raspy whisper and it sent cool chills down my spine. The words that he used had been my own from one of the very first serious battles we had fought together as a team. It was like sharing a secret only the two of us knew. One that even Happy was naïve to.

Hearing him say that and watching his beseeching eyes, there was nothing I could do to stop the corners of my lips from turning up.

“I remember,” I whispered bashfully, letting my eyes drift lazily to the floor and then slowly rise back up. Natsu grinned widely, his expression patient. In the moment, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something about that quirky, innocent smile that I couldn’t argue with. “Okay. I’ll go with you guys to the pool, today. It sounds like fun,” I said while turning indifferently to face my bowl of fruit. As I brought another piece to my lips, I peeked over at Natsu from the corner of my eye. He was still watching me with a goofy excitement on his face. I couldn’t suppress the heat that welled in my cheeks, so to attempt to hide it I averted my eyes and peered around the bar.

“Lu, you okay?” Natsu asked, lightly flicking my forehead.

“Ow! Natsu?!” I yelped, spinning on the stool to glare at him. My hand flew to block my forehead from any further abuse. A slight stinging sensation was left behind on my skin. But his teasing chuckle and his gentle stare made it impossible to hold a grudge. I tried to fight the smile that was tugging at my lips but I soon gave in and we laughed together. Silence fell and our eyes naturally fell, and we sat there studying each other. A silly smirk crossed Natsu’s face and I smiled back shyly. Mere seconds passed before I broke our stare, but I could tell, even without looking at him, that his cheeks had turned beet red. The heat that emanated on my right side gave him away. I muffled a giggle. ‘What a weirdo,’ I thought, as I ate the rest of my breakfast with an easy smile.

**************************

“Hurry up, Lucy! I want to get to the pool before it gets too crowded!” Happy whined incessantly. I had just finished my bowl of fruit and was helping Mira clean up the counter topic before we left.

“Yeah, Luce! If we don’t go now we might not get a good spot in the shade for our towels and stuff!” Natsu huffed in agreement. I glanced at them and frowned while picking up a stray plate that had been left with a half-eaten croissant.

“I can’t leave Mira with this mess, you guys. It’ll only take a second.” Saying this, I dumped the hardened pastry into the trash and placed the plate into the sudsy sink. All that was left to do was to wipe down the counter with a wet rag and dry it, and then wash the few dishes that needed to be cleaned from the morning customers.

“That’s alright, Lucy,” Mira said in an overly chipper tone. “I can finish up here on my own. It’ll only take me a few minutes to do what’s left anyhow. I appreciate your help. Now, you all go have fun, okay?” She smiled brightly and ushered us along with a wave of her hands. With slight hesitation, I gave a glance over at Natsu, who looked more eager than ever to get going, and Happy was already flying over to the double doors. I turned to look back at Mira who still wore that same sweet smile.

“Are you sure, Mira? I don’t mind helping out for a little while longer, honest, it’s no trouble,” I insisted.

“Nonsense,” Mira chided lightly. “Stop stalling and go have a good time with him.”

‘Stalling?’ I wondered. ‘Am I stalling? Well, I suppose if she insists she’s fine I can’t exactly argue.’ I reasoned with myself before returning her easy smile. “Alright, then,” I sighed, “If you’re sure?” Mira nodded happily and went back to wiping down the marble countertop. I watched her for a moment. Taking a deep breath in, I started walking towards the doors where the boys were impatiently waiting.

“Finally! Let’s hit the road!” Natsu bellowed, pumping his fist in the air and pushing the entrances open.

“Aye, sir!” Yelled Happy, who flew ahead, leading the way. As we began to make our way through the town, a heavy realization hit me like a sack of potatoes to the gut. ‘Crap! I don’t have a bathing suit with me!’ Sweat was already beginning to perspire on my forehead at the mere thought of this new bump in their plans for the day.

“So, um, funny thing,” my voiced wavered nervously. Natsu turned his head to look at me as we continued down the street.

“What’s up, Lucy?” My heart thumped in a panic hearing his gruff voice. ‘What the?’ I thought placing a loose fist over my chest. Natsu was starting to look worried. “Is everything okay?” He reached out to touch my shoulder.

“Oh! N-No, no! I’m fine,” I said, casually stepping away from his hand. “It’s just, well, I wasn’t really planning on going swimming today, so I don’t have a bathing suit with me.” I let my eyes drift from his face because I was feeling more than a little embarrassed at having to derail their plans further. After a moment, I peeked at him again, but he didn’t look angry. He seemed relieved.

“Well, why didn’t you just say so? I thought you were getting sick or somethin’ and I’d have to take care of you.” He chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. I watched his shoulders bounce lightly up and down as he did. “We’ll just swing by your place so you can grab one, ‘kay?”

I nodded and smiled, glad that he wasn’t upset; but inside, a strange feeling was beginning to brew.

‘… Take care… of me….’ I mulled over his words in my mind, not sure what it was that was bubbling in my chest.

Natsu raised his hand to the side of his mouth and called out to Happy, who by this time was a good yard or two in front of us. “We’re gonna stop at Lucy’s apartment real quick so she can grab a bathing suit. You go on ahead and get us a nice shady spot by the pool.”

“Rodger!” Happy called back with a military salute before whizzing down the street and turning a corner, disappearing out of sight. I was soon surprised when I felt a familiar comforting warmth grasp my hand. Natsu had taken it in his and was guiding me towards my apartment.

“U-uhm, you really don’t have to do this, Natsu. I could get it myself so you can go to the pool with Happy. It’s no big deal. I could just meet you guys there.” The words spilled past my lips and I was tripping over the wording.

“Nah.” He said, still galumphing onward, over the bridge and past the fishermen casting their lines in the river. “Everything is more fun together. Even the boring stuff. Like when we were at the guild hall earlier.”

Taking a moment to mentally press the pause button on his fast pace, I looked over at him with a quizzical expression as we walked briskly along. “What do you mean?” I questioned. For the briefest of moments his eyes widened, but they soon relaxed again. The pace we had been going slowed just a tad but remained above a leisure stroll. His eyes moved to the side away from me, and I got a peculiar feeling that he was being coy. “What?” I asked again. This time a smirk played at my lips as I wondered cheekily what he could be feeling shy about. “What is it?” Natsu raised his free hand to cover his mouth and hide his cheeks. He was acting more and more suspicious with every passing second. “Well?” I giggled. His cute reaction was all too amusing. I knew the saying about how curiosity killed the cat, but my curiosity was literally killing me. ‘Now I must know what he meant,’ I thought.

Lowering his arm, I could tell that his eyes had become serious and that he was trying to keep his cool, though I could still see a faint flush on his cheeks. “When we were sitting on the barstools and you were eating,” he began a bit cryptically.

“What about me eating?” I raised an eyebrow, not because of my pressing interest, but more because I was worried that I had done something gross that I wasn’t aware of that he had seen.

Noticing my furrowed expression, he was quick to dispel any unwanted insinuations that I was making.

“No, I didn’t mean anything bad.” Hearing that, a breath of relief blew past my lips I didn’t notice I had been holding. “I meant,” Natsu paused, “You know,” he continued.

“Know what?” At this point I was just confused. ‘Spit it out already!’

“You looked like you were having fun eating the fruit and helping Mira clear the counter. If I had just been there by myself or with Happy, I wouldn’t have been able to see that. I had fun watching you enjoy yourself and what you were doing, that’s all.” The last part was mumbled in an undertone, but it dazed me nonetheless. I wasn’t expecting such honesty for a response, let alone most of what he just said. I figured he was going to tease me or something.

‘Well, that’s definitely not what he did.’ I shook my head a couple of times and I could tell that Natsu was watching me from the corner of his eye. I didn’t know what to say. I opened and closed my mouth trying to formulate something, anything, but I was speechless. Soon enough, though, I could see my apartment ahead and a wave of relief, like I had been saved from some unspoken awkward situation, washed over me.

“My apartment!” I said slightly louder than was necessary. Natsu’s eyes slowly turned from me to look to the front and he grunted realizing we had reached our destination. I let go of his hand and reached for the key in my pocket, instantly missing the warm sensation it gave me. It didn’t take long before I had produced the metal object and unlocked the apartment door. I opened it and began ascending the staircase but I didn’t sense that Natsu had followed.

I turned on the steps to look down at the entryway where he still stood, lost in thought and eyes gazing at the floor.

“Natsu?” I called out. “Natsu, is something wrong?” I must have jostled him from his thoughts because he shook his head and glanced up at me like a child taken from a daydream.

“Huh? Oh, uh, sorry. No. Nothing’s wrong. Let’s get that bathing suit.” He showed a small smile, but it seemed as if somewhat forced. Not wanting to make anything out of what might be nothing I accepted it and smiled back, continuing up the stairs with Natsu trailing right behind. But when I walked into my room, I gasped at the war zone I had forgotten I had created throughout the week. Piles of clothes were strewn everywhere, on my bed, under my bed, all over the floor, stuffed in my overflowing closet, trailing to the bathroom – everywhere!

‘Crap! When I get back later, it’s laundry day.’ I grimaced as I looked around. ‘Now, where could that bathing suit be…?’ Pushing some of the wreckage aside, we began to search. We walked about the room, lifting what seemed like article of clothing after article of clothing, but we couldn’t find it anywhere.

“Natsu, I’m really sorry about this. Why don’t you just go to the pool with Happy and I’ll go with you guys on another day?” Again, I tried persuading him to leave me behind, but like before, his stubbornness would let him.

“No way. We’ll find this dumb bathing suit and still have plenty of time at the pool.” Natsu kept searching with a determination in his onyx eyes. I sighed feeling crummy that I was taking up his RnR time because my apartment was a mess. “Hey, Lu. Is this it? It seems a little frilly and not that great for water resistance if it is.” I turned around only to have my entire face flare up in utter embarrassment. In that moment, I could have sworn that my very soul floated right out of my body.

“AH!!” I screamed yanking the clothing out of his hands. He had been holding them out in front of him and had been studying them for all that they were worth, which if I was being honest was a pretty penny.

“W-What?! What?!” He said, confused by my over-the-top reaction. What he had been holding was not my bathing suit.

“Nothing! N-Nothing at all!” I replied, quickly stuffing the baby pink, lace bra and panty set back into my closet.

“Geez, Lucy, you’re gonna give me a heart attack freaking out like that.” Natsu rubbed the back of his neck and tilted his head to the side, sighing. “You act like I just found your lingerie, or… somethin’…” His voice grew quiet and I couldn’t bring myself to look at him so I busied myself with trying to find that stupid bathing suit. After a minute or so I dared a quick glance at him and was mortified to find his face as red as an apple and heat rippling out from his body.

‘Oh my God!’ In my mind, I was crying rivers from my humiliation. I hastened the search while Natsu was out of commission, and finally, I was able to find what we had come for. “I found it!” I yelled, happy that I wasn’t utterly chagrinned for nothing. “Um,” I mumbled, noticing Natsu coming back from his absence. He was currently looking anywhere but at me with is arms crossed tight against his semi-exposed chest. “I’m just going to go put this on really quickly so we can go meet up with Happy, okay?” I waited for his response which came back as a simple and somewhat high pitched hum of recognition. Curling my lips inward I nodded slowly and walked to the bathroom to change.

I changed in a relatively short time. The bathing suit I had found was a two-piece bikini made of red and yellow fabric, like the flames of a fire, that glittered in the light from the myriads of tiny silver flecks that dotted the cloth like stars in the sky. The bottom half tied together of the hips in little bows while the upper half was a halter top that looped around my neck and covered my chest. Before stepping out of the bathroom to meet Natsu in the living room, I grabbed a towel so I could wrap it around myself while I found something to wear over it. I had already died once of embarrassment, I was not planning on doing it again, if I could help it.

Natsu had his elbow on the arm of the couch with the side of his head resting on his fist when I walked back into the room. He glanced up but had a perplexed look on his face.

“Did you change?” He asked with his eyebrows knitted together.

‘Does the towel around my body not give you a hint?’ I thought to myself. Sometimes his density really confounded me. “Um, yeah, I just don’t want to walk around in just a bikini while you’re around.” I casually muttered looking around for a nice pair of shorts and a tee-shirt.

“I’m gonna see you in it anyways once we get to the pool, so what does it matter?” He heaved a sigh and stood up while lazily running his fingers through his messy pink hair. It looked so soft to the touch. I couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel to run my fingers through it. I looked away to hide my flushing cheeks and found something cute to wear over my bikini. A pair of light blue, high waisted, button-up shorts and a pastel yellow V-neck that I tied in a knot at the front.

Once I was ready to go with my hair pulled up into a loose pony tail, we made our way to the street and started walking along the river bank towards the pool, where Happy was no doubt unhappily waiting for us. As we strolled along, I decided to pretend that I was on a balance beam, walking on the edge of the sidewalk and the river, like I usually did. But this time, my thoughts were wandering somewhere other than a fantasized Olympic arena. Instead I found myself circling back to when Natsu ran his fingers through his hair, and I wondered: ‘What would it feel like if I did that? Would his hair be as soft as it seems? Would he rest his head on my lap? Would his eyes gently close? Would he unconsciously smile?’

“-ey… Earth to… -cy. Hello?”

“Hm?! What?” I blinked my eyes to focus back on reality and found Natsu’s face inches away from mine. “Ack!” I yelped as I lost my balance, tripping over my feet and falling into the river. I heard another startled holler followed by a loud splash before my head was engulfed by water. When I surfaced, I coughed a few times to clear my waterlogged lungs and rubbed at my eyes. Natsu was in the river with me doing the same. He looked as shocked as I was, if not more so.

“Are you okay, Luce?! You didn’t hit your head or scrape anything, did you?” You asked in an anxious tone as he swam over to me. I was too flabbergasted to make any type of coherent response. So, with my mouth agape and eyes wide, I simply shook my head ‘no’ and tried to wrap my mind around what had just happened in mere seconds. Natsu’s hands came up to touch my face to assess for any possible injuries. Of course, he found none, but feeling his warmth and knowing how concerned he was about my wellbeing, I couldn’t help the burning in my chest. I kept my eyes on him all the while. Even soaking wet with his hair plastered to his forehead, he was handsome. There was no denying it. We treaded the water briefly after he was sure I was okay. I could tell that his eyes were still searching for anything that he might have overlooked. Just as I opened my mouth to say something, a nearby fisherman standing in his small boat, who had seen the whole instance transpire, yelled at us from across the river.

“You kids’ alright over there?” The old man shouted.

Natsu hesitated before looking away from me, probably apprehensive that if his eyes strayed from my face that he would turn back to see a bunch of cuts and bruises with blood flowing everywhere. After a short pause, he willed himself to turn his head to look at the old man and called back to him. “No, we’re alright, old man. Thanks.” I closed my mouth, seeing as the moment had passed to say anything. ‘Oh well,’ I supposed.

“Good.” The fisherman replied with a throaty humph. “You get out of the river, now. Ya got it? Ain’t no place for swimmin’ or philanderin’.” The words the old man spoke brought me out of my daze and I hurriedly tried to make him understand the situation.

“Oh, no, no, sir. You see, we’re not – I mean, he and I aren’t – Ah, we just fell in on accident, there’s nothing betwee-”

“Sorry, sorry. I guess I got a little carried away,” Natsu laughed rubbing the back of his head, like a boy trying to smooth talk his way out of trouble after stealing a kiss from a girl and getting caught by her father.

The fisherman didn’t look necessarily pleased, but the tiniest of smirks was playing at the corners of his tight lips. He raised his eyebrow in question and proceeded to chide Natsu for ‘rushing a delicate flower to bloom,’ whatever he meant by that. Natsu just kept chuckling and chatting with him in between pleasantries as he helped me out of the river. I had never seen him act like such a gentleman before. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this side of him. When I stepped out of the water and onto the sidewalk, Natsu took my towel out of my bag and wrapped it delicately around my body. I grabbed the edges and held them together at my chest. I was a little embarrassed by how kind he was being to me.

“Thank you.” I studied his face, noticing every scar, every worry line, every drop of water that ran down from his dripping hair. His hands rubbed up and down the towel over my shoulders and arms in a comforting fashion. He was still talking and laughing with the fisherman.

“Thanks again, old man. Wish I could stay and talk but we were actually headed to the public pool, though I guess there’s no need for that anymore,” he chuckled and the fisherman joined in as he sat down in his boat.

“You kids be careful and have fun.” The man waved a goodbye and Natsu tossed his hand up to signal his own. His hands were still holding my shoulders and I was still memorizing his profile.

“You were right, Luce,” he chuckled, his eyes still on the old man who had cast a new line into the river. “But I guess we got kicked out of a river instead of a pool.” He turned to face me and our eyes met. We were much closer than I had thought we were. Natsu must have noticed this because his cheeks were dusted a dull pink, and I wouldn’t have been shocked if mine were as well. A moment passed, neither of us saying or doing anything; neither one of us moving to break from our staring contest. A gentle, boyish smile rose on his lips, and his hands fell down my arms but stopped short from letting me go.

“What?” Natsu breathed. His voice was soft and tender, but there was something underlying that seemed hesitant and anxious, reserved. The corners of his lips twitched every so often, and his eyebrows furrowed, knitting themselves together, creating a crease in the skin between them. I watched every minute expression he made in the silence that followed his question, taking in every detail, everything about him I had never noticed before.

“What is it?” He asked again, only this time he seemed more insecure and concerned. “Lucy?”

Gathering my thoughts and filing away all the new information I had retained, I shook my head and smiled happily, content just to be there with him, in that moment.

“Nothing. I’m just staring,” my voice coming out just above a whisper.

For a moment Natsu didn’t seem to know what to make of my words, squinting his eyes and looking puzzled. But he soon smiled back with that goofy grin of his and chuckled softly. “Weirdo.”

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Thanks for your patience and for requesting such an awesome drabble request @star-dragonslayer !! It was totally fun to write, as you can see from me getting a bit carried away with the length of it, haha. But, I hope everyone loves it and feel free to request a drabble anytime! Happy reading! <3 :)

#nalu #Making Waves #Drabble Request #nalu-love-4-life #natsu and lucy #fairy tail #getting kicked out of the pool #getting kicked out of the river #weirdos in love #<3

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