Quick A.N: This chapter is over 50 pages long, 7,400 words so grab some snacks and get comfy :)

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Groaning, Natsu stretched his body underneath the covers, inhaling deeply as he slowly pried open his eyes. It was early in the morning; the sun hadn't even peeked through the windows yet.

The smile flattened when he felt his arms completely empty and weightless.

He shot up, remembering that he was certain she fell asleep next to him.

The bed was empty, no trace of her anywhere.

Last night he'd played several rounds of checkers with her, surprisingly being beaten seven times in a row before he gave up. As a result, he'd ended up sitting cross-cross on his side of the bed in pure defeat. He'd barely lasted five seconds when she hugged him for support, bringing her in his chest.

Right now, the hunch in his stomach was awfully growing with worry.

Natsu frantically kicked himself from being tangled within the sheets, the result falling smack into the ground.

"Ow.." He rubbed the side of his head where he'd mainly hit, expecting a bruise to develops overtime.

Wasting no time, he ran outside to the upper deck without slipping on any shoes. Gajeel, Bickslow and Gray were already up, still half-asleep.

"Have you guys seen Lucy anywhere?" Natsu asked, breathing heavily from sprinting.

Gray shook his head. "Nope, but I know all the girls on the ship left. Juvia told me yesterday they were leaving pretty early today."

Natsu let out a relieved sigh. "I thought somethin' bad happened, that's all."

"First off, why the hell are you worried about her at this hour?" The ice mage questioned, "Second, why the fuck are you only wearing sweatpants?" Gray pinpointed, placing his hands on his hips.

Natsu looked down to see he'd forgotten to put a shirt on, his glazed-toned upper body completely exposed.

"He was tryna' impress Bunny Girl," Gajeel snickered, an iron smirk growing on his face. "You can tell he's been working out more."

"I just like to have a nice bod, anything wrong with that?!" Natsu spat. A red tint appeared on his face, giving away the real reason.

"A healthy, strong toned physique, not like you'd know what that means." Gray muttered. Over the past several weeks, Natsu had been helping out with the hefty, difficult chores. It wasn't hard to spot the reason why, he was in tip-top shape with no ounce of fat anywhere to be seen. The ice mage always nipped at the dragon slayers slimmer arms than him. He was now pure muscle, giving Gray a run for his money about who's physic was better.

"You've also been laying off the junk food too. You were always in shape, but bro, you're fuckin' shredded." Bickslow honestly commented, even if he was holding a huge grudge against him.

Natsu strangely looked at Bickslow for a moment, deciding to accept his words.

"Slim thick," Gajeel laughed, pounding his fist against the ships' railing. "Betcha I still put more reps in daily."

"Hardly." Natsu replied, crossing his arms as he walked back down to his room to go fall back asleep.

He went to his bathroom first, catching a glimpse at himself in the mirror. He leaned against the counter with his hands, thoughts occupying his mind.

He did feel more confident in himself. Every aspect around himself grew; he dropped most of his awful eating habits and replaced junk with nutritious, the work paying off in wonders. Any of the food Lucy made with Mira he devoured, not letting one crumb go to waste. Instead of lazily barking at everyone to finish up, he'd do all the sweat-dripping, heavy jobs.

"And that goes right there!" Mira pointed straight up to a higher specific shelf.

Natsu grunted as he lifted the huge, weighty box above his head and gracefully slid it into place. He snatched his already soaked shirt and wiped his face, breathing heavily from all the lifting he's done in the past two hours. Not to mention it was over one-hundred degrees outside.

His tanned skin was gleaming from working a sweat, the highly muscular body obviously showing results the past few weeks. "Someone's getting in shape." Mira winked.

"More like fucking dying." Natsu replied, having the desire to flop right into a chair carelessly until he turned around to see a lightly blushing blonde standing in the doorway. She quickly adverted her eyes away from him, her cheeks clearly tinted flamingo pink.

"Hey Lucy! You wanna make some salad to go with lunch today? I'll make the chicken." Mira said, setting a cutting board out for chopping.

"I don't mind." Lucy replied, handing Mira a much smaller box she helped offer to carry.

The Captain straightened his keeling posture upright, casually leaning against the wall in hopes to get her attention. His upper exposed body flexed to define his godly features, running his hand through his hair.

Mira noticed his complete change of posture, noting it in her brain as she saw him gazing at her dreamily when she was facing the other way.

She made him so much better than what he'd used to be, and it only made him need her more.

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"Does anyone think this is revealing too much, or is it a proper fit?" Erza subsequently questioned, a well-fitting black dress exposing her leg through a lengthy side slit, the top cut fairly low.

"You're slaying more than any of the male dragon slayers in the crew," Evergreen replied smoothly, cocking her hip out. "Wendy's the ultimate dragon slayer though."

"You're fucking hot, shut up Erza." Mira added.

Many laughs came from the large group of young women, admiring and praising Evergreen's clean roast and Mira's blunt comment.

"Wow Erza, you're so pretty in that!" Wendy's eyes sparkled, following with the scarlet-haired woman popping a few extra poses.

A dress was thrown into her hands. "Mira! I don't need one!"

Mira snickered, gripping her shoulders as she lead her to a dressing room. "Oh, yes you do! Especially for your Romeo!" She hummed, a furious red tint covering Wendy's face.

The young girl stuttered while Lucy lightly laughed at the scene. "I'm sure she'll look great." She said.

"You should be hunting down a dress too," Levy said, nudging her with an elbow. "You gotta look good too, girl."

Lucy sweat-dropped. "It's completely okay, I'm not compatible with large crowds anyways. It'd be best if I stayed in the night."

"Oh no, no no no you're not skipping this." Mira turned from Wendy's changing stall, a mischievous glint in her eye. "We're getting you shoes, a dress, we're doing your hair, your makeup-"

"All of that?! I mean, I can do my own makeup because I've actually been practicing it since I was only seven years old." Lucy informed, catching everyone's attention.

"How funny, we've never seen you with makeup on, then again you don't even need it." Erza commented, a cheeky grin spreading across the blonde's face.

"Ah-h, thank you," Lucy softly said, but her eyes quickly gleamed with excitement. "I'd be more than happy to do anyone else's makeup!"

"If you attend the festival tonight." Mira quickly added, the other heads nodding in agreement.

Wendy's head popped from her changing stall. "Yeah! It wouldn't be any fun without you, Lucy!"

Lucy defeatedly sighed, running a hand through her high side ponytail. "I'll go if you guys insist on it."

"It's about to be lit." Evergreen pumped, fiddling with the bag she carried that consisted of her dress and heels she'd bought earlier.

"And Juvia can't wait to dance with Gray-sama!" Juvia gasped, sighing romantically as a adoring smile widened on her lightened face.

Levy patted the water mage's shoulder. "I'm sure he'll notice you, don't worry."

After a few more minutes of Mira helping Wendy find a perfect light blue dress and Erza purchasing the exposing black one, most of the girls were set for their attire.

"So, what kind of dress are you looking for, Lucy?" Mira asked as they strolled outside, the big group of females attracting unwanted attention from other thirsty males' eyes.

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure, but definitely not a frizzed or puffy dress for sure." She replied, a few laughs coming from the others.

The group waved through a few more stores, finding nothing that they believed to suit Lucy.

Lucy stood in the dressing room hallway, awkward as Hell while her fingers fidgeted with the pink material.

All the girls looked at each other in the eye, silently agreeing. They all shook their heads. "Nope."

"I didn't like this one anyways." Lucy muttered, practically stripping the thick, weird plum-peach shade dress off her of her body.

They searched through another store, loosely dividing to peruse all different styles and shades of dresses, but none of them looked appealing.

Lucy tiredly walked towards the back, the quietest area of the whole store. It was where most dresses weren't taking a short glance at, so she just scanned from the most dull, soothing generic shades to the more eye-popping, neon colors.

"This is no use...we've been searching for hours." Lucy mumbled, swinging a bag between her fingers. It was from a beauty store, since it pretty much waved invisible signs that called her name. She got more than needed, but she was satisfied from her overly huge purchase. Makeup was just an art she finessed at, having thirteen years of experience on her back. She'd taught the beauty terms 'swatches', 'glowing for the gods', 'snatched', 'fleek', and 'baking the face' to her friends.

Her eyes tiredly glanced to the more hidden dresses, seeing a romantic but vibrant rosy red color that caught her attention. It's worth a try, Lucy thought as she grabbed it, thanking Mavis that it was her size.

"Hey Mira, I'll be right out." Lucy chirped, waving a hand as she went to a stall to change.

She slipped it on and checked the mirror, instantly gleaming with a hopeful smile. The top was almost like her blue shirt, two thin straps hugging her neck to tie in the back. The sides cut to expose a little much to her upper body, but it was the style. The top closely hugged while the bottom third gracefully danced loosely. Her back was completely exposed from top to bottom, but it connected just below the lowest area.

This is definitely the one. Lucy confidently walked out to see all the girls already waiting for her, gasps leaving their mouths in awe.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! That's perfect!" Mira shouted, springing up into her feet.

"Shh! We'll get in trouble if you keep screaming, Mira!" Lisanna smacked her palm over her sisters' mouth, preventing any more noise to echo throughout the store.

Wendy's eyes widened. "Wow, Lucy you're absolutely beautiful!" She gushed, admiring the blonde.

"Wendy, you're the sweetest." Lucy replied, smiling from her kind words.

After purchasing the essentials of what she needed, along with Mira buying her large gold hoop earrings that weren't necessary, they all decided to go out for lunch.

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"So what're we supposed to wear at the festival?" Laxus grunted, raising an eyebrow.

Gray shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know, but Juvia said it was more formal than just normal clothes." He replied, satisfied with his generic info.

"Shrimp-bait was sayin' all about how they were gon' dress up and stuff, so I'm guessin' we actually have to wear nice shit." Gajeel added, chewing a piece of iron loudly between his teeth.

"Oi, this is gonna be a lot of work to get ready for..." Natsu complained, groaning overly dramatic to convey his tiredness.

"I can't believe I have to wear a shirt," Gray muttered under his breath, crossing his arms over his chest, "and maybe a tie."

Romeo made a face. "Well of course you do! Nobody wants to see you half naked anyways." He rejected out, a few snickers scattered from the men.

"So they want to see me fully naked?" Gray questioned.

Romeo facepalmed and decided to give up, shaking his head.

"You'll scar all the children's innocence forever!" Droy shouted, "I'm not going back to prison because someone reported you, and I have to dance with Levy too!"

"Like she'll dance with you, fatass." Jet retorted and crossed his arms.

A spark lit up at the two glared at each other, the intensity flaring up.

"Heck yeah she will!" Droy argued, then shoving a bunch of junk food in his mouth.

The two men continued to fire back insults at each other, Gajeel rolling his eyes. "They can shut up any time now."

"I'm leaving, it's too damn annoying to listen to." Laxus muttered. He silently left as the arguing grew louder behind him.

The Captain jumped on the ship's railing. "Oi, everybody shut up!" Natsu shouted. The arguing between Droy and Jet luckily calmed down along with arising murmurs.

"I'll just go pick out what I'll wear later," Natsu sighed, hopping down gracefully and walking to his room. "You idiots should be too."

"Might as well, since I'm only doing it so we don't get sentenced for a death penalty." Gray muttered, grumpily stalking back to his own room.

"Thank God you are," Droy hastily breathed, following their lead back to his separate room, "Everyone would kill you first before we'd get killed."

Natsu's thoughts were occupied as he scourged through shirt by shirt. Growing quickly frustrated, he chucked a random hanger across the room.

Occasions like these weren't his forte, but it never took more than a few minutes to wing together an outfit and go with the flow. Nothing irritates him quicker than putting an outfit together, and this was taking him longer than Gajeel's stupid guitar solo.

"Why the fuck do I care?" Natsu grunted, wrinkling his nose at some shirt Mira bought him that probably was a size or two off.

After grabbing a navy blue long-sleeved poofy dress shirt, he started to slip it on to see if it was to his preferred taste of style-

Natsu blinked as he stared in the mirror, seeing his arm stuck halfway through.

"Okay, what the fuck," Natsu spat, wriggling his arm to see it still not fit through the slim sleeve, "this used to fit me until--"

His eyes widened, slowly taking off the shirt to study his physique, noticing that he was more toned than he'd thought, every definition more intense.

A cocky smirk appeared as he went back and hung the shirt up, scanning through more fancy materialized shirts he'd received.

After a long hunt, he decided on a red buttoned-dress shirt. It was one of the only shirts that fit in his possession. The style was more loose-fit, but he liked how it was snug on him, defining his upper body perfectly. A flashy black belt with gold lining and two flashy diamonds, fitted black pants and high shiny black boots.

Instead of a poofy white vest to wear underneath, he'd wear a long gold chain around his neck.

Natsu set his clothes aside and switched his earrings, replacing with a small diamond nub, a large ruby piercing and a small gold hoop.

God, he loved earrings.

As he set his other earrings back, the little pouch in the corner of his drawer caught his eye once again. A soft smile formed as he slipped the beautiful rose-gold necklace into his palm.

"The right time will come." Natsu mumbled, admiring the diamonds on the rose's petals. He remembered everything that day, still glad he got his hands on the necklace that somehow brought her attention. He cringed when Lisanna had came along, but successfully managed to put her to good use surprisingly.

He slipped it back into its secure pouch and closed the drawer, deciding to take the nap he desperately needed to replenish his short-term energy for tonight.

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"Ow! Son of a bitch I just burnt myself!"

Lucy and the others laughed as Evergreen dramatically shook her hand in the air. The curling wand had finally managed to land on someone, sadly it was the woman's skin between her thumb and pointer finger.

She continued to blend Wendy's eyeshadow, a subtle but intriguing style. Lucy has braided her hair that swept beautifully to one side, the start point from the side of her head.

"I'm almost done Wendy, just a little mascara, and highlight," Lucy said, setting the eyeshadow blending brush down, "I'm using a neutral pink lipstick for you so you don't have to worry about it smearing off."

"Thanks so much Lucy, you're the best!" Wendy exclaimed, smiling as Lucy quickly finished by dusting a setting spray across her face.

Mira excitedly clapped her hands, "Wendy! You're so beautiful, Lucy made your inner princess shine through I swear!"

As Wendy admired her hair and makeup, Lucy couldn't help but smile at her.

"So Lucy, are you going to do your makeup?" Erza asked, deciding to throw her hair up into a high ponytail.

"Yup, I just wanted to make sure Wendy was done. I still have a couple hours, and I've already done my hair so I'll be fine." Lucy replied. She loosely curled her hair, pinning a tiny section from both sides of her face on the back of her head with a clip that had a small red rose on it. It cascaded all the way down her upper body in delicate, gentle rings.

"God dammit I hate this thing." Evergreen muttered as she hissed from the small burn on her hand.

Lucy grabbed all her makeup materials and got ready in Levy's room, wanting it to be a surprise to mostly everyone. Levy stared in awe for the next hour at her best friend glamming up.

"You're going all out!" Levy shouted as Lucy finished her ombré-brown smoky eyeshadow, her lid sparkles with gold.

"Sorry, I just get a little carried away, but it'll be fine." Lucy laughed as she quickly perfected a long black winged eyeliner. She snapped her fingers as she reached for another product.

"Um, just fine? You're slaying to the Gods, you are the representation of an angel blinding to the heavens with your highlight." Levy praised, clapping her hands after each word.

She applied mascara and fluttery long lashes, then grabbed the last remaining product.

"Which one?" A matte pink lipstick was in one hand while a rosy red lipstick was in the other.

"Definitely red."

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"Why can't my drinking buddy be here?!" Cana shouted, chugging another mug of beer down the hatch as she sat on a wooden table. Many eager men whistled and cheered her on.

"Oh, Cana." Mira sweat-dropped as she stood next to Lucy, both lightly laughing at their already-intoxicated friend. The festival had only just began half an hour ago, and nobody was surprised by her actions.

"She must miss Bacchus, she hasn't seen him in half a year." Levy commented.

Lucy assumed Bacchus was more than a meaningful friend to Cana, so she didn't ask for reasons as to why.

She admired how the whole town was decorated to its finest, lights sprinkled everywhere with flowers and music that people danced to. Women and girls in all different styles of dresses happily showed off, presenting in their absolute best. Men made sure they were tidied up, their motto most likely 'dress to impress'.

"Juvia wants to find Gray-sama and dance with him!" Juvia cried out loud.

Lucy smiled back at her, "I'm sure he will, we'll find him sometime tonight."

"C'mon Lu, let's go explore!" Levy cheered, grabbing Lucy's hand and giddily prancing off. Her short blue hair bounced with her curls in each step she took.

"I'm coming, don't worry!" Lucy laughed as she managed to stay on her feet, considering gold shimmering heels were attached to her.

Mira smiled as she stayed to watch Cana as a backup in case the brunette toppled over. A firm arm slipped around her gently to surprise her.

"I'll keep you company." Laxus said, letting Mira lean against his side.

Juvia whined again, wishing she could cuddle next to the ice mage she desperately adored with her heart.

Wendy had skipped off to a game, trying to successfully knock down a few pins with balls. She threw another, and it just bounced off the pin, not making it move an inch.

"Aww man, I can't knock over any of them." Wendy sadly said, glancing down at how many she had left. There was three left, and she'd already perfectly aimed the first two but the stubborn pins hadn't budged.

"Sorry lil' lady, guess you don't have a good arm." The older man laughed, slamming his hand on the counter. He knew the game was rigged, and seeing the bluenette try was humoring him.

Wendy's shoulders dropped, softly grabbing another ball and brought it back.

"I got this, this'll be a piece of cake."

Her eyes widened, but a smile replaced her frown as the boy took the ball from her hand.

"Kid, you're better off not trying to impress the girl." The man chuckled rudely, sending a cocky glance at the boy.

Romeo sent a smirk back, winding his arm back and launching the ball with all his might.

The ball flew straight through the middle pin, bouncing off to hit the left one over, following with the middle toppling over to knock the right pin over.

Wendy clapped her hands, "Romeo, that was amazing!"

The man dryly gulped as he stared from the pins to the boy, unbelieving what he witnessed. "Uh-h, here's the prize.." His hand shook as he held out a thornless stemmed rose.

Romeo's cheeks reddened from her praise, but confidently took the rose and held it out to her. "Here, this is for you."

Wendy shyly accepted the rose and blushed, "Thank you."

"Um, n-no problem," Romeo stuttered, admiring how pretty she looked, "you look pretty by the way..."

The man chuckled and crossed his arms. He did that kid a favor, and for once he wasn't mad that someone beat his game.

At another game, Levy screamed out in anger as she launched another dagger with no aim. The dart landed directly between two balloons, making her groan even louder than before.

"Lucy, I can't do this!" Levy complained. She'd missed every single time, and there was more balloons covering up the backboard than space itself.

The younger man chuckled behind the counter, "Well, you can use a small bow and arrow if you'd like."

"C'mon shrimp, you gotta hit one." Gajeel snickered in her ear.

Levy spun around, holding a dagger in her palm. "I'm not afraid to use this!" She threatened, swinging her arm back to stab him in the arm.

The crowd gasped in horror as her arm swung forward, smashing onto his arm.

Lucy winced at the sight of her best friend grabbing her hand in pain, the dented dagger falling to the ground below her feet.

"That's not gonna hurt me." Gajeel said, picking up the dark and chomping off the metal part and throwing the feather aside.

"H-hey! You can't just eat those!" The young man stuttered, surprised to see the bulky man consuming his possession.

"I just wanted a free chocolate bar." Levy harrumphed, leaning into his chest and crossed her arms. A large hand patted her head, making her hide a blush.

Lucy sighed, but stepped towards the game. "I'll finish it for her, do you mind if I could use your bow and arrow?" She kindly said, smiling at the young man.

He furiously blushed, quickly handing the necessities over. "As you wish, m'lady."

Lucy relaxed her body, quickly setting her feet and launching a few small arrows. Three quick pops followed, surprising the growing crowd.

"Wow, did you see that?!"

"She's amazing!"

"Not to mention gorgeous!"

Lucy smiled from all the compliments that sprouted from the crowd as she easily popped the rest of the balloons with ease, not missing once.

The young man handed over a large chocolate bar, which she passed over to Levy.

"Thank you Lulu! I owe you one!" Levy said, tearing the bar open and chomping off a chunk to munch on. Gajeel snapped a large piece off and shamelessly ate it, ignoring her protests about stealing.

Lucy laughed at the sight between the two, smiling widely as the crowd began to disappear.

"Wow, you look amazing."

Lucy looked over her shoulder to see Gray walking up to her, surprised to see he was dressed up. "You don't look so shabby yourself." She replied. He'd worn a dark blue dress shirt with white pants and black boots, following with a white puffy layered bow at his collar.

Gray chuckled, "That's all I get? I put a lot of effort into this." He proudly patted his covered chest, straightening his shoulders. His eyes couldn't snap away from how drop-dead stunning she looked.

"Juvia was looking for you if you were wondering." Lucy mentioned.

He smirked and shook his head. "I was looking for you." The gaze he held in his eyes caught hers.

Brown eyes widened and blinked at his reply. "Oh-h, really?"

"C'mon, I'd love to have a dance with you," Gray held out his arm, softly showing his signature side-smile, "I wouldn't want your night to be a waste to look that beautiful."

Lucy bit the inside of her cheek, but smiled as she looped her arm within his. "That'd be fun." She replied.

His arm comfortably looped with hers, but a strange nagging feeling tugged at the back of her mind. Yes, she did confess to herself that Gray was an incredibly handsome man, but she didn't get the same excitement, it didn't make her heart soar from their touch.

Shaking her head, Lucy pushed the thoughts away to enjoy her time.

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"...Just one more~.." Cana drunkenly sighed, a sheepish smile plastered on her lips that were now smeared with lipstick.

Mira patted her friends' back, setting her head down on the table, "I think you've gotten a little too much to drink." She giggled as Laxus rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

Natsu tapped his fingers against the wooden surface, watching crowds of people walk, talk, and dance to the music.

"What's with the bored look? It's awesome here!" Happy gushed, biting into a large, fat fish he'd stolen from a fishing game. He'd easily swept into the bucket filled with water and flew away as the old man cursed at him.

Natsu rolled his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest, "I don't know."

"Maybe he's looking for someone special." Mira teased. Her and Happy giggled as Natsu's cheeks tinted red.

"No I'm not." The Captain sorely replied and tsked with his tongue, sending a glare at both of his comrades.

While Cana laid in her seat dunked as a sailor with Mira's support, Natsu grumpily sitting in his seat with a sour look on his face, Happy obnoxiously poking him verbally, Laxus just gazed through the crowds. His arm laid behind Mira and comfortable sat.

Erza was currently spinning some poor guy around in circles numerous times as her attempt to dance, leading for the male to dizzily stumble and fall over. Elfman and Evergreen awkwardly tried for the first few minutes, but led to another bickering commotion to happen.

Laxus saw Lisanna gleaming once she saw them, quickly striding over with Bickslow following. He knew she'd only come over for her sister and mainly Natsu anyways.

"Hey guys!" Lisanna waved, hoping that she'd get Natsu's attention. Her long mermaid dress was white, the bottom flaring out.

"Oh no..." Natsu mumbled, hearing Happy snicker beside him. He was completely unprepared on what to say if she'd ask him for a dance, and simply rejecting her wouldn't go well with Mira around, even if the elder sister knew the whole situation between them. He understood, it was a protective sibling thing.

"Hey Lis, wassup~" Cana bulged out, making her friends lightly laugh from her attempt to be polite, "Bickslow too, woah..."

"Hi Cana, and um, Captain." Lisanna awkwardly muttered, twiddling with her fingers as she stood next to him.

"Just take a seat," Laxus said, nodding to the two open seats next to Natsu himself, "give your feet a rest from walking in heels."

The fire dragon slayer met the man's eyes, seeing Laxus give him a nod.

'I owe you one,' Natsu mouthed as Lisanna sat next to him, relieved that she wouldn't ask him to dance this very moment. He refused to look at her, his gaze looking straight past her at the large amount of people dancing.

"I see Cana had her fill for the time being." Lisanna started, catching quick peeks at how thriving and handsome the salmon-haired young man looked. Her spirits dropped in her stomach to see him purposefully look her off, even past how pretty her makeup looked.

"Hey Lis, your makeup looks stunning by the way, did you do it yourself?" Mira asked curiously, "I know I did mine."

Lisanna gulped, but shook her head honestly. "I wish, but someone else did."

Natsu glanced at Lisanna, barely managing to mentally give her a compliment. Whoever did it, they really covered all the lies and bullshit she normally showed, others convinced she'd be an innocence. He'd love to give props to whoever pulled that off.

"Do tell!" Cana slurred, raising her head.

"Well, it was actually Lucy."

Natsu's ears perked at her name, now grabbing his full attention to inspect her face.

"I'm not surprised, she did Wendy's, Evergreen's and Ezra's too. I swear she spent four hours straight just helping everyone get ready." Mira giggled.

Cana raised a slump hand in the air, "She did my hair."

A soft smile finally grazed the Captain's lips for the first time tonight. Everyone quickly caught on to notice, leaving Mira and Happy quietly laughing.

Mira puckered her lips out, pretending to sigh loudly, "Hey Laxus, you should see how Lucy's slaying tonight, she really knows what she's doing." She purred, eyeing her Captain from the side.

Happy giggled along, "I bet she's already dancing with someone else."

Natsu's lips formed a line, the bridge of his nose blooming red as he wondered about the blonde. He hadn't seen or spoken to her all day, and it was hardly enough to say he missed her.

God, he really wanted to see her.

"Speak of the devil, Happy, how the fuck did you guess." Laxus said as his eyes landed on two familiar figures dance to the slow music.

Natsu furrowed his eyebrows as he followed Laxus' eyes, turning his head towards the large crowd slow-dance to the soft tunes.

Everyone around the table glanced the same direction, trying to spot what the blonde mans' eyes laid on.

"Holy shit." Bickslow breathed, staring at a certain spot.

"What are you talkin' bou-" Natsu started, completely losing his words on the tip of his tongue as his onyx eyes snapped wide open.

Nothing else in the world could've made him lose his breath, star-struck to notice his heart skipping beats and losing its rhythm.

The dancing figure was far away within the crowd, but no enchantment could have him fooled for someone else. Not one could glow under the moonlight so radiantly, every movement graceful to the touch.

Red beamed from the rest of the neutral colors, striking its own elegance to leave others in the dust. It cherished every gust that soar by, the color fluttering with the slow-moving figure. Endless waves of golden ringlets cascaded down, it's rosen-gold shimmer shining by the subtle lights.

But the rose color danced with a dark, luring navy blue instead, and he knew exactly who it was. A space was between them, but it was crystal clear to his eyes. His hands were on her hips while she grazed hers over his chest and shoulder.

"Juvia's not going to be happy if she sees this.." Happy muttered under his breath, glancing up at Natsu's hopeless expression.

Hot coal eyes only stared at them, his pupils expanding to feel his chest tighten in uncomfortable knots. No ship sank lower than his throbbing heart, aching horrendously.

Mira sadly watched Natsu stare at the scene, only imagining how he was hurting on the inside from his emotionless expression. Happy couldn't help but worry for him too.

"Captain-"

"It's nothing," Natsu bitterly spat, his voice shaking, "I think I should go back, Captain's gotta get his beauty rest, right?" He faked a sore smile, not fooling anybody.

"Hey man, we're in no rush. It'll be fine." Laxus said to his dismay, making Natsu freeze from getting up.

Nobody noticed when Juvia arrived to stand between Cana and Natsu, but she was livid.

"I can't believe Love Rival took away my Gray!" She cried out loud, making everyone jump in their seats surprised.

"No Juvia, it'll be okay..." Mira humbly said, handing a tissue over so Juvia could catch her tears before they ruined her makeup. A few choked sobs escaped her, following with hiccups.

Natsu stared at Juvia for a second, finally realizing the heartbreaking feeling of seeing someone he cherished be happy with someone else.

It wasn't someone he was with screwing around with another, it was the only one he'd come and grown to care for, and to see someone else dance the night away with her?

He wanted to finally cry.

After a long silent moment, disregarding Juvia's sniffles, Natsu shut his eyes and let his head drop to face his chest.

No, no. You're not going to, it's not worth it- His mind stopped, already swallowing the lie he told himself. Why'd it hurt so much? Why'd it tear every bit of his soul to threads to watch her be happy with someone else?

"You know she's looking for you, go and take her for a dance too."

That voice...

"Well well well, look who finally brought the ice pack." Laxus clapped, seeing Gray reluctantly being drawn over with the blonde.

"I kept him company, but I knew someone else was waiting so I didn't want to interfere too much."

Natsu snapped up to see Ice Princess stuttering right in front of his face. "What the hell?! Get out of my face!" He yelled irritatingly.

Gray shrugged his shoulders, a smirk on his face, "It's not my fault you're pissy-"

"Juvia, you should have the rest of the night to dance with Gray." The angelic voice cut him off, wiping his smirk clean off as she nudged him towards the other female.

"Wait--hold on Lu-!"

"Gray-sama! Let's go!" Juvia cheered, yanking his arm as she galloped off to the crowd.

As everyone laughed at the scene, Natsu was no other than awestruck, mesmerized by her glowing presence. He could almost feel her radiance making his heart raise back up like a hot air balloon.

"Juvia thanks you so much, Lucy!" Juvia yelled before dragging Gray into the crowd, disappearing from sight.

Lucy smiled back, waving, "He's all yours!" She yelled back.

He's all yours...he's all yours?! Natsu's mind spun, his slumped body peeking back up into an upright posture.

Mira laughed loudly, "Lucy, you're a lifesaver I'll tell you that! I think Juvia went from hating you to loving you in less than a split second." She said, a few chuckles arising as Lucy spun around to face them.

Natsu really wasn't prepared to see her up close, but his jaw unconsciously dropped slightly open agape.

Holy shit was right.

Falling into his zoning-out hole, nothing demanded any attention than this. Her beautiful face was exquisitely heavenly, slim healthy statuesque bone structure fitted with a soft smile. Long, fluttery black eyelashes only drew him in further into her dimensional warm-chocolate eyes. Her soft, plump saccharine lips were highlighted by a true rosy red that only craved more the temptation to wonder how velvety they'd feel on his. The illuminating, glassy glow on her cheekbones and cupids-bow was like beaming sun rays glistening off the surface of crystal water, blinding to the eye.

"Really? I hope she didn't get too mad, Gray told me he was looking for me, but I knew Juvia was looking for him too," Lucy sweatdropped, a cheeky smile formed by her red lips, "and I may have accidentally left Levy with Gajeel after I helped her get a chocolate bar."

"What? Levy wanted to win chocolate?" Laxus asked, snickering at the thought.

"She was trying to pop balloons with darts, but she couldn't land a hit," Lucy continued, making Cana abruptly laugh out loud in her drunken state, "I just asked to use the bow and arrow, it wasn't hard to hit them."

"That's Levy for sure." Lisanna laughed, covering her mouth to muffle her voice.

"Would you like a seat? I can get one if you'd like." Mira mentioned, seeing that the table was occupied with every seat it came with.

"Um, I mean, I don't mind standing." Lucy replied shyly, hugging herself.

Everyone jumped to the sound of a seat screeching across the ground, the ear-piercing pitch nailing their eardrums. What followed was a chair toppling over on its back, startling Lucy to almost trip over.

"Dear Lord, Natsu, calm down," Laxus laughed as the Captain sheepishly picked up the chair he got out of, "I told you it was worth the wait."

"Shut up." Natsu embarrassingly said back, his hands shaking when he pushed the chair back in place.

"Hey Lisanna, can you watch Cana for me? Laxus and I haven't really had our own time yet." Mira winked at Natsu as her sister stuttered.

"B-But-" Lisanna started, getting cut off by Bickslow. "Yeah Mira, we can totally watch her for you!"

"Thanks you guys, we'll see you later!" Mira quickly said, her and Laxus getting up to walk away together.

Cana waved her friend goodbye, her words too slurred to understand anymore.

"I'm just gonna stay here and enjoy my fishy." Happy drooled in his sleep, completely knocked out in a slumber smack on the table.

Lisanna looked up at Natsu. "Hey Captain, would you like to st-"

"No, I've been waiting for someone all day and she's finally here." Natsu shamelessly said, his voice sending clear signs he wasn't interested in her request.

Lucy's eyes widened as she finally looked at Natsu, but put on a soft smile. "I'll see you later, Lisanna."

Lisanna looked at Lucy, nodding her head. "I'll see you."

Before Lucy could react, Natsu swept her away from the table. She opened her mouth to say an opinionated statement until he slowed down, his hand slipping to her lower exposed back.

The radiating heat tingled her skin, drawn in to his simple luring touch she couldn't deny.

Curiosity grew larger when she saw he wasn't meeting her eyes.

"Luce, may I ask for a dance with you?" Natsu nervously asked, biting the tip of his tongue anxiously. He must've picked up the biting habits from watching her so much.

"I'd love to."

Gently holding her hand as he led her, she studied his back, wondering why he hadn't seemed to want to look at her.

The slow music got louder as they approached the crowd. Lucy felt his hand quivering for the unknown reason of his nerves getting the best of him.

"You know, you're going to need to turn around, silly." Lucy said, giving his hand a light squeeze.

Natsu took a deep breath, his mind nagging that it was only her. It was just Lucy, there wasn't any need to be nervous, she was just-

Oh for fucks sake, he had every right in his damn mind to have his nerves flaring up. She was stunning. She was glowing. She was everything directly behind him.

Natsu turned around confidently, almost mentally thrown off his game again. He was tripping over her in his mind. "Miss, you don't understand."

He grinned at her as he stepped in her bubble, gently resting his hands on her hips. Flaming onyx eyes gazed into buttery cocoa eyes, almost melting himself when her hands slipped on his chest and the other over his shoulder.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Lucy giggled to feel his body stiff, giving him a reassuring smile.

"No, I'm fine Luce, you're just--" Natsu mentally cussed a colorful string of words at himself as he lost his sentence.

Lucy's fingers ran through the back of his hair, her heartbeat skyrocketing from seeing his blush deepen to the color of his shirt.

"--God, you're so beautiful."

Lucy immediately looked down towards his toned chest, feeling his body perfectly sway with hers, "Natsu-"

"I mean it, and don't you dare try and reject that," Natsu softly demanded, slipping his arms around her curvaceous figure. The heat in his body was almost at the point of uncontrollable from his feelings running wildly free. "I missed you today, but I promise waiting that long was worth it to be with you tonight."

"I missed you too," Lucy replied, the smile on her lips unable to calm down, "and lying isn't very nice."

"You know I'd never lie to you." Natsu said, shaking his head.

"I think you are now."

"Look up at me and say it again."

Lucy dryly gulped, looking up to see an unexpected smile with a softened gaze. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." Natsu mumbled, shaking his head again. He nuzzled his forehead against hers, bringing her closer to his chest. The ends of her soft-lilac hair touched his hands.

Lucy followed his lead, blushing. Thoughts of only him blurred her mind, the fuel to the butterflies fluttering caged in her ribs. She almost couldn't believe his words, it was simply impossible.

The more time passed being with him, the more she admired his aspects and quirks. He had incredibly gorgeous tanned skin glazed over his muscular physique from countless hours of working on the ship's deck. His spiky salmon hair somehow defined his strong jawline and cheekbones. An odd gleam always seemed to make his gray eyes illuminate brighter when he gazed in the moment. Never in her dreams would she imagine a man like this to be a pirates crew Captain, bringing out the hint of danger in her life.

"Did you know I was wearing red tonight?" Lucy curiously asked, seeing that he'd worn the same shade of shirt as her dress.

"Lucky guess," Natsu grinned, feeling his temperatures wildly raise from the untamed fire growing within, "I think you were copying me."

Lucy playfully rolled her eyes, secretly smiling as she daringly wrapped her arms around his neck, their gaze intensifying.

Natsu's mind was thinking of one thing, the risky words playing over and over before knowing that how he truly felt about the angel in his arms. She was a glimmering piece of heaven, a delicacy he's vowed to himself to protect.

"Luce...I need to tell you somethin' later." Natsu softly husked, a lustful glint piercing through his soft gaze. They were a-fire with passion over his enticing and gentle smile.

"Okay," Lucy replied, softly smiling back as their faces both blushed.

Natsu continued to enjoy the blissful dance with Lucy, their movements in perfect harmony with another.

The chance he thought of taking later would either send him a death wish to his grave, the thought of their friendship burning until it'd turn to a pile of ash.

The fire in him wanted to not only keep him warm, but her too, but he feared he'd get too close, too soon that the dangerous flames he carried would burn instead.

This was a fire that endlessly scourged in his heart that she'd ignited, and there was no way to put it out.

__________ ∙∘✧❀✧∘∙__________

I had to leave a small cliffhanger, this chapter is long af.

I apologize for that, sometimes I can't stop writing.

Let's just say college summer courses are taking up my time to put up chapters :)

The Gifted Mermaid
❀ by queen_random1 ❀
❤️Thank you for reading ❤️