Cooling Off

A Fairy Tail romance story

Disclaimer – I own nothing except the plot

It had been a long day for Team Natsu. They had just gotten back to the guild hall from a very long and tiresome mission. It was hot and humid and no one wanted to do much. Except Natsu, that is, considering he was used to the heat from being the fire Dragon Slayer. Gray had made a comment about how Natsu destroyed several buildings on the mission, infuriating the pink-haired mage.

"Well how else was I supposed to kill those monsters? They were inside. My magic is fire. What else do you expect? Something was bound to get wrecked."

"You could've lured them outside then killed them. But no; you're so damn stupid that you can't think before you act," Gray snapped.

"You wanna go, stripper?" Natsu's hands were engulfed in flames.

"Come at me, flame-brain!" He charged, ready to fight "Pinkie."

Lucy looked over at the two quarreling mages, agitated at their behavior, while holding Plue in her lap. "Honestly," she said, "Can't they stop fighting for one day?"

"Puu-pue," Plue answered, shaking his head. Despite the heat, Plue was shaking uncontrollably. Lucy knew, however, that the little spirit was always like this.

Suddenly, Happy appeared and gave his thoughts as well. "They're never going to stop fighting. We all know fire and ice don't mix well."

Lucy sighed. "I know. But it doesn't justify their fighting."

Suddenly, Juvia came up. "Hello, Lucy-san. Hello, Happy."

"Oh hi, Juvia," Lucy replied.

"Hi, Juvia," Happy said. He floated lazily into Juvia's lap and she began stroking the fur on his head. He purred contentedly.

"Juvia thinks she can stop them."

"Go ahead," Lucy said in an irritated tone. She watched Juvia gently put Happy on the table and get up with a smirk on her face.

"Water Lock," the bluenette called, sealing the two quarreling mages in a bubble of water. After a few seconds, she released them, watching in satisfaction as the sputtered and gasped for air.

"What the hell, Juvia," Gray said, panting for air, "Did you have to do that?"

"Yes, Gray; Juvia had to do that," she said, acting as if nothing had happened. If this had happened a few months ago, Juvia would have been reluctant to trap Gray. But she finally had to get over him when he asked Lucy on a date and soon became the blonde's boyfriend. She stopped obsessing over him and adding –sama to his name, as well as all the other obsessive habits she had.

They all looked at Natsu, expecting him to make a remark of his own. Oddly enough, however, he was silent. He looked calm and actually had a warm smile on his face. "Thanks, Juvia," he said cheerfully. "I needed that." He casually strolled up to the bar and ordered his usual drink, a spicy smoothie. They all looked at him incredulously as he nonchalantly sipped on his beverage. "What," the Dragon Slayer asked.

"That's it," Gray asked. "No desire to have at me again? Usually you always want to have at me again."

"Nope. Not this time," Natsu said calmly. Lucy, Gray, and Happy looked at Natsu, then looked curiously at Juvia.

Pretending she didn't notice, Juvia piped up, "Anytime, Natsu-san. Juvia's glad she could help. She just wants to help her nakama." She also went to the bar and ordered a glass of orange juice. "Why is everyone looking at Juvia," she asked, a slight blush dusting her cheeks. There was silence as people tried to process what they had just witnessed.

Natsu broke the awkward silence. "Let's go fishing, Happy." He flashed a toothy grin at his partner, trying to hide his discomfort from the situation.

"Aye, sir," the Exceed replied with his usual enthusiasm. He was always ready to go fishing. They darted out of the guild hall and its shocked occupants without another word.

"Well that was weird," Lucy said.

"What? Natsu being calm or Natsu bolting out of here like that?"

"Both, but especially how he just left. That's not like him." Then they heard a voice.

"Juvia will go after Natsu-san," the water mage declared.

"Try to see what's up with Pinkie," Gray said with a smirk as she departed in search of the Dragon Slayer. Lucy slapped him gently. "What was that for?"

"Stop calling him Pinkie," Lucy said. Her words were stern but her facial expression was not.

**At the river**

Natsu and Happy had gone to their house to get their fishing gear and now sat at the river, fishing poles in hand (or Happy's case, paw).

"Natsu," Happy said, "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," the son of Igneel admitted. "I feel weird right now, to tell the truth. I don't really know why, though."

"Is it Gray," Happy tried, attempting to help his friend sort out his problem.

Natsu shook his head and said, "No, it's not him."

"Is it Juvia?"

Natsu hesitated, pondering the idea, before saying, "Yes."

Happy then knew the answer immediately. "You liiike her," Happy teased.

"Of course I like her. She's nakama, isn't she," the dense boy said.

Happy facepalmed. Leave it to Natsu to not understand anything. "Well yeah. But you like her like her, don't you," the cat giggled.

Natsu's face was as red as his flames as he then understood his friend's intended meaning. "Yes! I mean no! I mean…" He sighed in frustration, flustered beyond understanding. Happy snickered. "Do you want me to throw you into the river, Happy," he asked in an aggravated tone. Happy snickered again, flying out of Natsu's reach. The boy sighed. "I don't know," he admitted. "When she used the Water Lock on Gray and me, I felt cooler and more relaxed. Whenever I'm near her, I just feel…better."

"You liiike her," Happy said.

"Quit rolling your tongue, dammit," Natsu exclaimed.

"But you do," the blue cat said with a cheeky smile.

Suddenly, Juvia appeared from the trees. "Hello, Natsu-san. Hello, Happy."

"Juvia," they exclaimed. Happy once again flew into her arms, where he was stroked on the head. Natsu blushed profusely. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to hear what Juvia needed to." It was the bluenette's turn to blush, which clashed oh-so-beautifully with her hair.

"Juvia…I…" Natsu hesitated.

"Juvia understands," she said quietly, setting Happy gently on the ground before moving closer to Natsu. "Juvia knows that Natsu-san is confused. Juvia wants to help Natsu-san figure out how he feels." She stepped closer. "Take Juvia's hand," she said. Natsu looked at her curiously but did as he was told. When their hands touched, it was as if Juvia's water was absorbing all his worries and nervousness. "Does Natsu-san feel better?" Natsu nodded numbly, the wonderful pleasure clouding his brain. "Juvia knows what's wrong with Natsu-san. Natsu-san is all hot and bothered by everything and Juvia's water has cooled him off. Natsu-san likes this, doesn't he?" The boy nodded again.

Wow, thought Natsu. That feels so much better. "Thank you, Juvia," he said. He leaned forward and gently kissed her cheek. He smirked at seeing her blush because of him. He pushed a few curls of hair out of her face and looked at her. So beautiful. Juvia looked up at him timidly. Natsu smirked before leaning forward and kissing her full on the lips. Juvia gasped, melting straight into the kiss.

Natsu-san's lips are so warm, she thought, looking at him sweetly.

"Juvia," Natsu said, hesitating once more. "I…"

She silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Shh. Juvia knows what you are going to say. I…love you too." Blushing, he kissed her again. In her love daze, she failed to notice that she referred to herself in first person rather than third.

"You used first person," Natsu noted.

"You make me a different person," Juvia purred. Natsu grinned.

"I told you that you liiike her," Happy squealed. Natsu merely sent a small blast of fire casually in the Exceed's direction, causing him to yelp and Juvia to giggle.

"Come on, Natsu-kun," she said. "Let's go back to the guild."

"Oh so it's Natsu-kun now, is it," he said with a smirk. She nodded. "I could totally get used to this, Juvia-chan." She blushed and they walked back to the guild, fingers intertwined.

xxx

(A/N) That's it for this little one-shot. Please review as it means the world to me. Thanks!