A/N: Are you guys ready to ruuuumble with part 2? XD

Anyhow... in this chapter I included someone apologising, which I promised a reader I would include at some point in this story. I'm sorry I didn't do that earlier on, but it just seemed to fit in this chapter, because of the atmosphere and stuff. So I didn't forget about it, I just couldn't find the right time to include it :3

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Chapter 25: Fishing for more than fish

Lucy let out a sigh as they walked out of Magnolia, towards their next destination the lake.

Currently she was walking next to Happy and Natsu, who was eagerly talking about fish and the prospect of how many they would catch.

The blonde narrowed her eyes and glared at the dragon slayer with scepticism.

How could he be so jolly and carefree, about the whole situation that happened earlier? Wasn't he just the tiniest bit embarrassed? Didn't he feel... well exposed, like she did?

Evidently not, judging by how he talked and acted all excited...

Okay, so when Happy had entered her apartment he had been all baffled and confused. Actually the cat had sounded more perplexed than she had been, because he was speechless and could only stutter for the first few minutes. Which was a good thing, because it gave her time to gather her composure.

After a couple of minutes of hugging Natsu's torso the cat had pointed at each of them in turn, with huge fat tears threatening to fall from the corner of his eyes. He had sounded so insecure and sad about something, but he couldn't really put it into words. It was weird seeing the cat like that, but it soon washed right off him. It was a rather drastic change, because one minute Happy was sulky, the next he was snickering teasingly at them.

Yeah and that was when the jokes and sarcastic, yet somewhat naughty teasing had started... it had been... rather unpleasant and embarrassing. Even Natsu looked like it had an affect, all though not to the same degree as it did on her.

And what the freaking heck was up with that?

They were both caught doing the same thing, so shouldn't it at least affect him just as much as it affected her?

Evidently not... stupid idiotic... Natsu...

And ever since then the dragon slayer and the cat had been all jolly about gathering their fishing equipment. It had been like watching two kids being hyperactive and high on sugar!

Anyhow, they eventually left her apartment to go to their house, because they didn't consider that Lucy didn't own something "a fishing pole which was basic for human survival" as they called it.

So yeah, that kinda summoned up what happened after the cat had caught them... well... doing that...

An image of the kiss spawned in her mind, making her blush from head to toe.

"Luuu~uucy" the cat sang knowingly "Is the sun getting to you or are you in heat?"

"WHAT?!" she bounced backwards "I'm not a cat!"

"So the sun is getting to you?" Happy snickered

"No!"

"Ohhh" the cat's smile widened "So you're a pervert! Luuucy... how can you think about that at a time like this"

"I... I... wasn't" Lucy huffed as she turned her head to glare in another direction.

"Suu~uure" the cat rolled with his tongue.

"I honestly wasn't!" she stomped with her foot "I was thinking about... chilli!"

"Chilli?" Natsu said as he joined the conversation "Isn't that rather random to think about all of a sudden?"

"No?" Lucy answered avoiding his piercing stare.

"Natsu?" Happy asked.

"Yeah?" the dragon slayer tilted his head to the side, to glare at the cat.

"Lucy is smart isn't she?"

Natsu shrugged "Sometimes... Actually she can be really stupid other times"

"Really?" Happy gasped in surprise.

"Oy, I'm right here you know" Lucy clenched her fist in anger.

"Why do you ask?" the dragon slayer asked the cat, ignoring Lucy's outburst.

"It's just..." the cat rubbed his chin in thought "... chilli is hot right? Maybe she was implying what she was thinking about, is so hot that she couldn't say it out loud?"

"Ohh!" Natsu's eyes widened at that prospect.

"... you've got to be kidding me..." the blondes eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

"So she was really thinking pervy stuff Natsu!" the cat chuckled.

"Seems so!" the dragon slayer chuckled as well "Luuucy..." he turned his head to glare at the girl.

Aww heck no, she wouldn't play into his trick no matter what he tried to pull on her.

Absolutely not! Nope! It wasn't happening!

"... you were thinking about someone pretty awesome weren't you?" Natsu smirked teasingly.

"Nope!" she shook her head defiantly.

"Yeah you were. The person in your mind was handsome, amazing and overall hot! And I would know wouldn't I, since the person you thought about was..."

"No" Lucy closed her eyes, pretending she was ignoring the other mage.

"... Makarov!" Natsu's lips curled backwards into a devious smirk, revealing his teeth.

"What? No?! Eww!" the blonde's eyes widened in horror "I was clearly thinking about..." she pointed her finger in his direction and was about to say his name, when it hit her.

That... pink haired idiot actually managed to make her go straight into his trap! Sneaky bastard!

"Yeeees? Go oooon" Natsu smirked deviously, clearly encouraging her to finish that sentence.

Tsch, as if she was gonna give him that satisfaction!

"Okay, I guess I'll admit it then" Lucy snickered and shot him a seductive glare "Even if it should be fairly clear who I was thinking about. I mean... there's only one person, who I could think about who is smart..." she raised a finger each time she mentioned a positive quality "... spectacular... athletic... strong... and of course so good looking, he would melt an iceberg if he stepped on it"

"Yeah that sounds about right" Natsu had a small blush plastered on his cheeks.

"So of course I'm talking about Sting"

"Uh-huh, I knew you would..." the dragon slayer blinked in confusion for a few seconds, therefore he didn't see Lucy quickly exchanging a wink with the cat "... what?!"

"I like Sting!" Happy voiced his opinion.

"He is like totally fab isn't he?" Lucy nodded eagerly towards the cat, trying to suppress a laugh.

"Yeah! And if you guys had babies, it would be a blonde paradise!" the cat nodded as well.

"Exactly! And you know" she scoffed to impersonate Zilla "Pink is like sooooo last season!"

"I heard that too!" Happy placed his paw above his mouth but it was almost impossible to hold in his laugh "Blonde and blue is totally in this season!"

"Yes it is!" Lucy reached her hand out towards the cat "So you wanna make this season totally amazing?"

"Heck yeah!" the cat answered as he spawned his wings.

"Oy..." Natsu shook his head as he evidently came out of his daze, being perplexed that his teasing had backfired "... what the freaking fuck?!"

"Nothing for you to worry about Natsu" Lucy laughed wholeheartedly as she felt Happy grab her body and a second later she was airborne "See you at the lake!"

"And make sure to bring your fishing arms! We need them to catch the biggest fish!" Happy said while chuckling.

"But... but..." the dragon slayer stuttered feeling utterly confused "... what?"

"Come on!" Lucy smiled warmly towards him "It's time for you to dive in head first and ask questions later"

"I..." Natsu smiled because he clearly understood her hint to their conversation earlier "... yeah!"

And with that the trio found themselves suddenly going at a faster pace towards their destination.

Natsu was smiling to himself as he sat by the lake, holding the fishing pole firmly in his hands.

Currently Happy was snoring peacefully on the ground, thoroughly enjoying the sunlight that was bathing his tiny body. Sometimes the cat could act and be like a kid, so it wasn't at all surprising that the events had left him exhausted and in desperate need of a nap.

Lucy was casually laying next to him reading a book, she had brought with her. He didn't know what the book was about, nor did he particularly care. She looked like it was interesting to her, so that was all that really mattered.

They sat there enjoying the silence, when he heard the unmistakeable sound of Lucy quietly sobbing. The sound made his stomach squirm in discomfort and for some reason his protective side was evoked, making him turn his head quickly to scan their surroundings for any incoming threads. Satisfied that everything seemed to be in order, he turned his head to look at the blonde, who was trembling ever so slightly, with a hand placed above her mouth, as if it could somehow prevent her silent cry from making any sounds.

"What's wrong? Did the book hurt you?" He narrowed his eyes in concern "I mean I once got a paper cut from a book and it hurt like... well surprisingly much actually, considering it wasn't that big of a cut..."

"No..." Lucy chuckled and quickly wiped her eyes to remove a few lonely tears that was suddenly streaming down her face "... it wasn't a paper cut"

"Then what?" the dragon slayer blinked feeling rather perplexed "Did Happy fart? Sometimes his farts can be really disgusting. I remember he once farted directly into my face and it stung my eyes, like he had unleashed a wind of pepper into my face..."

"Really?" Lucy turned her head and smiled warmly towards him "That sounds horrible... but no he didn't fart... at least I don't think so"

"Ohh.." his mouth formed a circle for a second, before he started rubbing his neck almost nervously "... well then... was it something I did?"

"Huh?" the blonde blinked in surprise "Of course not! It's this book"

"Eh?"

"It's just..." she sighed heavily "... something really sad happened and... I really didn't expect it..." her body started trembling again "... I'm sorry... it's just... so unfair and cruel..."

"Ohh... uhm..." he rubbed his chin in thought, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, but also slightly curious "... do you think it would help if you talked about it?"

"I don't know..." she shrugged "Maybe... you wouldn't mind?"

"Naaw, it's fine" he smiled in encouragement towards her "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Yeah..." she smiled with a tiny blush suddenly spawning on her cheeks "... likewise"

"Neat!"

"Anyhow..." Lucy turned her head to stare at the book "... to keep it simple this story is about a girl called Maya and all the time there's been this tension between her and this boy called Oliver. It was rather clear that they both liked each other and..." she took a shaking breath before continuing "... and they finally realised their feelings for each other..."

Her hands started trembling, making the book in her hand shake.

"But... then..." Lucy's voice cracked, making her take a deep breath before continuing "... then there was this accident and... and... he died right in front of her... and that's... that's just... so cruel! Why... why would the author do something so horrible?"

"... damn..."

"... and the chapter ended with her..." Lucy sobbed when she buried her head into the book "... watching him go... just... vanishing forever..."

"Ahh..." his eyes narrowed as he watched her trembling body.

Well what could he say to something like that? Mmm...

"Luce?"

"Yeah?" her voice was high-pitched and fragile.

Auch... he really hated seeing her like this... it hurt too much for some reason seeing her sad...

Not sure what else to do, he started rubbing her back with his hand, hoping that it might soothe her somehow.

"So... How did this Olive die?"

"... it's not Olive it's Oliver..." Lucy chuckled sadly "He... feel down a cliff..."

"I see... so there wasn't a body or something like that?"

"No... he just... vanished..."

"Well... then maybe he isn't dead"

"What?"

"Yeah... I mean I'm not that much into fictional stories and stuff like that, but doesn't it sound way to convenient that he just vanished instead of dying in front of her?"

"I..." Lucy turned her head to glare at him, with a small smile playing on her lips "... I guess you're right"

"Yup! I know I am! So don't give up hope, he might return and be all supernatural or something"

"It's not that kind of story, but I get your point..."

"Well that's because..." he felt the fishing pole jerking in his other hand, making him turn his head in the other direction "... hold on a sec I need to haul in this bastard, before it gets away"

"Sure! Go for it"

It didn't take long before the dragon slayer had successfully caught a giant fish and a few minutes later he had gutted and cleansed it, before throwing it on top of the pile of fish they had already caught. After that he quickly washed his hands in the lake, before going back to his position next to Lucy.

"Looks like we're gonna have a feast later on, huh?" Natsu smirked towards the girl.

"Yeah, can't wait" she smiled warmly towards him and got into a sitting position.

"Me neither"

"Natsu..."

"Yeah?"

He didn't have time to react because suddenly Lucy had thrown herself at him and snaked her arms around his torso, engulfing him in a tight hug.

"Thank you..." she whispered before placing her head on his shoulder "... for everything"

"Heck I didn't do anything" he chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, returning the gesture.

"Mmm-mm..." she shook her head "... you did a lot"

"If you say so..."

"Natsu..." her voice was stern and serious all of a sudden, as she leaned backwards, so she could stare at him "... don't ever belittle yourself like that"

"I didn't..." he blinked feeling momentarily insecure of what the heck he had done wrong "... did I?"

"Yes you did..." she gently placed a hand on his cheek "... you comforted me and that's not nothing. So don't you dare say otherwise, you hear?"

"I see..."

"You hear!" Lucy said in a more demanding tone as she grasped his head between her hands, forcing him to stare in her direction.

"Yes ma'am!"

"Good!" she nodded before slowly leaning towards him and placing a kiss on his forehead.

It was such a gentle touch, that he could feel his skin prickling, where she had placed her warm lips.

Her touch and the fact that he could feel her gentle breath brushing against his skin, made a shiver run down his spine in delight.

A moan escaped from him as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment, for the short time it lasted.

The whole situation had him thinking and for some reason, and it made him recall another moment they had together... honestly he didn't want to bring it up, but it had to be said... he had to man up and do the right thing...

"Luce..." he removed his arms and sighed heavily.

"Yeah?" she sounded surprised "Is something wrong?"

"You could say that..." he chewed nervously on his bottom lip and avoided looking in her direction.

"It sounds serious" her voice was filled with concern "Is there anything you want me to do?"

"No... well yeah kinda... maybe..."

"What?"

"It's..." Natsu groaned as he started massaging the bridge of his nose "... I was an idiot... and I'm sorry... I really am"

"What?" Lucy tilted her head looking thoroughly confused "No, I don't think..."

"Yeah I was..." he sighed heavily and closed his eyes "... I didn't mean to be but... I made you cry didn't I? Because what I said the other day..."

"I... ohh..."

"It was a misunderstanding I know, but still... that doesn't make up for the fact that I hurt your feelings... that was... rude... and stupid of me..." Natsu opened his eyes and stared at the ground with a sad expression "... so please... if... if I ever do something again that can be... well interpreted as insulting or stupid, then please tell me..."

The dragon slayer sighed again before continuing.

"... because... I'm me and sometimes I make mistakes" a sad chuckle escaped his lips "I'm not a freaking genius, so please... I never want to hurt you... I don't want to be the reason for your tears... only if they're happy tears, but that's something else... so..."

"Natsu... stop being so hard on yourself..."

"I'm not..." his head snapped in her direction.

"Yes you are..." she pointed her finger towards him "... what you're saying is perfectly normal thought. I mean sure I misunderstood what you said at that time, but I'm partly guilty as well for how things turned out, because I got so overwhelmed by my emotions and acted irrational"

"But..."

"No!" Lucy shook her head "Stop it, please! This isn't like you at all! Besides don't you think I've had the same thoughts? Because I never want to hurt you either, so that's why I don't like it when you're insecure like this"

"But..."

"It's perfectly normal being nervous and having doubts about things, especially if you're in a relationship with that person..."

Lucy gasped in surprise at her own words and placed her hand above her mouth "N-n-not that I'm saying that we're... you know... or anything... uhm..."

"Ohh..." Natsu blinked a few times and blushed when he finally understood what she had implied "... well... uhm... I'm not sure how things like that usually goes but..." he rubbed his neck in thought for a second and that was when he heard a sudden noise coming from somewhere behind them, making his instincts stand on high alert.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked in concern, noticing how the other mage's body seemed to tense all of a sudden.

He didn't say anything put quickly motioned for her to be quiet as he got into a standing position.

Once there he listened more intensely at the sound that was approaching. It sounded like someone was sneaking or prowling from somewhere inside the nearby forest. But what could it be?

Natsu narrowed his eyes and took a few sniffs, but unfortunately that didn't provide him with an answer.

A growl escaped his lips as he quickly stepped in front of Lucy, taking a protective fighting stance.

Whatever it was, it was coming towards them at a fast pace... any minute now and it would be visible for them...

The question was though, was it friend or foe?

It all happened so fast. One minute Natsu was ready to clash his fire coated fist against the thing approaching, the next he found himself lying defenceless on the ground with a huge creature hovering above him …covering his entire body with saliva... yuck...

His eyes was spinning both in confusion and disgust, when he turned his head to stare at the huge white wolf that was standing above him.

"Fe-Fe... Fenrir?!" the dragon slayer stuttered.

The wolf barked happily before he removed himself and instead started licking the blonde girl, making her squeal and chuckle at the gesture.

"... what's going on...?" Happy grumbled to himself and rubbed his eyes "... why are you guys... KYA!" his eyes bulged in surprise "Natsu there's a dog eating Lucy!"

"It's okay Happy" Lucy smiled warmly towards the cat "It's Fenrir"

"Fen... rir?" the cat blinked looking rather confused.

"Yeah the wolf from the mission, remember?" Natsu said feeling himself gaining more self-control after he had his personal space so heavily violated.

"Ohh... right" the cat nodded.

"So what are you doing here?" Lucy asked as she started stroking the wolf's head.

Fenrir leaned his gigantic head against her touch, but didn't say anything.

"Don't tell me..." Happy narrowed his eyes in suspicion "... he came here to eat my fish..."

Fenrir made a whimpering sound and shook his head, clearly trying to indicate he wasn't there to eat the cat's supply of food.

"Happy!" Lucy gave the cat a stern look "Don't say something like that! He's a good dog and you said so yourself"

"Yeah yeah" the cat pouted in defiance.

The wolf very gently placed himself on the ground and used a paw to cover his snout, looking almost apologetic at Happy. As it did a long whimpering sound escaped from the wolf, making the cat feel guilty about his accusation earlier.

"Okay!" Happy raised his paw "I'll let you eat Natsu's fish"

"WHAT?!" the dragon slayer roared in outrage "No way, I did all the work!"

"But look at him..." Happy pointed at the wolf ".. how can you say no to that face?"

"Mmm..."

The cat had a point... gosh darn it!

A moan escaped Natsu's lips as he walked over to Fenrir and gently started patting his head "We'll figure something out, ain't that right?"

Fenrir barked happily and enjoyed the dragon slayer's touch with his mouth open and his tongue lazily dangling out.

As Fenrir sat there he turned his head to glare at Natsu and the blonde girl in turn, before finally gazing towards the cat, who clearly understood what the wolf was implying.

"Yeah..." Happy snickered teasingly "... I caught them with their faces like this" he smashed his paws together.

Fenrir tilted his head to the side and made a whimpering sound.

"I don't think they know that themselves, I mean they are both idiots when it comes to feelings" Happy rolled his eyes impatiently "So I wouldn't be surprised if they're currently what people call friends with benefits"

The wolf shook his head and let out a sigh.

"Yeah totally!" the cat nodded.

"... I don't know why but I feel like you guys are mocking us?" Natsu narrowed his eyes in suspicion towards the two creatures.

Hold on a minute, since when did Happy understand dog language...?

Another sigh escaped from the wolf as it got into a standing position and started trotting over to the dragon slayer, who was deep in thought.

"What...?" Natsu asked feeling rather confused when he suddenly felt the wolf nudging his back with his head "... oy! What the heck?"

He didn't get an answer, but followed wherever it was the wolf was leading him and suddenly he found himself standing in front of Lucy.

"Uhm..." the blonde smiled towards Fenrir ".. are you trying to tell us something?"

Barking the wolf sat in front of them and turned his to look at them in turn. As he did he smirked almost knowingly, trying to communicate something that should be rather obvious.

But of course it wasn't... or so Natsu thought as he glared back at the wolf feeling utterly confused.

"I don't get it" the dragon slayer said "What are you trying to say?"

Rolling his eyes the wolf used his paw and drew what looked like a heart on the ground. Once that was done it barked and looked at Lucy. After a second it raised one of his paws and placed it inside of the heart.

Fenrir barked again and looked at Natsu. This time he raised his other paw and glared at it and the dragon slayer in turn for a few seconds. After that it gently placed the paw inside the heart, right next to the other paw.

"I still don't get it..." Natsu shook his head and glared into the wolf's huge intense blue eyes.

They stood staring at each other for a few minutes when it finally hit him.

One heart... two paws... Lucy and Natsu... it all made sense...

"I uhm..." Natsu gulped as he started ruffling his hair "... as I told Lucy, then I don't know all that much about this... stuff... but I guess it's safe to say that we're... you know... in what people call a relationship"

"Finally!" Happy had tears of joy streaming down his face.

The wolf nodded and barked in the cat's direction, implying that he agreed with that statement.

"Re-really?" Lucy stuttered sounding insecure all of a sudden "I mean I guess you're right..."

"Yeah" Natsu smiled wholeheartedly as he grabbed her hand "Guess I am"

"Let's celebrate!" the cat raised his paw in determination "With a gigantic fish feast!"

The wolf barked happily at that idea, making Natsu chuckle as both animals glared at them with eyes sparkling in anticipation.

"I guess I have to catch more fish then, wanna help Luce?"

"Sure thing" she smiled back at him.

It didn't take long for them to catch a sufficient amount of fish and soon after that they were all gathered around a huge bonfire with fish frying and sizzling on sticks.

After that they all ate to their hearts content and soon the wolf was resting beside the fire, with the cat snoring peacefully on top of him.

It had been a nice day... really...

Natsu smirked to himself as he felt Lucy gently placing her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks for the meal" she said in a low and tired sounding tone.

"You're welcome"

They sat there in silence staring at the fire when he heard her mumble something. It was so low that a normal human wouldn't have heard it but he did.

"Yeah..." he smiled and gently kissed her hair, before nudged his head on top of hers "I like you too"

So they were in a relationship, huh?

For some reason that thought alone made his stomach twist and turn like he had a bunch of snakes squirming inside of it. That might sound like a bad thing but it wasn't. Heck no, because he felt absolutely amazing and he was absolutely sure Lucy felt the same way.

Which was awesome!

Everything was awesome!

Grinning like an idiot he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to inhale her scent.

He didn't know what the future might bring, but no matter what they would face it together.

Just the two of them...

Natsu suddenly felt the urge to hug her and so he did. Lucy didn't protest but responded to the gesture by wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Hey Luce?"

"Yeah?"

"You're pretty amazing you know that right?"

"Yeah... you're pretty amazing too"

Holy mother of everything good, if this continued then he might as well grow a pair of wings and fly around singing idiotic songs in the sky...

With his heart pumping loudly in his chest he quickly used the moment to steal himself a little kiss from the girl.

Woa, the snakes in his stomach was tickling him... like... he felt like chuckling but also growling at the same time.

Stopping the kiss he gently rested his forehead against hers, feeling his pulse hammering through his body at a fast pace.

Yeah... love was an amazing thing and it happened when none of them expected it.

Because honestly how many relationships start with someone having to deal with a yucky and deadly flu?

They didn't know how the guild would react when they announced their relationship, nor did it matter. As long as they had each other, then who cared what the rest of the world thought.

Natsu, Lucy and of course Happy... maybe even Fenrir if he didn't mind joining their adventure from time to time, would be a force to be reckoned with no matter where they went.

Heck yeah! Bring it on!

A/N: I left the ending almost open, because I want people to imagine all of the adventures that the 3 (perhaps 4?) creatures would go on, after this story ended.

So yeah! This is so sad... but oh well all good things needs to come to an end at some point *le cry*

About the next projects I have in mind... I think I'm gonna focus on my END, story before too much is revealed in the manga. Other than that I don't know what to start on. I have three other stories I have been working on randomly, whenever I had a chance and all of them are in different genres.

So yeah I dunno...

H: "Thanks so much for all of the support you guys! You're all amazing and I love each and everyone of you! Later dudes!"

Natsu: "Bye bye kittens!"

/Hejmdal