From Puppy to Prince

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

"'Dear Mr. Dragneel and Miss Heartfilia. We would be honored if you both would accept our offer to participate in a 'Strongest Partners in Fiore' photo-shoot.'" Lucy paused in reading the letter, a letter which the guild had received that very morning. "Strongest Partners in Fiore??? It'd make sense for Natsu to go, but why me?"

Natsu threw an arm around her shoulders, "Because we're partners!"

"He's right, Lucy. While Gray and I often partner with you two, you two are real partners. You should feel honored!" Erza then proceeded to slap Lucy on the back in a congratulatory pat that made her stumble.

Lucy nodded and held up the letter to read the rest, "'If you should choose to accept our offer, we will be meeting at Akane Resort on June 13th. In total, there are four partners selected, with your partnership included. We hope to see you in a week!' It's signed by that reporter, Jason."

Flying around Lucy's head, Happy shuddered. "Natsu, are you going to do it?"

"You bet! So whatcha say Luce? Think of it as a redo, since we kinda messed up the last time you were offered to model." He grinned sheepishly, remembering the time that he, Happy, Erza, and Gray had crashed her photo-shoot, making her miss it.

After a moment of thinking, Lucy grinned and nodded. "Yeah! It could be fun!"

And with that sealing the deal, Natsu and Lucy spent the next week training physically so they both looked their best, Natsu doing more so he looked his best for Lucy. On June 13th, they were waiting at Akane Resort, watching as the other partner teams showed up. There were Sting and Rogue from Sabertooth, Kagura and Milliana from Mermaid Heel, and Ren and Eve from Blue Pegasus.

Last to arrive was the actual photo crew. As the day went on, there were small sparing matches, to which the crew took advantage of and shot a few pictures. Overall, it was a good day. There were the obvious swimsuit shots, during which both Lucy and Natsu were lightly blushing the entire time. Everyone present, except for the two, could see the chemistry between them, but no one said anything. However, Rogue did have to stop Sting from asking Lucy out to rile Natsu up.

At the end of the day, each team was given a two-day vacation pass for Akane Resort. The photo crew explained to them that it was their payment for helping. There were a few playful grumbles, but everyone accepted the offer.

That night, all eight mages were sitting on the beach, sipping drinks and joking around. "So Lucy, how do you think your pictures turned out?" Kagura turned to the blonde girl, catching her attention from the glaring match Sting and Natsu were having.

"Oh! Well I think I did ok. I mean, I'm sure they're going to exaggerate certain things..." She hinted at the time from the Grand Magic Games, when the reporters, mainly Jason, made up his own stats about each of the contestants, which meant he focused on her body and looks and not her actual magic.

Milliana's ears perked up, "But this time they're supposed to be focusing on your looks!" She mewed softly with a smile.

"Milliana, I think what Lucy meant was that this photo-shoot was proposed to us as 'Fiore's Strongest Partners.' If all they focus on is her looks, they wouldn't be focusing on her strengths, just like at the Grand Magic Games. You can bet they will focus on Natsu's strength." Kagura sipped some tea, explaining what Lucy meant.

Ren and Eve joined into their conversation, "So... I guess your off the market, Lucy?" Eve hung his head just a bit.

"What do you mean?" A puzzled look crossed her face.

"Oh come on, we all saw how you and Natsu looked at each other, especially during the swimsuit set." Ren winked at her and Lucy shook her head.

She took a drink of her lemonade, "Guys, there is nothing going on between me and Natsu. We are just partners..."