The Gifted Mermaid➳Nalu

Chapter 5: Bonding Closer

It was another typical day, except the way Natsu woke up.

Wow, her scent is amazing... Natsu's sleepy mind thought, a grin on his face as he started to open his eyes. She did have a wonderful scent, it was almost like roses.

He felt his arm draped over something, so he peeked an eye open to see his arm laying over her waist. Her relaxed body was close to his, making his face become warmer, a red tinting the apples of his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

Jerking his arm back, his breaths were more quicker from realizing he had slept on her side, mere inches apart. Natsu sat up and ran a hand through his salmon colored hair, shaking his head.

The last time he'd slept that close to someone was with Lisanna.

No, she's in the past. Natsu reminded himself, taking a glance at Lucy beside him before he got up and got ready for the upcoming day.

After a couple minutes, Lucy opened her eyes from her body feeling somewhat quickly colder, stretching her legs under the blankets. She shivered as goosebumps appeared on her bare arms, so she decided to sit up.

She sat up in silence, taking a few minutes to relax before needing to get up. The bathroom door swung open to see Natsu walking out already dressed, his hair still damp from his shower.

"Good morning, Natsu." Lucy smiled at the Captain, who had a faint blush appear on his face.

"G'morning Luce, sleep well?" The question stumbled out of Natsu's mouth, only meaning to keep those two extra words inside his head.

She nodded. "Yes, thank you."

Natsu raised his arm behind his head, looking out the window to make sure she didn't notice his face. "A-ah, you're welcome, Miss." A soft giggle came from the blonde as she stood up from the bed to grab her clothes and get ready.

"You don't have to call me Miss." Lucy laughed, but thought it was a polite gesture from him every time he called her that. "I didn't think Captains would be so polite to the newbie."

Natsu gave Lucy a playful glance as she laughed, closing the bathroom door behind her. "Maybe I'll make ya scrub all my floors today by yourself!" He jokingly teased, getting a quick reaction from her.

"Ew, no! It's hard enough to clean them with Gajeel and Juvia!" Lucy complained, but still laughed after her fuss.

Natsu shook his head as he proceeded to the upper desk. "What the hell is wrong with me today already?" He scowled at himself, feeling much hotter than normal. He couldn't stop his cheeks from being flushed as if they were on fire. Maybe it was just how he woke up today that was throwing him off.

"Cap'n! We're headed towards Ismalu, the large town that was north of where we last went to, Riduele." Erza pointed to land that was far in their vision, but many shops were set up, almost like a festival style. "We're buying more supplies and weaponry, I could use a new sword myself." She commented.

"Yay! I can't wait to go shopping again!" Wendy squealed, making all the females around her laugh while the men groaned.

"Aye, I could use a break from this ship before I get motion sickness stayin' on this thing for too long." Natsu replied as he put his hands on his hips. He took a deep breath of the fresh air that was blowing in his face.

"I'm surprised he's lasted that long without even batting an eye, but then again the ocean's been as calm as ever." Carla mentioned, noticing that the ride for the past nine days have been going smoothly.

Happy nodded his head, but snickered. "Well, I'm not too surprised that he's been feeling better than usual." He added an extra wink towards Natsu, while Mira covered her mouth to muffle her laugh.