Hear me

12

They walked through the market in companionable silence, attracting the occasional odd look from merchants and passersby. Natsumi wasn't sure if they were the typical wary looks she normally received as one of the main destructive forces in Fairy Tail, or if it they were because of her being there with Laxus. She shrugged, deciding it didn't really matter. When she looked back up at Laxus, though, he looked uncomfortable.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

He looked down at her, his features surprised. "Huh?"

"Your face was all screwed up. Seemed like something was wrong," she said plainly.

"I guess people staring kind of pisses me off," he said, shrugging. "I'm used to people staying out of my way."

She frowned slightly, confused. "Really?"

"Uh, yeah. Despite the last few days and what happened with that shit at the Harvest Festival, I'm not really a showy guy. Or at least I'm not anymore," he mumbled.

Natsumi pursed her lips and looked up at Laxus with a contemplative expression.

"What?" he asked her when she didn't say anything.

"You're kind of an idiot," she said. She grabbed his hand then, startling him enough to end the snarky retort that he'd been about to make. She yanked him back in the direction they'd come, walking at a brisk pace. Taking various side streets, she pulled them closer to the city limits. "If you didn't want to be there, you could've just said so," she scolded, still pulling him along. "You don't have to just go along with things and lie about how you feel," she told him as they approached the forest.

He narrowed his eyes, "That's easier said than done, you know."

She scoffed. He really was an idiot.

"No it's not. Just say what you mean. That's what I do," she said as they approached the forest for the second time in as many days. She slowed her pace, but didn't drop his hand.

"Yeah, well, not everyone's like you," he grumbled.

Rolling her eyes, Natsumi huffed. She didn't really understand the point of blustering and covering up the way you felt. If he wanted something, then why wouldn't he say so? It confused her when people weren't straightforward.

"Well, for the rest of today and tomorrow, you have to always say what you mean. Got it?" she said in an imperious voice. "And no lying about it either!"

She didn't bother to listen the subsequent disgruntled protests. After all, he was the one who said he'd expected something more difficult than paying for food. Served him right.

His complaints died down as she led them further into the forest, leading them not down the circling path up to the bluffs, but further into the heart of the forest, where the path opened up. When the blonde asked where they were going, she uttered one word.

"Fishing!" she exclaimed with a bright smile.

By the time they reached Natsumi's fishing spot, a part of the river that was wide and deep enough to accommodate fish large enough to be "worth it", in the tiny dragon slayer's opinion, the sun was low in the sky, casting heavy shadows through the trees as they walked.

"You sure night fishing is a good idea?" he asked, sounding unsure.

"Of course it is! Happy, Lisanna, and I used to do it loads of times as kids," she reassured. "Why? You scared of the dark?" She couldn't resist teasing him, watching his eyebrows drop as he gave her a dirty look. He made it way too easy.

She only laughed harder when he didn't dignify that with a response. It didn't make goading him any less fun, though.

"I guess you wouldn't be, since you're basically a walking nightlight," she continued, squatting by the water's edge to see if she could see any movement below the surface. "Maybe you don't want to fall in and electrocute yourself?" she wondered aloud. The girl turned her head to look behind her, eager to see the stormy look on his face. It wasn't every day that Laxus let anyone walk all over him like she did. She was determined to milk it for all it was worth.