Gaining Courage: The Search for the Lost Keys (a Fairytail Galu story)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Beach Bunny

Lucy POV:

I had to admit Citrus Beach was just what we all needed.Of course it took me two hours to convince Gajeel not to try crossing the mountain during a hurricane but what would I know, stupid dragonslayers, I swear they have no self-preservation instinct. If the storm hadn't disrupted the railway line and made the paths across the mountains all but impassable Gajeel never would have stopped at a resort town, too many people for his tastes. At least he had fun this morning with Cetus and Pantherlily taking care of the sea monster too bad for him that it turned out to be a lost and trapped giant sea urchin and he had to let me and Aries gently stir it back out to sea. Lucky for us we got to have a well-deserved rest at the seaside after we surprisingly receive a high reward for the good work even though we didn't really help on purpose.

Even with a typical Virgo bringing a provocative and Metal Dragon theme bikini which I had to swap for a one piece as I'm still a bit sensitive about the scars, I still appreciated the chance to unwind after months spent travelling all over Fiore. Sunbathing on the beach with Lynx while Gajeel and Pantherlily go swimming in the afternoon I had fun watching as the other visitors enjoy the sunshine and warm weather.

Normally by now Natsu and Gray would have destroyed half the beach causing myself and Erza to have to stop them from fighting. I couldn't count the number of times I had been trying to relax and those two had pulled me out of it. Being without my former team was always a mixed blessing, I did miss them all terribly even that annoying cat Happy but... I knew that these months apart had made me stronger even more so than the year disbandment as this time it was my choice. Sometimes just sometimes I wished things could go back to how they used to be before everything changed before the world got complicated and we had to grow up.

Pushing all my worries aside for another day I forced myself to watch Gajeel and Lily in the water. The two friends were squaring off against each other no magic just strength. Smiling to see the normally taciturn slayer enjoying his time in the sun, I was about to get up and join them when a shadow blocked out the light. Shielding my eyes and turning I saw I had been approached by a young man. Smiling I was about to ask if I could help him when he spoke.

"Sorry to trouble you, I don't normally interrupt a beautiful lady when she's busy but I just wanted to ask is that the new copy of 'Dragon's Lore'? I thought it wasn't out for another two months?"

Glancing at the book resting on my beach bag I realised the title was prominently displayed; I couldn't help having a little secret smile as that was something my publisher had fought me on and I had won after research showed it would sell better. Shaking my head to forget that last meeting I made a mental note to check how many messages she'd left since I last spoke to her. Smiling up at him I tried to decide how much I should say.

"Why yes, I'm friends with the author and she got me an advance copy. Do you like the series?"

Dropping down to sit next to my towel, I watched as he gestured to the book and started talking animatedly.

"It's one of my favourites. The story just drags you in, a perfect mixture of adventure and romance. The first one had me terrified that Igneel wasn't going to make it through the trial let alone rescue Lore in time. Oh where are my manners I'm Vale, Vale Underwood. I'm activities director at the Citrus Lodge Hotel."

Holding out his hand to me, I reached over and shook it and then realised that Vale hadn't released it and was in fact bringing it to his lips where he lightly kissed the back. While I didn't mind getting positive feedback it had been so long since I has done anything normal that it took me a few seconds to realise Vale's smile was flirtatious. At first I couldn't help feeling shy and unsure, Lynx had to discretely wink and nudge me before I could start talking again.