When the Sun Sets🧡[ NaLu Fanfiction ]

Chapter 5

"Can you slow down? The food won't run!" Lucy stared at the mess in front of her.

A tower of empty plates and bowls were already occupying most of the space of their table, yet waiters kept on coming to put another tray of dishes. She stared at Natsu in disbelief who was currently busy shoving a huge piece of meat and grilled corn in his mouth.

"Natsu! Are you listening? Don't you know it's not good eating too much at night?" She cringed at the drop of sauce on her arm from his clumsy actions.

"Did you forget he's a Dragon Slayer, Lucy?" Happy grinned at her, waving his raw fish in the air. "He can easily metabolize all of these..."

"B-But..."

"Besides, I needed to restore my energy from earlier, no?" Natsu swallowed and flashed her a huge grin. "Don't worry, I'll pay for our dinner this time!"

Lucy's shoulders dropped at his remark. She suddenly remembered her predicament, making her whimper in distress. Memories of their afternoon reappeared in her head where Natsu caused damage on the shore and nearby stalls while they were having training...

She knew it wasn't the perfect place for training, but since they hadn't had anything to do after her shoot, they agreed to have a little sparring for fun. But as time went by, as their adrenaline pumped up, their supposed 'for fun' training turned into a serious one as Natsu kept taunting Lucy about her never landing a hit on him.

Alright, she was at fault, too. She had shares on the damages, the very reason why her reward from the photoshoot was used to pay for all of it!

The money she had received for her rent disappeared in her hands only a few hours after earning it. It's devastating.

"Come on, Lucy! We can just take another job!" Natsu tried to reach for her, but she quickly dodged his hand that was still sticky. He looked down at his fingers and brought one into his mouth to lick the sauce.

Lucy's jaw dropped before grimacing. "Geez! Just finish your food and wash your hands!" She rolled her eyes when he only laughed. "It's like all my efforts today got wasted..."

"Hey, don't say that. At least we had fun?"

"Yes, but what about my rent?! It's mainly the reason why I accepted the job, Natsu!" She massaged her throbbing temple, blaming herself.

Between the two of them, she had more control. Natsu was always the reckless one who never cared about the outcome of his actions, while she was always the one who would try to stop and calm him down.

Yet earlier...

What was really the reason? She felt different. Her adrenaline was too much. The way he smirked at her while boasting about his dominance in a fight, and in general, over her pushed her on edge. She wanted to prove to him that even if she wasn't at his level, she could still give him a worthy match.

From a close combat, they slowly turned into a long range as they began using their magic. Natsu was roaring without hesitation, while she's using Aquarius' magic to control the sea to her advantage.

They were never like that. They had been training partners for so long, but it wasn't this intense. Natsu was a pain in the ego even before, but the way he acted earlier wasn't just to simply tease her. He was giving her a real challenge.

"I told you, Luce, we can just grab another one once we get back to Magnolia."

It's not like she had any other choice, anyway.

"To make up for it, I'll lend you some of our money to pay for your rent. Just pay me back after we finish our next job."

Okay. Sometimes he's arrogant, sometimes he's sweet.