midnightstar | DA KIDLETS because i miss them so

Now that the weather was warmer, the kids were no longer so restless (not that they could be too restless with Natsu around to play with) and were eager to go out and on adventures of their own, both with their older sis/bro/not parents and without. Regine was kept busy helping to tend the guild in their absence, though occasionally she got dragged off by the children for adventures, on days that Natsu and Lucy had work to do.

Although lately there'd been a lot of jobs, so Lucy, at least, hadn't had time to spend with the kids quite so much. Which was why she had suggested taking the kids to the beach for fun, sun, fishing, and whatever else they wanted to do. Good plan, yes? Yes! Nev'd been up since the crack of dawn, full of excitement, and vigor, like a tiny fire-less Natsu. Justyne, on the other hand, had slept in a little more. Lucy just had to put a few final touches on her appearance - since her hair had gotten much longer in the last few months. "Twenty jewels say that Neveren will be knocking on the door in five minutes." She called over to Natsu with a grin.

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Warmer weather was Natsu's favorite. It made it feel at home for the fire devouring mage. That and warm weather meant a lot of fun in various ways. Though a beach party had its own advantages. Like Splashing wars and the like. Natsu was already sniffing the air when Lucy spoke up having caught a familiar scent.

"That's no fair you already know he's running towards here as you said it."

"Lucky guess~!" Lucy insisted innocently. She giggled, leaning over to give him a quick kiss since Nev wa at that age where public displays of affection were 'gross'. "Besides, you know he's running here to see you. His sister must be up, finally."

"Uhuh sure it was." Natsu wasn't buying it though he did kiss Lucy back, relishing that short moment of affection knowing full well he'd be going plenty without for the rest of the day. Nev was such a silly boy. Then again he'd been at that age too so really he knew he had no place to talk. It was just one of those things one had to deal with.

"You know as well as I do that he loves you too you know." Making it seem like the boy only idolized him.

She giggled, "I know that." But he really idolized Natsu, for good reason. Still, teasing him about it was fun. And as she predicted, there was an excited knock at the door.

"See, what did I tell you?" Lucy grinned, gathering her bag, reaching over to take Natsu's hand. She had to get her contact with him in some way, and there were loopholes to sneak in affection here and there. Handholding being the most obvious.

She did like to tease and that was one of those many things about her that lured him in to begin with. Aside from her extreme brand of weirdness. Yes he would stick to that label to the end of time just to get a reaction out of her.

Hand holding was a nice compromise though. ONe they'd both been using well before they'd made their feelings known to one another.

"Better not keep him waiting then." Natsu chuckled and opened the door with Lucy in tow.

And she'd never disappoint with reactions for him. Still, being able to hold his hand was, in a strange way, one of her favorite ways to share affection with him, because they'd been doing it since well before they became a couple.

The minute the door was opened, Nev barrelled in, practically knocking Lucy over in a glomp. "Oof..! Good morning Nev~!" Lucy giggled, prying him off. "Your sister is awake I take it? You guys ready to go?" As if she had to ask.

Nev looked like he'd explode if they didn't go right that minute. "She's waiting outside the guild with Herb," he beamed at the pair, circling around to plant himself opposite Lucy, snagging her hand. "We're gonna build a house out of the sand, and Justyne wants to find shells," he chattered as they walked, with the predicted 'How GIRLY' expression on his face. "And we're going to fish and and and -" oh boy he's not going to stop. He just had the whole day planned~!

And then she'd wonder why he would keep doing such things and the cycle would continue indefinitely. That was just how things were set up between them and Natsu would not change anything for the world.

Natsu was almost caught in the glomp but intentionally moved out of the way so Lucy got it instead. Oh yes the not!mommy deserved some glomping too. That being said he had to laugh when he heard the rapid fire planning Nev had set up.

"Easy there buddy, remember to breathe every now and again~" He chuckled reaching around to ruffle the boy's hair.

Nev grinned widely at the ruffling, ducking his head a little. "But we've all been so busy this month we haven't been able to play!"

Lucy chuckled, "Well, that's what today is for." Of course once they got outside, Justyne hurried over to latch onto Natsu because there is no escape from glomps! Or actually just to glom onto his hand like a happy little not-family. "At least the beach isn't too far, or we'd have to take a you-know-what," Lucy asided to Natsu, not even wanting to say 'vehicle' given how sensitive his poor stomach was.

Natsu grimaced faintly just at the mention of that corner of hell. Vehicles were his undeniable kryptonite. He was certainly grateful the beach was close enough for it. It saved him dignity and his lunch.

"Yeah lets not talk about that and go pick up Justyne so we can get goin eh?"

Lucy grinned, giving Natsu's hand a reassuring squeeze. Fortunately just about everything they've needed was within walking distance, so they only had to go on the carriage once in a blue moon. Of course during those times she at least let him rest his head in her lap to hopefully make the motion sickness a little more bearable.

"There they are," she nodded to girl and dog when they came bounding over. Herb's tail was wagging a mile a minute, and Justyne still looked a little sleepy, but eager to get going. "Good morning!" She yawwwned.

Neveren let go of Lucy's hand to shake his sister a little, "Hey, you slept a whole two hours, you can't still be tired!"

"You kept coming in every twenty minutes to see if I was still sleeping!" Justyne giggled, "Don't worry, I'll wake up more once we're there." She assured him, following after her little brother, with Herb - familiar with the routine by now - trotting ahead, occasionally circling around the group like a proper guard dog.

He squeezed her hand right back and added his own boyish grin to the mix. He was after all looking forward to this little outing even without Nev's infectious enthusiasm. But seeing the two kids and their canine companion frolicking about made him even more excited.

"Hey there sleepyhead." NAtsu greeted Justyne with a grin before quickly scratching Herb's neck a little since he couldn't stay still for too long before running off ahead.

Damnit, even after this long he could still get her heart skipping a beat just like the first time she felt for him, with a simple grin like that. But she wasn't complaining. She did, however, glance away with a deep blush, turning her attention to the children, "Up too late last night with Regine, hm?"

Justyne was about to protest that call, but caught herself yawning again, "I was reading the books she got on herbs." She grinned sheepishly, giggling as Herb stuck around long enough to get scratches from both of the older teens, before tearing off after Neveren again, chasing a squirrel in the process.

"Well it's good you want to do the same thing she does, but you should get your sleep too!" Lucy chided. Neevermind that Justyne probably got that trait from watching Lucy reading or writing, falling asleep wherever she had stopped and having to get carried to bed.

"Like you're one to talk miss "my chair is my bed" "Natsu retorted with a teasing smirk. After all he'd covered LUcy up or carried her to bed several times recently. He didn't dare interrupt her before that since she always was so completely focused on either writing or reading. And he did like seeing her so focused.

Lucy huffed, pretending to be offended. "And who's side are you on?" She teased. "The kids, or -" she paused, deciding the change her reply. "Besides, haven't you ever heard the phrase, 'Do As I say, not as I do'?"

"Oh I've heard it. It's one of your favorite excuses~" Natsu retorted with a shameless grin. Teaming up with the kids to mess with their not!mommy never got old and it wasn't like they meant ill with it. In fact it was a show of love.

Both kids loved it when Natsu joined them to tease Lucy, especially when Lucy left herself open to SO many opportunities to be teased. Lucy just needed to take the opportunity to tease back more often. "Hey!" She protested this accusation!

Scooping up a twig, she tossed it for Herb to go running after, leaning over to Natsu to tease him in a whisper, "-Someone- wants to sleep on the couch tonight, I see." She giggled. As if she'd really keep him out of the bed. Or be able to, persistent dragon that he was.

"Oh no you know as well as everyone else that you need me to be your warmer at night." In more ways than one but that was just clean and vague enough to not let the kids know what he really meant.

Thank goodness for vagueness. She still felt her cheeks warm again, knowing the less subtle meaning of that statement. As she wasn't holding onto Nev's hand anymore, she slipped her arm around Natsu's waist instead. "I could get Herb." She grinned.

"Yeah you could. But I'm pretty sure he's more likely to lick your face in the morning than I am~" He'd gotten really good at winning these miniature contests of wit and teasing. Maybe he learned a few things from the bratlings.

"I wonder about that," Lucy scoffed, grinning at the banter. Deciding to change the subject before the kids wondered what they were talking about, she quickened her steps, "We're right behind you Nev, you can stop looking at us like that." She giggled at the impatient boy. Justyne was already scouting the road a few feet ahead of her brother, gathering rocks for skipping, with Herb bounding off the trail. Who knew what he was chasing this time?

"Well I know I'm right." He'd be licking other parts on her in the morning if it was up to him. But that was neither here nor there. He spotted Nev checking on them. Nev's excitement to get to the beach could not be any more obvious really not that Natsu had a problem with that.

It was probably a good thing he didn't voice that particularly thought to her, or she'd be sputtering and unable to phrase a response back to him until they -got- to the beach.

"You -think- you're right," she corrected, play-arguing for the sake of it. It wouldn't be long before they could catch sight of the beach, from the salty air, and Justyne and Nev were heading back towards them at that point. "Natsu~!" Justyne smiled, "When we get to the beach, will you do more of your fireworks like last time? We can stay that long right?"

He'd have plenty other opportunities to frazzle her mind. She would get a free pass this time since they were out with the kids and everything. Speaking of kids, Justyne running up to him shifted his focus away.

"Hmmm I guess I can if Lucy says we can stay that long." Oh yes putting her on the spot.

He ... did not just pull a 'Go ask your mother' on her. She stared at him in surprise for a moment, suddenly glancing away again to stifle a laugh. "You are unbelievable-" she muttered at him. To Justyne, she smiled, "We really should be getting ready to head back around then - but before we leave, Natsu can show off with a few fireworks over the ocean, sure."

Oh yes. Oh yes he did and he was completely shameless about it. It was a perfectly valid tactic to put LUcy on the spot. Not like either of them could ever say no to these kids.

"That settles it then. Make sure to figure out what shape the fireworks should be~"