For Blue Skies

Not What It Looks Like

10 Days Prior

Lucy Heartfilia was not really used to feeling inferior. Well, intellectually inferior at least. Since working with Fairy Tail, she was acutely aware of just how inferior she was in a variety of other categories, most notably physical fitness. Which was why when she asked Gray if he could help her come up with a training regimen, she was not that surprised to receive a variety of responses from everyone.

Gray had pulled her aside and asked if she felt like she needed to compete with Lisanna.

Natsu had pulled her aside and asked if she felt like he wasn't protecting her well enough.

Erza had pulled her aside and said that she would help with some self-defense moves if she wanted and then asked if she was trying to impress Natsu. But she had done it with her cute little Erza smirk and a glint in her eyes and Lucy couldn't even find the strength to get riled at her.

She had been training for a little over a month and had felt some noticeable differences. Gray had came up with a pretty solid training program for someone of her skills and stature and had even gotten her a treadmill for he'd apartment, something she was convinced Natsu would veto but it remained after an intense glare-off between the men. Erza was routinely kicking her a*s but she felt like she was finally able to dodge at least a few of the punches and kicks, which was really all she needed.

She had just finished an embarrassingly short run on the treadmill - seriously, barely ten minutes and she was convinced her lungs were about to fail on her. She sat at the bottom of the unplugged treadmill (her own personal brand of vengeance on an electrical appliance that had failed her), sweating her a*s off and trying to get her breath under control when Natsu found her.

He didn't even try to hide the smile as he saw her sitting there with a towel slung across her shoulders. She narrowed her eyes, daring him to say something. He had definitely saw her start to work out not three iPod songs earlier, and now he was witnessing her having what she could only imagine a panic attack felt like.

"Good workout?"

"We can't all be work-out gods, Natsu."

It probably would've been a lot more biting if she hadn't had to puff out air between each word. His smile spread though and she relished it; he was in a good mood that day, having caught and had put away a husband and wife villain couple that were running a human trafficking ring at the Hargeon docks the night before.

He went to the Lucy's small-ish fridge in the kitchen area and pulled out a bottle of water, nudging her in the head with it before she gathered the strength to grab it from him and guzzle unabashedly. She loved 'Cheerful Natsu,' when he was still riding high on endorphins or whatever kind of rush he got from catching and putting away bad guys. She knew that in a day or so he would be focused on the next big bad to come into town, but for now, they had a win, and they were allowed to celebrate it.

After a few more moments of comfortable silence, she took his proffered hand and pulled herself up off the offending machine.

"Will I see you tonight?" Natsu's words were casual, but she knew he was looking for a lifeline. MiraJane was throwing him a "birthday" party or "Day you joined the guild party" because no one really knew his birthday at the guild that night and while the A LOT of people were coming, Natsu was hoping that he could celebrate his birthday with the people he actually cared about, and cared about him in return.