gym crush - n. dragneel

four

for the next week and a half, natsu was at your gym every day. gray came with him most days, and a couple of those days a red headed girl and a tall, long haired guy joined them. thankfully, they hadn't approached you again, but they were terrible at acting like they weren't stealing glances at you during your workouts.

you didn't really pay them any mind. they could be as weird as they wanted, as long as they didn't interrupt your workouts.

until, one day you actually made a move to speak to him.

admittedly, you didn't necessarily want to, but you needed a spotter for your set of bench pressing and he was the only person you "knew" in the gym.

you took a deep breath as you slowly approached natsu, gray, and their red headed friend, natsu's back to you. you reach out and tap his shoulder, bracing yourself.

"hey stranger!"

"hey natsu. could you uh... could you spot for me while i bench?"

he inhaled deeply, eyes lighting up like a child on christmas.

"you're finally gonna let me workout with you?!"

"i just need a spotter, don't get ahead of yourself."

"natsu, calm yourself. don't harass the poor girl." the redhead spoke up.

damn.

to say she was in shape would be an understatement. her physique was the one you were striving for, envious of the definition in her arms and toned stomach.

"cmon, this is gonna be fun!" he tossed an arm around your shoulder and headed to the rack where you were set up, making you gasp.

"how much weight is this?!"

"one twenty-five."

"that's it?! how come you squat so much more?"

"oh shut up, my legs are just naturally stronger."

"well, now you gotta work until you can bench more than me!"

"says who?"

"you're a party pooper. i know you wanna work out with me at least a little bit."

"if it helps you sleep at night to think that." you situate yourself underneath the bar, taking a breath as you line up your grip. he rolls his eyes as he readies his hands under the bar, keeping them just under the bar for your first few reps. as you reach the fifth rep, your arms begin to shake and you feel the bar get stuck before you can get it all the way up.

"shit, pull it up." natsu easily pulls the weight from your hands and racks it for you, grinning down at you.

"that was good! you almost had the last one." you can't help but let a small smile escape, thankful for the encouragement from him.

gray and erza watched you two's interaction, erza smiling knowingly.

"he's gonna have a crush on her, if he doesn't already."

"you think so? i thought he was just looking for someone new to out-lift."

"look at how he's looking at her. it's the same way juvia looks at you." gray blushed at the mention of his girlfriend, noticing natsu looked happier than usual.

natsu spots you for all 4 sets, encouraging you and cheering you on the entire time. when you finish your last set, he begins to re-rack the weights for you without missing a beat, slightly throwing you off.

"you know, i don't even know your name! what is it?"

"it's (y/n)."

"that's a pretty name!"

"thanks, natsu."

it was getting under your skin how he was somehow making you comfortable with him so quickly. you'd known him for what, two weeks?

"hey, what are you doing tonight? wanna go get food when we're done here?"

"sorry, but i have plans." your "plans" we're eating sushi and binge watching true crime documentaries with kurenai, but he didn't need to know the specifics.

"aw! well what about tomorrow? i know a really good ramen place a few minutes from here!"

"i'll have to see, i have a lot of schoolwork to do."

"okay! so, we'll go soon!"

"wha-"

"see you around (y/n)!" he waves as he heads back to his friends, leaving you slightly dumbfounded.

that boy is something else.