//Slight NSFW//
Natsu hummed as he unlocked the door, balancing several bags of groceries in his arms. When he entered the condo, the sound of music playing from down the hall immediately caught his attention.
He followed the sound to one of the rooms on the 2nd floor of their flat, right between an office room and the laundry room. The door was glass and see-through, exposing the entirety of their little gym room and anyone inside.
And boy was there a sight to see.
Lucy was doing some type of stretch as she sung to the music she had blasting from her phone. Her short shorts barely covered more than most underwear would, and her sports bra didn't leave much to the imagination either.
Natsu had to remind himself to breathe, dropping the bags in his hand on the floor beside him. He couldn't look away from her, watching her shorts get impossibly shorter the more she bent down to touch her toes. She was surprisingly flexible, swiftly switching positions as she jammed out to the music.
Lucy did a little dance in between stretches- shaking and bobbing to the rhythm- and it wasn't until she did a little spin did she finally see Natsu, immediately shrieking at the sight of him.
Her outcry startled him as well, he hadn't expected her to scream, and he felt incredibly guilty for scaring her like that. "Lucy! Are you alright?" He panicked as he rushed into the room, she'd lost her balance a bit during her shock and fell over onto her butt, a huge blush taking over her face.
"I'm… fine," She mumbled, grabbing onto his outstretched hand to help her stand up, "Um… How long have you been standing there?"
"For just a minute, honest! I literally just came home with the groceries just now…" Now Natsu felt like a creepy pervert, and he hung his head in shame, "I'm sorry for staring, you were just being so cute…"
Lucy sighed, and exposed a small smile to him. She knew exactly what she was doing, as soon as Natsu said he would be going out, she changed into her smallest, most revealing workout clothes and rushed down here. She was officially done with guessing his feelings for her, and right now, this test should finally confirm or deny her suspicions.
"Hey, no worries. I was just being silly, but since you're down here… do you wanna join me?"
"...Join you?"
"Yeah, I just couldn't help but think of how lucky we are to have a personal gym in our home. I used to work out regularly, mom and dad really did their homework when they picked this place out for us! While I still have the energy to move, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try and stay in shape. What about you?"
"Me? Uh…" Natsu had a hard time focusing. Lucy just invited him to work out with her, he almost couldn't believe it. He's worked out with friends all the time, but this just felt different. He was still trying to get used to her casual friendliness as they're getting closer and closer, but God did she look amazing in those shorts.
No, Lucy is a person, stop looking at her body… The guilt returned. Natsu knew better than to think like this, a woman should be able to wear whatever she wants and he should be able to control himself. "Yeah… I love working out, too. I'm down to join ya."
Lucy chirped out a little giggle as she focused back on her music. She was through with stretching and went over to their small display of dumbbells, picking up 2 of the 10 pound ones. Natsu followed up behind her, picking up a heavier, 50 pound pair.
"Woah, you can curl 50 pounds?" Lucy marveled, earning a bashful chuckle.
"Well, yeah. I could do more, honestly."
"Oh wow, I knew you were muscular, but I assumed these were just for show," She ran her hand down his entire arm, pausing to caress his muscle.
Natsu felt like he'd throw up as the struggle to contain himself became harder and harder. She felt him up for way longer than she needed to, but he didn't want to read too far into it.
Together, they did 10 curls, and Lucy went to do squats while Natsu did pull ups on the bar that ran along the wall.
The entire time, Natsu could feel Lucy staring at him, though his back was to her. He tried to focus on going up and down, but the longer he went on, the more intense the feeling got, and he eventually couldn't stop himself from turning around and looking at her.
Just as he thought, Lucy was staring right at him, having given up on squatting and was instead just sitting on the floor. She seemed shameless as she ogled at him, and she grinned when their eyes met. "I've never been able to do a pull up, it's so cool how you do them so effortlessly!"
"Oh…" Natsu took a very deep breath to calm himself before he offered, "I can show you how…"
"Ah? No, I know how, I'm just not strong enough to lift my own body weight-"
"I'll help," He hopped off the bar and held his hand out to her, "If you want…"
Lucy studied his hand for a moment before accepting it and standing up. She wasn't sure how this would go at first, but once she grabbed onto the pull up bar and felt his hands on her waist, she started to get an idea.
"I'm gonna lift ya, 'kay?" Natsu waited for her to nod before he hoisted her up so her feet were just above the ground and she had a firm grip on the bar. "Okay, try to pull yourself up, I gotcha'."
"Here goes…" Being held made herself lighter, but Natsu must've been underestimating her lack of upper body strength, because he wasn't assisting nearly as much as she needed him to.
"You got it-" Natsu muttered, but Lucy definitely looked to be struggling, and the way she squirmed in his hold made his throat tighten, "Um…"
"No, I don't think I do," Lucy huffed out a laugh, "Yeah, nope, can't do this…"
Natsu let out a weak groan, backing away as much as he could so he could hold her without having her rub against him at all.
At this point, she was outstretched away from him, being held as if she was made of poison. He was hardly lessening her weight so much as he was just making it harder for her to move, and Lucy had to laugh, "This isn't any easier…"
"Sorry!" Natsu slackened his hold on her and let her drop her feet on the floor before taking a huge breath. He felt a familiar feeling in his groin, and began to wish he'd just disappear right then and there when he realized what was happening.
Of course, Lucy had been looking for any signs to prove her theory, so all it took was a once-over of Natsu's body for her to spot the bulge in his pants. No way… Does he have a boner right now!? She started to feel bad, bodies can react in involuntary ways sometimes, and she had been purposefully trying to get a reaction out of him, not considering that it could get this far in discomforting him.
In an attempt to lighten the sexual tension and play innocent, she gave him a light nudge to the shoulder. "I thought you were gonna help me, not just hold me," She laughed, "Next time just lift me over the pole!"
"Wha?" Natsu had been thinking of 100 of his least favorite things to calm himself down, he hadn't even fully heard her at first. Eventually, he could use context clues to figure out what she just said, and he, too, tried to play as if everything was just swell, "O-oh, you thought I was just gonna do it for you? Nah, you won't gain any strength like that…"
"Yeah, I guess all my strength is in my legs. You should've seen me play soccer, I can pull off a mean punt."
"Oh, you got more lower-body strength, eh? I'd love to see you in action…" Suddenly, Natsu gained the confusing desire to be kicked by her, but he quickly shook that thought away. Luckily, the excitement in his pants had lessened considerably, making it easier to ignore.
Lucy giggled again, her eyes brightening when she noticed how Natsu was completely fixated on her right now. "Well, that was fun. How about we go get some fresh air? I'm craving soft-serve ice cream, and I know there's a shop that's about 5 minutes away!"
"...Ice cream? You finish working out and immediately think to get ice cream?"
"Yep! Want some, or no?"
Despite how awkward he felt inside right now, there was no way he'd miss out on an opportunity to optimize their time together. "Hell yeah I want some!"
-
Sitting on the park bench closest to the small plaza that held the local ice cream shop, Lucy swung her feet back and forth as she was just short enough for her feet to hover above the ground. Natsu stared at her while she licked at her ice-cream, fully committed to never forgetting that her favorite flavor was mint swirl with sprinkles.
He felt awkward for staring, but since he devoured his own Superman flavored cone in less than a minute, there wasn't much else for him to sit here and do. But in his defense, he wasn't just grossly watching her eat, instead he was distracted by the drop of ice cream that had found its way on the tip of the blonde's nose, and subsequently fighting against the urge to reach over and wipe it off.
"I'll tell you what, when I have my days that I can't stomach any food, I'm somehow always able to stomach ice cream. It can't have any toppings, though," Lucy hummed, pretending not to notice his intense stare, "I try not to indulge, but ice cream is honestly my favorite treat… Well, next to yogurt."
"Oh yeah? My parfait is a fan favorite at the restaurant, I gotta make it for you someday."
"C'mon, you don't think I've been eating there all this time and haven't tried it yet, have you? I always thought Mira made them, your culinary range is so impressive!"
"Thanks… It's funny, I learned how to cook from my ma, it was never something I really cared about but it seems to be my best skill… for some reason."
"I know what you mean," Lucy turned to look him in the eyes, yet Natsu still couldn't help but continue to glance at her nose, "I hate math 'cause it's so boring, but I'm, like… very good at it. I guess it's just easy for me to understand and retain information, but my dad says it'd make me a great accountant or something. I'd hate to do math for a living, but it always feels like a job somewhere in my dad's company would do me better than anything else my future English degree could get me."
"Well… What do you wanna do for a living?" Natsu asked, his voice slightly softer and eyes innocent.
"I…" Lucy wasn't sure why she started blushing, but she couldn't help it, "I've made it clear I'd like to write a book… Well, several books, but I can also picture going into the education field like my mom. And although I'm kinda minoring in astronomy, that'd take a lot of math, which I already mentioned… I considered going into real estate like my parents, too, but the family business would be the safest decision. It's not like I'm completely against taking things over or even just working beside my father, it's just a huge commitment, y'know?"
"I get it…" Giving into temptation, Natsu cupped her face in his hand and used his thumb to swipe the ice cream off of her nose. She squeaked under her breath at the sensation, though he tried to ignore it. "You wanna do what makes ya happy, but you also wanna make sure money isn't gonna be tight forever."
"Y-yeah, exactly…" Having no clue that there had been anything on her nose at all, Lucy was completely flustered with the sudden gesture, especially since he hadn't released her face yet. "Natsu?"
He immediately realized what he was doing wrong, his hand flying far away from her face and into his pocket, just to be safe. Lucy bursted out laughing, causing Natsu to turn away from her to hide his red face. "Maybe we should head back home… The sun's setting…" He mumbled, partially because he was done making a fool of himself but also because it really is starting to get late.
"I'm not done with my ice cream yet," Lucy snickered, giving him a pat on the back, "And the sky looks beautiful, let's enjoy it for a little longer, 'kay?"
"But it's getting colder, and you're in shorts and a sports bra. I don't want you getting sick."
"But I got your jacket on, which is basically completely covering me up." He'd given her the jacket when they were met with the cool late-autumn breeze, and Lucy was quite thankful for the comfy garment. "What, you hate hanging out with me this much?"
"It's not that… I'm just being dumb."
"Hey, you're not dumb, you just care a lot, which makes you worry," Lucy hopped off the bench and gave him a warm smile, "We can start heading back, I can enjoy the scenery during the walk home."
Natsu sighed, but she was already walking towards the direction of their condo before he could change her mind. Now he felt like a jerk for cutting their time together, but it was just so hard for him to keep from embarrassing himself.
He's never even thought about anything like this before, it's all so bizarre to him. It's undeniable that he can't keep this inside for much longer, if he ever wants to feel normal again, just needs to get this off of his chest.
"Wanna play video games when we go home?"
Natsu sighed upon hearing that, relieved to hear that she'd still like to spend time together, only now he's anxious about all of the weird things he's bound to do the longer he's in her presence. I need to get a fucking grip…
"Yeah, I'd love to."
"Yay~ As long as you don't get a surprise boner again, this should be fun!"
"I-" Completely mortified, Natsu forgot how to walk, standing completely frozen on the sidewalk.
Lucy was now laughing hysterically, nearly dropping her ice cream from how she was almost keeled over. She'd never seen anyone turn so red, and although it was a little cruel to joke about, she just couldn't miss the opportunity.
"You… saw…" Natsu's groaned, his eyes glazed over, "I-"
"I'm sorry, I had to! I won't bring it up again, I promise."
"Wha- I- Ugh…" He was in a loop between admiring her mischievousness and wanting to die from embarrassment, "I-it won't happen again-"
"It's fine you, can't help it," She grabbed onto his forearm to get him to move again, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about, I just wanted to tease you."
"...Okay ...I'm gonna get you back for this."
"Hm?"
"Nothin', just prepare to get your ass kicked in Mortal Combat."
"Oh you're so on."