--- Third Person ---

"Alright Luce." Natsu grinned, cracking his knuckles, "Lets see how much you improved."

Lucy smirked and put one hand on her keys, the other placed upon her hip. "I may not be able to beat you but I'll certainly knock you off your feet."

"HAH! Yeah right! I'm-" He was cut off when Lucy's whip wrapped around his ankles in a flash, flipping him backwards into the ground as she pulled the weapon towards her.

Lucy giggled as he propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her with a mix of satisfaction and determination.

"Round two." He said and Lucy recoiled her whip.

"Ok I win round one." she smiled and stuck her tongue out at him. "Count it down this time."

"Maybe I will." he said stubbornly and regained his stature. "three... two... ONE!"

Lucy's whip once again pulled Natsu down to the ground, making Lucy burst out laughing at Natsu's reaction.

"NO MORE WHIP IN THE BEGINNING." He snapped.

"But you need to work on your reactions, idiot." Lucy said, biting her tongue to hold in her laughter.

"Later..." he grumbled, crossing his arms.

Lucy shrugged and attached her whip back on her belt, "Okay okay. Count down."

"Three..." he looked at Lucy's whip, making sure she wasn't messing with him still. "Two..." Still no movement... maybe she was serious this time. "ONE!"

Again, quicker than ever, Lucy wrapped her whip around his ankles, though this time it wasn't tight enough, as he jumped out and ran towards her with a big grin.

Lucy reached for her keys but was tackled to the ground before she had the chance.

"You need to work on your reaction time." He joked and Lucy smacked him play fully. "But you have improved, I barely saw you reach for your whip thingy."

"It's called Fleu-"

"-whatever." He chuckled, cutting her off.

Lucy giggled but stopped once she realized their current position. Natsu's arms were propped up by his elbows, right next to her head, with his one of knees right beneath the hem of her skirt.

She went to kick him off but he didn't even budge. The blonde huffed and reached for her whip though it wasn't on her.

Natsu nodded to the side where it laid sprawled out on the ground, out of her reach, and then he smirked.

"Natsu, get off."

"No."

Lucy looked at him with disbelief and asked him again, with a more demanding voice, but he just answered the same way. "Why not?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Because..." he said, pressing his forehead against hers, "Im getting you back for knocking me off my feet so many times."

Lucy blushed and avoided eye contact, not able to move her head away. "I beat you fair and square."

"Yes and I'm happy for you." He sighed and used one of his hands to squish her cheeks. "I just haven't had a physical fight with an actual person in a long time."

Lucy could hardly believe that. "and?"

"And I need to practice on accuracy, it's not like I'm gonna hurt you, Luce."

Lucy stayed silent as he closed his eyes and let go of her face.

"If I'm going to defeat Zeref I have to-" Natsu began, but paused when Lucy pressed her lips against his, losing the last few inches.

"Enough with that. I'll help you, okay?" She whispered. Natsu kept his eyes shut and nodded, "yeah." he said and gave her another heated kiss, pressing his body up against hers as the rolled to their sides.

"Stay with me when it's time for the real thing, ok?" He asked, looking at her sincerely.

"Of course. I won't get hurt, right?"

"Not while I'm around."

-------
Authors Note:

E.N.D
"Not while I'm around"
You guys know I'm trying to mess with your feelings, right? Giving it my best haha XD

-Sophie [AKA Trollshima's apprentice]