"Good morning everybody!" Lucy says while swinging the guild doors open. A small chorus of 'good morning Lucy's' echo through the guild hall.
"Hi Lushy!" Happy said with a fish in his mouth. Lucy waves to him then takes a seat next to Natsu and Gray, who seem to be whispering about something.
"Are you sure it's tomorrow?" Natsu says worryingly.
"Yeah." Gray whispers back.
"What's up?" Lucy asks.
"It's Erza's birthday tomorrow." Gray answers.
"And I haven't gotten her anything!" Natsu complains.
"Why don't you just get her some strawberry cake or something?" Lucy wonders.
"We can't all get her that..." Natsu mumbles. "Hey, I have an idea!" He exclaims, standing up.
"What is it now?" Gray asks.
"We can have a competition to see who can get Erza the best gift!" Natsu says with a large grin.
"What does the winner get?" Says an unknown voice. Lucy, Natsu, and Gray turn their head to the bar where they see Mirajane smiling at them.
"You aren't being very quiet, Natsu." Mira says with a small laugh. The three move over to the bar and take a seat in front of her. Lucy rests her chin on her hard.
"I guess they could win bragging rights." Lucy says.
"Or they could make the losers do whatever they want for a day!" Natsu says.
"For once I agree with him." Gray says with a smug look on his face.
"Alright then it's settled." Mirajane says with a nod.
"Are you going to compete too?" Lucy asks. Mirajane shakes her head.
"I think it would be fun just watching the three of you." Lucy stands up and stretches her arms above her head.
"Well I guess I better get started then." She exclaims. "See you guys later." She says while walking back outside.
"Yeah." Gray says. "Hey Mira, do you mind if I use the kitchen?"
"Sure, no problem." She responds.
Natsu folds his arms across his chest. I have to beat them. A sudden wave of inspiration hits him. "I got it!" He screams while running out the door.
"Go on ahead Natsu! I'll catch up with you!" Happy cheers from across the guild. "Right after I finish eating my fish…"
The Eastern Forest
"I wish I had happy with me." Natsu says while panting. "I'm almost out of energy." He looks up at the night sky. "I might have to continue tomorrow." He says while laying down. But then, a sudden burst of magic explodes in the sky. Natsu darts up and looks around him. Two cloaked figures are walking towards him. Great. He thinks. I found him.
The Guild Hall
"Natsu still isn't back yet?" Lucy asks.
"I haven't seen him since he ran out of here." Wendy replies with a shrug.
"That idiot probably got lost." Gray says.
"So what did you two get for Erza?" Wendy asks.
"You'll have to wait to see until tomorrow." Lucy says.
"Alright." Wendy says.
"I'm going to go home, it's getting late." Lucy says.
"Good night." Wendy and Gray both reply.
The Next Day
Lucy walks back into the guild hall, while dodging a flying chair. "So is Natsu back yet?" She asks. Gray shakes his head.
"He better hurry up if he doesn't want to get disqualified." Gray says. Just after he says that, Erza enters the guild.
"Welcome back Erza." Mirajane says with a smile.
"Thanks you. The job wasn't that hard." Erza replies. She turns her head to Lucy and Gray. "Is everything okay? Where's Natsu?" The two exchange a glance.
"Probably still asleep." Gray answers.
"Anyways…" Lucy begins. "Happy birthday, Erza!" She shouts.
"Happy birthday!" The rest of the guild chimes in, with a slight tint of fear in their voices.
"Thank you." Erza says with a nod.
"I guess we'll start without him." Gray whispers to Lucy. He stands up and walks to behind the counter to pull out a gigantic strawberry cheesecake. Erza's mouth begins to water as he sets it down in front of her.
"I got you something too!" Lucy says while pulling out a new set of armour that Erza didn't own yet. "They were having a sale, I thought you might like it." She says while holding it out to Erza.
"Thank you, Lucy." Erza says with her eyes still on the cake.
"So which one do you like better, Erza?" Mirajane chimes in.
"Um…" Erza begins. However, she is suddenly stopped short when the guild doors slam open.
"I'm back!" Natsu yells. "And I'm about to win!"
"Pretty big talk for the guy that shows up last minute." Gray mumbles.
"Erza was just about to choose me!" Lucy complains.
"What is it, Natsu?" Erza wonders. Natsu steps to the side and motions to the hooded figure behind him. Lucy and Gray's jaws drop wide open.
"Happy birthday, Erza." The man says while taking off his hood.
"Jellal!" Lucy and Gray scream. Natsu's grin widens as he pushes the man forward.
"Jellal…" Erza says with a look of shock on her face.
"Natsu dragged me all the way here." Jellal says. Another person comes into the guild hall.
"But he was going to come anyways." Meredy says while taking off her hood. Jellal and Meredy begin to argue, but they are interrupted.
"So Erza, you never answered the question." Mirajane says. "Whose present do you like the best?" Erza continues to stare at the man several feet in front of her, completely oblivious to Mira's question.
"Jellal…" She repeats. The guild falls silent for a moment.
"Well I guess we have our winner then." Mira says with a smile.
"Really, who?" Wendy asks.
"Natsu of course. He brought him here." She replies. Erza snaps her head around to face Mira.
"I didn't say-" Erza begins, until she is cut off.
"You did." Mira says with an even larger smile.
"Yeah, I win!" Natsu shouts." Gray and Lucy have to do what I say now!"
"Did you three bet on me?" Erza says while glaring at the three in question.
"Run!" Lucy and Gray shout as they jump up and begin to run away. Erza stands up as well.
"I'm going to-" Erza starts. She is stopped when she notices an arm reach out in front of her. She looks to the side to see Jellal giving her a small smile. She smiles back at him. This might be the best birthday yet.
A/N: So how was it? This is my first fanfiction, and it could obviously use some work. The guild hall part after the eastern forest part was not completely necessary, I just wanted to introduce Wendy to the story and show that Lucy and Gray were already done. It also took me a while to get the plot rolling at the beginning, so I apologize for that. Any critiques are welcome and encouraged to help me improve! Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, it belongs to the respectful owners.