Lucy winced as she let her leg fall to the ground finishing her last cool down stretch. Her whole body was burning up and her muscles felt numb.

It turns out Aquarius was very strict with her training program, who would have thought? Lucy knew very well what she was getting into when she signed up to be coached by the woman but she never expected it to be so tiring. She did exercise and practice on her own before but this was on a whole other level! Lucy was sure it would be just a matter of time before she gets used to her new training process but still that didn't ease her hurting muscles.

She felt like each day of training was getting harder and harder. Her lack of stamina didn't help things at all and combined with her new part-time job she felt exhausted.

On the bright side, Lucy felt very happy at her new workplace! Levy had introduced her to her boss at a bookstore she was working on and Lucy was accepted as supporting staff. She worked on some afternoons and it was amazing to be surrounded by so many books! It was like a dream come true, even though she could just sit and read all of them.

Lucy's stomach let out a loud growl that echoed through the empty rink. And to top all of that now she was hungry. She grabbed her skates and went to the locker room. After battling with the lock for a few seconds Lucy pulled out her backpack out of her designated locker and shoved her white skates in. She then reached out for her phone and pulled it out.

It was… 11 AM and she had to meet up with Levy at 12 AM. They had agreed to meet in Lucy's apartment for a movie marathon since it was a day off work for both of them. Now she would have to get home quickly, take a quick shower and prepare her living room for the movie watching before her friend came, Lucy started planning in her head. It was fine she had enough time.

Oh, how she dreamed of lying in her comfy couch and eating delicious food! But all that would have to wait for now.

"Be strong Lucy!" she said to herself "You're almost home."

Lucy went into the lobby and started heading towards the exit but stopped in her tracks as she saw a familiar pink haired man chatting with the woman at the reception. She couldn't quite remember her name.

Lucy contemplated going to greet them or just leave but before she could come to a conclusion the white haired receptionist spotted her and waved cheerfully. Natsu brightened up as he turned around and motioned her to come over.

"Hi!" Lucy greeted them as she approached the reception desk.

"Hey, did you just finish practice?" asked Natsu. "You look pretty bad."

"Thanks." Replied Lucy dryly. "Yeah, I was just about to head home."

"Natsu!" the woman shoved him lightly "You can't just say things like that!"

"It's fine!" Lucy reassured her "I do look pretty terrible right now. I don't think he meant anything bad."

"See, Lucy gets it! Ow, Mira stop that."

Mira, right! That was her name.

The woman smiled sweetly "So how is training going? Is Aquarius giving you any trouble?"

"No, it's going pretty well! I'm still getting used to the environment."

"Good for you." Natsu cut in "Gildarts kept me another hour that usual for 'being late' to practice." He air quoted.

"You can't complain Natsu, you were 1 hour late after all so it's fair."

"Hey, it was only 52 minutes!" grumbled their male companion.

Lucy couldn't suppress a laugh at that "Mira's right, that is pretty late."

Natsu gave her a side eye glare "Traitor. Who was running to practice a few days ago?"

"I was on time! And you were running with me!"

"Those are details, you're missing the point." He grinned playfully.

At that moment a loud growl echoed through the almost empty lobby. Both women turned to Natsu who was clutching his stomach sheepishly.

"Natsu, you were just eating a while ago!" Mira cried out.

"Yes, but I'm a growing boy! I need my nutrition! Also, I had extra practice that takes up more energy." Natsu looked at the older woman with wide pleading eyes.

Mira stared at him before deciding to give in "Okay, I will make you something."

"YES! Thanks, you're the best!"

"I know, I know. You're lucky you're my friend, the cafe won't open for at least 3 more hours.

"Come eat something too Lucy!" Natsu turned back to her.

Lucy waved her hands around in denial "Ah, no thanks. I'm fine!"

With that statement her stomach decided to betray her and protest by releasing a loud growl similar to Natsu's. Sometimes Lucy felt like her own body hated her.

"Come on" Mira nudged her kindly "I'll make you something quick."

Lucy felt a blush creeping to her cheeks "You don't have to, I don't want to put you into too much trouble."

"Nonsense! It's no problem at all. I'm going to make something for Natsu anyway."

"Don't just endure your hunger you weirdo." Natsu backed Mira up.

"Okay then" Lucy smiled "I guess eating a little won't hurt."

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

"Here you go!" The white haired woman placed the plates with their respectable orders in front of them.

The pair of skaters broke of their argument about spicy chicken and tuna sandwich. Lucy had no idea how they got to that but apparently both of them ended up in a playful banter about their favourite foods.

It looked so delicious! Lucy could feel her stomach rumbling from excitement. On the other hand…Lucy eyed Natsu's plate. She didn't doubt Mira's cooking skills but she couldn't imagine herself ever eating that.

She had to admit though, the rink's outside area was beautiful. The first thing she noticed when she went outside was the lake in the center of the park surrounded by huge trees. Apparently in winter when the lake froze it became an ice rink, open to the public. Lucy had missed the opportunity to go to the lake as it had already melted down but she hoped to see it the next year. On the side of the open area a small stool was placed along with tables where she and Natsu were sitting. Beside the tables stood tall pink umbrellas but they were closed for the time being since the café hadn't opened yet.

Lucy turned her attention to the white haired woman "Thank you so much, it looks delicious!"

"It was no problem, dear!" Mira smiled sweetly.

"So how much is it?" Lucy asked searching through her backpack for her wallet.

"Oh, no, don't worry about it!" Mira stopped her "It's on the house."

Lucy dropped the search for her wallet and started waving her hands around flustered. "It's not right, I should give you something!"

"It's fine! It's your first time eating here after all."

Lucy looked at the older woman gratefully "Thank you! Again." After all it was free food, who in the right mind would say no to that? Lucy did have to spend a lot of money these days for rent and for her training. She was trying to save up as much money as possible.

"Come on, eat your food." Natsu urged her with his voice slightly muffled from the food "It's gonna get cold."

"Natsu's right. You two eat your food and I'll go inside. Tell me if you need anything!"

"Okay!" Lucy waved at her before picking up her sandwich and taking a small bite of it. It was indeed as delicious as it looked. She hadn't realized she was that hungry.

The pair continued to eat in silence for a few seconds. Lucy spared her companion a glance. Well, that was fast, he was almost finished. She chewed up the remaining of her sandwich and attempted to start up a conversation again.

"So… you've been in the rink for some time now, right?"

Natsu hummed in agreement, swallowing the last bits of his lunch.

"Then you must know a lot of famous skaters!" continued Lucy with excitement "That's so cool! I just moved here so I haven't met anyone else except for you."

"Hey, are you implying something?"

Lucy was ready to reply before she unintentionally caught a glimpse of the sky. A few suspicious grey clouds were beginning to gather, covering up the blue sky.

"Hmm that's weird." She muttered to herself.

"What is it?" Natsu tried to move his head to find what caught her attention.

Lucy pointed at the clouds "Look. I swear it was sunny moments ago… Do you think it'll rain?"

"Oh, that's it? Nah, don't worry, it won't."

"I think it's going to rain." Lucy repeated staring worryingly at the rapidly increasing clouds "And I don't even have an umbrella with me!"

"Listen, you're not used to Magnolia weather, this happens all the time." The man leaned back to his chair in a relaxed position "They will just pass by, you'll -" Natsu was interrupted by a flash of light and thunder echoing after it. A single raindrop fell into the bridge of Lucy's nose.

"You were saying?"

Natsu sit up from his seating position. "We're still fine!" he said stubbornly "This can't be more than a few raindrops."

At that moment it was like the clouds had heard him and rain poured in signaling the start of a heavy rainstorm.

"OH COME ON!" Natsu shaked his fist angrily at the weeping sky.

Lucy chuckled at his antics. She could already feel her clothes get dump even under the protection of the trees. She quickly calculated the distance to the building. They were safe for now but they run fast enough they could reach a much better shelter and…

"Come on Lucy, how long are you gonna stand there?"

And he had already gone ahead.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Lucy hastily grabbed her backpack and started brisk walking towards the main building. She knew she would get more drenched that way but at least she wouldn't fall over to the muddy ground. It was too slippery to take any chances.

On the other hand, Natsu wasn't as patient and careful. He was already ahead of her nearly sprinting to the back entrance hopping over obstacles and puddles on his way.

"Hurry up Lucy!" he shouted over the heavy rain.

"I'm being mindful, thank you very much." Lucy shouted back not taking her eyes of the ground "You should too if you don't want to fall-"

A high pitched shriek sounded from the front followed by a splash of water and some not so children friendly expressions.

Natsu was lying head first into a large puddle of mud, his clothes and hair covered in the sticky substance. Lucy rushed by his side as he slowly turned over to a front lying position staring at the gray clouds above.

"Are you ok? Did you hurt anything." Lucy quickly scanned him, he didn't seem to be in pain.

The fallen boy then turned his head to her direction with a deadpan look on his face. "The universe hates me."

Lucy couldn't contain herself. She doubled over and lost herself into a feat of laughter. She didn't know if it was the defeated look staring into nothing, his body half covered in mud or the bored, unemotional voice but Lucy couldn't stop laughing at the combination of them. A small part of her felt bad for the man's situation but it was brushed over by the hilarity of the situation.

"I'm lying on the ground and you're just laughing at me?" Natsu whined "I could have been really hurt!"

"Sorry- It's just… You…" Lucy was consumed by another wave of laughter. She had reached the point where her breath was caught on her throat from too much laughing and she could feel tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"Oh, is that how it's gonna be?" Natsu had a mischievous look on his face. That couldn't mean anything good. Lucy couldn't do anything as she felt a wet hand tighten around her ankle and she was brought down to the muddy ground with a muffled scream.

"You little!" She quickly got up wiping out the mud on her cheeks but only succeeded at making it worse.

Now it was Natsu's turn to erupt into laughter "Oh man, you should have seen your face!"

However he was soon cut off by a mud ball landing straight in his face. Lucy was very proud of her aim.

Natsu grinned as he wiped it off his cheek "You're on."

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

"Why, just why did you two think it was a good idea to play outside when there's a rainstorm going on?

Lucy's teeth clattered as she pulled her towel closer to her body in an attempt to warm up. She could admit that wasn't the best decision she has made. Despite the weather gradually getting warmer it was still very much winter and it did no go well to sit in the cold with wet clothes.

She and Natsu hadn't understood how much time had passed until Mira found them and dragged them inside. The poor woman freaked out when she saw them having an all-out mud war in the rink's backyard. She brought them in and fussed over them covering the pair with towels and blankets.

It had been such a long time since Lucy had last let herself free and had so much fun. It felt really good to play around like a kid again. But now she was beginning to see the downside of the whole thing. Her clothes were completely dump and covered in mud and grass and her hair felt greasy and it stuck to her face. She must be a delight to look at right now. Moreover now that the adrenaline of the game and running around had faded away her whole body was freezing and no amount of towels to cover her with seemed to help.

Sitting on the couch beside her she saw Natsu frown under the older woman's gaze "We're sorry." He concluded.

Mira sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly "Just be a little more careful, okay? I don't want two of our skaters getting sick on my watch."

The pair simultaneously nodded in agreement.

"You two should go take a bath. You can't go out like this. Follow me Lucy. Natsu, you know the way."

"But I'm fine!"

"Natsu." Mira was smiling but her tone was slightly threatening.

"Aye sir!"

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Lucy ruffled her damp, now clean, hair with her towel one last time before handing it to the waiting older woman. Thankfully she had managed to take all the mud of without too many problems and loss of hair.

"Thanks! For everything."

"Oh, it was nothing! I've gotten used to taking care of our skaters here in the rink. Believe me I have seen way worse stuff."

Lucy was curious about that statement but she didn't say anything. Instead her eyes wandered off around the room searching for a familiar shade of pink.

"He's not here."

"What?"

"Natsu's not here, he left a couple of minutes ago." Mira smiled knowingly.

"Ah, no! I wasn't… looking for him. I should get going too!"

"Wait!" Mira searched under the reception desk for a moment before pulling out a bright red umbrella. "Take it, the rain hasn't stopped yet."

"Thank you so much! I'll return it on Wednesday!"

"Have a safe trip home!" Mira waved cheerfully.

When Lucy was out of the shelter of the building she opened up the borrowed umbrella and took the route home. Now all that was left was to explain to her blue haired friend why she was 30 minutes late to their meeting. That would be a fun story.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Juvia halted her skating for a moment and looked out of the stained window on the other side of the big skating room. The rain was still going strong though considerably lighter than the rainstorm in the morning. Fortunately though, it had stopped people from going out of their houses so she now had the whole guest ring to herself.

Juvia had missed the rain. In her previous town it used to rain all the time. It was a weather routine she had gotten used to. But from when she moved to Magnolia it hadn't really rained before this day.

Other people would see this as a good thing but Juvia never minded the rain. The sound of the raindrops hitting the ceiling and windows was strangely calming and the smell of wet grass and ground was one of her favorite things. She generally felt very calm and relaxed whenever it rained.

However, it did hold a smidge of sadness in it. Sometimes the sadness would overtake her on days like that and she would wish the rain would stop following her already. But this day she was very grateful for the rain's familiar presence.

Juvia teared off her gaze from the window, shaking off her thoughts, and focused back on her task. She would perfect that move today!

She had gotten scolded by her swimming coach the other day for being dazed off in practice and not performing as good as usual. That resulted in Juvia having to go for extra practices which she was not particularly happy about. That also meant that she didn't have the time or energy to go back to Fairy Tail and maybe see a particular black haired man again.

She hadn't seen him since their last lesson… Juvia knew very well the lessons couldn't just continue but she couldn't help but miss it. It was really a dream come true to be able to talk to her idol and spend so much time with him! She really hoped she would catch a glimpse of him this day and maybe drop by to say a quick hello.

And last time, oh last time! They had gone out to eat together! Just he two of them! Together! It was like a date! But not really… They didn't actually do much.

They got their preferred ice cream flavors and had some small talk about skating and everyday things. Juvia avoided the subject of his leg. He didn't seem that comfortable to talk about it. She had been too nervous the entire time anyway. At some point she felt like her head would explode with all the things that were happening. In the end they finished their ice creams and went to their separate ways.

It wasn't anything much but it was all Juvia ever dreamed of! Well she actually dreamed of way much more but that wasn't the point. Juvia smiled at herself. It was so different meeting Gray Fullbuster, many times figure skating champion, in real life. So much more different than watching him from her TV or her laptop screen. It felt so real.

He was so calm and collected! But he was a bit closed off too. Which was pretty natural since he had just met Juvia. She did hope they would be able to spend a little more time together on the future! He was never rude with her even with her strange requests. And he was so handsome! His eyes were the prettiest dark blue color! She never had the opportunity to look at them so closely before. And he-

"AHHH!" Juvia screamed as she lost her balance and fell for once more right into the plastic dividers. That's what she got for dozing off when practicing. She rubbed her side where she collided with the divider to ease off the pain. She should really stop getting lost in her thoughts on the ice, it proved to be pretty dangerous. And she had enough bruises already.

The pain having become just a dull ache, Juvia got into position ready to try again. What had Gray-sama said about that move again?

"You're doing it all wrong."

Ah yes she could almost hear his- Juvia whirled around to the source of the voice. She wasn't imagining things! Gray Fullbuster was standing in front of the open rink doors in his full glory. He was slightly leaning to the doorframe with his arms crossed and a small scowl to his face and his lips pressed together in a line. Juvia guessed he didn't mean to speak up.

"Sorry, for startling you." He scratched the back of his head and averted his eyes awkwardly. "I was just passing by, I'll leave you alone now."

"Wait!" Juvia shouted before he could turn around. "Umm… what… What is Juvia doing wrong?"

She could feel heat rising to her face. Her ears were burning up. There she goes holding him back again. She really hoped she wasn't a hindrance.

Gray stopped and stared at her with calculating eyes before speaking up "You're leaning too far away in the front. Stand up a bit straighter so you don't lose your balance again."

"Thank you! Juvia will keep that in mind." She smiled widely.

"Yeah, don't sweat it." He started going through the metal door before stopping and turning around "Oh and try not to look at the ice so much. You need to stand up prouder."

"Okay!" Juvia squeaked. She hadn't ever noticed she was looking at the ice so much.

And then he was gone out of the room with a small wave of his hand and Juvia tried to calm her racing heart. That was a surprisingly stressful experience.

Slowly a smile crept up her face. But it was so amazing! He had actually come to talk to her! He came on his own and talked to her! She was so happy!

Juvia twirled happily around herself. But she had forgotten a small detail. She was still on the ice. Thus she ended up on the cold slippery surface of the ice. Again.

She should really keep her thoughts for after she has exited the ice.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

~~BONUS~~

It was a beautiful, sunny Monday morning and no one should be spending their time waiting outside of a hospital to- Wait no. That was completely wrong. First of all, no Monday morning was a good morning. Natsu had Mondays completely ruined for him by the school system. Who woke up in a Monday after resting for the weekend and said 'Oh boy I'm so excited to start my day at 7 in the morning!' That's right, no one!

Now that he thought about it better it wasn't a very sunny day either… He could spot some stray gray clouds beginning to gather and hide the morning sun. And they didn't seem to have any plans on leaving anytime soon.

Well, no matter what the day was like, Natsu did not want to just spend another minute standing alone in the cold. He prided himself as being very tolerant to the cold but even he was starting to feel the chill creep up to him. (a/n is that right?) It was only the middle of autumn but it was already beginning to feel like winter. He couldn't say that was his favourite season.

Natsu scoffed and placed his phone back to his pocket. There were so many of "Dragon Slayer" that he could play. And he definitely did not stop because he was losing too much!

He looked at the hospital's back exit. Still nothing. What was he doing in there! He should have been done an hour ago. Natsu knew he shouldn't have caved in when Gildarts asked him for this favor. Curse his good heart!

"Natsu?"

"Oh, finally you're done!" The man in question turned around to the familiar voice.

"Pffffttt!" Natsu couldn't contain his laughter. The sight before him was too much. Gray had just gotten his broken leg in the cast and he was trying, and mostly failing, to walk with his new crutches towards Natsu. What really got Natsu's attention, however, were the pink and blue hearts and scribbles all around the man's cast that looked like a child's work. Combined with Gray's grumpy face it made for a very hilarious picture.

"Oh man!" Natsu exclaimed as he tried to contain his laughter "This… this is so cute!"

"Shut up." Gray glared at him, a little hint of pink dusting his cheeks. "There was a little girl beside me when I was waiting for the doctor and she really liked my cast. You couldn't have said no to her either."

"You can thank her for improving your look." Natsu snickered.

"What are you doing here anyway, flame brain? Where's the old man?"

"Something came up, Gildarts won't come."

"So he sent you over?"

"Hey, I'm offering you a ride home, you should be thankful for that!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."

"Come on now we're leaving. I wanna get back to the rink as fast as I-" Natsu stopped as he noticed the pained look flashing on his friend's face. He cleared his throat and tried to change the course of the conversation "Yeah… so are you okay with walking to the car?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. That's what the crutches are for." Gray lifted one of them up to prove his point.

"You sure? You look like a baby duck that's taking its first steps."

"Hey, it's actually hard to walk with these things!"

"Oh come on, how hard can it be? It's okay, you can admit you suck at this. No one will judge you, except for me."

"You try walking on them and then we'll see if you'll talk!" Gray taunted him.

"I'm pretty sure I could do a better job than you." Natsu immediately replied.

"Is that so? Well, here you go." The black haired man stopped on his tracks and extended the walking devises to Natsu, while balancing on a nearby tree.

"What, right now?" Natsu asked surprised.

"We're in front of a hospital. It's the perfect place to be if you mess up and break something. Or are you not able to do it after all?"

"Ha! I'm not scared!" Natsu swiped the crutches off his hands. "I'll show you!"

He carefully positioned the metal handles under his armpit and put his weight in them testing their hold. Satisfied with the result he tried lifting his right leg and taking a few steps forward. He actually made it two steps in, before losing his footing and start heading straight into the concrete of the pavement. He had put his foot back to the ground, stumbling forward, so that he didn't fell right on his face.

Now it was Gray's turn to start laughing. "Oh wow! That should be so easy! I don't know how you could ever mess it up."

"Quit it ice princess! It's not my fault!"

"Oh yes, I'm sure that's it."

"No, I'm serious! It's the crutches. They're not the right size for me, I'm taller than you."

"What the hell are you talking about? We're the same height. Besides if someone's a bit taller, that's me."

The pink haired skated lifted one of his borrowed crutches up and started inspecting it. "Now where is it…?"

"What are you doing now?" Gray asked confused.

"I'm looking for the adjustment thing."

"The what now?"

"You know! The thing that lets you fix the height of the crutches."

"Natsu put it down, you don't know what you're doing."

"No, no, I got it."

"Natsu stop, you're gonna-"

Natsu heard a pop from the metallic crutch and looked in horror at his hands where he hold two pieces of the device that had come apart. He looked at it silently for a few seconds before looking back to Gray, his eyes widened in shock. He mentally prepared himself for the worse.

What he did not expect was to see the other man snickering before dissolving into a full laughing fit. "You… you should have seen your face!" Gray managed to make out between trying to catch his breath "I knew this would happen!"

"You knew it was coming off? Come on, I thought I had broken it!" Natsu whined.

"That's why I didn't tell you!"

Natsu frowned at him and lightly punched him in the arm, trying not to push him over. "You're an idiot."

He watched his friend wipe off a stray tear from all the laughing and Natsu tried not to smile himself, maintaining a grumpy composure. Gray hadn't genuinely laughed at all since the accident. He didn't even respond that well to their bickering. It felt so weird and out of place.

Now he definitely seemed more relaxed and happy. Things were starting to fix themselves, Natsu started to realize in delight. Everything would be back to normal soon.

Something good came out of this favor after all.

/ - / - / - / - / - / - / - /

Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, here's an extra long chapter to make up for it! We hope you enjoyed reading both the actual chapter and the bonus :) We look forward to hearing your thoughts about it! The nalu rain scene was one of my favourite scenes to write so far!

On another note after this chapter the fic will be going on a small hiatus. Because of school stuff and exams it's getting harder to find time to write so we decided to postpone the fic for a while. It's not going to be long though, don't worry. We'll probably be back around June. Thank you for reading our story, we hope you understand!

See you next chap!