[Re-edited 04.05.23]

Happy Sunday!

Here's the training interlude, I had a lot of fun writing this one, banter galore.

Next week's chapter will see the actual start of the Trial

Onward!

29

-Training and Feelings-

Humming contently as the eggs sizzled in the pan, Lucy glanced toward the fire mage who stood to her left, busying himself with a large package of bacon. His expression was complete concentration, not unlike the look he dawned in each and every fight he entered. Now that focus was aimed at each strip of bacon as he used magic infused fingers to singe the meat to a perfect level of crispy. It hadn't taken Lucy long after meeting Natsu, to realize that the boisterous fire mage took a surprising level of pride in his ability to fry, seer and otherwise fire-cook a variety of foods. That pride was well placed though, she had to admit, he had certainly mastered the ability to use his magic to achieve perfect levels of char to flavor to tenderness in whatever he got his fiery hands on.

He caught her watching and gave her his usual toothy grin as he reached for a knife and a loaf of bread. He popped slices of toast on each of four plates and set them out for Lucy to scoop the eggs onto, just as a knock at the door announced their friends' arrival.

Lucy turned toward the door just as Haru opened it to admit himself, Mira and Happy perched on his head. "Morning," the blonde chirped.

"Good morning," the trio chimed back.

Happy leapt off Haru's head, flying at Natsu as he cheered, "Natsuuu! Guess what?!" The cat hovered in the air between them, Natsu arched a questioning brow as he poured himself a coffee. "Haru made Mira mad last night, and she clocked him with a pillow right in the face! —and he fell off the bed backwards, it was hilarious!" he finished, holding his sides as he howled in laughter at his own story.

The aforementioned water mage pursed his lips in irritation at the tale, but chose to ignore the annoying cat in favour of taking a seat at the table. The group had been on the quiet beachside resort for a few days now, and they'd fallen into a normal morning routine. They took turns cooking breakfast out of a few groceries they'd pick up from the nearby beach town. Happy also routinely swapped between staying the night with Natsu or Haru. He'd attempted to tease Lucy about the less than hidden motivation behind the request, he'd learned quickly that the blonde didn't fluster when everyone present was fully aware of her relationship.

Joining Lucy in the small kitchen, Mira offered to help with the remainder of breakfast, though everything was mostly done already. Happy flew over with a large fish he'd pulled from his pack, "You can cook my fish! No one does it like you Mira!"

Lucy hid her amusement behind her hand as she caught Natsu's narrowing eyes. Yep, he certainly took pride in his cooking, though he was more subtle in his competitive tendencies when it came to cooking than his combat prowess. "Traitor," Natsu growled under his breath, as he wandered over to set a tray of coffee and tea down on the small table before dropping into the chair next to his partner.

Laughing at Natsu's irritation, Mira gave the blue cat an apologetic look, "Sorry Happy, I don't have what I need here for your favourite dishes." Happy pouted, wings and ears drooping in his disappointment, "you'll just have to go raw or ask Natsu nicely…"

Happy tightened the grip he held on his fish as his eyes trailed over to the vengeful look on Natsu's face. The Fire Slayer draped an arm over the back of his chair and took a long sip of his coffee, his expression just daring the cat to ask, after slighting him in favour of Mira's cooking.

"Uhh…" the cat trailed off, with a noticeable gulp and a vivid image of Natsu burning his fish to a charred mess in retaliation. "Raw is good," he finished dejectedly. He flew over to the table and sat to Haru's side, keeping a sizeable distance between his prized fish and the sadistic contemplations of the prideful fire mage. The girls followed a moment later, sitting across from the Twin Dragons and setting plates brimming with eggs, bacon, toast and slices of tomato down.

Taking a bite off her bacon, Mira gave a pleased sound. No one cooked up bacon quite like Natsu did, his fire gave it a nice smoky sort of flavour. "Delicious as usual, Natsu," she praised, giggling as Natsu sat up a little straighter. He turned a very smug look on the blue cat who had since polished off his fish but was still eyeing him nervously.

Lucy allowed herself to enjoy the simplicity of the moment, giggling softly at her comrades' antics and banter as they finished their meals. She leaned back in her chair with her hands wrapped around her mug, listening as Mira chided Natsu and Happy for their ongoing childish argument. Though, the two ignored her outright, so the blonde took that moment to interrupt, "So what's on the torture menu today?"

Natsu stopped mid-rant, a palm on the table where he'd leaned over the blue cat who was equally puffed up with a furry paw jabbed at his nose. Face splitting in a wide grin, he said, "Fun! What else?"

"I think you and I have different definitions of fun, Natsu… Every muscle in my body hurts."

"You're super strong! You'll be fine!" He paused, taking in Lucy's deadpanned expression, "and I'll give ya a massage tonight."

"Heyyy, keep your hands to yourselves, I'm sleeping here tonight!" Happy berated.

"A massage isn't sex Happy, I promise your innocent eyes will be spared."

"NATSU!"

"Ah, come on Loonie, I'm only teasing! Let's go, training awaits!" Natsu cheered, leaping up and throwing his fists in the air excitedly.

. . .

Sweat dripped off Lucy's forehead as she worked through the last few push-ups in her set, when Natsu suddenly shouted, with far too much gusto, "20 more!"

"What?!" Lucy shrieked, collapsing with an angry puff of air. So far, their training regime had started with various combinations of high-volume strength exercises paired with running intervals in the morning to build their power naturally. The afternoons were more fun, or at least fun according to Natsu and Mira, who seemed to be far more sadistic than Lucy would have given them credit for. This particular afternoon, she was to be subject to Mira's… fun.

Speaking of, the blonde scanned the beachside to lay eyes on the takeover mage who appeared to have flat out dismissed Natsu's call for more reps. Having finished her set, she was now gracefully stretched out, equally aghast with Dragon Slayer endurance. The guys seem to have gotten wrapped up in an unspoken competition, because they were certainly well beyond the '20 more' Natsu had called for a moment ago.

Catching Lucy's eyes, Mira scoffed, "Boys…" she said with an eye roll. She approached Lucy and offered her a hand up, "Come on Lucy, leave the idiots to their testosterone war, it's time to spar." The stellar mage let her eyes trail over the guys one last time before turning to face Mira. Haru always swore up and down that he didn't care for competition, but he also never turned down a challenge. Lucy chuckled under her breath and spread her feet in a solid offensive stance before snapping forward to meet her opponent with an array of strikes.

Eventually, Natsu and Haru grew bored of the simplicity of a push-up challenge and fell into their own combat training further down the beach. This was the first day since they'd arrived that they decided on one-on-one fights. Up until now, they'd done tag team matches: guys against girls or couple versus couple, (Lucy still found herself amused that Mira had been more flustered by that title than Haru had), and of course S-Class versus candidates.

The girls continued to spin around each other with a flurry of attacks and dodges, blocks and counters and the occasional spell, until Mira upped the challenge. She entered the weakest of her takeover forms and paused for Lucy's next move. At first Lucy only answered with the glowing fists and magic enhanced speed of her Star Reform, but that really only allowed her to dodge and block the She Devil's attacks. So finally, with a smirk of her own, Lucy called Scorpio to whip up a sandstorm to steal all visibility and leapt into the sky, tracking Mira's blind spot.

Mira spun in reaction to the blonde's magic signature, but she was a moment too late. Lucy had gotten above her already, she grinned pridefully at the shock that spread over her friend's face before shooting forward with a fist cocked. The takeover mage barely managed to get her forearms up in an X to block as the sandstorm dissipated. Both women were revealed to be exchanging blows in the sky, lines of shimmering gold forming wings at Lucy's back.

"Holy shit! Lucy! That's so cooool!"

The girls both paused to look down at the rowdy fire mage's excitement, just in time to see Haru connect a brutal water infused spin kick to his gut, that sent him flying down the shore. Lucy slapped a hand over her face in exacerbation and Mira giggled as they both released their spells, dropping gracefully back to the ground.

Haru walked over to the sprawled out fire mage with an air of casual indifference, and stopped to look down at him with an arched brow and a hand on his hip. "If you're gonna get so easily distracted by Lucy, you'll be much easier to beat than I thought."

In a burst of irritation in response to his partner's insinuation, Natsu launched back to his feet in an instant and snapped a finger over in the girls' direction. "She had WINGS man! Fucking wings!" Haru watched his excitement build again with a slight amusement, inadvertently alerting Natsu to his lack of surprise. "—Wait, you knew?" Natsu paused, eyes narrowing, he gasped, "you did! –How did you know before me?!"

Laughing as the girls approached, Haru simply said, "Lucy and I have more tricks in store for you than that, but we'll save the best for the trial."
Natsu gaped openly, his head whipped in his girlfriend's direction, "Lucy, since when could you do that?!"

Mira glanced between them, "Yes, I'd like to know that too… Really caught me off guard!"

Grinning widely at her friends' reactions, Lucy planted her hands on her hips. "Freed uses his dark écriture for wings, I thought the actual properties behind our magics are pretty similar… Anyway, you aren't the only one who can sneak in secret training Natsu," she replied with a cocky look. She could tell Natsu was proud, even if she could also clue into the hint of jealousy that Haru knew some of her secrets before him. "Sorry Natsu, you are the enemy during the trials after all," she told him with a wink.

The Fire Slayer gave an exaggerated pout before throwing his arm around her shoulders. "Fine, but I wanna see some other new tricks tonight then." Lucy sweat-dropped, nothing got Natsu going quite like her kicking ass, his words…

"NOPE. No way. Happy is yours tonight." Haru growled irritably, earning another childish pout from his partner, just as the named blue cat flew over with his paws full of fish.

"Hey! I'm not a football!" Happy complained at the idea of being passed off. "Oh, whatever, look what I caught! Lunch time!"

2 weeks later

The shore exploded in a tower of sand and Haru burst out in a blur, having dodged the attack of his current opponent. He drove the outside edge of his foot into the sand and sent a massive breath attack into the air. Currently hovering a couple meters from him in the sky, Mira simply beat her wings to avoid the torrent of water. Haru was in the air in the next second, streams of water propelling him toward her with another strike at the ready. She launched a concentrated beam of demonic magic at him, assuming it would be difficult to avoid while he was airborne. She was mistaken.

Reflexively throwing a palm out to his left, Haru channeled another burst of magic from his palm to force his trajectory out of the spell's path. Mira blinked in surprise before nodding approvingly. The Water Slayer didn't give her the luxury of time to decide her next move either. He appeared in front of her in a flash, snagging her arm and flipped her up over his back to throw her at the ground. Stretching her wings out to slow her decent, Mira spun and got her feet back under her again, landing with enough force to kick up a cloud of sand. Completely unscathed, she got eyes back on Haru a second before he collided with her. They fell back into hand-to-hand, exchanging a flurry of physical strikes.

As he blocked and countered her hits, Haru found himself more than a little thankful that she had entered her Satan Soul. Mira had begun this sparring session in a very flattering teal bikini, (that he was certain she did with his torment in mind), and he had taken a few too many hits due to his wandering eyes. Hand-to-hand when his opponent seemingly took every opportunity to pull his arm between her breasts or spin to drive up a kick, showcasing a great ass and toned legs, proved to be more than a little distracting. And she knew exactly what she was doing... Of that, he was certain.

Mira pivoted and whipped her tail at him, already preparing to follow up with a spin kick, but Haru caught her tail in his arms. Absorbing the attack, he used her own momentum to try to toss her again. Gasping, Mira dug her foot in and rotated enough to grab his arm and successfully dragged him with her. Both mages lost their footing and crashed into the sand, rolling to a stop. Landing triumphantly on top with her thighs locked on either side of his hips, Mira looked far too pleased at having managed to pin him. Haru answered that smugness with narrowed eyes, immediately calculating his options to secure his own victory.

Mira's eyes shone with mirth as she ran a clawed finger down his chest, "I believe this is my win, wouldn't you agree, Haaaru?" she asked sweetly.

Haru stared up defiantly and thrust his hips up in response, aiming to unseat her. The bold attempt caught her off guard just enough to give him the opening he needed to grip her under an arm and flip them before she could process what he was up to.

Now with the advantaged position and her arms pinned on either side of her head, Haru wore the same cocky grin that was all gleaming canines and overt confidence that Mira was only used to seeing on a certain fire breather. Her breath hitched, she found it to be undeniably sexy on him, and their current position did nothing to slow her suddenly racing heart. Still, she wasn't going to lose. She released her Satan Soul in response and Haru faltered briefly. Mira revelled in the way his eyes swept over her, white hair fanned out around her, bikini-clad skin flushed from the exertion of their spar and the heat of midday, once again, she knew exactly how to push his buttons.

Watching him intently, she let her eyes dare him to make his next move, certain that she could steal the looming win back from him. "Haru... If you wanted to dominate me, you should have just said so," she told him in the most innocent voice she could muster, squirming a little beneath him for good measure. A low growl escaped his throat and he pressed closer to her, grip tightening, stealing any amount of space that remained between their lower bodies. It was possible he was merely aiming to make sure he had as much control over her as possible, because he didn't trust her not to try to turn the tables again, but Mira doubted he'd use the same tactics against any other opponent.

Dragon Slayers, she knew, were often driven by instinct, and though Haru seemed more capable of ignoring those dragon instincts in favour of his careful methodical planning, he was still a Dragon Slayer. Testing the theory, Mira let the whisper of a moan leave her lips, and sure enough, blue eyes flashed and any semblance of his usual iron-clad control snapped with it. Without thinking, he leaned in, never breaking eye contact until he'd captured her lips in a passionate kiss that stole her breath away.

Gasping into the kiss, Mira's momentary hesitation seemed to alert him to the reality of what he'd just done and he started to pull back, but his loosened grip allowed her to catch the back of his head before he could. She returned the kiss with equal enthusiasm, and that earned her his own gasp of surprise before he gave in to the unexpected moment again. She had certainly not expected her test to garner this particular response. She'd thought he'd simply flinch long enough for her to reclaim the advantage in their fight.

Haru didn't usually let himself get caught up in a moment and Mira had been sure he'd be the reserved, romantic type. Her test proved that wielding dragon-born magic instilled at least a little of the brash possessiveness known to be a shared trait in dragons, in him as well. Mira had observed the trait in Natsu plenty of times when Lucy was involved. So she couldn't help but enjoy being the one to trigger this previously unknown side of the Water Slayer.

The sound of someone clearing their throat behind them, broke them from the heated make out session. Mira craned her head back to look behind her, Haru was already glaring at the intruders, though he made no effort to move from his compromised position. Natsu and Lucy stood a few meters up the beach with Happy floating over the heads. The fire mage wore a devious grin, his arm lazily draped around the blonde who wore a deep blush and was actively avoiding their eyes. "'Bout time you two dealt with that sexual tension," Natsu announced, he jabbed a finger over at the cluster of cabins where they were staying, "but do the rest of us a favour, and get a room…"

"They loooooove each other," Happy sang, excited to have new people to bug and Natsu laughed, returning the blue cat's high-five.

Haru released a frustrated breath. "You're one to talk, Natsu!" he barked back, but he finally rolled off Mira anyway. He grumbled as he sat up, facing away from them with his arms resting on his knees bent in front of him. Mira sat up as well, dropping her forehead onto Haru's shoulder, right over his guild mark and giggled softly. Natsu's fit of laughter continued as he led Lucy down the beach, moving further away from them. "Me, Luce, an' Happy are going to walk into town and find something to eat. Feel free to join us, if you're not too busyyy."

"Fuck off, Natsu!" Haru called back at his partner. The exacerbation in his voice was noticeable, but there was no real bite behind his words. Mira was still laughing softly, and Haru peeked down at the head of white hair currently pressed into his shoulder.

She shifted and bright blue eyes came up to meet his, a light pink colouring her cheeks. "Well, should we go catch up with them?"

Now it was Haru's turn to laugh but it came out slightly bitter. "I think… I need to calm down first," he told her, his voice still holding on to a huskier tone. Mira's eyes widened a little in recognition, before a mischievous smile tugged at her lips again. She reached over and ghosted her fingers down over the ridges of his abs, Haru's breath hitched and he shot her an incredulous look. "That is not helping," he retorted breathlessly.

She responded by tracing her fingers further down his V cut, dipping just under the waist band of his swim trunks. "I'm not really the patient type, Haru... So why don't you just let me help you with your problem, hmmm?" she hummed.

It wasn't really a question, as Haru quickly realized. It was a warning, because her warm hand was already wrapping around his length in a firm grip. He bit off a moan and fell back onto his elbows with a shaky exhale as a fingernail grazed along him from base to tip. Haru's eyes drifted shut and at that moment he swore if Natsu interrupted them again, he'd end him, best friend or not.

Last week of training

Another day was winding down and Lucy and Haru were sitting on the beach, watching the sunset. Lucy sat with arms folded over bent knees and her chin resting on her arms. Next to her Haru was stretched out, leaning back on his hands and staring out at the rays of sun sparkling off the ocean. Most evenings, their S Class comrades would disappear for their own training, Natsu and Mira had said something about not getting complacent and making it too easy for them. Haru and Lucy always took the chance to work on tricks and strategies of their own, they couldn't let their potential opponents know all their progress because it would put them at a distinct disadvantage.

Lucy's eyes shifted to her trial partner; Haru was still dripping wet from his recent water training. He'd been working on controlling the density of the water to a point where he could literally walk on water now, he didn't have it totally down, but Lucy was very impressed anyway. In typical Haru fashion, his gaze seemed lost in the ocean and left him completely unaware of his surroundings. "So, four days to the trial," Lucy said, breaking the silence, she smiled as his eyes shifted from the water to her, "do you think we're ready?"

Haru shot her an unusually brilliant grin. "Course we are! We're gonna kick ass!" he told her with a confident vibe that left no room for question. The blonde blinked back at him in mild surprise. "What? What is it?" Haru asked.

Lucy shook her head, her smile returning, "No, nothing," she said laughing, "you just totally reminded me of Natsu there for a minute."

The water mage leaned forward, as he crossed his legs, chuckling softly as he considered her thought. It wasn't that Haru was ever lacking confidence in himself, the exact opposite really, but Natsu's confidence never wavered, regardless of the situation. Natsu's confidence was borderline cocky and constantly apparent in his overt competitiveness in nearly everything. Haru supposed that his own confidence was often masked behind his realistic approach to everything, but right now he was just letting himself enjoy the experience. Training with Natsu and Mira the last few weeks had been incredibly helpful in that regard, and he and Lucy had both been improving daily. He was determined to catch up to his partner.

"Speaking of Natsu," Lucy began, tipping her head back to look at the sky, "I really hope we don't have to face him…" she trailed off, tracing lazy circles in the sand. Haru watched her, tilting his head in an unspoken request to elaborate. Lucy sighed, "well what about you? Do you really want to fight Mira, for high stakes?"

Haru choked out a sound of surprise, and turned his full attention to her, "What are you implying Lucy?" She deadpanned and gave him her best 'you gotta be kidding me,' look, and he blinked back before a blush tinged his cheeks. Clicking his tongue, he averted his eyes, "fine, you got me, but it's totally one-sided anyway," he noted dejectedly.

Rolling her eyes, Lucy chuckled, "Oh yeah, that kiss Natsu and I walked in on last week looked totally one sided…" she drawled.

"Mira was being Mira, she's always used flirty behaviour to throw her opponents off and I let myself get caught up in the moment."

"Seriously Haru? Geez. You really are hopeless!"

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Mira has literally done everything short of spell it out for you, Dummy. Do you really think she'd let you kiss her if she didn't want you to?" Haru watched the mix of amusement and exacerbation play across her face. "Haru, you are far too smart to be this oblivious!"

"She's Sorcerer's top model Lucy. She could literally have almost any guy she wanted, Fiore and beyond," he countered.

"News flash Haru, you're brilliant, you're incredibly strong, you never hesitate to help someone in need, you're gorgeous, and—" she waited until his eyes met hers, "Mira doesn't want any guy, she wants you."

Haru continued to eye her skeptically. Lucy was usually pretty perceptive, but he wasn't sure she was on the mark this time. Choosing to change the subject, he deflected, placing the focus back on her, "Why are you so worried about us fighting Natsu?"

Dropping on to her back and kicking her legs out straight, Lucy allowed herself a moment to rein her thoughts in now that the spotlight was back on her. The clouds in the sky added to the depth and layers of colour that bled together as the sun began to drop behind the mountain behind them. "I guess…" Lucy started, voicing a thought before it was fully formed in her mind, "maybe I'm scared. I had to fight Natsu at the Tower of Heaven. It was the worst feeling being on opposing sides, it just felt wrong."

Lucy dropped an arm over her eyes, as though physically hiding from the idea of facing her boyfriend in a fight where her best friend's S Class promotion was on the line. She didn't want to let Haru down, but she didn't know if she could go all out against Natsu. It was so much pressure. Her thoughts were running away with her when Haru's incredulous laughter snapped her out of it. She turned toward him and as soon as she did, he flicked a finger against her forehead.

She glared at him indignantly. "Don't you think that fighting Natsu felt like shit last time because he wasn't Natsu?! He was under your father's control, fighting him at the trial would be entirely different." Haru paused as she considered the sentiment before continuing, "the fight may be high stakes as you say, but S Class status is nothing like fighting for Natsu's literal free will."

Lucy rolled to her side to face him better, wide eyes meeting his. He was right… Why hadn't she seen that before? She sat up quickly, blinking at him with still wide eyes. "Haru, thanks for that," she started with a grin, she held a hand out before him, and he slapped his own into her grip. "Let's get you to S Class!"

. . .

Meanwhile, Natsu and Mira were running side by side, dodging around roots and boulders as they ran up the mountain side. They'd been doing multiple rounds of a grueling circuit they'd come up with shortly after arriving at the beach resort, they had S Class expectations to uphold after all.

Starting at the ocean shore, they'd summit the mountain at a run, the terrain worked on their agility as well as endurance. At the ridge, they'd fall into some magic-barred hand-to-hand combat, typically Natsu's advantage, before spinning around and heading back down. They'd swim out into deeper waters and spend time diving down to exchange their power attacks underwater, aiming to build the intensity of their attacks against the resistance of the water. When their magic reserves were dwindling and their attacks began losing power to the ocean, they'd swim back and move into magic-based sparring. Typically Mira's advantage, being able to pull from curse-based attacks as well as magic. They'd go until one of them had completely exhausted their magic and then start back up the mountain again, challenging their ability to reabsorb the ethernano from the environment whilst physically exhausted.

This was already their third round and the sparring sets were getting significantly shorter due to their magic depletion and overall fatigue, but any outsider to see them casually chatting as they ran, would never guess how worn out they were. The two S Class discussed Haru and Lucy's progress as they ran, contemplating putting the pair through a team-oriented version of their brutal circuit to gage their strengths. They came to a stop at the top of the mountain, briefly catching their breaths as they each moved along the ridge to face each other a short distance apart.

"Ready Natsu?"

"Give me your best shot, Mira!"

Bolting forward the wind slashed out around them as they collided in the center, trading blow for blow. Their reflexes and endurance were pretty diminished at this point and they were both taking more hits than when they'd begun a couple hours ago. Mira leaned back to miss a punch from the side and responded by throwing a kick straight at him which he jumped back to avoid. "Hey Mira," Natsu called as he spun into another retaliating kick, she twirled to the side and absently hummed her acknowledgement, never losing her concentration. "You and Haru official yet?"

Faltering briefly at the blunt personal question, Mira flinched in her movements. Always quick to take advantage of an opportunity, Natsu threw a sharp punch right into her jaw and she sailed to the side, hitting the ground. She glared up at him, "Cheap shot Natsu," she droned, massaging her face.

"You know our enemies wouldn't let distraction go unpunished, and neither will I."

"I will pay you back for that one," she promised, already back on her feet and exchanging strikes with him once more. He fixed her with the usual toothy grin as he nimbly danced around her punches and kicks.

Natsu dipped low and swung up with an uppercut. "Don't think you're going to distract me from getting an answer," he said, smirking as he caught her answering punch with his hand. Pivoting to throw a back kick into her stomach, she coughed out a lungful of air. "So? You two banging yet, or what?"

Mira's eye twitched, she knew all about the lesser known nuances of dragon senses, so she was fully aware that he knew, she and Haru hadn't slept together. "I see you still have your poetic way with words, Natsu," she retorted sarcastically, "but you're not throwing me off my game again!"

She sprang forward, lightning quick, "Though who knows what coulda happened if you hadn't interrupted last week!" Surprise got him and she attacked, sweeping his legs out from under him so he went sprawling on to his back. Quickly recovering, Natsu rolled back, hands going behind his head in preparation to flip back to his feet. Mira planted her foot onto his chest before he could, nailing him back to the ground and tearing the air from his lungs this time. "Revenge is mine, and so is this round!" she declared.

Natsu cursed through a smile, accepting defeat and her offered hand to pull him back to his feet.

They dusted themselves off and headed back down the mountain, using the descent to get their breathing back under control. "You know Haru has had a crush on you, basically since he joined the guild, don't you?"

The takeover mage turned a sly grin on him. It had taken her longer than normal to pick up on because unlike Natsu, Haru was pretty good masking his emotions, but Mira prided herself on her ability to read people. Of course, she knew. Natsu laughed, "Okay, then you also know you're also gonna have to spell it out for him, right?"

A mischievous look crossed her face as the demon in her made an appearance, "I don't know about that, I did get him to kiss me first." That actually surprised Natsu, he'd just assumed Mira had made the first move, he watched the mirth dance in her eyes. "I've just gotta keep tapping into those dragon instincts," she told him as she agilely leapt over a root and sprang off a slanted tree allowing her to easily vault over a large boulder in their path.

Natsu chuckled as he jumped to catch an overhead branch, swinging over the same boulder and landed softly beside Mira again. "I wouldn't doubt it. Before Luce, you took your fair share of matches using those tactics on me and Laxus… Haru doesn't know what he's in for."

"Just call me the Seductress, Natsu. Haru will be mine," she said with a demonic look, and Natsu paled despite himself.

"You know, you're just as scary as you were when we were kids, when you do that!"

The last night

Natsu watched as Happy chowed down on his third or fourth fish since they'd finished dinner, over an hour ago. Sometimes he thought the small cat was a bigger bottomless pit than he himself was. Night skies stretched out above, pierced with stars, and the blonde in his arms had her head tipped back on his shoulder to stare at the constellations. Natsu was leaning back against one of the logs spaced around a fire pit. They had a decent size bonfire flickering in front of them, licking away at the encroaching darkness. Lucy had helped herself to a comfortable spot between his legs, leaning into his chest and had taken to running her hand up and down his thigh absently, not that he'd protested in the slightest.

Tonight was their last together before the trial, he and Mira had to leave early the next morning to meet up with Makarov and the rest of the S Class to begin preparations on Tenrou. He'd be taking Happy with him as well because the Master had requested the cats come along as aerial surveillance so he could watch the events on a set of lacrimas. So, that would leave Lucy and Haru two remaining days to iron out any wrinkles in their teamwork and strategies with no interruptions, before heading out for the trial.

Natsu was brimming with barely contained energy, he was excited to see the progress all of the teams had made over the last month. If everyone else's progress had been half as good as Haru and Lucy's, this year's trial would be prove to be fierce competition. He was dying to finally learn what Makarov would have in store for the exams this year.

"Hey Mira," Natsu called, drawing the white-haired girl's attention, she was seated on another log to their left, lost in the dancing flames and her thoughts. "Any guesses as to what this year's challenges will be?"

"Not a clue," she replied, "every year there is usually some sort of magic-barred or restricted challenge, and of course the S Class throw their unexpected twists in… Not always in the form of a fight." Natsu hummed a response, considering what role Makarov might have the S Class play this year, he certainly hoped he got to fight. "The year I got my S Class, Laxus literally chased me around with lightning, I had to get to the top of a mountain without the use of my magic, while he tried to FRY me! He's insane…" Mira said reminiscently.

Cluing into the conversation, Lucy paled at the thought. "Yeah, me 'n' Haru were the unlucky ones to run into Laxus last year as well. He went for the all-out brawl though. And insane, is definitely the most fitting word… We barely took him down," Natsu recalled. "One day though, I'm going to take him, one on one."

The group fell back into content silence briefly and Natsu's eyes fell on the shadowy figure of Haru finally emerging from his usual post-dinner ocean swim. The water mage made his way up the beach toward them, towelling off as he approached, he stopped in front of the fire and shook his head, dispelling some of the water as he greeted them. Leaving the towel draped around his shoulders, he rounded the logs and took the spot next to Mira. She smiled up at him before dropping her head against his shoulder, cuddling closer and Haru seemed to reflexively warp his arm around her shoulders.

Natsu wondered if his partner was even aware of how much more intimate his gestures had gotten around the takeover mage over the past few weeks. Where Natsu just touched, hugged and unabashedly draped himself over whoever he wanted without a second thought, Haru simply didn't. But much as he denied Mira's feelings for him, he certainly didn't shy away from returning her affections anymore.

Looking away from their comrades, Natsu and Lucy shared a knowing smile, before turning back to the fire. In three more days, they'd all be reunited with their fellow trial participants on Tenrou Island, and in a little over a week, they'd know if their training had paid off. Natsu and Lucy had talked and decided rather than making some big announcement as to their relationship, they would simply act as they were now and stop sneaking around. Their comrades' reactions would likely be gold if they randomly witnessed a kiss or Lucy cozying up on the fire mage's lap, and it took the pressure of being bombarded with the entire guild's immediate questioning off of them. Their friends would all find out organically, and that suited the two of them just fine.

As the flames dwindled down and the hours stretched later, Mira regretfully suggested that they retire for the night. Happy was excited to be reunited with Carla the next day, but the four mages weren't quite ready to let their month-long stay on the beach go quite yet. The trip had been an incredibly relaxing reprieve from the stresses of the last year, even with their rigorous training schedule. That said, they were of course, looking forward to seeing all their friends again.

Lucy turned a small smile toward Mira and Haru and nodded, "Yeah, probably a good idea to get some sleep tonight…"

Haru doused the fire and the group pulled themselves to their feet and began to lazily make their way back to the cabins they'd called home for the last month. The trip was over, and their minds were now solely on the ever-looming S Class trial.

A/N. I'm enjoying the Natsu-Mira friendship a little too much. :P

Shout outs to Valerioux, Fire Shifter and Fan Of Natsu for reviewing 28, my undying love to you and all of you readers out there still following along!

In response to Fan Of Natsu's insights on last chapter regarding Dragon Force and Motion Sickness, here's my thoughts: Second Gen dragon slayers do get motion sickness, in chapter 276 Chariot, Mira asks Laxus if he gets motion sickness as well, and he replies, "don't say a word to anyone else." His motion sickness is just never depicted, I suppose it would ruin his canon badassness. XD (Though as seen back in Oracion Seis arc, my Laxus totally gets motion sickness).
I would theorize if they ever got enough exposure to adapt to motion sickness, they might build up a higher tolerance (though not overcoming it), but due to avoiding transportation as much as possible, they never do. Haha.

See you all next weekend!