"Hey, Happy?" Natsu said one afternoon as he rested on the damp ground. It had been two weeks since their journey began, and they'd spent everyday training as hard as they could.

"Yeah?" Happy replied absentmindedly. He was staring intently at a mushroom and wishing it was a fish.

"Do...you ever think that we shouldn't have left Lucy behind?"

"Nah," Happy answered, not giving the question much thought, "she wouldn't have liked it with all the training and sleeping in the woods."

"But…" Natsu felt odd. He felt unsure of himself. He was second-guessing himself, and that wasn't something he normally did. "We were a team, she was our partner… 'It's always more fun when we're together' she said, right?"

Happy didn't respond, he just looked at Natsu with an odd, almost knowing, expression on his face. Finally, he just turned away with a shake of his head.

"She has everyone in the guild to keep her company." Happy said with an air of finality saying that he didn't want to discuss this any further.

Natsu frowned, his cat friend could really be mysterious when he wanted to be. With a bored sigh, the mage turned his gaze to the sky and allowed his thoughts to wander.

Unfortunately for him, the only place his thoughts wanted to go was Lucy.

Unfortunately for him because every time his thoughts strayed to the blonde he felt an ache in his chest. He didn't like it so he tried to avoid any thoughts of her. On some level, he knew why he felt his heart clench whenever he thought of her, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. Instead he chose to imagine her face. A particular memory of her that he liked,

"Look, Natsu! I got my Fairy Tail mark!"

Thinking of her smile as she held out her right hand in front of her only served to make the ache in his chest grow, however.

"I miss her." He said, the truth of his words hitting him as soon her uttered the and he shot up off the ground.

"I know." Happy said simply.

"This sucks!" Natsu growled, feeling anger well up inside him. "Why should I have to leave if it makes me feel bad?! Why did I even think this was the right choice?!" Natsu turned and punched a nearby tree to let out his frustration and, with a loud crack, it fell to the ground.

"Calm down, Natsu!" Happy cried. "I get that you're upset, but you're gonna destroy the forest!"

Breathing heavily, Natsu lowered his shaking fists.

"Did I...do the right thing?" He asked, and Happy was shocked to hear his voice sound so throaty and hoarse. "And, if I did, why does it feel so terrible?" He roughly dragged the heel of his palm against his face.

For a moment, Happy was rendered speechless. Natsu crying was a rarity, and it always caught the feline by surprise.

"Natsu," Happy said, finally finding his tongue, "you wanted to go on this journey-"

"I know-" Natsu snarled.

"You wanted to go on this journey, "Happy repeated, raising his voice, "and you obviously had a reason for it. What was that reason?"

Natsu thought about this. What had been his reason? What could've possibly made him want to leave Lucy and all his friends? He thought, and thought, and thought. Then,

"She cried." He said, turning to face his friend. "She cried because I wasn't there. Because I wasn't strong enough to protect her."

"So, what are you gunna do about it?!" Happy egged him on, grinning broadly.

Natsu roared and lit his hands on fire, assuming a fighting stance, "I'll become so strong that Lucy never has to cry again! Come on, Happy! Let's train!" He sprinted into a nearby clearing, spewing fire everywhere.

"Aye, sir!"

Ah, that wonderful time of year has come. Fanfics are blooming. AMVs are singing. That right, it's Nalu Week! (which you probably already knew if you read the title of this story...) This is my first Nalu week, so I'm super excited! I'll try to write for the whole week...if I don't get too lazy. We all know how that's gonna work out.

Please review (I'm sorry it's so short!)

With love and mushrooms that make you trip balls,

Dolly