Note: Honestly, I had no idea what to name this. The title is actually a play on words (think about the double meaning of the word "concern") and it comes from something Natsu says in the second part of this fic. Anyway, this story is set during the Oración Seis arc. You know, how after Lyon jumps off a cliff with Racer and Sherry turns "evil"? Yeah, this is set after that, when it's revealed that Lyon is still alive.
It had been a close call, but Lyon was back on his feet again. Racer's explosive lacrima had had more force than he had anticipated, and it had taken him some time to recover after it exploded. But he was tough, and he absolutely refused to be taken out by such a lowdown trick. Now that he had recovered somewhat, he was searching for his allies again.
He suddenly realized that he could hear voices ahead, Gray's among them. That was good—at least he was safe. And he should sure as hell be grateful. Lyon shook his head. The things he did for Gray.
"I won't forgive you!" someone yelled. Lyon frowned. That was Sherry. It was good that she was safe too, but what was she going on about? "Revenge for Lyon-sama!"
Lyon reached the edge of the forest and stepped out of the trees, only to see Gray holding Sherry down as Natsu and Lucy looked on.
"Revenge for whom, exactly?" Lyon asked, slightly amused. "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."
Damn, that was a good line. He smirked in satisfaction as everyone turned to face him. Sherry's obvious relief was gratifying, but Gray's reaction puzzled him.
Gray's cocky smile and remark of "he's a stubborn one" were only to be expected, but Lyon noticed that after his initial expression of relief, the other wizard stayed silent and seemed to retreat into himself. Lyon was temporarily distracted by the sight of Nirvana's corruption seeping out of Sherry and leaving her unconscious on the ground, but once he ascertained that she was alright, he turned his attention back to the object of his concern. As he explained how he had survived jumping off the cliff with Racer and his bomb, he studied Gray discreetly.
The other mage maintained his normal cocky attitude, but it was just a front. His other friends might not notice that something was wrong, but Lyon had known Gray long before they had and even though they hadn't been close in years, they had once been able to read each other like books. Something was clearly bothering Gray, but Lyon couldn't figure out what it was.
"Alright, you can take care of Sherry, Lyon. You probably shouldn't be fighting anymore after all that anyway," Natsu said, interrupting Lyon's musings.
Lyon's first reaction was to insist that he was still perfectly capable of fighting and could do so better than the Fairy Tail mages, thank you very much, but he restrained himself. He knew he really wasn't in any state to fight, and neither was Sherry. As her guildmate, it was his responsibility to take care of her.
"And you?" he asked instead.
Natsu grinned. "We're gonna go take down the rest of Oración Seis and stop Nirvana, of course!" he exclaimed, eyes glowing with anticipation.
"Of course you are," Lyon said dryly. He glanced down at Sherry's unconscious form and wondered where he should take her. They didn't exactly have a home base anymore.
"We should go," Lucy added, glancing over at the column of light shooting into the air some distance away. "Before it gets any worse."
Gray nodded once but said nothing.
"Let's go!" Natsu said. "Later, Lyon!"
The Fairy Tail mages turned and began running toward the light of Nirvana, but Lyon reached out and grabbed Gray's arm. The other ice mage paused and turned back to look at him, arching an eyebrow in an unspoken question. Natsu and Lucy quickly disappeared into the trees some distance away, not seeming to notice that they had lost a member.
"What is it, Lyon?" Gray asked, his voice edged in a mixture of irritation and confusion. "I have to go."
"You can talk with me for a second. You can easily catch up with your friends in a minute," Lyon answered.
Gray sighed in annoyance and shook off the other's grip. "Alright, I'm listening. What do you want?"
Lyon narrowed his eyes and studied the younger man carefully. "I want to know what's wrong with you."
The corners of Gray's lips twitched downwards. "There's nothing 'wrong with me'."
"There's clearly something bothering you," Lyon insisted.
Gray shook his head sharply. "No, nothing's wrong. And even if it was, I don't see why you would care." He turned away. "If that's all, I'll be going now."
Lyon shook his head ruefully at the other wizard's words. After the whole business on Galuna Island, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised if Gray was wary of him. But as the saying goes, you never know what you have until it's gone. Lyon had almost lost Gray in trying to resurrect Deliora, and it had taken that much to make him realize that some part of him still cared about Ur's younger student. Not that he would ever admit it.
"Hey! Gra–!"
They both looked towards the forest before them as Lucy called out. Her cry broke off in the middle of Gray's name, but she didn't sound distressed. More likely, the other Fairy Tail wizards had finally noticed that they were missing someone.
"Guess that's my signal," Gray said flatly as he started forward.
"Wait!" Lyon burst out hurriedly, not willing to let the other go without a fight.
"What?" Gray asked, annoyance written all over his face as he spun back around. "We really don't have time for this."
Lyon waved him off dismissively. "Saving the world can wait for a few minutes. Now, you've had this brooding look ever since I showed back up. Nothing's wrong, you say? Then the only reason I can think of for your current preoccupation is my sudden arrival. Are you really that disappointed I didn't die?"
He was only half joking. He had thought that this joint mission to take down Oración Seis had brought them at least a little closer after the Galuna Island debacle, but he couldn't be quite sure. Gray wasn't nearly as easy to read as he had been as a kid, as if he had spent years perfecting ways to mask his thoughts and emotions.
Gray instantly recoiled at the words, taking a half-step back as a series of unreadable emotions flickered across his face.
"I don't even wish death on my enemies, Lyon," he said harshly.
Lyon raised an eyebrow. "I do recall that you tried to kill me once."
Gray tilted his head so that most of his face was hidden by shadows. "It wasn't something I wanted to do. You were trying to resurrect a demon. What did you expect?"
Lyon considered his words, trying to puzzle out the jumble of emotions behind them. It was a lost cause. Gray had become something of an enigma.
"Well then, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Gray said again, his voice flat and dull.
"Honestly, if you keep this up I really am going to have to consider the possibility that my miraculous recovery disappoints you," Lyon pressed. He didn't really think that was the case, but if he pressured Gray on this line of thought, the other would be more likely to crack.
Sure enough, Gray sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He stared at a point somewhere off to the left, his gaze unfocused.
"What you did…It just…reminded me of what happened with Ur, I guess," he said softly, letting his hair fall over his eyes so that Lyon couldn't see his expression.
Lyon blinked at him in surprise. Out of everything the other mage could have said, this was perhaps the least expected. He felt a twinge of heartache at hearing Ur's name, but pushed it aside.
"What do you mean, exactly?" he asked hoarsely, although a general idea of Gray's thought process was gradually forming in his mind.
The other mage let out another breath, still refusing to look at Lyon.
"Ur sacrificed herself to save me. You jumped off a damn cliff with an enemy and his bomb to save me. Hell, even my parents died to save me, and Natsu almost got himself killed facing off against Deliora just to stop me from using iced shell. The people around me are dropping like flies." He laughed dryly, but it wasn't an amused sound.
Lyon grimaced. Gray's tone was carefully neutral, but there was an undercurrent of bitterness underlying his words.
"Well, if all those people keep trying to protect you, they must think you're worth saving," he offered.
"Well maybe I'm not!" Gray exclaimed, his turbulent emotions finally breaking through his carefully constructed veneer of calmness. "Damn it, I'm so tired of people sacrificing themselves for me!"
Lyon winced as he heard the anger and bitterness in Gray's voice, along with a subtle edge of self-loathing.
"Maybe it's not all about you," he rebutted. "You weren't the only one at the top of that cliff. I was protecting Sherry too."
It was odd that in the split second it had taken him to make the decision to push Racer off that cliff, it had been mostly Gray's safety he had been thinking of. Sherry was a good friend and had stuck by him the past few years while Gray was absent, so he should have been thinking mostly of her. Perhaps he still felt as if he owed Gray something for what happened on Galuna, or maybe he still felt some vestiges of the brotherly bond they had once shared under Ur's tutelage. Whatever the case, he wasn't about to admit this fact to Gray.
The younger mage threw his hands up in exasperation and turned away. "That's not the point, Lyon! Ur didn't just die for me. She died to protect you too, but that hardly lessens the guilt, does it?"
Lyon flinched and tried to interrupt, but Gray forged on. He had begun pacing back and forth, his movements becoming more and more agitated as he continued speaking.
"She died for both of us, but she died because of me. I was the idiot who let himself be blinded by grief and anger and decided it was a good idea to go chasing after a demon. I dragged her into my mess.
"And I dragged you into my fight this time too, didn't I? I asked for your help because I knew that I had used up too much magic stopping Racer from following Natsu and because I was having a hard time landing a hit on the bastard while having to steer the damn motorcycle. In other words, I dragged you into my mess because once again I started a fight I couldn't handle. What does it matter if you were trying to protect Sherry too? You and Sherry were only involved because of me in the first place!
"Damn it!" He kicked at a rock angrily. "We searched for you in all that wreckage, and we couldn't find you anywhere. I thought you were dead!"
Lyon stared at him with wide eyes, unable to believe his ears.
"Where the hell do you come up with this stuff?" he asked disbelievingly. "In case you've forgotten, my team and I signed up to fight Oración Seis. You hardly had to invite me into your fight. That's what I came for in the first place." He let out a breath. "Honestly, you really do blame yourself for everything, don't you?"
Gray glared over at him balefully. "Don't be so damn hypocritical, Lyon. You make it sound like I'm so unreasonable, but you've always blamed me for what happened to Ur too."
The older mage sighed and looked away. "Yeah, I did."
Gray frowned at the use of the past tense, but Lyon continued.
"Damn, I hated you," he mused ruefully. "You were just some kid that Ur decided to take in and teach, even though she had me. I didn't even want you there to begin with, at first. And then you went off on your suicide mission and dragged us into it. Ur sacrificed herself and I lost my ultimate goal and my teacher. Yeah, I blamed you. And I hated you so much.
"But honestly," he said with a sigh, watching as Gray turned away and bowed his head, "there's only so much blame to go around. Ur made her choice. She could have walked away, but she didn't. And I can't say that I don't understand why you went chasing after Deliora. After I lost Ur I decided it was a good idea to resurrect a demon. In comparison, you trying to get revenge on Deliora doesn't seem so bad.
"You were so angry and grief-stricken after your parents were killed. It's natural that you'd want revenge. Maybe you shouldn't have channeled all your rage into the pursuit of that revenge, but I channeled my anger into raising the very beast that caused the destruction of my master. You were just on a path to self-destruction. You never wanted us caught up in it."
Lyon sighed heavily, eyeing Gray as the other mage avoided his gaze.
"Yeah, you screwed up pretty bad, didn't you?" Gray said without heat.
"Mhm," Lyon agreed. "Honestly, I could have ended up living with the same guilt as you, and I almost did."
Gray finally glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow in question. Lyon shrugged.
"My obsession just about killed you at least twice, and it could have very easily cost the lives of both your companions and mine. If Deliora hadn't already been dead, or if I hadn't been able to defeat it, it could have killed many other people. Keeping that in mind, I don't really think I should be judging you for what happened with Ur.
"However," he added, gaze sharpening as he stared into Gray's eyes, "I don't let that mistake rule my life. I don't spend my time wallowing in guilt. I live in the present and accept that I made mistakes, just like everyone else in this world. Yeah, you screwed up, but you aren't the only one. It's part of life. You need to stop wasting your time and energy regretting the past."
Gray snorted softly and slipped his hands into the pockets of his pants. "It's not something I worry about on a daily basis. Just when current events stir up old memories."
Lyon narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing a half-truth, but he let it go.
"Can I go now?" Gray asked dryly, not quite meeting Lyon's gaze. "We still have to stop Nirvana."
"Just one more thing," Lyon said quickly. He swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly dry. There was something else he needed to ask, something that had been bothering him since Galuna Island. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and glanced at Gray apprehensively. He wasn't sure he would like the answer Gray gave him.
The other mage shrugged and sighed. "What is it now?"
Lyon hesitated just a moment before continuing. "Back on Galuna, when you threatened to use iced shell on me…"
He trailed off as he considered the best way to approach the issue, and Gray waved him on impatiently.
"Get on with it," the younger wizard said shortly.
Lyon couldn't resist rolling his eyes at Gray's impatience, but quickly sobered.
"I thought you were bluffing at first, and I said that you didn't have the guts to die," he continued. Gray nodded curtly. "You told me that not only were you serious, but that you had been ready to die for ten years."
Beside him, Gray stilled momentarily. Then he glanced back over at Lyon, his face perfectly expressionless although a hint of wariness lingered in his eyes.
"I might have said that," he replied neutrally.
"You did say that," Lyon countered. He would know. That statement hadn't bothered him at the time since he had still harbored an unfaltering rage towards Gray, but it had haunted him ever since.
"Alright, alright." Gray waved his hand dismissively. "What of it?"
"Is that true?" Lyon asked point blank, staring hard at the other mage.
Gray shifted uncomfortably, and Lyon could practically hear his thoughts churning as he tried to worm his way out of giving the blunt truth.
"Yes," he said slowly, drawing out the word. "It was true, but don't look at me like I'm suicidal or something."
Lyon let out a breath and grimaced. He had expected that, but that didn't mean he wanted to hear it.
"Well, what do you expect? You just kept on trying to use iced shell. It was like you wanted to die. I don't see where you get off complaining that other people sacrifice themselves for you when you turn around and do the exact same thing."
Gray huffed in irritation. "I said that I was ready to die, not that I wanted to die. I'm not on a quest for suicide, so stop giving me that look. I don't need your pity." Lyon wasn't sure what look he was apparently giving Gray, but it couldn't be good. "Do you know how many times I should have died over the years?" Gray continued. "My life is practically forfeit at this point. I keep on living because others wanted me to live and because I happen to enjoy living. I'm not looking to die, but I'm also not afraid of death.
"As for iced shell…" He trailed off momentarily and shrugged. "It seemed fitting, really. That's how Ur saved me, and it seemed natural for me to use it to save someone else. Oh, don't look at me like that. Natsu already chewed me out for it—I'm not planning on using it without good reason.
"Anyway, it's not the same—me sacrificing myself and others sacrificing themselves for me. Yeah, I know it'll hurt other people the way it hurt me, and I'm not happy about that. But honestly, I've seen too many people die for me and I'd really prefer it if next time it was the other way around. Seriously, Lyon, stop giving me that look—I'm not a dead man walking. Natsu was right when he said that we should live for friends rather than die for them. That's what I'm doing and what I intend to continue doing, at least until I don't have any other choice."
As Gray finally finished speaking, Lyon frowned again. "I can't say I'm surprised. I guess I was just hoping that you had changed your mind since then. After your family died and then Ur died, you really were on a path of self-destruction, weren't you? You sought it out like a moth to a flame. But your circumstances have changed, no? You lost your family and Ur, but you have Fairy Tail now. You have a family again, and I hope it gives you a new reason to live."
Gray stared at him solemnly.
"I lost you too," he breathed so softly that Lyon almost missed it. The older mage's heart twisted a little, but Gray continued on at a normal volume. "You're right. Fairy Tail is my new family and they've done a lot for me. I'm not looking to die, Lyon. I'd rather live with them. It's just that I'd rather not see this family get torn apart the same way as my other two, and I'm not afraid to put my life on the line if that becomes a possibility."
Lyon took in Gray's determined stare and inclined his head slightly, his heart in his throat. Gray's other two families? In that case, he must have considered Ur and Lyon to be family at some point. He glanced away guiltily. To be honest, he had considered Gray as something like a brother a long time ago as well. Hearing that Gray had felt the same way was gratifying, but it also made Lyon feel worse about what he had done on Galuna Island.
"Alright then," Lyon said. "Your new family needs you. What the hell are you doing loitering around here?"
Gray looked taken aback for a moment, before scoffing and rolling his eyes. "I could ask you the same thing," he countered dryly. "Well, I'm off then."
He began walking away, and Lyon knelt down to pick up Sherry's limp form. Hopefully she'd wake up soon so that he didn't have to carry her all the way. He suddenly noticed that Gray had stopped in his tracks. Lyon paused as well, frowning over at the younger mage. Gray didn't turn back around, but he spoke one last time.
"Don't die, yeah? I don't have anything nice to say at your funeral yet."
Lyon gaped at his back for a second, before smiling ruefully and shaking his head. "Same goes for you. Be careful out there."
Gray didn't turn around again, but waved one hand in acknowledgment and began jogging away, towards where Natsu and Lucy had disappeared earlier. Lyon watched his retreating figure and shook his head again.
"Take care of him, Fairy Tail."
They had already entered the forest by the time Lucy realized that Gray was missing.
"Hey, Natsu!" she called, coming to a halt. Natsu skidded to a stop several paces ahead and turned back to face her. He gave her a questioning look. "It looks like we lost Gray."
"Already?" he asked with a huff. "Damn slowpoke."
Lucy looked around, but Gray was well and truly missing. Drawing in a deep breath, she called out for him.
"Hey! Gra–!" She was cut off as Natsu suddenly slammed his hand over her mouth. She pushed him off and frowned at him. "What? We need to find him."
"Just wait for a second, will you?" he answered. "Let them have their talk."
"Huh? Who?" Lucy asked. "Gray and Lyon?"
Natsu nodded and scowled, looking back towards where the light of Nirvana spiraled into the air. "Maybe we should just leave him. He can catch up later."
"I guess," Lucy said halfheartedly. She would really prefer it if they stuck together, but stopping Nirvana was imperative.
Beside her, Natsu cocked his head and frowned again. "Actually, let's just wait. I doubt those two ice blocks could stand talking to each other for more than a couple minutes anyway. We can spare a few minutes."
Lucy threw him a puzzled look, unsure of what had made him change his mind so suddenly. "Alright then."
She sat down on a nearby log to wait, still confused by Natsu's behavior. That and the coming showdown with the rest of Oración Seis was making her nervous, especially since she was pretty much out of magic already. To take her mind off of things, she started up a random string of chatter.
"Where do you reckon Wendy and Charle ended up? I guess Happy is still back at the river with Hibiki. Too bad he was frozen in a block of ice, or he might've been able to save us from going over that waterfall. But seriously, can you believe we actually fell over a waterfall? It's like a book or something. Hmm…maybe I should add that into one of my novels. I think that–"
"Can you be quiet for just a sec?" Natsu interrupted.
He sounded more distracted than mean-spirited, as if he hadn't really been listening to her at all. He was standing rigidly among the trees, frowning at the ground in concentration. For the life of her, Lucy couldn't figure out what he was doing.
"Why?" she asked. Sudden fear gripped her. "Do you hear something? Is something sneaking up on us?" She looked around nervously, peering through the sea of tree trunks. She sincerely hoped that an enemy wasn't about to pounce on them from the undergrowth.
"No, no one else is around here," Natsu reassured her, not moving from his previous position.
"Well then why–?"
"Shh," he interrupted again, brow furrowing in concentration. His hands suddenly clenched into fists as he scowled at the ground.
He was obviously listening to something, but what? Lucy considered all the available options, before finally figuring it out.
"Are you listening to Gray and Lyon?" she asked triumphantly.
"Yeah," he answered shortly, clearly only paying her minimal attention as he focused on the conversation he could only pick up with his extra sensitive dragon hearing
"What are they talking about?" she questioned curiously.
He just shook his head. "No offense, Lucy, but it doesn't really concern you."
Pouting, she crossed her legs and settled down to wait. It was boring sitting around when Natsu was too distracted to even talk to her. She supposed that it was taking all his concentration to listen in on Gray's conversation. They hadn't actually run all that far before realizing that Gray was missing, so they must still be close enough for Natsu to hear the talking as long as he was listening carefully.
A thought struck her, and she frowned over at Natsu. "Are you really sure you should be eavesdropping on their conversation? I mean, what if it's private?"
Natsu finally glanced over at her and snorted in amusement. "This coming from the girl who was just dying to know what they were talking about," he teased.
Lucy huffed in irritation. "I think you're the real hypocrite here. You won't tell me what they're saying because it 'doesn't concern me', but they aren't talking to you either," she reasoned.
An unusually serious expression settled over Natsu's features.
"Things about Gray concern me," he answered, before turning back to his apparent scrutiny of the ground as he returned his full and undivided attention to the conversation Lucy couldn't hear.
Lucy watched him contemplatively, picking up the double meaning of his last statement. Honestly, for all those two fought and hurled insults at each other, they really seemed to be the best of friends. Sometimes they seemed so different, but sometimes they seemed extraordinarily close. They had a strange relationship.
"We will," Natsu muttered suddenly, startling Lucy out of her reverie.
"What?" she asked uncertainly.
His head snapped up and he met her gaze. "Nothing. Gray is coming back."
Sure enough, there was a rustling behind them and Gray suddenly came jogging into view. He stopped short as he saw them, a look of confusion spreading across his face. "Oh, I thought you guys went on ahead. What are you still doing here?"
"Well, Natsu was–" Lucy started helpfully, before Natsu hastily covered her mouth again.
She smirked at him. Revenge was sweet. He gave her a warning look before dropping his hand and turning back to Gray, who was watching them with a puzzled expression.
"Natsu was what?" he asked in bewilderment.
"Nothing," Natsu muttered. "We were waiting for you, you slowpoke."
"Well excuse me," Gray huffed. "Lyon suddenly decided it was the perfect time to have a chat. You guys could have gone ahead."
"It's always more fun when the team is together," Lucy broke in cheerfully. "Anyway, I guess we might as well get going then."
"Yeah," Natsu said. He regarded Gray with an unusually grave look in his eyes. "Just watch yourself, yeah? Nirvana is a magic that can change your heart if it's unsteady. Falling in the gray area between light and dark or focusing too much on negativity could make you fall into darkness."
Both Gray and Lucy stared at him, unsure of why he was suddenly spouting this reminder. It definitely had the tone of a warning.
"What are you trying to say, flame brain?" Gray asked, a dangerous edge to his voice as he narrowed his eyes at his friend. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Natsu shrugged. "Just a friendly reminder to be careful."
"I can take care of myself, thanks," Gray shot back, still eyeing him. He seemed to be wondering why in the world Natsu had felt the need to say that to him of all people.
Lucy frowned at them, puzzling over Natsu's odd behavior once more. She thought back to when she and Hibiki had realized that the Gray from before wasn't actually Gray, but Gemini. She recalled her thoughts on the matter: 'the people who fall into darkness are ones with feelings in the gap between good and evil…Gray isn't one to be moved so much by those kinds of feelings.'
Gray was strong and unfaltering, in regards to emotions as well as strength. He always seemed to have complete control of his emotions, and never seemed to be bothered by the kind of emotions that would lead to a fall into darkness under Nirvana's influence. Well, he had been rattled by the events at Galuna Island, she supposed, but that had been a one-time deal. Ever since then, his emotions had been as under control as usual. In fact, she rather envied him his ability to brush off negativity and live in the moment.
"Gray isn't moved as much by those types of feelings," Lucy assured Natsu confidently. "He'll be fine."
Both boys turned to stare at her, each wearing an expression she couldn't read. After a moment Gray threw her his trademark half-smile and nodded sharply.
"Right," he said.
"You think so, do you?" Natsu muttered at the same time, quietly enough that the other two almost missed it.
Gray threw him a sharp look, as if trying to figure out where Natsu had come up with this newfound concern. His eyes suddenly narrowed in suspicion, and Lucy wondered if he suspected that the dragon slayer had heard more than he should have. For her part, Lucy just shrugged. Natsu was outwardly calm, but she sensed a hint of worry in his eyes. To be honest, she didn't know why he would be worried at all.
For a second, she wondered what he had overheard. Had that caused him to become concerned? As a matter of fact, did the worry in his eyes actually reflect a fear that Gray would fall into darkness, or was it concern about something else entirely? Regardless of whether or not Lucy truly understood Gray's emotional state, she was very sure that he wouldn't fall to Nirvana. He really wasn't the type, and she got the feeling that Natsu would agree with that. In that case, why would he be concerned?
She blew out a breath irritably. Natsu and Gray were enigmas, and she didn't have the time to sit here and figure them out right now.
"Well, in any case, we need to get going," she said. The others nodded.
Natsu's serious expression faded away, to be replaced with a smug grin. "I'm all fired up!"
Gray just shook his head at his friend's enthusiasm. Natsu suddenly glanced back at him and gave him a lopsided smile. Gray looked taken aback for a moment before offering a sly half-smile in return.
Lucy watched the exchange curiously. They hadn't used words, but she got the feeling that they had exchanged some kind of understanding. She shook her head. Really, these boys were so difficult to understand at times.
"Aren't you coming, Lucy?"
Lucy jumped in surprise, suddenly realizing that Gray and Natsu were gone. Spinning about, she saw them running towards Nirvana already. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed.
"Yeah!" she called back, as she took off running. Those two could figure out their worries later, without her help.
After all, it didn't really concern her.
Note: Perhaps you're wondering why I wrote the second half of this in Lucy's POV when she really has very little to do with what's going on. To be honest, that's the exact reason why I wrote it in her POV. I just like the idea of seeing Gray and Natsu's friendship from an outsider's POV. I kind of like that hint of mystery. Also, sorry if it seemed like I made Lucy "not care" or be "left out". That's not really my intention. The point is that in the context of Gray and Natsu's friendship, she doesn't really understand how they work yet (I mean, she's only known them for a few months at this point). It's not that she isn't concerned with what's going on with them (or that it doesn't concern her), but that in a situation like this that she doesn't understand, it's better to leave it to the guys to figure out.