It was a warm, sunny day in Magnolia Town, as it usually was. Lucy's happiness was soaring beyond the blue skies as she walked carefully on the ledge of Canal Street, the boaters telling her how she's going to fall in the water if she wasn't careful. But nothing was going to bring her spirits down; she just paid her rent for the next few months, she had enough food in her house to even make Natsu and Happy feel full; she didn't have to scramble for money for once, and it was the nicest feeling ever.

It was still early by the time Lucy crossed the threshold of the Fairy Tail guild, only Juvia, Levy, and Mirajane were present. Early mornings were never the best for most of the guild, especially after late night binge drinking contests against Cana. Those rarely ended well. Normally the other guild members would start shuffling in an hour or so later. But a low groan from behind Lucy indicated that Lucy and her three other friends weren't the only ones there that morning.

Lucy turned around to see a pink haired dragon slayer sprawled across the countertop of the bar. She noticed the dark circles under his green eyes and huffed. "Natsu!" she screamed with a slam of her hand to the counter, making Natsu jump.

"Hey, Luce," he said dryly, setting his head back on the countertop.

"Natsu, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked as she sat on the barstool next to him. "You haven't been getting enough sleep since we came back home, you need to go back to bed!"

"I can't Lucy," he said gruffly, turning his head on the other side. "You just don't understand." Lucy huffed air through her nose as she glided to the other side of Natsu.

"What's that supposed to mean? Just sleep longer instead of getting up, you're gonna make yourself sick if you keep doing this!" Lucy exclaimed. Natsu stood up, a look of frustration passing over his face. Lucy's brows creased, brown eyes watching him closely as he rubbed his forehead before he locked his gaze on her. For a moment he simply stared at her, making Lucy's heart still in her chest.

"You don't… understand…" he repeated. Natsu slowly trudged out of the guild with his head bent as Gray and a couple others walked inside.

"What in the world is going on with him?" Lucy said to herself.

"Lucy-san?" she heard from behind her as a hand dropped onto her shoulder. Lucy turned her head to find Juvia standing next to her. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Well, sure, Juvia-chan," Lucy said, taking her seat on the barstool once again. "Is something bothering you?"

"No, no… but," Juvia began as she sat down next to her, "I know what's wrong with Natsu-san."

"You do?" Lucy inquired loudly. "What is it? What's wrong with him?"

Juvia looked around nervously before leaning closer to Lucy. "Remember what happened during the Grand Magic Games? How… another Lucy came from the future and sacrificed herself to save you?"

The memory of it resurfaced, of herself dying right in front of her. Lucy blanched and said with a gulp, "Y-Yes…"

"It did something to Natsu, and whatever it did, he can't sleep because of it," Juvia told her. "And I know it's that because just before you came in, he fell asleep on the counter only to wake with a start a couple minutes later with your name on his lips."

Lucy looked down at her fidgeting hands, taking everything that she was hearing in. Finally she looked up, saying, "Juvia, how do you—" but Juvia was already back standing next to Gray.

After a little while of looking for Natsu, Lucy didn't know why the first place she looked wasn't her apartment. The first thing she saw as she walked through her bedroom door was the dragon slayer slouched up against her bed with his face in the cushions. Lucy set her bag down with a sigh as she crouched next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder and making him jump.

"Oh, jeez," he gasped. "Hey, Luce." Natsu rubbed his eyes as he stood up next to the bed. Lucy's brows creased up as she, too, stood next to him. Rubbing her hand up and down his forearm, Lucy comforted him and said, "Natsu… I know what's wrong."

Natsu's pupils dilated as his eyes snapped to look at Lucy. "You can talk to me, Natsu," she told him.

A look of pain crossed his face as he looked down at his feet. "I see it… I see it everywhere I go, Lucy," he said quietly. "I see it every time I close my eyes. Every time I fall asleep, I see you. I see you die right in front of me, and there's nothing I can do about it." His hands gently grasped her face as he pulled her closer to him. Tears welled in his eyes as his thumbs rubbed her red stained cheeks. "Your face, your cheerful, wonderful face soaked with tears." He took her guild marked hand in his and pressed it to his hot face. "And your hand, your p-poor—" His tears began to spill as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Natsu—" Lucy began to say, but was interrupted when Natsu pulled her flush against him and buried his face into her hair. She could feel his body shake with each sob that escaped from his throat.

"And now I s-see it… e-everywhere," he choked. Lucy stroked the back of his neck, trying desperately to comfort him.

"Natsu," Lucy said softly, pulling back and taking his face in her hands. "It's okay. I'm right here, see? I'm not going anywhere, Natsu, I promise. Okay?" His green eyes looked up into hers as his arms tightened around her body. Lucy's tummy fluttered as he closed the small gap between them. His quivering lips felt rough against her soft ones, but Lucy didn't mind in any way. She closed her eyes as he pressed himself harder against her, refusing to let her go. Finally after a few minutes, the two reluctantly pulled apart, but Natsu still kept her close.

"… Do you want to try to go to sleep, Natsu?" Lucy whispered. She felt him nod his head against her. A soft smile played across her face and she sat him down on her bed. But as soon as she tried to pull away, Natsu grasped her hand and looked up at her timidly.

"Please… please don't leave me yet…"

Lucy petted his soft pink hair, suddenly getting an idea in her head. There was always something that her mother did that helped her get to sleep when she was upset.

"Okay, come here," Lucy said as she crawled onto her bed. She pulled Natsu down with her to her pillow and set her chin atop his head, wrapping her arms around him. He pulled her closer to him, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "There, is that better? Maybe now you'll be able to—" The soft sound of Natsu's snores interrupted her. Lucy sighed contently, pressing a kiss to his forehead and running her hand through his hair.

His steady breathing and soft "Lucy…" escaping from his mouth told Lucy that he was finally going to get some well-deserved sleep.

Mom's way never fails.