Hey guys! This is my first attempt at a mini-fic, but I hope I'm not too bad at it. It's been ages since I posted my first oneshot Cotton Candy (like three years or something… totally go check it out and see how terrible my writing was back then lol) and this is kinda meant as a sort of continuation from that. I tried to make it so you don't have to read it to understand what's going on though. I think I used enough information that you, the readers, can fill in the blanks yourself if you so desire. This fic is set after the fall of the Alvarez Empire.

I'm planning on making this a two-shot, though if this gets enough support and enough people want it, I may add a third bonus chapter that will basically be all smut. You guys gotta leave them delicious reviews though! I always love seeing them!

I also feel I should thank LoadedEel for her all-knowing, wisdomous ways and giving me a fairly good idea how to get this thing going. After you're done here, if you haven't already read her fics, I think we would both like it if you checked out her profile and read some/all (preferably all) of her stories. They are truly magic in writing.

Anyway, enough from me. On to the fic!

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Lucy was confused.

And not the kind of confused where a bit of research with a pair of gale-force reading glasses would solve all her problems, nor was it the kind that was one of those meaningless little questions that no one knew a definite answer to and a nice hot bath would wash all the questions away.

No, it was the kind of confusion where apparently no amount of research could give her a straight and/or reliable answer (she totally didn't do too much of it already) and it was far too important to her that a bath would make her forget about it.

What's the dilemma, you may ask? Lucy wasn't sure she really knew herself. Ever since the Alvarez Empire fell and things had settled down, especially after her novel had been published and awarded, she had noticed some changes in her partner and best friend.

Not the kind of changes that made him a completely different person. It was subtle little things. Well, that kiss he gave her at the last fair the guild went to (and almost destroyed, of course. Wasn't a Fairy Tail outing without a little destruction) was far from small in her opinion, but it had only happened once so far, and it was part of what was making her so confused.

But everything else was almost so unnoticeable that Lucy was afraid she was reading into things way too hard. Natsu still brawled almost every day with Gray or whoever else decided to tease or insult him, he still ate twice his weight in food, he still seemed to enjoy invading her fridge and sneaking into her bed when she wasn't looking and he still rifled through her drawers even though she had told him countless times to leave her belongings alone.

The subtle changes were in the way he sometimes behaved, mostly. Even before her award ceremony, she had noticed him mellow out ever so slightly. He seemed less restless, in a way, less eager to constantly be out on a job or searching for Igneel or trying to steal an S-class mission to occupy his time with. She didn't know what had prompted this change, but being able to relax a bit after all that had happened came as a blessing to her, and she welcomed it with open arms. She still needed to go on jobs for rent and grocery money, of course, but that was about it.

They also started having very peaceful, quiet moments together when Happy was out trying to win Carla's heart (she was only fooling herself turning away from the blue Exceed nowadays, literally everyone knew she liked him too) where Lucy would either be jotting down ideas for her next novel or reading a book curled up in bed, and Natsu would be there lounging on her bed or couch or sitting on the floor playing with his scarf or a little ball of his fire (she partnered a warning glare with promises that she would make him pay for any damage he caused to help ensure he wouldn't burn down the apartment building). These moments were calm and natural, and not nearly as weird or awkward as Lucy thought they should be.

The thing she was most confused about and afraid of reading into was how Natsu seemed to be touching her more often. And in the most innocent ways, mostly from how he would throw an arm around her shoulders or how he would grab her wrist when he wanted her to see something, or how he would lean against her whenever he was in a food coma from eating too much too fast. They always made physical contact like that, and was often teased for it, but recently it seemed like there was… More, somehow. More contact, more emotion, more… Everything. That wasn't even considering the kiss. She didn't feel like touching that right now.

Lucy didn't know what to make of it.

A part of her wanted to panic over her apparent findings, that perhaps Natsu liked her as more than a friend and was interested in her romantically, but she couldn't deny that she wanted a life with him at her side. Ever since they had met, he had burrowed his way into her life and stubbornly sat in the middle of it, refusing to go anywhere. And over time, she stopped disliking the idea of that. She couldn't imagine what it would be like without being able to see his stupid grin or his fiery, onyx eyes or his adorable pout when he was denied something he wanted. He was such a child in some ways, but at the same time, he was more mature than many other people she had known. He fought dark guilds for a living and pretty much had to grow up on his own without any blood parents or even Igneel to guide him as he matured, other than his friends at the guild. Though, knowing some of the more perverted members, she doubted they were a huge help.

Still, he was unique, and not what Lucy thought she wanted in a man, but she found she didn't mind. She always knew life wasn't a fairy tale, and after joining the guild, she came to learn that almost anything was possible with them. She was sure finding an unexpected love of her life was something they could manage. Well, it was something they had managed at that point, now that she thought about it.

"-u-chan..? Lu?"

But even with all this, she didn't know what to do! Natsu hadn't asked her out, nor had he kissed her again, which was the most worrying thing for her. Had he kissed her at the fair just to steal the cotton candy from her? Was it all just an elaborate prank? If he was interested in her, then surely he would have made another move… Right?

"Lucy!" Levy shouted, and the blonde jumped in her seat.

"S-Sorry Lev, what were you saying?" She apologised, smiling sheepishly at her blue-haired friend.

"You weren't listening to me at all, were you?" The Solid Script Mage commented dryly, a thin eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Uh…"

"Didn't think so." Levy giggled. "What were you thinking so hard about? It's like you weren't even here."

Lucy chuckled nervously. Knowing how overexcited her friends got as soon as they caught wind of something even remotely romantic happening between someone in the guild, she was hesitant to say what was really on her mind.

"Oh, nothing… Just thinking about a book I read last night." She replied. Levy narrowed her eyes at the blonde and she knew she had not been convincing whatsoever.

"You know you're a terrible liar, right Lu? Come on, tell me what's going on!" She pressed, leaning closer with wide eyes.

"Okay, okay fine…" Lucy relented. Knowing how the guild was, they would figure something out anyway. To be honest, she would rather they know what the actual problem was rather than make their own wildly incorrect assumptions. That always led to disaster. "It's… It's about Natsu…" She admitted, blushing. Levy gasped.

"Did he ask you out? Did you say yes?!" She almost screamed, and Lucy hurriedly shushed her, looking around to make sure nobody in the guild heard. Thankfully everyone seemed busy drinking, laughing or brawling.

"No, nothing like that…" She began, wondering how she should explain what the matter was to her best friend. She was normally so fluent with words that she rarely had any problems articulating herself, but the whole situation was complicated enough that she didn't even know where to begin. "It's just… I guess he's been acting… Different? Or something like that? I don't really know and I'm pretty sure I'm just reading into it too much-"

"No no, tell me what you think is different." Levy cut her off, and the blonde blinked. There was a glint in her friend's eyes she couldn't identify, and she seemed a little too eager to hear about her dilemma for it to be normal… Though she just chalked it up as the kind of Fairy Tail enthusiasm she expected anyway.

"Okay… Well, he seems less energetic than usual. He still fights and eats a lot and jokes around but he hasn't been dragging me on some job every other day - and it actually seems like I have to drag him on one sometimes - and we've been having really quiet periods where we hang out and do our own thing and just spend time together without anything crazy going on risking our lives, and… It feels unusual but also natural somehow. It's weird. I'm probably just being weird. I'm being weird, aren't I?"

"No, I think it's great!" Levy squealed. "It's so cute you two are having some quiet time together. Is there anything else bothering you?" Lucy flushed, remembering what was bothering her more than anything else.

"U-Uhm, well… You remember that fair we went to after my award ceremony?" Lucy began hesitantly.

"Lu… What happened that you didn't tell me about?" Levy narrowed her eyes accusingly at her best friend. The blonde squirmed in her seat and blushed harder.

"You remember when I said he stole a bag of cotton candy from me and I had to watch him for the rest of the day to make sure he didn't become a sugar rush monster or something?" She refused to meet Levy's eyes but saw her nod from her peripherals. "Well, to get the bag from me, he um, well… He may have kissed me?" Her voice cracked at the memory of the Dragon Slayer's warm, slightly chapped lips moving against hers, effectively rendering her mind blank at just the thought of it.

Levy squealed loudly, earning some glances their way but nothing more. Lucy had to shush her again.

"Levy, not so loud…" She complained.

"Sorry, sorry it's just… I'm so excited for you! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"Because I-I thought he just wanted to get the cotton candy from me and it was just one of his stupid methods of getting his way and he hasn't made any other moves to kiss me or ask me out or anything since!" Lucy rushed out, realising she was more upset about the situation than she thought as she finally found the words to voice why she was confused. "I thought maybe he might be interested in me as more than friends, but… I don't know what to think anymore." She added slowly, lower lip wobbling slightly. Was she seriously about to cry over Natsu of all people?

"Oh, Lu, I'm sorry. I didn't realise that you were upset about that…" Levy apologised, trying to think of anything to say that would prevent her friend from crying. Including herself, there were many in the guild who would be all over the place looking for the reason behind her tears and vowing relentless retribution to any potential unlucky person stupid enough for making one of their favourite members cry. "Maybe he does like you but he doesn't know what to do about it? We all know he's oblivious to that kind of stuff…"

"Yeah, but… He's never kissed anyone before as far as I know and surely he'd know better… Right?" Lucy protested weakly. She didn't know what to believe at this point. She knew better than anyone that Natsu would do anything to get whatever he set his mind to. Maybe he just thought it was a good idea at the time. Maybe he would kiss anyone if he thought it would get him what he wanted. The thought only served to make her more upset. Now Lucy really wanted to curl up at home with a big bucket of ice cream and not think about this anymore. Anything to erase the image of the rose-haired male kissing someone other than her, and as possessive and selfish as it sounded, she didn't care.

"Whatever you're thinking, stop it right now." Levy snapped suddenly, and Lucy blinked. She didn't notice that a couple tears had escaped her control, and she hurriedly wiped them away with a sleeve. Thankfully she had donned a pair of the long detached ones she liked to wear occasionally. "Look, I've more or less known Natsu since he was a kid, and he wouldn't just kiss someone randomly like that. Even if he doesn't like you the way you want him to, he definitely did it because he's only comfortable enough around you specifically to pull stunts like that. I've never seen him as close as anyone else than he has been with you."

"I guess…" Lucy agreed, albeit hesitantly.

"And anyway, maybe Natsu's in the same boat as you."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Think about it. If he kissed you, hoping to figure out if you were interested in him or not from your reaction, then if you didn't make any moves afterward, maybe he doesn't know what to do either. Maybe he's just as confused as you are."

Huh. Lucy didn't think about it like that. There was still one thing bothering her about that though.

"But he's so confident… Why would asking me out be any different?"

"Who knows." Levy shrugged, shaking her head. "Whatever he's thinking, Lucy… You mean a lot to him." The smaller Mage placed her hand over Lucy's, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure that whatever his reasons are for not acting further, his main driving force is to avoid hurting you or making you upset and risk losing you."

"He's such an idiot…" Lucy sniffled, letting out a breathy giggle, though she wasn't quite sure what was funny. "As if he'd lose me that easily. We've been through too much."

"Exactly." Levy grinned approvingly. "Now how about you go home and relax for a bit? Maybe read that book I recommended for you?" She suggested.

"That sounds great, Levy." Lucy smiled gratefully. "Thank you." The bluenette nodded with her own smile and watched as Lucy waved and announced she was going home in her usual fashion.

Levy sat at the table for a while until a few minutes had passed before standing up to search for a certain Fire Dragon Slayer who she had seen walk in as they were talking.

She had some scolding to do and some advice to give.