I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL! MASHIMA SENSEI DOES!

Fire and Keys

Natsu couldn't quite get what was different. He was eating as much as he usually ate. He was sleeping as much as he usually slept, and he even made sure it was in Lucy's bed because he slept better whenever he did. He was wearing clothes he had worn before (the maroon outfit he wore during his fight with Jackal). He was also going on missions as he usually does. Sure, things were slow to pick up after the war had ended. Fiore was in need of rebuilding, and although the Spriggan did a good job of repairing much of the physical damage, many citizens were reluctant to hire mages after the huge disruption to their lifestyle. No, something had to have been wrong with him in his mind.

Is she your girlfriend, fiancé, or wife?

Why did that son of a bit—wait a minute…why did that asshole have to ask me that? Especially in front of her? I wouldn't have given a damn if anybody else had heard, which everyone else did, but Lucy? Why did she have to be there?!

Natsu had been thinking about Lucy very often since the end of the war. He thought about how he had died without fully understanding the relationship between himself and the celestial mage. He knew she was his friend, but were they simply friends? Did she think of their relationship as more than a simple relationship? Did he? He didn't even know how to answer himself. If only he could ask her these questions and then rewind time like Ultear if he got a response he didn't like. Sadly, that wasn't an option.

Natsu looked up from where he sat at the guild hall table. Lucy was sitting across from him talking to Levy. They were talking even more than they had ever before after the war. Often, it was over usual girl stuff like clothes and makeup or they talked about writing and books.

Lucy really needs to work on her romance novels. They bore me soon enough that I put 'em away before she's outta the shower.

What wasn't usual was how much Lucy enquired about Gajeel. It's not like she was asking about him publicly enough to for Natsu to believe she wanted others to hear. It was more like gossip. Sometimes Natsu wondered if she remembered he and Gajeel have incredible ears. He could hear everything she said whenever he felt like it. She would ask Levy questions about how difficult it was to get Gajeel to love her and outwardly show affection. Levy would joke about how Gajeel only confessed his love to "his bookworm" because he thought he was going to die. She'd also say it's still a work in progress to get Gajeel to be more affectionate in public. Natsu never thought of Gajeel as a public person anyway. All he ever did was keep to himself, but then Lily and Levy came into his life. The difference meant Gajeel would actually eat his iron with the company of the solid script mage and the black Exceed.

Big difference…I guess?

Perhaps it was nothing to be concerned with. After all, it was just two best friends talking. Natsu needed to understand what was bothering him. It had something to do with Lucy, but what? Maybe he should ask someone else about it. Scanning through the room, Natsu looked for someone he could talk to about his dilemma.

Gray wouldn't be an option. He was always with Juvia these days. It's not like she wasn't always around him before, but things were now different. Gray actually liked having Juvia in his company. He was another one of Fairy Tail's strong men who had confessed to another Fairy Tail mage. He had to admit, he never thought it would happen, but they were together. Everyone imagined Juvia would be even more lovesick around Gray, but that wasn't really the case. She was still attached to him, but she was much less dramatic and crazy about it. Natsu assumed it was because she was at ease knowing she was with the man she wanted for so long. Cana assumed Gray and her made so much love, Juvia didn't have the energy to emote around Gray as she used to. Nevertheless, they were together, and Natsu wasn't sure if he'd be able to talk to Gray without leaking anything to Juvia.

Natsu looked around even more. Mirajane wouldn't be an option. She'd spread gossip like wildfire. Laxus, who was asleep at the bar, probably couldn't care less. Lisanna perhaps? No. It was then safe to assume there weren't any girls in the guild who would keep this confidential.

Maybe he could talk to Jellal. Crime Sorciere decided to make Fairy Tail their base of operations for the new plan of defeating Acnologia. It was Zeref's plan to begin with which made it very ironic. Jella's guild was all about taking Zeref down, but then their objective had to be adjusted because of recent developments. Could Natsu talk to Jellal about his Lucy struggle? Probably not. Jellal was dealing with his very own struggle concerning an S-class reequip mage. He thought they had gotten together after he saw Erza tackle Jellal when the war was declared over, but apparently it was "just a celebration between to close comrades" as Jellal liked to put it.

Natsu sighed, perhaps a little too obviously, as he couldn't figure out who he could talk to about his problem.

Ughhh why can't I find anyone I can safely talk to about Lucy!?

Natsu slumped over the table he was still sitting at as he half-gazed at Lucy who was still sitting across from him. It looked as if he was asleep. Less than a minute later though, someone tugged on his sleeve. He hadn't been paying attention to his senses other than sight and hearing to know it was a short blue-haired Dragon Slayer who was seeking his attention.

"Do you need to talk to someone?" Wendy asked with a smile on her face.

"What makes you think that?" Natsu murmured.

"Well, I was walking toward a table before Erik walked into the guild and told me he heard you yelling for help. Or I guess you were technically thinking for help? Or I guess you were think-yell—"

"Okay okay! Let's go outside!" Natsu said hastily, not wanting a particular blonde to pick up on the situation.

They made their way outside the guild hall and sat beneath a tree for some shade.

"So what's on your mind?" Wendy asked with a moderately concerned tone.

"It's Lucy, Wendy. I don't know how I feel about her," Natsu timidly answered.

"What do you mean?" Wendy asked with a slight grin on her face.

"Like I don't know if I like her as a friend or…as something more"

"Well you've always cared about her quite a bit. What got you thinking about her like this?"

"I almost died, and the first person I wanted to see after I came back was her. Her and Happy. Zeref also asked me if she's my girlfriend or my wife, and that really threw me off."

"The best thing you can do is talk to her about it. She'll be your friend regardless if she does or doesn't feel the same way about you."

"I'm afraid though. How are you so sure I should feel safe talking to her about this?"

"Trust me, Natsu. You have nothing to fear…I have a very strong feeling you're not the only one thinking about your relationship with her," Wendy said while smiling.

"I can't believe I'm getting love advice from a thirteen year old…" Natsu said.

"Hey! I may be thirtee—did you say LOVE!?"

"Uhhhh did I? Maybe? I'm not sure! Ughhhh!"

"This is so cute!"

"SHUT UP!"

It's hard thinking of how Natsu would ponder this situation. I tried my best in the Prologue to give him a reason to be thinking about Lucy like this. I hope it seems natural! Wendy seemed like a safe outlet for Natsu because she's a fellow Dragon Slayer who's also trustworthy. I'll write about Lucy's perspective Wednesday! It's the first week of classes, so there isn't much to do yet. I'll probably write another chapter the same day to set up Laxus and Mirajane or Jellal and Erza. Whichever one I feel like doing first.