APATHETIC FASCINATION

(Keywords: Apathy, Fascination)

For Rein Serenity - because I love chatting it up with you!

Laxus and the Thunder Legion crashed through the guild doors, announcing their successful return from their mission...just in time for Evergreen's rendezvous with the ladies at the local public bath.

"That woman of yours…" Laxus shook his head at Elfman, "She's one pushy broad when she wants something. We weren't that late, but she sure as hell made us haul ass to get back here."

"She's not my woman!" Elfman protested, "We're just friends! Manly friends!"

The all-men group laughed hard, slapping the confused Elfman's back. Natsu rolled his eyes.

"Sure, Elfman," Macao chided, "And everyone preferred me as master."

Makarov snorted, "I sure as hell did."

Natsu took a long sip of his fireball smoothie. Guild drama never interested him unless fighting was involved, but today, he really couldn't care less. He just wanted Lucy to hurry up so they could go fishing, like their original plan today...before the girls decided they were going to the bath instead.

"It's weird not to see any women here," Bickslow commented, "Even Mira, Lisanna, and Kinana have gone to this bath thing."

"Bath thing! Bath thing!" his babies echoed.

Yes. The bath thing. And Lucy had gone too. Even though they'd made plans. He couldn't help being a bit sore about it. Lucy didn't often break her promises. Natsu had no idea why all the women in the guild insisted they should have a bath together.

Natsu wanted to pull his hair out. If it wasn't for the fact that Lucy had told him to wait for her there, he would have left a long time ago.

"It's great!" Gray declared, "We can do what we want and say what we want!"

Gray stripped his shirt, letting it flutter to the ground behind him.

"And nobody is going to care!" he threw a fist up into the air, expecting the other men to cheer their agreement.

Instead, they turned back to their beverages, shaking their heads.

"Nobody wants to see that, man," Max told him, "We're not gonna freak out about it like the ladies do, but that doesn't mean we're cool with it."

Gray pouted, reaching for his shirt, "That was cold. The ladies freak out...but not because they don't want to see it."

"Juvia wants to see it," Macao corrected, "Nobody else has a choice."

"Anyway," Laxus interjected, returning the men's gaze back toward him...and away from the dressing Gray, "The point is, for someone who claims to be manly, Evergreen has you wrapped around her little finger. And now she's getting bossy with the rest of the Thunder Legion."

"Wasn't she always bossy?" Jet whispered to Droy.

"Oh, do you mean like Mira has you wrapped around her little finger?" Elfman shot back.

Some of the men started laughing again. Some were too scared.

"Mira and I aren't a couple," Laxus told Elfman sternly, standing toe to toe with the giant, who was taller only by 5 inches or so.

"Neither are Ever and I," Elfman replied, "The point is, you bend over backwards for my sister...which is the only reason I haven't beaten you into next week for sleeping with her casually. So think twice before bashing the way I treat Ever."

Laxus chuckled, "Just saying...in your relationship, Evergreen wears the pants."

Elman growled, balling his fists.

The tension in the room was thick. Natsu took in the drama quietly. Now it was getting interesting.

"It doesn't matter who wears the pants," Jellal put in. Just treat each other with respect and dignity."

"When did you get here?" Bickslow gawked.

"This coming from the man who's in love with Erza," Laxus chuckled, "We all know who wears the pants there."

"Erza and I have a mature relationship," Jellal informed him, "It's based on mutual trust and respect for each other."

Natsu banged his head on the counter. He should have just gone with Lucy to the bath. Yeah, the other women would have been creeped out at first, but he got along with all of them. They'd accept him there sooner or later.

"Whatever, man," Gray laughed, "Erza would pummel you if you stepped out of line! Better you than me! I'm happy the way things are! No pants needed."

"If that's the way you like it, fine!" Jellal told him pointedly, "It's obvious you don't return Juvia's feelings, but you need to tell her that."

Gray sighed, "I have told her that. I prefer her as a friend. She's my nakama...but I don't love her."

"That's not her opinion!" Gajeel cackled, "She's got you under her thumbnail. It's Juvia or no one for you, Icicle!"

"There's no shame in respecting one another's opinion," Alzack put in, changing the subject to avoid another fist fight, "Bisca and I have a mutual way of working out our issues."

Natsu poured himself another fire whiskey.

Hurry up, Luce….save me...PLEASE!

"You know who else works out their issues amicably?" Freed asked.

The other men turned to him.

"Natsu and Lucy," Freed stated.

Natsu froze. He did not want to be a part of this conversation. When it came to matters of the heart, he preferred to stay ignorant.

"Yeah, Natsu!" Gray grinned sadistically, happy to turn the grilling session to his frenemy, "How come you and Lucy work so well together, but you're not a thing yet?"

"A thing?" Natsu repeated dumbly.

"Yeah - why haven't you made a move on Bunny Girl?" Gajeel demanded.

"I've made lots of moves with her!" Natsu declared, "We go on jobs all the time!"

Gajeel and Gray exchanged glances, closing in on Natsu. The other men crowded in too.

"C'mon, Natsu...spill," Gray told him, "There's no way you and Lucy can be as close as you are and not be something more."

"Yeah, we can," Natsu waved him off, "Luce and I are just...Luce and Natsu. Nothing more, nothing less."

"You're always together," Droy stated.

"Of course we are! We're partners!" Natsu shook his head.

"She wears your clothes!" Jet cut in.

"Not my fault she strips as often as the Ice Dick!" Natsu shot back, "I gotta cover her with something!"

"You sleep in her bed!" Max exclaimed.

Natsu shrugged, "I get tired! Do you even know how far my house is from hers?"

"Then why are you always in her underwear drawer?" Gray said cooly, drawing 'ooooooooooohhs' from the crowd.

"They smell nice!" Natsu cried out, "And how the hell do you know that I go in her underwear drawer?"

The entire crowd pointed to Happy, who up until now had been players checkers in the corner with Pantherlily.

"I do it out of concern!" the Exceed cried out, "Sniffing women's underwear cannot be hygienic! This is a real problem! I figured Natsu needs all the assistance he can get!"

"We could start a support group for him," Droy suggested.

"Tuesdays are good for me!" Jet added.

Natsu's move to kill his best friend was interrupted by Gajeel, pushing him back into his seat.

"Just admit it, Natsu," Gajeel prodded, "She's got you wrapped around her little finger. You love her."

Natsu lifted his eyes cooly, "We're just us. That's all. Besides, shouldn't you be looking in the mirror? Do you know the girls even have a ship name for you? Gajevy?"

Gajeel grinned, "I know. But we're not talking about us. We're talking about you. You love the Bunny Girl, don't you?"

"I respect Lucy as my partner and colleague!" Natsu said evenly, "We don't need any of the drama. Lucy is my best friend and confidant. She's always there for me, even when I don't ask her to be. So call it what you want to. Makes no difference to me."

"He loooooooooooooves her!" Happy shouted, soaring into the air before Natsu could grab him.

Natsu shrugged, "I'm done with this conversation. The girls need to come back soon. You guys are totally lame without them."

The men stared after him as he headed for the door, all of them with gaping mouths.

"How could he be so aloof?" Laxus demanded, "An idiot could see how close Natsu and Lucy are! Is he really that apathetic to his own feelings?"

"Do you even know Natsu?" Gray asked.

He and Gajeel broke out into hysterical laughter.

"Point and case," Makarov sighed, "Point and case."

Natsu arrived at Lucy's apartment, getting in through the window. Thankfully, his Exceed best friend had decided to stay behind with the rest of the guild. He needed the time to contemplate everything that had been said at the guild that night.

It was fascinating, now that he thought about it. The men of Fairy Tail were always teasing each other. As much as Elfman denied it, everybody - even Natsu - could see the sparks between him and Evergreen. Laxus did treat Mira differently than the other women of the guild. Jellal was the only person alive that could calm Erza and live to tell about it. Maybe he wasn't 'wearing the pants', as his other guildmates had so eloquently put it, but Jellal and Erza were very good together. Gajeel and Levy were also very good to each other. Little Levy had a way of making Gajeel listen when it mattered. And Gray...well, Gray was Gray.

So, was it possible that they were right? Did he love Lucy? And what the fuck was that pants thing about? Both Natsu and Lucy wore pants!

When she came in the door, Natsu was in the corner of the living room in the big armchair, his legs tucked underneath of him. He watched her put her purse down and stretch, letting out a satisfied hum as she kicked off her shoes.

"Oh Natsu!" she grinned when she noticed him, "I was just about to change and go to the guild to find you."

She pulled the milk out of the fridge along with leftover turkey, pickles, cheese, lettuce, onion, chicken legs, and caesar salad. Natsu's expression softened as he watched her. Even just back from the spa, her first thoughts were of him. Now that Lucy knew he wasn't at the guild, her automatic reaction was to feed him. Was that love?

"You're hungry, right?" she asked lightly, then proceeded to make his favourite 'everything' sandwich, "The spa was amazing, Natsu. We had the best time. We talked about lots of different things."

She started telling him about some of the things the girls talked about, but Natsu couldn't hear a word she said. He wondered if she knew how beautiful she was...inside and out. Lucy was the kindest, sweetest person he knew. He felt lucky to be included in her life.

Natsu got out of the chair, crossing the room.

"Time got away from us," Lucy continued, "The next thing we knew, we'd been there for probably 3 hours! My skin is going to be waterlogged for a week! Oh! And thanks for fixing the pipe in the bathroom! It's not leaking anymore. That's such a relief. I was sure I'd have to call -"

Natsu wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her back firmly. Lucy froze, knife in mid-air as she was about to spread the mayonnaise.

"Natsu? Is everything all right?"

Natsu tightened his grip, burying his face in her shoulder, "Yeah, Luce...it's just a feeling."

"A feeling?" she asked, turning so that she could hug him back.

He nodded, tightening his grip around her waist.

"Hey Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

"The guys are right, but I'm not ready to tell you about that conversation yet. I need to think about it some more. I just want you to know that I appreciate you."

"I appreciate you too," Lucy said softly, lifting his chin with delicate fingers, "Hey...are you okay?"

Natsu nodded again, drawing her in for another close hug, "I'm okay, Luce. I'll find a way to tell you...I promise. Until then, let's both wear the pants."

Lucy's eyes widened, complete confusion in her eyes, but she didn't protest. Natsu was not the sentimental type, so whatever revelation he'd had, it must be major. Still, she could think of worse ways to end the evening than being enveloped in his arms.

The girls were right...she was completely in love with Natsu.

A/N: OH How I love Nalu Week! It's so cool to read all the entries!

Leave a comment! Seeya in a couple days.

~Shana~