Hehehehehe...this fast enough for ya? Nicole4211 and I decided you guys deserved another chapter after the amazing reviews you've left me. You're making our goal of spreading the LyLu love so easy!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: We've just posted the first chapter to our newest collaboration - the LyLu story I told you all about - and as per your request, we are posting them all on her page. So if you're not following Nicole4211, then get to it! She's amazing! Love you girl!

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

FROM THE HEART

Chapter 4

A week later, Lyon made the trek to Magnolia, his destination the Fairy Tail guild and two very different women. He had spent the better part of his time over the last several days trying to sort out his feelings for Lucy and Juvia, but all it had gotten him was a nearly steady stream of headaches. He'd been able to decide nothing, and he was beginning to feel like he was losing his mind.

In the end, he'd realized that the only thing to do was to go see them. Only then, after seeing them and talking to them would he know what to do. Or at least he hoped so. He had no experience with things like this, certainly not with being hung up on two women. It was confusing as hell, and he was tired of it.

He'd never been uncertain before. He just wasn't the kind of man that usually questioned himself. He made his choices, and he stood by them. But now, he felt...lost. For once in his life, he didn't seem to know his own mind or heart, and that did not sit well with him.

So, he'd had no choice but to come to Fairy Tail. He needed to figure some things out and soon, because he was tired of doubting himself this way, tired of not knowing what he wanted.

The truth was that in spite of Juvia never expressing a desire to be with him, he felt ashamed of this new interest in Lucy. Didn't that make him fickle, loving one woman and then being drawn to another? Surely, his feelings for Juvia weren't so paltry that another woman could so easily turn his head.

Shaking his head, he stepped up to the double doors of the Fairy Tail guild. He was getting nowhere like this. It was time to get things straight. Giving himself no time to change his mind, he pushed into the building and promptly ducked to miss a flying chair.

Apparently, the Fairies' fighting spirit was alive and well today. And wonder of all wonders, there was his brother right smack dab in the middle of all the ruckus. Lyon had to laugh as he watched Gray square off against Natsu, their faces smashed together, insults sailing back and forth. Then Natsu took a swing, sending his dark-haired rival shooting through the air and crashing into a table full of women.

"Damn..." he muttered, moving forward with the intention of helping them until Erza climbed from the rubble, her eyes blazing with fury.

"NATSU!" she yelled, requiping into one of her scariest armors and charging toward him.

The fire mage squawked and took off running out the front of the building with Erza following close behind demanding he stay and take his punishment like a man. He chuckled at the pair before turning his attention back to the demolished table and its struggling occupants.

A whip of water sailed up from the floor, reforming instantly into the blue-haired woman he'd been so obsessed with for so long. "Juvia is okay!" she chirped, stretching out a hand to a smaller white-haired woman. "Let Juvia help you, Lisanna."

Lyon watched her for a moment and waited for that overwhelming sense of attraction to sweep over him. But even after several long seconds, nothing happened. Naturally, he still found her lovely. She was still every bit as kind and sweet as he'd thought her to be before, but there was a blankness there now that wasn't before.

It was as if that ache for her had disappeared. He no longer felt that driving need to be with her, to make her his own, and he wondered if it was all because of Lucy. Had her affection so wormed its way into his heart that it had pushed Juvia out?

Thinking of the blonde woman, his eyes turned back to the pile of people just in time to see Gray dragging Lucy up off the ground. Unfortunately, in his stress over the situation, the man had stripped away all his clothes and was standing there stark naked beside Lucy.

His ire rising, Lyon grit his teeth and fought down the urge to attack the man he thought of as his brother. He knew in his head that Gray couldn't always control his stripping habit. Lyon himself still struggled with it at times, though not as much as it appeared Gray did. Besides, he reminded himself, Gray was doing nothing more than helping Lucy up.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Lucy noticed her team mate's nakedness and laughed, waving her hand at the front of his body. "Gray, I think you've lost something again."

"What?" he asked, then looked down and panicked. "Damn it! When did this happen?!"

The Celestial mage giggled again, then bent over to retrieve his shorts. "I still don't get how you do that so quickly."

That familiarity between them had Lyon tightening his hands into fists. She hadn't even blushed at seeing Gray's body, and that could only mean she'd seen it before. Were they closer than he'd believed? Had they been lovers?

The thought sent a fresh wave of fury through his body, and he tensed with the need to pummel the dark-haired man. He wanted nothing more than to rip Lucy away from his brother and beat the shit out of him for daring to touch her.

He paused at the violent urge and shook his head. He was being ridiculous. Gray constantly stripped. It was highly likely that Lucy had become accustomed to his nakedness by just being exposed to it all the time. It didn't have to mean that they were intimate.

Then again, it could mean that very thing...

All at once his mind conjured a picture of them together, Gray hovering over her nude body, slipping between her legs, and before he could bite back the sound, he was growling with anger.

Lyon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Why was he reacting so badly to this, to them? They'd done nothing to suggest anything but friendship. More importantly, why was he acting as if he had the right to be pissed about it? As much as he'd like to say otherwise, she wasn't his...

His heart skipped a beat as he realized what he'd just admitted to himself. He wanted her to be his... There wasn't a doubt in his mind about the validity of that statement. He wanted her, and holy shit, it felt so right.

He gave a short laugh as he began to relax. The answer to everything was right there, literally staring him in the face, and he'd just been too dumb to see it. Finally, all the worrying over his feelings for Juvia was gone, and he began to understand it was because the feelings themselves were gone.

But how could that be? He'd loved her...hadn't he?

He took another glance at Juvia and once more felt nothing, nothing more than friendship. He'd been certain he was in love with the water mage, but as he looked over at Lucy and felt a stirring deep within him, he realized that maybe he'd just been in love with the idea of Juvia. And that wasn't all.

As much as he hated to admit it, the truth was his obsession with her had also had a lot to do with the fact that she was so enamored with Gray. They'd challenged each other constantly about everything, and this had been no different. Seeing his rival get so much attention from such a beautiful woman had sent his competitive side bristling, and he had wanted it for himself. In short, he'd been a shallow jackass, and consequently, he had missed out on a woman who truly cared for him.

He felt like a total shit for that, for not seeing what was there in front of him, for disregarding the chance at something real because he was too wrapped up in showing up Gray. Feeling shame at his immaturity, he let his eyes return to Lucy, and he smiled. She really did love him. Her kiss had awoken him when Juvia's hadn't, and that could only have happened if she meant every word she'd said.

He let himself study her, taking the time to really see her, and realized almost as if by accident that she was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. With her golden hair and big brown eyes, she was stunning, and it startled him to no end that he'd missed it before.

He was such a fool, letting himself get so preoccupied with Juvia. She didn't even like him in a way other than as a friend, much less love him. How had he convinced himself that she was the one?

"Oi, Lyon!" a voice called, dragging him from his personal berating.

He blinked, clearing his mind, and found Gray standing in front of him with a worried expression. "You alright?"

"What? Oh yeah, I'm good," he answered, hoping his brother hadn't caught him in the act of staring at Lucy. He had no way of explaining that just yet, and he sure didn't want to reveal his interest in her to Gray before he'd even had a chance to express it to Lucy.

Speaking of her, where the hell did she go?

Gray's head tipped to the side. "Where did who go?"

Lyon froze at his question. Had he really said that out loud? "Um...what?"

"You just asked where 'she' went. Who are you talking about?"

Gray's expression was quickly turning suspicious, and Lyon began to sweat. Should he just tell him? He hated not knowing what to do. All this uncertainty was really starting to get on his nerves. "I was looking for Lucy," he blurted out and immediately cringed.

"Lucy?" the dark-haired mage asked. "Why are you looking for her?"

"I ah...just wanted to say hi."

Before Gray could respond, another voice piped in from behind him. "He's lying."

Lyon spun, finding Natsu at his back, his eyes narrowed in question. They were boxing him in, and that notion was only confirmed when Erza slipped into the only open slot around him. "Why do you say he's lying Natsu?"

"His heart rate's picked up, and his breathing's changed," the dragon slayer explained, then leaned in and sniffed. "He's sweating too...like he's nervous."

Gray edged in closer, his brow lifting with interest. "Really? Now why would you be nervous, Lyon?"

"Tell us what you're hiding!" Erza commanded, drawing a sword and pointing it at his neck. "What do you want with Lucy?"

Lucy slipped into her house quietly. She had left the moment she'd noticed Lyon's arrival, using the accident as an excuse to head home. She just couldn't face him yet, not when her emotions still felt so battered from before.

She was trying to accept that he would never love her, and she'd thought she was doing okay. She thought she'd come to grips with it all and found a way to just be happy that she'd been able to help bring him back.

But when she'd looked up and seen him standing there, her heart had practically leapt into her throat. She still wanted him so bad, and she'd known it was only a matter of time before he was throwing himself at Juvia, proudly proclaiming his love for her in front of everyone.

And there was no way she could take it right now.

As much as she wanted to be mature about the whole thing, she just felt too raw. She wasn't ready to see his devotion to the water woman again, not so soon after waking him up. Not after she'd kissed him and felt that tiny spark of hope flare inside her. It had been dashed so quickly, but it had been there long enough to do its damage.

Now, she was back to being invisible to him again, and as selfish as it sounded, she just couldn't handle it again. She loved him so much, and even though it was foolish to keep holding on to that, she couldn't bear to let it go. Maybe one day, she could be strong. Maybe she could take all that love inside her and give it to someone else, but she wasn't there yet. Her traitorous heart just refused to call it quits, and she was stuck being in love with a man who scarcely knew she existed.

With a deep sigh, she trudged over to the couch and was just about to sit down when a knock sounded at the door. For an instant, she thought about ignoring it, pretending she hadn't heard the sound, but she dug through the shambles of her emotions for what remained of her manners and headed toward the door. With a long slow breath to settle herself, she reached for the knob and turned it, flinging the door open.

She wasn't prepared however for the sight that greeted her. "Lyon..." What was he doing here? Shouldn't he be spending his time with Juvia at the guild?

He stared at her intently, then his lips curved just the smallest bit. "You left before I could talk to you."

Her head spun. He'd noticed that she was there? She didn't know what to say, what to do. The man she loved was standing at her door, and every stupid fantasy she'd ever had about this moment flew right out the window. She'd never actually believed it would happen.

"Lucy...you okay?"

His question brought her back to herself, at least enough to invite him in. "Um...would you like to come in?"

Leave it to her mother's teaching on etiquette to save her. She fell into the role of host gratefully, and as he followed her into the house, she asked, "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Oh sure. Water's fine."

She made her way into the kitchen, her body damn near shaking like a leaf as he fell into step behind her. Why was he coming with her? Oh damn, she'd forgotten to tell him to have a seat. She winced. She was messing this all up, and with her nerves so strained, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she was going to embarrass herself.

She bit her lip on a groan and pulled out a glass before filling it with ice water. She turned, and finding Lyon close, she jumped, splashing some of the chilled liquid onto her arm. "Damn it..."

She glanced up to apologize, but the words froze in her mouth when he reached for the glass and set it on the counter, not moving from his spot just in front of her. She knew she needed to step back, to put this man behind her, because no matter why he was there, he couldn't possibly have come to sweep her off her feet.

As if he'd heard her internal suggestion about putting some space between them and disagreed, he took her hand in his and smiled. "Here, let me help."

Lucy watched dumbstruck as he grabbed up the small hand towel hanging on the rack beside the sink and swept it lightly over her damp skin. She couldn't believe he'd just done that or that he still hadn't let her go. She found herself looking down at their clasped hands, a flash of warmth bursting in her chest, and she couldn't help wishing he wanted her the way she wanted him.

The thought effectively soured her hope, and she finally managed to pull away. "Sorry about that."

Quietly, she led him to her small living room, dropping herself softly on the couch while lifting a hand in invitation for him to use her chair. However, he didn't take her up on the offer. Instead, he kept coming until he was settling down beside her on the sofa.

Her mind stalled at his behavior, and she found she couldn't quite breathe. Why was he doing this? It felt like he was teasing her, providing these openings for her imagination to latch onto. And she was obviously getting carried away with herself.

She bit her lip and glanced over at him as he closed his eyes and tipped his glass back, gifting her with a moment to study the strong column of his neck. Even that part of him was enticing to her, making her long to scoot forward and press her lips against his skin.

Sweet Mavis, what was she thinking? She couldn't ogle him like this! Swallowing down her desire, she asked, "Um...are you doing alright since...since you woke up?"

"You mean since you woke me up?" he asked suddenly.

Her eyes widened, and her breath caught in her throat. He remembered? She couldn't speak, couldn't think. All she could do was sit there and panic.

He shifted toward her, sliding his body closer on the couch and making her heart hammer violently in her chest. "You kissed me."

Oh for the love of Fairies, please tell me he doesn't remember what I said!

Her fingers tugged anxiously at her skirt while she waited for him to expand on what he knew. Had he remembered all this when she was there before?

Almost as if to answer, he spoke again. "My memory was pretty foggy for while after I woke up, but once Chelia took care of my headache, it all came back." He paused there, looking at her with an expression she simply couldn't read. "I remember everything."