A/N: Having major writer's block recently. Gonna be a struggle catching up the story line with Tempting a Dragon, so I might not be updating this particular story until the other one has developed a bit more. That's what I get for starting another story so late.

Anyway, R&R!

DISCLAIMER: Mashima's all of it...

Lucy couldn't remember if it had been a day, a week, or even a month. Few came to visit her during this time, as most of them didn't know the full extent of what had happened between her and her partner. It was a blessing and a curse at the same time for her. She desperately wanted to talk to someone, but just couldn't bring herself to reach out. She did try to contact Levy, feeling the two of them would have some degree of understanding for one another, but strangely, the solid-script mage was nowhere to be found. That left Lucy with few others as Erza and Gray seemed to be constantly absent as well. Only once, after several days had passed did the two of them come desperately knocking on her door. As soon as she opened it, Gray came flying through with an expression of a man who had lost his soul. His cheeks were hollowed and his eyes rested atop two solidly built bags. Erza's hair was standing on all ends, though she attempted to look as calm and strong as ever, Lucy noticed a slight tick on her temple that wouldn't seem to go away.

"Luuuuucy! You've gotta help us! He's gone crazy! Four… FOUR missions in one week! Two of them we had to take a train and one of them on a boat! I'll never go on water again! Never! Not after what he does with his motion sickness…" He began to babble more, something about sparring with nauseous dragon slayers. Gray was gasping for air as he clung to her hands, kneeling before her. She looked up for help from Erza, not sure what was going on or what to do. Erza took the clue and interjected by knocking a closed fist over the back of Gray's head. Instant KO. Heaving him onto the couch, she proceeded to flop down next to him, letting out a gust of air.

"Wh-what was that all about?" Erza looked at her through half-closed lids, about ready to fall asleep herself. Looking at her team member, she noted that the stellar mage had lost quite a bit of weight. She took a memo to make sure she stuffed her full of food next time she set foot in the guild, willingly or not.

"Instead of passively passing out or becoming immobile when on a vehicle, Natsu has taken to sparring with someone to keep his mind off of it. Unfortunately, that does not agree with his body and he ends up losing to his stomach anyway." She nodded towards Gray's X'ed out eyes. "It was regrettable that Gray happened to be in the way all 10 times…" Lucy cringed and slowly allowed herself to sit down across from Erza, who held up her hand, stopping an immediate response. Lucy caught on to it's meaning.

"There's more?!" she cried. The red-head nodded gravely.

"When sparring failed, he decided to swim alongside the boat. Somehow he managed to drag Gray with him. Same thing happened on the train, but they wouldn't allow him to spar on board, so he ran alongside the train car, also taking Gray with him."

"It's that bad, huh?" she said shakily, the weariness on Erza's face finally began to show.

"He's insistent on going on one mission after another. He said you two had a fight. Is that true? You don't need to answer now, but I thought you should know he's doing all of these missions for you." Lucy's eyes widened.

"For me?" The other nodded gravely.

"It seems he thinks that you staying away from the guild is his fault, so he's taking on as many missions as possible to give you space."

"That's ridiculous…"

"Is it?" Erza interrupted, her eyes were intense, invoking her not to lie.

"Erza… what happened between Natsu and me was more than just a fight. We…" Lucy's face began to collect all of her body's blood as she realized that telling Erza about their escapades was incredibly embarrassing.

"Would it help if I stop you there and tell you that I already know all about it and that I'd rather skip over the details?"

"How?" she cried out. Again, the exquip mage glanced at Gray. Lucy cursed under breath, trying to think very hard where he might have stashed that box of explicit magazines and where would be the most likely place that Juvia might find them.

"The way I see it, it's been over three weeks now." Three whole weeks? What happened to the time? Spent mostly under her comforter actually. "Don't you think it's about time to come back to the guild and face reality?" Lucy felt a little bit prickly being told what to do. No one knew what she was going through; rejecting the man she loved, knowing that it would have only been fleeting. Or not knowing how to proceed, seeing the object of her love and affection every day and to still manage to turn away in the end. Perhaps Levy might have understood, but she was unavailable.

Erza saw her hesitance and frowned, aware that Lucy was in pain, but the lack of sleep and incessant fatigue caught up to her and made her cut to the chase with some tough love.

"From what I can tell, you're the one who ended it didn't you? You can't sit here and mope for the rest of your life. If anything, Natsu should be the one doing this."

"But he's not!" Lucy snapped, not holding the usual fear and caution when challenging Erza. Finding someone to vent on was much needed, even if it was the Titania. She was sure she was going to regret it later, but once the dam broke… "He's perfectly fine without me. I'm the same as everyone else in this guild in his eyes. I mean the same to him as you, Happy, Gray, Mirajane, Elfman, Cana…" Erza saw that this list could go on for a while, so she cut her off.

"He's not fine! Can't you tell just by looking at what's right in front of you? All of those he loves, his nakama, are in that guild hall and he is no longer going there because he is so busy going on those godsdamned missions… all for you!" The atmosphere in the room continued to get heated as Lucy kept shaking her head, refusing to listen.

"It's the same… it's the same… it's the same! He'd do it for any of you guys! He'd do it for you, Gray, Happy… Lisanna! He doesn't LOVE me! Sure, I'm special, but who the hell isn't with that guy? And if I didn't care about whether or not he loves me as a woman versus a nakama, then that would make me no more than a fuck buddy!" Her words hung heavily in the air, her anxiety dripping from each one, as Erza scanned the other's face closely.

"Is that really how you feel about it?" she said dangerously.

"Yes," Lucy cried without thought. Silence.

"I suggest you come back to the guild and see how Natsu is handling the loss of his 'fuck buddy'," she said disdainfully as she stood quickly while simultaneously grabbing hold of the back of Gray's pants and proceeded to storm out.

Lucy felt wretched. If Erza's strategy was to make her feel guilty and utterly small and childish, she had a blazing victory. She was aware of the fact that after telling herself the same thing over and over again, it becomes the only possibility.

He'll never love you the way you want.

He'll grow tired of you eventually once he finds someone else.

You're the same as everyone else to him.

Though Natsu's feelings were strong, he was indiscriminate with how he applied them. It was something everyone loved about him, but for a woman in love, greed for unanimous ownership of his affections becomes such a monstrous thing. To not share him with anyone. Lucy's mind went blank. How did she manage to put on this negative armor? When had she become this person? So greedy? So selfish? So needy?

Shame took hold of her and kept her company for another two days before she could muster enough face to leave the apartment and make her way down towards the guild. She didn't walk along the canal as she typically did, fearing her newfound physical weakness from her rapid loss of weight would truly force her into the water. She had examined herself carefully in the mirror before leaving. She had finally come to a decision on what needed to be done and it would be her life's greatest challenge to go through with it.

As she made her way closer to her destination her fears and insecurity wreaked havoc on her. Would he have moved on to someone else by now? Maybe Lisanna? That stung.

Fairy Tail's hall began to grow closer and as it did she felt an incredibly ominous atmosphere hanging over it. A dark foreboding feeling began to grow deep in her stomach. Something definitely wasn't right. Her steps grew faster as she drew nearer. Yes, something was wrong, but she couldn't seem to pinpoint what it was. In the same moment that she pulled open the doors she realized what it was. It was quiet. Absolutely quiet. The usual ruckus that could be heard for blocks was distinctly missing. What had happened while she was away? Her eyes quickly adjusted to what lay inside and she felt a deep-seated fear rising up within her. People's heads were hanging low, depressed and without mirth. The music and dancing that was scattered across the hall was gone, as if it had never existed. What on Earthland was going on here? She scanned the inhabitants with an air of panic, desperately seeking out his uniquely colored hair.

She found him at the bar, nursing a glass by himself. Everyone seemed to have taken a step back from him. Even Happy sat separately, looking as though he was trying to look unhurt by Natsu's lack of attention. Several eyes stopped to stare at her as she drew closer, waiting to see what big scene might play out. As it was already fairly quiet, Natsu barely noticed her presence until she leaned up against the bar, looking at him intensely. He glanced and then did a double-take.

"Lucy," he breathed, sitting up straighter. She felt overwhelming warmth wash through her, as she watched him soak in her presence.

"Hi Natsu," she smiled as casually as she could. "I hear you've been rather busy lately. I wasn't sure you would even be here." Keep it light, she reminded herself. Natsu instantly stood up. Did his arms just shake a little bit?

"I... I was just about to go and check the board. I thought I saw a mission…" Lucy could have sworn that she heard Gray squeak in alarm somewhere in the back of the hall.

"No!" she said almost too quickly. He was slightly taken aback as she indicated for him to sit back down as she took a seat next to him. "I mean, please don't leave. I didn't mean that you should go." Natsu complied and gently reclaimed his glass. Lucy took note that he was actually drinking whisky and from the looks of it, he was dissatisfied with its lack of effect as he downed the rest in one go.

"I thought you didn't like whisky."

"I don't," he grinned weakly. "Just thought I'd try it out for once, but seems my dragon tolerance is alive and kicking."

"Natsu…"

"Look, Lucy. I'm trying to be a good friend here, a good nakama, by..."

"Stop it," she whispered with a gentle smile. Natsu looked confused as she had cut off what he was about to say. "Just stop it, Natsu. I don't want you to bend over backwards like this to make things better anymore. Besides, Erza and Gray seem to be needing a pit stop soon," she said, trying to make light of their situation. He didn't seem amused in the least. Natsu was actually fairly perceptive when he needed to be. He had already grasped the heaviness weighing on Lucy even before anyone else would.

"What are you trying to say Lucy?" She felt the first prickling of tears and was about to respond when the doors to the guild slammed open. All eyes turned to stare at the trembling figure as he leaned shakily against the doorframe. It was Jet! No one moved out of sheer shock looking at him. He was covered in cuts, bruises and gashes, as though running through a room of sharp glass. Some were probably too deep to heal without some stitches. They barely recognized him.

"Someone… help… her…" he groaned as he spat blood, collapsing to the ground.

A/N: Thoughts? Like I said, the other story has some major catching up to do at this point.