Happy had no such luck. Natsu seemed to be adamant that he wasn't ready to confront Gajeel yet. For two days Natsu avoided the guildhall as though just going there would kill him. After the first day he had even begun to avoid Happy.

Happy sighed. He knew it was his fault the Dragon Slayer was avoiding him. He pushed him too far, so Natsu did what he always did; ran before he'd say something he would regret. Happy saw it enough times to know that he had greatly upset his father figure. He was hoping that Natsu would come back before he left to go visit the Exceeds, but he didn't come home last night either.

(Flashback)

Happy had found Natsu just getting his tools out to work on the house some more. He hovered a ways above the house as he debated how to approach the topic with his father figure. He settled for the indirect approach.

"Hey Natsu" Happy said softly as he landed. "What's the plan for today?"

"I was thinking we'd try to get the rest of the second floor marked out and walls up!" Natsu said excitedly. "Just two more outside walls then we can move to the inside ones!"

"Aye sir!" Happy cheered as he forgot what he wanted to talk to Natsu about.

The two worked diligently together. After they were halfway done with one of the walls, Natsu showed Happy just how to use some of the tools he had and let him put up a few studs himself. When he finished, Happy looked over his handiwork with a new sense of pride he hadn't felt before.

"Great job Happy!" Natsu said enthusiastically. "I think you can finish the wall off if you want!"

"Really Natsu?!" Happy exclaimed. "I'll do my best!"

"I'm sure you'll do great!" Natsu said encouragingly. The two finished the wall off with Natsu holding the studs or headers in place, while Happy used the nail gun to nail them down. After they finished, the two went back and Happy nailed down the nailers at the base of the wall in between each of the studs.

"You did great buddy!" Natsu said happily, rubbing Happy's head affectionately. "You'll be as good as me in no time!"

"You really think so Natsu?!" Happy asked excitedly.

"Of course bud! Then you can help me repair the house if there's a bad storm or something!" Natsu said.

"Aye sir!" Happy cheered.

"Ready to start the last outside wall?" Natsu asked with a grin.

"Aye sir! Can I use the gun again?" Happy asked.

"HAHA of course you can Happy!" Natsu said cheerfully. "Come on, I'll show you how to do a corner frame."

After three hours the two were done with the last exterior wall. Natsu happily showing Happy how to do anything he asked about. He also mentally kicked himself for not thinking to show Happy how to build sooner. Yeah it would've taken longer, but he'd be showing Happy how to do construction work and bonding with him at the same time. A real win-win for both of them.

As they finished up the wall, they decided to take a break and grab some waters from the cottage. They downed the water and sat back to admire their work for the day. Just as Natsu was about to get back up to put the exterior plywood on the new walls, Happy remembered his self-appointed mission.

"Oh yeah!" Happy said suddenly.

"What's up Happy?" Natsu asked.

"Gajeel told me to tell you that he's lookin for you!" Happy chirped happily. "He seemed really serious and probably wants to explain himself."

"Oh. I see" Natsu said quietly. "Well I'm not really in the mood to talk to him."

"But Natsu, He's our friend!" Happy said. "I'm sure there's a reason! Or at least let him apologize!"

"There can't be a good reason Happy! No one else really knew about me dating people except you and him!" Natsu argued. "Everyone else just believed it was people making up rumors again."

"Okay, so there isn't a good reason" Happy agreed. "But you should still hear him out! Lily made it seem like Gajeel's really been beating himself up about this!"

"And?" Natsu shot back, making Happy freeze in shock for a second. "He spilled my secrets! Why should he be upset about it? I think he's just worried I'll tell the guild all I know about him and Levy!"

"No way, Natsu!" Happy said vehemetally. "He just wants to apologize and try to make it up to you!"

"Well I don't know if he can! He betrayed my trust Happy, I don't know if I can just forgive that."

"You've forgiven people that have done a lot worse" Happy said sadly.

"Yeah, but that took time. I need time to think about how to handle this" Natsu said as he turned to go back to work.

"But that isn't fair to Gajeel if he's really as upset about this as Lily said. And Lily doesn't lie" Happy argued.

"Just drop it Happy" Natsu groaned.

"I will when you agree to talk to Gajeel" Happy said stubbornly.

"Well I'm not doing that anytime soon" Natsu said.

"That isn't fair Natsu. Since when do you not care about your friends?" Happy asked.

"What?" Natsu asked as he turned to look at Happy, shocked he would say something like that.

"You don't seem to be caring about how your friend feels! And then you haven't made time to see any of our friends at the guild. At least I go and say hi once a day! You're always working here, not caring that everyone there misses you!" Happy said.

"They don't miss me" Natsu said heatedly. "They miss their punching bag. They feel bad making fun of me if I'm not there. That's why they want me to come around again. So they can laugh at my expense!"

"That's not true and you know it!" Happy said just as heatedly. "They're used to seeing you every day and now they rarely see you! It's a big change for everyone."

"They hadn't seen us for a year before that when we were training. Then a few months later we were gone for awhile on that stupid hundred year quest."

"Yeah, and everyone said something to us about how weird it was for us to have been gone so long!" Happy said. "And now you're turning your back on a friend because you don't wanna deal with it!"

"I'm not turning my back on anyone! I'm rightfully upset! I don't have to accept his apology a few days after I find out he betrayed my trust!" Natsu roared.

"That isn't the Natsu that raised me! That told me everything would be okay as long as the guild remained together and we could work through anything even if it hurts!" Happy said angrily. "The Natsu that raised me would've talked it out to Gajeel already and wouldn't be hiding in the woods!"

"I….don't follow me" Natsu spat venomously as he sprinted away from the clearing at full speed.

It was then Happy realized just how much he had messed up. He had only wanted to help his two friends reconcile since he knew they really leaned on each other because out of everyone in the guild they understood each other the best. He didn't mean to start a fight with Natsu, and get him upset. Happy especially didn't want Natsu upset with him. Not before he was going away and wouldn't have a chance to fix this.

Happy sadly floated there, staring at the last spot he had seen Natsu before he disappeared into the tree line. He started tearing up, realizing that he had pushed Natsu way too far, and that Natsu had fled because he had really hurt his feelings.

Happy let the tears fall as he started cleaning up the tools they had used today. He got to the nail gun and started sobbing, remembering just how happy the two were when they were working together. How happy he was that Natsu was showing him how to build things. They were having such a good afternoon together, and Happy berated himself for ruining it. He finished cleaning up and then flew to the guild, hoping some fish would help soothe his hurting heart.

(Flashback End)

Happy stared at the doors longingly. He hadn't seen Natsu since their fight. There wasn't any sign that he had come home afterwards, and Happy knew that he had no chance of finding a Dragon Slayer that didn't want to be found.

Wendy approached Happy slowly. She knew just how sad the Exceed had been since his fight with Natsu. She had just gotten back to the guild when Happy had come flying in crying and asking for a fish. He also refused to tell anyone what had happened except for her and Charle, and even then they had to offer to let him stay with them before he cracked.

Wendy had no idea that Natsu and Gajeel weren't talking. But when she thought about it, it made sense. Gajeel had seemed grumpier than usual recently, and Natsu hadn't come to the guild to talk to her like she knew he would have if he wasn't upset.

"Hey Happy. Has he come home?" Wendy asked softly.

"No" Happy sniffled. "I really made him mad this time. He always comes to say bye."

"I'm sure he'll show up" Wendy said to placate the Exceed.

"Yeah….I hope so" Happy said, while mumbling the last part so Wendy almost missed it.

Wendy smiled sadly at the cat, and made her way to the counter to pick up her breakfast.

Happy had gotten to the guild as soon as it opened. The Exceeds weren't leaving until noon, but Happy was hoping to talk to his 'father' before he left. He also knew Natsu liked to take a job when he was extremely upset so he could lay into whatever and work off his negative emotions. Thus camping out at the guild gave Happy the greatest chance to catch Natsu. He just hoped Natsu showed up before he left, and not right before the guild closed for the day.

Each time the door opened, Happy would whip his head towards the door and hope Natsu would walk through the door, even if he was in the middle of a sentence. Soon enough, a good portion of the guild was wondering what the little Exceed was waiting for. They were whispering about it, taking bets about it, and just watching the Exceed each time the doors opened. There were quite a few groans when Charle came in and Happy didn't give his normal reaction to her. It seemed like a lot of people lost money on betting that it had something to do with Charle. A few more groaned when Lily, Gajeel, and Levy arrived and Happy gave no real reaction. But this made everyone in the guild wonder what was causing the Exceed such anxiety.

"Oh, it's Natsu he's waiting for" Lucy said after she thought about it.

Everyone began looking around to see if they could see their pink-haired friend. Once they realized that he wasn't in the guild, it became clear. Something about Natsu was causing Happy to have severe anxiety. This confused all of the guild members since as far as they could remember, Natsu always saw Happy off when he went away for awhile.

As noon came closer, the guild members saw Happy start to tear up. 'He really isn't coming' Happy thought sadly. The other two Exceeds put paws on Happy's shoulders in a show of support. Lily knew the two fought by now, and saw how awful that was making Happy feel. It made him think back to when he thought he saw Gajeel die right before his eyes. This made him want to support Happy even more. Especially since he knew that deep down, Happy saw Natsu as his father the same way Natsu saw Igneel as his.

Ten minutes until the Exceeds left, and still no sign of Natsu. Happy was staring at the doors, willing them to present Natsu for him. Lucy had scooped Happy into her arms and held him close, but let him see the doors from her arms. She felt it as he shuddered with silent sobs. It broke her heart to see the usually cheerful Happy reduce to a sobbing mess. She had no idea what could have happened for Natsu to ignore Happy and his traditional farewell, but she knew it had to be serious. Lucy had also put together that Happy was to blame.

Normally if Natsu had wronged Happy in some way, the Strauss sisters were the first to hear about it followed by Charle and Wendy, and then Lucy would hear about it next. He made sure to tell all of the women that would only give Natsu a good scolding and send him to apologize. The fact that Happy wasn't complaining loudly meant he had done something to upset Natsu to the point he wouldn't show up. Everyone could see that it was also tearing the poor cat up inside.

"Alright Happy, Charle, do you have everything together?" Lily asked as he put his pack on. He had only packed kiwis as the other Exceeds were always gracious hosts to their own kind and would provide anything for the trio when they arrived.

"Yes, I'm just finishing my goodbyes" Charle said before casting Happy a sympathic glance. "I'll be ready in two minutes."

Happy said nothing. He just let his head, ears, and tail drop to the lowest they could go and turned in Lucy's embrace to hug her tightly. He took a little comfort from smelling her scent as she held him tightly.

"You'll be okay" Lucy whispered to him as she let him go. Happy nodded and flew over to the Strauss sisters that were at the bar with tears in their eyes. They had never seen Happy so torn up over something before and it broke their hearts. Especially his 'mother's' heart.

Happy flew into Lisanna's chest softly. He wanted to curl up into the comfort of her familiar scent and cry, but he didn't want to hold the other two Exceeds back. He held on to her tightly and she reciprocated with the same amount of emotion.

"It'll be okay Happy" Lisanna said comfortingly.

"Yeah" Mira said in a motherly tone as she reached out and pet the Exceed right behind his ears since that was his favorite spot. "This will all blow over in no time, you'll see."

"I-I don't think so" Happy said sadly. "I really messed up."

"I'll talk to him Happy" Mira said soothingly as a couple tears slipped down her face. "This was all my fault anyway."

"No Mira, it was mine" Happy mumbled. He then released Lisanna and she let go too. He floated towards the other two Exceeds. Wendy hugged him quickly and slid an extra two fish in his backpack before she released him. Happy gave her a watery smile then turned to his companions.

"Let's go" Happy said, hoping reuniting with his actual parents would help him feel better.

The three flew outside the guild and made their way around the building when they came upon a familiar figure. There was Natsu, waiting for them, for him.

"Couldn't let you go without saying goodbye" Natsu said with a soft smile as he pushed off the building he was leaning against. Happy immediately teared up and flew at Max Speed into Natsu's chest. Natsu somewhat expected it, but didn't brace himself enough to not get sent tumbling along with Happy.

"NATSU!" Happy wailed. "I'm so sorry Natshu! I knew you were still upset and I pushed you! I said horrible things to you! Please! Please forgive me!"

"Of course Happy" Natsu said as he wrapped his arms around Happy. "I can't ever stay mad at you. We were both tired and let things get out of hand."

"I won't try to make you do anything you don't want to do anymore! I'll respect your decisions from here on!" Happy wailed into Natsu's chest.

"Hey buddy, I need you to disagree with me sometimes" Natsu said softly with his usual grin. "You help me figure things out too ya know?"

"O-okay Natsu" Happy said as he calmed down. "But not about your feelings like this again."

"Alright bud" Natsu said with a soft smile. "I'm glad I caught you before you left."

"Me too" Happy said with a watery smile. "We're friends forever, right Natsu?"

"You can bet your life on it" Natsu said determinedly. The short conversation caused Charle to tear up as she smiled and Pantherlily to grin widely. "Now get going Happy. Don't want to keep the others waiting on you guys right?"

"Aye sir!" Happy said as he hugged Natsu one last time before turning to the other two. They nod at him and they all begin to fly passed Natsu. Charle gave him a small smile and Lily gave him a nod before the three took to the skies.

Natsu kept his grin as he watched the three until he couldn't see them anymore. After that he let it fall into a grimace. He had a good idea the other Dragon Slayers had caught his scent by now, so he had to move quickly if he wanted to get back to the training he had been doing the past day. During his argument with Happy he realized he was going to say something awful towards his little buddy, so he ran. Then once he was sure no one would be able to find him he destroyed his body with a crazy amount of training.

He'd train until he dropped, rest for an hour and do it again. He had done this cycle for so long that he had eventually passed out. Luckily Natsu woke up before noon and he rushed to see his little buddy off. But now that that was taken care of and he had reconciled with his son, Natsu was frantic to make his getaway. He still had no intentions of confronting Gajeel, as the wound was too fresh still. He didn't want to snap at Gajeel and make the slight rift between them bigger.

Natsu had every intention of forgiving Gajeel. He had gone over the argument with Happy in his head when he was taking his rests and realized the Exceed had been right. Normally he wouldn't have a problem forgiving someone over something like this. He also realized that the reason he was so angry with Gajeel was simply because he viewed him as a sibling. That feeling led to the way Gajeel had just carelessly, in Natsu's opinion, let the secret of him dating out hurting him more than it would if he had been found out an other way.

Natsu decided that the next day he'd ask Wendy to take a mission and when he got back he'd talk to the Iron Dragon Slayer. With that in mind he fled back towards his cottage. He got there and realized he was even more exhausted than he thought. Probably had something to do with the fact he barely ate the day before. Add that to the fact that he sorely needed a drink of water, and you have an exhausted Dragon.

Natsu walked into his cottage and subconsciously noted that Happy hadn't stayed here while he was away, but had stopped by. He nearly tore the fridge door off and chugged three water bottles before he took to looking for food. The group hadn't finished everything the other day, so he had leftovers from the guild, and some steaks frozen in the freezer waiting for him. He lit the oven and stuffed the leftovers in to heat up. He then prepped the meat first by thawing it by raising his body temperature. Natsu was so tired even this small bit of magic caused him to waver slightly.

He got the meat thawed in no time, though, and began seasoning it. He just wanted to eat so he threw some garlic and salt on the meat before starting up the stovetop and throwing the meat on the pan after buttering it. The worst part about cooking, for Natsu, was that the smell always made him drool excessively in anticipation. He finished cooking and heating his meal and gladly grabbed a few plates before he cumped all of the food on to them and sat down to eat. He had grabbed a few more waters that he knew he needed. He set everything down at the table before he admired his handiwork. The meat looked to be cooked to perfection, and Mira's food looked as good as it always did. Natsu dug into his food with gusto, while also making sure to keep his food in his mouth because he didn't want to waste any and he didn't want to have to clean up any flying food particles. Natsu only really wanted to eat, drop his dishes in the sink, shower, and head to bed. He had a feeling Wendy would be at the guild early tomorrow so he planned on heading there to meet up with her. He just hoped that there was a job that would keep them away from the guild for at least a day.

The next day Natsu woke up with a content sigh. His hammock was way more comfortable than the ground of the cave he had collapsed in. He'd prefer a bed, but he didn't want to buy one until the new house was finished. Natsu even thought about buying a toddler bed for Happy, or maybe a crib. Fish shaped of course.

Natsu forewent his morning workout since he was still a little tired and got ready to head to the guild. He hoped Wendy would be up to going on a short job with him. He knew she didn't like to go places without Charle.

Natsu entered the guild without his usual kick, but he felt eyes on him as soon as he came into view of his guild mates. He wasn't a huge fan of this kind of attention, but he decided to ignore them and grinned.

"Good morning everyone!" Natsu called out. Everyone responded as they usually did and Natsu made his way to the bar to get some food in him. He didn't smell Wendy's scent yet, so he knew he beat her in.

"Good morning Natsu" Mira said with a small smile.

"Hey Mira! Can I have some steak and eggs with hot sauce?" Natsu asked.

"Coming right up!" Mira said as she disappeared into the kitchen. Natsu felt two presences behind him, so he swung the stool around.

"Morin Lucy, Lisanna. What's up?" Natsu asked.

"Good morning Natsu" the two said.

"Natsu, why was Happy so upset yesterday?" Lucy asked, deciding that being blunt would be best. Lisanna nodded showing she wanted to know too.

"Oh, we got into a fight the other day. I went to cool off and ended up overdoing it. I passed out and almost missed him leaving" Natsu said.

"Oh, you were here yesterday?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah I met them outside. We said our goodbyes and then I went back home to finally eat something and pass out. I was out until this morning" Natsu said.

"You mean you didn't eat at all two days ago?!" Lisanna cried.

"Well….no?" Natsu said hesitantly.

"Natsu! That isn't healthy!" Mira scolded as she came back with his food.

"I'm fine. It was the water I kind of needed" Natsu said offhandedly as he began eating. He was too engrossed in his meal to understand he just got the three women upset with him.

"You didn't drink water?!" Lucy asked.

"Oh shit" Natsu mumbled to himself. He just realized what he did. Luckily he used his food as a way of not answering as he scarfed the rest down. Mira tried to pry the dish away from him and the other two tried to force him to sit up, but to no avail. He was physically stronger than all of them.

Natsu finished his food and smelt Wendy and Erza enter the guild. He released his muscles and all three women nearly went flying comically.

"Thanks for the food Mira! It was great as usual!" Natsu called to her as he bounded his way over to Wendy. The three girls sqwauked in protest as Natsu ran away.

"Wendy!" Natsu called out. Wendy turned and smiled at the Dragon Slayer but then remembered what she wanted to talk to him about as Erza stepped into her line of sight.

"Natsu" Erza said as he came to a stop before the two women.

"Oh, hey Erza! What's up?" Natsu asked.

"I heard you wanted to form a team with Wendy. You know she's already on a team right? And yet you still asked her to be on one with you. We can only be on one active team at a a time. You can take missions with Wendy once in awhile but she and I are teammates, so just keep that in mind" Erza said as Natsu visibly deflated. Wendy felt horrible. She didn't tell Erza that it was Natsu's idea, but she just believed it to be when she heard that Wendy might be forming a team with him.

"I'm sorry Natsu" Wendy said as Erza walked away. Wendy found her shoes extremely interesting. "I didn't tell her it was my idea and you got yelled at."

"Nah it's alright Wendy" Natsu said with a forced grin. "I shoulda known since I've been in the guild longer and it's a rule. Anyway, are you and Erza goin on a job? I need to get outta here for a day or so and was hoping you'd like to go on a job with me."

"Erza said she wanted to take a break for a few days so I can go with you!" Wendy said happily.

"Great!" Natsu said before he was grabbed by his scarf and forced to look at the upset face of his best friend.

"Natsu, you have to take better care of yourself!" Lucy scolded. "Not eating or drinking for a day can really mess you up, especially if you're training like I think you were!"

"I know Lucy. Sorry to make you worry" Natsu said.

"It's okay" Lucy sighed. "Just take better care of yourself."

"Oh, Lucy! Wanna come on a job with us?" Natsu asked hopefully.

"A job?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah! Natsu and I were going to go pick one out that should only take a day or two!" Wendy said happily.

"Yeah, let me just tell Dan and pack" Lucy said with a smile.

"Come help us pick the job first, yah weirdo" Natsu said teasingly. Wendy giggled and Lucy tried to keep the grin off her face. It felt so...right to be going on a job with Natsu again.

"Okay, let's go look at what the board has to offer today!" Lucy said happily as the three made their way over to the job board.


Sorry it's taken me so long to get this out! I work in the trades and everyone in my family is doing work on their houses, so of course I was volunteered to do the work. I also had a test on the 6th that decides whether I get a raise or not, so I've been busy studying when I could since it was pushed up two months. But now that most of the stressful stuff is outta the way for a bit, I'm gonna try to write as often as I can. Also decided to start doing everything after the story since I have a feeling not everyone wants to see the extra notes and stuff. If you'd rather me go back let me know! And even if you don't care, review! Even if its constructive criticism! Actually, especially if its constructive criticism!

Zolf Edward Elric- Yeah, but I feel kinda bad about releasing em and worry that they won't be liked because there isn't really much to go on.

Nise no kishi- Yeah, she can be a bit hard-headed. She also strikes me as the type to get one thing in her head and running with it.

Ultimatrix bearer- Yeah it was one of the things I didn't like about the series. It was also the reason I thought about making this fic in the first place.

GreekfanFT- I'm glad you like it so much! I'm trying to make the FT universe and characters the best i can, but this is just my view so I'm sure some people don't like it that much.

AbyssalVelocity- Have no fear, I won't abandon this. I have the entire outline laid out, and hopefully I have a little more free time to pour into this like I want to. If I do have to take a break though, I'll put it in a note or something.

Jose884- No worries! I can read Spanish somewhat well. And if I can't understand something, there's always translators online!

See yah next chapter!