Hiya! Got 29 lined up, hope y'all are excited!

This chapter has a bit of emotional turmoil to it, but nothing too drastic, just to give you a heads-up.

Enjoy!

Natsu groaned as he woke up. He decided no matter what time it was, it was way too early to be awake. He rolled over onto his side, facing away from the window. Lucy's hair shone like gold in the morning light and he breathed her in, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep once more.

...

"There won't be any breakfast left if you don't get up soon!" Cana was barely done calling out that Natsu busted out of the bedroom, clad in nothing but his boxers.

"Where's breakfast?" he asked, his voice still laced with sleep.

"Somewhere where you'll need clothes," she replied with a laugh. Natsu looked down on his body with a blush and rushed back into the room, coming out less than thirty seconds later with a pair of clean jeans, still buttoning up a plain dark red dress shirt. It wasn't as good as the one from Mr. Capri's store, but it still looked sharp – better than any of his t-shirt, anyway.

"Where's breakfast?" he repeated, and Cana shook her head in dismay.

"You ready, Lu?"

"Coming!" she sprung out of Cana's room, wearing a green summer dress. Cana's clothes were similar to hers, but the dress was purple. They quickly made their way to the reception room, where tables were lined with breakfast buffet. Guests from the night before were helping themselves to food and sitting at the same tables as the night before.

"What time is it?" Natsu asked, surprised by how many people were already there – including Mavis and Zeref, who had been up later than Lucy and him.

"Almost 9 AM," Lucy replied, stifling a yawn.

"Really?" he asked, glancing at Cana. "We left at 3 AM and you were still out there. Did you even sleep?"

"Course I did," she scoffed. "Got a whole three hours." The man in front of them glanced back at Cana and the two cups of black coffee she held. "Got a problem, bud?" she asked, casting him a dark look. He looked like he might say something, but then deemed safer to simply walked away.

"You sure you can drive us?" Lucy asked.

"Easy," she replied confidently.

They filled their plates and went up to their table, where Wendy and Shelia were already seated. Wendy's parents and Zeref's mother seemed to have left already. "How did you guys sleep?" Wendy inquired after they all greeted each other.

"Not long enough," Lucy replied, as Natsu said "Like a log," and Cana's voice overlapped with "Pretty much passed out." They all looked at each other, laughing at the different answers.

Natsu was the only one who could stomach going back for seconds, and as they loaded everything in Cana's car, he regretted his decision. Not really wanting him to get sick in her car, Cana offered that they all go for a stroll around town before they hit the road. It was almost two hours later when they returned to the lot, at which point they were the only ones left.

"Can I just walk home?" Natsu whined, looking at the car with apprehension.

"We could have left two hours ago if you wanted to do that," Cana pointed out. "Come on, quit being a baby."

He sighed, but agreed to get in, settling as comfortably as he could, placing his headset over his head for a bit of comfort. He still got very pale when the car started moving and closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against the cold window. After two short nights, maybe he'd be lucky enough to fall asleep on the drive, but he quickly realized he would have no such luck.

"I knew you two slept in the same bed, but does he always sleep in his boxers?" Cana asked. Lucy considered lying and saying he forgot to pack his pyjamas but decided against it. What would be the point?

"He usually wears shorts, but no shirts. He already gets overheated as it is."

"Is it that much warmer in his room?" she questioned, surprised.

"No, it's just the way he is." Cana glanced at her, then at Natsu, whose head was bouncing against the cold window with every bump on the road, his eyes closed with a bit of a wince.

"Does it bother you?"

"I feel like it should, but… no," she admitted.

"But when he wakes up with a…"

"It's weird," Lucy cut her off, knowing exactly what Cana would say. "But again, it doesn't weird me out that much. You said it yourself, it's not something he can control."

"Have you ever… felt him?"

"No!" she exclaimed, blushing dark. Cana saw Natsu open an eye weakly, then close it again, deciding whatever the outburst was, it wasn't worth seeing the landscape passing by. She put a finger to her lips and Lucy realized her mistake. "I don't know how close you think we sleep, but it's not close enough for that," she added in a normal tone. Surely, Natsu couldn't hear their conversation over the headset and the music if they didn't speak too loudly.

"I'm surprised, I slept with you often enough to know you'll snuggle to anything warm."

"He sleeps on his back," Lucy countered.

"But you're not denying it," Cana noted, wiggling her brows. "So you do snuggle to him."

"It… may have happened a few times," she admitted. "But like you said, I do that with you too. It doesn't mean anything."

"But he's a guy."

"And I'm sleeping," she pointed out.

"I know you like him," Cana deadpanned, and Lucy felt her face heat up.

"I do not," she hissed. "Not in the way you're insinuating anyway."

"You never slept in the same bed as Tyrus and you were dating for what, six months?"

"That's different. Tyrus was too handsy, I just… didn't trust him."

"But Natsu is such a prude that it doesn't bother you?"

"I… I wouldn't say he's prude," Lucy argued. "But he doesn't seem interested…"

"I wonder if he had sex before," Cana mused. "Do you know?"

"How would I?" she argued.

"Maybe he's a late bloomer."

"Or maybe he's not interested." Cana scoffed.

"I've never met a guy who wasn't interested."

Neither had noticed that Natsu had taken his headset off. He had meant to ask if they could make a stop, but their conversation made him pause. Before they could keep talking about him, he folded his headset with a click that got Cana looking at him in the rear-view and shuffled in his seat, straightening up.

"Can you pull over soon?" he asked in a small voice.

"I'll stop at the next rest stop," she assured. Natsu leaned back against the window, not noticing the look that the girls shared. How much had he heard from their conversation?

The next stop soon arrived, and Cana pulled over. Natsu stepped out as soon as the car stopped and walked toward the grassy side, sinking to his knees, leaning forward. For a moment, he thought he might get sick, but his stomach was already settling, and he shifted in a sitting position, gazing out at the endless farmlands around them, waiting for the nausea to settle.

"Do you think he heard us?" Lucy asked.

"We could say we were talking about someone else if he brings it up," Cana shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

"You said his name," Lucy reminded her. "Don't know about you, but I don't know any other Natsu."

"Damn… I don't know. I didn't notice when he took them off. Did he look upset to you?"

"It's hard to tell when he's sick," she sighed. "I'll go talk to him." She got out of the car, making her way to where Natsu sat. She noticed his posture was a lot more closed up than usual. "Are you okay?" she asked, sitting next to him.

He glanced her way. "Yeah. Just need a few more minutes." He was still pale, and his voice was weak from the motion sickness. Lucy found it unnerving to not be able to tell if he was saying the truth. She was so used to read him like a book.

"Mind if I stay with you?"

"If you wanna, but it's a bit chilly." She reached to rub his back in soothing circles.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she tried again, looking at his posture. "You look upset." He hung his head down, not looking at her.

"Just… thinking 'bout stuff," he replied.

"Wanna talk about it?" she offered.

"Not really," he admitted.

"Is it about what Cana and I were talking about?" she asked softly. He sighed and straightened up a bit, looking at her.

"Do you just trust me cause I'm weird?" His question took her aback.

"Weird?" she repeated.

"Prude. Whatever you wanna call it." He had heard much more than she had thought. And if he had heard that, he definitely heard Cana wondering if he had had sex before.

"Natsu…" He looked away, his face set with an expression that she couldn't quite make out. "I don't…" she sighed. She owed him an honest answer, at least. "Please, look at me." It took a moment, but he finally turned his eyes to her. "You're not weird. I… You know what I've been through. It helps that you don't… see me like that. I don't know if I could have stayed with you if you did." He shifted to stand, but she grabbed his arm and put her other hand on his knee, forcing him to sit back. "But that's not why I trust you. We've talked about this before, Natsu. You're honest, you respect me, you… I know you care for me. I trust you because you've proven to me times and times again that you had my back."

"But that's not enough," he insisted. "Because if there wasn't something wrong with me, you wouldn't trust me."

"There isn't… Natsu, there's nothing wrong with you."

"You know what I mean," he mumbled. She sighed

"It might have been harder to," she admitted in a small voice, "but can you really blame me?" He blinked at the hurt in her eyes, the shine of unshed tears. "Natsu, I don't want to lie to you. If you looked at me the way some other men do, I don't know if I would have been as comfortable with you, but you never did, so I can't know for sure if it would have changed anything. I still care for you. I still like being around you and spending time with you. But maybe… Maybe I wouldn't want to sleep in your bed. Maybe I'd be a bit more concerned about you waking up with… you know…" She blushed, not able to bring herself to say it. Natsu looked away.

"I… I don't blame you," he sighed. "I get it. I shouldn't take it out on you."

"What's really bothering you, Natsu?"

"Just… Something Zera said." Lucy tried to catch his eye, but he avoided it. "I just gotta figure some stuff out for myself, Luce."

"You know I'm here for you, right?" He looked at her with a sad smile on his lips that might have broken her heart just a little.

"I know," he nodded. "We should get back, you're shivering." Lucy knew she wasn't, but she didn't argue and helped him up. Despite the cold, his hand was still warm.

Lucy and Cana were mostly quiet for the rest of the way. Cana pulled over once more without Natsu having to ask, and he half-heartedly thanked her before meandering off on the side of the road.

"Is he okay?" Cana finally asked.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Something bothering him, but he won't say."

"Maybe he heard us."

"He did, but I think it's something else." Cana looked over Lucy, through the window.

"Well, there's definitely something," she pointed out. "He's coming back already." She glanced back at Lucy. "Maybe it's about Lisanna," she suggested.

"Maybe," Lucy nodded. He could get pretty worked up over his lost friend. But she wondered what Zera had told him that made him look so… confused and upset.

On the last half hour, Cana turned up the music to fill the awkward silence. Though Natsu had his headset, neither Lucy nor she dared to talk about him again. Cana dropped them off in front of the building, they thanked her for the ride, and she drove off. Natsu stayed abnormally quiet as they made their way up and sat on the couch before pulling his computer on his lap. Lucy had rarely seen him use it since they finished school. He typed something.

"Are you hungry?" Lucy asked. He glanced her way, then back at the screen.

"Not yet," he answered, and Lucy couldn't conceal her surprise. Had Natsu ever said no to food before? He looked back at her when she stayed quiet. "My stomach is still queasy," he justified. "I'm fine, you don't have to worry so much."

"Sorry… Well, I'm gonna put something together, do you want me to make some for you later?"

"That'd be great. Thanks, Luce." She smiled back at him, but he was soon looking back at the screen, looking abnormally focussed. She kept glancing his way while she cooked, seeing his expression growing annoyed over time, until he finally groaned in frustration and slammed the computer shut with more strength than necessary.

"Hey, what's the matter?"

"I can't find what I'm looking for," he grumbled, placing the computer back on the table.

"What is it? Maybe I can help you."

"Don't worry about it," he sighed, standing up and stretching.

"I am worried about it," she argued. "You're upset, you're short tempered and something's obviously bothering you and you won't talk to me."

"I don't even know if there's something to talk about!" he snapped. Lucy flinched at his tone and Natsu realized what he had said, his expression turning mortified. "Shit. I'm sorry, Luce, I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine. Whatever," she replied coldly, focussing on the pasta she was cooking.

"Luce…" She heard him move closer and heave a sigh. "Don't be like that, please…" She felt an unexpected rush at the idea of Natsu pleading to her, but her anger took over.

"Like what?" she asked abruptly.

"I know you're upset, don't shut me out." She whirled around.

"Oh, so you mean you don't want me to act the way you do? That's hardly fair, Natsu." He gaped at her, taken aback by her outburst. "After all the times you asked me to talk to you when I struggled with something, you can't even do the same?" He had the decency to look sheepish about it.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled in a small voice. Lucy's anger flared when she thought he still wouldn't tell her anything. "Can we have lunch first? We can talk after."

"Why wait?" she asked, crossing her arms. Natsu moved closer and snatched the pot from the stove before the sauce could overflow.

"Cause you're cooking and I'm starving," he replied. "Careful when you cook with milk," he added, "it reeks when it burns."

"Oh… thanks." Natsu turned the temperature down and set the pot down, stirring it while she finished roasting the vegetables. They finally sat together to eat. Natsu pushed his food around a bit, eating a lot slower than normal. "You don't… you don't have to tell me anything," Lucy hesitantly told him when they were both done eating.

"You were angry at me for not saying anything," Natsu pointed out, not looking at her.

"I'm being childish," she admitted. "You've never forced me to tell you anything that I wasn't ready to talk about, and I shouldn't do it to you either. It's… killing me to see you so caught into whatever it is, and I just want to help you… But I realized you probably felt like that more often than not since we've lived together." His eyes finally met hers.

"I don't want to shut you out. I just… I don't even know if there's anything to say."

"Is it because Cana and I were talking about you?" she asked hesitantly.

"A bit," he admitted, looking away. "It just reminded me of something Zera said and… I don't know how I feel about it."

"I'm here for you when you want to talk about it," she assured him, squeezing his hand gently.

"Thanks… I think I'm gonna go for a walk," he added, standing up.

"Do you want company?" she asked.

"It's okay. I'll be back soon." She watched him walk away, her heart aching when she took in the slouching in his posture. What could Zera possibly have said that had crushed him so much? When he walked out, she took her phone and called her.

"Hi, Lucy," she answered. "How are you?"

"Hey, Zera. I'm…" Lucy bit back the force of habit that almost had her saying she was fine. "… a bit worried," she admitted instead.

"What's wrong?"

"Natsu's been acting weird since we got back, and…"

"Sorry, Lucy, but he's calling me now. I'll call you back, okay?" and the line was cut. Lucy stared at the screen, then rushed to the window. Even from their floor, she could make up Natsu as he walked toward downtown. She slowly turned around, her eyes landing on his computer. She almost slapped herself.

"I can't do that," she mumbled to herself. It would be all kind of wrong to snoop around his computer to know what he had been looking into. She just had to think of what her history would show to know she couldn't do it. She grabbed her phone again and texted Levy, going to her room, where she wouldn't be tempted to look into Natsu's computer.

'I'm gonna be out a bit longer than I thought,' Natsu texted her. 'Gonna meet with Zera.'

'Thanks for letting me know,' she replied. 'I hope you figure out what's been on your mind.' She hesitated for a moment, then deleted the message and sent 'Let me know if you want me to get dinner going before you get home.' Her phone pinged with a message from Levy just a moment later, and she allowed herself to be distracted by telling her all about the wedding.

What did you think of this chapter? I kinda like how Lucy is being pushy about it, even if she knows it's wrong. I feel like teenage girls (I'm sure there are some of you here, it's not an attack, but an observation) are more likely to be emotionally manipulative to get what they want. I feel like it's something that needs to be unlearned. Remember that just because you mean well doesn't mean your behaviour isn't harmful, and try to stay open to what people say.
As far as Natsu goes, I'm sure you all have a good idea of what's on his mind. Being asexual, for me, was seeing a meme and essentially going "Lol, same" and adopting the label. I have deeply related to asexuality and completely embraced it from day one. I guess it was just putting a word to something I had felt for a long time and it felt good to know I wasn't alone and I wasn't broken. For Natsu, he's probably never had that level of introspection before. Plus, western society doesn't treat men the way they treat women or enbies. Men are expected to want sex all the time, amongst other thing. Any deviation from that is frowned upon by society at large and mostly by other men. Now, I could go on that rant for literally thousands of words, but I'm sure you get my gist.
I can't imagine it would be as easy for men to accept that they are ace. I don't see Natsu having an easy time with it (especially when you go in the manga/anime where he is almost part dragon), and knowing that his friends would tease him for it. So that's kinda of where he's at and god this author's note got out of hand, I am so sorry about that. But hey, if you made it this far, kudos to you. If not, it's chill. I don't always read author's note either.

Anyway, what were your favourites moments? Do you think Natsu is overthinking it? What about Lucy's reaction? And the conversation between Lucy and Cana? I loved the scene where Cana has two cups of coffee. I shared it with a friend who said it was a big mood and honestly, they're not wrong.

Anyhoo, thanks for standing by my rambling, and I'll see you tomorrow with the next update!

Valerioux: I hope this provided some insights! We'll get to see Zera and Natsu have a heart to heart about it and labels and such, because it is such an important conversation!

Copperreign12: Thank you for your support! They are such a cute pair, I mostly can't even. There's definitely hints that they are both too clueless to pick up on, but I'm glad it's not getting past you!

Bookwork129: Better understanding yourself is part of the healing process. I love that Natsu doesn't even register he's affected by Lucy. Talk about thick lol

SummeryNights: The best is that I'm positive Natsu doesn't care much for dancing, but he'll still bear with it to make Lucy happy.