(A/N): I'll say right off the bat, the tone of this chapter won't necessarily reflect the tone of the rest of the story. However, this one allows us to delve a little deeper into what's up with everyone and why some things are different. Admittedly, it may raise more questions than it quells, but it's a necessary chapter nonetheless.
Without further ado (besides a promise that the ball will be rolling properly as of the next chapter), I present you with chapter four. A little shorter than others, but this one wasn't meant to cover too much ground in the first place.
xxxxxxx
A young, black-haired man walked at a steady pace along the beaten dirt path. There was a certain swagger to his step, as he walked slouched with his hands hanging loosely from his pockets.
He yawned. Stopping to stretch his arms, he peered into the distance to try and see if he could spot his destination.
"I'm back, finally."
Just noticeably, the man could make out the silhouette of a tall structure. Kardia Cathedral was always the first thing that a Fairy Tail mage would see when coming home.
"…I really hope I don't have to deal with shite-for-brains first thing in the morning."
xxxxxxx
Sitting at the guild's bar with her head planted firmly in her palm, Lucy stared at her new guild mark with starry eyes.
"It's real! I'm part of Fairy Tail~ Hehe!"
Sitting to her left was Natsu, who probably wasn't paying much attention to her babbling. He was much more interested in picking all the meat off the bone he was gnawing on. To her left was the cat-girl –Millianna, if she remembered correctly– making small talk with Mirajane from across the counter.
This had almost become a routine for the spirit mage, over the last few days. Since finding herself a place to stay, she'd spend morning and evening either getting to know her fellow guildmates or simply ogling the back of her hand over a hot meal prepared by Mira.
"Hey, Lucy," the pinkette snapped her out of her daydream, his words muffled by the chicken carcass. "Aren't you gonna go on a job, or something?"
"Eh?"
Overhearing them, Millianna butted into the conversation. "Now that you mention it… No one properly explained to you how taking requests at the guild works, right Lucy?"
"Uhm, no, I don't think so," the blonde acknowledged. "Is there some sort of special procedure for that?"
Natsu finally took the bone out of his mouth. "Well, if you go to the job board–"
"If you go visit that job board over there," answered Mira, pointing at the bulletin board near the guild's entrance, "you'll find all kinds of quest listings. From the ones the guild puts up, you can take whichever job you want! Just make sure to check in with me or Lisanna first, though, since most quests are posted in multiple places across Fiore. We don't want to step on another guild's feet, you know?"
In a way, Lucy admired how the woman could phrase that so sweetly while blatantly talking over someone else.
Millianna gave her two cents. "Actually, for your first time, you should totally partner up with someone so they can show you the ropes! I'd offer to go with you, but I'm already heading out later today. Sorry!"
Lucy dismissed her apology with a wave of her hand– she absentmindedly followed the movement of her pink guild mark with her eyes. So cool! " Don't worry about it. What do you say, Natsu? Do you want–
SMACK
"Stupid old man!"
All heads in the guild turned to see an angry blue-haired child standing in front of the Master, who was now crouched over in pain. "Ha… good arm, kid," he muttered.
"WHY! Why won't you go look for him!?"
It only took a moment for Makarov to straighten himself– one would be hard-pressed to believe that he'd been knocked ass-over-teakettle only a moment before. "Your pops is a Fairy Tail wizard, kid; he's been doing stuff like this since before you were born. Why don't you grab yourself a cup of cocoa and go wait for him at home?"
For his kind words, Makarov was gifted a kick between the legs.
"You suck!"
The kid ran out the door with his gaze lowered to the ground.
"…What was that about?" Lucy broke the silence.
"That's Romeo. Remember Macao? That's his son," answered Mirajane solemnly.
In response, the blonde remarked, "Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him since the day I joined the guild.
Millianna crossed her arms. "That's the problem. He took a job the other day –nothing that should be a problem for a mage of his caliber– but he still hasn't come back. I'm sure that his family is really worried about him."
"That's…terrible."
Natsu jumped off the stool, grunting in satisfaction as he stretched his back.
"…Natsu?"
"Don't worry," he patted the new recruit on the shoulder before moving towards the exit. "I won't be long; just gotta make sure that Macao didn't go get lost or somethin'."
A proverbial lightbulb turned on in Mirajane's head. "Hey, Lucy, why don't you go with him? Since you need experience, going on a quest with someone like Natsu would be a great opportunity!"
"No."
Mira looked at the Master in surprise, then her expression quickly dimmed. "Sorry. Never mind, Lucy, I almost forgot."
Lucy was caught off guard by the Guild Master's sudden denial. "Forgot what?"
It was Millianna that answered her. "No one who doesn't have Master's explicit permission is allowed to go on quests with Natsu."
"Eh? Wait, really? But that's…"
"Don't worry!" Natsu's easygoing tone of voice made it evident that he didn't really care. He was already one foot out the door. "I'll be back before you know it, anyway! Se you all soon!"
"N-Natsu! Wait up!" jittered Happy. The cat, who was playing cards with some guild members at one of the tables, let the hand fall from his paws as he chased after the fire mage.
Lucy's jaw flapped about uselessly.
"You okay, Lucy? Asked Millianna.
"Yeah…" she trailed off. "What was it you were saying about Natsu taking people on quests?"
She didn't know the details, obviously, but it was quite alarming that such a famous mage couldn't take jobs with fellow guild members.
"Ah, well…" trailed off the cat-girl.
From where he sat, Makarov let out an audible sigh.
"It's not the boy's fault. I won't stop him from doing his job, and Happy can keep him in check –for the most part, at least. But if he ever blows his gasket, I don't want another one of my children to be stuck in the middle of it."
"That won't happen," asserted Mirajane in what was the most serious voice the blonde had ever heard her use.
Master Makarov didn't bother correcting her; if it really didn't happen, then that would be a favourable outcome.
Instead, we walked to where Cana was seated and took a large gulp of her beer. "You shouldn't be drinking at this hour."
"Hey!"
No one paid any mind to her indignant squawk.
The old man brushed away the droplets caught in his mustache and tried to relish the tingling of his rosy cheeks. It was so early, and yet he could already tell that today wasn't going to be a good day.
"Uh, Master?" asked Lucy timidly, "Would Natsu really hurt his friends if he gets mad?"
"No, never."
The spirit mage noted how quick he was to affirm that.
"…But when he loses his temper, he gets destructive. That's why it's either he goes with someone that can handle him, or on his own, and keep anyone else out of the problems he causes."
"So it's fine to leave Happy to–"
SLAM
Lucy jumped as the guild doors were flung open so hard that they smacked against the wall on either side.
"Yo."
A man she'd never seen before pranced in like he owned the place. His expression was cocky, but his eyes were calm and self-assured. A spiky mop of thick black hair danced back and forth over his brow.
Usually, Lucy would say that someone like him is totally her type, but…
"Put some clothes on, pervert!"
"Wha– again!?" The man, naked as the day he was born, held back a whine while dashing behind the bar for cover. For some reason, Mirajane wasn't too worried that there was a sexual deviant in such close proximity to her.
A moment later, the mystery pervert came back into open view. He was now wearing a pair of pants.
"There. Much better."
Where did you get the pants!? Lucy wanted to yell.
"So, who're you?" he addressed her suddenly. "I've never seen you around here before."
Mirajane noticed that things were starting to get out of hand. Patting the man on the shoulder –which made him jump, for some reason– she introduced him. "Lucy, this is Gray. Of the younger people in the guild, he's been here the longest next to Cana."
Is there a single normal human being in this place!?
…Still. If he was a guildmember, then she should probably try to move past the whole "streaking" thing. "Hi, I'm Lucy! I just joined a few days ago."
"A new member? It's nice to meet you, then. I hope you'll like it here." He shot her a perfectly normal, friendly smile and gave his hand to her for a perfectly normal, friendly handshake.
His pants were at his ankles.
Cana called him out. "Gray, your clothes."
"…"
"…"
He pulled his pants back up.
For the sake of her own mental health, the blonde chose not to comment.
Millianna clapped her hands together. "Oh, I know! You're not planning on taking another big quest anytime soon, right, Gray?"
"No why?"
"Lucy, here," she slapped the new member lightly on the back, "still hasn't taken a job with the guild, so would you mind showing her how it's done?"
"Ehhhh?" interjected Lucy, "I have to go with someone like him?"
"Oi."
Surprisingly, it was Cana that came to his defense. "You know, even if he's a stripping weirdo–"
"Oi."
"–Gray's still one of the strongest members of Fairy Tail."
"Hold on. Really?"
"Yep!" chirped the shameless alcoholic. "He's one of our very own S-class mages."
"That's…" Lucy couldn't help but think the term was familiar.
Noticing her pause, Mira offered, "Wizards are given a rank to give clients a ballpark of how strong they are. The ranks are lettered, 'A' being the highest rank. For example, people like Natsu and Lisanna are A-class mages."
Lucy figured. Salamander was a name known far and wide, and she saw what Lisanna could do first hand. "What's S-class, then?"
"S-class is a special ranking that exists beyond the scope of the others. S-class mages are the strongest around, and you need to meet very specific criteria to be considered as one."
The spirit mage's eyes widened. "So Gray is even stronger than Salamander? How come I've never heard of him?"
"Well, most people call me Ice Troll," Gray said. "The name's kinda lame, but…"
"No way!" Lucy almost screamed. "You're a super famous wizard, too? I've read in magazines that you're always taking really difficult quests all by yourself. That's incredible!"
He scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "Well…"
It was Cana that knocked him off his high horse. "Don't go getting full of yourself, now. Just last week, I found you–"
"Shut up!" In order to avoid whatever topic Cana was trying to bring up, Gray grabbed Lucy by the arm and rushed to the job board.
"You said you wanted to go on a quest, right? I'll take you."
Once the two were far enough away from the bar, Cana grinned.
"Ha! Mission: dump-new-girl-on-someone-else-so-that-I-don't-have-to-go-take-a-job-first-thing-in-the-morning was a success!"
Both Mira and Millianna deadpanned. "You're terrible."
They were promptly ignored, as Cana skipped jovially towards the cellar to grab some more booze.
xxxxxxx
The sun was starting to set in the sky before Natsu and Happy, and the beaten-up man they had in tow had Magnolia in their sights. Macao had seen better days, but he'd be fine with a little rest.
"…Hey. Natsu." Mumbled the blue-haired man.
"Hm?"
"Thanks."
Natsu smiled tiredly while Happy patted the man on the side of the head. "Don't worry about it, old man. Besides, you're not allowed to kick the bucket yet! Romeo's waiting for you to come home."
"Yeah." He smiled.
Macao almost tripped when Natsu, who was holding him up by the shoulder, stopped moving.
"…Oh no." Muttered Happy in a defeated voice.
It seemed like Gray and Lucy got back from a mission at the same time as them.
"…"
"…"
Neither mage said a word.
Macao was sweating, Happy was inching himself towards the town and Lucy was looking pretty lost.
That's been her thing recently.
"Yo." Eventually, it was Gray who stopped the awkward staring contest first. Natsu took that as his cue to relent as well.
"You're back from that mission, huh?"
"Just got back this morning."
"Guess I missed you on my way out, then."
"Yeah."
"…"
"…"
"We shouldn't stand here forever, right!?" shouted Happy, all of a sudden. "Let's go back to the guild!"
"You're right," agreed the pink-haired man. "We still need to let Romeo know that we found his dad."
Gray simply nodded.
The blue cat felt his legs wobble from beneath him.
This was bad. Really, really bad.
And so, the strange situation seemingly behind them, the troupe made their way back to the Fairy Tail guildhall.
xxxxxxx
Lucy had been scratching her head trying to figure out the dynamics between her new peers all day. But this?
This took the cake.
Despite the rocky introduction, the quest with Gray went pretty well, and she liked to think that they got along. He kept stripping randomly, sure, but beyond that, he was mature, attentive, and presented himself professionally when he needed to– compared to his fellow guildmates, that is.
It was a really simple job, which would be expected considering it was her first. All they did was go to the next town over to help Sorcerer Weekly with promotional photoshoots– there were a bunch of other wizards there too, so they were probably just trying to figure out which magic matched their ad campaign the best. During the whole event, Gray showed her how to deal with the client and how accepting payment worked.
…She was getting off track! That wasn't the point.
The point was that –after almost a full day of things being normal– everything went right back to being weird. The second they met up with Natsu, there was an indescribable –almost tangible– feeling in the air that the two men would try to maim each other without a second's notice.
"Pssst. Happy," she whispered into the blue cat's ear. They were hanging behind the three men as they continued to traverse Magnolia. "Why are those two like… that?"
His initial silence told her that he knew exactly what she was talking about.
"…No one really knows," answered the magical feline in an equally soft voice. "Even if they were always rivals for the longest time, they got along pretty okay. But one day they just… didn't. Now, they try to spend as little time around each other as possible."
Lucy clenched her fist. She didn't like that there were big issues amongst her new friends before she even got the chance to properly meet everyone.
She then remembered, "Hey… Mira-san told me that Gray is actually an S-class mage. Do you think they have a tough time getting along because Natsu feels like he can't keep up?"
Happy tilted his head. "What do you mean? Gray hasn't ever beaten Natsu in a fight before."
"Eh?" was all she could say. Lucy hadn't ever really seen Gray fight, but she'd just seen his magic earlier that day. It was beautiful. It was potent. It was controlled.
It was masterful.
Was Natsu's fire magic even better than that?
"There's… a lot of reasons why Natsu isn't an S-class mage. Power isn't one of them."
"I… see."
"Hey. Ice bastard. Ya care to repeat that?"
The pair of cat and woman spun their heads back to the front, where they saw a frowning Natsu grabbing a stone-faced Gray by the arm.
"We were so close…" breathed Happy pathetically.
xxxxxxx
Natsu couldn't really say that he was having a good day.
It all started when Gramps so kindly reminded him that he wasn't allowed to take quests with any of his friends that weren't experienced enough. This was something that he'd come to accept, sure, but it still sucked that the new girl was forced to stay behind after maybe wanting to go with him.
He could deal with that, though. He would make sure everyone knew that he was smiling; that he was in good spirits, and nothing would change that, ever!
…That obviously wasn't true.
Getting used to something, accepting it, didn't mean that you wanted it. Though there wasn't really anyone to blame for that, other than himself.
He thought that pulling Macao out of whatever crack he got his ass stuck in would give him the chance to forget all of that, but it wasn't the case. The man had apparently been ambushed by a mountain Vulcan, and so he was stuck having to get the monster's Take Over out of his system.
Unfortunately for the both of them, the only way he could do that was to beat the ever-loving shit out of his fellow guildmember.
If he were someone like –say– Levy, he'd be able to get rid of the monster's magic without hurting anyone. He wasn't like Levy though, and all that he could do was punch things; he wasn't smart at all.
He was stupid. He'll always be stupid.
Seeing Macao bruised and bloodied in the end just made it worse for him. The man didn't make it better when he thanked him for the help, despite the condition he put him in.
Of course, it only made sense that this shitty day would get even shittier when he showed up.
"…So you took Lucy on her first quest."
He didn't know how to talk to Gray. He hadn't been able to since that happened. Still, their mutual… dislike for each other would have to be at least muted until they got back to the guild. It would be even more awkward to walk the rest of the way in silence, and he didn't want to give Lucy the impression that there was bad blood between members of the guild she just became a part of.
The family she just became a part of.
"…Yeah," was the black-haired man's non-committal response.
The jackass just couldn't make things easy for once, now could he?
He took a sneaking glance at Macao, who was still using his shoulder as support. Couldn't he help him out? …No, he was completely spent. Asking him to intervene between Gray and himself was tall enough of an order on a good day.
"You guys went to a magazine photoshoot, right? That's a nice and easy way to get started as a guild mage. I've never been to one, but Mira seems to think they're pretty neat."
"Mhm."
Natsu's eye twitched. Gray could at least pretend that this wasn't as unbearable as it actually was. The pinkette pulled at whatever neurons he could gather to come up with some sort of small talk. "Actually, Mira was saying that she wanted to take me, one of these days. My magic isn't good for much, but she said that the magazine thought it'd be cool if–"
"Take you to a public event? I didn't think Mira was that stupid."
"Oi" was Macao's soft-spoken rebuttal. He obviously noticed that the ice mage was trying to start a fight.
And he was succeeding. Aw, darn.
As an almost detached observation, Natsu noted that it took a laughably small amount of time for his temper to jump straight to "heated". The largest part of him argued that it was simply because Gray was using Mira to get under his skin –and it was really shitty of him to do that– but a small, self-conscious part of him chided that he really would get upset over nothing at the drop of a hat.
"Hey. Ice bastard. Ya care to repeat that?"
He grabbed the other man's arm and stopped moving altogether. Part of it was to grab his attention, but the rest of it was so he could take a moment to calm himself.
He refused to snap now. And definitely not because of Gray, of all people.
"What's wrong, matchstick?" Gray egged him on, despite Happy having interfered and trying to separate them with his too-short paws. "Is that all it took to set you off? I'm surprised you lasted this long, to be honest."
"You…" Natsu wanted to say more, but it was already taking all of his energy to not do anything that he'd regret.
"Enough!"
Both men nearly jumped at the sudden scream. With wide eyes, they turned to face a huffing Lucy, who's shoulders were so tense they looked like they were about to pop her neck off. "Both of you! You're guildmates, right? You're supposed to be friends! Fighting like this is just… wrong! Unless you've run out of bad stuff to say, I don't want to hear even a peep from either one of you until we get back to the guild! This is just so disappointing."
While Gray, Happy, and Macao were stuck staring at the girl who's attitude seemingly did a one-eighty. Natsu could only muster the energy to keep a straight face.
Yeah, Lucy. I know.
He couldn't show up at the guild like this.
"Hey, Lucy, Gray. Sorry, but I just remembered I had to do something. Can you help Macao get home?"
Before they could answer, he leaned the older man on Gray's shoulder.
The three's stares trailed on Natsu's back as he took off with Happy on his tail.
xxxxxxx
The group now consisting of a girl, a boy, and an older man didn't move until the pink-haired mage and his cat were out of sight.
"What the hell was that!" shouted Lucy eventually, pointing at Gray.
"Me?" he asked dumbly.
"Obviously! What got into you? You were so professional all day– for the most part, at least– but the second Natsu showed up you turned into a completely different person. I don't know either of you well enough to comment on your relationship, but that's no way to talk to someone you work with. Not to mention, it was rude of you to talk about Mira-san that way, just to make him angry."
"…I know," he acknowledged. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought Mira into this."
She noticed that he didn't have anything to say about the rest of his behaviour, but she'd let it go for now.
Macao was still trying to absorb the fact that this Lucy was the same one from earlier. Where did the other "her" go?
"For now though," diverted the black-haired man, "let's hurry to Macao's place. We still need to let everyone at the guild know how you did on your first job."
Lucy blushed. "Oh! Erm, yeah."
Ah. There she is.
xxxxxxx
The last fleck of sunlight shone with great resilience through the Fairy Tail guild hall's windows, painting everything a dim orange.
There weren't many people left in the building at this hour, but that wasn't anything new. Some had already gone home, calling it a day, others were far from the city on overnight quests, and a few simply had other plans for the evening.
Of those that remained, the only one that had any intention of staying much longer was the guild's part-time barmaid.
Mirajane Strauss frowned at her reflection in the glass mug she had just hand dried. The woman couldn't help but think back to the events that took place earlier in the day, notably when she suggested that Natsu take Lucy on the quest.
Her grip on the mug tightened. What a terrible moment that was for her mind to slip. Because of her, Master was forced to put Natsu down in front of the whole guild, which probably made Lucy jump to conclusions about the dragon-slayer before she could get to know him properly.
"Hey, sis."
Mira snapped out of her thoughts to look at the one who called out to her. It was her little sister.
She tried to greet the younger Strauss cheerfully. "Lisanna. Welcome back."
Ouch. A dead fish could have put more energy into that.
Lisanna's tired-yet-satisfied smile flipped into a worried frown. There wasn't much that could get Mira in a bad mood– or rather, sad. Most of her moods were usually bad for everyone else. "I get back from a six-hour meeting at Mermaid Heel and that's all I get? Honestly, Mira-nee. What's wrong?"
"Sorry, sorry," the older one laughed under her breath. "It really is nothing. I just said something unnecessary earlier, and I guess I'm just a little annoyed with myself."
Lisanna sat at the bar and took the older woman's hand in her own. "Tell me."
That's what sisters are for, after all.
"You know, sometimes it escapes my mind that 'it' happened. That first S-class mission," admitted Mirajane. "I don't know if it's just because I don't want to remember it or what, but… anyway. Earlier, I told Lucy that Natsu would be able to show her the ropes on her first quest. Master overheard us, so in front of everyone, he–"
"I get it," interrupted Lisanna. Because of 'that time', Master Makarov had to be heavy-handed when it came to Natsu ever since. The old man didn't like it –no one did– but… "I'm sorry that happened."
"Me too."
"I'm sure Natsu doesn't hold it against you, though."
"…Of course, he doesn't." Mira chuckled. "I should know that better than anyone, at this point. He isn't like that."
SLAM
"Yo," announced a new voice from the entrance.
The two redirected their gaze to Gray, who was being followed by a visibly horrified Lucy.
The guild's doors were in splinters on the floor.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Oh. I kicked the door too hard. Sorry."
"Ah! Don't kick doors, idiot!" screamed a panicking Lucy.
"Welcome back, Gray," said Lisanna with a resigned smile.
"You're fixing that," said Mira with a… smile.
"So, how did it go?" Lisanna asked the two newcomers before her sister could do something unfortunate.
"It went well," answered Gray. "Lucy's a natural."
The blonde blushed but held her frown. "Yeah. It was fine until you ran into Natsu."
"Hn!?" Gray strangled a shout in his mouth. He wasn't expecting to be called out.
"What." Lisanna's response didn't quite come out as a question.
Gray sweated and tried to avoid her glare.
Mirajane was focused on something else, however. "Natsu? Did he say whether he found Macao or not?"
"Yeah, actually," responded Fairy Tail's newest mage, "He suddenly took off with Happy after Gray pissed him off, but he left Macao with us– he's fine, by the way, if a little tousled. We just dropped him off at home. His family was happy to see him in one piece."
The eldest Strauss put her finger on her chin. It was strange… Natsu would have usually come to the guild after something like this.
She checked the time.
"It's late."
"Uh… yeah?" Gray agreed. He didn't understand the change in subject, but if it would stop the two from prying into his little spat with the lizard-brain, he would roll with it.
"…Lucy," the woman questioned the blonde directly, "did Natsu say why he left?"
"No, but the second he looked like he was going to get into a fight with Gray, he cooled off instantly and told us to look after Macao. It was… pretty strange, actually. To me, Natsu always seemed like the type of person that would want to start fights, not end them."
Gray was white as a sheet. He really hoped that Lucy didn't overhear what he told the guy.
"So he was trying hard to keep it together, then." Lisanna exchanged a look with her sister.
Mira walked back to the bar. From underneath the counter, she took out what looked like a plate bundled in a colourful, checkered cloth. "Lisanna, could you close up shop for me? Sorry to put it on you, but I don't think Natsu's going to be coming for dinner today. I'll have to take it to him."
"That's fine," was her answer. It came just as quickly as it was asked.
Once she was gone, Lucy questioned the Animal Soul user, "Did she already have that food ready for him?"
To her surprise, it was the ice mage that answered. "Mira always has meals ready for Natsu. The woman practically makes him breakfast, lunch, and dinner almost every day. If you ask me, I think she should stop wasting her time and let the dumbass starve."
"Gray!" reprimanded Lisanna, for all the good that did.
The youngest Strauss did her best to answer the blonde properly.
"Don't tell Mira-nee that I said this, but… I'm fairly certain that the only reason she works as the barmaid is so that she can make sure that he's eating properly– and because she likes it when he compliments her food; she makes it a point of being the one to make most of what he eats. It's very unusual for him to skip meals, so she's checking in on him right now."
"I get it… that's… kind of cute, actually."
Lisanna laughed.
"Urk!"
The white-haired girl's hand came out and pulled down on Gray's ear. Using her newly-found leverage, she dragged him back.
"Good job on your first job, Lucy. We're all proud of you. Why don't go head on home to get some rest? I'll need to spend some time reminding Gray why he shouldn't be instigating conflicts."
The venom that slowly dripped into her voice made Gray whimper.
xxxxxxx
Mirajane stood outside of Natsu and Happy's house with a frown planted firmly on her face. She had tried knocking a few times, but no one was answering.
"..."
So he wasn't home then.
She didn't even consider that he could be ignoring her. Natsu's dumb, but he couldn't be dumb enough to think that he could get away with that.
"Where could they be…"
The woman paced in a circle on the fire mage's front doorstep, all while muttering nonsense to herself. If she were Natsu, she'd be…
"Oh, Natsu. You're always making things difficult for me, aren't you?" she complained without a hint of seriousness.
She adjusted her grip on the wrapped plate and made her way through the nearby forest.
xxxxxxx
Despite wanting to say something to cheer up his friend, Happy knew that the best thing to do was to keep his mouth shut. All Natsu really needed was someone to keep him company.
The two sat by the side of a river, fishing poles in hand. What they were trying to accomplish, neither knew, but Happy figured this was more about relaxing than catching fish.
Though he definitely wouldn't mind if they caught some fish.
Though it was now dark out, Happy had no problems seeing the dejected look on the man's face.
"I'm sorry for making you come all the way out here, Happy. I won't be here for much longer, so you should go back and get some sleep."
"I'll go back when you do."
"…"
He didn't say anything after that, but the magical cat had a feeling the words were appreciated.
Both were nearly started when the sound of feet stepping on grass snuck up behind them.
"It's not nice to let people go looking for you, you know."
"M-mira," was all that Natsu could say.
She must have come straight from the guild. Her bangs were still tied up and she still wore the barmaid uniform.
Mirajane gently placed a bundle on his lap. "I brought you dinner."
"…Thanks, Mira. You really didn't need to come all the way out here though."
"Of course I did." She sounded offended. "When's the last time that I've let you fend for yourself? Do you not like my food or something?"
"No!" he was quick to deny. "Your food is the best! Really, it is. It's just that…"
Natsu looked up at the sky. It really was pitch black now. "It's late. You should be at home with Lisanna and Elfman, not out in the middle of the forest chasing down someone who didn't come for dinner."
Something about what he said seemed to anger her. "Well, I wouldn't have to, if you stopped being an idiot." Really! If he just listened to what she said, everyone would be happy.
Instead of agreeing with her the way she hoped, the dragon slayer moved the plate aside and brought his knees up to his chin. "I know I'm an idiot, okay? I nothing but a stupid–"
The words were caught in his throat when Mira sat down on the ground next to him and hugged him tightly.
It was different from her usual hugs. Most of the time, Natsu found himself smothered in her chest– usually in an attempt to either torment him physically or make someone else uncomfortable. Right now, she was being oddly gentle, leaning his head against the crook of her neck with one hand and wrapping her other around his waist.
They sat in silence for a moment.
"Happy," she said eventually, "I'll take care of Natsu from here. Why don't you head on back?"
The blue cat, who had been observing until now, tried to plead his case for staying with his friend. "But–"
"Go."
"Aye, sir."
He was unsuccessful.
Once the feline scurried off, it was just the two of them sitting by the river.
"Tell me what's wrong, Natsu," she urged.
"I guess… I just noticed today how unreliable I am."
"…" she didn't say anything.
"I mean," he continued, "whenever I get angry, I screw something up! Did you know that I almost got in a fight with Gray today? In the middle of the street? It was practically over nothing, too. Lucy said that we were embarrassing, and she was right. How can anyone think I'm trustworthy if I can't even keep it together in front of our new guildmate?"
It was painfully obvious how the day's events had affected him. It was less the altercations themselves and more the fact that they were piled right on top of the other, from the moment that morning when she screwed up.
Mirajane let him go. "Okay. I get it."
"Get wha– OOomf!?"
In the time it took Natsu to turn his head in her direction, the woman had already gotten to her feet and driven a kick deep into his side. He was sent crashing into a tree further from the clearing.
"W-what the hell… Mira…"
"This is why you're an idiot, you idiot!"
"Wha…"
She walked up to him and tapped his downed body with her foot. "What kind of bullshit is this? After everything you've told me over the years? Man, do you ever know how to piss a girl off."
He couldn't say anything to that. He just groaned.
The white-haired woman took a moment to stare at him in his pathetic state, then sighed. "Sorry. I just had to snap you outta… whatever that was supposed to be."
Once again, she sat next to him. Only this time she wasn't hugging him as much as she was patting him on the head. "You have a real mean temper Natsu, and when you don't have it under control, it can bite anyone in the ass. But the thing is, you're anything but. You're kind, have a big heart, and you wear your emotions on your sleeve for the world to see. Nothing can take that away from you."
"…What happens if 'that' ever happens again, then?"
"It won't."
"You don't know that."
"…If it does," she relented, "then I'll be here for you. Just like you've been there for me."
"Thanks, Mira."
"…"
Somehow, she felt as if she wasn't able to completely get him out of his funk. "Say, Natsu."
"Hm?"
"Why don't you go on a mission with Lucy tomorrow? You can show her that you're someone that she can rely on."
His eyes scrunched. "Mira… come on. That's mean, even for you."
Quite forcefully, Mirajane took Natsu's head and dropped it on her lap. She started to run her hands through his pink, spiky hair. "Shut up, that's not what I meant. You just can't go on your own, is all."
"There aren't that many people who're allowed to go on quests with me, you know." More than sad, he was starting to sound a little bitter.
"I'm one of them, aren't I?"
Mirajane would've found it funny in any other circumstance how quickly his expression switched to wide-eyed and hopeful. As it stood, however, she could only be relieved.
"You're not messing with me, right Mira?"
Mirajane Strauss was a strong mage. She is a strong mage. The dilemma was that ever since 'then', she'd never let him take her on a quest. Not him, not Elfman, not Lisanna, not even Erza. She'd much rather work at the guildhall, but when she did go on a quest…
She went alone.
That had hurt him. It hurt all of them, but they understood completely where she was coming from.
For her to say this now? Natsu wouldn't be exaggerating by much if he said that it meant the world to him.
"Of course, I'm not," she answered as if his skepticism was entirely unfounded. "We'll grab her first thing tomorrow and we'll take whichever job we want."
"See this, guys? I'm an S-class mage now! We'll take whichever job we want!"
Natsu turned his head around and buried it into her abdomen, wrapping his arms around her as tightly as he could.
She huffed. "Hey, now. Don't go around suddenly–"
She felt something wet where his face was buried.
A light dusting of pink crossed her cheeks. "Well, I, uh… never mind."
In Natsu's head, a spark of hope emerged. Hope that things would start going back to the way they were before.