Title: He'd never given anything as much thought before

The only times Natsu was really completely serious was in the midst of battle, when he was protecting his friends, his guild, his family. And even then he fought with instinct more than thought. Most of the time he never dwelled on a single thought for more than a few minutes.

Shrugging off problems and positively seeing the future was one of his best traits. He could laugh at the most trickiest of situations and joke in the midst of danger. He was rash and fearless, which was not the best of combinations for self-preservation.

One can say he was just an idiot. But it was the privilege of the strong. And Natsu was strong. It might be hard to believe because of his childish demeanor, but Natsu was one of the most powerful beings in existence in fact.

However, right now, his strength meant nothing. And he could not just laugh off the situation he was in. All the positive thinking in the world could not fix his problem. He wanted something he did not understand and for that he needed to think. But thinking wasn't his forte.

He arrived at Levy's home and hesitated to knock for a moment. But then typical of the Natsu behavior he banged on it loudly. Levy came to open the door.

"Oh." Levy should have expected this, but it still came as a surprise. "If you are looking for Lucy, she is not here."

Natsu frowned. "Did she go to him again?"

Levy felt uneasy. "Natsu, you should come in, it's better if we talk."

"No thanks." Natsu smiled in his typical Natsu fashion but the smile was short-lived. "I'm going to find Lucy."

"She's not with him." Levy hurriedly informed as Natsu turned to go. "Gajeel just came by and he said Ark is in the guild house getting drunk. Lucy went out a few hours ago to buy some books. She might have gone back to her apartment by now."

"Thanks Levy." Natsu's smile was a lot more genuine this time. "I'll go talk to her."

"Wait!" Levy grabbed one of his arms to stop him.

As Natsu turned back once more, she quickly released her hold. "Natsu, I don't really want to interfere with you guys, but Lucy is my friend, and I don't want to see her get hurt. What exactly is it that you want?"

Natsu shrugged. "I just want things to be the way it was before."

"Before Ark?"

Natsu raised his arms showing his confusion. "I don't know. I just know I need to talk to Lucy."

"Do you really want to break them apart?" Levy asked softly.

"I don't..." Natsu really didn't have a clear answer to that.

"Natsu, it's fine if you do not want them to be together." Despite liking Ark, Levy's loyalty lay more with Natsu. "But if it is not Ark it will be someone else. Lucy is not the type to remain single forever."

Levy looked at him with concern. "Look, I really wish you and Lucy can go back to where things were before. I want to see the both of you happy. But is that really what you want Natsu? Don't you want something more?"

Levy can tell that Natsu was really trying to understand. He scratched his head, deep in thought. "But why would I want anything more than having Lucy back?"

Levy couldn't help but let out a chuckle. One thing was consistent for sure. Serious or not, Natsu was still obtuse as heck. "Fine, just think about it more okay." But as Natsu turned to go Levy pulled at the silently following Happy's wing. "You on the other hand are staying with me."

"But why?" Happy asked with a pout. "I want to see Lucy too."

"And you will see her after those two talk it out." Levy turned to Natsu. "You need to talk to Lucy alone, you can come back for Happy later."

Natsu frowned at the thought of leaving Happy but then he nodded. He smiled at Happy reassuringly. "I will be back with Lucy."

Happy finally smiled. "Okay." Then he looked at Levy. "Do you happen to have any fish, I am quite hungry."

Levy laughed. "I'm sure I can make you something."

Levy and Happy went inside the house as Natsu walked towards Lucy's apartment.

But when he got there it was empty.

His first thought was that she's gone to the guild house with Ark, and then he wanted to kick himself. Something was definitely wrong with him, why was he having so many negative thoughts? Lucy had said she would not talk to either of them, and Lucy would not show preference like that.

He laid on her bed and breathed in her scent. Then uncharacteristically of him, he took her pillow from his head and held it in his arms instead. He was just going to wait patiently for her like he always did.

Because Lucy always comes back.

It wasn't long before he fell fast asleep.