Chapter 4
Natsu was bored. There was no use denying it. The tell tale signs were all there. He stayed seated at the barstool alone, save for Cana who was too preoccupied with her alcohol to notice. He cupped his chin with the palm of his hand and rhythmically kept tap, tap, tapping his fingers on the smooth wooden top of the bar. Every time the door opened to the guild hall he would turn around half heartedly and sigh when it wasn't someone worth challenging to a fight.
Mirajane noticed his expression and came over to attempt to cheer him up. She hated to see any of her guildmates looking so down in the dumps. She smiled at him and poked the rounded curve of his sculpted bicep. "Are you hungry, Natsu?"
His face brightened for a moment. "Yeah, of course I am. Can I get some fire chicken?"
"But, of course Natsu." She softly hummed under her breath while she quickly put together his meal. Once she placed the plate in front of him she asked, "Can I ask what's on your mind?"
"Oh, nothing really. I'm mostly just bored. I mean everyone worth fighting right now is on a job. Happy is visiting the exceeds with Carla and Pantherlily." He frowned as he looked around the guildhall. "It's really dull in here today!"
"Grab a drink! That will liven things up!" Cana enthused from her own barstool.
For some reason Mira wasn't completely convinced that it was boredom he was feeling. Sure she did believe that he wanted to get in a fight to kill off some energy. But he seemed a lot more than simply bored. "Are you sure there isn't something else bothering you, Natsu?" While she was thoughtfully considering what was preoccupying him he had made a mad dive for his plate.
"Ike ut," He replied with his mouth full of food. Mira translated his garbled speech to be, "Like what?"
"I don't know you just seem more than bored. You seem distant. Is it maybe girl troubles?"
"uh in o wirl wubble?"
Sometimes translating Natsu's speech that was distorted with his mouth full of food was even too much for Mira to handle. "Why don't you finish that bite and ask me again."
Natsu wiped at his chin and belched loudly then thumped his chest with his fist. Too bad Elfman wasn't even here to utter an enthused 'manly' this time. "I said, what kind of girl troubles?"
"Oh I don't know." Mira lifted her hand wide in confusion for a moment as she tried to grasp what she was referring to. "I guess maybe something as simple as having trouble admitting your feelings to a girl you like."
"I like lots of girls though, Mira. I like you." He showed Mira his sharp fangs in a wide smile.
"Oh dear," Mira blushed prettily for a second. She liked someone else of course but Natsu was handsome, and him admitting he liked her, even in a platonic way, was still flattering. "I'm not sure you understood my question. I meant a girl you like romantically. That you want to spend time with all the time. Is there a girl that makes you feel all weird and gooey inside? Someone who makes your heart seem to stutter or ache when she will give you a certain look, or praise you."
"Erza makes my insides quiver." He physically began to shake as he mentally pulled up one of Titania's more intimidating expressions.
"Yes, but I am pretty sure that is out of fear, Natsu." Mira shook her head. Was this conversation just simply hopeless?
"Oh, oh yeah." Natsu realized that a lot of the things Mira described he felt around Lucy. But didn't that make as much sense as his fear of Erza? She was his best friend so he would automatically feel something more around her, right?
Mira sighed. "Sorry, perhaps this just isn't the time for this conversation. I just thought that you at the very least looked lonely to me. I guess at the most I was worried you had your heart broken."
"Oh, I guess I am kind of lonely. I mean I'm the only member of Team Natsu here right now. Gray and Erza are off on a job that Gramps assigned them to. I already told you were Happy is. Then Lucy is off on that Celestial Magic meeting thing." Natsu waved his hand around manically as he tried to explain the last. Lucy had tried to explain what the thing was but he was eating at the time and his attention had been absorbed more by his food.
Mirajane got a twinkle in her eye. Perhaps she was reading too much into it. She really wanted Lucy and Natsu to get together. There just seemed to be something different about how he said the last sentence compared to the rest. His emotions backing his words took on a different quality. It was like he almost seemed jealous of the symposium Lucy was attending. That he hated it for taking her away from him. A bit silly to be jealous over a meeting of like minded people. But with the right encouragement a spec of dust could probably make the dragon slayer annoyed.
Just then the large door opened to the guild hall and Erza and Gray walked in. "Welcome back, Popsicle breath!"
Gray hissed at Natsu. "Don't start. That job was so exhausting. I just want to lay my head on this table and pass out for awhile." He literally sat down at their normal table and did just that. Well not the pass out part.
"Yes, Natsu behave yourself or I will have to use force." Same intimidating expression he visualized only a few moments ago appeared on Erza's face.
Natsu's body began to quiver all over again. "So sorry."
Mirajane promptly sliced a large helping of strawberry cake and took it out to the table for Erza. "Here you look like you could use a pick me up."
"Oh, that was very kind of you." Erza's eyes never left the cake after it was placed before her so when she complimented Mira it actually looked more like she was complimenting the cake.
The door creaked open again but no one turned to look at the latest arrival. The whole guild already knew by now that treading not far behind Gray was always Juvia. The water woman slid behind a pillar and gazed longingly at Gray.
Whenever I do find a girl I like I hope to never, ever follow her around like Juvia follows Gray. That amount of obsession is just creepy. Plus how in the heck does someone get hearts in their eyes? Yeah, definitely creepy weird. Perhaps, Gray can help me understand just what Mira was trying to refer to.
"Droopy Eyes, let's go outside."
Gray lifted his head from the table and openly glared at Natsu. "I told you I am exhausted. I am totally not going to fight you right now."
"No, that's not what this is about."
Gray arched an eyebrow. If he was sounding that serious perhaps he should just follow him out the door.
oOo
After Natsu verbalized the conversation that he had with Mira only a few moments ago Gray started laughing out loud. "I knew you were an idiot, but wow you really don't know what she meant by liking a girl."
"What? She didn't say a girl I had a crush on. How was I supposed to know what she meant?" Gray's body began to shudder furiously with the way the laughter coursed through his frame. "Hey, Droopy Eyes, you better knock it off you are starting to make me angry."
Gray took in several deep breaths. "Okay, okay sorry. So you were trying to understand what she meant then?"
Natsu shrugged. "I guess I don't really know what I was asking. Maybe I just wanted a guy's perspective."
Gray paused for a moment to consider how to approach the situation. "Do you think any of the girls from the guild are pretty?"
"They must be, right? I mean Sorcerer's Weekly is always requesting them as centerfold models."
"Well, yes of course the girls are gorgeous. But I'm asking if you think any of the girls are pretty." Natsu mentally pictured all the girls from the guild. There were qualities about each of them that he would say were pretty yes. But when he got to thinking about Lucy his pulse quickened. That was definitely a different reaction than the others. He calmed his heart rate and mentally went through everyone again always leaving Lucy for last. His body responded the same way.
"Hmm, from that expression I'm going to guess that yes there is a girl in the guild you like." Natsu opened his mouth to argue. "No worries, I won't ask you who it is. That's your business, although I am pretty sure I know regardless."
This crap was getting way too serious for Natsu's liking. "Ice Princess, your face is really starting to piss me off."
"What the…? I was doing you a fricken favor, Flame Brain."
"Alright, let's go. Fire Dragon's Iron Fist," Natsu called upon his fire to engulf his fist into a flames. He jumped into the air and pulled his right arm back to punch Gray's left cheek.
Gray ducked the attack easily, and Natsu swiftly jumped away to get out of melee range. Gray extended his arms forward, "Ice-Make Lance," he thrust the curved projectile at Natsu's current position.
Natsu however moved too fast to be impaled by the long blade of ice. "A bit too slow. Oh, and you seemed to have misplaced your clothes again, Pervy Popsicle."
"Ah! When did that happen?"
Neither were aware of the form hidden behind the bushes. Juvia clutched Gray's discarded clothing tightly to her chest.
oOo
A few hours later with the lack of people in the guild hall it became quiet once again. Natsu in turn became emotionally despondent because of it. He said goodbye to Mira as she started washing up for the night.
Natsu began to meander randomly through the town. The air became crisp and chilly but because of his body temperature he wasn't really aware of it. Nor was he even seemingly aware of time or space as his brain wandered into nothingness. He just let his feet guide him where they led.
It somehow didn't really surprise him that he ended up on Strawberry Street staring at her window. He smirked and shook his head. He quickly scaled the side of the building and easily lifted up her window up to open it, since she always left it unlocked. The apartment constantly smelled like her, a potent mixture of vanilla and strawberries. If he had realized it sooner he would have probably known that on some subconscious level her scent called to him. That he craved it. He barely registered that fact now. But it definitely was there buried in the back of his mind.
He smirked and went to raid her refrigerator. Per normal Lucy had once again fully stocked it. He knew she wouldn't be surprised to find it empty when she got home. It was one of those things they just expected from one another. She fully stocks her fridge, he eats the food, she complains, and then as she mutters through her annoyance she restocks it. Oh, and then she complains again about having to spend so much jewel to feed him, and Happy when they technically did not live there. Oh, good times.
Once Natsu pulled out the ingredients for the meal he had in mind he turned to look at the stove. "Damn, I don't know how to work that thing." He always just used his fire to cook his meals. So instead of turning the dials to try to get the gas stove top lit he light his fist aflame and placed his hand above the wrapped packages. He didn't realize he probably should have unwrapped them first and the paper that the items were wrapped in went up like a torch. The fiery ashes burnt the edges of the counter tops and charred the stove-top beyond recognition. Yup, Lucy was going to be pissed.
Natsu sighed as he realized he wished he could hear the annoyance in her voice just then. He didn't want to have to wait to be scolded. He didn't want to have to wait to get a Lucy Kick to the gut. Well he hoped it would be the gut and not more delicate body parts. Yeah there had to have been some truth to what he was realizing. There had to be some truth to what Mira claimed. Lucy had only been gone for a few hours now. But even in that small span of time Natsu realized that he didn't like to be the one left behind. He realized that he missed her. He was lonely without his best friend by his side. "Just let that stupid symosimwhatsit be done already!" He shoved his hands against Lucy's kitchen table which promptly split into two. "Well crap!"