A/N Whelp. Since everyone asked for it. Jealous Natsu is just plastered all over fanfiction isn't he. SO I tried to make this one a little less predictable.

-title of this one comes from Adele's 'Set Fire to the Rain'. Hey, anyone wanna tell me what this song actually means? I've heard it so many times but I'm just so lost is she committing arson or what is happening

-this takes place about two years before the last one. So Wendy's about fourteen, Lucy's about nineteen, etc.

XxXxX

My hands, they're strong, but my knees were far too weak

XxXxX

If there was one mood swing the guild never expected Natsu to do, it was sulking.

Sure, okay, he sulked sometimes. Like when he couldn't beat Gildarts in a fight. Or Laxus. Or Erza. Just...when he couldn't win fights in general. Or when he had to take the train somewhere. Or the bus. Or any mode of transportation. Okay, point is – when he does sulk, it doesn't last very long. An hour, or maybe two if it's serious. But never more than that.

Natsu had been sulking for three days straight.

Gajeel and Gray sat on either side of him, staring at the side of his head. Both had been there for five minutes and the Salamander had yet to notice their presence.

"Maybe he's dead," Gray observed after some time.

Gajeel shook his head. "Naw, he'd have started to stink by now."

Gray grunted in agreement. Hesitantly, he raise a hand and poked Natsu's hair. "Oi, slanty-eyes," he said in his most obnoxious voice. "Your face is dumb."

The comment was so childish; Gajeel gave Gray a look that said 'seriously dude?' Gray shrugged at him. Things like that usually worked on Natsu. He was easily provoked that way. But Natsu didn't move from his spot at the bar where his forehead was practically glued to the wood.

Then Gajeel decided to give it a shot. Tilting his head to the side, he pretended to look at the door to the guild. "Bunny Girl's here," he said casually.

The way Natsu's head shot up so fast it cracked was practically comical. He glared in a wide-eyed frenzy at the door, gaze roving across the entrance. When he didn't see any Lucy, he returned to his previous position without so much as a word.

"This is bad," Gajeel said over his head. "He should have been able to smell that she wasn't here."

"Where is she, anyway?" Gray asked. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Lucy at the guild all day yesterday, either. Gajeel stared at him. "What?"

"You seriously don't know?"

Gray was at a complete loss. Gajeel shook his head. The idiot must really have his brain frozen over not to have heard the news circling the guild for the last three days. Either that, or his head stuck in a rock. Mavis, he hated gossip and even he knew. Then again, Natsu's current attitude probably could have explained everything to anyone with half a brain.

"Lucy has a boyfriend."

xXx

"I don't know how it happened," Lucy explained for the umpteenth time, circling her bedroom and looking for something to wear. "One second, I was just talking to this guy and the next thing I know, he's asking me out! And I mean come on. The guy was cute. How could I say no?"

Levy eyed her friend critically from her cross-legged position on the bed. "I know," she said dryly. "You've only told me about fifty times."

Lucy cringed, "Sorry," she apologized. "It's just...when you like someone, you want to talk about them all the time, you know?"

Levy did know. After all, it was she who often had to have duct tape slapped across her mouth so she'd stop talking about Gajeel. The thing about it was, though – from the day she joined the guild right up until three days ago, Lucy had been able to speak of nothing but Natsu.

That was how it worked. Conversations around Lucy just generally turned in his favour. If all roads led to Rome, then all topics led to Natsu. Levy was pretty sure Lucy had no idea she was doing it, either, which only served to make the whole situation more entertaining. And Natsu was the same – he always talked about Lucy. Like, always. If someone mentioned about the new book they bought the other day, it was 'Man, Lucy's so weird, she reads books all the time.' Or if something smelled funny, it was 'You should smell the perfumes in Lucy's house.'

It was clear to anyone with half a brain that Natsu and Lucy shared an abundance of mutual feelings for each other. There were bets going on it. Levy was in on most of them. People from other guilds were in on them. The entirety of Blue Pegasus had a wager that valued half their estate, mostly thanks to a comment dropped by Hibiki that he had seen inside Lucy's mind.

But the strangest part about the whole situation, Levy thought, was that they had seemed so close to something happening. They were closer every day. They were more touchy-feely than ever. Natsu had seemed to actually realize that Lucy was a girl, and a hot one at that. In fact, Levy had been betting on a confession any day.

And then this had happened. Completely out of the blue.

The strangest part was, Lucy seemed to actually like this guy. She really did talk about him all the time; every word out of her mouth was about him. She hadn't asked about Natsu once, and probably had no idea that he was festering away in his own pit of self-pity and jealousy.

In fact, it was so odd that Levy was beginning to suspect foul play.

"Okay," said Lucy, pulling out an emerald green cocktail dress that looked several sizes too small. "I'm wearing this!"

Levy choked. If Natsu saw Lucy in that...bad things would happen. "Um," she hastily tried to change her friend's mind. "Maybe something a little less...that? I mean, you don't want him to think you're trying too hard or anything, right?"

Lucy gasped. "You're absolutely right!" She threw the dress back and pulled out a brown sack that looked like a muumuu. "Is this better?"

Levy sank down further, putting her head in her hands. Oh yeah. Something was definitely not right here.

xXx

"So what, we're just gonna follow them on their date?" Gajeel asked as they crouched in the corner of the diner.

"Yes," Levy hissed back. "I told you, something doesn't add up." She glanced up at the iron dragon slayer, who looked immensely uncomfortable with their setting. "You made sure Natsu isn't going anywhere?"

Gajeel nodded. "Yeah, ice-head's got that covered." Not that it would be too hard, seeing as Natsu had barely moved for the last three days anyway. "And what are you gonna do if Bunny Girl sees us?"

Levy beamed up at him. "We're on a date."

It was a legitimate excuse. They'd been together for what, eight months now? Gajeel grumbled something about how this definitely wasn't how he wanted to spend a date, but Levy shushed him. It was for the sake of Lucy, and Natsu's mental health.

Gajeel eyed the couple at the other side of the diner. He had to admit, he really didn't like the guy. The guild didn't know much about him, surprising considering how much they craved gossip. All that was really known was that his name was Richard, and he was a watchmaker. Seriously. Richard? More like Dick, Gajeel thought with a snort.

It wasn't even like Dick had done anything wrong. Maybe it was his complete lack of interesting features that made Gajeel dislike him so much. Or maybe it was his bro-senses kicking in, not that he'd ever admit that out loud.

Thanks to his heightened dragon hearing, he could make out every word of their conversation. It was going something like... "Wow, you fixed that?"

"Haha, yeah, I really enjoy fixing watches."

"I would never have the patience for it. *flirtatious giggle" You're really something, Richard."

Gajeel resisted the urge to vomit.

"What are you so certain is goin' on?" he asked Levy instead. Said bluenette was glaring at the couple without blinking, eating the shrimp at their table like a robot. Gajeel had to bite back a giggle/snort/laugh that would have been entirely too out of character – but shit, she was just too cute sometimes.

Then again, she hadn't so much as twitched an eyelid when he ordered the shrimp, so something was definitely up.

"I think he might be using some kind of spell," Levy said finally. That caught Gajeel's attention.

"I can't smell any magic on the guy," he said bluntly. "There's no way something like that is going on."

Levy growled. "Well, something is! Lucy would not just drop Natsu like a hot potato!" She said that last bit a little too loudly, and Lucy started. As she looked around, both Gajeel and Levy hid behind their menus.

"This is crazy," Gajeel hissed at her. "We ain't gonna learn anything by doing this."

"Fine," Levy snapped back quietly. "We'll have to try another tactic?"

"Eh?"

"Undercover research," Levy said darkly. "I'll have to go talk to him myself."

Instantly Gajeel bristled. No way. There was absolutely no way in all hell he was letting Shorty anywhere near that squinty-eyed, suspicious, way too normal to be actually normal -

"Okay, okay!" Levy yelped, catching sight of his face. "I won't talk to him. Someone else will!"

xXx

Happy padded down the bar to stand in front of his best friend. He frowned sadly down at the sight. It was positively pathetic, more so even than when he rode the train. "Natsu..." Happy wailed softly. "Get up."

"No." Natsu's voice was muffled. "Just leave me here to die."

Lisanna, who was watching from a few tables away, felt her face pull deeper into a frown. "Geez, what a drama queen," she sighed.

Wendy, sitting at the table with her, nodded her head silently in agreement. "I've never seen Natsu act like that," the younger girl observed. "It's almost like he's..."

"Just been told he can't have a puppy?" Lisanna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's him all right. You'd think he was a little girl denied a pony."

Wendy giggled at the comparison. "At least he knows it's about Lucy?"

Lisanna moved to shush the girl, but it was too late. The second Natsu heard the name, his body gave a massive twitch. The he fell off the chair.

Wendy bit her lip. "Sorry."

Gray and Juvia, who were supposedly guarding Natsu, looked at him in concern. Well, Juvia was concerned. Gray was exasperated. He tried to haul him back on the stool, but Natsu was having none of it. He curled up in fetal position and refused to move.

"This is so out of character for Natsu," Wendy said worriedly. "Is he really okay?"

Truth be told, Lisanna had no idea. She had never, ever seen Natsu act like this before. And she'd known him for a very long time. Natsu was a strong person, sure, but when it came to feelings with him, it was like wading through a bog.

"You know something about dragon slayers," Lisanna said to Wendy instead. "Is this normal?"

Wendy shrunk under the question. "W-well," she stammered. "You remember Gajeel, right?"

Of course she remembered. Who didn't remember? The library still sent them complaints. "Yeah?"

"I mean, that was really violent." Wendy sounded like she didn't want to continue. "So – I mean, couldn't we only assume he'll get violent, too?" She pointed to Natsu's prone form.

Lisanna didn't like the sound of that. Natsu was violent on a good day. "But he's so calm."

"Maybe he hasn't his boiling point yet."

The voice was new, and they both looked up to see Gajeel towering over them. "I didn't hear you guys come back!" Wendy exclaimed happily. "How did it go?"

Gajeel sat down heavily. "I dunno," he grunted. "She's definitely into him, though. It's not a trick. Shrimp wants someone to interrogate Dick, though."

"Dick?" Lisanna asked, somewhat amused.

"Oh, yeah, apparently that's his name now." Levy popped up beside them. "I still think there's more to the story, though. So someone has to go talk to him."

"I'll do it," Lisanna offered, but Gajeel shook his head.

"'S gotta be a guy," he said. "If he is using some kind of dirty trick, we need to play it safe."

A smile ghosted around Levy's lips. "You're getting into this, aren't you?"

He looked away pointedly. "No."

It was then that he saw Natsu in the floor. His face was hidden, but Lisanna was pretty sure he had started sucking his thumb.

"...is he serious?"

"I'm more worried about whether or not he'll be okay," Levy said, brow furrowed. "It's like he's sick."

"He's heartsick," Wendy said sadly. "And he'll be okay, I think, just as long as nobody says the L-word."

"What, lesbians?"

"No, Gajeel. Love."

"I think she means the other L-word," Lisanna sweat-dropped. "You know? The L-name?"

"Ohh."

All eyes found Natsu. Said fire dragon stumbled to his feet, wandering out of the guild without a word. Or, at least, he tried. He missed the door and walked right into the wall. The worst part was, he just kept walking, like a glitch in a video game.

"That's it," Lisanna decided. "Someone needs to talk to Dick."

Unfortunately, Gray had decided he wanted nothing more to do with this and Gajeel couldn't be trusted to go near the guy without hurting him. It didn't leave them with a lot of trustworthy options. That was when Wendy had a brilliant idea.

"I have someone we can ask," she beamed, and without a word, hopped off the chair to go visit a certain fire-mage with s soft spot for Natsu.

xXx

Romeo popped into the watch shop, hesitantly stepping over the threshold. "Hello?" He called. From behind the desk, a head popped up, one Romeo vaguely recognized from waiting outside the guild.

"I'll be right with you!" the figure called in a pleasant but forgettable voice. Romeo waited by the cabinet as the young man pulled himself out from under his counter.

He'd agreed to this for several reasons. One, Natsu was his idol. Seeing him so mopey was disillusioning him. And two, Wendy asked him. Romeo would pretty much do anything the Sky Sorceress asked him to. He was whipped like that. Which was sad, really, because they weren't even close to dating...

Romeo shook those thoughts from his head, instead focusing on the man named Dick. Immediately he scanned him for any signs of magic, but outwardly the guy seemed clean. In fact, apart from the single cowlick in his hair, he seemed entirely normal.

"Yeah, this watch was my dad's. It broke recently." He didn't mention that Gajeel broke it specifically for this purpose. "I'd like to get it fixed?"

"Sure." Dick held the watch up to the light. "Man, this thing really did take a beating, huh?"

Yeah. Thanks, Gajeel. "How long do you think it will take to fix?"

Dick shrugged. "Oh, maybe twenty minutes."

Romeo started. Twenty - no way. He couldn't possibly be that good. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I know what I'm doing." Dick grinned. "You can hang around the shop if you want, see if there's anything else you like."

"Sure." Romeo was pretty much at a loss for words. Sure, he'd take the time to search the shop for anything suspicious. But hell if it took less than twenty minutes.

He dropped the watch on the guild bar twenty-five minutes later. Wendy gasped. "He did it that quickly?"

"The guys legit," Romeo sighed. "And I didn't find anything else on him. Sorry to disappoint you, Levy, but he's a regular watchmaker."

Levy groaned and leaned over the table, putting her head in her arms. Romeo could relate.

"We'll just have to let it be, I guess," she said sadly. "Natsu will have to work through this by himself."

xXx

Natsu listened to the conversation his friends were having half-heartedly. Part of him felt happy that they cared about him so much. Then again, if they really cared about him they'd just rip out his heart so he wouldn't feel this awful pain in his chest all the time.

It wasn't like he didn't know he loved Lucy. Shit, he'd have to be really dumb not to see that. Natsu wasn't as dense as people liked to think he was, and if he wasn't so drained of energy he'd tell them so.

He'd pretty much had the growing feeling in his chest since Tenrou Island two years ago. Maybe it was strange time to spark the thought, watching her get pummelled by some giant pale pastry of a person. But it wasn't just that: it was the grip that circled his wrist when he fell off the ledge, preventing him from falling. It was the warm arms around his shoulders that kept him anchored when he lost all hope. It was the smile as she handed him back his scarf after risking falling just to catch it.

See? That was how he knew there was seriously something wrong. That was the single most eloquent thing he'd ever said.

And yet, he knew that if he ever tried to say it to Lucy, it would come out something along the lines of 'aghkblafghh.'

Sighing heavily, Natsu heaved himself to his feet. This time, he actually managed to make it out the doors without tripping or walking in to anything. As he wandered out the doors, Happy flew up beside him. "Where are you going?" He asked, still sounding far too worried for someone named Happy.

"Home," Natsu replied. "I'm just gonna curl up in my sock drawer and sleep for days. Okay? Okay."

Happy watched him go sadly. "Natsu... we don't have a sock drawer..."

He wandered through Magnolia like a ghost. Evening was falling, and the stars were starting to come out and twinkle. Natsu made a rude face at them; stars made him think of Lucy and that made him more depressed.

Hanging his head, Natsu continued down the sidewalk, bypassing stores and couples out for an evening stroll. He wanted to punch them all in the face, but couldn't quite muster up the energy. A few storeowners who knew him called out to ask if he was okay. He didn't reply.

So completely lost in his own head was he, Natsu didn't even realize when he walked into someone.

And you knew that was bad, too, because he should have recognized her scent a mile away.

"Natsu!"

He jumped right out of his skin, stumbling back. There she was. Glorious, glowing in the streetlight, radiant in the evening. Staring at him with wide, brown eyes that clearly said she thought he was crazy.

He wanted to jump her bones.

"Natsu, are you okay?"

She was still staring at him with that quizzical expression. Behind her, Dick walked up and placed his hand on the small of her back. "What's up, Lucy?" He caught sight of Natsu. "Oh, hey! You're in Lucy's guild, right?"

Natsu's pupils contracted. He could feel his whole body begin to shake, nails making dents in his palms. He was focused on the arm around Lucy, the hand on her back, lower than it should be, right where his hand should be...

Then all his breath left him on a whoosh, and he nodded. "Yeah."

And he walked around the two of them without saying anything else.

Because he'd seen it. He saw her lean into Dick's embrace, saw the way she easily slipped into his arm, smelled the attraction towards him coming off her in waves. She liked this guy. As in, she really, honestly liked him and wanted to be with him.

And if Natsu really cared about her, he would let her be happy.

He made it about two more streets before he fell in the river.

xXx

Wendy poked his forehead, worry on her brow. Natsu twitched, but from there didn't move. From where she was crouched, Wendy looked up at Gajeel. "He's really not going to be okay, is he?"

They had found Natsu that afternoon, on the outskirts of town washed up on the side of the river. After several members of the guild had mentioned their worry about his state of well-being – mostly Erza – the two dragon slayers had made it their goal to find him. Mostly because one did not argue with Erza.

"Oi, Salamander. What happened last night?" Gajeel called, kicking him lightly in the side. Natsu coughed, groaned and sat up.

"Ugh, why do you care?" He pouted. Gajeel's brow creased.

"I don't," he stated shortly. "But you're starting to worry the others. So cut it out."

Natsu looked away pointedly. "Like who?"

"Like Happy!" Wendy exclaimed. "And us!"

"Bunny girl," Gajeel said.

Natsu's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. But it only lasted a second. "I saw her. Last night."

"And?" Gajeel didn't sound like he cared too much. "Did ya get her?"

Natsu's silence was all that was needed. Gajeel gave a growl and grabbed the other by the scarf, hauling him to his feet. "Get up, idiot. We're going to the guild, and you two are gonna talk this out. Okay?"

As Gajeel dragged Natsu's ass back to Fairy Tail, Wendy scurried along beside him. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked quietly.

"Don't care," Gajeel replied. "I'm tired of dealing with him."

It was almost evening when they got back. Happy cried with joy when Natsu was shoved through the doors. He flew straight into Natsu's stomach, and other raised his arms weakly to hug his friend.

"Where were you?" Happy wailed. "You weren't home when I went there! And when I went to Lucy's, she said you weren't there either! She said she saw you, and you looked really weird." He sniffed. "Weirder than she is, usually!"

Both Wendy and Gajeel tensed as Happy mentioned Lucy's name, fearing the worst for Natsu. But the fire mage only laughed softly, and ruffled the top of Happy's head. They let out a sigh of relief. Apparently he cared about Happy more than he cared about being miserable, at least.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I got a little distracted."

"By what?"

"...the river."

Two feet appeared in front him. Natsu looked up, following them up two legs attached to one body with one very unhappy face.

"Lisanna?"

"Where were you?" She demanded. "You had the whole guild worried sick."

"Sorry, I-"

"And what about Lucy? Do you know how worried she's been? Mavis, Natsu, what's gotten into you?"

Natsu averted his eyes. "Why would she be worried about me? She has a boyfriend."

He said it so childishly and immaturely that a vein in Lisanna's forehead popped. This guy... "She said she saw you last night and you looked terrible. She said you didn't even give a proper hello!"

He said nothing, merely pulled his knees in. Happy gazed up at him with large, sad eyes.

"Natsu...what's happened to you..."

At that moment, there came a great clatter behind them. The doors to the guild were thrown open, and Levy stood on the threshold, red-faced and chest heaving.

"Shrimp?" Gajeel asked. "What happened."

"It's Lucy," she replied through gasping breaths. "I just...I was talking to her, and-"

"What?"

Natsu was on his feet in a second. He grabbed Levy's shoulders, causing Gajeel to make a noise of indignation. He ignored him. "What did she say?"

"Um." Levy's eyes darted back and forth. Clearly, she didn't think it was a good idea to say this on front of Natsu. This only caused his gaze to harden and his grip to get tighter.

"What?"

"Sh...she said that tonight was going to be a really special night," Levy said uncertainly. "Her date with Richard... she said tonight... she might," she cleared her throat. "She might sleep with him."

Silence fell across the guild. All eyes went to Natsu.

Said dragon slayer had gone eerily still. His eyes weren't entirely focused. He started to shake, from his feet through his arms and up to his shoulders. Strands of hair fell in front of his face, masking part of his face from view and causing it to fall into shadow.

Lisanna stepped towards him uncertainly. "Natsu?"

And then he exploded.

xXx

Magnolia's central park was always pretty around this time of year, Lucy thought, as she wandered hand in hand with Richard along the paths. They strung up pretty lights among the tree branches, and dimmed the streetlights so the whole park was cast in a hazy glow.

She remembered the time Natsu uprooted one of the trees and sent it to her, that time she got sick and missed the Rainbow Sakura festival. Of course, she'd been since, but nothing had ever compared to the sight of a tree floating down the river.

Thinking about Natsu put her in a bad mood, so she shook the thought from her head. She was here to have fun, not brood over boys being stupid. Lacing her fingers through Richard's, she grinned at him. "Your hands are cold."

"So are yours," he observed. Grinning, Lucy held up a hand for them both to study.

"They're always cold."

Richard leaned in a little closer. "Maybe I can fix that."

Lucy leaned in. Their lips hovered and inch away, but something reached her nose and she pulled back. "Do you smell smoke?"

Richard furrowed his brows. "Yeah, I do, now that you mention it."

They both looked around. Was it just her, or was the 'hazy glow' of the park suddenly a lot brighter? And – was that? Over there, it couldn't be –

A great roar shook the park, and people burst through the trees, screaming. Lucy clutched to Richard, staring in horror and shock.

The park was on fire.

Almost every tree was ablaze. The sky was orange, and the lights had all exploded and were only adding to the fire – the fire that Lucy knew, that she had known like the back of her hand for years. That was Natsu's fire.

Then, with a great crack, one of the trees fell over, revealing a blazing figure storming towards them. His entire body was, quite literally on fire, every limb engulfed in flame. Every step he took left a singed mark in the grass. Richard yelled and pulled Lucy behind him.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked, eyes wide.

The sound of her voice caused his body to convulse, and he spun in her direction. With an inhumane roar, Natsu began to run at them, leaving a trail of flames in his wake. He reached them and without any hesitation, punched Richard in the face.

"Hey!" Lucy shrieked. Natsu turned on her, eyes glowing red. There were scales adorning his face, and it was a set mask of fury. She fell back a step. He lunged for her, and Lucy threw her arms up in defense, prepared for what she didn't know.

But whatever she was expecting, it was not to be swept up in Natsu's arms.

He took off, dashing away from the gathering crowd and Richard, struggling on the ground with a bloody nose. Lucy gasped at the heat of the flames coming from his body, the sensation paired with the cold wind as they moved at top speed.

They ran until they reached the river as it ran through the park, leaving the trees behind, now just a red and orange line on the horizon. Natsu set her down, and Lucy stumbled away from him, punching his chest and feeling it burn her knuckles.

"Natsu!" She creamed, furious. "What – how could you – what are you doing?"

Most of the fire died out, although a few stray flames still licked at his cheeks and fingers. Natsu leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers and leaving no space between them. "You were going to sleep with him."

"What?" Lucy gasped, barely able to breathe through their close proximity. "How – Levy, that little-"

"Don't avoid it," Natsu growled, and Lucy stopped with a gulp. "You were, weren't you? You'd sleep with him, a guy you've known for a week!"

Her face coloured at the implication, and anger rushed through her veins again. Pressing her forehead right back, she seethed with such viciousness Natsu nearly fell back. "And what business of yours is that!" she shrieked in a strangled voice. "You haven't even spoken to me at all this past week!"

"Why do you think that is!" He exploded. "You're always with your precious Dick-"

"My precious what? Don't you dare make this about him, Natsu, where the hell do you get off, punching him like that-"

"You were going to sleep with him!"

Lucy gave a frustrated scream and placed her hands on Natsu's chest, shoving hard. "And so what if I was?!" She cried finally. "It's been more than three dates, and you know that's the rule, third date and suddenly it's on the table-"

"You can't sleep with him Luce, you aren't allowed, you can't-"

"I can't?! So now you think you can tell me what I can and can't do? And don't you dare call me Luce, not after that stunt you just pulled-"

He grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her close until their mouths collided and he kissed her fiercely.

Lucy gasped, closing her eyes. She couldn't help it. There was so much passion in his lips, they molded onto hers, causing her knees to weaken and joints to melt. She leaned into him, raising her hands to spread her fingers across his chest.

And then she remembered what she was doing, and pushed him off. "The hell, Natsu?"

Her voice was definitely not as strong as she wished. In fact, it cracked weakly, like she was crying.

"Luce," Natsu said, breathing heavily. Some of the scales had disappeared, but not all of them. His eyes had gone back to normal. Or, as normal as they could be, half-lidded and glazed as they were. Lucy felt her knees tremble again.

"You can't," he said breathlessly. "You can't be with him."

"Natsu..." Lucy said weakly. "Do you...do you like me?"

He started to laugh. Not a happy laugh, but the kind of laugh you make when something is so sad it amuses you. "Like you?" He said when he could breathe again. "Lucy, I love you. I have for a long time."

Lucy choked on the air. "You..what?" she managed. "Since when?"

Still laughing, he shrugged his shoulders. "Tenrou Island. The Grand Magic Games. I don't know, Luce, it's all a blur."

"That long?" Lucy shook her head. "Natsu, why didn't you say anything?"

He ran a hand through his hair. All of the scales were gone now, and the flames had extinguished. He looked tired, defeated. It was not a look he should have been wearing. "I don't know. I just never thought about it, and then," he gestured back to the park behind them. "You started going out with him, and..."

"And what brought that on?" Lucy asked shakily, pointing back to the mess he left.

Natsu hung his head. "Levy said you were thinking about..with him, and I just started picturing it." His hand burst into flame, but he extinguished it. "And I couldn't take it, Luce. I couldn't stand the thought of you being with someone else."

Lucy covered her mouth with her hands. The idiot...all that, just for her? Catching her look, he gave a hollow laugh. "Yeah. Guess I went a bit overboard, huh?"

Shaking her head, Lucy stepped up to him and grabbed his scarf. Pulling his face in, she whispered, "You idiot," and kissed him again.

The bushes behind them shook, and then four people and an exceed tumbled out. Lucy jumped, Natsu pulling her closer. "Oi! Who's there?"

Her eyes widened in recognition. "You guys..."

Levy, Gajeel, Wendy, Romeo, and Happy grinned up at her from their pile of bodies. "Hey!" Levy said with a sheepish grin.

"We followed you," Gajeel said. "Wanted to make sure you didn't do anything stupid." On that, he looked pointedly to the park.

"Natsu, that was so romantic," Wendy said dreamily, leaning her chin on her hands. "You're so cool."

Lucy shrieked in frustration. "You guys! Why didn't you stop him? And wait – you mean to say you were watching that whole thing?!"

"Aye! Like a soap opera!"

Roaring, Lucy jumped into the pile and started fighting like a wildcat. Natsu had to grin. Fairy Tail was really starting to rub off on her, huh?

Gajeel escaped from the cloud of flying fists and went to stand beside his friend. "Nice going," he commented, gesturing to the burning park. "The whole city's got a search warrant for your ass. You don't think you could have reined it in a little?"

"Like you're one to talk!" Levy yelled, sticking her head out. Then Lucy's hand found her hair and she was pulled back under.

And Natsu started to laugh. He laughed and laughed and laughed until he couldn't breathe anymore, and then he fell on the ground and laughed even harder.

Things were starting to look up.

XxXxX

Hasn't been proofread, so forgive errors. This would have been out quicker, were it not for the vast amount of homework, projects, and tests I have.

So maybe I went a little overboard with the mopey Natsu, but hey! He goes 100% at everything else he does, why wouldn't that include sulking?

Gajeel isn't allowed to say anything because next up, he gets ripped into. Poor guy. He's too cute, I just want to make him suffer~