And chapter 5. I should have posted more today, but I'm going to get right on that.

Oh, and if you haven't figured this out yet, readers, then know that I'm going in order of all the chapters in Fairy Tail. This corresponds to Chapter 5: Day Break.

I don't own Fairy Tail.

~MM~

When Happy had gotten Natsu to conspire with him, he'd honestly meant it as a joke. He hadn't actually meant for Lucy to take it seriously, not really, but then again, it was the one dubbed "weirdo" so it shouldn't have surprised him so much.

But he was, never the less, and so was Natsu.

Now, Happy had been with Natsu for most of his life – well, all of his own life, the greater majority of Natsu's – and never once had he seen his best friend ever really look at a girl. Like, really look. Sure, there were girls with nice physiques in Fairy Tail – that was a given – and Happy, who wasn't nearly as dumb or as simple-minded as everyone seemed to make him out to be, supposed that he should be happy that his brother-figure wasn't a loose-cannon in anything else except fighting.

There'd been looks before; glances and appraising smirks, maybe a bit of leering when the dragon slayer was slightly younger, but never any real...looks. Happy really didn't know how to explain it better than that. Natsu eyed Lucy up and down when she walked into the restaurant, dressed in that maid costume they'd kind of tricked her into getting, but his gaze always returned to her eyes, her hand – the one with the guild mark – and her hair – which was pulled up and away from her neck; Happy guessed that was the attraction. There was an appreciation there, like any male would have, but at the same time there was a respect and a distance. Like Natsu was looking at her with eyes much farther away than his own.

The feline really didn't know how he felt about that.

Natsu'd looked at her like she was any other girl the first time they'd met her. And she had been. Just another girl, in another town, where they hadn't found Igneel. There'd been the first, sixty-second attraction, a couple of shifting glances throughout lunch, and finally there weren't anymore looks when he grabbed her hand. There was a smile instead.

And that was the reason why when Lucy hunkered over, self-confidence under shock and siege at Everloo's rather eclectic taste in women, Happy played along when Natsu called her useless without any real meaning behind it. It was the reason why he called her (very viable) point an excuse (because both of them had seen the gorilla-maids, unfortunately).

It was the reason why Happy pretended not to notice how Natsu seemed the fall back on his heels and crack his fingers when Lucy changed back into her normal clothes; all relief and gratefulness and cheery, mayhem-seeking normalcy. How his blunt "you're useless" was really a plot to keep himself from remembering the way Everloo had seemed to undress her with his eyes and had then thrown her out after seeing nothing he wanted.

Happy thought that maybe he hadn't been calling Lucy useless at all; maybe this mission was a bad idea.

(and they may not like each other yet, but Happy said it as more of a precaution, trying to tell his brother through long vowels and rolling tongues that he'd better be careful and he better be aware of what he was doing; because if Natsu hurt Lucy or Lucy hurt Natsu, Happy wasn't quite sure what he'd do.)

~MM~

Well, short, as most of these are. I'll probably be putting some more out later tonight too, so keep watch.

I had to read Chapter 5 of Fairy Tail several times to get this idea, but I think it works and I absolutely love Happy, so yeah. I'm happy.

BTW did you guys know that we still don't know Natsu's age? I have a theory on that...but I'm working on turning it into a story, so you guys don't get to hear it.

R&R Please!