Okay, so this took longer than I had planned. Sorry about that, but at least it's getting posted now! Right? lol Also, for some reason, this chapter came out with a more serious feel to it, and I'm not entirely sure why. Still, I hope you'll enjoy it!

Remember, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. I just own my version of crack shipping and a few crazy ideas here and there.

MIND FXXK: PART 2

It took only moments for Natsu to reach Erza, and he watched as a smile touched her lips when she noticed his approach.

"Hey birthday girl!" he called, a wide grin stretching across his face. "Got a second?"

Her head dipped to the side, her expression turning curious. "Sure. What's up?"

"C'mon." Natsu reached out, pulling her from her seat and tugging her toward the back of the guild hall.

Erza followed quietly, waving at the handful of people that called out to her as she went by. Thankfully, no one seemed to think too much of the two of them leaving the party. Natsu figured people just assumed they were close. They were on the same team; they'd been friends for years. Hell, they'd even bathed together.

But the truth was he and Erza had crossed the friendship line months ago. No one knew that though. He thought Gajeel suspected it. Laxus too maybe. Of course, they could smell it every time he and Erza were together, and he didn't really mind that. Neither of them were big about getting into other people's business, which suited him and Erza just fine. Everyone was so sure he was supposed to be with Lucy and Erza was supposed to be with Jellal.

At one point, that might have been true. Not about him and Lucy, but Erza and Jellal? Yeah, she'd loved Jellal for a long time, but as it turned out, there was just too much between them. He couldn't seem to move past what he'd done to her in the past. It didn't matter that she'd forgiven him or that she loved him as much as he loved her. They just couldn't make it work because the past kept getting in the way.

In the end, they'd both realized they were better off as friends, which worked out great for him. Because he'd been half in love with her since she'd sacrificed herself at the Tower of Heaven. He hadn't realized just how much she meant to him until then, until he'd come so close to losing her.

As it turned out, he and Erza were good for each other. Both dedicated to protecting the people they loved, both determined to give everything they had to do what was right. In that way, they were just alike. Protectors. In other ways though, they were so different, but somehow it worked. They balanced each other out - him keeping her from taking life too seriously and her keeping him from taking it all too lightly.

They were happy, and they'd planned to keep it to themselves a while longer. Not because they were ashamed of what they were each other, but because their friends tended to get a little too involved. But now there was something else to consider.

It had never occurred to him that keeping their relationship a secret could cause a problem. There was no telling how long Lucy had been interested in Jellal, or how long he'd been into her. But that didn't really matter, because any amount of time with Lucy hurting was too much. And he knew Erza would feel the same way. She was just as protective of the blonde, and he knew she'd feel guilty that they'd been unknowingly preventing Lucy and Jellal from being happy.

Natsu stopped just shy of the back door, and taking a moment to look past Erza, nodded his head. "Okay, we're good."

"What's going on?" the redhead asked, her expression still one of curiosity. "Is everything alright?"

The slayer tipped his head. "Yeah...well sort of."

Eyes narrowing with seriousness, Erza stepped closer. "What happened?"

"Nothing bad," he assured her, reaching up to smooth the crease between her eyes. "Actually, it's kind of funny." She waited for him to explain, and Natsu couldn't help but grin. It was kind of perfect, actually. Him and Erza. Lucy and Jellal. He knew most of their friends wouldn't understand, but no one wanted Lucy and Jellal happy more than he and Erza. And he couldn't wait to see his girlfriend's reaction to his news. He paused, his smile widening, then hummed, "Lucy's interested in Jellal."

Her mouth gaping in disbelief, Erza stared at him for a full five seconds without making a sound before she blurted, "What?! Are you... She said that?!"

Natsu laughed. This was exactly what he'd expected. "Yes, I'm serious, and no, she didn't tell me-"

"And Jellal?" She broke in, her voice a hushed whisper and her eyes all but bursting with excitement.

Natsu beamed. "He likes her too."

"Oh my God..." she breathed, shaking her head. "How did you find all this out?"

Natsu tipped his head in the direction of the main room. "Cobra."

"Cobra?" Her head jerked back sharply sending her hair flying forward and then back again. "How in the world would he know?" The fire dragon slayer tapped the side of his head, and she nodded. "He heard it. I...I had no idea she felt that way. Did you?"

"No, she hasn't said a word to me, but-"

"But she wouldn't because she thinks I still care about Jellal that way," she finished for him, her shoulders dropping.

Natsu reached out and brushed his thumb across her cheek. "You didn't know, babe."

"But I do now," Erza declared firmly.

"Exactly." He grinned. He could almost see the wheels turning in her mind, and he knew she was already formulating a plan. Dropping his hand to hold hers, he asked, "So how do you wanna do this?"

The redhead returned his smile as she pressed in close and touched her lips to his. "Leave everything to me."

It was a nice party, one Erza definitely deserved, and while Jellal wanted to be there to celebrate it with her, the urge to leave was hitting him pretty hard.

And it wasn't because she was happy with another guy.

In all honesty, he was thrilled for her and Natsu. When she'd called and told him about her new relationship with the fire mage, he'd been relieved. He'd known he would never be able to move on until he knew she was okay. He couldn't bear to find happiness for himself before she had, and he'd known for a while that his happiness would never be with her.

Too much had happened between the two of them, too much that he would never be able to atone for. He knew she'd forgiven him, and that was fine. It was a blessing he didn't deserve, one he cherished, but it didn't change the fact that relationships were built on trust. And he would never trust himself with her. He couldn't, not in the way a relationship demanded.

She deserved better than that.

And she'd found it in Natsu. He didn't think he'd ever seen her so happy. Or so relaxed for that matter. She'd changed so completely that he couldn't believe no one else had figured it out yet.

And now that she had found someone else, he felt like he could finally do the same. And he knew exactly who he wanted that someone to be. The woman had a way about her, a brilliance that drew a man like him. He'd lived for so long in the darkness, trying to atone for his sins, sacrificing his freedom to make things right. And there she sat, light shining on him every time she smiled.

He'd heard her story more than once from Erza, how she'd forgiven Gajeel, how she'd forgiven Laxus and his team. He'd seen it firsthand with Cobra and the others. So many people she'd helped pull from the darkness, so many she'd offered her hand to, and as he looked around, he could see how they'd changed. He'd heard enough to know Gajeel had been a hard man, a cruel one that lived on the edge of no return, and now, the man was laughing and smiling. He was a true member of Fairy Tail.

There wasn't a soul alive that could tell Jellal that had nothing to do with Lucy, with her forgiveness and acceptance.

And he wanted that for himself. He ached for it, like child desperate for a parent's love. He wanted to bathe in her light, let it soak into his skin and sink down into his bones until all the guilt, all the shame was washed away.

But did he deserve it? Erza had tried so hard to save him. She'd fought to stay close to him, to pull him from the mires of self-hatred, but no matter what she'd said or done, it didn't work. Because he couldn't let go of what he'd done to her, to the woman he'd loved most in the world.

And that was why they'd never have worked. Because he couldn't accept her forgiveness. Because he couldn't look at her and not the girl she had been, the one he'd helped to destroy. There was so much history between them, so many ways in which he could hurt her still. And he couldn't live with that.

But Lucy...she was a woman when he'd met her. Strong and brave, so very capable of defending herself. She'd proven it with Gajeel, and again with Bickslow. She'd held fast against Oracion Seis twice. And never once had darkness gained a foothold within her. Never once had she lost her hope, her light.

And maybe that's what drew him to her. Because with her, he wouldn't have to be strong. He wouldn't have to hide or be so controlled. Because she'd fought the darkness before...and she'd won.

For the first time in so long, he felt like he couldn't finally let go, like he could finally let himself love someone without fearing that he would taint their soul.

And maybe that was selfish. Maybe he didn't deserve forgiveness or hope or love, but the possibility of having it, of having her in his life was more than he could walk away from. He'd lived so many years swallowed up in despair, and his need for escape had grown past what he could stand.

He knew he should leave her to her peaceful life. Let her live on in the sunlight with her friends, but he no longer had the strength to deny himself.

So, he'd done his research, made sure she was unattached. If she could find happiness with someone else, he'd walk away and never look back. But in the months that he'd been so keenly aware of her, she hadn't been on even one date. And that had been the final push he'd needed to try to talk to her.

And Erza's party would have been the perfect opportunity...except now that the time had come, he wasn't sure he had the guts to try.

He'd failed at every relationship that had ever mattered to him. He had Cobra and the others back now, but it wasn't a true friendship and he didn't delude himself in thinking it ever would be. He'd ruined their lives, and he knew without asking that the only reason they followed him now was for their own personal need for atonement. That was all he could offer them, a chance to make up for past sins just like him.

So what could he offer Lucy? Other than a front row seat to blackness of his soul, what could he really give her?

Your heart, his mind whispered, give her your heart.

But could it really be that simple? And could she even want that?

He glanced back in her direction, his gaze softening when she laughed at something Angel said.

"She's pretty great, isn't she?"

Jellal went stiff at that, and he turned with a racing heart to find Natsu watching him with a knowing smile. "W-What?"

"I said, 'she's pretty great.' Don't you think?" the pink-haired man asked.

The Heavenly Body mage nodded dumbly, his mind scrambling to figure out what the other man was getting at. "Um...yeah, sure."

"You like her, don't you?" Natsu added slyly.

"Excuse me?" He swallowed hard. He couldn't lie. Not only did he not want to, but he knew it would be pointless. Natsu was a dragon slayer, and he would smell a lie a mile away. But that didn't mean Jellal was ready to spill his guts to a man that had already handed him his ass once before. "W-Why would you think that?"

Natsu's grin went wide, and Jellal found himself in the unique position of being terrified. He wasn't accustomed to such a crippling sensation, but this was Lucy's best friend, one who was beyond protective of her. Natsu would go to the ends of Earthland for her, and had done so on more than one occasion. And suddenly, he was eyeing Jellal like...like he was prey.

"A little birdie told me."

Shoulders falling, Jellal closed his eyes and sighed. "Cobra."

"Cobra," Natsu confirmed. "Now...what do you intend to do about it?"

Jellal's eyes flew back open. "Do about it?

"Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?"

"You...You'd be okay with me doing something about it?" Jellal asked, holding his breath as he waited for Natsu's answer.

The fire dragon slayer rolled his eyes. "I hope you're not always this dumb cause that'll piss Luce off."

Jellal looked away, embarrassed but smiling nonetheless. "I'm not. I'm just-"

"Slow, yeah I got that," Natsu laughed. "Now, you gonna ask her out or something?"

The Heavenly Body mage looked across the guild, his eyes instantly finding the blonde and holding there. "I want to."

"But...?"

"But I...don't know if she'd even-"

Natsu laughed. "She would."

"You don't even know what I was going to say," Jellal shot back, frustrated.

Chuckling, Natsu nodded. "Yeah I do. And you may not know if she'd be interested, but I do."

"How would you know that?" Jellal asked, his heart tripping in his chest. "Did she say something?"

"Nah-"

Jellal huffed, "Then how can-"

"Cobra told me."

His eyes bulged. He couldn't help it. Why in the world would Cobra even care enough to know that? And why would he tell Natsu about it? The man was about as far removed from matchmaking as a person possibly could be, so why would he deign to get involved in something like that? "I...that makes no sense. He would never volunteer that kind of information."

Natsu shrugged. "Not without a little arm-twisting."

"Arm twisting?" Jellal asked, intrigued at the suggestion. "What sort of arm twisting?"

"Eh, nothing for you to worry about," Natsu said, waving the question away. "What's important is you and Luce."

Shaking his head, Jellal sighed. "How do you even know Cobra was telling the truth? You and Erza have been together for months, and Lucy hasn't even looked at me sideways."

"She doesn't know."

Jellal paused, tossing Natsu a look of disbelief. "You didn't even tell her? Why?"

Natsu blew out a breath, dragging his hand through the hair at the back of his head. "I don't know. I guess I didn't want her to feel like she had to lie to everyone about us. And there was no reason for her to know at the time. I mean, we had no idea she liked you." He shook his head, leveling Jellal with a firm look. "But now, she needs to know. Cause she'll never make a move as long as she thinks -"

"As long as she thinks Erza and I still want each other."

Natsu nodded. "Exactly."

"So, I'll just tell her," Jellal said, feeling hopeful all of a sudden. "I'll tell her that there's nothing between me and Erza, and then-"

"And then nothing."

Jellal frowned. "What do you mean, nothing?"

"That's not going to change anything. You and Erza were never together, but Lucy knew how much you both loved each other. So she'll still feel like there could be a chance for the two of you in the future. What she needs to know is that you've both moved on."

Head bobbing, Jellal hummed, "You're right. How do we-"

"Don't worry. We've got this. Erza has a plan."

Natsu grinned at him, and Jellal felt his lips curl in response. Maybe things were going to work out after all.