Natsu ran a hand through his hair as he walked to the Guild at a meager pace. It'd been a few days since Mira had done… that thing… and he hadn't taken any Quests or even dropped by the Guild Hall since then. The reason for this was because Natsu had been unable to give Mirajane any sort of answer to her confession; instead of wracking his brain for a response on the spot, he had politely asked the Takeover mage if he could have a few days to think it through. In that time, he vowed to channel all of his energy into this brainstorming – that meant no Quests, no fraternizing with Guildmates, no procrastination.

It'd been one hell of a brainstorming period. Natsu had never given anything so much thought before, and it showed. There was a reason that he didn't like to think through his feelings… Well, okay, there might've been more than a few reasons, but the major one had to do with how complicated feelings could be. Someone or something made you happy? Great. Why does that person or thing make you happy? Does that person make you happy enough to warrant a relationship? Can you look that person in the eye and genuinely say you love them in return, and that any lingering feelings you have for someone else won't get in the way of the relationship? Could he move on, just like that?

… Okay, that hit a little too close to what he'd been thinking nonstop for three days straight, but you get the idea. And Happy sure was a bundle of help with his merciless teasing… not. Call the Rune Knights 'cause an imposter Natsu was trying to imply that the genuine article actually had a brain, would he? … Well, he didn't really call the Rune Knights… But still. It was the principle of the thing, damn it. Natsu had a perfectly functioning brain. It's just between searching for Igneel, getting stronger, 'n fighting Zeref, there hadn't really been 'time' to ponder relationships. He was completely out of his depth. Girls were complicated, romance was complicated… Winning a fight never required this much thinkin'.

Still. Natsu supposed he had reached an answer, despite how much of a headache it was. He promised Mira an answer in three days' time, and he was gonna give it to her. No matter who might be watchin'. Even if ol' Droopy Drawers was there. Even if…

"Oh, Natsu! Welcome back!" Mira chirped as the pink-head entered the Guild Hall his traditional way… by kicking the doors wide open and announcing his return to everybody.

She didn't miss how his enthusiasm died a little upon seeing their redheaded Guild master at the bar counter. In spite of this, Natsu made his way over and ordered some breakfast like everything was normal. Thankfully, Erza seemed preoccupied with reading some missive from the Council or somethin', and so didn't acknowledge him beyond a simple greeting. Natsu sighed internally as this crossed his mind. Really? He was thankful the scarlet knight was too busy for small talk? That was pretty… pitiful.

"Hey, Mira? Do you mind if we… talk in private for a sec?" Natsu scratched the side of his head somewhat anxiously as the barmaid returned with his meal. Screw that earlier confidence… Giving the Takeover mage her answer with the Guild Master present just didn't seem… possible…

Mira frowned thoughtfully at Natsu's sudden request. It wasn't as if she didn't know what he wanted to talk about… She'd been waiting three days for his response. Even so, Mira couldn't help feel nervous about his apparent preferred method for giving it. But then her eyes fell on the scarlet knight so engrossed in her reading, and they softened in slight comprehension. Maybe it was a bit presumptive, but… Erza was kind of there, so…

"Sure, Natsu." Mira nodded her head, and she proceeded to take the Dragon Slayer down to the storage room in the basement. The Guild was stocked both upstairs and downstairs, so no one should bother them down there. The silver-haired barmaid chewed her bottom lip anxiously as Natsu didn't say anything for a few minutes after coming down; just ran a hand through his hair nervously and paced back and forth a bit. Eventually, she stuttered out, "S-So… Um… Did you… that is… Were you able to…"

Mira was so nervous that she wasn't able to speak coherently. Yet Natsu was able to understand what she meant. Hey, his heart was doing the impression of a jackhammer, too, y'know. It wasn't just her.

"Y-Yeah…" Natsu mumbled as he shuffled his feet awkwardly. Gee, the floor sure looked fascinating. "I thought long and hard about it."

Natsu briefly looked up at Mira before sheepishly ducking his head again, cheeks pink with embarrassment. Yet the silver-haired barmaid was patient enough to let him explain at a pace he was comfortable with.

"The thing is… I just can't get Erza outta my head." Natsu said in a timid, fragile voice that shattered Mira's heart. He knew that this would be the worst part for her to hear, so he'd chosen to start with it; that didn't mean he was anywhere close to being done with what he had to say. "She's hurt me in a way that none of our past enemies ever did. I can't justify these feelings in terms of the current Erza. I guess you could say that I'm stuck in the past when it comes to her…

Mustering the courage required, Natsu looked up and locked eyes with the deeply saddened Mira.

"I'm frustrated with how far our friendship has fallen, and I know she has every right to be with the guy she loves. I don't begrudge her that. Doesn't change my feelings for her, but for her sake I tolerate things the way they are. Maybe one day she'll wanna be actual friends with me again, I dunno." Natsu closed his eyes briefly before reopening them and stepping forward to take Mira's hands in his own. "But maybe she'll never notice. At least, not until some major war starts up again. I can't claim to be a fortuneteller or a psychic. Maybe I do need to move on. See, I say I can't move on from Erza, but that's me talkin' from months of agonizing waiting on her. You know how I can be so stubborn and bullheaded…

Natsu grinned as Mira's expression gradually changed from one of sorrow to one of shock. He knew that he probably sounded flimsy or whatever word you wanna use, but he'd taken three days to painstakingly think this through, and he was only guiding Mira through the highlights of his thinking process.

"Mira. I've been brooding for months, using Quests as a means to dull the pain Erza's given me. But you didn't care if I was grumpy to talk to or just really out of it… You kept approaching me, and even helped kick ass with me on some jobs!" Natsu laughed a little sheepishly. "Didn't matter if I wanted to be left alone; you kept comin' back, 'cause you knew I needed a shoulder to lean on. I can't stay depressed about this forever… Depression sucks, and it's just not me. Fits that Ice Cube helluva lot better.

The pink-head mirrored Mira's smile at his little joke; it was true, and he wasn't gonna take it back. He knew by this point Mira was starting to feel a spark of hope, and it was about damn time to bring it on home.

"I can't say for sure that I return your feelings just yet. I can say that they're definitely not as powerful as the ones I have for Erza… But… I can't refuse you outright, y'know. Just 'cause I don't 'love' you like Erza doesn't mean I don't have any feelings at all. You're important to me; I can say that much, and I don't want you to think I got tunnel vision or somethin'. I… kinda wanna repay ya for all you've done. If that means bein' your boyfriend and taking you on a few dates to see what it's like, hey, I'm down with it. You're awesome, Mira!"

Natsu grinned cheesily as his motormouth finally stopped flapping its gums. His eyes were closed again, but the pink-head figured he had a bit of time until Mira processed everything before giving a reaction… He certainly wasn't expecting a delightful squeal and a bone-crushing hug centered on his neck as she held him close and rubbed their faces together affectionately. Not within seconds of his explanation ending. Perhaps he should have expected something like that, but he kinda underestimated the silver-haired beauty…

"Oooh, we're going to have so much fun! I've got so much to teach you! When I'm done, you'll be the model boyfriend that all of the guys will be forced to look up to!" Mira declared passionately with a tinge of ominous to go with it that for some inexplicable reason sent ghost shivers up the backs of all other guys of the Guild that were in relationships. The silver-haired beauty somehow ignored Natsu's spirit coming out of his mouth from how tightly she was cuddling his neck. It wasn't completely her fault, she was just so excited.

Natsu, meanwhile, had this peculiar notion that he had just struck a deal with the Devil… Yes, that sense of dread overshadowed the suffocation/bone-cracking of the hug she was giving him. Natsu still had nightmares of the last time Erza tried to teach him vocabulary and grammar… Just how much worse would lessons in etiquette and manners be…?

A few days later, Natsu stumbled into the Guild looking quite winded and ruffled in that monkey suit he was wearing. He mechanically made his way over to the table that Gray was lounging at and threw himself across it without a hint of shame. His eye was twitchy, and his hand was reaching toward the Ice Make mage with a sort of sick desperation.

"Gray… help…" The Dragon Slayer's voice was quite pleading and pitiful, and true to form, his rival… had not a shred of mercy as he continued to sip his beverage.

"What's gotten into you?" Gray asked plainly, with only a mild curiosity. Natsu's twitch intensified a fraction amount.

"… No questions. You gotta hide me."

"How about no?" Gray retorted dryly. … And where did his shirt go?

"You gottaaa," Natsu whined pitifully. He was quite determined to not say anything about who or what had him all desperate. You know how that works. Speak of the Devil…

"Oh, Natsuuu!"

… And she will appear. In a stunning and fairly revealing dress and high heels.

"You never saw me!" Natsu hissed as he moved faster than Gray had ever seen him move before… shamelessly using Gray as a sort of meat shield between him and the bubbly Takeover mage that just entered the Guild Hall.

"Like hell! I'm not gonna take one for you if it's Mira you've pissed off!" Gray tried moving out of the way, but strangely enough (or not), Natsu was quite firmly holding him down and preventing him from turning too much in his seat. The pink-head would not tolerate insubordination from his designated meat shield.

Alas, Gray was not the only one that Natsu had to worry about ratting him out.

"Oh, there you are, Natsu!" Elfman remarked as he hefted the Dragon Slayer into plain view, despite Natsu's best attempts to stay latched to the Ice Make mage. "Sis has been lookin' for you… And that reminds me… we still need to have that talk of a Real Man…"

Elfman needed to establish that there were boundaries for his older sister's boyfriend, after all. But Natsu didn't care about the silver-haired man's cliché and completely unnecessary overprotective big-little brother act. He had seen Mira's eyes light up upon seeing him, which only meant he was screwed. Natsu promptly began running in place as Elfman's grip on the scruff of his scarf just would. not. loosen.

"There you are!" Mira said with hands on her hips before she motioned for Elfman to hand her boyfriend over. The manly man did so with some reluctance, as he'd wanted that chat with Salamander to get it out of the way… but it looked like it would have to wait. He didn't seem bothered that Mira began dragging the pink-head across the Guild floor and out the doors at a respectable pace. "We need to get back! Our reservations only last so long!"

Now see, that sounded innocent and romantic, but this was not an average, be-yourself date. No. Mira was taking Natsu to a fancy restaurant to teach him etiquette and manners. Any missteps resulted in a smack from an old wooden spoon that Mira just so happened to carry around with her. … Don't ask. The thing hurt like a motherfucker.

"So… Natsu and Mira, huh?" Gray muttered as the doors closed behind the couple as they went off to do… couple stuff.

"Yeah." Elfman responded, still not quite sure how to feel about the knucklehead courting his big sis.

"Poor bastard." Macao openly sympathized with everybody's favorite Pyro. Mira was a sweet, loving woman, but you had to keep in mind her moniker. Clearly the Demon did not fade away after they defeated Zeref.

"Where's Cana? We should set up a pool for how long it'll last." Wakaba joked, and was promptly socked in the face by the only male Strauss Sibling.

"Did Mira say where she set up reservations at?" Gray asked Elfman with a straight face.

"Why do you wanna know?" The manly man asked suspiciously of the Ice Make mage.

"Oh, I wanna show my support." The raven-haired man answered vaguely. 'Support' translating to watching the show from a lawn chair while munching on popcorn. The best kind of support, really.

Hey, he mighta given up on taking down END, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy his 'best friend's' suffering. Flame-for-Brains was prime entertainment when he was outta his depth… and the dating scene definitely qualified as 'out of his depth' for Natsu Dragneel. Idiot did the same thing when he and Juvia started going out – just wouldn't shut his mouth about how Gray totally didn't know what he was doing.

Well… Payback's a bitch, ain't it?

Author's Note: A lot more lighthearted than the first chapter, but in my defense… I wanna try to stay true to Fairy Tail's form. The series has its sad moments, and it has its silly moments. I know the main genres for this fic are 'angst' and 'hurt/comfort', but those really are the main themes to this story. If I could list more than just two themes, you'd probably see humor, drama, friendship, family, romance… a whole slew of 'em. :P

At this point you're probably thinking Natsu x Mira is set, and they're gonna have a solid relationship from the get-go. However, I'm gonna be branching off from my usual style of only portraying the happy moments. Relationships just aren't like that. :P Not only will Natsu struggle to determine if he has growing feelings for Mira, there will still be Erza-issues. I know a fair amount of you guys don't like the way Erza comes across so far, but it is my hope to change those views, even if it's just a little. I'm not in the habit of bashing characters, especially awesome ones like Erza. This does not mean Erza has some secret reason for being distant; like any human, the scarlet knight makes mistake. And she made a fairly big one in this case, and man is she going to be feeling exceedingly guilty later.

That's not gonna happen right away, though. I dunno how long this story will be, but I hope to keep a respectable pace so that the characters and their actions are believable.

That all being said… I do believe this story will go the NaMiZa route. Erza's got a long road ahead of her in terms of 'redemption'; the first step will be awareness, and perhaps that will start in the near future. Though it will be gradual, of course, and not all-at-once. I can't say you'll like her portrayal any better in the coming chapters, but it's my hope to rectify that eventually. In the meantime, NaMi will be the main pairing until Natsu and Erza start making amends… and that is gonna be rough for both of 'em.

Though I gotta say that the one Guest's comment about letting the characters work it out is probably my favorite suggestion for this story's future, 'cause it is good advice. I'm not gonna force NaMiZa to come any sooner; it'll happen at its own pace. There won't be any other girls in the harem because, well… This is Mira and Erza we're talking about here. Mira allowing Erza, who has hurt Natsu, to eventually be with her Dragon Slayer will be hard enough for her; any others would be too much ('cause who wants to share that loveable Pyro?). And obviously Erza doesn't require any explanation… Clingy Erza is my favorite. lol Won't get to her for quite some time, though.

Thanks for all of the support, you guys! I really wasn't expecting such a huge wave of feedback so soon… Like, it's been one day (eh, a day and half), and already the story has over 500 views, over twenty Reviews, 44 Favs, and 52 Alerts. In terms of debuts for my stories, this has gotta be the most popular one yet (though TToNU has accrued quite the fanbase over a few years). Maybe it'll go down a bit 'cause of my decision to keep it NaMiZa, but I'll stick to my guns. So in advance, for the brave that stick around… Thanks so much! You're all awesome! ^^

Hope you enjoyed this at least a little.