**I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters. That all belongs to Mashima.

There have been a lot of requests for a part 2, so I decided to write a second part for this (originally) one-shot. Fair warning - Lucy is basically a villain, and part 2 is a lot darker than part 1. Partially inspired by a suggestion from rrm232. Read and Review as always. Oh, and I may make an epilogue...**

It was early when Mirajane came into the guild, the first to arrive as always. She opened everything up, humming happily to herself as her mind replayed the events of the previous evening. How the pink-haired dragon slayer summoned up the courage to confess to her she didn't know, but she was really happy that he did. Despite all her matchmaking, she'd always secretly hoped – prayed even – for this.

But as she went to open up the infirmary her nose wrinkled up in disgust. The stench of stale piss permeated the air, along with a slight smell of other BO. As she scanned the room for the source of the smell a groan from one of the infirmary beds caught her attention.

"Lucy?" Mira came over to the bed, wide-eyed, and undid the straps that were holding the blonde mage down. "What happened?" She almost had to hold her breath to keep from vomiting at the strong stench of stale urine.

"Erza and Gajeel got mad at me when they found out about the potion," Lucy groaned, rubbing her arms.

"Potion?" Mira looked at the blonde, confused. This was the first she'd heard of a potion.

Lucy had a deer in the headlights look as she responded, "Oh. I guess they didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?" Mirajane felt her knees growing weaker. Was it possible that everything that happened yesterday was just an illusion? An illusion brought on by some stupid scheme of the blonde mage?

"Oh…" Lucy looked down ashamedly. "Well, I gave Natsu a potion the other day to make him fall in love with me, but it didn't work the way I thought it would. But I'm actually kind of glad, cause the potion had some side effects I didn't know about… Well, until later when we saw Porlyusica."

"What kind of side effects?" Mira demanded, suddenly grabbing the blonde and pulling her toward her angrily.

"Well, the potion would make him fall in love with whoever he's looking at when he drinks it," Lucy said, confirming Mirajane's fears. "But apparently it only lasts for so long."

"How-how long?" Mira stuttered, feeling tears beginning to form in the back of her eyes.

"Until you have sex for the first time," Lucy said a little sadly. "Then his attitude will totally change. To the point where eventually he won't even want to look at you anymore."

"No…" Mira gasped, backing away from the blonde, who just shook her head ruefully.

"I'm sorry Mira," she said. "If I'd known that from the start I never would've used that potion…"

Mira couldn't believe it. She'd loved last night so much! And it had all been a lie. Every minute of it, the effect of some stupid potion. And now really having the man she dreamed of would be forever beyond her reach. Even worse, he would end up hating her. The comfort she derived from her friendship with the dragon slayer would no longer be there.

Her first instinct was to turn and take her wrath out on the blonde who was responsible for it all, but she apparently made a hasty exit, since she was nowhere to be seen at the moment.

With that immediate outlet for her rage gone, Mira felt all the strength leave her body as she collapsed to the floor in tears. It was all an illusion. Her dragon had never really been hers, and now she could cling to the illusion for a short while only to have him hate her later.

Fortunately she had at least an hour until the rest of the guild arrived. An hour to compose herself after the worst heartbreak of her life. An hour to figure out how to act indifferent to the dragon slayer who still held her heart.

~~~~~~An hour later~~~~~~

The door flew open with a bang, and Erza couldn't help smiling as everyone's favorite dragon slayer came rushing in.

"Yo Natsu, fight me!" Gray said, jumping up with his fists at the ready.

"Not now Gray," Natsu said, holding a bouquet of white roses. "I've got to talk to Mira." With that the dragon slayer headed up to the bar, roses in hand.

"Mira!" He called out, a huge smile on his face. "Look what I got for you!"

"I'm sorry Natsu," Mira said quietly. "But I can't accept those."

Erza nearly choked on her cheesecake in shock. What was Mirajane saying?! She'd obviously been so happy last night when the dragon slayer asked her out!

Natsu frowned, still trying to give the roses to Mira. "Why not Mira? I thought we were—"

"We were nothing, Natsu." Mira cut him off, staring hard at the bar top. "I just had nothing better to do yesterday. That's all."

"But you said you wanted to do it again," Natsu protested, becoming visibly upset.

"That was last night. This is now." Mira said, her baby blue eyes focused solidly on the spot on the bar she still hadn't stopped cleaning.

"Don't give me that bullshit," Natsu snapped, slamming the roses down on the bar. "You were happy last night. I can tell the difference between your fake smile and your real one. What happened Mira?"

"I just don't love you," Mira said in a monotone, still staring at the bar. "I'm sorry Natsu."

"Mira…"

Elfman moved up to the bar and pushed Natsu back. "Hassling my sister is not a man," he said.

"I'm not hassling her!" Natsu protested as he pushed back up to the bar. "I'm just trying to talk to her!"

"She clearly doesn't want to talk to you," Elfman replied, moving to punch Natsu.

His punch was suddenly intercepted by an iron fist, much to Erza's surprise. Gajeel glared at the take over mage. "Let me handle this Elfman," he said.

Elfman stared at him for a moment, then slowly backed down, standing a short distance away by the bar.

Gajeel turned to Natsu. "Look Salamander, I think something's weird too, but you're not going to get anywhere like this. Maybe the best thing to do is just leave it alone for a while and let Mira figure it out herself. I'm sure everything will work out alright." He looked at Mira as he said the last part, and Erza stared at the take-over mage as well.

"But…" Natsu started to protest, then looked at Mira and sighed. "I guess you're right. Come on Happy, we're going on a job." With that he headed up to the job request board and grabbed the first job his eyes came across.

"Aye sir!" Happy called out, rushing to join him as he headed out of the guild.

Erza waited till they were gone before going up to the bar, then slipping around behind it. She grabbed Mira and pulled her to the wine cellar.

"What was that?" She hissed, glaring at her.

"You should know," The silver-white haired girl responded. "Lucy told me all about the potion."

Erza sighed, realizing that Mira must now believe that Natsu only asked her out because of the potion. "Mira, you know that potion wouldn't have done anything if he didn't love you in the first place, right?"

"Lucy told me all about the potion," Mira said quietly. "I know exactly what it does now. And that's exactly why I can't be with him."

Erza sighed, exasperated. "What about the consequences Mira?" She asked, looking her straight in her baby blue eyes. "What about what it will do to Natsu?"

"The consequences are exactly why I can't keep up this relationship!" Mira growled. "You of all people should know that. Or do you think I'm some kind of cheap whore?!"

"I don't know why you're doing this, Mira," Erza said quietly. "But please reconsider your actions. Natsu's my friend, and I don't want to see him unhappy."

"So what – you'd rather see me unhappy?!" Mira almost shouted, confusing Erza more. "I'm not going through with this Erza. And that's final! Now I need to go home."

With that she brushed past Erza, leaving the knight confused and feeling helpless. She was so sure that Mira loved the dragon slayer. How did it turn around like this so suddenly? And how could the girl be so callous about Natsu's fate?

Erza sighed as she headed back up to join the rest of the guild, hoping against hope that she would find a way to restore the happiness of her two closest friends.

~~~~~~Three days later~~~~~~

Three days had passed since the incident, and neither Natsu nor Mira had been seen back at the guild. Elfman said that Mira was just staying in her room most of the time, coming out only to eat. Nobody knew if Natsu was even back from his job request yet. In fact, since he had forgotten to turn it in, nobody even knew how long his request was supposed to be.

Lucy had returned to the guild, though she was a little cold toward Erza and Gajeel. Erza sighed. She supposed after they accidentally left her in the infirmary overnight she couldn't blame her too much. But she needed to get to the bottom of what was happening with Mira before things got too bad with Natsu. So she headed over to her table, sitting down across from her.

"What does the great Titania want with me today?" Lucy said, an edge to her voice.

"I'm not looking for a fight," Erza said with a sigh. "I just want to figure out a way to help Mira and Natsu be happy again."

"Heh. Looks like Natsu chose poorly," Lucy said, looking away disinterestedly.

"I understand that you're upset because Natsu didn't choose you," Erza said. "But you know what that potion can do to him if Mira continues to reject him."

"Yeah, and he deserves it." Lucy said with a shrug. "If he'd just chosen me like he was supposed to none of this would've happened."

"How can you be so cold?" Erza asked, feeling the anger rising within her. "Even if he's not in love with you, he's still one of your best friends in the guild."

"Was!" Lucy corrected her somewhat vehemently. "He was one of my best friends until he took my heart and trampled all over it. Well, if I can't have him, I sure as hell am not going to help him get with anyone else!"

Erza wanted to reach over and slap the girl hard with her gauntleted hand. She wanted to beat the shit out of her till she got some sense knocked back into her. This was Natsu's life they were talking about. There was no "best case scenario" between murderer, rapist, and dead. And here Lucy was willing to abandon him to any or all of these – just because he hadn't chosen her over Mira?

Before her temper got the better of her, Erza got up and hurried away from the table, moving instead to sit down by Gajeel. At least he would be more sympathetic to her.

"I don't understand it," she said quietly. "Did you think Mira was faking it on that date?"

"No chance," Gajeel muttered back. "She was faking it the next morning though. Any idiot could see it took every ounce of self control she had just to keep that attitude toward Natsu."

"But why?!" Erza asked, frustrated. "Why would she want Natsu to suffer like this?"

"I don't know," Gajeel replied quietly. "Did something happen on the date that she's not telling us? Maybe something she regretted later?"

"I don't know. It's hard to imagine something like that happening on the first date…" Erza said quietly.

"Whatever happened, we've got to figure out how to fix it or Salamander's gonna' be in a shitload of trouble," Gajeel replied in a whisper.

Despite the gravity of the situation Erza couldn't help a small smirk. "Aaww, I didn't know you cared," she said.

"Fuck you!"

~~~~~~A week later~~~~~~

The doors to the guild burst open, and Erza perked up as she raised her head, waiting to see the pink-haired dragon slayer make his dramatic entrance.

But instead of Natsu, a small blue blur came rushing in, hitting her at full speed almost hard enough to knock her off her feet.

"Erza!" Happy sounded frantic, and she saw that there were tears in his eyes. "You've got to do something!"

"Whoa – calm down… What's wrong, Happy?" Erza asked.

"It's Natsu," The exceed cried. "He hasn't eaten anything since we went on that quest. It's been over a week since he's had food, and he barely drinks anything at all. If he keeps going like this… He… He could die!"

Erza frowned as she remembered the side effects of the potion. Could it be that they were taking effect this quickly? Perhaps accelerated because of the apparent acceptance before the rejection?

Either way, Happy was right. Something had to be done! But… she knew she couldn't do anything by going to Natsu. No. There was only one way she could solve this.

Moments later she was knocking on Mirajane's door. When nobody answered she opened it, finding it unlocked, and came into the house. From there it wasn't hard to find Mira's room. It was the only one with a black door with the name "Mira" written in what looked like flaming letters on the outside. She knocked on that door, louder than the first one.

"I already told you I'm not going to the guild today Elfman!" Mira's voice sounded tired and a little annoyed.

"I'm not asking you to," Erza said. "I just want you to open up.

"Erza?!" The tone was shocked. "What are you doing here? I don't really want to talk to anyone right now."

Erza wasn't about to take any more of this. She broke down the door and rushed into the room, grabbing the white haired girl by the collar.

"What's wrong with you Mirajane?!" She growled, staring at her friend's shadowed blue eyes and drawn face. "If it really hurts this much to be away from Natsu, why are you so damn stubborn?!"

"You should know more than anyone Erza!" She shouted back, not cringing away from Erza's verbal assault. "I can't be with him this way! Not knowing what's going to happen if we keep going?!"

"What's more important is what will happen if you don't!" Erza yelled, furious that Mira was being so cold hearted. She never would've believed it if she weren't seeing it right now.

"Oh, and what's that?!" Mira yelled. "Natsu will be sad for a while?!"

Erza stepped away from her, taken aback. "I thought you knew all about the side effects."

"Of course I do! Like I said, Lucy told me all about the side effects! What does that have to do with what happens if we're not together?!"

Suddenly everything clicked for Erza. Why would Mirajane want Natsu to be miserable? Why would she want to hurt him that way? She wouldn't. But maybe…

"Mira," she said, her tone gentler. "What did Lucy tell you about the potion's side effects?"

"You know…" Mira said, her defenses beginning to break at the less aggressive tone. "She told me how it would make him fall for me… but… when our relationship moves to the point of sex… He'll… He'll hate me after that…" Her composure vanished instantly as she collapsed into sobs. "That's why I could never live this way…"

Erza pushed her anger to the side, knowing it was more important to deal with her friend right now. "Mira," she said quietly. "Those aren't the consequences…"

"W-what did you say?..." Mira asked, raising her head a little bit.

"Lucy lied to you," Erza said, and she could feel the shadow her bangs were casting over her eyes as she spoke. "The potion doesn't work that way. The potion only gave him courage to express his love for a girl he already loved. The side effects were potentially bad, but not in the way Lucy told you."

"Then what?—"

"If the girl Natsu loved were to reject him, according to Porlyusica, he would either lose all interest in everything – including life – and literally not eat till he starved to death, he would take her as his own by force – in other words, become a rapist – or drive every man in her life away from her and eventually kill her so no one else could have her."

Mira's face became white as a sheet. "You mean?..."

Erza sighed quietly. "Mira, Natsu's at his little hut right now. Happy came rushing into the guild asking us to help because he hasn't eaten in over a week. I don't know how much longer he has, but he's obviously pretty far along into the process already."

"No!" Mira cried, rising up from the floor. "This is all my fault! I'm so sorry Natsu!" She rushed quickly out the door, not even sparing Erza another glance. Erza watched as she departed, then set off at a slightly slower pace herself, having a different target in mind. She would find the scheming cow who nearly got Natsu killed, and when she did there would be hell to pay.

~~~~~~At the Guild Hall~~~~~~

Lucy suddenly felt a strong compulsion to leave Magnolia for an indefinite amount of time. Without saying a word to the others, she quickly got up and slipped out the doors, heading for the train station as fast as she could move.

~~~~~~A short time later~~~~~~

Gray looked up with a huge grin when the doors flew open, expecting to see Natsu come charging through asking for a fight.

What he saw instead caused him to shrink back a little into his seat, nervous at this sudden turn of events. Erza Scarlet came through the door, her hand on the hilt of her sword. "Where is she?"

"Where is who Erza?" Gray asked.

"Lucy!" Erza growled, scanning the guild for her blonde target. "Where's Lucy?"

"Umm… I feel like she was just here not that long ago," Gray said, looking at the table where he was sure he'd just seen Lucy 15-20 minutes before. "Maybe she took a job?"

"By herself? Unlikely," Erza scoffed.

"Hey Erza," Gajeel said from a few tables behind Gray. "Did you get things figured out with Mira?"

"Oh, I got them figured out," Erza said, removing her hand from the hilt of her sword. "It appears some fat cow lied to her about the potion's side effects to convince her to break up with Natsu."

"Shit," Gajeel cursed. "If I'd known that I would've stopped her. I noticed her sneaking out the door about 15 minutes ago, and she looked like she was in a hurry."

Erza scowled. "10 minutes is more than enough time to get to the train station, and there was a train that left 5 minutes ago…"

"She could be anywhere by now," Gajeel agreed.

Erza sighed, making her way over to the table. "Somebody start breaking the rules now!" She yelled. "I must vent my frustration on somebody!"

Elfman took that unfortunate moment to show Nab what it meant to punch like a man, sending the wizard flying across the room right into the angry Titania's table.

After Nab was punished, Elfman spent the next 10 minutes showing Nab how to take a punishment like a man. At least, if your man takes his punishment curled up in a ball on the floor begging for his punisher to stop beating him. Gray almost felt sorry for the poor bastard. Almost.

With her frustration alleviated for the moment, Erza returned to sit by Gray and Gajeel. By now Gray was desperate to find out what happened, but when Erza and Gajeel explained it to him he almost wished he didn't know.

"I never would've thought she of all people would do that to Natsu," he said, shaking his head quietly.

"People will do some crazy things when they think they're in love…" Erza said quietly. "But that doesn't excuse it. Natsu could have died."

"Well, it sounds like Mira's gonna' fix everything, right?" Gray said hopefully.

"That's not a sure thing," Gajeel said soberly. "There's a good chance, but after this much time it's possible that the hurt and betrayal has set in so deep that Natsu won't even believe she loves him anymore…"

"We can only hope that's not the case," Erza said, staring quietly at the bar where Natsu had recently been hanging out the most.

~~~~~~Natsu's hut~~~~~~

As Natsu's eyes slowly opened, the first thing he noticed was the smell of food wafting across the room. He had to admit, the food smelled pretty good too. Happy's attempts to get him to eat were getting better. Too bad the cat hadn't learned to cook like this when he still cared…

He also noticed another smell in the room, and shut his eyes tightly. He didn't know why, but the other scent reminded him of her. When she accepted the date he asked her on, he thought he would never get enough of that intoxicating scent. Now he only wished it weren't there. It increased the pain in his chest a hundred fold.

"Natsu, please eat something…" He froze. It was her voice. He wished he could just pretend to be asleep, but he knew by the tone that she'd seen him move. She knew he was awake.

"What are you doing here Mira?" He asked, trying as hard as he could to force a cheerful tone into the words.

"I'm here because I made a mistake," Mira replied, and he scrunched further into his bed to avoid being overwhelmed by her intoxicating scent.

"Yeah… I got that." Natsu answered, remembering her reaction when he'd come in with the roses the day after their date. "You made it pretty clear that day at the guild."

"No, Natsu!" Mirajane's voice began breaking. "That day was the mistake… I never should have rejected you like that Natsu. I didn't want to…"

Natsu didn't answer, except to turn away as she started coming around. She was just here because Happy had run off and told her about his refusal to eat. As soon as she got food in him she would be gone, just like before.

"Natsu…" She sounded like she was on the verge of tears, but Natsu wasn't about to be won over. He already knew what it felt like to have your heart ripped out just when you thought everything was the way it was supposed to be. It wasn't happening again. He would rather just lay here until he had no more strength…

Suddenly a weight settled on the bed behind him, and he felt large, soft mounds press against him as a pair of slender arms encircled his chest. He felt her scoot up till her slender frame pressed firmly against him, hot tears trickling down her cheeks and onto his neck where she buried her face.

"What are you doing Mira?" He asked with a sigh. He didn't have the strength to fight her, and he guessed she probably knew it.

"I'm trying to help you…" She whispered through her tears. "I'm so sorry Natsu. I don't know how I can make you believe me when I tell you that I love you, but I do. I love you, Natsu Dragneel. I want you… no, I need you by my side."

"You say that now," Natsu whispered into his pillow, his own hot tears dripping slowly down his cheeks. "But what will you say tomorrow?" He really wanted to believe what he was hearing. With all his heart he desperately yearned to know that she loved him. But how could he know? Right now he still didn't know which Mira was the real one. The one here – the one who had such a great time with him on their date, or the one that showed up at the guild the next morning.

"I know you have no reason to trust me after that Natsu," her voice startled him. It was breaking and higher than usual. "I know I betrayed you once already, and I'm sorry. I can never make it up to you, but I'm begging you to give me another chance. I know I don't deserve it after what I did, but please… If you have even a little bit of love for me, let me be yours again…"

Natsu sighed, shutting his eyes tightly. Right now he didn't know what to do. Of course he still loved her. He wouldn't be in this position if he didn't. But that didn't mean he could be sure she was being honest, no matter how sincere she sounded. He groaned, rubbing his temple with one hand. Thinking never had been his strong suit.

Finally he turned back toward Mira, his eyes still reflecting the hurt he was feeling, but also the hope that he allowed back to his heart. "I… I guess I can give this another chance," he said quietly. "Should we plan another date?"

"Of course!" Mirajane sobbed, burying her face in his chest as she clung to him like she would never let go. The couple lay like that for several long minutes, till a loud rumble from Natsu's stomach interrupted the moment. It started low, then increased in volume till it was almost as loud as his snoring, then decreased in volume again and fizzled out.

Natsu looked a little embarrassed, but for the first time since she arrived A small smile formed on Mira's lips. Then she started giggling. Then laughing. Natsu got caught up in the laughter and started laughing as well, and soon both were laying on the bed, gasping for breath as their laughter finally subsided.

"Dear Kami, my emotions are going haywire." Mira said as she wiped the remainder of the tears from her face, sobering up from her laughing fit. "Let me get you some food…"

"Thanks Mira," Natsu mumbled as he also came down from the sudden emotional high. There weren't very many words spoken after that. There was some eating. Lots of tears. Lots of confessions, and lots of cuddling. And by the time Mira left for the night, Natsu was feeling a lot less depressed and a lot more hopeful about their future.

And by the time he fell asleep, he was actually looking forward to their date.

So there it is. Read and review as always