A surprise for everyone! I haven't written a oneshot since my surprisingly successful Himedios pairing oneshot. Well, this time it's Nalu, and is kind of somewhat for Valentine's Day but I think it'll fit nicely into canon post-Grand Magic Games but, obviously, pre-Sun Village. Anyway, enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights belong to Hiro Mashima and Kodansha.

That Changed Summer

A Fairy Tail Fanfiction

Lucy Heartfilia was not stupid. In fact, out of all the members of Fairy Tail, she was probably the most observant member in the entire guild next to Levy. This meant that she noticed all the little changes that the Grand Magic Games, that July Seventh, had wrought on her guild (and others), even if no one else saw them.

For example, she noticed that Gray was avoiding Juvia far more often, and said water girl was probably redoubling her efforts to lavish her love on the stripping ice mage. She figured that it had something to do with the dragon attack, but neither was saying a word. Lucy had once caught Juvia crying, though, but she said nothing.

Erza was a lot happier, too. Happy had told her it was probably because she was going "kiss-kiss" with Jellal. Lucy just rolled her eyes at the blue cat and watched in amusement as Erza sent him flying through the guild roof. She couldn't deny the glow that Erza carried, however. It was an infectious spirit that pervaded the entire guild, particularly those who had stuck around in the wake of the Tenrou Island incident. Winning the Grand Magic Games had brought new life to the already boisterous guild.

More than that, Lucy noticed a significant change in the dragon slayers. It was no wonder why.

Most notably were Sting and Rogue from Sabertooth, as far as she could tell from the moments that they'd come by the guild hall to hang out. Sting, in particular, had shown the most change. Gone was the cocky asshole (Gajeel's words, not hers) that had laughed at Minerva's brutality in the Naval Battle. He had been replaced with a guy who had apologized to her profusely before getting into a brawl that, naturally, Natsu had started. Those two had become good friends, which meant that Lucy saw Sting more often than she would have ever thought. Rogue was different, too, though his change was far more subtle. He was always quiet, but now he seemed slightly more drawn in towards himself. There were also the apologetic smiles he flashed her; a constant reminder of what his future self had done.

The Fairy Tail dragon slayers had exhibited the least amount of change save for Wendy, who had become bolder and stronger. Wendy had gotten a reality shock when fighting Zirconis, and she was no longer the little girl Lucy had met all that time ago. Gajeel was still as coarse and foul mouthed as ever, but he was closer to Levy, even if he wouldn't admit it. Even Laxus was softer around the edges and Lucy occasionally saw him actually crack a smile (not those smirks he used to wear before).

All of the changes they'd had in their behavior made sense. In fact, the only change that somehow didn't make sense to Lucy…was Natsu's. Barring the fact that he went on a lot more jobs with Gray now, to his obvious displeasure, Natsu looked practically unchanged. Then there were those moments when his smile would drop for half a second or he'd start acting out more than usual. The most annoying part was when they went on jobs together, just them and Happy. It was one of these days that Lucy had had enough of it.

"What the heck, Natsu?" she screeched after Natsu had suddenly appeared behind her and blew the attacking bandit away. "I had that."

"I know that," he countered testily, his arms folded. "I just wanted to fight a little more."

"Seems like you guys are going to take a while, so I'm going to look for fish," Happy commented, flying away from the arguing duo. He'd started to know better than to taunt Lucy when she was angry.

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked, ignoring Happy's comment.

"It means what it means," Natsu retorted, his face displaying that he was getting more than a little miffed at Lucy. She didn't care. Natsu was acting strangely and she didn't like it. She preferred the blunt, straight-forward, and dependable Natsu. Not the Natsu that was acting so different lately. "I'm not the kind of guy to come up with some strange reason as a lie. I just wanted to fight."

"Why am I having a hard time believing that?" Lucy asked, her lips twisted into a rather unattractive scowl. Natsu probably thought so, too, because he attempted to change the subject.

"Aw, don't look like that. You look better when you smile, Lucy!" he told her with his own grin. She folded her arms and stared back at him.

"Don't change the subject!" she snapped. Natsu seemed to finally realize how serious she was, because he sat down on the ground, stopped grinning, and looked at her with intense eyes.

"I'm not changing the subject," he said quietly. It was so unlike him, Lucy wondered if Natsu had been replaced by someone else; someone…well, someone less Natsu-like. "There's just nothing to talk about."

Lucy sighed and sat on the ground next to him, fixing her skirt to make sure she wasn't showing anything. This was better; now her face was level with Natsu's and she could look him in the eyes directly. "Don't lie to me, Natsu. We're partners. I know you."

"Then, I don't want to talk about it," he answered. It was a defiant statement, completely contrasted by the near heartbroken and distraught look on his face. It nearly broke Lucy's heart.

Natsu Dragneel was like Lucy's rock through all the dangers and adventures they'd been on together. If she wanted to give up, he'd push them forward. If her courage failed, his didn't. He believed her, trusted her in a way that up until they'd met, no one but her mother had. In truth, Lucy could probably admit she was a little in love with him, given everything, but she wasn't quite so willing to admit it to him. Either way, seeing Natsu look so broken while he was looking at her, hurt her. She just wanted to find out why.

"Natsu…" she whispered as her hand reached out and grabbed his. "Come on, we're partners. You know you can tell me what's going on. I won't get mad or think differently of you…Goodness knows, your destruction tendencies don't even get me mad anymore."

"I'm fine, Lucy," he said, plastering the grin back on his face. He was shutting himself off to her again and Lucy didn't want that to happen. Her other hand reached forward now, the one with her guild mark on it.

"You are most definitely not fine. That's the fifth job you've blasted through an enemy that was attacking me before I even had the chance to do so myself," Lucy protested. By this point, Natsu was absentmindedly rubbing her guild mark. She found it very difficult to suppress the shivers running down her spine. "Why, Natsu?"

"I told you-"

"Don't lie, Natsu," she snapped again. "Not to me. Please." Natsu stopped rubbing her hand and just stared at her guild mark. It was almost like he was thinking about it, which was rare for Natsu.

"I remember, you know," he said, lifting her hand into the air, bathing it in the warm sunlight.

"Remember what?"

"When you got this," he said plainly. "I know I acted like I didn't care, but I remembered, and honestly, seeing your future self not have it…I…" Natsu's face was twisted in what looked like pain. He let go of Lucy's hand and it fell softly to her side as he stood. Lucy stood, too, hoping to prevent him from running away.

"Natsu, what's going on? Please, tell me!" It was almost like she was pleading. Natsu stopped and whipped around on his feet to grab her shoulders. Somehow, Lucy remembered, with a very intense blush, the seventh of July. Of her naked body against Natsu in that bell and the towel slipping off when he'd done this same action. No such action would be repeated this time, of course, but it still made the blood rush to her head.

"I'm not losing you, Lucy," he suddenly said. "I promise you that."

"Lose me? Why would you lose me?"

"It hurt…you know…seeing the future you die," he confessed, now letting go of her shoulders. "I think it almost broke my heart…as weird and cheesy as that sounds."

"It doesn't sound weird. I think I'd feel the same about you, honestly."

"All I know is that I'm going to protect you as much as I can, because I don't want to lose you." Lucy finally smiled. Now his actions were making sense: his overzealousness in battles, his intention of taking as many jobs as he could with her, all to protect her. She almost wanted to laugh at that, realizing how much her future self's death had affected him. It was charming, in a way.

"You're sweet, Natsu," she told him. He looked away from her, a new frown on his face, as well as…a blush? Lucy's smile widened for an instant. Seeing his fierce protectiveness ignited a strange courage inside her; a courage to do something that she had avoided when Asuka had asked her before. She cupped her hands around Natsu's face and turned it to her. Then she stood up a little more and crashed her lips against his own.

It was only a second, but Lucy was glad she'd done it, especially when she saw Natsu's dazed and confused expression. "Wha…?"

"Thank you for protecting me," she said to him with another smile. "Now, come on, we better find Happy before he eats all the fish in town."

"Yeah…I don't mind paying for property damage, but I already pay for half the fish in Magnolia," Natsu said jubilantly, as though the conversation was forgotten. It was probably for the best, Lucy thought. They didn't need a kiss or a romantic gesture to know they were the best and closest team in Fairy Tail. They just needed to be themselves, and always be there for the other, even if that other person changed. "Oh, and Lucy, you changed after the Games. I kind of like you better now!"

"Yeah, I like you better, too," she said. "Wait, what does that even mean?"

Natsu laughed boisterously and Lucy chased after him, both smiling with a glow that their newfound trust could give them.

Fín

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this little piece. I tried to craft something a little deeper with a more alternate interpretation of Natsu's character. I'm not sure how well I succeeded. But tell me what you think. What did I do well? Not do well? I'd love to know in a review, and always,

Dare to Be Silly,

Epicocity