Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or anything associated with it. This fan fiction is based completely off the work of Mashima, Hiro and it is to him that I give all credit. You're the best!

A/N: I have this story posted on a different website but I wanted to see how it did here. Please leave a comment if you like it or leave some constructive criticism if you don't.

A/N 2: This is an updated version of this chapter after I reread it. I have realized that I don't need to proofread my stuff at 1 A.M.

This takes place just after the Grand Magic Games.

His Reason To Smile

It was just like any other day in the Fairy Tail Guild Hall. Mirajane was busy wiping down the counter of the bar. Nab was looking over the job board but not actually taking any of them. Macao and Wakaba were sitting together, talking about the long past days of their youth when they were more handsome and lively. And Makarov, poor Makarov, was busy doing paperwork and trying to figure out how one guild could be so destructive.

"Natsu!" yelled the guild's master as he jumped down from the second floor and landed on the table in front of where the pinked haired dragon slayer was currently wolfing down a meal. "I thought your last job was to find a lost cat. Why is it that I am now having to write an apology letter to the mayor of Magnolia after the damage you caused to the park?!"

"Huh?" Natsu said as he swallowed down what he currently had in his mouth. Thinking back, he tried to remember a job that involved a cat. Finally he seemed to have some notion which one the guild Master was talking about "Oh yeah! I remember that one. I think." He added as if he wasn't too sure. If he remembered right it was a mission that Happy had been specifically requested for and Natsu went along because he wasn't letting his best bud go all by himself.

He shoved that uncertainty to the side quickly though and said "I don't see the big deal though Gramps. I got the little guy back to his owner safe and sound." Natsu said giving a big Grin.

Gray, who was sitting not that far away from Natsu, just shook his head as he overheard his teammate's clearly oblivious words "The 'big deal' is that you burnt down half the park in the process. If Juvia hadn't have been passing by, who knows what would have happened." He exclaimed a bit annoyed that he had to point out something like that. Juvia, who was as always nearby when it came to her beloved Gray, could barely contain her excitement. Her Gray had noticed her! Already she was day dreaming about how he would propose to her over her heroic deeds at the park.

"Hey it wasn't my fault! Happy was being chased around by a bunch of bees. I had to do something!" Natsu said defensively. Nearby Happy, who was at the same table and munching on a fish, shivered as he remembered what happened on that mission. It had been horrible.

"It's totally your fault! There are other ways to get rid of bee's without lighting them on fire!" Gray shouted.

"Oh yeah! Well I liked MY way. You got a problem with it Frostbite!?" Natsu yelled back as he rose to his feet and jumped out onto the floor.

Gray stood up as well, the two with their foreheads now pressed together, clearly about to get into another of their infamous fights. "Hell yeah I got a problem with it. Can't you do anything without destroying something Hot Head!"

"Ice freak!"

"Ash-for-brains!"

"You want to get your ass kicked! I'll do it right now!"

"Bring it on! You couldn't beat me in 100 years!"

And with that the fight ensued.

Makarov just shook his head as he turned around and let a sigh of defeat "Why do I even bother trying to get an answer. Just write the damned apology and be done with it." He told himself as he headed back to his office.

Just as the last insult was being thrown between the fire and ice mages, Lucy Heartfilia came through the doors of the guild. She wasn't at all surprised to see Gray and Natsu fighting. Walking up to the bar she asked the eldest Strauss sibling "Do I even want to know what they are fighting about this time?"

To that Mirajane just have her sweet smile and said "Oh you know those two. They are always fight over something."

Erza walked up, dressed in her normal chest armor, skirt, and metal gloves. Leaning back against the counter she crossed her arms and said "They are having a disagreement over the way Natsu did his last job. Personally, I have to agree with Gray… Natsu could have gotten rid of the bee's without using fire."

"Oh is that what happened to the park?" Lucy said "I mean I knew when I saw all the burnt up trees it was most likely Natsu but I didn't know it was because of some bees…" Lucy said as she glanced back over the fight. Thinking about the fact that he fire dragon slayer scorched half a park just to get rid of some bees… How typically Natsu. She couldn't help but smile.

After a few minutes the fight ended but only because Erza went over to stop it when they smashed one of the tables to pieces. She really didn't want to have to rebuild the guild hall. Again.

"He started it!" Natsu said before crossing his arms and looking away only to have his eyes fall on Lucy. "Heya, Luce! When did you get here?" he said as he jogged over to her and sat down. "Did you want to go out on a job today. I saw a few earlier that would be perfect for us!" he said with a great deal of excitement in his voice. He mostly wanted to go out on a job before another person-specific-job-request came in. They had been getting lots of them since the Grand Magic Games.

Back across the guild, Gray, who sat down across from Juvia, looked over toward them and shook his head "It doesn't matter what's going on, that Flame Brain will always find his way over to Lucy." He said with a smirk. Juvia looked from him then over to the trio and wondered if one day she might be as close to Gray as Lucy was to Natsu.

Nearby a similar conversation was taking place between Macao and Wakaba "Do you think Natsu's ever going to realize he loves her?" the purple fire mage asked.

"One day. But not in our lifetime." Wakaba replied.

"Oh yeah?" Came the voice of Cana from the table over. She was sitting cross legged on top of the table with her keg next to her "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Huh? What do you mean by that Cana?" Macao asked with both his and Wakaba's interest piqued.

"Well…" she said with a mischievous grin before holding up her fortune cards "According to these things, it's sooner than you might think. It's obvious how much they like each other so I did a reading. Love is definitely in their future."

"Huh. Well what do you know. Maybe there is hope for Natsu after all." Wakaba said with a laugh.

Despite being so far away, Natsu heard all of the conversation.. Just like he'd heard Lucy at the Grand Magic Games when Asuka was in danger. It was his dragon hearing. However, their words didn't bother him. In fact, hearing Cana say her cards predicted love for the two of them made his smile grow even more. Because the truth was he liked Lucy. More than just as a friend.

It had taken him a while to figure it out. They had been friends ever since they first met in Hargeon Town (Though anyone who fed him was immediately his friend). He hadn't been sure what to think of her and how much she had talked. He hadn't realized he would see her again but as fate would have it was on the boat when he went to teach Bora a lesson. That was the first time he rescued Lucy. He had no idea then just how important she would become to him.

It wasn't until Tenrou Island and the fight with Kain that he realized what she meant to him. Yeah, he'd been worried for her when he thought she was trapped in Edolas, but he had been worried about the entire guild. But with Kain… the way he had his pasty fingers around her head, squeezing it… he had been scared. There was a rage that filled him, different than when Fairy Tail or his friends were in danger.

He had been confused about that feeling for a while. Up until the ordeal with the Infinity Clock. Once again he felt that fear of losing Lucy. He felt the anger that someone had put her in that situation. He felt a desperation to save her. He would never give up where she was concerned. So long as he could he would always protect her. It was when she was safe and in his arms that he was able to smile… well technically when she landed it had been on top of him but it didn't matter. She was safe. That was all that mattered. He knew in that moment Lucy was different. Special.

During the Grand Magic Games, he further realized this when Minerva nearly killed Lucy. Just thinking about that fight got him riled up. Watching helplessly from the stands while Minerva brutally beat her even though all she had to do was push Lucy out of the water. Fire burned in him at the memory of seeing all those bruises on Lucy's body. His right fist clenched up and jaw tensed. He had wanted to pay back those bruises with burns. He had wanted to show Minerva and all of Sabertooth that they had made one hell of a mistake. If it hadn't been for Erza, he would have.

Lucy had grown quiet, noticing her friend's tense body language. "You okay Natsu?" she asked eyeing his clenched fist. Looking over at her visibly relaxed. "Yeah. Just… thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself." Happy said a bit too sincerely for such a comment but Natsu just ignored it. He forced himself to push away his thoughts before he worried Lucy. That was the last thing he wanted. He never wanted any of his friends to worry, least of all her.

Lucy and Happy started taking again, Happy telling her the story about their job at the park. Natsu listened and interjected here and there, though for the most part let Happy tell it. The rest of the time he watched Lucy. Watched her lips and how they curved into the smile he so adored. He was glad he finally admitted to himself he had feelings for her. The death of Future Lucy and made it all clear. He never wanted to lose her. He couldn't lose her. The pain he felt watching her die was something he never wanted to feel again. She was more than a friend to him. Far more. He just couldn't bring himself to act on his feelings. He didn't want things to change. He liked everything how it was. He liked him and Lucy being a team. Going on missions together. What if they did develop a relationship with one another? He couldn't see him treating her any different than he did now but what if he did. What if she started to act different around him? He liked her how she was now. She was his Lucy. He didn't want her to change.

Not to mention he didn't know how Lucy would feel about it. He knew from what he could hear around the guild that Lucy might like him. But he also knew Lucy. She could be as stubborn as he was he didn't know is if she had realized any feelings she might have. Hell he had no idea if when she did realize them if she wouldn't just flat out deny them. It seemed like something she would do. Just that thought made him grin. But if that was the case then admitting his feelings to her might freak her out. He didn't want to push her away. Losing her would kill him.

His eyes glanced over his two best friends though he focused mostly on the blond. He loved everything about Lucy. How she looked, how she sounded, how she smelled. He loved her devotion to her friends and the guild. Loved her conviction. He loved how strong she was even though she didn't see it. He loved her passion. Loved her smile. He… loved her.

"Umm… Natsu?" he heard her say. That voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Looking at her he was delighted to see a smile "What are you smiling about?" she asked with a light hearted tone to her voice. "Huh?" he asked not actually realizing how much he had been grinning like he did. He answered back quickly though "What isn't there to smile about?" he asked which only got Lucy to smile just as brightly with him. So long as he had that in his life, he'd always find a reason to smile.