Natsu POV

"Oi, Happy," Natsu lifted his head up from the wooden table, "have you noticed Lucy acting weird lately?"

Happy looked up from the fish he had been about to bite into. He pondered the question seriously, before answering cheerfully.

"Aye, but Lucy's always weird."

Natsu shook his head.

"That's true, but she's been weirder than usual."

Happy put a paw on his chin, thinking.

"How?" he asked, his tone shifting from upbeat to thoughtful.

Natsu shrugged.

"She doesn't have time for jobs anymore, she doesn't eat with us anymore, she started locking her window, and she doesn't have time to hang out with us," he listed off.

Happy hummed.

"Maybe she's avoiding us?"

Natsu blinked.

"Why?" He seemed slightly bewildered, the thought never occurring to him.

The little blue cat shrugged, mimicking his best friends earlier movement.

"I don't know. Maybe she's constipated and she doesn't want us to know."

Natsu frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

It really was strange. Maybe his blonde partner was really avoiding them. The thought itself brought a wave of irritation and a flash of hurt. As he thought back on the past week, memories of Lucy making excuses to leave the room whenever he entered and Lucy saying she didn't have time to go on a job drifted into his thoughts. The more he thought about it, the more it got on his nerves. Natsu's chest ached with an unfamiliar longing. He missed the celestial wizard.

Not that missing her made him any less pissed.

A familiar sweet scent made Natsu sit up straight, his irritation moving to the back of his mind, and a grin stretched across his face.

He turned to the guild doors, waving wildly.

"Yo, Lucy!" he shouted from across the guild.

Happy quickly swallowed a mouthful of fish.

"Hi, Lucy," he called, almost as enthusiastically as his best friend.

The blonde glanced over at them, a tiny smile appearing on her lips. But for the most part, she barely looked at them. She didn't look too happy to see them, more like she had hoped they weren't there. At least she waved, slightly, before heading over to the bar.

Natsu's smile dropped off his face, a frustrated frown working its way onto his face.

"See, Happy? Normally she would come over and talk to us. Maybe you're right about her avoiding us," a growl worked its way out of his chest.

The little blue cat remained silent, opting instead to watch his best friend. The dragon-slayer sat slouched with his arms crossed, his eyebrows furrowed, and his sharp eyes narrowed. He looked like a child pouting after he didn't get what he wanted for his birthday.

Natsu huffed. His onyx eyes stayed glued to the celestial wizards back. She was talking to Levy, Juvia, and Mirajane. She didn't give him or Happy anymore attention.

Feeling his earlier irritation returning, and possibly loneliness, Natsu stood up. He started to make his way towards the blonde. Without a word, Happy followed, all of his fish gone.

Natsu was so absorbed in his mission to get to Lucy that he didn't notice the person in front of him until he bumped into them.

"Oi, watch it, Flame Brain!"

"You watch it, Ice Princess!" Natsu snapped back immediately, a conditioned response.

Gray scowled.

"You wanna go, Match Sticks?"

Natsu opened his mouth, a fiery retort on the tip of his tongue, before he shook his to clear his head. He was on a mission.

"Not right now, Stripper," he said distractedly, his eyes already drifting back to Lucy.

Gray blinked, surprised.

He watched Natsu head off for the bar. As Happy floated pass, he spoke up.

"What's up with him?"

The little blue cat continued to fly after Natsu.

"He's gonna talk to Lucy," was all he said.

Natsu weaved through the crowd of the guild. When he was twenty feet away from the bar, his sensitive ears picked out Lucy's voice from all the usual noise.

"-een any jobs I can go on by myself? I'm a little low on rent this month."

When Natsu heard that, he felt his irritation rise.

"Why don't you go on one with Natsu and Happy? Lately, it's like you you've been avoiding them, Lu-chan."

And when Levy voiced Natsu's thoughts, his irritation jumped to a whole new level.

He stopped behind Lucy and watched as she tensed up. She knew he was there. She probably knew it was him because she felt his body heat, which was rolling off him in waves.

"Good morning, Natsu," Mirajane greeted with a gentle smile.

Natsu didn't even hear her. His attention was solely fixed on the celestial wizard.

"Oi. Lucy," Natsu grounded out.

The blonde slowly turned in her seat, a nervous expression spreading across her face.

Natsu looked down at her, a scowl etched onto his face. Happy flew past him, landing on the bar counter.

"Are you constipated?"

Silence.

Lucy's face went from nervous to shocked. Whatever she thought he was going to say, that certainly wasn't it.

"Wha-constipated?!" She squeaked.

Her face flushed and her scowl rivaled Natsu's.

"No! Why would you even ask that?!" she shouted.

Natsu growled.

"Then why have you been avoiding me and Happy? Did we do something to you?"

Lucy went rigid, her blush leaving as fast as it came, and she went pale. Her brown eyes slid off of Natsu and went off to the side.

"No, you didn't do anything to me," she mumbled.

Her hands went to the edge of her skirt, which stopped about mid-thigh, where they nervously played with the fabric.

Natsu's keen eyes took in the movement and he took a moment to study the celestial wizard.

She was drawn in on herself, her back hunched and her eyes not on him.

Without thinking, Natsu reached out and grabbed Lucy by the chin. He forced her to face him. He didn't say anything, just studied her. Her cheeks went bright red and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly before their gazes met. A growl started to build up in Natsu's chest. He let go of the flustered blonde.

"How much?" He asked, just barely keeping his tone empty of his anger.

Lucy blinked.

"What?"

Natsu snorted.

"How much rent money do you need?"

Lucy's eyes widen before they quickly narrowed.

"Natsu, I don't need you to-" she didn't get to finish.

The dragon-slayer spun on his heel and marched towards the request board.

Lucy went silent, her eyebrows beginning to furrow, both in agitation and nerves.

"Lu-chan, it's a good opportunity to make up," Levy said encouragingly.

"Lucy-san, Natsu-san appears upset," Juvia commented, her own eyebrows furrowed in worry.

Lucy sighed.

"He just misses Lucy," Happy spoke up from the counter.

Three pairs of eyes turned to him. He munched on the fish he had pulled out of his green pack, looking back at them innocently.

"Mirajane."

The trio of girls jumped in surprise as Natsu's voice came from behind them.

"Me, Lucy, and Happy'll go on this job."

He reached past Lucy to hand a piece of paper to the white-haired bar tender.

Mirajane studied the paper and smiled.

"Have a safe trip," she said.

Natsu grabbed Lucy's wrist before she could react and dragged her to the guild doors.

"N-Natsu, wait! I can do this on my own!" Lucy stuttered. Even though she said that, she didn't try to pull away. And since she didn't, Natsu continued to drag her.

"Natsu!" Was the final protest the guild members heard before the guild doors shut behind the pair.

The guild was quiet, for a change, each member trying to guess what just happened.

Happy sighed.

"He could have at least waited until I finished eating my fish."

...

Lucy POV

"Get packed and ready to go," Natsu ordered as he stopped in front of her apartment.

Lucy frowned.

"Natsu," she hissed, "I told you I can do a job by myself."

Natsu didn't respond, just put his hands on his hips. His onyx eyes smoldered as he stared into Lucy's, and she had to look away. His gaze was too intense.

A sigh worked its way out of her lips and she gave up. Natsu wasn't going to give. Besides, she felt a little guilty.

"Fine," she said, defeated.

The dragon-slayer nodded, satisfied the celestial wizard had caved.

"When you're done, wait in front of your apartment," he said. "I'll be back soon."

With that, he headed off.

Lucy watched his back as he left. When he disappeared into the distance, she headed into her apartment.

She opened her door and entered her room. As she walked to her dresser, her thoughts began to swirl.

It wasn't Natsu's fault that she had been avoiding him. Really. It was her fault. If she hadn't had done what she did a week ago, she wouldn't be in this mess. Just remembering made her face burn.

"I can do this," she muttered to herself. "I can do this."

She started to softly chant as she packed a bag.

Once she finished, she went and waited outside like Natsu told her too.

Not really thinking, Lucy lightly held her gate keys. She was slowly turning into a bundle of nerves. She hoped that Natsu would hurry up. Just thinking about spending time with the dragon-slayer made her heart beat faster. A bad feeling settled over the celestial wizard. She was definitely going to run into some trouble on the trip. With the way she was and the way Natsu was acting, the whole trip would most likely be a disaster.

"I wish I hadn't have done that," Lucy mumbled, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Done what?"

Lucy let out a small scream. Happy flinched.

"Woah, Lucy, you scared me!" He shouted.

Lucy scowled, flailing her arms.

"I scared you?! You nearly gave me a heart attack, stupid cat!"

She grasped at her chest.

Happy just shrugged.

"So, what do you wish you didn't do?"

Lucy's breath froze in her lungs and it felt like time stopped. Immediately, her face went bright red.

"Nothing! I-It's nothing!" she stuttered.

Happy looked at her dubiously.

"Really?"

Lucy turned away from the little blue cats prying eyes. He was surprisingly observant sometimes.

"Lucy, Happy!"

Both of their gazes went to the fast approaching form of Natsu. He had a bag slung over his shoulder and a smaller bag in his hand.

He stopped once he was in front of them. His eyes first gazed at Lucy for a long moment, before looking at Happy with a warm expression.

"Hey, little buddy," Natsu smiled.

He held out the bag in his hand.

"I brought you some fish."

Happy's eyes widened and teared up a little.

"Natsu!"

He flung himself at the dragon-slayer, hugging his best friend for about two seconds before pouncing on the bag of fish.

Lucy nearly rolled her eyes at the blue cats actions, but her gaze was drawn back to the pink haired wizard. He stood staring at her, his brows furrowed and his lips drawn into a tight line. She quickly looked away from him, feeling both guilty and nervous.

"What's the job?" She asked, looking at the canal water.

Natsu pulled out a piece of paper from his bag and held it out to her. The celestial wizard hesitantly reached out and took the request form.

When she saw the job, she put a hand to her chin.

"Protect a little girl from kidnappers? It says her parents received a threatening letter regarding their daughter, ordering the family to not attend a peace summit."

Lucy caught sight of the reward and her eyes nearly bulged out of her head.

"80,000 jewels?! I said I was a 'little' short on rent!" she exclaimed.

Natsu crossed his arms and huffed.

"You wouldn't tell me how much you needed," he sulked.

Lucy stared at him, her shock slowly melting away as she took in the dragon slayers expression. He was pouting. Like a child. Lucy couldn't help the giggle that burst from her lips.

Natsu blinked and looked at her with a scowl.

"What's so funny?" he barked.

Lucy shook her head at the disgruntled dragon slayer.

"Nothing. Let's go, Natsu," she said.

She started walking in the direction of the train station, feeling as though maybe the trip might not be as bad as she thought.

Alrighty then. Hello, hello readers of my fanfiction. I feel like I should always say something at the end of my fanfiction, even though I tend to ignore these types of things when I read fanfictions on my own. I know, I know. What a hypocrit. But fear not, readers! Most everyone is. Anyway, please review after reading, whether good or bad. Honest opinions are my sustenance. You wouldn't want me to starve, would you?