Natsu laid in the shade of a tree, arms propped behind his head, as he stared up at the puffy white clouds floating by. His mouth was a thin line, and his eyes were set in a flat glare as he continued to watch listlessly. He was all by himself, which was a rarity for the Dragon Slayer, but right now he was just in one of those moods.
           He didnât want others seeing something they shouldnât.
           âNatsuuu!â
           ⊠But of course, life seemed to think that would be asking for too much, soâŠ
           âWhat now, Happy?â Natsu grumbled sourly, eyes still glaring up at the clouds.
           The blue cat floated in his field of vision, though, so the Dragon Slayer knew initial plans for the day were probably going to go out the window. Or at least his little buddy would be trying his darnedest to throw a wrench in themâŠ
           âWhatcha doinâ out here?! Letâs go do somethinâ!â
           So carefree. Natsu wish it could be one of those days, tooâŠ
           âI donât feel like it.â The pink-head grunted, turning on his side, away from Happy. At least he could still glare at the clouds from this angle.
           But of course Happy wasnât going to let that go, and floated into his field of vision again.
           âLetâs go on a job, Natsu! We can even take S-Class ones now!â Of course Master wasnât gonna bar anyone from Team Natsu taking those now, with or without Erza. Beating Zeref, Acnologia, and their rival continent would earn that kind of respect.
           ⊠S-ClassâŠ
           âI said I donât feel like it!â Natsu rolled to the opposite side, once again facing away from the Exceed. In response, Happy merely landed on the grass behind him and looked at Natsu in confusion and concern.
           âIs it about earlierâŠ? Erza left already, Natsu! She wonât kick your butt again for wrecking her cake!â
           Natsu twitched. Not that Happy could see it.
           â⊠Itâs not about earlier.â The Dragon Slayer grunted again. ⊠Though it was about Erza.
           Happy frowned as he plodded on over and tugged on Natsuâs scarf in concern. That was supposed to be a joke? ⊠Well, maybe not a ha-ha funny one, since Erzaâs butt-kickings hurt⊠But her being away should have at least brought some relief?
           âHeyâŠ? Whatâs really wrong? Jobs always make you feel better!â
           âNot alwaysâŠâ Natsu unconvincingly argued. Knowing he needed to follow up, he waved his hand airily. âAnyway, you wanna go so bad, why donât you take Lucy, or go with Charle and Wendy? I bet theyâre bored, too!â
           Anything to get the cat to steer clear of him for the day. Heâd probably manage to muster up his usual energy tomorrow, or some semblance of it. Would it be lying to everyone if it was a mask that he woreâŠ? Well, a little white lie was better than opening up a can of worms. Besides, this was his problem. No one elseâs.
           The Dragon Slayer was a bit relieved when the Exceed flew away shortly after that. Happy could be stubborn like him, so he didnât know what else he could have said to make his buddy go away. Itâs not that he didnât appreciate Happyâs attempts at cheering him up⊠There just wasnât anything to be said by this point, not anything that would cheer him up, anyway.
           ⊠Apparently, he had underestimated his friendâs tenacity, however. A long while after heâd gone back to glaring at the clouds moodily, someone else entered his field of vision. A woman in a blue skirt and white blouse with silky red hair.
           âHappy said youâd be out hereâŠâ The scarlet knight murmured, looking down at the Dragon Slayer with a hand on her hip.
           Natsuâs right eye twitched and his gaze dulled.
           âThank you sooo much, HappyâŠâ
           Erza sighed when he didnât say anything, and she opted to sit next to him cross-legged. With anyone else, she mightâve done so half-turned away from them so that they wouldnât see up her skirt⊠But this was Natsu, and she was comfortable around Natsu. âComfortableâ being a pretty massive understatement. Lazily, she picked at some blades of grass and dropped it over Natsuâs face, to his ire.
           âWhatâs wrong?â The scarlet knight asked soothingly. Natsu made an inaudible noise and blew away some blades of grass that drifted too close to his mouth.
           âNothinâ.â He grunted, when she kept piling grass on top of him. His arms were splayed out lazily on either side of him.
           âNatsu. You can open up to me about anything.â Erza lightly chided him. And while the Dragon Slayer would agree in most cases, this one was different. ⊠And in this case, she was totally being unfair.
           âDonât you got somewhere to be?â He eventually settled on, scrunching up his nose distastefully. Sheâd been talking about this day for a while.
           âI was thinking about it.â Erza confessed easily enough. She stopped burying him in grass for now. She smiled ruefully. âWhy? Were you wanting to come with?â
           â⊠Not really.â He deadpanned.
           She had thought not. Lightly sighing, she leaned pack and propped herself up with palms on the ground, admiring the clouds as they drifted by. After a while, she spoke up again.
           âYouâve been distant lately.â Such a casual remark for a not-so-casual observationâŠ
           âBeen⊠busy.â The Dragon Slayer settled on carefully. Very carefully.
           âBusy brooding?â Erza questioned with a wry smile. Natsu twitched again, but didnât deny it.
           Sheâd always been perceptive like that.
           âJust seemed like you needed space.â Natsu grunted. She quirked an eyebrow at the comment; she knew he was pretty perceptive, too. But what was he sulky about?
           Her lips quirked up into a relaxed smile as she closed her eyes, appreciating the gentle breeze.
           âI donât need space from you. You know I like being close like this.â Or at least he should have had an inkling.
           âI donât think you need to get all prissy.â Natsu suddenly blurted out, seemingly changing the topic. He cursed himself for letting that get out.
           Erza looked down at him curiously.
           â⊠Thatâs what this is about?â She murmured softly.
           Knowing there wasnât any turning back, Natsu exhaled exasperatedly.
           âYouâre always changing yourself for⊠him. Brushinâ your hair everyday like that, you donât do that for any of us. Youâre waitinâ on him, and wanting to look prissy for⊠him.â He didnât like it. But itâs not like it was his place to say. âYou stop beinâ⊠you, around him.â
           Erza frowned thoughtfully as she considered his words. From anyone else, she mightâve considered those as jealous feelings and overprotectiveness⊠But Natsu was always different to her. They shared a bond that couldnât completely be put into words.
           Softly, she raked her fingers through his hair. He didnât stop her.
           âWell⊠maybe I am a little nostalgic.â She conceded. She smiled warmly down at him. âBut you always manage to pull me back somehow⊠Me being sentimental wonât stop you, will it?â
           â⊠NoâŠâ He grumbled sourly. Always seemed like he got the short end of the stick.
           ⊠But then again, she had snapped him out of it when he and Gray were duking it out. Maybe he owed it to her.
           Erza ruffled his hair fondly.
           âI feel like going for a dip the hotsprings. Care to join me?â She asked a little demurely. Natsu blinked at the sudden invitation.
           â⊠Didnât you have somewhere to be?â
           âI always have options for where I can be on a given day.â Erza smiled softly again. âIâm right where I need to be. Anywhere else would feel too far away from you.â
           ⊠Well, he didnât disagree.
           âSpace, intimacy⊠make up your mind, woman!â Natsu groaned in faux exasperation. Heâd given up resisting, though, that much Erza could tell.
           âIntimacy. Every time.â She answered without hesitation.
