Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā 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.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā He didnāt want others seeing something they shouldnāt.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āNatsuuu!ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā ā¦ But of course, life seemed to think that would be asking for too much, soā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWhat now, Happy?ā Natsu grumbled sourly, eyes still glaring up at the clouds.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā 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 themā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWhatcha doinā out here?! Letās go do somethinā!ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā So carefree. Natsu wish it could be one of those days, tooā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI donāt feel like it.ā The pink-head grunted, turning on his side, away from Happy. At least he could still glare at the clouds from this angle.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā But of course Happy wasnāt going to let that go, and floated into his field of vision again.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āLetās go on a job, Natsu! We can even take S-Class ones now!ā Of course Master wasnāt 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.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā ā¦ S-Classā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI said I donāt feel like it!ā 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.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIs it about earlierā¦? Erza left already, Natsu! She wonāt kick your butt again for wrecking her cake!ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Natsu twitched. Not that Happy could see it.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āā¦ Itās not about earlier.ā The Dragon Slayer grunted again. ā¦ Though it was about Erza.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Happy frowned as he plodded on over and tugged on Natsuās scarf in concern. That was supposed to be a joke? ā¦ Well, maybe not a ha-ha funny one, since Erzaās butt-kickings hurtā¦ But her being away should have at least brought some relief?
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āHeyā¦? Whatās really wrong? Jobs always make you feel better!ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āNot alwaysā¦ā Natsu unconvincingly argued. Knowing he needed to follow up, he waved his hand airily. āAnyway, you wanna go so bad, why donāt you take Lucy, or go with Charle and Wendy? I bet theyāre bored, too!ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Anything to get the cat to steer clear of him for the day. Heād 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 woreā¦? Well, a little white lie was better than opening up a can of worms. Besides, this was his problem. No one elseās.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The Dragon Slayer was a bit relieved when the Exceed flew away shortly after that. Happy could be stubborn like him, so he didnāt know what else he could have said to make his buddy go away. Itās not that he didnāt appreciate Happyās attempts at cheering him upā¦ There just wasnāt anything to be said by this point, not anything that would cheer him up, anyway.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā ā¦ Apparently, he had underestimated his friendās tenacity, however. A long while after heād 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.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āHappy said youād be out hereā¦ā The scarlet knight murmured, looking down at the Dragon Slayer with a hand on her hip.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Natsuās right eye twitched and his gaze dulled.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThank you sooo much, Happyā¦ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Erza sighed when he didnāt say anything, and she opted to sit next to him cross-legged. With anyone else, she mightāve done so half-turned away from them so that they wouldnāt see up her skirtā¦ But this was Natsu, and she was comfortable around Natsu. āComfortableā being a pretty massive understatement. Lazily, she picked at some blades of grass and dropped it over Natsuās face, to his ire.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWhatās wrong?ā The scarlet knight asked soothingly. Natsu made an inaudible noise and blew away some blades of grass that drifted too close to his mouth.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āNothinā.ā He grunted, when she kept piling grass on top of him. His arms were splayed out lazily on either side of him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āNatsu. You can open up to me about anything.ā Erza lightly chided him. And while the Dragon Slayer would agree in most cases, this one was different. ā¦ And in this case, she was totally being unfair.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āDonāt you got somewhere to be?ā He eventually settled on, scrunching up his nose distastefully. Sheād been talking about this day for a while.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI was thinking about it.ā Erza confessed easily enough. She stopped burying him in grass for now. She smiled ruefully. āWhy? Were you wanting to come with?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āā¦ Not really.ā He deadpanned.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā 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.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYouāve been distant lately.ā Such a casual remark for a not-so-casual observationā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āBeenā¦ busy.ā The Dragon Slayer settled on carefully. Very carefully.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āBusy brooding?ā Erza questioned with a wry smile. Natsu twitched again, but didnāt deny it.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Sheād always been perceptive like that.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āJust seemed like you needed space.ā Natsu grunted. She quirked an eyebrow at the comment; she knew he was pretty perceptive, too. But what was he sulky about?
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Her lips quirked up into a relaxed smile as she closed her eyes, appreciating the gentle breeze.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI donāt need space from you. You know I like being close like this.ā Or at least he should have had an inkling.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI donāt think you need to get all prissy.ā Natsu suddenly blurted out, seemingly changing the topic. He cursed himself for letting that get out.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Erza looked down at him curiously.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āā¦ Thatās what this is about?ā She murmured softly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Knowing there wasnāt any turning back, Natsu exhaled exasperatedly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYouāre always changing yourself forā¦ him. Brushinā your hair everyday like that, you donāt do that for any of us. Youāre waitinā on him, and wanting to look prissy forā¦ him.ā He didnāt like it. But itās not like it was his place to say. āYou stop beināā¦ you, around him.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Erza frowned thoughtfully as she considered his words. From anyone else, she mightāve considered those as jealous feelings and overprotectivenessā¦ But Natsu was always different to her. They shared a bond that couldnāt completely be put into words.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Softly, she raked her fingers through his hair. He didnāt stop her.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWellā¦ maybe I am a little nostalgic.ā She conceded. She smiled warmly down at him. āBut you always manage to pull me back somehowā¦ Me being sentimental wonāt stop you, will it?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āā¦ Noā¦ā He grumbled sourly. Always seemed like he got the short end of the stick.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā ā¦ But then again, she had snapped him out of it when he and Gray were duking it out. Maybe he owed it to her.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Erza ruffled his hair fondly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI feel like going for a dip the hotsprings. Care to join me?ā She asked a little demurely. Natsu blinked at the sudden invitation.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āā¦ Didnāt you have somewhere to be?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI always have options for where I can be on a given day.ā Erza smiled softly again. āIām right where I need to be. Anywhere else would feel too far away from you.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā ā¦ Well, he didnāt disagree.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āSpace, intimacyā¦ make up your mind, woman!ā Natsu groaned in faux exasperation. Heād given up resisting, though, that much Erza could tell.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIntimacy. Every time.ā She answered without hesitation.
