Understanding My Heart

Chapter 2

Natsu's POV

He didn't know why Lucy's comments about his destructiveness had hurt but they had. He knew that she hadn't meant any harm by it, that she was just teasing, but for some reason he felt embarrassed and hurt. He was embarrassed because he didn't want Lucy to think of him as a destructive idiot, and it hurt t because he knew that his lack of self-control would sometimes cause her to lose rent money due to the damages he caused. He knew that it was sometimes hard for her to pay her rent and pay for all the other necessities that she needed. In the past when he'd gone overboard and they had had their reward reduced to pay for the damages, she would get upset and sometimes cry, making him feel awful. He had been trying hard in recent months to keep himself from causing unnecessary destruction in order to keep her happy. He wasn't sure exactly why he did it, but he liked to see her smile. She had a beautiful smile that seemed to light up the world, and caused everyone around her to smile in turn.

"-su-nii..."

Why was he always trying to make her smile? What was it about her that made him want to try his hardest to keep her from crying?

"Natsu-nii!"

He snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head to see Romeo looking at him curiously.

"Huh?"

"I was just saying that you look like something is bothering you Natsu-nii," said the younger mage. Natsu sighed. He wasn't sure if he should tell Romeo about his confusing thoughts but he didn't think that it would hurt if he did. The young mage was smart, he may even have his own opinion on the situation and could possibly help Natsu.

"I've just been feeling confused lately," said the dragonslayer, raising his arms and holding the back of his head and staring up at the sky. "I'm feeling all these weird emotions that I've never felt before and I don't know how to handle them." Romeo listened patiently as Natsu said this and waited for him to continue. They walked on a little further before the older mage spoke again.

"It started a few weeks ago...."

{Flashback}

I wonder if Lucy wants to go on a job today?

Natsu wandered the streets of Magnolia, making his lazy way towards the apartment of his best friend and teammate. He was alone, Happy had wanted to go find Carla and see if he could persuade her to accept his latest fish offering, so he had decided to pay Lucy a visit. He felt very relaxed as he walked along the busy streets, the smells of many delicious foods wafting through the air and the cries of small children playing in the streets reaching his ears. He liked the walk to Lucy's place. It took him through the town's markets, and he almost always made stops at his favorite stands to make purchases or simply to chat with the locals. They all knew the pink-haired man well, and they knew how he had protected them many times in the past. They appreciated all that he did for their town and because of this they forgave him when he occasionally burned down a building or destroyed something during the many fights that he had with his guildmates or with rival guilds.

Today however, Natsu merely waved at the vendors he passed. He was eager to get to Lucy's so that they could go on a mission together. He had started to enjoy being alone with her recently, and he was excited to get the day started. It only took him five more minutes to reach Lucy's apartment, and once he was there he lept up to her open window. She had realized that even if she locked it he and her other teammates always found their way into her apartment (thanks to the spare key that Mira was always willing to lend them), so she had recently begun to leave her window open.

Lucy wasn't in her room when he stepped down from the windowsill. He could hear the sounds of running water coming from her bathroom and he reasoned that she must be taking a shower. A faint blush tinged his cheeks when he thought of the busty blonde in the shower. That was a new feeling to him as well. Before Lucy had arrived at Fairy Tail he had never really thought about what a woman's naked body looked like. Sure he had bathed with the other members of his team when they were children, the memories of bathing with Gray and Erza still made him rather nauseous, but he had never really been bothered by nakedness. However, after Lucy had joined the guild and he had begun to hang out at her apartment, he began to be more aware of what a woman's body looked like. Not just any woman's body. Lucy's in particular.