Understanding My Heart

Chapter 4

Natsu's POV

He was still sitting by the riverbank hours later. Romeo had left for home about an hour ago, exhausted but feeling good due to Natsu's praise. The dragonslayer had been impressed with how much his young friend had improved, and had enjoyed tasting the new fire that Romeo had been working on.

He had created a white flame condensed into crescent shapes that sliced like blades, which he fired at his opponents. His ultimate goal was to be able to control the flames to the point where he could change their direction in midair. It would take time, but the training was going well and Natsu had high hopes for this technique. He had particularly liked the taste of these flames. They tasted like warm vanilla, what he imagined Lucy tasted like... His eyes darkened at the memory. He kept going over and over his conversation with Romeo, struggling to process what he had said and heard.

{Flashback}

"Natsu-nii?"

Natsu shook his head and turned to his young friend. Romeo was watching the man with a look of concern on his face. It was rare to see the dragonslayer so lost in thought.

"Sorry Romeo... What were you saying?" said Natsu, rubbing his hands over his face and sighing. He had completely missed the next sentence after Romeo said he thought that Natsu loved Lucy.

"It's alright. I was asking if you think that you love Lucy," said they young boy, sitting down next to his confused friend.

"I... I'm really not sure..." said Natsu, staring down at his hands. He had never really thought much about his feelings for Lucy, other than the fact that he found her physically attractive. It had seemed like such a silly thing to think about since they were teammates. "We're teammates after all... Wouldn't it be...weird...if I had feelings like that for her?" The younger mage shook his head, smiling slightly.

"Have you forgotten about Bisca and Alzack? They were teammates for a long time and now they're married and have a child together," he said. Natsu had completely forgotten about that. It had become difficult to remember the times before the gun mages had been married, what with everyone preoccupied with doting on their daughter Asuka.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," said the pink haired man. "But I'm still not entirely sure if it's love that I'm feeling for her. I don't even really know exactly what love is." Romeo nodded in understanding.

"Maybe you should think about it more. You know, read a little about love," he said. Natsu pulled a sour face at the word 'read', and Romeo laughed. "It won't kill you to gain a little knowledge. It may help you with what you're feeling." Natsu grunted, loath to admit that Romeo's idea had actually been a good one. "Why don't you ask Levy? She's got tons of books and I'm sure that she'd be able to help you out! You might even want to tell her what you told me, what with her being Lucy's best friend and all."

"You really think that Levy would keep something like that a secret from Lucy? Don't girls tell each other everything?!" exclaimed Natsu, a look of disbelief on his face. Romeo laughed yet again at his older friend.

"I'm sure that she'll understand if you explain your situation," he said. He placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder comfortingly. Natsu smiled slightly at the gesture, appreciative of his young friends support. "I really think you need to work this out Natsu-nii," said the boy, his face taking on a sad expression. "Love is important. It can hurt if it goes wrong. I saw that happen with mom and dad..." Natsu felt a surge of pity for his young friend. His parents had divorced and he knew that it had been hard on the boy. He ruffled Romeo's hair.

"Yeah I guess you're right. It wouldn't hurt to talk to Levy," the man said, rising to his feet. "But first lets train, we didn't come out here just to talk about my issues!"