Come With Me

Natsu stood in stunned silence as he and Erza stood on the balcony overlooking Magnolia. He still couldn't quite grasp what Erza had asked him. She wanted to take a break from the guild, but that wasn't the odd part no, the part that puzzled him was the fact that she wanted him to join her.

"Well do you want to come with me or not?" Erza asked again slightly irritated as she tried to hide her blushing cheeks. Erza's heart was racing, she didn't know how long she would be absent from the guild, but she knew that she wanted Natsu with her. She knew if she didn't ask she would have thought of him the whole time she was gone.

The silence between the two grew, both of them feeling more than a little awkward. Natsu hadn't left the guild since joining, so he was a bit conflicted; but for some reason he found that if he was with Erza, it wouldn't be that bad. He thought to himself and smiled wide, his white teeth shining in the sunlight.

"Yeah, sure."

Erza's face lit up, as she turned away from Natsu, she couldn't believe that he agreed. Her heart skipped a beat. She smiled wide, trying her best to hide it so Natsu wouldn't find out. She then collected herself and turned to face him again. She cleared her throat so that she could speak clearly.

"Well, that's good." She couldn't help but allow a small smile to appear on her face as she talked.

"Where are we going?"

"I recently purchased a small cottage on the outskirts of a small town to the west called Auron. It's not much, but it is next to a lake and should be big enough for the both of us."

"Can we bring food?" Natsu asked happily.

Erza giggled at his one track mind. "Yes, Natsu you can bring food."

"Yes! When do we leave?"

"I have to clear it with Master Makarov first, but I'm sure we will be able to leave later on today."

"Alright." Natsu smiled at Erza as he walked back into the guild hall. "I'll go tell everyone."

Erza suddenly grabbed his arm, she was blushing. "No…that's not necessary. I can tell them."

Natsu looked at her confused, "Uh, ok then. Well I'm still going downstairs to talk to everyone, could you let go of my arm now?"

Erza looked down and let go of Natsu's arm she fixed herself hurriedly. "Sorry." She watched Natsu walk back into the guild hall. When he was back inside, Erza turned around and leaned on the railing on the edge of the balcony and once again looked out at Magnolia. She then shifted her gaze to the left of the balcony before looking out at the town again.

"You know it's impolite to eavesdrop Master."

Suddenly Master Makarov appeared, he was sitting on the railing.

"Well to be honest my dear I was here before you and Natsu came."

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough. Are you sure this is what you want Erza? You know you still have to…"

"Yes master I know."

"Well what will you do when you two cross paths again? Will you be able to make a choice?"

Erza looked at the town with a sullen look on her face as her master's words sunk themselves into her mind. She knew exactly what he was talking about…Jellal. She hadn't forgot him, she never could; he was her 1st love, and she would always feel something for him. Those days in the Tower of Heaven wouldn't have been bearable without him and the others. Even after the battle at the Tower she still couldn't let him go, but by this point those feelings of longing were replaced by a flame, a flame of passion and drive; a flame that continued to burn bright, that flame was Natsu.

"Yes, I think I will; but I will cross that bridge when I come to it."

Master Makarov hopped off of the railing onto the balcony. "Okay, then as long as you're sure about this; I wish you luck, and remember be patient with Natsu, he's not the brightest bulb when it comes to these sorts of things."

Erza smiled softly, "I know and thank you Master."

Makarov waved his hand behind him as he walked back into the guild hall. Leaving Erza alone with her thoughts.

*Jellal.*

…

Natsu made his way back downstairs and made his way to the bar. He sat down at a stool and had a rather confused look on his face. Mirajane, noticing his dilemma walked over to him.

"Something wrong Natsu?" She asked smiling at him.

"Actually, Mira can I ask you something?"

"Yea sure what is it?"

Natsu looked around at the rest of the guild. "Can we go somewhere less crowded? I don't want everyone to know."

"Oh, okay sure." She moved from behind the bar and Natsu followed her to a room in the back of the guild hall. They entered and she closed the door behind them, making sure no one followed them before she locked the door. Natsu sat on the small bed in the room as Mira sat in a chair across from him.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"It's Erza, she said she was leaving the guild for a bit…and she wants me to go with her."

Mira's eyes opened in surprise, "She does?"

Natsu nodded silently, "Yeah."

"Wow she moves faster than I thought." Mira said under her breath.

'What?"

"Oh it's nothing." She said nervously laughing.

They sat in silence for few moment before Natsu spoke again. "Am I doing the right thing Mira?" He asked looking up at her, desperate for an answer. His face fraught with conflicting feelings.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just, I feel something…I don't know, warm when I'm around Erza; but I feel weird because the last person I felt this way with was…"

"Lisanna." Mira finished his thought for him.

"Yeah, I mean I want to go with Erza, but I feel as if it wouldn't be right by Lisanna."

"Natsu, you and Lisanna share something that could never be taken away. You were each other's 1st love, and you can't just forget something like that. However, Edolas changed Lisanna, she's more independent now. She still loves you, but even she's noticed the bond you and Erza formed when she returned, and she doesn't want to interfere with that." She smiled at him. "So if you ask me, I think you should go with Erza. I think in your heart that's what you really want."

Natsu placed his hand on his chest as Mira's words rolled around in his mind. *My…heart*. He then thought of the promise he & Erza made to each other and smiled. He looked back up at Mira, "Thanks Mira."

She smiled back at him, "No problem." They both got up and exited the room, heading back to the main are where the others were. They smiled at each other one last time before going their separate ways. Mirajane heading back to the bar and Natsu heading to the table where Gray, Lucy, & Happy sat. He sat down across from Gray and looked at Happy, smiling at his friend.

"Natsu, what's wrong? You're freaking me out." Happy said with a frightened look.

"Happy, I'm going to be gone for a little while, and I don't know when I'm coming back. So I want you to stay with Lisanna until I come back alright?" He patted the confused cat's head.

"But where are you going?" Lucy asked, catching a hint of their conversation.

"I'm leaving somewhere with Erza."

Gray almost fell out of his chair in surprise, "What!"

"Keep your voice down streaker, I'm not supposed to tell anyone."

"Where are you two going Natsu?" Lucy asked mischievously.

"I don't know for sure, but we'll be gone for a while."

Happy started to tear up, "Nooo! Natsu, take me with you!" the cat exclaimed bawling his little eyes out.

Smiled at his cat softly and shook his head. "Sorry buddy, you can't come with me. Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." He reassured his partner.

"When did you two decide this?" Gray asked still heavily confused.

"About an hour or so ago."

"Well…good luck, we'll hold down the fort until you two come back."

Lucy silently nodded in agreement a smile on her face.

Happy reluctantly accepted Natsu's decision and dried his tears.

Natsu patted him on the head one more time and rose from his seat as he saw Erza coming down the stairs. They smiled at one another and met at the base of the stairs. "Are you ready to go?" Erza asked him smiling. "Yeah." He answered nodding at her.

They made their way to the entrance as Happy flew over to Lisanna, his face still red from his tears. "Aww Happy what's wrong." Lisanna said in her soothing voice as the cat flew into her arms. "Natsu's leaving without meeee." He started crying again. "He's leaving somewhere with Erza."

Lisanna stroked the cats head, calming him down as she looked towards doorway, Natsu & Erza just walking out of the guild hall together. Despite her own feelings on the matter, she smiled softly; she was happy that Natsu had found someone that made him smile like she once did. "Don't worry Happy. He'll be back."

…

After gathering their things from their respective houses, Natsu & Erza made their way towards Auron.

"So why did you get a place so far outta town Erza?" Natsu inquired as they continued on their path.

"I just thought it would be nice to have a place away from the city." She looked back at Natsu who was barely keeping up, "Hurry up Natsu, if we move faster we can make it there before night fall."

Natsu was close to passing out, they had been walking for hours with no break; and he still hadn't fully healed from the job in Lumina. *How is Erza still going?* *She was injured worse than I was.* He wondered as he continued to labor forward. They hadn't taken a break since leaving Magnolia, and it was finally beginning to catch up with him. He ran out of adrenaline and collapsed on the ground, passing out from fatigue.

When he opened his eyes a few hours later, he was lying in a comfortable bed inside a small but cozy cottage. He looked to his right and saw Erza sitting in a chair near the bed. "I see you're finally awake." Erza said with a smirk on her face.

"What happened?" He asked her weakly, "You passed out just before we reached the field that separates Magnolia & Auron, so I had to carry you on my shoulder the rest of the way." She answered as she peeled an apple for him. She handed it to him as he sat up.

"Here, eat this. I'm going to go into to town and buy some food for dinner."

Natsu grabbed it from her and took a bite of it as he watched her walk out of the door. She stopped just before crossing the threshold, "Natsu?"

"Yea?" He answered, his mouth still full of apple.

"Thank you for coming with me."

Natsu smiled, "Don't worry about it I'm glad I did."

Erza blushed as she walked out of the door, closing it behind her.