Natsu was at home, alone. He was tuning his guitar. There was this tune which he couldn't get out of his head, he figured he should try playing it, because he thought it sounded pretty nice while he was humming it.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

"Hey! What's up?" asked a familiar voice.

"What the hell do you think, Gray?" Natsu replied while sighing, "I'm bored out of my mind!" he exclaimed.

Three weeks had passed since his fight with Gerard. Natsu was made to stay home, because he was suspended from school for a month by Makarov. When he heard that his friends made a fuss about it, he was both happy and irritated. He would've kicked their asses if Gildarts didn't tell them the real reason why he was grounded. Makarov wanted Natsu to rest, because his injuries might've caused severe damage to him if he was to move around. 'Idiotic worrywarts..'he thought as he remembered what happened, a smile on his face.

"It's that bad, huh..?" he said while quietly laughing.

"You try sitting at home for three whole frickin' weeks without being able to even go to the stupid convenience store!" Natsu pouted. Lucy would always go buy food for him for these past three weeks. Junk food like chips was a no-go for her, which made Natsu even more depressed.

"Okay okay, I get it, stop whining." he retorted.

"So?" Natsu asked.

"So what?"

"So what the hell do you want?" he asked again, annoyed.

"I was wondering whether or not to visit you with Lucy and Juvia," he answered, "and Erza." he added, Natsu could tell he had a weird smile on his face.

"You really should stop butting in into other people's relationships like that." Natsu said while rolling his eyes.

"Since when has this become a relationship?" Gray laughed.

"...Good point." Natsu sighed, "Fine, but how the hell are you going to get her to come?"

"Don't worry about it." Gray answered with a chuckle. Natsu was suspicious, but he didn't ask, more like he didn't want to know.

"When will you be here?"

"Around 5." his friend answered, "Make sure you hide your porn mags."

"Oh shut up." he pouted as he hung up.

Natsu threw his phone aside and tried remembering the tune he had in his head. He tried playing it, it sounded a bit off, but with enough practice he could get it down. He did, however, have trouble with the chords because of his shoulder. He couldn't move his left hand's pinky properly, which didn't help him hit the notes at all. 'This is gonna be annoying..'he thought with a sigh, but he wasn't about to give up.

Gray laughed as Natsu hung up. He always did like teasing him like that, because he knew that Natsu had a short temper.

"Juvia?" he turned to his girlfriend.

"Yes?" The blue haired girl smiled.

"We're going to Natsu's place this evening, you coming?" He didn't even ask Lucy, he knew she'd come anyway.

"Sure." she smirked.

"Great! Now.." he frowned, "How do we get Erza to come..?"

"Why are you trying so hard to get them together?" Juvia chuckled.

"Because a single Natsu is an annoying Natsu." he replied with a sigh. Juvia couldn't help but laugh.

"We could lie to her.." Lucy suggested.

"And face the consequences later? No thanks." Gray sweatdropped, "Wonder if we should just ask her.."

"Ask who?" Gray heard a familiar voice behind him, surprisingly, it was Erza.

"Oh! Erza.. we were just talking about you.." Gray muttered.

"What is it?" she asked, plainly.

Gray sighed, "Look, we're going to Natsu's place this evening, he's bored as hell and he could use the company. You want to come?" he asked.

Erza was surprised by this question, she was reluctant to accept at first, but then she remembered what had happened, 'I never did thank him for what he did though..'she thought.

"Hmm.. Okay." she replied, her blunt tone unchanged.

"errr..." Gray was taken aback by that fast yet easy reply, he thought he would have to beg her to come, "..We're going there at 5, do you know where he lives?" he asked, Erza shook her head, "Then I'll text you where we're meeting, and we can go to his place." he had an unsure smile on his face. Erza only nodded and stomped away.

"Well that was... easy." said Lucy, still unsure of what had happened.

"Yeah.." both Gray and Juvia replied.

It hit 5 PM on Natsu's clock. He was still playing with his guitar, the tune he started out with sounded a lot better now. It had a sad, yet inspiring feeling to it, the rhythm was slow, but slowly fastened towards the end.

He heard his doorbell ring: "Coming!" he shouted as he put his guitar down near his couch and went to get the door. He opened it to notice Gray's smug face when he saw what he held in his hands.

"Guitar Hero?" Natsu exclaimed.

"Yep." he answered with a smile. He had two small guitars with him which had five different color buttons on them. He showed himself in, not even asking Natsu if he could enter.

"Come in." Natsu invited the girls, and then he saw Erza, "Yo!" he greeted her with his signature grin, Erza couldn't help but blush.

"H-hey.." she muttered.

"Well what are you waiting for, come in!" he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her in, closing the door behind him.

Erza looked around once she entered, "Your house is quite big.." she muttered. It was a two-story house, the first floor was a connected living room and kitchen, Natsu liked the open space, the second floor had three rooms and a bathroom.

"Big?" Natsu was surprised, "You should see Lucy's mansion, that place is like a frickin' castle!" he said while putting up his hands trying to show how big it was, Erza couldn't help but chuckle, Natsu smiled.

"So.. how are you feeling?" Erza asked, hesitantly.

"Would be better if you'd at least messaged me once in a while." he pouted.

"Wha-.. I thought you needed to rest, so I didn't disturb you!" she defended herself.

Natsu put a hand on her shoulder, effectively making her blush even more: "You know if you'd call it would only make me feel better." he muttered, but she didn't hear him. Before she could ask, he continued: "And yeah, my left arm's a bit frozen up, but it's getting there. And the leg.. well it still hurts when I walk, but it's bearable." he smiled. Erza couldn't help but feel responsible for what happened.

"I'm sorry, Natsu.. It's all my-" but before she could continue, Natsu flicked her on the forehead. "Ow!" she exclaimed.

"It's not your fault, stop blaming yourself, idiot." he grinned. Erza was surprised how forgiving and kind this person was. He got shot, three times, when he was trying to protect her and he almost died in surgery. He got into that situation because of her, and he still forgave her without a second thought.

"Natsu..-"

"Oi! Natsu! Come help me set up the 360!" Gray yelled, interrupting Erza.

"Yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming, keep your shirt on." he said.

While Natsu was unpacking Gray's backpack, Gray looked through the games he took.

"Let's play something else then Guitar Hero first." he said

"TEKKEN!" he shouted, Juvia and Lucy shook their heads. "No." they replied.

"Naruto!" -No.

"DragonBall!" -No.

"Street Fighter?" -No.

"Mortal Kombat..?" -No.

Gray sighed as he looked through the rest of the games he had with him. He had The Sims 3with him, a game Juvia made him buy. The girls noticed the game and their eyes instantly lit up, but before they could say anything, Gray yelled: "HELL NO!", they frowned, disappointed.

"I guess that settles it, Guitar Hero time!" Natsu grinned.

As they had a lot of people with them, they decided to do a sort of tournament. They would play versus mode, the looser swaps with another person. Natsu and Lucy were first. Natsu was playing on Expert difficulty, while she was playing on the Normal one. Natsu beat her easily, "This is impossible!" she pouted. Then came Juvia's turn, she was beaten too. Then Gray swapped in.

"Alright! It's my turn now, you're going down!" he shouted, though Natsu didn't even reply, he was too wrapped up in the game to notice anything, he looked like a child waiting for the ice-cream man to come, a wild grin on his face. "Which song do you want? Gray asked.

"Nothing for me here by Dope!" Natsu said, enthusiastically. Gray nodded as he changed his difficulty to Expert and started the song.

How many times should I stop and believe in myself,
I don't believe much in anything.
I've seen enough of the pain and the shame and the blame,
It don't amount up to anything.

They were going at it equally.

Now I rewind back to a time,
Where I would do anything and pay any price.
And I need time 'cause I'm starting to think,
That the promises ain't worth the sacrifice.

Gray had missed a few notes by now, while Natsu was going full out 100 percent.

How many nights should I walk in my sleep?
And I dream of how much I wanna run away.
I've had enough of the stress and the mess,
I can't take anymore, I gotta get away.

'Ugh.. this is hard.' Gray exclaimed in his mind.

Now I know why I'm empty inside,
And I'm sure I've only got myself to blame.
And I don't try to view the lies,
It's just a waste of time, I'll never be the same.

The whole time Natsu was playing, he had a grin and a slight blush on his face. Erza thought it to be weird because to her knowledge he didn't like games that much. 'It must be the music..' she thought. It was. Natsu loved music. A lot.

And I can't go on, and I can't explain,
What everyone's going on, life's falling away.
And I can't rewind, and there's no escape.
It's been so long and I just don't feel the same.

And then the solo started. Gray was sweating as he tried hitting all the notes, he missed more than half, while Natsu missed only a few, this was easy for him.

There's nothing for me here.
There's nothing for me here,
I gave you my life and it's fading away.
There's nothing for me here,
I gave you my life just to fade away..

The song ended. Natsu had hit 98 percent of the notes, while Gray only had 76. "What was that about me going down?" Natsu triumphantly laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Gray pouted. "Erza - It's your turn now." he gave her the guitar.

"Wha- N-no.." she replied, "I don't know how to play.." she muttered.

"Come on, I'll teach you." He said as he made her sit near the TV. He sat behind and wrapped his hands around her, showing her what and when to press on the training mode. Erza was blushing, madly.

'Bold, Natsu.. Very bold.' Gray thought as he observed what was going on before him.

After a few minutes, Natsu got up and gave her the three game cases Gray had, Guitar Hero 3, 5 and 6.

"There's a song list on the back," he said, "pick which one you want." he smiled.

Erza looked through the cases. She knew a few of these bands, but one was sticking out the most. "This one," she said, "Savior." as she pointed at the name of the song on the Guitar Hero 6 case.

"Rise Against, huh?" Natsu grinned, "One of my favorite bands." he added.

As the song started, "Don't you want to change the difficulty?" Gray asked.

"No." she replied.

'Brave.' Gray thought, the scent of the imminent making fun of her was in the air. At least he thought so.

It kills me not to know this but I've all but just forgotten,
What the color of her eyes were and the scars or how she got them.
As the telling signs of age rain down a single tear is dropping,
Through the valleys of an aging face that this world has forgotten.

She was good, she had hit all of the notes, but so had Natsu. She was actually trying to compete with him.

There is no reconciliation that will put me in my place,
And there is no time like the present to drink these draining seconds.
But seldom do these words ring through when I'm constantly failing you,
Like walls that we just can't break through until we disappear,
So tell me now,

If this ain't love then how do we get out?
Because I don't know.
That's when she said I don't hate you boy,
I just want to save you while there's still something left to save.
That's when I told you I love you girl,
But I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have.

Gray's jaw dropped as he saw how good Erza was. 'What. The. HELL?'

One thousand miles away,
There's nothing left to say.
But so much left that I don't know.
We never had a choice,
This world is too much noise.
It takes me under,
It takes me under once again.

After a few more choruses the song ended. Natsu had 99 percent. Apparently, so did Erza. Gray, Lucy and Juvia were in awe.

"See? It isn't that hard. Gray just sucks." his grin made Erza blush.

"Oh shut up, matchstick." Gray retorted, they all shared a laugh.

About three hours later, everyone got tired of watching Erza and Natsu playing, they had been going at it ever since playing Savior, and they'd always get the same scores. Juvia and Lucy went to the store to buy Natsu some food, while Gray went home to get a game called Prototype, a game which he had been pestering Natsu about since when it came out. 'And that was back in '09..' Natsu sighed.

Erza was wandering around Natsu's home when she saw his guitar near the couch. She ran her fingers through it to see if it was tuned. 'Seems like he takes good care of it' she thought with a smile.

"Natsu!" she called.

"Yeah?" he turned to her, just to see her holding his guitar.

"Can you play this?" she asked.

"Can I?" he asked as he got up and walked up to her, taking the guitar, "Lemme show you." he smiled as he sat down on the couch, Erza sat down near him.

"Which song do you want me to play?"

"Any." she looked at him, curiously.

"Okay.." he replied while thinking, and then he got an idea. 'I'll play that new one!'

He slowly rubbed his palms together (what he always does before playing) and then checked the chords if they got out of tune, they hadn't. He then started playing that song. That song that was stuck in this head for all this time. Even though he had only tried playing it for a few hours, Natsu already knew how it should sound.

Erza was astonished. Her jaw dropped as she listened to how well Natsu was playing. He did make a few mistakes though, but that's because he couldn't control his left pinky properly, which got her down a bit, but her expression quickly changed while the song was fastening it's pace. She closed her eyes, a smile and a slight blush on her face as she slowly bobbed her head to the rhythm. She thought the song was beautiful, inspiring and calming. Just from listening, Erza could tell that Natsu was no amateur, his fingers were moving through the strings so freely, it was as if the guitar was an extension of himself. She thought that Natsu looked.. cool, while playing it. His eyes were closed, and he had this smile on his face, as if nothing else in the world mattered to him, as if there weren't any problems to face or that he had never gotten into that bloody incident which had gotten him stuck at home in the first place.

The song had finally ended, he slowly opened his eyes just to see a slightly blushing Erza, who was listening to the song that Natsu played. She looked tranquil, as if listening to his song had purged her of any and every problem she had. That made Natsu happy.

"How was it?" he wondered.

"Amazing." she said that one word, that one word which made Natsu smile again. "How long have you been playing for?" she asked.

"Hmm.. I've been playing since I was like.. what, five?"

"Wow, that young?" she was surprised.

"Yeah, my father taught me the chords." he smiled as he remembered that moment...

"...Natsu! Come down here." a man shouted, the man had spiky red hair, a face similar to the older Natsu.

"Yes, dad?" answered a boy who had pink hair while entering the room.

"You always did like listening to me playing this, " he held up the guitar with which Natsu had been playing ever since, "So I was wondering.. Maybe you'd like to learn to play yourself?" The man asked while smiling.

The kid's eyes lit up, a smile overtaking his face as he nodded.

The man laughed: "Alright, come here then." he said as he slowly lifted Natsu on his lap, his father put the guitar right in front of him. "So, if you want to play different sounds properly, you have to know the chords. Do you know what a chord is, Natsu?"

"Uh-uh" the son replied as he shook his head.

The father smiled as he was wondering how to simplify the explanation: "So a chord is when you put your fingers on this right here," he put Natsu's hand on the neck of the guitar, "and you place your fingers on the strings of which the chord consists of," he placed his fingers on the "A" chord, "Try seeing how it sounds."

Natsu moved his hand through the strings, it didn't sound like how it was supposed to. "Dad.. that sounded ugly." he frowned.

His father only laughed,:"You won't learn it in a day, kid. Learning to play a Guitar takes loads of time and practice. And your fingers will hurt like hell. But the rewards greatly outweigh the sacrificed time and effort." he said with a smile, "And you have the best teacher in the world with you." he smirked, making Natsu chuckle.

"Who taught dad to play the guitar?" Natsu wondered.

"Who taught me, eh.." he was lost in thoughts, "Your mother, June." he smiled.

"Oh.." Natsu frowned.

"Oi! Don't look so gloomy, your mother would've loved it if you learnt to play it." he said as he patted his head.

"Really..?" Natsu looked up at his father's eyes.

"Yeah, really." he said, "Now look, try playing the "A" chord again, but this time, don't grip it so hard...

...And a year later I could already play. I couldn't reach my dad's level though." Natsu smiled.

'His father sounds like a really nice person..' She thought. She was jealous of such a parent, because she never knew her father.

"Where's your father now? Isn't he going to come back soon?" Erza asked.

Natsu sighed, his expression changed to a frown, "My old man.." he started, "He left when I was seven." he said. Erza was shocked.

"What happened? Do you know where he is?" she asked as she got closer to Natsu, making him sweatdrop and feel uncomfortable.

"Errr.. n-no.." he replied as he slowly moved away, Erza was still closing in on him, "But I'm trying to find him, though.."

"Can I help?" she continued.

"No, Erza, you can't. I'm sorry, but I've given up on him. He hasn't written or shown himself or anything like that for over ten years now. Why should I find him now?" he said, his expression saddening, "Anyway, I'm gonna go get some water." he added as he stood up, put his guitar on the couch and slowly walked towards the kitchen.

Erza looked at him as he slowly got up, passing her. She always thought that Natsu was a fun, happy person. He was, but he had his own issues. She noticed the glint of sadness in his eyes, she realized, that Natsu wasn't who he wanted everyone to believe he was. He truly was lonely. Even after ten years, the departure of his father was still hurting him. Erza felt something in her stomach, something that said: 'Stop him, Erza!' and she did. Without a second thought, she grabbed his hand.

"Natsu.." she muttered.

He turned to her, but next thing he knew he was laying on the couch, Erza above him.

"E-Erza..? What are yo-" he was interrupted by the finger she placed on his lips, "shush" she whispered. They were close, really close to each other. Natsu could feel her whole body shiver. His heart was racing. He couldn't believe what was happening, but he would indulge. He would take this opportunity to be close to her. That's what he's always wanted.

He gently put his hand on her cheek, making her blush. She closed her eyes and slowly closed the distance between them, their lips inches from one another.

"I'm baaaaack! Natsu, let's play Pro-" Gray was interrupted by what he just witnessed, his eyes widened. Natsu was laying on the couch, Erza on top of him, their faces half a millimeter from each other. 'Oh shit..' he thought.

Erza suddenly punched Natsu in the stomach, making him gasp for air, almost fainting from it. She quickly got up, her face's color could make the color of her hair go to shame.

"Gray.. you.. just now.. almost killed me.. indirectly.." he was saying while trying to breathe.

"Pfffft... Hahahahaha!" Gray started laughing, his hands on his stomach.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Both Erza and Natsu shouted at him, then turned to each other and Natsu got punched in the face, "WHAT THE HELL?" he exclaimed, while Juvia and Lucy entered the house.

"We're bac-.. What happened to you?" Lucy exclaimed while looking at Natsu, Erza blushed even more.

A few hours later it was already late and they were already getting ready to leave. Gray decided to leave his xBox to Natsu for the rest of the week, "Cuz you'd die of boredom without it." he said while exiting, Natsu almost cried from joy.

"See you later, Natsu" Lucy smiled, Juvia waved him goodbye.

"Yeah, laters!" he shouted.

Then finally Erza walked out of his house, she still had a blush from what happened earlier.

She then looked at him, already outside. "See you later." she said with a smile, but that wasn't enough for Natsu. He grabbed her hands and pulled her in for a hug, Erza was too surprised to resist, but hell, she didn't even want to.

"Natsu.." she muttered, "Don't give up on your father.. We'll find him." she whispered in his ear, Natsu only smiled.

"Thanks for visiting." he said, a feint blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Yeah.." she replied while caressing his hair.

They stood like that for some time, not even noticing the three that were waiting for Erza. They were completely forgotten. It was only them two, enjoying the closeness they had. It was them, and the starry night's sky.