Chapter 41: Reconcile

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After boarding the train, Gray quickly ditched Natsu and Erza, causing their previous harmonious atmosphere to crumble. They took their seats opposite each other and sat in awkward silence.

Even though Natsu felt uncomfortable, he still wanted to break the silence between them. He didn't want the train ride to continue in complete silence.

"Um… Erza, can you tell me why you started avoiding me?" Natsu asked, trying to break the tense atmosphere. This question had been gnawing at him for too long, so he wanted to get some answers.

"It's because of… Um…" Erza quietly mumbled while avoiding eye contact with him. She was trying to make up some excuse but didn't know what to say. She was unable to answer his question. Anything she said would sound like an excuse.

"Sigh! You don't have to say it if it makes you so uncomfortable. I just want us to go back to the way we used to be. So, please don't avoid me like before. It makes me depressed when you do that." Natsu said with a tired sigh. Erza looked at his face and found him staring at her with a downcast expression. She felt guilty seeing him so despondent.

Therefore, she nodded in agreement. She didn't want to keep running away like a coward when facing him. She's already tired of this. She wanted to reconcile their friendship.

"Sigh… I also didn't want us to be like this, but I didn't want to get between your relationship with Mira." Erza replied with a heartbroken smile. Natsu was shocked upon hearing this.

"What do you mean by that? You kept avoiding me even before I started my relationship with Mira." Natsu asked, nonplussed. He didn't understand why she would give such a reason.

"Sigh… I never wanted to say this, but I saw you two making out in your house after we became S-class mages. I followed Mira to keep an eye on her, but I never knew you two had such a relationship already. It made me want to cry, watching you two like that. I didn't want to get in between you two. So, I started distancing myself from you. I decided to give you two personal spaces to advance your relationship without my meddling. I know it's a pretty childish reason, but I always ran away to avoid you. I'm very sorry about this." Erza answered with a broken-hearted smile while looking at him. She never wanted to tell him about this, but seeing his desolate expression, she couldn't stop herself from saying it.

Natsu was confounded upon hearing this. He never expected Erza to see him making out with Mira. H-He started to understand everything. The reason she avoided him was because of heartbreak.

"Sigh… So that was the reason. It kind of makes sense when I think about it. You wanted to sacrifice your happiness for ours, right?" Natsu asked with a heavy sigh. Now, he understood everything. He felt like an imbecile for not considering this. He always felt that the reason for Erza's avoidance was something serious.

"I'm sorry, Natsu. I liked you, but I didn't want you to worry about me when you start your relationship with Mira. I wanted to get over my childish crush, but I couldn't do it. Now that I've talked with you, I feel like I can finally get over it. We can start being friends again like before." Erza replied with a fake smile. Natsu was pissed after he saw her smile; it reminded him of her depressing backstory. He doesn't want to see such a heart-rending smile on her face ever again.

"No way! Don't give me that bullshit! What do you mean by giving up? Did you really think I would give up on you after hearing all this? I liked you too, but you kept avoiding me like the plague. Do you know how much it hurt me when you did that? " Natsu spoke out, raising his voice while clutching her shoulders, looking at her with serious eyes. Erza was surprised by his outburst. She thought Natsu would give up after hearing her explanation, but it backfired.

"So you liked me as well, huh… I guess I really am an idiot. I gave up on you so easily. I'm so sorry for avoiding you, but now it doesn't matter anymore. You're already in a relationship with Mira, and we can't be together anymore. I don't want to ruin your relationship with her." Erza muttered with a sad smile. A single tear escaping from her eye. She now profoundly regretted her past actions.

"Who said we couldn't be together anymore?" Natsu asked seriously, making her look into his dazzling eyes. She was surprised by his serious expression.

"What do you mean by that?" Erza asked doubtfully. She was feeling unsure what Natsu meant by his statement.

"I'll take both of you for myself. I'm a dragon slayer for goodness sake. Nobody can stop me from claiming what I want." Natsu replied with crystal-clear eyes that seemed to burn with determination. Erza was shocked by his claim and felt somewhat happy inside.

But she soon shook her head after thinking for a while and sadly said. "No, you can't do that. You already have Mira. I can never forgive myself if I ruined Mira's relationship by being with you."

Natsu smirked after hearing this and embraced her gently while saying. "That's the least of your worries. I already told Mira that I would have multiple women before starting our relationship. Why do you think she kept trying to reconcile our relationship?"

Erza was stunned hearing this. She never knew Mira accepted such an absurd thing. If it were her, she would never allow her man to have other women. She wanted to monopolize him for herself.

"That's absurd! How can you say that to her? And how could she agree to share you with other women? It's ridiculous." Erza shouted, breaking free from his embrace. She looked at him sternly, with a frosty glare. Natsu felt uncomfortable from the cold look in her eyes and faked a cough.

"Cough, cough, well, that's just how it is. I know I'll have multiple lovers in the future. So, I didn't want to lie to Mira." Natsu answered with a sheepish grin. Erza just rolled her eyes at him. It was such absurd reasoning.

"Isn't that just plain cheating?" Erza said while grimly looking at him. She couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth.

~Edited by Nyanodesu

(A/N: One more chapter to go! Leave your comments below!)