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Natsu lays his hand on Lucy's shoulder lightly, like one would touch a porcelain doll. "Hey. I made you some tea. Do you wanna, like… talk about it? Or should I just leave you alone, or…"
He stops talking, bowing his head slightly.
"You kinda scared me back there. Sorry if it was me that set you off, I just–"
"It's not you," Lucy interrupts, her voice thick. "I was just… That guy's magic."
He sits down beside her, raising his eyebrow but not pushing her to elaborate.
"Couldn't you feel it?" Natsu shakes his head, and Lucy continues, "It got right into my head… It was showing me my mom… Like she was right there and I could just–" She chokes back a sob. "Like I could just reach out and grab her."
"Aw, Lu…" He gently puts his arm over her shoulders, light enough that she could easily pull away. "That explains why you went so berserk on him. I've never seen you get that angry that fast."
"I feel bad," she sniffs. "He was just a street performer, I know he didn't mean any harm by it, but it just…"
"It was your mom. I get it. Touchy subject."
Lucy drops her head into the crook of his neck, her chest shaking with the effort of holding back her sobs.
Natsu holds her a little more firmly, pulling her legs up across his lap. "You can cry, Lu. Just let yourself cry."
Lucy's only answer is a soft wail before the floodgates open and she breaks into silent, racked sobs. Natsu keeps his arms tight and comforting around her as she cries, resting his head over hers and letting her cling onto him as much as she wants. She howls into his chest for several minutes, while he just murmurs absolute nothings to her, just waiting until she wears herself out.
It doesn't take long for her to do just that, dragging her head upright and away from Natsu.
"Sorry," she sniffles. "You've got a big wet patch on your shirt now."
He shrugs. "It'll dry."
"Tea's probably getting cold," she points out weakly.
Natsu doesn't answer, just holds up a small flame in one hand, and smooths out Lucy's hair with the other, smiling like nothing is wrong. And looking at his smile, Lucy can almost believe it's true.