Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters.

7th of July

She kept tossing and turning in her bed. Somehow it felt hard to fall asleep when the rain was pouring so loud outside. Erza looked out of the window. It's been two years now she was spending the nights at the girl's dormitory Fairy Hills. The rent wasn't that high, well not for her anyways. She always managed to finish all the well paid jobs with success, which made her earn respect from the other guild members pretty quickly despite her young age.

She watched the raindrops hit the window. Pulling the blanket up to her nose she sighed contently, relieved that she didn't have to spend the night outside but in a warm, soft bed. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud. It sounded like something hit the gates outside the dorm. Erza frowned and after thinking for five seconds about what it could have been, curiosity got over her and she slowly crept out of bed to check. As she looked out of the window, she was surprised to notice a small figure leaning against the gate. „Is that...?" Realising that her thoughts were right, she quickly put on her bathrobe and slippers and hurried down the hallway.

Natsu felt the lump in his throat as he leaned against the cold bars of the gate. He didn't even remember how he got here, he just had the urge to run, it didn't matter where. His body acted on its own as it started its way up to Fairy Hills.

Today was a special day for him. Unfortunately in a bad way for it was the day Igneel suddenly disappeared, leaving him all alone in this world. The other days of the year felt much better already – thanks to the members at Fairy Tail. They really helped him in a lot of ways, by making him laugh, giving him tasks to fulfill, showing him another side of life. But most importantly, by giving him a place to call home again. But somewhat the 7th of July felt just like the day right after he lost track of Igneel.

There were rumors this morning that a dragon was seen in the mountains. That was all the information Natsu got to know, nobody could tell him the exact location.

"Hey Natsu, stop going after each and every piece of information bout your Dad, it's never been true." Mirajane said in an unusually gentle tone, putting a hand on Natsu's shoulder softly. She was always rough to anybody but apparently she felt sympathy for the young boy.

"I don't care, it might be true this time, and I'd hate myself if I missed this chance!" Natsu shot back, shaking off Mira's hand. He knew himself that probably it wasn't true, and even if it was, with only this little information it would take ages to find any kind of clue.

But on hearing the word dragon, Natsu's small feet had automatically moved and had made their way out of the guild, leaving a sighing Mirajane behind.

A red haired girl stepped to her side. "Leave him, Mira. He has to do this. You know what today is." Erza said, still looking at the direction Natsu ran to.

"But you know how this is gonna end up. I hate to see him so sad and disappointed when he finds nothing. Again." She looked at her rival. Strangely, when it came to Natsu and Igneel the two strongest girls in the guild seemed to get along. A few members standing around them nodded in agreement. The little boy with the spiky pink hair had grown close to them. He was like a family member, and they all hated to see him sad. Natsu never cried in front of others, he had always put on a grin, saying that it didn't matter and that he still wouldn't give up, but nobody at Fairy Tail could be fooled by a kid's fake smile.

"He'll be ok. I'll take care of him in case he needs someone." Erza stated. She knew Natsu prefered to be on his own but she still believed that someday he wouldn't want to be alone with this. She knew exactly what loneliness felt like.

Natsu suppressed the tears stinging in his eyes. Thank god it was raining, this way he could fool himself in case the tears fell. He had been looking for a track all day long. His small body had cuts and bruises from falling and slipping down from different places in the mountain and fighting off different creatures. The skin of his fingers was torn and bleeding slightly as he had tried to climb up rocks again and again. When he had noticed that it was already in the middle of the night and he couldn't see a thing anymore due to the clouds hiding the moonlight, he had gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the ground in despair and made his way back to town.

And now he was here. Right in front of the girl's dormitory, not knowing why for he usually wanted to be alone when he felt like this. He leaned against the bars again heavily, he was so tired he had trouble holding his head up.

Erza opened the big door, hoping that Hilda wouldn't be mad at her for letting the rain in and wetting the floor. She put on the hood and stepped outside.

"Natsu!" She hurried over to the gate.

He heard a female voice calling him, a voice he knew too well. A voice that usually scared him to the bone when it interrupted the fights with Gray or other silly things he was doing. But right at this moment it felt like it was all he longed for. Turning around, he saw Erza running towards him.

"Natsu, what the hell?" She panted, "Come on, get inside." She ordered while unlocking and opening the gate. Stepping closer to where the boy was sitting, she reached down and took his hand. She was shocked how cold it was and at the same time noticed him wincing. "Natsu.." Erza frowned.

Natsu lifted his head and tiredly looked up to the older girl's worried face. "Erza, I..."

"Let's talk inside, ok?" Erza quickly helped Natsu stand as she noticed the rain was slowly soaking through her robe. A whimper escaped his lips at the sudden movement. On hearing this, Erza crouched down to him. Without a word, she put her arms around his small form and lifted him up in her arms. Natsu bit his lower lip as not to wince again in pain and put his arms tight around Erza's neck, letting her carry him inside. The two silently walked down the hallway to the red-haired girl's room. Natsu tightened his hands to fists as he realized how helpless he was, anger at himself consuming him with each step Erza made. Tears stung in his eyes again but he fought them successfully from rolling down his dirty cheeks.

Erza entered her room, still supporting Natsu's weight with one arm. Closing the door behind her she switched on the light. With quick steps, she made her way to the bathroom and sat the boy down on the edge of the bathtub.

"You got heavy." She smiled at him. Ignoring that he didn't return the smile much less give her an answer, she stood up and started to look for something in the bathroom cabinet. "Take off your shirt, Natsu." She ordered, still searching for something. Natsu obeyed and threw his soaked red T-shirt in the tub behind him. Apparently Erza found what she was looking for and pulled out a first-aid kit and a towel. Natsu kept locking his gaze to his hands resting on his lap.

"What in the world did you do, kiddo, hm?" Erza said with a small sad smile and started rubbing his wet pink hair with the towel, carefully so that he wouldn't fall from where he was sitting.

Natsu couldn't answer. He knew that the moment he'd start to speak he wouldn't be able to hold his tears back anymore. He had never felt so disappointed before. Not only could he not find Igneel, today showed him again how small and weak he was, how he couldn't do a thing on his own, and on top of that, he couldn't even take care of the aftermath on his own since now he was here, being taken care of by somebody else. He knew he was making her worry and there was nothing he could do about it. He desperately tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

Erza stopped her movement and left the towel at its place covering Natsu's head as he looked down. She knew he didn't want her to see his face right now. Despite being so young, he had his pride. She liked that about him. And made sure to her that he would be a great man once he grew up.

The red haired girl knelt down in front of him. "Come on kiddo, show me your hands." She gently took Natsu's bleeding hand and started attending to the cuts. She stopped in her tracks as the small hands started shaking slightly. When Erza noticed something wet landing on her hand, she looked up to Natsu's face. "Natsu..." Her expression turned to one of worry again.

He couldn't hold them back anymore. Tears fell freely down his cheeks. He tried to stop and bit his lip hard but it didn't work a bit. He let out a small sob before he wiped his tears with the back of his hand. Nothing helped, the tears kept coming.

"Hey, hey it's ok." Erza tried to calm him down and wiped away his tears with her thumb.

Natsu gave up on trying to hold them in. He let himself fall forward, right into Erza's arms. He felt horrible, everything was hurting, inside and out. Frustration, despair and disappointment reached their peak.

Erza caught the boy and held his head to the crook of her neck, the towel still covering his hair. The now muffled sobs were getting louder.

"It's fine Natsu, it's ok." She soothed gently into his ear while she rubbed his back. Natsu clutched Erza's bathrobe in his fists as if his life depended on it. "Erza, I, I.." He was interrupted by a sob again. The older girl lifted him up again in her arms. Natsu's grip tightened. Erza rocked him gently while walking towards her bed, still trying to calm him down. "Shhh. It's fine now. I'm right here ok?" She sat down with him on her lap. "Calm down Natsu, you're gonna make yourself sick." She gently patted his back. Natsu kept his face in the crook of Erza's neck.

"I tried to find him. I looked, I looked everywhere I could." He said in between sobs. Erza stayed silent and listened. "But I couldn't do much, I wanted to go further and look everywhere but I kept falling down and, and I'm sure I missed some traces and, I was so sure this time I could find him coz Igneel would never leave me just like that and if he was here and I couldn't catch him it's all my fault coz I'm weak and stupid and powerless and,"

"Ok, ok Natsu, breathe." Erza interrupted as she noticed he was starting to rant. "Look, I'm sure too that Igneel wouldn't leave without any reason." She continued while still holding the back of Natsu's head, running her fingers through his soft hair. She felt a tiny nod against her neck. "But I'm sure you did not miss any trace, when time comes he will show up, I'm very sure, but now is apparently not the time yet. It's not your fault Natsu." She said the last part in an especially soft tone and gently squeezed his small body in her arms once more.

"I just wish I was stronger..." His voice came out in a whisper, "Igneel wouldn't want to see me like this." His breath was still shaky but he slowly began to calm down. Erza shifted back so she could see his face as he looked up right in her eyes.

"Natsu. Everyone knows you're NOT weak. I know, and Gray knows, and Master and Mira and everyone else, they all know what you're going through is everything but easy. And the way you're dealing with it is amazing." She stated firmly, her eyes locked with his teary orbs, her hands in a firm grip on his shoulders. "You've grown so much since you entered the guild. So much stronger. Have confidence in yourself Natsu. Anyone else would have given up already."

"But you're still calling me kiddo. Means I'm small, weak." Natsu sniffed as he looked down half pouting. Erza let out a laugh and ran her hand over Natsu's messy hair. "Oh Natsu, I'm gonna call you kiddo no matter how old you get or how strong or whatever." She had to laugh even more when she saw the boy pouting. Soon, Natsu couldn't help but chuckle as well. Erza shifted him on her lap and wiped his still damp cheeks with the back of her hand. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "But I still think I'm weak, so I'll train hard Erza, harder than anyone ever did before." His eyes were sparkling with determination.

"Well that's a word." The redhead stated, "Hey, I can train you. We'll start tomorrow in the morning."

Natsu felt a chill running down his spine. "Ummm I think I'd rather do it myself." He jumped off Erza's lap.

"Ow what does that supposed to mean, huh?" She grinned devilishly and tried to grab him, without success. "You litte, come here you."

A tickle war started soon after. Erza didn't know yet that she was going to get a hell of a lecture from Hilda for being so loud in the middle of the night. But no matter how, she succeeded in making him laugh again.

8 years after...

Erza shifted in her bed. It was a warm summer night and again, the rain was mercilessly hitting the window. She could never really sleep well when the rain was so loud and the weather this warm. But Erza didn't bother. She would have to get up soon anyway, like every year on this one special day.

Bang. There it was, the metallic sound was louder than the pouring rain, something hit the bars. Erza sighed with a small smile on her lips though she couldn't push away the hint of worry in the back of her mind. She silently got up, put on her bathrobe and walked down the hallway. Nothing had changed in the dormitory in all these years, even after Hilda had passed away.

Natsu leaned heavily against the gate. Having used all his power until almost nothing was left, he had never felt this tired before. A crystal about the size of Natsu himself was lying a few feet away from him, sparkling and brightening the dark night. Steps were heard, he knew they were coming to him. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he smiled to himself. In all these years, the place he felt safe most had not changed.

"Hey kiddo." Natsu didn't even turn around to the sound of the gentle voice behind him.

Erza walked around the tired body and looked down on him. The rain continued to pour on both figures. "You look horrible." She reached out her hand with a tiny smile.

Natsu looked at the older woman and returned the smile. "Well you look worried."

"Come on, can you stand?" Erza received a slight shaking of the head in return.

"Had to fight a dragon. Huge one. Black. No news bout Igneel, though." He cast his gaze down. "Had to kill him... can't.. stand..too tired." His voice was barely audible in the end as he spoke.

The red-haired woman stepped closer to him without a word and knelt down. She carefully put his arm around her shoulder for support and slowly stood up. He winced.
"Shh. I got you Natsu." Erza made small steps towards the dormitory, carefully as not to hurt her friend. She felt his weight lean heavily on her. "You got heavy."

Through gritted teeth to withstand the pain Natsu let out a chuckle. "Muscles."

"Yeah, yeah." Erza couldn't help but grin. In the corner of her eye, she noticed something sparkle. "Wow, what the hell is that?" She nodded towards the crystal.

"Oh.. it was on the... dragon's forehead." Natsu said in between heavy steps. "Maybe.. Master can.. you know.. information...urgh." Erza suddenly felt him crouch down in exhaustion and pain.

"Whoa, ok Natsu hold on, we're there soon." The girl's expression turned serious as she put more effort in steadying Natsu so he wouldn't fall. "Sorry kiddo, we'll talk later." She started walking again, feeling a pang of guilt for making him talk, yet she couldn't deny the fact that she was impressed. So he defeated a dragon. A couple of years ago nobody would have expected this. Sure she believed he would be a strong man once. But nobody in the guild had ever expected Natsu to become this strong, especially not in these few years already. Amazing. She thought to herself and smiled.

Erza switched on the light and entered her room. Drops of water rolled down Natsu's drenched hair and clothes, landing on the carpet. With small steps, they made their way to the bathroom.

"There we go." Erza sat Natsu down again on the edge of the tub. Natsu's dirty shoes left marks on the floor as he sat. The older girl didn't bother as she reached for the towel she had already prepared earlier this day. She had to laugh. 'At least you didn't ruin my bathroom floor when you were smaller.' She thought to herself, recognizing that the once so small kid she could effortlessly carry around became taller once again, as every year, to the extend his feet easily reached the floor when he sat.

Natsu knew the procedure too well by now. He took off his shirt and shoes as little clumsily as he could in his condition. He sat in silence as he let the red-haired girl treat his cuts and bruises.

"You ok?" She looked up at him with worry on her face. He nodded so Erza went on with her work. "Weird when you're so quiet you know? When you were smaller, you always cried when I did this." She chuckled.

"Erza...I did not." He said with a tired voice but clearly embarassed by the look of his flushed cheeks.

"Oh yes you did. Stop arguing." She grinned as she continued cleaning his wounds. She heard him laugh softly but looked up again as he started to slightly sway forward. Just in time she managed to keep him from falling down with her hand on his chest.

"Hey hey hey. Stay with me here." She ordered gently but worry was evident in her voice. "Natsu I'm almost done, ok? You can sleep on the bed soon." Lightly patting his chest, she decided to sit with him for a few minutes until he was a bit more steady.

"I'm tired Erza.." Natsu whined. As if time was set back to the early days. The readhead smiled in sympathy. "Yeah I know sweetheart. We'll go to sleep really soon."

Natsu leaned his head on the older girl's shoulder. He enjoyed the comfort he only got once in a year. It was just this one day Erza was this gentle and nice to him and it was also just this one day he allowed himself to lean on someone. Literally. And not just anyone, it had to be her, he didn't know why but this was the place he felt most comfortable in after a really hard day. Tomorrow, everything would be back to normal again. He would be his usual confident self, Erza would be scary again, and none of them would mention today. He liked that. It was what made this day special, besides the thing with Igneel of course. But for now, Natsu just wanted to lean back and relax. Something he usually couldn't do well. Despite the pain and exhaustion rushing through his body, he enjoyed the warmth radiating from Erza's body and her fingers running through his hair.

"Will you be ok sitting on your own?" She broke the silence softly.

"Mhm." Natsu gave a small nod and sat upright again, allowing her to go on with the rest of his cuts.

When they were finished, they made their way to Erza's bed. She lied down next to him without any blanket. The heat of the salamander was warm enough for this summer night.

"Erza..?" His voice was hoarse and barely audible.

"Shh. I'm right here, I'll stay with you tonight. Go to sleep now, Natsu." Erza whispered softly, resting her palm on his bare chest, as she had done so many times already.

In an instant, Natsu drifted off to sleep. The older girl looked down on him and smiled. She absentmindedly ran her thumb over his chest. Somehow Erza had the feeling this ritual would never change as long as Natsu wouldn't find Igneel. And she didn't mind at all. In fact, she enjoyed the special position she had. There was no place from which she could watch over him any better. No matter how old he'd get, she'd always call him kiddo, and he would always be the little brother she would protect with all her life.

end

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