Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail all rights reserved for Hiro.

Full summary: Natsu looks at old photos of Lucy from her childhood up until now, and realizes that she's much stronger than she looks. NaLu One-Shot

Also I'm making Natsu smarter than he's made in the anime, manga and even some fics. You'll understand later in the mini-fic.

Natsu's POV

" Natsu! Can we drop by Lucy's for dinner? Her food tastes great!" Happy asked, his tail swishing back and forth occasionally.

" Well I guess, but we can't make too much noise, since Mira said she was sick." I told him, and left for our blonde best friend's apartment.

Happy flew us in the window, and there on the bed was a sick Lucy, looking helpless.

Happy curled up next to Lucy's face and fell asleep immediately.

I noticed a book was left on the floor, and thought about how Lucy gets if something's out of place. When I bent down to pick it up, I saw pictures of her as a child, next to a woman that looked like her, and a tall blonde man in a business suit.

Lucy was smiling very happily in this along with the two blonde adults. May 15th, X777 it read.

I flipped to the next picture and found Lucy sitting in a chair with the blonde man behind her, she had no smile. July 7th, X777. The same day Igneel, Grandeene, and Metalicana disappeared.

I flipped through all of the pictures that were dated from her childhood after July 7th, and every single one was the same. No smile since the blonde woman disappeared.

Then it clicked. That woman must've been her mother.

I flipped to the next section and found pictures from recently, like a few months ago.

Lucy was smiling the same way in these just like the smile she had in the picture with her mother. Happy, me, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Levy, the Metal Head, Mira, Lissana, Elfman, everyone was in this. It was one Reedus made.

So who's the man from the pictures?

" Nhgn.. What's going on?" Lucy sat up, and blearily rubbed her eyes.

" We came to see you, but you were asleep." Happy said, curling up next to her again, falling asleep fast.

Lucy started to smooth Happy's fur, where it got messed up when he switched positions, leaving him a purring blue blob, sleeping happily.

" I don't mean to be rude or anything, but whose the guy in these pictures?" I asked her.

She paused for a minute before softly replying, ' that's my father.'.

" Didn't you say he was the reason you ran away from home?"

" Mhmm. He tried to force me into an arranged marriage, and I didn't want to be forever bound to some stuck-up, snot-faced, arrogant, douchebag. That isn't what my destiny is. And Mama would've said the same thing." She said, her eyes glazed over.

" She sounds...Real smart.." I said stupidly.

" She sure was. I never understood her lessons on life, until now.." Lucy said.

" I noticed you never really talk about your mom or dad..."

" Yeah. I don't talk about my mom cause I'm a bit selfish with that topic...I just don't like my father. He always spoke as if I was a project after mom died. I sort of got used to it, but it still hurt. I realized that money couldn't buy happiness as a child, and I still don't know how he could be so callous to any human being. When I turned seventeen, I bolted. I left my home since I was born, met a few people, a few pervs too, and soon wandered into Hargeon looking for magic shops hoping to get more Keys. I love magic, and I know that even though they can't die, Celestial Spirits still feel pain. Emotions, free will, all of it, and cruelty hurts them, just as much as anyother being who understands feeling and is in tune to them. It angers me when people abuse magic, or use it to hurt others or to gain a goal that would inadvertently injure others." She paused to take a deep breath before continuing, only her voice became slightly stronger.

" That's why I was so angry at Bora, he used a Love Spell (which have been banned for years), Sleep Magic on the other girls that were on the boat, and he threw my keys in the ocean. A Celestial Spirit wizard can only use the keys they have possession on. That's why if their keys are lost or stolen, they are both defenseless and no one else can use the contracted spirits but the original wizard. I was also angry at Angel, from Oraciòn Seis. It's because she abused and teased Aires, she said that Gemini would suffer for not 'collecting' for her. She used her spirit Caelum to hurt Aires and Loke, first she called out her spirit Scorpio and I had no idea he was Aquarius' boyfriend. She made Gemini transform to look like me, and it incapacitated Taurus, and nearly forced Sagittarius to shoot Carla in the back with Wendy in her arms. Anyone like that is just blind by some goal or wish that they hope to fulfill it. Angel just wanted to fly away like an actual angel. But she went about it the wrong way. Don't hurt others because you too were hurt in the past. It just makes you no better than the ones who hurt you." She glared at the floor.

Now I remembered why exactly I brought her to Fairy Tail. It was because sure, she talked a lot, but when she spoke about magic she had this look of passion lighting up her eyes, though I saw something was hidden. Later I found out that she was the daughter of the wealthy Heartfilia family, and had run away, but Luce never mentioned why she had run from her cushy life. Only that she had respect for certain memories but others she wanted to forget and being there wouldn't help.

" Of course, I understand, somehow, why he was so cold. His wife died, the love of his life, and his daughter looks just like her. A constant reminder of what was lost. Remember that place, Love and Lucky? Well before I was born, and before dad turned cold, my mom and dad came across that very Trading Guild and the 'K' in 'Lucky' was missing. That's how I got my name, a missing letter in a sign. But the fact that my father suggested they name me Lucy makes me remember that he wasn't always a cold workaholic. We both were deprived of a certain feeling. Mine, was affection and love. I was hurt when he shut himself off and the final straw was when he yelled at me on my birthday. I had made him a rice ball and you know how little kids are, they don't really know when to quit. I made the mistake of setting the ball on the top of his papers and he shot up and screamed that he didn't want my 'silly rice ball' and to go study my business lessons, and he once again screamed, 'no interruptions' in a voice that broke my childish heart. He was deprived of the sense of what was right. My pain turned into my acting out and he dealt by trying to control me more, which caused me to leave. I didn't realize at the time that deep inside, he was hurt by my fleeing and that even though he had become bitter with grief, he was still my father." I let the information sink in. I almost didn't catch Lucy preparing to speak again.

" Did you know that if I hadn't run away, I would have been forced to give up my keys? I would also have been forced to marry some guy named Duke Swar, the Junnell heir. I would have been expected to have a child, a boy, in order for the Heartfilia family to get passage to the Junnell's vast lands in the south. That would've expanded the Heartfilia Company's railways and it would have gave my father millions of Jewel. I wouldn't do it. There was no way in hell that I would do that, I was not born to be a pawn. The moment I left, I declared myself Lucy. Just Lucy. No 'Lucky Lucy Heartfilia'. I was myself, not somebody else's toy they could bend to their will."

I found it amazing that through all this, even though she knew her father technically stopped being her sire when he shut himself off, that he was still her family and she treasures her family. Blood or not. She never stopped being herself even after all she had been through. True, I would do just about anything to see Igneel again, but if Igneel turned to be as cold and hurtful as Lucy's dad, then I wouldn't care for a parent. She's really something. I think she may be the strongest out of everyone in Fairy Tail. Even Gildarts with his crazy-make-you-shit-your-pants-magic.

I stood up, and hugged her. Not out of pity, but one of understanding, and I hope it let her know that we were here for her. And we always will be.

She hesitated before hugging back slowly.

' We'll always be here for you, Lucy. No matter what.' I made the silent promise and hugged her tighter.

THE END


YAY! How many of you got pissed at me? I'm sure a lot, possibly...

And it's true! Gildarts' magic is frickin scary as hell and will make you shit your pants! For god's sake I was thinking ' Holy crap!' when he fought Natsu during the S-Class trials.

Lemme know if you find any typos or grammatical errors.

I'm climbing back up! To the top inspiration! ^_^'

-Always,

FireHanyou14-