A/N: HELLO! So firstly, although I said this on Tumblr, I got this idea from a comic by ouikawas ( .com) who gave me permission to use the au. Secondly, thank you all so much for the immense amount of positive feedback I received. I cannot thank you enough nor can I say how grateful I am to be receiving this much feedback. Thank you once again! Enjoy~! :D

Nastu didn't know what to expect when he put his son in kindergarten, so he prepared himself for anything that would come.

What he didn't prepare for, though, was endless thoughts about Happy's teacher.

He shook his head, pushing back more thoughts revolving around a certain blonde, and paid more attention to the task at hand. One of his biggest annoyances at work was anything related to reading and writing, which is why his mind was continually wondering.

After taking up Lucy's offer on her 'babysitting' Happy, he began taking more-preferred fieldwork with his partners but had a slow day today that consisted of paperwork. Natsu let out a groan, shoving his hands through his hair and checking his phone for the time. He had at least three more hours left to his shift and knew he should finish the task, but instead got up, exited his office, and entered the one across from him, belonging to Gray.

"Yo, I've come to entertain!" Nasty called, tossing himself into the sofa and laying down. The raven haired owner of the office let out a snort, his gaze plastered onto both his computer screen and a bundle of papers.

"Why the hell do we have this much crap to do?" Gray muttered, finally pushing away the sheets and turning to Natsu. "Don't you have work, flame brain? And a son?"

Natsu laughed. "I gave up just like you did, ice princess, and my son is at a baby sitter and is perfectly safe." Natsu almost snorted at the nicknames he and Gray used, but the curious expression on his friend's face stopped him.

"Levy's still on shift and I called Juvia like ten minutes ago, where did you get a baby sitter?" The raven-haired man inquired, and for a reason unknown to the pink-haired father, he blushed.

"Well," he began, "I was going to ask Juvia to baby sit, then I remembered she's pregnant and you'd kill me if I overworked your wife. So I asked his teacher to." Natsu thought for a moment before adding, "She actually offered to."

Gray was silent, staring at his friend with an unreadable expression, then sighed. "For starters, if you overwork my wife I will kill you, yes. Second, you better end up inviting that teacher out to lunch or something. I love Happy, don't get me wrong, but that kid's a riot."

"Your son will be a riot too, so is Lily." Natsu snorted, causing Gray to chuckle and shake his head. "Don't mention my child please, I'm still not over the fact that Juvia's having one."

Natsu shrugged. "If I can do the whole parenting thing and I'm alone, you and Juvia can do it." He paused, then added, "Well, at least Juvia can."

His raven-haired friend scowled, causing Natsu to laugh and sit up. "I'm just kidding."

Gray flipped him off as a response, turning back to his work and giving Natsu his cue to go back to work as well.

Natsu stood outside Lucy's apartment building, a nervous feeling settling in his stomach. He had no idea why exactly he had nerves, after all, he was just picking up his child.

Shaking his head while running his fingers through his hair, he lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

Moments passed, and soon he could hear a faint "Happy do not open the door!" and giggle, then the door clicked open.

Lucy stood in a pair of loose shorts and a plain tank, Happy already reaching out and hugging Natsu's leg. He picked up his son, smiling at Lucy.

She pushed the door further open, allowing the father to take a hesitant step into the home. It was small and quaint, big enough for a person who lived alone. There was a study table pushed into a corner, an open kitchen, and a small sitting area where she leaded them.

"He finished all his homework and I was making dinner, you can stay if you'd like to." Lucy said as the trio settled down, Happy still cuddled close to Natsu.

"We don't want to-"

"Please don't finish that sentence because you're not at all intruding, I invited you and I think Happy had fun with me, didn't you?" Lucy interrupted, a grin spread across her face as Happy nodded viciously.

"You're fun to be around, and you gave me candy!" The child dug through the bag on his shoulder, pulling out a bundle of lollipops to show his dad, who laughed.

As Lucy excused herself to check on the food, Happy poked his father and whispered, "Miss Lucy is better than Aunt Juvia AND Aunt Levy." He grinned, showing a toothy smile. "But don't tell them."

Natsu found himself smiling at the words of his son, and for an unknown reason he pictured himself and Lucy with Happy in a family-like way.

"Alright, dinner's ready!" The blonde's clear voice interrupted the train of thought he had, his cheeks burning a faint crimson at the images running through his mind. He followed Happy (who clearly now had the house memorized) into the dining room, his mouth watering at the site.

"It's a bit of a last minute dinner and some of these dishes are left overs, but it's the thought that counts, right?" Lucy's cheeks held a scarlet color as she said this, gesturing for the pink-haired man to sit while aiding Happy into a seat as well.

Once she sat down, Natsu gave her a bright smile. "It's great actually, Happy and I usually live off leftovers for days."

Once the three were situated and eating, stories and facts about each other were passed around, both parties beginning to learn loads about each other. On occasion, Happy would interrupt with a fun fact or a confused question, leaving the two adults laughing.

Although Natsu would never admit this out loud, there was a nagging voice in the back of his mind telling him that this felt like a date, and that he was definitely getting way too close to a person who was only meant to be the teacher of his son.

"That was amazing, thank you." Natsu leaned back in his seat, his stomach now considerably fuller and the plates in front of him considerably emptier.

Lucy giggled, piling up plates in front of her. "I'm glad you liked it, you two are welcome anytime." She looked over at Happy, who was now lounging on the sofa while watching a cartoon.

Natsu helped her clean up dinner, doing the dishes along side her and almost soaking her with water. They both exited the kitchen laughing, but quieting down as they noticed the now-sleeping Happy.

"That's my cue to leave." Natsu said, picking up Happy's school bag and hoisting it onto his shoulder, then picking up his child carefully.

As Lucy walked them to the door and pulled it open, they exchanged quick goodbyes, and Natsu smiled. "Next time, dinner's on us."

Lucy gave him a bright smile, her cheeks flushed slightly. "I'd like that."

"DAADDDDD!" Happy jumped onto his father's back, a groan escaping the pink-haired man as small feet pounded into his back.

"Why are you awake so early Happy? It's the weekend?" Natsu's voice was raspy from the early morning awakening, and the child hopped off his back and laid down, facing his dad. "We don't have chocolate milk or cereal and I'm hungry!"

The child said this with such an exasperated voice that Natsu had to laugh, sitting up in the bed and stretching out his limbs then turning to his son. "Go pick out some clothes and we'll go shopping and eat breakfast out, alright?"

Happy jumped from the bed, exciting yelps escaping his lips as he left the room and entered his own. The father stood up as well, making the bed and heading into the bathroom and getting ready for the day.

As he was waiting for Happy to slip on his shoes, Natsu scrolled through his phone, unconsciously smiling as he replied to texts from Lucy.

It had been almost two weeks since he promised her to dinner, however work had become hectic for the pink-haired cop and the blonde also barely had time for herself. Instead, they resorted to late night phone calls and endless texts, making Natsu feel as though he was back in middle school and was giggling over a petty crush.

Except he didn't have a crush and anytime the thought came into his mind it would be pushed back seconds later.

As he drove to the supermarket with Happy in the backseat, his gaze would drift and his mind would wonder back to the blonde hair and kind eyes.

"Alright Happy, where do you wanna start?" Natsu lifted his son into the cart, placing him into the seat and pushing it deeper into the store as the pink-haired child requested a trip into the cereal isle for starters.

"I want Fruit Loops, Cookie Crisps, and Lucky Charms." Happy stated, pointing at each specified box. Natsu complied simply (he truly was a pushover when it came to his child) and then headed into the other isles, continuing his shopping.

As Happy began discussing why 'chocolate milk was 100 times better than any other milk', his phone began ringing and a grin formed as he answered Lucy's call. "Yo!"

"Hey Natsu." Her voice rang clear in his ear as he picked up milk cartons for his son, who was simply pointing to his preferred things. "You sound quite busy."

"I'm at the supermarket with Happy and he has very specific tastes for a five year old." Natsu stated with a chuckle, following Happy's directions with a smile as he pushed the cart towards the vegetables and fruits to pick up healthier groceries.

"I can tell." Lucy giggled, "Anyway, I called to say that we have a field trip next Friday and I'm looking for parental volunteers as chaperones. We're going to the zoo."

Natsu thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright, I'm in."

Lucy let out a sigh of relief, the pink haired father practically hearing the smile in her voice as she said she would give him the details in a text and said her good byes.

"Daddy, can we get candy?" Happy asked, a bright look in his eyes that Natsu quickly shut down. "No, because you still have candy from Lucy."

Natsu bagged more veggies as Happy sulked in the cart, causing small chuckles to escape the father's lips.

After many debates about candy and a final agreement on one pack of Sour Patch Kids ("I won't eat it all in one day, I promise. You can take it away after I have five, okay?") they managed to exit the grocery store and head to their nearest IHOP.

Nastu situated Happy across from him, sitting down I'm the booth by the window and ordering for the both of them without even a glance at the menu. It had become a semi-traditional thing in the family for trips to IHOP, even after breakfast time.

After ordering and receiving their drinks, Happy broke the silence between the pair (Natsu was checking his phone), by asking, "Dad, what do you think of Miss Lucy?"

Natsu looked up, furrowing his eyebrows. "She's nice. Why?"

"Do you think she's pretty?" Happy inquired once again, ignoring the last bit of his father's response. "Uh, I guess."

Natsu's voice held uncertainty but he already knew the answer to that, although anyone with a ten mile radius from Lucy could see she was gorgeous.

The pink-haired father cleared his throat. "Happy, why are you asking these questions?"

"Because I think Charle's pretty and nice and I want to date her, like you and Miss Lucy!" The child exclaimed, a broad grin on his face.

Natsu, who was drinking from his mug of coffee, choked and began coughing profoundly. Happy giggled, watching his dad get extremely flustered.

"Happy," Natsu cleared his throat, "I'm not dating Lucy."

"Oh." Happy looked extremely disappointed at his father's words, but brightened up once again. "Well you should. She's pretty."

Natsu laughed, relieved that his son chose to drop the subject. "You want to date Charle, don't you? You should ask her out."

The father was obviously joking, however Happy looked grave. "She said I had cooties when I did ask, but she went and played with Lily anyway!"

Natsu bit back a laugh, not wanting to upset the child even further. "Well, just ask her to come over and play one day."

Happy brightened and nodded, just as their food was set down in front of them. And as they began eating and cracking jokes, the pink-haired father couldn't get the thought of him and Lucy dating out of his mind, even though it was just a childish thought from a five-year-old.