Hiya! I wanted to make this longer than what it is, but I have been stuck on this chapter for a bit and didn't know what else to write so I tried my best and hopefully the next chapter will be longer than this! Sorry for being a bit late! Hope this makes up for it! Thanks for those who reviewed, favorite, and followed! Please leave a review and favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!

-let there be midnight

Me No Own Fairy Tail

Chapter Seven—The Man By The Water

"Uncle…?" he whispered to himself, peering around the door frame to get a better look at the man who resembled Father so much but yet was also a bit taller than him. Both men looked at him and he cowered even further against the doorframe to get away from the looks that sent shivers up and down his spine and made a bad feeling bubble in his stomach.

"Well, isn't it little Natsu? You're as cute as your father described you as."

Natsu took a step out of the steamy bathroom with just boxers on, rubbing at his hair to dry it. It was around 11 at night and he had stepped in the shower around the time everyone else started closing their eyes. He had slept a little bit earlier and probably would've slept longer if it wasn't for a small memory that came and made him jerk awake. And now because of that memory Natsu doubted if he was going to be able to sleep at all that night.

The door to the bedroom he and Gray shared was cracked open so he didn't have to worry too much about the door creaking loudly and alerting the raven haired teen sleeping in the bed that was closest to it. He stepped inside and threw his damp towel towards his bed and went to his bag to grab a random pair of jeans, shirt, and his favorite orange hoodie. He grabbed his shoes once he was dressed along with his phone and exited the room once more after he turned off the light coming from the lamp on Gray's nightstand. Once his shoes were on, he exited the Scarlet's lake house, wanting to take a small little walk around the area.

Gravel crunched under his feet as he walked with his hands in his hoodie's pocket, and soon enough the lake house was far behind him and obscured by trees and night. He took a right into the forest and off the long drive way so the gravel underneath was replaced by grass, leaves, twigs, and other nature-y things.

He tried to think about anything to get his mind off of Uncle, and it was a hard task since he would always in the end, end up remembering about his short nightmare and the phone call earlier, and neither helped him in anyway at all, so he started humming a random tune that came to his head which for some reason had to be 'You are my Sunshine' because Mrs. Scarlet just happened to love that song and had it playing on the radio in the kitchen a lot.

Ten minutes later and some random turns, Natsu found himself walking out of the tree lines and facing the lake, which somewhat confused him on how he somehow managed to find it. Natsu was about to turn around since he already had had enough of water for a life time until a voice made him stop.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Natsu blinked and finally noticed a man who was maybe twenty sitting in the grass a few feet ahead of him wearing black clothes that made it hard for him to see. The man had his back turned towards him, but when he started to shift to get a look at Natsu, the pinkette finally noticed he hadn't answered him.

"T-the lake? Um… never actually looked at it." Natsu confessed sheepishly. The man smiled at him and patted the grass right beside him for Natsu to sit, his shocking red eyes shining dimly from the moonlight. Hesitantly, Natsu sat next to him and crossed his legs, looking out at the dark lake that glittered in the light casted by the moon and stars.

"Well, now is the best time to look at it." The man said as his eyes went back to gazing at the waters. Natsu hummed in responds, not really knowing what to say to the strange man.

Silence washed over them as they both watched the soft waves lapping at the shore and the ripples the glittering water made.

"I've always loved looking at the lake when I first saw it when I was a kid." the man beside him spoke quietly as he leaned back on his elbows. Natsu didn't bother looking at him, instead resigning to just listen to the other as the soft lapping of water relaxed him. "I would always sneak out and come here just to watch the lake for hours until the sun would come up and I would walk back home. It didn't bother me staying up all night just looking at the water, I loved to do so. I rarely missed a day. I especially made sure to come out here when my parents got into a nasty fight." the man confessed, Natsu finally turning his head to look at him with a slightly confused expression.

"Your parents fought?" he asked, the man nodding.

"All the time. There was no end to it. They'd bicker about everything from spilt sugar to mud on the floor, heck, they even fought about me. There was no escape to it, so I would always sneak out when they fought and come here. It's always silent here. There is no yelling, throwing, or cussing. It's just silent and peaceful, one of my favorite places in the world." he admitted before going silent for a few moments. He looked towards Natsu with a slight tilt of the head and curious expression. "What about you? You look pretty troubled yourself. And trust me, I know what it looks like." He gave a small laugh as he looked across the lake leaving Natsu to shuffle uncomfortably.

"Well, my parents didn't fight for one." Natsu said softly, the man humming as if to go on. "They never got the chance to." Natsu wondered why he was saying all this to a complete stranger, but he didn't stop, he didn't really want to. It was refreshing to kinda say this to someone he didn't know, especially his friends who tried to be the savors of the day all the time. But they couldn't. He knew they couldn't, but they did not. "My mom died when I was young so I barely remember her, and well… my dad… well, he wasn't the nicest person you could ever meet." he laughed bitterly just thinking about. "Well, if you weren't me, that is. There was a time where he did love me, I know, but that time died with my mom so I barely remember it. It didn't stop me from loving him, and I hated how I loved someone who could hurt me easily. It wasn't fair. I wanted to hate him, but I couldn't. He's my father, you know? If I even began to tell my friends this they'll try to convince me that I shouldn't love him, but what do they know? They never lived through what I did. They can't understand even if they walked to the ends of the earth and back. But they try, I know they do, but sometimes I wished they just didn't. They try too much." He exhaled softly, his stomach turning just thinking about it.

"It gets annoying sometimes, does it?" the man said with a knowing tone that Natsu felt himself nodding at.

"It does. It really does. But, things did get better. My dad was in a car accident during a business trip and died so I didn't have to worry about why I had to love him or why he had to hurt me. And I felt free and happy without being afraid until…" the words died softly on Natsu's lips as he grimaced and bit his bottom tongue.

"Until?" the man prompted gently, Natsu's shoulders relaxing some.

"Well, my dad had a brother that I met a few times and they were alike except his brother was more… keen on hurting. He didn't need grief to steer him in the direction like it did my father. It came natural to him, and well… he just called recently, today actually, and said that he's trying to get custody of me and it wouldn't be a hard thing to do. He's a lawyer, has a good reputation, and he's a relative. How could they say no to him? All they see is a good working man who wants to raise his dead brother's son, they're too blind to see that he's a face of lies." Natsu bit his lip as he drew his knees to his chest and rested his chin on them. It was silent for a few moments before the man spoke up.

"You know what I think?" he asked, turning his red gaze to look at Natsu who looked back at him with his own dark eyes.

"What?"

"I think you should stand up for yourself." Natsu furrowed his eyebrows together and sat a little straighter, looking at the man in befuddlement.

"Excuse me?" he asked a little taken aback. The man nodded.

"From what I've heard, you've never really stood up for yourself in your life. You've let yourself be your father's punching back, and you're going to let yourself be your uncle's too. You've probably only stood up for yourself to the wrong people, your friends." he told him.

"I still don't get what you're trying to tell me." The man laughed a little.

"Your uncle will only win custody of you if you let him, but if you refuse and tell them what you think is his real motives, they'll be a huge obstacle in his way of getting you, one he might not get over." he said, Natsu looking down towards the water with a thoughtful expression.

"I-I guess I could do that…" Natsu muttered to himself with a small nod, the man giving him a smile as he stood up and brushed off the dirt from his pants. Down east of them, the sun was rising, confusing Natsu because he could've sworn he was only gone for an hour at most.

"Well, it's my time to go, see you." The man gave a small salute as Natsu looked up towards him.

"Wait! I never got your name!" Natsu shouted, halting him in his movements as he looked down at the pinkette with sparkling red eyes.

"My name's Zeref." he said, Natsu giving him a small smile.

"Mine's Natsu." Natsu replied, looking towards the lake once more. "I want to thank you, Zere—" When he looked back, Zeref was no longer there as if he never existed.