Acochran5- Thanks for continuing to review! It means a lot! And sorry I've been a little busy so I haven't had too much time to work on my stories recently!

Hiro Mashima Owns Fairy Tail and its Characters


Natsu couldn't believe it. He had no idea how two weeks flew by so quickly, but they did. Natsu got to meet all of his sister's friends that were in the area, and they made a point to come over the house almost every day. Grandine and Igneel had a feeling that it was because Natsu was there, as the girls would blush whenever he focused on them solely or laugh at any joke he made. Even if they were terrible, which a good amount were.

Natsu argued that it was because Grandine's cooking skills were unmatched and they also didn't want to spend too much money before they went to school. Plus they stayed at Beth's Aunt's almost as often.

Besides the teasing about his sister's friends -whenever Wendy wasn't around- the two weeks were very good for Natsu. His physical therapy was going very well. Elfman told him that it wouldn't be long before he was cleared to do some bodyweight exercises on his own. That alone had made Natsu ecstatic, but couple that with the fact that his therapy sessions have helped him more than he thought possible and he was practically glowing.

Natsu's first session with the therapist was crazy awkward, at least in his opinion. He was never really good with opening up to someone, so opening up to a stranger was difficult. For the first half-hour, it was a struggle for Taylor to get more than a three to four word answer from him. The second was better, but he didn't really talk about what was bothering him until the second session, which was the next day. He told the woman all about his recent thoughts, and by the time the session was over Natsu was feeling much lighter. He was also feeling exhausted. Turns out opening up to someone could wear him out just as much as his workouts could.

Taylor had given him some exercises to do when he was alone to help keep his mind clear of negative thoughts, and two of them were surprisingly successful. Thus, by the time Wendy and Sherria were to head back to school, Natsu was almost feeling just as good as he had before he came home. Sure, he still woke up with a start most mornings and had bad days where his mind assaulted him with negative thoughts, but he felt that he was making great progress to get himself under control. Taylor seemed to think so too, and told him constantly that he was moving along faster than most of her other patients.

"Are you sure you have everything?" Grandine asked as the family finished packing the car.

"Yeah" Wendy replied. "I didn't bring everything home since the break was a shorter one."

"And you Sherria?" Grandine asked as she turned to the pinkette.

"Yes ma'am!" Sherria chirped. "Thank you for letting me use the washer and dryer last night!"

"Of course dear" Grandine said with a smile. "You're a guest and Wendy's good friend, of course we'd help you get ready any way we could."

"Where's Natsu?" Wendy asked. "He said he was coming with us to the campus."

"He'll be down in a second" Igneel said. "He was answering an email when I checked in on him."

"Okay" Wendy nodded while smiling brightly. "He missed the last couple of move-in days so I wanna make sure he's here for this one."

Everyone's features softened at that. They could tell that even though school was starting back up, she was still reluctant to be away from Natsu.

"He wouldn't miss it honey" Grandine said with a soft smile. Wendy nodded seriously.

"I know" Wendy said, but shot a glance to the house anyway.

"Don't leave without me!" Natsu called from inside the house. "I'm just putting my shoes on!"

"Hurry up slowpoke!" Igneel called. "We won't wait much longer!"

Grandine rounded on her husband. "He may be getting better, but we shouldn't push him! He could still rehurt himself!"

"Sorry hun. Force of habit" Igneel said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Seemed he and Natsu were very similar in their mannerisms.

"I'm coming ya old fart!" Natsu called as he got to the door.

"I'm not that old!" Igneel said indignantly.

"Sure, sure" Natsu said. "Ready to go Wends? Sherria?"

"Yeah!" the two girls replied happily.

"You're riding with me, Natsu" Igneel said. "We get to shack up with all their stuff."

"Great" Natsu said with a grin.

"Girls, you're with me" Grandine said. She was hoping Igneel would be able to distract Natsu from his thoughts. Taylor had let slip that he had a tendency for falling into darker thoughts when left alone, and it worried Grandine greatly.

The ride to the university was uneventful. Igneel and Natsu talked about all manner of things. It started when Natsu told Igneel that he was going to start working again that Monday, and devolved into which cat was better behaved.

Natsu had forgotten what school Wendy had chosen to go to, and was only reminded when he saw the sign as they were pulling in. Lamia Scale was a very prestigious school, and was the pride of Margaret town. It was also where Grandine and Zeref went to school for their degrees. Natsu liked the look of the all stone buildings, and noticed that the campus was teeming with students.

"Wow, I forgot the campus was so big" Natsu breathed in awe.

"Yeah" Igneel chuckled. "Everyone that wants to be a healer of some kind comes here."

"Right, right" Natsu said. He vaguely recalled a good number of Wendy's friends wanted to be veterinarians, while Wendy and Sherria wanted to be doctors like Grandine. "How could I forget how popular the school of medicine here is."

"Don't know" Igneel said as he pulled into a parking spot. "It's on almost every doctor at the hospital's degree."

The two got out and walked to the trunk to get ready to help the girls inside. As they got there, the rest of their group pulled in next to them. What was surprising, though, was that Beth and Araña pulled in on the other side of the boys.

"Looks like the gang's all here" Natsu commented as everyone got out of their cars.

"Huh?" Wendy asked before looking passed Natsu. "Oh! Hi guys!"

"Hey Wendy, Sherria, Mr. and Mrs. Dragneel" the two girls responded happily.

"Hi ladies" Grandine said before sending a smirk towards Natsu. "What are the chances of seeing you here at this time."

"I know!" Beth said. "Araña picked me up on her way here so I guess we left around the same time."

"And who is this?" Araña asked. She hadn't been there to meet Natsu before.

"Natsu" Natsu said as he extended his hand towards Araña.

"Araña" the girl said with a smirk as she grabbed his hand. She then turned to Wendy. "This hottie is the big brother we've all heard so much about?"

"Not you too!" Wendy groaned. Natsu smirked.

"Guess I have to ask all of your friends what you say about me when I'm not around" Natsu said, ignoring the smug looks his parents were sending him.

"No!" Wendy cried. "Just help us unpack!"

"Okay, okay" Natsu said, raising his hands up. "I won't tease yah anymore."

"Thank you" Wendy said as she beamed up at him. Everyone else chuckled at the siblings' interaction.

Everyone grabbed a bag or two and made their way up to the girls' rooms. Grandine helped the other two girls while Natsu and Igneel helped Wendy and Sherria carry their stuff in.

Natsu whistled at the size of the room. "Wow Wendy. The room's huge!"

Wendy had the decency to blush. "It is a very prestigious school" Wendy responded.

"Didn't know that meant super wealthy" Natsu said, causing everyone else to chuckle at him.

"Their alumni send them a lot of money in donations" Igneel said as he put Wendy's bags down in front of her bed. The room had a large living room in it, with two full bathrooms attached to it and a small kitchenette. There was another door on the wall opposite the "front" door that Natsu guessed went to the bedroom.

"Hold on" Wendy said. "I think we cleaned the bedroom, but let's check before you guys go in there."

"Okay" the two guys said in response. The two girls went into their room first with a bag each and closed the door quickly when they noticed they had left some undergarments out on their desks. While the girls were cleaning the room quickly, there was a knock on the open door.

"Hello?" a voice said from the doorway. The two turn around and see a cute girl standing there.

"Oh, hello!" the girl said happily. "You must be Sherria and Wendy's family members."

"Uh, just Wendy's" Natsu said awkwardly.

"Oh! With your hair I was sure... Nevermind!" She chirped.

"Hello Millianna" Igneel said. "It's nice to see you again."

"You too Igneel!" Millianna said happily.

"Um. Hi. I'm Nasu, Wendy's brother" Natsu said awkwardly as he extended his hand. He wasn't expecting the girl to grab his hand so enthusiastically.

"OH! You're Natsu! I'm so happy to meet you! Little Wendy was so upset when you were gone, and now that you're back I'm sure we'll be able to see her bright smile more often!" Millianna said happily as she then pulled him into a tight hug. This made Natsu flush a slight pink since he wasn't used to women he didn't know hugging him. A flush that Igneel picked up on, as did the two girls that just emerged from their room. Wendy giggled at seeing Natsu so uncomfortable, while Sherria pouted. She didn't get that kind of reaction from Natsu.

"Y-yeah, hopefully" Natsu said as he awkwardly hugged the woman back.

"Hey Millianna" Wendy said to help her brother out.

"Oh Wendy! Sherria!" Millianna cheered happily as she dashed towards the two and wrapped them each in a tight hug.

"H-hey Millianna" Sherria breathed out when Millianna turned to Wendy.

"I'm doing my rounds and checking in with all of the residents to say hi!" Millianna said energetically. "Are Beth and Araña here yet?"

"Yeah they got here the same time we did" Wendy said.

"Perfect!" Millianna chirped. "I'll go say hi then! Tonight you'll have to tell me all about how your kitties were when you were home! Buh-bye!"

Then she was gone, but they could hear her greeting the girls next door in the same way she greeted Wendy and Sherria.

"She's...uh...something" Natsu said.

"Sorry, she's just really energetic" Wendy said sheepishly. "Probably shoulda warned you."

"Eh it's alright" Natsu said. "Just caught me off guard."

"You think you'd be used to pretty women throwing themselves at you" Igneel said with a smirk. This made both him and Wendy laugh while Natsu pouted.

"I can't go anywhere without getting teased" Natsu grumbled. "Maybe I should get a girlfriend just so you guys would all leave my love life alone."

Sherria and Wendy perked up at this, for different reasons. "Really Natsu?" Wendy asked.

"Well….probably not right away. But now that I can go back to work….I might start considerin it" Natsu said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Really?" Wendy, Sherria, and Grandine asked, and Natsu jumped.

"When'd you get here mom?" Natsu yelped.

"Just in time to hear that" Grandine said. "Did you mean it?"

"Uh...yeah, I guess" Natsu said before clearing his throat. "A-anyway. Can we bring your bags into your room now?"

"Oh, yeah!" Wendy said happily. "Come see Natsu! See how I decorated my side!"

"HAHA okay Wends" Natsu said as he grabbed the bags he was holding -one of each girls'- and headed to the bedroom.

"Wow Wendy, it looks great!" Natsu said as he looked over her side of the room. Tacked on the wall were photos of her and her friends, some art works she really liked, and photos of her with each of their family members. A lot of the family photos had him in them though, and he smiled softly at his sister. "It looks really good Wends."

Wendy beamed at him. "Thanks! You can throw my bag on my bed."

"Y-you can look at my side too Natsu" Sherria said quietly. Wendy cocked her head, not used to her best friend acting that way.

"Sure Sherria!" Natsu said as he put her bag down on her bed and looked around. Her wall was decorated similarly to Wendy's only with more posters. She also had less family photos as it seemed her family was much smaller than the Dragneels. "Looks good here too! No wonder you two get along so well, even your decorating senses are similar!"

"Th-thanks Natsu" Sherria said.

"Yeah" Wendy said with a small blush. Natsu looked back over her wall and noticed a picture he hadn't the first time. It was of a red-faced Wendy giving an equally red-faced Romeo a kiss on the cheek. He saw it and grinned mischievously.

"So Wends, how's Romeo?" Natsu asked 'innocently' without turning to face her. He glanced back and saw she was starting to put together what was happening. "He come down with a fever recently or somethin?"

Wendy immediately turned tomato red and started sputtering. Her parents had also entered the room by this time and began laughing heartily. Even Sherria was chuckling at Wendy's response.

"I-I thought you said no more teasing!" Wendy cried out.

"That was before I found this gem of a picture" Natsu said as he turned to face her with a devilish grin before it softened. "Are you two dating Wendy?"

"I-Well-I mean….yes" Wendy worked out eventually.

"Good" Natsu said softly. His response was barely heard though as Grandine rushed her daughter and held her tight.

"My baby's first boyfriend!" Grandine cried. Igneel, Sherria, and Natsu just laughed as Wendy tried to squirm out of her mom's grasp. Eventually Wendy was put down and she turned to Natsu.

"What do you mean 'good'?" Wendy asked.

"Just that. You two have liked each other for a long time. I'm glad you're together...as long as you're happy that is" Natsu said as his features slowly darkened.

"Yeah, I am" Wendy said as she looked at the picture.

"Good" Natsu said softly. "Now, before you two go crazy unpacking, let's go get somethin to eat!" Everyone laughed at the Natsu-like idea.

"I'll go invite the girls!" Grandine said excitedly. She and Igneel left, leaving the siblings and Sherria.

"I'll go make sure they don't scare your friends away" Natsu said with a wink before he walked out after his parents. Wendy giggled before turning to Sherria.

"Hey, Sherria" Wendy said hesitantly.

"Y-yeah" Sherria replied, already knowing what Wendy was going to ask.

"D-do you have a crush on my brother?" Wendy asked.

"I-I….maybe?" Sherria sighed. "I don't know. He's nice and good-looking, but I know you'd feel awkward if I pursued something with him. Plus I'm pretty sure some of the other girls in his life already have his attention."

Wendy sighed. This was exactly what she was afraid of when her family was joking around before Sherria came.

"I-I won't be mad. It's just weird" Wendy said."He's my brother and you're my best friend. But if something were to happen, I wouldn't be upset."

"Really?" Sherria said hopefully.

"Y-yeah" Wendy said awkwardly.

"Come on girls! Food waits for no one!" Natsu called in with resulted in laughter from their whole group.

"Coming!" Wendy called back. She and Sherria nodded to each other and made their way to the rest of the group. For the rest of the older Dragneels' time there, everyone joked around, made small talk, and had fun. Especially Natsu when their food finally came out. Araña was more than a little amused at Natsu's love for food, since it was her first time meeting him, and didn't bother to hide it.

On the ride home, Natsu rode with Grandine since she asked him to.

"So was all that talk about relationships meant to be for a certain someone in the room?" Grandine asked. She had a feeling it wasn't, but asked just to be sure.

"Huh? Oh you mean Sherria?" Natsu asked to which Grandine nodded. "No. I mean, she's pretty and all, but I already told Wendy I wouldn't date one of her friends. Besides… ah nevermind."

"No, tell me" Grandine said eagerly. "It almost sounds like you have someone on your mind!"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't" Natsu replied with a smirk.

"Oh? That's how you wanna play huh?" Grandine asked with a smirk of her own that made Natsu start to sweat. "Fine then. I'll just let slip to Mira and Mavis what I heard tonight. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to hear it."

"That's not fair!" Natsu protested immediately. "I just want to get used to working again before I start to pursue someone! Is that so wrong?"

Grandine softened at that. It seemed like Natsu was still unsure of his progress with his injuries. "Okay, okay. I'm just interested is all. You haven't given much thought to a relationship in years, so it's a big deal to us."

"I guess" Natsu said as he looked out the window.

"Are you nervous?" Grandine asked.

"About dating? No" Natsu said.

"No, about going back to work" Grandine clarified.

"Oh….a little. It's not like the job will be killer and there will be barely anything to do besides emails and sitting at a desk" Natsu said.

"But…" Grandine prodded.

"But, well, I'm just nervous since Taylor hasn't told me I'm all better" Natsu said.

"Oh honey" Grandine said to how vulnerable Natsu sounded. "I don't know that you'll ever be 'cured' completely."

"I-I know. She told me that much. She said it never really goes away fully, but I can hope it will right?" Natsu asked.

"Of course sweetheart" Grandine said as she put her hand on his knee. For most of the ride it was quiet before Natsu spoke up again.

"I think it's time I move back to my apartment" Natsu said and Grandine grimaced. She knew it would be coming sometime this week, but that didn't mean she thought it would be so soon!

"Already?" Grandine asked, hoping he said no.

"Well, yeah" Natsu said, shattering her hopes. "The apartment's a couple of blocks from my new office so I could walk there instead of asking you or dad to drive me."

"We don't mind!" Grandine said quickly. "We know your ankle still hasn't been cleared enough to drive!"

"Mom~" Natsu whined. Grandine sighed at this. 'Curse my soft heart' she thought to herself.

"Okay, okay. Fine. We'll help you move, but not until next weekend, fair?" Grandine finished.

"Yeah, okay. That sounds fair" Natsu nodded. Internally he was jumping for joy, though. He was starting to miss the peace and quiet of living in his apartment by himself, even though he hadn't set foot in it for over two years.

The two were quiet for the rest of the ride home, which only lasted ten minutes. When they pulled in, Igneel was at the front door unlocking it.

"Bout time you two showed up!" Igneel called as they got out of the car. "I was gonna eat all of the cookies before you got home if you were any slower!"

"Over my dead body old man!" Natsu called back before attempting to race up the driveway to the front door before Grandine cleared her throat.

"No running Natsu" Grandine said.

"Aye sir!" Natsu said as he began to power walk towards the house. 'Loophole' was all Natsu thought as he heard his mom sigh in exasperation. Igneel just chuckled in response.

Natsu went right passed Igneel and into the house, 'probably heading straight for the cookies' Igneel mused to himself. He hung out at the door because he could tell something was off with his wife.

"What's up hun?" Igneel asked when she reached him.

"Natsu wants to move back into his apartment" Grandine sighed.

"O-oh" Igneel said. "I guess you weren't able to say no to him this time huh?"

"No, not with his place being close enough to work for him to be able to walk there" Grandine said grumpily.

"He wasn't gonna stay with us forever" Igneel said softly.

"I know….I'm just worried about him. He always pushes himself too hard. Way passed his limits and I don't want him to get hurt again" Grandine said as tears gathered in her eyes. "We almost lost him, and I…"

"I know baby, I know" Igneel said as he wrapped his wife in a hug. "But just yesterday you said yourself that he was makin great progress in p.t., so I'm sure it'll be okay. When does he want to go?"

"ASAP" Grandine said sadly. "But I got him to agree to another week here."

"That's good though, right?" Igneel asked and felt Grandine nod against his chest. "Gives him another week of treatments and getting stronger. I'll make sure to bring his weights home with me though, so he isn't tempted to use them."

"That would make me feel better" Grandine said against his chest.

"It'll be fine. And besides, it's not like he's in Crocus. He's just across town and we can visit him whenever we want. We do have a key to his place."

"Yeah I guess you're right" Grandine said and then pulled away from Igneel. "It won't be that big of a deal."

"There yah go!" Igneel said with a grin. 'You owe me one, boy' he thought to himself. "Now let's go inside before our vacuum of a son eats all of the sweets."

"He better not! Especially after making me all upset!" Grandine replied before hurrying into the house. Igneel laughed as he followed. When they arrived at the kitchen, they saw Natsu sitting at the table with a grimace on his face.

"Natsu? What's wrong?" Grandine asked.

"I didn't mean to upset you guys" Natsu said. "I just miss the apartment."

"Oh...we didn't mean it like that Natsu" Grandine said. "We're just….nervous."

"And it's upsetting you" Natsu said plainly.

"Kinda" Igneel admitted and shrugged when Grandine shot him a look. "But we're fine with you goin. We would feel better if I took the weights from you until Elfman clears you to use them."

Natsu chuckled sadly. "I guess. I just thought that since I've been doin better and Elfman is almost ready to start letting me do bodyweight workouts that you guys would be okay with me goin. I didn't want to cause any trouble for you guys."

"Natsu, you've been causing trouble for us your whole life" Grandine deadpanned. Both Igneel and Natsu chuckled at that. "But I do feel better that you decided to agree to wait a week before going."

"Yeah. I'll wait to hear what Elfman says about my progress before I actually move back to the apartment, how's that?" Natsu asked.

"That sounds great" Grandine said and then they heard the coffee pot ding.

"You made coffee? But you don't really like coffee" Igneel said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you guys took so long gettin in here I had to do somethin or else I would have eaten all of the cookies" Natsu chuckled. Grandine's eyes narrowed.

"How many did you have before you thought of that?" Grandine asked suspiciously.

"None! I swear!" Natsu said quickly. "I was waitin for you guys to come in behind me but you were takin too long so I made coffee and listened in on your conversation!"

"That's not much better, boy" Igneel said with a grin.

"I-Well-Yah see….yeah I know. But I didn't know what was takin so long, and then I wondered if somethin happened so I went to investigate and...yeah" Natsu said quickly.

"Alright, alright, calm down. I was just teasin yah" Igneel said.

"Now who wants cookies?" Grandine asked and immediately the family's attention went to the cookie jars -because it's the Dragneels- on the counter.

"I'll get the coffee and Natsu's milk poured" Grandine said teasingly to which Natsu pouted.

"Not my fault milk and cookies is a classic" Natsu grumbled. "They just taste so good together." Both parents laughed at his grumbling.

"Well take a couple and enjoy" Igneel said as he grabbed his five. When Grandine made this batch she put her foot down and demanded they have no more than five in a sitting so that she could actually enjoy some of the cookies she made. Natsu grabbed his and the two waited until Grandine set out the drinks, grabbed her five, and sat down before digging into his five.

The three talked for a bit about what to expect this week, and how they'd get Natsu to work on Monday even though both Igneel and Grandine had work at the same time. It eventually ended with Igneel dropping Natsu off way before his start time so he could make it on time to his own job, but only because his job was closer. With that out of the way, Natsu said goodnight and hobbled up the stairs. The day took more out of him than he realized until he started winding down. Natsu plopped down on his bed and was instantly asleep, Happy and Charle curling up on his back to indulge in the warmth he naturally expelled.


Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Took a bit longer to get out than I'd have liked, but we're redoing the bathroom at my parents' and I had to travel for work a few weeks ago so I haven't had as much time as I wanted to work on my stories. But now poll's up on relationships in the story! Vote for your favorite, or if you'd rather no relationship and leave it vague. And please review. It helps keep me focused and eager to work on the story when I can see you all enjoy it, if you do.

See yah next chapter!