Despite everything that was currently going wrong in his world, in that very moment Natsu found he simply couldn't care any less as he squeezed the tiny hand that was engulfed in his own. Glancing down once more, Natsu felt a rare and tender smile spread across his lips at the sight of the shorter pink haired boy next to him. The younger boy smirked and squeezed his father's hand right back and it only made Natsu's smile grow wider if that were even possible.

Yup, for once in his long life, Natsu felt a certain completeness at having his son's hand in his and knowing that there were no secrets between the two of them anymore as of last night.

...scratch that, Natsu tongued at his dull fangs distractedly, almost no secrets between the two of them. But there would come a day when he told the boy, Natsu justified as he pushed on.

Lucy had been running late that morning for work and had begged Natsu to take Aiden to school. It was completely unnecessary as the two boys had been practically attached at the hip since last night. So Natsu gladly volunteered and it was a nice change for the old vampire, doing something as domestic as walking his son to kindergarten.

"Oh look it's Ms. Mirajane," came Aiden's voice, pulling Natsu from his walk through cloud nine. Glancing down, he saw his son's arm pointing across the road from his school towards a middle aged woman Natsu hadn't met before.

"Who's she?"

"She's my afterschool teacher," Aiden explained a matter of factly, waving at the lady in question.

Natsu raised his head up in time to watch the woman return his son's wave before a different kind of wave crashed over him once he caught a glimpse of the pale white hair that was bundled up in a loose bun. A near forgotten image of a young girl with a short white bob of hair and bright blue, happy eyes flashed across Natsu's mind as he gulped. There couldn't be any relation could there?

As they neared the school, Natsu was able to see the funny look he was getting from the woman though, and it didn't help his growing sense of dread. The world was a small place and he wouldn't be surprised anymore with the terrible luck he had been having as of late. He vaguely did remember a small girl that lived with Lisanna, a very young girl, that Lisanna had always doted on but Natsu had never cared enough to know.

Not wanting any confrontation, the older pink hair tinted man gripped Aiden's hand tighter and turned into the school grounds entrance to make sure the boy didn't wander off to say good morning to this Mirajane. If she was who he thought she was, then he really didn't have the heart to confront her.

Looking over his shoulder at the lady one last time, Natsu gulped. Turning back to Aiden and his school, the vampire knew that the little luck he had was dwindling quickly. Much too quickly if the look of recognition and remembrance on her face had anything to say about it.

A sigh of fatigue and relief left Lucy's lips as she pushed her front door open, finally returning home after a rough shift at work. It had already been a struggle to focus on the mind numbing world of shift work at a coffee shop with her fragile world already crumbling around her, but adding onto her load the wonderful world of impatient and sometimes disgustingly rude customers she had to deal with today, Lucy was bent out of shape.

But just before she could collapse onto her couch and toss her purse to the side, her cell phone tucked away in her butt pocket began vibrating and going off.

"Hello, Lucy?" came a sweet voice through the other end when Lucy finally answered.

"Oh Mirajane, what's up?" Her eyebrows furrowed, "Is Aiden alright?" A quick glance at the clock told her that Aiden should still very much be at school and not at after school care so receiving a call from his caretaker was unusual.

"Oh Aiden's fine, nothing to worry about," Lucy could practically hear the sweet smile that was probably spread across the woman's face, "I'm actually calling to ask you about the man I saw walking your son to school this morning actually…"

Lucy's face twisted even more in confusion, "Oh you mean Natsu?"

"Natsu?" Lucy wouldn't pretend she didn't hear a sense of familiarity with the way his name fell from her lips, "What about him?"

"Who is he to you?"

If it weren't for the wariness in Mirajane's voice, Lucy would have thought this was just another moment for the white haired woman to matchmake the poor blonde or talk about her lackluster love life. But Lucy only sat straight before responding, "What do you mean, Mira?"

"I was just curious how you two know each other seeing as he was walking Aiden to school is all," Mirajane explained.

"Well he's," Lucy paused, trying to word this properly, sensing that this was a loaded question and that Mirajane was definitely not giving her all the details, "He's my boyfriend."

So lame, she thought.

"Boyfriend?" Mirajane sounded surprised, "When did this happen?"

Lucy shook her head, "Oh I don't know….I still wanna know though, why are you asking? Did something happen or…?"

There was a pause on the other end, but the blonde waited, feeling worry start to choke her up, "You see, I actually know Natsu, or rather, I used to know him."

Whatever Lucy had been expecting, that had not been it, "Wait, you knew him? How?" If she knew Natsu, did that mean she knew him enough to know the truth?

"Yes, I was very young but I wouldn't forget him," Mirajane continued hesitantly, "He was good friends with my mother."

"Oh that's cool," Lucy forced a smile, "Small world-"

"Lucy, you can't continue seeing him."

"Wait what?" Lucy deadpanned, "What in earth, where's this coming from?"

"Please just trust me," Mirajane continued, very much serious, "Is he there now? You need to get out of there now and grab Aiden and run. I'm not pulling your leg, you need to know that-"

"Mira, I don't know what you know, but you can't tell me what to do," Lucy stood up finally, finding herself getting angry more than anything over the sudden accusations Mirajane was making towards Natsu, "Where is this even coming from?"

There was silence on the other end and Lucy felt the impulse to hang up on the woman. But finally the older woman spoke, "Lucy, please trust me on this. That man has done terrible things and I can't sleep knowing you and Aiden might be in any danger and I-"

Lucy took a deep breath as Mira continued on. The blonde might not know exactly what Mirajane was referring to in full, but she did know that the white haired woman's intentions were very pure and knew that she was only worried for the two of them, "Mirajane, I appreciate this so much but I know what I'm getting involved in."

Mirajane stopped her tirade to reply, "Lucy, I really don't think you do, I-"

"I do," Lucy found herself smiling despite it all, "trust me. Now speaking of Aiden, I've gotta go grab him from school, I'll talk to you later, Mira." And just like that, Lucy decided to hang up on her friend before she could continue her monologue on the reasons why she and Natsu weren't meant to be together. Lucy was sure that nothing about Natsu could ever really surprise her anymore, but that didn't mean it wasn't surprising to find out that Mira and Natsu had perhaps come into contact at some point in time. She found herself slightly curious how that went about and wanted to ask the pink haired man himself.

"You can come out now, Natsu, " Lucy stretched her arms up above her head, a knowing smile pulling at her lips when she heard the man of the hour finally enter the living room from the hall way, "Eavesdropping is rude, you know that right?"

Desipte himself, Natsu smirked, "Well it sounded serious, I wasn't about to interrupt."

"Oh so listening in was the better option?"

Instead of answering, Natsu came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on top of her right shoulder, "Rough day at work?"

"So we're not going to talk about the fact that you and our son's after school teacher have history?" Lucy smirked, leaning her head on top of Natsu's soft pink hair, "It was a rough one, but I'll survive."

Natsu chuckled, "Our son."

Lucy joined him, raising her right hand up to curl her fingers in Natsu's hair, "Oh quit it, tell me how you know Mira or you're not coming with me to grab our son from school."

The man sighed and despite Lucy's whine of complaint, he unwrapped himself from around her, "Can we not talk about it and say we did?"

Lucy huffed, twirling around to glare at the man, "Um no, we can't. Look at the mess secrets have put us in, do you think we need more between us?"

Natsu sighed again, looking off to the side, "No…"

The blonde dropped her hands that were aggressively placed on her hips only seconds ago at the sight of Natsu's almost defeated look, "Look Natsu, I'm sorry and I know this is hard for you but-"

"No I get it," Natsu interrupted, raising his hand in her face to stop her, "I'll tell you, I promise just...don't we need to get Aiden or something? I know Levy said she won't be back til late from work and I just…"

He was fumbling and Lucy decided he needed rescuing, "Yes, let's go grab Aiden and maybe drop him off at a friend's or something? That way we can talk tonight if you'd like…?"

"Yea, that'll work."

Once that plan was set, the two wasted no more time putting it into motion. Dressing for the steadily colder weather that was approaching, the pair walked hand in hand towards Aiden's school to pick up the boy. Both deep within their thoughts, the only vocalizations were of shallow things like stories from Lucy's work or what Natsu did to keep busy while he was home alone. It was awkward and Lucy would be the first to wish Mirajane hadn't called at all if it would have prevented this stiff air between them.

And just as they were really starting to open up to one another.

"Well isn't this adorable?"

Natsu and Lucy froze at the sound of a new voice breaking the tense silence between them, "What the fuck, Gray?"

The dark haired vampire was standing only a few meters in front of the pair and yet Natsu hadn't realized his old frenemy was that close, "Did I actually manage to sneak up on you? You're losing your touch my friend." Gray commented with a smirk, shaking his head in disappointment, "Well I'd say sorry for interrupting whatever this is," he gestured towards their joined hands before returning his gaze to Natsu, "But I come bearing news."

"News?" Lucy's eyebrow rose in confusion, glancing from Natsu to Gray and then back to Natsu, "What news?"

Natsu replied, ignoring Lucy's question, "So you found him?"

Gray nodded, "Yes and he shared his thoughts but I'd rather not talk about this in such an open space, obviously."

Natsu nodded, finally letting go of Lucy's hand before turning her way, "Luce, I need to go with Gray to-"

"Hell no," Lucy huffed, "You are not about to leave me and take off together to share more secrets, Natsu. We've been over this, secrets don't do us any good."

Gray smirked at the way Natsu almost winced at the angry short blonde, but felt it was smarter to keep his mouth shut and remain a silent observer of the exchange, "But Lucy, this'll only be a second and then I'll be back home and I-"

"No, I'm coming with you."

"But Luce…" Natsu whined. Lucy's frown only deepened before Natsu finally deflated and backed down, "Fine! Come with us, but who's going to grab Aid-"

He paused as he watched the blonde dig out her cell phone from God only knows where and punched in a number and waited for the receiver to pick up, "Hey Erza? It's my Lucy. Oh, I'm fine thanks for asking, and you? Glad to hear it. I was actually calling to see if you wouldn't mind picking up Aiden from school today? I know this is short notice but something really important came up and Levy's at work you see, so...you will? I owe you big time, Erza. Thank you! I'll be around tonight to come pick him up. Tell him to be good or I'll hear about it. Thanks again, bye!" Lucy clicked her phone off and slipped it back into her butt pocket before looking at at Natsu's dumb expression with a smirk of her own, "There, all taken care of."

Natsu only blinked but Gray's eyes were narrowed, "Did you just say Erza?"

Lucy and Natsu both turned to Gray who was still very much right where they left him before Lucy replied, "Uhh yea, she's a friend of mine. Why? Do you know her?"

"For another time," Gray grimaced before shaking his head, "Now are we ready to go or what?"

"Yea, yea," Natsu frowned, grabbing Lucy's hand again before racing after Gray wherever he had deemed safe for them to chat.

Aiden blinked dumbly as he watched the approaching red haired woman from the front gates of the school yard. Gripping his backpack straps, the small pink haired boy internally groaned, realizing it was Erza and putting two and two together, he concluded that she must be here to pick him up and babysit him. All this meant to Aiden was that his mother and/or father were too occupied with whoever knows what to grab him from school. He offhandedly wondered where aunty Levy was during all of this, but sighed.

All Aiden knew was that this was going to be a boring afternoon at Erza's house and his parents had some explaining to do when they came to grab him.

"Hey Aiden," Erza forced a smile that screamed awkward to the tiny boy, "your mom called me and asked me to pick you up."

Aiden nodded knowingly, "Did she say why?"

Erza paused, realizing that she hadn't even bothered to ask the blonde why, "Uhh I'm actually not sure, but she'll be back later tonight to grab you."

The red head reached out for his hand and Aiden begrudgingly took it. It wasn't that he didn't like Erza, but something about her worried something deep within him. His nerves were frayed in her presence and despite her best intentions, Aiden couldn't help but feel that he needed to turn and run as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

Fighting back this instinct, Aiden forced a smile and followed Erza home.

"You couldn't pick a more secluded place could you?" Natsu grumbled as he saw Gray finally come to a stop in a deserted clearing. The two had followed the dark haired vampire into a suburban back road and through some undergrove until they finally reached this small clearing in a small forested area a few kilometers away from any sign of life, as far as Natsu's nose could tell.

He gave Lucy's hand a squeeze, still hearing her catching her breath from the long run to here. Natsu tried to not smirk back at her when she didn't squeeze back; the vampire was certain she wouldn't appreciate the jab at her physical endurance, "So what exactly did Jellal tell you?"

"Jellal?" Lucy questioned next to him.

Gray sighed, his back still turned to the pair. His shoulders seemed stiff but he remained silent despite both of their enquires. Natsu, not being one for patience, found himself growl out, "Just fucking tell us, Gray."

Lucy glanced from Natsu to Gray then back to Natsu, not understanding who Jellal was or what Gray knew. The blonde decided it was best to remain silent for now, her voice not needing to be added to the tension that was increasing between the two vampires.

"I asked Jellal what you wanted to know," Gray began, slowly turning now to face Natsu, his face grim, "and I did, but you aren't going to like it."

The corners of Natsu's mouth turned down, "Gray…"

"It's the same way, Natsu," Gray continued, "the only way."

Lucy gasped out in pain when she felt Natsu's hand tighten around hers, "Ouch Natsu," she grunted, "What's going on? What did you send Gray to find out?"

Natsu turned to her, as if remembering that she was even there at all before he let go of her hand abruptly, as if it burned him. Turning away, he stomped over towards a defenseless tree and sent his fist into it, effectively cracking the trunk. Both Gray and Lucy winced at the act of violence before the blonde turned to Gray for answers, "Someone tell me what's going on right now."

Natsu continued to ignore her but Gray sighed, dragging a hand down his face in exhaustion, "Natsu had me ask an old friend for help after you were effectively mated to both him and…"

"Gajeel," Lucy finished for him, not caring enough at this point to acknowledge Natsu's twitch at the sound of the vampire's name, "What about it?"

Gray continued, "Natsu wanted to figure out how to end the connection you have with...Gajeel, and the only one we knew who might have answers was Jellal."

Lucy tried her best to be patient but the way the two vampires seemed to be walking on eggshells with her was beginning to piss her off, her patience could only take so much, "Yes, and?"

"There's only one way to end a mating connection, Jellal didn't have any more answers than Natsu or I had," the dark haired vampire grumbled.

"Only one way?" Lucy blinked, felt her throat clamp up in worry, "And what's that?"

Finally speaking, Natsu grabbed her's and Gray's attention when he opened his mouth to say:

"One or both have to die."

"You want a snack or something, Aiden?"

The pink haired boy shook his head, "No, I'm okay thank you."

Erza smiled and nodded, "Well how about you help yourself to the tv then, I have some chores to finish."

Aiden forced a smile and made his way into the living room as the red head started the water up to fill her sink and clean her dishes she had left behind in her frenzy to go pick him up. Tossing his backpack down next to the couch, he hopped up onto the cushion and reached for the remote control. Turning on the television, he skimmed through the channels until he reached his favorite after school kids program.

A few moments later, as Aiden watched the ending credits roll up the screen, the boy felt a resounding urge to go to the bathroom, "Uhh Erza?"

"Yes Aiden?" Her voice came from somewhere in the small apartment.

"Can I use your washroom?"

"Of course," Erza called back, "last door on the right."

Aiden quickly hopped off the couch and ran down the hallway to his destination, wasting no time in dropping his trousers and sighing in bliss. Washing his hands up and drying them with a towel hanging by him, Aiden made his way back to the living room until his eyes caught something shiny and glinting to his right. Glancing down the hall to check if Erza was anywhere nearby, Aiden gently pushed the door to his right open the rest of the way once he saw that the coast was clear. Aiden loved playing spy and this was a perfect opportunity to investigate whatever it was that caught his eye.

Upon opening the door all the way, Aiden couldn't help the small gasp that escaped his mouth. The room, at first, seemed like a plain old guest bedroom: a bed, dresser, some cheesy trinkets decorated the blank walls. But it was the metallic glint of a blade that had Aiden's full attention.

A sword laid across the guest bed. With a gulp, Aiden couldn't control himself as he excitedly ran up to the side of the bed. He had never seen a sword in real life before and couldn't help but want to touch it. Taking a quick look behind himself to triple check that Erza wasn't there, Aiden reached out and grasped the handle of the sword. The pink haired boy tried to lift it up but he barely could as it came crashing down to the floor in a loud thud.

Aiden knew he was in trouble before the thumping feet down the hall even reached the doorway. Looking up just in time to see Erza come into view, Aiden gulped.

"Aiden, what on earth are you doing playing with that?" came Erza's worried admonishment. She kneeled down in front of him and grabbed the sword from the boy, "You should never play with this, this isn't a toy."

Aiden watched as Erza placed it back on the bed again, "But why do you have a sword?"

Erza froze, hesitating long enough to find a reasonable answer, "Well I...I live alone you see, so keeping a weapon makes me feel safe. That's all. But please Aiden, promise me you won't touch this again and won't tell your mommy about this, alright?"

Aiden sighed, frowning at being in trouble and also confused as to why Erza wanted this to be kept a secret, "I promise," he paused, an idea coming to mind, "but only if I can hold it one more time? I mean, you'll be here this time and can help me. Please? Pretty please? It's just so cool and-"

Erza felt a small smile creep up her lips as the boy rambled on about how cool swords were and how he'd promise to never tell his mom. Against her better judgement, Erza sighed, "Okay okay, just one time. But how about I find you a sword more your size?"

"You have more than one?" Aiden squealed.

The red head laughed as she went over to her closet and opened it, revealing an entire artillery of weapons and ammunition, "I have more than one."

Aiden was in awe, his jaw dropping at the sight of the shiny, glittery weapons before her. Erza was looking cooler and cooler every second; who else could say their babysitter had her own mini weaponry?

"Hmmm how about this one?" Erza mumbled to herself, grabbing a smaller dagger-like sword, "This one's for quick attacks. I keep it hidden on me."

"Wow," Aiden's eyes widened as she faced him once more, the sword in her hands. He watched as she gently placed the blade in her hands, allowing for the handle to face him, "Why do you have all of these?" he asked offhandedly as he reached out for the blade's handle.

Upon reaching the clothed material that was wrapped around the dagger, Aiden felt the skin of his hands burn at contact, "OUCH!" he hissed, pulling his hand to his chest, cradling it.

Erza also let out a gasp and placed the blade on her bed before kneeling before the injured boy, "Aiden, Aiden are you okay? Lemme see."

The pink haired boy whimpered but allowed the older woman to take his hand and take a look at his hand. Aiden had not expected that intense amount of pain when he gripped the blade, feeling like his palm was on fire, "What happened? Why did it hurt?"

Erza had gone silent, opening his palm up with her fingers and staring at the tell-tale signs of a burn. The red head knew that the only reason that blade would burn at contact was…

"Aiden, are you a vampire?"

A/N: Oooooooh snap, shit's getting revealed! And I finally got to show off a bit more Erza...and uh oh, is Aiden in trouble? What's gonna happen? Oh noooo. lol

Again, sorry for the delay in updates. I can only promise you that I WILL finish this story, it'll just happen at a slower pace. I've taken on working two jobs so my time's limited and then when I DO have time off, I'm kinda not into writing every second of it. Sorry not sorry. lol

Lemme know your thoughts and CONSTRUCTIVE critiques! R&R!