Hiya! I feel like a hurrble, hurrble person… I'm so sorry for what I have done… I'm a demon and I should just eat my cookie now… I'm sorry… Thank you for those who reviewed, favorite, and followed last chapter! Please leave a Review and Favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!

-Let there be midnight

ME NO OWNS FAIRY TAIL!

Chapter Twenty One- Breaking Points

Erza, Gray, and Lucy were sitting in the unused dining room waiting for Natsu to finish cooking dinner. This was also apparently one of Natsu's punishments for abandoning the group at the café. While Natsu cooked Happy was curled by his feet, dozing off with his tail swishing on the ground lazily.

Natsu grumbled as he mixed what was in the pot over the stove. Not only was he unhappy about making more food for two other mouths, more than what he was used to, but he was also unhappy that he couldn't shake the three off. He should've never have told them Father wasn't home. That was a horrible mistake that he regret ever doing.

He placed the lid over the pot once more to let the contents boil a bit more as he moved over to the loaf of bread and began to grumpily cut off slices, muttering under his breath as he did so. In about an hour or so he was able to finish making diner, set the table, and sit down as he glared at his lap angrily. Now it wasn't so much of the fact they were here and he had to cook for them, he now felt nervous about how they thought of his cooking. He had fixed just a plain meal of rice, bread, vegies, and chicken.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted, making the pinkette jerk his head up to look at his blonde friend to see that she had already taken a bite out of the chicken. "This is amazing! I didn't know you cooked!" she squealed as a happy smile slipped on her face, scooping up some rice and eating it quickly. Erza and Gray both nodded in agreement, eyes wide in shock. Natsu felt his ears and cheeks turn red in embaressment, shifting his gaze to the steaming plate of food in front of him.

"I didn't know you could cook!" Gray yelled in shock, his fork dangling in his hand as he stared at the plate in front of him in surprise. He couldn't believe it. Out of everything he thought Natsu could be good at, cooking wasn't one of them. It wasn't even near the list! But it wasn't like he cared at the moment, there was delicious food sitting right in front of him!

Natsu shifted a little in his seat, face becoming redder as he picked up his fork and started to mess with the veggies and rice, not really eating them.

"You should cook more often! I heard the café that Levy's family owns is hiring a new cook, you should apply for the job." Erza suggested smiling kindly at Natsu, unlike she had done before she barged into his house. Natsu smiled nervously, scooping up veggies and stuffing them into his mouth.

"Father would never allow it." he replied softly. He noticed the three stiffen a little at the mention of Father, but he ignored them. Why should he bother with how they felt towards him? They've never met the man, well Lucy had but that was when he remembered Father being kind.

"We've been meaning to talk to you about that…" Erza trailed off, placing her fork on the table softly, Gray and Lucy doing the same. "Natsu—"

"If it's about doing something about Father, I will hear nothing of it." he said, his voice suddenly cold as he scowled, jamming his fork into a carrot with a loud 'clank'!

"He has to be dealt with Natsu!" Lucy pleaded. Natsu softly shook his head, stuffing the carrot in his mouth.

"Stop it Luce. I lived with Father for a long time now; I barely even remember when he wasn't like he was now, but that also doesn't mean I don't care for him. I mean, he's my father, I'm supposed to love him." He lied about the part of barely remembering, but the rest was the truth. Natsu didn't dare meet their eyes, afraid of what he would see.

"You don't need to love someone like him, Natsu. After all that he has done to you? No one would blame you if you hated him." Gray replied, Natsu detecting anger in his voice. Natsu's fork paused right before he stabbed a pea, a memory coming to play.

"Mom said that no matter what anyone has done to you, no matter the pain they caused, you should never hate anyone because no one deserves to be hated. And no matter how much I try, I cannot hate him. He deeply loved my mom and when she died… he himself died inside too. I know he does it out of the grief of losing mom, but I just wish he did it in another way." Natsu said quietly, laying his fork down gently by his plate.

"You mother died years ago! He should get over it!" Lucy argued, cheeks flushed with anger at the mention of his father. Natsu looked calmly up into her brown eyes, face calm and relaxed.

"Not all people handle grief in the same way. Some handle it longer than others." he defended, the familiar feel of anger rising in the pits of his stomach.

"This is far too long for someone to handle their grief! You were, like, four when your mom died! You're fifteen now! Ten years is more than enough to get over the death of someone!" Lucy shouted, her own anger rising in her along with frustration as to why Natsu couldn't understand. Why did he defend his father so? Couldn't he see that… that… that man had hurt him throughout his childhood? Why did he have to love someone like that?!

"Well, it isn't your problem, now is it?!" Natsu screeched suddenly. The sound of a chair falling backwards on wood was heard as Natsu slammed his fists on the table, his glass of water spilling and the silverware and dishes shivering in fear at his anger. "You don't live with his anger! So why do you get a say in this? Why is at all of a sudden you three have to barge into my life and become the superheroes that save the god damned day?! I didn't ask for any of this! In fact I didn't ask to live in this shitty household day after day to get hit by a father who doesn't love me, but I still love him, and friends who just stick their noses where they just don't belong! Why am I the one that gets this shitty life! I didn't ask for it! So stop your nosing and let me live how I want, then we'll all be fucking happy!" Natsu screeched, spit flying from his mouth. His face was twisted in rage the three of his friends had never seen before, scaring even Erza out of her wits as she stared at him with wide shocked eyes. Tears of anger prickled at the edge of Natsu's eyes as he heaved, panting heavily from his rant as he stared his friends down.

"Natsu…" Erza started, only for Natsu to cut her off from saying more, tears rushing down his cheeks as the anger turned into a more sorrow state.

"I ask for none of this! And with you guys trying to help me and all is adding more to the stress I have and I just can't handle it! I-I can't! I might seem like I can take the whole world on my shoulders, b-but I can't! I have my breaking points too, y-you know! A-and I've been trying my best to make sure you guys d-don't have to witness it because I don't want to b-be a burden!" Natsu's voice and shoulders shook as he tried to repress his sobs, hating how weak he was. All Erza, Gray, and Lucy could do was stare with their mouths agape, staring at Natsu in so much shock they were left speechless. "I-I just wish y-you would stop…" he whimpered, trying desperately to wipe away his tears on his sleeves, choking a bit on his own tears.

"W-we didn't know…" was all Lucy could say, her voice wavering a bit. She couldn't believe it… She couldn't believe what she was hearing and seeing. The Natsu she had known since forever was conveying how he actually felt towards them while not lying.

"O-of course you w-wouldn't…" Natsu muttered, his voice muffled by his sleeve as he tried to wipe the tears that just decided to be jerks today and never stop falling. "No o-one would." And before another word was spoken, Natsu was gone and a door down that hall was heard slamming shut. Happy walked into the dining room, ears reared back as he stared at the people he had just met, confused as to where his newly beloved owner has gone. The food Natsu had cooked layed forgotten on the table, now cold.