AN- Sorry I had dropped of the line, but Dub says we need to slow down so we can keep up with my updates...

BUT ITS SO HARD YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! I'm sad to say this chapter isn't full of the humour it normally has. Hana Reika wanted to know Natsu's favour, so I had to write this chapter apart from what we already prepared and stick it in there. I hope you like it Hana and readers :D I'm not sure if I like it tbh...

CHAPTER 4: DIDN'T YOUR DADDY TEACH YOU ANYTHING?

Lucy's POV

Happy was yet again in my room, I was beginning to enjoy his company; at first the blue fluff ball just irritated me but now he returned to my room like clockwork. I picked up said cat and cuddled him close to my chest as I walked back over to my laptop where my homework was mocking me. Grudgingly I started it, there's only so much intelligence you can forge.. Who cared about maths anyway…

After getting bored at the sound of the keys clicking and the occasional click of the mouse I decided to sneak a look at my watch, seeing that Happy had been in my room for 20 minutes now. Which means Happy + 20 minutes = x ...Even I can do that maths… As on cue a pink haired teen barreled through my dorm door with the same look of betrayal that he always has when he sees me and Happy cuddled up together. Cue the crappy pick up line…

"You don't have to steal my cat to have an excuse to get my attention Luce," He drawled with his signature toothy grin and a flirtatious wink that had long lost its effect on me, I just huffed; as I replied with the same sentence I always do.

"You don't have to train your cat to come see me so you have an excuse to come find him and annoy me," I stuck my tongue out at him and cuddled Happy closer.

"Sure, Sure Luce say whatever makes you sleep better at night!" He smirked as he lent against the wall next to my bed, I just stared deeply at my computer screen.

"I sleep fine at night thank you very much!" I replied distractedly as I kept typing away at the answers to the maths questions that seemed much more simple that talking to Lover Boy over there. Meaning I was completely unaware of his creeping form as he jumped on the bed suddenly and closed the laptop, staring straight into my eyes. His eyes look slightly green at this angle… I found myself leaning forward but then my brain caught up to my body as I pulled back at supersonic speed, a blush dominated my cheeks.

"Oh Luce? You only sleep just fine? I could make you sleep much better," His eyes were alight with teasing as an easy-going grin spread toothily across his face.

"Screw off Dragneel!" I said hotly his eyes held laughter at my anger. WHICH MADE ME WANT TO STRANGLE THE BOY! The boy only half opened his mouth before I cut him off from his comeback.

"Didn't your Daddy teach you anything? How to treat a Lady? OR a friend!?" I said with an accusing finger pointed at him. As soon as I said the words his hand suddenly flew up to the fabric of his scaly scarf. The words had an instant effects, his eyes dropped slightly, his humourful light extinguished as he put all his efforts into maintaining his mouth to stay turned upwards.

"Natsu…? You alright? It was only a joke…" He didn't reply. He just picked up Happy in his arms stiffly as he made his way over to my door, after he pulled it open he froze and spoke without turning to face me.

"I gotta go feed Happy," He said detachedly. He just ignored my question! I mean … yeah normally he does eventually leave to feed Happy but that's because the damn cat begs him for half an hour, our conversation barely lasted 10 minutes. I just looked questioningly at him as he robotically made his way to his room before I got off my bed and closed my door. Hearing the door across the hall slam.

Natsu's POV

Didn't your Daddy teach you anything? That question was going off like a firecracker inside my skull, I panicked. My hand flew up to my scarf. Igneel taught me things! I looked up to see Lucy looking back at me with guilt and question filled eyes as she started to say something, blood was pumping in my ears I couldn't tell what she was saying. Didn't your Daddy teach you anything? I needed some air, quickly scooping Happy into my arms I turned on my heel and headed towards her door. I could feel Lucy's concern radiate against my back, it wasn't her fault. I willed my mouth to obey me and swallowed the bile in my throat as I squeezed an excuse out.

"I gotta go feed Happy," I kicked my door open completely oblivious of the door crashing into the wall and close it with a snap behind me. I was full of nervous energy as I began to pace. Igneel taught me things!

… Flashback…

It was a warm day, I can remember the sun was high in the sky when Igneel came into my room grinning from ear to ear.

"Natsu come outside," He coaxed me out of our house all the way to the edge of our street where the cherry blossoms grew in the park. I was always nervous around people from a young age.

"Daddddd what are we even doing! I had got to a good part in my comic!" I complained, only earning a laugh off of the strongly built man, who clapped his hand onto my head fluffing my hair up.

"Well I thought we could do something better than comic reading," I remember that had intrigued my 7 year-old curiousity.

"Nothing is better than COMICS!" I roared, only to earn a bigger laugh from Igneel.

"That's my boy, but give it a go Natsu" He lowered himself onto his hackles so I could see his ruby red hair which was spiked up in every direction. From the hand he held behind him, he took out a basketball and span it round on his finger.

"TEACH ME, TEACH ME!" I eagerly jumped up and down as I reached for the ball, once I realized that Igneel held it above my head out of my reach, I went for something more in my reach. I grasped and tugged at his scarf.

"Of course," Igneel chuckled, wrapping his scarf more securely around his neck.

The rest of that year we spent every morning at the basketball courts at that very park, practising till our bellies rumbled.

… Flashback End…

See! Igneel did teach me things! He taught me basketball! I got up and took the ball off of the shelf and hurried out my room, glancing at Lucy's door I want to be alone at the moment. I practically ran down the hall everyone was still tired from yesterday and just chilling in their rooms so the halls were ghostly quite, taking the stairs 3 at a time, I had to go through the kitchen to get to the backdoor.

"Oi Flamebrain you alright?" Grays voiced from the table he was holding what looked like ice tea. I suppressed a shudder as I just grunted a reply, I couldn't trust my voice as I just quickened my pace to the door.

"Oi!" I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and saw Gray looking at me with concern which was odd on his face. "Where are you storming off to?"

"I just need some air," I muttered can't he just mind his own damn business.

"Have you told Titania or Icarus? Hell have you even told Lucy?" Gray continued on ignoring the way I was trying to pull away from his arm.

I didn't answer, I just successfully pulled out of his stone-cold grip and went through the door to where the yard was. I heard Gray curse behind me before walking out onto the concrete and I started bouncing the ball. My hands were shaking I could barely dribble the ball, once I had gotten used to my shakes I started running at speed, swapping hands only for the ball to slip from my hands, I turned my body to the side to try and get it back under control but I only managed to twist my legs and I ended up in a heap. I blinked back tears as I looked up at the sky. I miss him...I have so many questions. Why did he have to go?

"Toasty! You will get a cold get up off the floor man," I saw Gray come into view holding the basketball.

"Says the one with no shirt on," I replied lamely, Gray looked startled for a second before looking down and groaning to himself before looking back at me.

"That's one of your crappiest replies yet… Look I know we don't exactly get on but you look kind of … Depressed? Sad? Angry? And I'm used to you looking fired up but not really angry…" I raised an eyebrow at his theory.

"No shit sherlock." He looked slightly more reviled before sinking down to a sitting position next to me.

"Least you have your dry humour… Back onto the point. Erm-Well what's up?" He offered awkwardly.

"I was talking to Lucy," I started but Gray halted me with a hand.

"Don't you mean flirting?" He smirked coyly as he started spinning the ball, that just reminds me of Igneel.

"I was TALKING to her and she just goes out and says 'Didn't your Daddy teach you anything? How to treat a lady?Or a friend?'" I said grouchily but it felt better to talk about it even if it was with popsicle.

"And that annoyed you why?" He asked incredulously, "It's true you do flirt with anything with two legs and a skirt,"

"I just talk to girls!" I yelled it's not my fault they flock around me…

""ArGh do you not know social standard conversations," Gray facepalmed next to me.

"What even are those… I have never heard of them before…" I turned to face him.

"Well- they aren't called that- but it was the best way I could describe them. But women they closely follow it. It's like rules of socializing you kinda pick them up over the years or you're parents give you the basics, like if you want to be friends with them don't make them angry or hurt them or scare them or if you like a girl you tease them and lead them on etc." Gray explained failing his arms around. Damn there was so many things he didn't have time to teach me.

"Natsu?" My ears perked up at Gray using my real name, I looked at him to carry on.

"Who didn't have time to teach you what?" Shit I must've said that out loud.

"My dad," Might as well not leave him hanging.

"Oh, was it not a good relationship with him?" Gray trailed off trying to grasp on what little information I gave him.

"It was amazing…" I saw Gray give me a puzzled look before I explained, "He was slaughtered,"

Gray flinched back at the venom of the word as he sat in silence looking down at me in sad eyes not pity..?

"That's where Icarus's favour came in," My shakes had calmed down. I didn't feel angry anymore at my father it wasn't his fault and it was mine for being oblivious. "You comfy? Cuz I'm not sure if I start I can stop."

Gray shifted into a different position and nodded for me to continue. I took a deep breath and looked up into the sky before starting.

"I was 13 at the time, and I had noticed my dad had gotten more … worn lately and I guess stressed. He had stopped me from going to school a while ago saying something about how we could do more 'fun' things at home. Yeah I enjoyed it for a while he taught me all I know about what chemicals make the best flame or the loudest bang or the most amount of smoke. What I needed to do certain tricks. It was fun… better than high school. But. Dad would go on more trips for longer coming back more and more tired, one time he came stumbling in and he had a massive 'X' slashed on the side of his face just above his lip. He stopped meeting his other friends a few years before that and that meant I stopped meeting their kids as well. I know it sounds kinda mushy but his hair had turned from being as red as an apple to rust, his freshly clean cut face was traded in for stumble hiding his scar. He stopped laughing and started getting more and more paranoid.

I can remember one day I was perfecting my smoke bomb - he had promised me a while back that I would soon be able to go on missions with him when I was older - and I heard a van pull up in the driveway rather recklessly. He bolted up from his slumped position on the kitchen table and strided over to the window pulling the curtain back slightly. He muttered loudly before snatching the smoke bomb from my hands and arming it, before throwing it out the window, I heard some people's annoyance and shouts of protests. As he shut all the windows and locked them, grabbing the shutters from behind the sofa and started nailing them in place. Before swirling round as he crouched down to eye level to me,

"Natsu I want you to go upstairs to my room and grab my work bag and I want you to have a blast - a literal one yeah? I want you to throw them out the bathroom window onto the nasty van yeah,"

It was the first time in months I had heard him chuckle. I ran upstairs and under his bed was a suitcase full to the brim off arson I hurried to the bathroom and balanced the case onto the sink as I clambered up onto the toilet to pry the window open and bombs away - literally. I laughed manically thinking this was the first job of many that my Dad will assign me. After I was all out I rushed down stairs for my next task, he had blockaded the whole of the downstairs and I could hear someone banging on the door making the whole house shake.

My dad was sitting clutching his stomach where blood was pumping freely. He had been shot. "Dad! NO NO NO!" I rushed to his side trying to apply pressure to his wound but I couldn't see I was sobbing. "Natsu I need you to cauterize it," He was hardly breathing but he pried one of my hands from his wound and held a piece of metal shaped in a 'X' and told me to take it to the fireplace. - Gray man I never ever want to do that again- I tried reasoning with him saying he didn't have an exit wound and I didn't want to seal the bullet in there. His eyes went hard and unyielding as he grasped my wrist in one of his bloody hands and commanded me to. There was so much blood - it sizzled against the metal making me sick to the stomach. He screamed. It made my own blood scream - Even now it's fresh in my mind like it was yesterday. I flinched back slipping on the sticky floor, the sudden sound knocked him out of his agony as he clenched his jaw and got up and offered me his hand. "Thank you Natsu it didn't hurt too much. Right it looks like the place isn't gonna hold up much longer and I need you to hide for me?" I was crying so hard I couldn't reply, all I did was nod as he led me into the living room and clicked a button on the fireplace causing it swing open and reveal a secret hiding spot it was only about 1.5 meters each way. I managed to gulp out some words, "I'm not hiding without you… Please Dad, I'm scared." He was about to reply when he heard the front door begin to splinter.

"IGNEEL WE KNOW YOU HAVE HIM," A strong voice called from the other side of the door.

Panic was clear in Dad's face as he looked at me with begging eyes, "Natsu please, quickly listen to me… I the one and only Igneel will protect you with my dying breath do not let it go in vain son. Please that's all ask," He pulled me into a bone crushing hug before pushing me into the small spot.

"Dad I don't want you to go anywhere! You promised we would go on many missions together! I have so much left to learn!" I yelled, "It's not fair,"

"Shhh, please remember what I said, I, Igneel, am with you, I always will be," He pulled off his scarf and wrapped it round my neck, I started to see tears spill down his cheeks as he slammed the fireplace submerging me into darkness.

"IGNEEL WHERE IS HE," The voice vibrated around the house in fury as I shrank back in the hole.

"I don't have him," My dad replied simply, if I craned my neck to the side I could see out one of the air holes I just had to look through the fire and I saw it all unfold in my living room. There was 8 men altogether, 6 of them were wearing a black kevlar uniform with a cyan dragon emblem on top of their bicep. The other two men are carved into my brain, one had dark long blue hair with blue tribal tattoos adorned his body and he was viciously holding Igneel by his jaw while there was a boy with black hair that was too long for his round face and red fury filled eyes that pulsed when he watched my dad. The tattooed one barked commands "FIND HIM HE COULDN'T HAVE GONE FAR." The 6 people ran out of the room leaving the two with my dad, the black haired man had an aurora of darkness around him. He pulled out a revolver from his jacket and held it to my dad's head commanding that the tribal man hold dad still. My dad just looked on staring steadily and rebelliously into his eyes before a smirk infected his face.

"Any last words," The tribal man sniggered in his ear, dad's smile grew even bigger.

"I'm all fired up - literally," My dad laughed softly, and I tore my eyes away when I heard the echo of a gunshot and the sound a of a limp body hitting the floor. I felt bile rise up in my throat as I passed out.

I'm not sure what happened next I awoke a few hours later, once I found the courage to come out from behind the fireplace I dreaded to see his body there… but it wasn't the only sign of him being there was a fatally large patch of blood on the ground. I ran to the bin and threw up, I staggered to the kitchen to get a glass of water when I saw a small blue kitten sat patiently with letter on my kitchen table and a big wad of cash it read: Dear Natsu Dragneel, I'm sorry to say I didn't answer your father's distress call quick enough and when I got here he was already gone, I scared the people off but I'm afraid they might return, I'm sorry I could not wait till you awoke but it would make things more complicated. I will support you from now on, I have brought a new house in the next town across and I would suggest that you go there now, take the kitten here as well to keep you company. I will be paying for you bills and money will be sent to every month, in exchange in the time of need I may cash in my favour to you. I know you are feeling angry right now but I forbid you from trying to find out who these people are, they are dangerous and if you go against my wishes I will sell you out to them myself. I'm sorry for your loss, Icarus. And I guess you know the whole story from that me and Happy moved away, Icarus kept me out of social services, paid for all of the things I couldn't, I never did see him until we all got dragged here, but I'm not complaining too much now." I finished with a deep breath looking at Gray for his reaction, but it wasn't the shocked face I was expecting, he just looked at me giving me a supportful smile.

"You've come a long way…" Gray trailed off looking up back at HQ.

"I guess I have…" I rose to my feet and bent down to offer to pull Gray up.

"But I'm not going to treat you any different from before…" Gray retorted as he grabbed my hand.

"I wouldn't want it any other way Ice Princess." I cackled when I dropped him halfway from pulling him up.

AN - Thanks Dub for betaing this. I shall now update every Monday or else Dubs will kill me

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