S.R: Before we get into the story I need to do a disclaimer again.
I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS EXCEPT FOR THE OCs THAT ARE INTRODUCED INTO THE STORY. I ALSO DO NOT OWN THE SONG THAT'S LYRICS WILL BE SHOWING UP IN THE STORY, I JUST GOT IT STUCK IN MY HEAD AND WANTED TO PUT IT IN THE STORY.
A few days had passed since Mira came by the house to see Michiko. Natsu and Cana had taken their daughter to the guild a couple times, and several other members came by Natsu's home during those days. It was all done in an effort to get the baby girl to become accustomed to the others in the guild so Natsu or Cana could take a quick job. But luck wasn't completely on their side.
They had been sitting in the guild hall for a bit. Cana was feeding Michiko her bottle as Wendy, Levy, and Mira all sat nearby and chatted about how adorable Michiko was. Natsu had been pulled off to the side of the room by Gray and Lucy. Erza would have been with them, but the council had asked for her, so the red headed knight was off on her own job.
"I know you can't take a job just yet, and that you have to choose some of the quicker ones when you do finally get the chance but… How does this affect our team?"
Lucy had asked, Gray was curious as well. He'd never admit it out loud, but even without Erza to force him along on the jobs they'd taken in the past he was happy and proud to be part of Team Natsu. Yet before Natsu could give them an answer a shout of "COOL!" caused him to groan.
"Jason, what brings you to Fairy Tail today?"
The guild master asked as he stood up from his seat at the bar and turned towards the door. The young man that he addressed just shouted 'COOL!' again. But then he quickly ran up to Makarov to talk.
"I came by to hopefully get an interview and info on why a couple members of your guild haven't been seen out on jobs for almost a month now. I'd rather get the truth than just go by the rumors that have been spreading."
Natsu having heard the man stiffened. He knew the reporter was wanting to talk to him and Cana. Several other guild members were a little stiff as well having realized the same thing Natsu had.
"I see. Well it's up to them if you get that information or not."
"Yes, I know. Uh is there somewhere I can wait while they decide to talk to me or not?"
"You can use my office."
Nodding his head in thanks the reporter dashed up the stairs and into the guild masters office, as everyone turned to face Cana and Natsu. They all knew why Natsu avoided interviews, but since he heard the kind of things Jason wanted to talk about they were unsure as to if Natsu would agree to the interview this time. Cana also had a say in it, and considering how protective the duo were of Michiko, they wanted to know how she was going to handle things as well.
The two adults just stared at each other for a moment. Nothing was said as they maintained eye contact, a private and secret conversation going on just by looking at each other. Sighing Cana stood up, and walked towards the stairs as Natsu fell into step beside her. Since the brunette was holding Michiko Natsu entered the office first.
"Do not shout cool, or get loud. If you do this talk is over got it?"
Natsu growled, towards Jason who nodded his head eagerly. Now that he knew they weren't going to have to worry about the man being loud and startling Michiko who was starting to yawn and nod off in Cana's arms he opened the door back up for the Card mage to join them. When Jason noticed the baby in her arms his eyes went wide, as confusion overcame his mind. He was about to shout a question of how, but Natsu growled at him and it reminded the reporter than he'd promised not to get loud.
Sheepishly nodding his head towards Natsu he stayed quiet as Cana sat down beside the pink haired man.
"I can see you've already figured out the reason we haven't been active this month. Let me explain why."
Cana commented having decided to move things along. She explained how the little girl her arms came to be adopted by the two of them, and Jason bowed his head in silence for the girls birth mother. A few more details about things were given by Natsu, and then the room was quiet as Jason gathered his thoughts.
"I see. That's a pretty big and important reason to be less active alright. Normally I'd just ask some questions and take some notes, but if I may make a suggestion?"
Jason stated, his words drawing Cana and Natsu's interest.
"Go on."
They replied in unison.
"Alright, this is just a suggestion but… Allow me to hold a proper interview with the two of you in a few days. That way I have some time to get some questions together that are more suitable for the actual situation. Plus I can convince my boss to pay the two of you for giving said interview. I know parenting isn't cheap so this way you can get some money out of the deal."
Natsu and Cana were both a little surprised to see the man being thoughtful of their situation.
"That works for me. When would you like to hold this interview?"
"Well Cana, I could come back in two days, probably with about a hundred and fifty thousand jewels for each of you for doing the interview. Or..."
"Or what?"
Natsu asked.
"Hear me out before you say yes or no. Just from how the two of you have acted this entire time I can see you clearly love Michiko and would do anything to keep her safe. This may seem a bit counter intuitive but… We would pay for your trip and stay if you came to Crocus for the interview. I suggest this because if you come to Crocus we can also have a small photo shoot. Pictures are normally seen as some of the best forms of proof, and if we had a few to go along with the interview it would go a long way in showing the public how much and how deeply you care about her. Plus if we do it this way I think I could convince my boss to pay you four times what he would if I just came back for the interview."
The two parents were stunned by Jason's idea. But after a moment of consideration they realized the man was right. After all it was easy to say something and then do the opposite. So words might not be enough. Sighing Natsu nodded his head towards Cana as a signal that it was her decision.
"We'll go with your suggestion if you don't mind."
"I'm just happy to help, I remember how much my older sister complained about money issues when she she was raising her son... Now, I know you can handle yourselves but after this news gets out a lot of dark guilds may target her to get to you Natsu. I would hate for news I've published to cause harm to anyone, especially a young child, so after the article gets published I would probably ask for some other guild members to stay close by and help keep an eye out if I were you."
Jason replied as he stood. Though after mentioning his sister he turned towards Natsu. Even though he'd never done and interview and most of the news about him was just accounts of the destruction he's caused, everyone in Fiore knew the man had made enemies of almost every dark guild in the country.
"We probably will get that extra help, but I can promise you this Jason. If anyone tries to hurt her while I'm around their life is forfeit. Ask any dragon slayer, if someone tries to harm a child in front of us it will become a fight to the death."
The way Natsu responded held such a strong conviction that Jason couldn't help but pity whoever would be dumb enough to make an enemy of Natsu by even thinking about harming his daughter.
A Few Days Later
Natsu and Cana had traveled to Crocus for the interview with Jason. Of course Michiko was with them, but surprisingly they drew very little attention despite how well known they were. So their ride towards the capital city of Fiore was extremely boring. Since it was still fairly early the duo decided to head over to the Sorcerer's Weekly magazine building and get the interview out of the way before checking into their hotel.
After checking in at the lobby they had a short wait while Jason set up a room for the interview. During this time they were setting close to a man who was constantly muttering to himself and then shaking his head.
"It's a good thing gramps was on board with this idea. I mean we're doing this to tell the public why we aren't going to be as active, but it also lets me get the chance to warn that I' not going to hold back in the slightest when it comes to protecting Michiko."
Natsu commented to Cana as they patiently waited. But the man that was close to them turned at the sound of his voice and smiled.
"That's it! that's the sound I was looking for. Excuse me sir do you mind if I ask for your help?"
"Uh, we'll be busy in a few moments with an interview so sorry pal."
"I didn't mean right this moment. See I'm a well know songwriter on top of being a mage. I have this song that I created, but I've been looking for the right sounding voice to record it. The moment I heard you speak I thought it would be perfect."
Natsu was unsure after hearing the mans situation.
"Um… I'm not much of a singer."
At that moment their conversation was interrupted as Jason came to collect Natsu and Cana for their interview about becoming adoptive parents. Even though Natsu didn't seem to want to accept his request the man handed him a business card. Pocketing it Natsu followed Cana and Jason to the room that had been set up for them.
"Okay, so before I start asking the questions my boss and I came up with, I figured we'd recap with the info you gave me the other day. Mostly because the flow of this conversation is how the article will be set up, which means it's best to start at the beginning."
The reporter commented as they sat down. He had a pad of paper and a pen in his hand, but there was also a recording lacrima set up on the table between them in case he needed to reference something word for word.
Nodding Cana started off by talking about how she had accepted a job by herself, only to learn she would need help. Natsu chimed in at that point explaining how she came back to the guild and asked for his help, and the fact he rushed them back towards the vineyard the job was located at.
"But we weren't quite fast enough as a den of drakes had already started to destroy everything. We split up at that point, Natsu charging in to fight the drakes while I rescued all the people that were still trapped in their homes. I thought I had cleared all the houses already, and started to make my way to help Natsu when I heard a high pitched cry."
Cana was shaking at this, as she recalled the scene and tears came to her face. She squeezed Michiko a bit tighter in her arms unknowingly. It wasn't enough to harm the little one though, but Natsu noticed it and put an arm around the brunette and rubbed her arm with his hand in an attempt to calm her.
"I was too late to save the mother, but she begged me to get her daughter to safety."
Cana was silent after that, unable to continue speaking about how things played out. Her mind still picturing the broken form of Michiko's birth mother.
"By this time Cana had also fought and beaten two of the drakes. But she had used too much magic and was not able to fight when a third approached her. I managed to stop it in time, since it was the last one by that point. The little one was asleep during all of this but we kept her safe."
Natsu picked up, for her and finished explaining how the mission went. He continued on to mention that when Michiko woke up as they were walking towards the place Cana had sent all the people she'd saved, the little girl didn't cry or panic. She was completely content and happy which was a relief and a shock to both of them.
Cana had pulled herself back together by this point and finished explaining how they came to adopt Michiko.
"When we tried to hand her over towards the people I'd saved, she became extremely fussy and sobbed uncontrollably. They were unable to comfort her in any way. It wasn't until Natsu tried to soothe her that she stopped. But when he tried to get someone else to hold her like I had, she began crying again. Somehow she had grown attached to the two of us."
"Yeah. I mean those were people that probably helped her mother take care of her but she was clinging to us instead. Not to mention I hate it when people are sad and wouldn't have been able to bare leaving her crying in someone else's care. So after a bit of debate and hesitation Cana and I agreed to take care of her."
Natsu stated, agreeing with Cana on the fact Michiko was attached to them at already at that point. Jason just nodded his head. He completely understood what Natsu meant, just from the stories he had heard from the members of Fairy Tail when interviewing them in the past, the reporter could tell Natsu was the kind of person that would do anything to keep people happy.
"Okay, now to move on to the questions my boss and I had come up with."
Jason spoke before beginning the second half of their interview.
Hours Later
After their interview about becoming parents Natsu asked if Jason would bring his boss into the room for a moment. He was unsure but did as the pink haired man wanted him to.
"You wanted to see me Mr. Salamander?"
"Well we talked with gramps about it, and after he said it was okay for this interview, he gave me the idea to ask if I could do a separate one. Since we are being paid for this one I figured I'd ask if you would pay for an interview with just me. After all I've never really done an interview before so it could be pretty huge."
"Why certainly. Now, because it would be an exclusive interview with you, do you mind if we hold off on the article about you and Miss. Alberona adopting little Michiko?"
"That would be better actually. It gives us a bit more time to find other members in the guild that Michiko would be okay with if something happened and either of us needed to fight or something."
Cana chimed in, accepting the idea Jason's boss presented. After that it was agreed that Sorcerer's Weekly would pay the hotel Natsu and Cana would be staying in for another few nights. With that wrapped up they left the Sorcerer's Weekly office, only to run into the man that had asked Natsu about singing again.
"I really don't know about doing it. But if you keep asking the answer will quickly become no."
Natsu growled at the man, tired and wanting to just head to their hotel room already.
"That's perfectly fine with me. I wanted to let you think it over anyway, but then I thought maybe you'd like to take a look at the lyrics before making your decision."
With that the man handed Natsu a piece of paper, and then walked away. Shrugging Natsu folded the paper and put it in his pocket. He and Cana then made their way towards their hotel and checked in. After a couple more hours had passed it became time to put Michiko to sleep. Normally they'd rock her to sleep while reading, but since they couldn't do that Natsu was gently swaying with her in his arms as he hummed. Strangely the little girl fought of sleep. Almost as if she didn't want to go to bed yet.
"Maybe you could try singing instead of humming?"
Cana offered as she stood up from the bed and made her way towards the bathroom for a shower. Natsu went to reply that he didn't know any songs, but then he recalled the folded piece of paper in his pocket. He struggled to unfold it one handed, but somehow how he managed. Setting it on the night stand below the lacrima lamp so he could see he began.
"When you need picked up 'cause you fell down
Need a piggyback ride or a birthday clown
Need a song to take you to sleepy town
I'll be there"
He had to stop himself from snorting at that line, since he was using the song to do just that for Michiko. Even though he was trying to keep his voice down and soft so as to lull the baby to sleep, Cana was able to hear him. Michiko was smiling as Natsu gently swayed his arms, the sound of his voice and the movement combined was enough for her to relax. She was still fighting off sleep, but not as strongly as before. So Natsu continued to sing.
"When you need a coach or you need a fan
Need a castle built out of ocean sand
Or a rainbow chaser, I'm your man
I'll be there"
Natsu took a breath here, before continuing on a smile on his face as the lyrics spoke to him.
"I'll be a tear dryer, A paper airplane flyer, A monster runner-offer if you get scared
I'll be a sap, I'll be a sucker, A story maker-upper
Anytime, Anything, Anywhere, I'll be there"
He was really getting into the lyrics, at this point. His smile stretched from ear to ear. In the shower Cana was smiling just as strongly, the way he sang the song, and the lyrics themselves leading her to see Natsu being the perfect father for Michiko and any children they'd have in the future. Though she blushed when she realized that she was picturing them together as parents of more children. The baby Natsu was singing to and for yawned contently, a warm and happy smile still present on her face.
"When you break your heart or skin your knee
Need a big ol' hug or a bowl of ice cream
I promise you can count on me
I'll be a heart mender, A prayer sender, A hopper and believer when it's all up in the air
A strong and steady shoulder, I'll be a secret holder
Anytime, Anything, Anywhere, I'll be there"
Michiko had already drifted off to sleep at this point but Natsu didn't care. He was going to finish the song. His smooth rocking motions continued as Michiko was still in his arms. After taking a deep breath he continued.
"I'll be there if you need a frown turned to a grin
Or if you need a hand just to hold your hand
Need a daddy or you just need a friend
I'll be there
I'll be there
I'll be there."
(A/N: I KNOW NEITHER OF NATSU'S VOICE ACTORS SOUND EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE TO JOSH TURNER WHO ACTUALLY SINGS THIS SONG BUT I GOT IT STUCK IN MY HEAD AND IT FITS WITH HIS CHARACTER!)
Natsu continued swaying his arms as he turned to the bed and laid Michiko down on it. He would have put her in a the crib if they were at home, but it was a hotel, and they didn't have one in the room. But he placed her in the middle of the bed. He didn't move after that, instead just staring down at his sleeping daughters face with a smile.
That was how Cana found him she she came out of the bathroom. Since things were still pretty awkward between the two, and she knew Natsu needed a shower as well, she had quickly dried herself off and gotten dressed rather than walk out into the room with just a towel like she would have if he wasn't there. Luckily she had already gotten rid of her blush from the thought of having more children with Natsu.
"That sounded really nice Natsu."
She commented as he stood up for his turn in the bathroom.
"Thanks Cana."
"I've never heard that song before. Did Igneel teach it to you?"
Natsu just shook his head and pointed towards the paper on the night stand. Cana went wide eyed at that. 'He wasn't sure about singing but he sounded amazing! Natsu should totally sing that song for the guy.' She thought to herself, as she began thinking about how to convince her pink haired partner to sing more.
S.R: I only have one thing to say. If you're curious about the song, it's called 'I'll Be There' and is by Josh Turner. Hell even if you aren't curious about the song I'd tell you to look it up. Anyway I'll see you guys later.
