A/N- Okay so I was reading a fic about this and I wanted to make my own little version of it. I thought it was the cutest idea!
Natsu's chest felt like he was being burned from the inside out. His jaw unhinged at the sight above him. Was this real? Maybe he was dreaming? Natsu couldn't stop the way his legs buckled and he fell to his knees.
He could vaguely hear Lucy shout his name from behind him. He felt her kneel down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. But his gaze didn't shift from the sky above. He was right there. Right there...
Igneel.
His eyes blurred with tears, his shoulders shaking. He really shouldn't be crying like this. The guild was still in the middle of a battle with Tartaros. But, his body betrayed his mind. The tears wouldn't stop flowing.
It was like a river, so many feelings rushing at him at once. Lucy's eyes softened when they landed on his form, a small smile tugging at her lips. Her gaze drifted to the large red dragon hovering in the sky. She really didn't imagine Igneel looking so...well, like a dragon. She chuckled to herself, she really shouldn't be surprised.
Natsu described him perfectly. A pointed nose with a scar on his right cheek, dark red scales, with a tan underbelly. Giant wings that spread wide enough to cover the vast sky. He was everything Natsu said he was. And Lucy had opportunity to meet him. To meet Natsu's father.
Her heart sped up at the thought. 'No Lucy! This is Natsu's opportunity to reunite with his father! Don't go thinking about yourself, this is his happy day!' Lucy thought to herself with a guilty blush. She slapped her cheeks and shook her head. Turning to Natsu, she was surprised to see that his expression turned sour. She wondered briefly what could of made him so angry.
Natsu, with a growl, stood up and pointed directly at the humongous dragon taking up the sky. Lucy let out an irritated sigh. She really should of saw this one coming. Of course Natsu wasn't going to let Igneel explain himself before going into a tantrum. Igneel peered down at his child, also in awe at his angry look.
"Igneel you bastard! You leave me for years, and now all of a sudden you show up out of the blue!? From my body!? Get down here!" Natsu screams, stomping his foot like a child. Lucy groaned and looked away from the two, feeling embarrassment from her best friend's actions. He could be so immature sometimes. But, to her utter disbelief, Igneel listened to his son. He landed on the ground before them.
She ignored the way the ground shook uncontrollably. Natsu crossed his arms and glared up at the dragon. If Lucy didn't know any better, she would of thought that Igneel was the rebellious son and Natsu was the angry parent. It was a weird thing to imagine. Igneel then crouched down so that his head was laying on the ground.
Although he was still much bigger than herself and Natsu. She froze in shock as Natsu laid into his father about leaving him, and how he felt, also while asking several questions about why he left and how he ended up in Natsu's body. All the while, Igneel grinning sheepishly and trying his best to answer his questions. But Lucy could tell he was holding back information. She couldn't imagine why he would though.
"My child, can we continue this conversation later?" Igneel asked his son. Natsu seized his rant and tilted his head to the side in confusion. "There is something I must get done. I'm sure you've heard of Acnolo-" Igneel said, although his sentence was cut short. His eyes widened a small fraction. He raised his head, smelling the air around them. Then, his piercing gaze caught hers. Lucy froze as the dragon stared at her curiously.
"W-What?" Lucy stuttered nervously. He was just staring at her. Did she have something on her face?
"Natsu," Igneel began, his eyes shifting back to Natsu. "Who is this human?" He questioned. Lucy's heart beat faster in her chest. It was embarrassing being put on the spot like that. Especially in front of a fire breathing dragon.
Even more so that this dragon was Natsu's father. She wanted to make a good impression, after all.
"This is Lucy." Natsu tilted his head in confusion as he stared at his father. Igneel lowered his head to the ground and lightly bumped his nose against her shoulder. To say Lucy was freaked out was a understatement.
Her heart hammered practically out of her chest. The dragon inhaled deeply and smiled. Lucy blinked as her brain registered that he was smelling her. What for? She really hoped she didn't smell bad in any way.
"Ah, yes, Lucy Heartfilia I assume. It was a very long time ago, but I knew an ancestor of yours," He explained softly. "She was very kind."
"Wait, really?" Lucy gasped in awe. To think Natsu's father had a connection to her family. It was just all too convenient.
"Oh yes, which makes me very happy you are so close to my son. The Heartfilia's are a powerful family line." Igneel grinned, a twinkle in his eye. Lucy blushed lightly and thanked him.
Despite the situation around her, all she could think about was how she was getting along so well with Natsu's guardian. Her eyes caught Natsu, who was crossing his arms. He huffed and stared off to the side. Noticing this, Igneel turned to his son and sighed. It was like he and her were thinking the same thing.
Natsu could be such a child.
"Why do I feel like you guys are having more of a reunion than I am?"
Igneel rolled his eyes. "I thought it would be a good idea for a father to meet his daughter-in-law, don't you?" Honestly, he couldn't believe how immature Natsu was behaving in front of his mate. The silence was very telling, however. Igneel noticed the way both teens froze.
"Huh?" Natsu asked quietly.
"I'm saying you chose well, my son. I may be a dragon but I can tell when human females are attractive. It started with her hair right? It's gold."
Lucy felt her face burn up as she touched her hair, twirling it softly with her finger. Did it really look like gold to Natsu?
Not that Igneel's words were true or anything...
But Lucy wished they were, and as Natsu stuttered incoherently, Lucy turned away from the two with a small smile. She knew she was pretty but it felt more real when even a completely different species pointed it out. Natsu continued to try to form a sentence when Igneel turned slightly to stare at the blonde. She seemed off in her own little world.
Until she was rudely snapped out of it.
"Dad!? What, no!" Natsu finally spit out.
Lucy didn't seem to take very well to that.
"No!? what do you mean no!? Do you not think my hair is pretty!?" She yelled, suddenly forgetting the dragon watching along with Gajeel, Levy, and an unconscious Laxus who stumbled upon the scene. Lucy was pretty pissed she was ripped from her hopeful thoughts and thrust back into reality.
One where Natsu was a stupid dense idiot.
"That's- what? That's not what I'm saying at all!"
"That's what was implied!"
"No! Ugh! Your hair is pretty, okay!?"
"Oh yeah, whatever! You're just saying that now..." Lucy pouted, turning away with crossed arms. Natsu looked utterly confused from the entire argument. He wasn't even sure what he said that angered her so much.
"You should apologize to your fiancée, son." Igneel chimed in.
"What!? Why are you siding with her!? And she's not my fiancée!" Natsu shouted, alarming Igneel. The dragon was puzzled by his son's words. How could she not be his fiancée? They just has a lover's spat did they not? And another thing...
"But she smells just like you? You've imprinted."
"Hm, what's he talking about?" Lucy asked.
Natsu suddenly felt like digging a hole and hiding in it. It was bad enough that the other dragon slayers figured it out, embarrassing as that conversation was. But now the object of his affection knew too? And was told by his oblivious father no less? He felt he was apart of a shitting sitcom.
He wasn't aware of when it happened. Only that it was around the time he began seeing Lucy in a different light. Lucy's scent began to slowly entangle itself with Natsu's. To the point that Lucy's scent completely changed and adapted to his own. Like a part of him was taken with her wherever she went. He could be away from her for weeks and his scent would still linger.
Which was how Gajeel first found out. Natsu had left for a solo mission that lasted two weeks. Within that time Gajeel hung around Lucy and quickly noticed the change in her scent. Just as Natsu knew the change in Levy's scent. By the time he got back, Gajeel, Wendy, and Laxus (surprisingly) hounded him about the whole thing.
He didn't get the big deal. Gajeel did the same thing with Levy, so why couldn't he? Everybody knew Lucy was his anyway.
"Nothin' Luce, don't worry about it!" His laugh was strained as he rubbed the back of his head. Lucy narrowed her eyes. He was definitely hiding something.
"Ah, I see now," Igneel stated, a sly smile appearing on his face. "Frightened by your own feelings it seems. So you've marked your claim the only way you know how without explicitly saying it."
To say Igneel was spot on was an understatement.
Sometimes it scared Natsu how smart his dad was.
And like the complete opposite of his father, he feverishly tried to deny it.
"That's not true at all! If you're implying I'm a coward then you're dead wrong!"
"I'm implying a lot of things, Natsu. You have to be more specific."
"Urk, I don't want to..."
Lucy was quiet.
She also wasn't an idiot. She put the pieces together as Igneel laid them down for her. Marked his claim? Fiancée? Imprinted? Natsu had changed her scent somehow. She wasn't sure whether it was accidental or done purposely.
To be honest, she didn't care. Because either way brought her to the same outcome. She didn't want to get her hopes too high, but it sounded like Igneel was implying that...
Natsu was in love with her.
A smile broke out on her face at the mere thought. Out of all the terrible things that happened to her so far within this battle, at least one good thing came out of it. Quite literally in fact.
Igneel.
Lucy suddenly laughed as father and son bickered. Natsu turned his head to confront her, but she quickly silenced him as she wrapped her arms around his torso. Giggling to herself as Natsu tensed. She rested her head on his chest, before tilting her head to meet his gaze. To her surprise, he was making a very unusual face.
One of sheer embarrassment.
"Lu-Lucy! Not in front of Igneel..." He whined. "He already has the wrong ideas put in his head."
"Well let him, it's not like what he said isn't true," she looked at the dragon with adoration and happiness. His words reassured her of Natsu's feelings as well as her own. "Thank you..."
Igneel felt as if an arrow had pierced his heart. His daughter-in-law was adorable! She was exactly what his son needed. In fact, she may be too good for him!
"What do you mean by that!?" Natsu yelled, interrupting his dad's thoughts of grandchildren.
"Oh come on Natsu I'm not stupid. Your bickering told me everything I needed to know," Lucy grinned. Natsu covered his face with his hands suddenly. Compelling Lucy to continue. "But I have to know...had it really started with my hair?"
"I-I, uh..."
"I have no doubt," Igneel hummed. Lucy turned her head to him with her full attention. "Natsu was always fond of gold as am I."
"Dad, don't tell her that!"
Natsu wasn't planning on telling anyone the reason why he brought Lucy to the guild and teamed up with her. Not even Happy. The truth was her hair was so uniquely blonde he couldn't help but picture it as gold. And like with gold, he wanted to hoard it.
Hoard her.
The fact that she happend to be a perfect fit for the guild (him) was just a fortunate coincidence.
"What's the matter? It's the truth isn't it?" Igneel shook his head. He leaned down and whispered quietly to Lucy. "He gets embarrassed so easily over these things. Trying to get him to sit still during a mating topic gave me the patience of a Saint."
"Oh come on, shut up..." Natsu replied weakly. Why was his dad hellbent on telling Lucy literally everything?
"Oh he does, does he?" Lucy snickered, he arms still tightly encased around the fire mage's waist. "So Happy was right, you do get shy huh?"
Natsu pouted and glared at his dad who laughed softly. How Igneel missed his son and their antics.
"What's the issue, boy? Lucy is a fine mate, there's no need to be shy with her."
Of all the things, Natsu did not expect Igneel to get so fond of Lucy.
He even seemed to prefer her over him.
"Why did you have to go and say all that?" Natsu sighed, briefly registering Lucy's hold on him tightening. He peered down to see her looking at the ground with a red face. Her eyes then caught his.
He wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling Lucy was going to say something incredibly embarrassing.
"I just want to say...I don't mind being your...mate or whatever you call it..." She muttered, fumbling her fingers together as her gaze focused into his chest. He never knew a woman could be so unbelievably cute.
"Are...Are you serious?"
Levy gasped as the scene unfolded. She felt like she was watching a romcom it was so romantic. Gajeel, on the other hand, was threatening to vomit. Which was so less romantic.
Igneel stared in awe. While his son was still so immature, it's clear how much he's grown since their last interaction. The boy had swore he'd never fall in love, and now he was across from his mate as she confessed her feelings.
"Mhm, Natsu I lo-"
Before Lucy could speak another word, a piercing roar sounded throughout the sky. Natsu held Lucy close.
He knew whose roar that was as did Igneel. Caught up in all the dramatics, he forgot they still had a war to win.
He just wished it could of taken just a second longer to rear its ugly head.
"To interrupt something like this...Acnologia..." Igneel growled. Lucy gasped upon hearing the name and felt herself freeze in Natsu's arms. If Acnologia was going to join in, it was all over. "Don't worry, daughter. I'll handle him." The dragon reassured her. Lucy couldn't help but smile despite everything.
"Yeah, don't you worry Luce. I'll protect you." Natsu winked.
"Then," Lucy smiled, kissing his cheek.
"I wish you luck."