Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and all that noise. Only thing that's mine is the plot or whatever.
Chapter 2: Reading is hard, but so is fatherhood.
The room was quiet, save for the soft breaths of the three little ones and the.. no-so-soft snores of the iron-danger slayer that slunk his way in later into the night. It had been a nice reprieve from the solemn silence when Gajeel had tromped onside, a scowl on his lips as he shivered from the ice coating his body. For once, he said nothing as Natsu chuckled at his expense, only shifting through the space to stand by the older slayer's side and warm himself up in the natural heat Natsu put off. Eventually, though, he joined the rest in sleep, taking up another vacant bed.
And so he waited.
Makarov was still sitting on the other side of the. He wasn't actively looking in the direction of the slayers, but Natsu could tell he was remaining vigilant as he filled out paperwork. The only times the guild master ever got distracted was when he pulled out some magazine which – Natsu shivered – he didn't know what was in that magazine, but he did not appreciate it.
Besides the snores and the occasional flipping of paper or scratch of an ink pen, everything was quiet.
Perfect for thinking.
And he had a lot to think about.
It just sucked that thinking wasn't really something he enjoyed.
It was just so.. boring.
Honestly. He could spend hours sitting in this room with his mind perfectly blank and that was more enjoyable than trying to figure out what he should do.
Luckily, somebody up above decided to give a gift for once.
A small, throaty noise rose up from betwixt the sheets beside him.
"Nngh—!"
The pinkette's onyx eyes went wide as he shot to his feet, using the strength of his right arm to shove himself upright.
In an instant, he was sitting on the edge of Erza's bed, perched upon the mattress just beside her left arm. It was a little awkward, seeing as he had to reach around his entire body just to touch her face, but he managed it. Soft as possible and with a gentleness unbefitting a dragon, Natsu shifted some of the child's bangs from her face, keeping the locks of scarlet hair from sticking to her sweat-sheened skin.
Erza let out another moan and he could see her eyelids fluttering in place. Almost on instinct, she leaned into his fingertips, recognizing even the smallest of touches as something familiar, as something safe.
Still, it did nothing to quell the pain in his heart when she trembled and shook and tears beaded in her one remaining eye. Nor did it do anything to quench the flames of anger that raged in his lungs, yearning to be let loose on this 'Tower of Heaven' each and every time she uttered a soft 'Igneel' and 'hurts' and 'help.'
'Hurts.'
'Hurts.'
'Help.'
'Help.'
She was hurt. She was hurt. She was asking, begging, for help.
He should have been there. He should have protected her, just like he promised.
And now she was crying.
"Erza.. " He sighed and shut his eyes, unsure of what he should say. This wasn't what he was used to. He liked when things were straightforward, simple. This was all so.. confusing. Complicated. He didn't know what the best thing to do was.
Stay with the kids, risk failing them again.
Leave them to be cared for by Makarov and competent people.
Stay.
Go.
Take the kids.
Leave the kids.
He just didn't know.
The pinkette sighed once again, not hearing anything outside his own thoughts, shifting his fingers away from Erza's forehead to her cheek. He cupped the skin, ghosting along its surface with the side of his thumb.
"I'm sorry, little dragon."
He'd made his decision.
All he could do was pray it was the right one.
There was a small noise of surprise followed by the faintest of whimpers, but it was enough to draw Natsu back to reality. A single, brown eye stared up at him fearfully; its pupils nearly eclipsing the irises with how much they'd dilated.
Almost as soon as Natsu's eyes fell upon her, she scurried back, pressing herself against the headboard of the bed as she tried to put as much distance between herself and the mysterious man.
A little bit of his heart broke at the sight.
He thinks, deep down, that he'd secretly hoped she would be the one who remembered. He hadn't spent much time with the other slayers through the years. Honestly, he hadn't seen them for anything more than the occasional drop-in – that was more Anna's area – but with Erza it was different. He'd spent nearly every day with her and Igneel. They were a family.
A family.
So, yes, he'd hoped that she would remember him. Even if he never was brave enough to admit it to himself, he'd hoped it was true.
But, it wasn't.
It simply wasn't.
And now she'd gone through something horrible, something awful, something no person should have to go through. She'd suffered through all of that, hoping, praying for the day that her family would come to save her. And they never did.
She'd saved herself.
The father she'd loved and trusted had disappeared, abandoned her. The brother she'd forgotten, the same one who'd sworn to always protect her, he was gone too. He was there, but he wasn't.
Natsu tried for a smile, he'd always been able to smile through even the toughest of times.
Today was no different.
"Hey.. Erza."
She flinched at the name, but she didn't move beside that.
"My name's Natsu." He put a hand to his chest. "Natsu Dragneel. I was Igneel's first dragon slayer, he's told me a lot about you."
".. "
".. "
The fake smile he'd plastered on his face dimmed somewhat at Erza's nonreaction. The other slayers had been full of a seemingly endless well of questions when they'd heard he knew their parents, but Erza's just.. didn't do anything.
He supposed it made sense, he tried to remind himself to be patient with her. She'd been through something traumatic and she needed time to adjust. It was just.. there was this.. blankness to her face when he'd mentioned Igneel's name that he couldn't quite get over.
"I—uhm.. I'm sorry." Natsu bowed his head. "I swore to protect you, I swore to keep you safe. I," he didn't, "I didn't. I won't be able to make that up to you. Probably, ever. And I'm sorry. But I'm here now and I can keep my word. If— if you'll have me, that is."
And with his piece said, he waited.
No answer came.
Instead, Erza looked away, taking in the small slumbering forms throughout the room with an impassive face.
When she did look back, nothing had changed, not really, but at the same time so had everything. Natsu couldn't see it, but he could tell. Call it the enhanced senses of a dragon, call it a brother's intuition, call it whatever the hell you want. She had an armor around her heart, one that she may just never learn to go without.
Natsu allowed the smile to drop from his lips, instead choosing to close his eyes and nod once.
"I'll be here if you ever need me. If I'd known where you were, I would have flown straight there to save you—"
Natsu didn't catch it, but Erza did show some emotion at his word choice. Her brows furrowing and a silent 'flown?' escaping her lips as she laid there.
"—I lost track of you and with the four other slayers to watch." Natsu sighed and shook his head. "I don't mean to make excuses; I just want to help you understand. Igneel and I—we didn't mean to leave you to suffer. We didn't abandon you."
Even Natsu was having trouble believing the words coming from his mouth, each one tasted like ash in his mouth.
Sighing one last time, Natsu left the child with a soft smile and a pat on the arm. He stood up and prepared to leave the room, to give her some space.
He didn't get very far.
".. can you.. "
He paused, turning back toward the soft voice, and humming politely in acknowledgment. "Did you say something?" He heard the first bit, but she'd trailed off. As amazing as his hearing was, he can't exactly hear thoughts.
".. can you stay here?" A pause before she spoke in an even softer voice. "With me?" Another pause. Erza's hands twitched in her lap and she seemed wholly uncomfortable with the request she'd made. It was just.. this guy— Natsu?—he seemed.. safe. Yeah, that was the word.
Safe.
It'd been a while since she'd felt that.
She'd been wandering in the woods for a long time when she'd seen the smoke. Of course, she'd been looking for her father at the time, so she made the connection between the smoke and the Igneel's flames pretty quick.
In a rush, she'd sprinted straight for the source, screaming out to her father with barely restrained giggles of triumph. It had been a test. A test. She knew her dad would never abandon her. She knew Igneel loved her.
Bursting through the thickets, small scrapes marring her arms and legs, Erza beamed proudly at the fire.
The smile didn't last long.
A village – Rosemary, she'd eventually learned it was called – was burning to the ground. She hadn't noticed it before, too caught up in her own excitement, but screams pierced the night sky. Shrill, panicked, terrified. Masked figures descended upon the innocents, cutting down those who resisted and tying up the rest.
Not once did her thoughts turn back to Igneel as she rushed in, swallowing as much of the flames as possible before igniting her fist and leaping at one of the figures. Erza allowed herself a small smile as he crumpled under the force of a single blow.
She could do it.
She could save these people.
Veering off to the left, around the skeletal remains of a smoldering home, Erza pressed on. She ignored the charred bodies inside, the ones that held onto each other. She ignored the scent of copper in the air.
She ignored a lot of things.
She didn't ignore the crying child she found behind a house, making sure to get the girl into a crate before any bandits found her.
As fast as she could, Erza bolted away from the area, hoping to draw as many of the bad men away as possible.
She did.
The girl was safe.
Erza was.. less so.
She didn't remember much of the details after that. She'd fought hard, she knows that, but things started to get hazy after a while. She'd been like a cornered animal, lashing out at anybody who got near her.
For one reason or another, the leader had wanted her alive.
It wasn't until that point, when she'd been surrounded on all sides, when she'd realized that she really couldn't do anything to help, that she finally allowed her thoughts to turn back to her father.
One day, she remembered asking him why people learned magic. His answer had been rather simple. Power. Some used it to lord over others, while some used it for the good of everybody. There was a deep rumbling coming from the dragon's throat as he spoke, as if he found the entire concept funny. Perhaps he did, she didn't know. What she did know was that she didn't want to be the first, she didn't want power for power's sake.
She wanted to help.
She'd tried to help.
She'd failed.
Erza's world went dark as an impact reverberated from the base of her skull, her eyes rolling back in her head as her knees gave way beneath her.
All she remembered, from those final movements of freedom, was the one last prayer she sent to her father.
.. help..
She'd sworn, she'd sworn, that at that very moment, a voice spoke up, letting out a small 'sorry' before disappearing once again, forever.
She hadn't felt safe for a long time after that.
Not during the days of forced work, of slavery. Not during the nights with the few friends she'd made, not even when Rob told them all stories about magic and about his guild. Fairy Tail.
Not when their first escape attempt failed and Erza took the fall for one of her new friends. She didn't have a lot of them, she didn't want to lose any now. Besides, a dragon slayer's body was hardier than a normal human's. Igneel's magic would protect her, even if he wouldn't. (Who knows? Maybe her dad would finally come and save her before anything happened anyway.)
It didn't.
He didn't.
She lost an eye that day.
She lost hope too.
Jellal had come for her at some point, she didn't know when, she didn't know how long she'd been there, but he did come.
He came.
For her.
A friend.
Not family.
Not a daughter.
A friend.
He came when Igneel didn't.
(Maybe she could be a Scarlet instead of a Dragneel?)
(Maybe she should?)
Eventually, they broke free. (Could she still say 'they' when she was the only one to leave?)
Eventually, she got away from that island. (So, why did it feel like she never left? Why was she still afraid?)
She lost Jellal to madness. She lost Rob to death.
She lost her friends to cowardice.
She left them behind. But—she just—she didn't know what to do. She was just a kid.
She was just a kid.
And Jellal? He was possessed by something. Something evil. He said—he said he'd kill them all. That he'd destroy the tower and everybody in it if she ever tried to stop him. Their friends included.
So, she left.
And even now, she was too afraid to say anything. She didn't know if it was true, she didn't know if he would really do it.
But could she risk that?
Even if she believed that Jellal, her Jellal, was somewhere in there, trapped behind the malevolent being who'd taken hold over his mind— even if that were the case could she risk her friends' lives?
She didn't know.
She was only a kid.
A kid who everybody abandoned eventually.
She'd been alone in the woods when Igneel found her that first time.
She'd been alone in the woods when he eventually left.
They always leave.
Her family. Igneel. Rob. Jellal.
So, as she stared into Natsu's eyes as he nodded slowly, she couldn't help but wonder when he'd leave to.
He'd promised, he'd promised, to stay.
But what did that really mean? Was he telling the truth? Would he stay with her like he said he would, or would he leave just like everybody else?
In the end, she didn't care.
Because he felt safe.
And it'd been a while (too long) since she'd last felt like that. So, call it selfishness, call it willful ignorance, call it whatever, but she was going to soak up as much as that safety as she could until the day he left her behind.
".. just stay here."
She almost wanted to go on. To keep talking.
Maybe add a 'please.'
Maybe add a 'forever.'
She didn't.
Natsu was all too happy to oblige, quickly striding back to her bedside and perching up on the corner by her pillows. He didn't say anything else, but he didn't need to.
This was enough for now.
Erza didn't stay awake for long, the emotional overload of the moment being too much for her as she quickly slipped back into a deep slumber. Makarov had taken the moment to speak up from his corner, saying something or other about 'surgery' and 'artificial eye' but Natsu didn't quite understand it all.
After that, Natsu had stayed by her side for a bit longer, watching over her as she slept. Then, after checking in on the other slumbering children, he slipped out into the greater guildhall.
Which is where we start off now.
"Are you old enough to drink?"
Natsu paused, raising a brow at the worried frown on the bar maid's lips. Blinking owlishly, he peered down at himself. If he was honest, it'd been quite a bit since he'd looked at his own reflection, so he couldn't quite say how old he looked, but surely it wasn't that young, right?
Those four hundred years had to do something. He couldn't still look like a teenager..
..right?
He'd been what? Early to mid-twenties when he underwent dragonification? That had to be well over the drinking age now.
"How old do I look?"
The woman just shrugged. "Twenty-two, twenty-three?" She tilted her hand back and forth in an 'iffy' gesture. "Hard to say."
"Isn't that.. old enough to drink?"
It was an honest question; he had no idea what laws were like these days.
Holding her hands up placatingly, the woman just chuckled. "Just a precaution." She slid a mug across the surface to him, sending the pale-yellow liquid inside sloshing back and forth. "Call me over if you need a refill or anything else." Then, as if this whole interaction wasn't confusing enough, she winked at him.
Why did she wink at him? Was it a nervous tick?
Natsu's brows furrowed as he watched her leave, unsure what to make of her strange behavior. Beside him, Makarov just chuckled into his own drink, his shoulders bobbing up and down with each muted laugh.
"What?"
Makarov said nothing.
"What? What is it? What did I do?"
The old man just kept on chuckling.
Natsu scowled. Seriously. He didn't get what was happening?
"Settle yourself. I just find it amusing is all. She never asks people for their ages."
Well, that's concerning.
Natsu glanced back to the dark hallway, wondering if this was really a safe place for the children?
Makarov laughed heartily. "Relax." He waved him off, a lewd grin stretching his lips. "She just likes what she sees is all!"
Yeah. Natsu had no idea what that meant. 'What she sees?' What does she?
Whatever. Doesn't matter.
It was in stark contrast to their earlier feud, where it looked like either one was a few words away from throwing down with the other. Unlike the other brawls in the guildhall, nobody was all that confident that the building would survive.
Nor were they sure both of the combatants were going to make it out alive.
Now they resembled old buddies sitting down for a drink after a long day at work. They were exhausted, yes, but there was a certain.. content around them. Just for the moment, Natsu was okay forgetting his failures. Erza's request had been enough to settle his nerves for the moment. Even if she didn't remember him, even if she was closing herself off, she wasn't completely lost yet.
Natsu took another sip of his drink, casting the thoughts aside for now. The past was in the past, he could do nothing to change it, he could only move forward.
"Old man."
Makarov sighed.
"Yes?"
"I have an answer for you."
"Attention! Attention!" Makarov hopped up onto the stage around noon the next day, a big smile plastered on his lips. A smile that quickly vanished when he realized nobody was paying him any mind. Unappreciative brats. Growing his head to a titanic size, the guild master bellowed over the loud guildhall. "Listen up!"
As much as Natsu had to hand it to the short man for getting everybody to shut up, he could have used a warning. Sighing tiredly, Natsu shifted his attention away from the stage to the wide variety of slayers at his side, all of whom were glaring at the old man with enough venom that Natsu could be convinced they were raised by poison dragons instead.
"Alright, now that that's dealt with. I have an announcement!" Makarov soldiered on without pause, not letting anybody speak up to interrupt him. He couldn't afford to lose ground now. "We've got some new additions to our family, and they're a doozy, so pay attention!"
Immediately all eyes fell on their group, most of which narrowed at Natsu's less than enthusiastic salute and 'yo' of greeting, but luckily most of them softened upon seeing the smaller children around him.
Natsu shrugged.
At least they won't hold anything against the children.
"First up is Natsu Dragneel. I expect you all to treat him like family, that.. disagreement yesterday is old news, and he was right to act the way he did." He paused to look out over the crowds, daring them to protest. Satisfied when nobody did, he continued. "With him comes the rest of his little entourage. The taller one is Gajeel Redfox. So far, he's the only one besides Natsu joining us as an official member, but that doesn't make the little ones any less our family."
The master paused once again, but this time he didn't pick up speaking afterward, leaving a void of silence that seemed to stretch on. Understand what he wanted, Natsu nodded and started introducing the toddlers on his own.
Of course, he did it in the typical Natsu fashion.
Grabbing Sting by his collar, he hefted him up into the air, dangling him far above the ground.
"H- Hey! Put me down!"
"This is Stick."
Quickly placing him back on the ground, he made to grab Rogue. The little jerk had the nerve to dive out of the way, squeaking out a panicked 'R- Rogue!' as he rolled.
Natsu sighed. Fine. Be that way. "You heard him." Ruining his thunder.
He turned to face Wendy, who didn't shy away in the slightest. Instead, she took a step closer, raiding her arms up into the air and inviting Natsu to pick her up. He did so soon after, kneeling down and wrapping an arm around her back, securing her against his hip.
"This is— mleh?"
What is— ?
A tiny hand forced its way into his mouth, stopping any more words from coming out. Wendy, with one hand between the elder slayer's lips, sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes and trying her best to imagine nobody was looking at her. "W- Wendy!" It was cute, Natsu couldn't help but smile. He was pretty sure she'd meant it to be more of a roar, what with how she puffed her chest out, but it came out more like the squeak of a mouse.
How adorable.
Nodding once, Natsu tilted his head backward, freeing Wendy's hand. "This is Wendy."
Then, just as Natsu was preparing to set the blue-haired girl back down on the girl, he felt a faint pressure against his lower back. Turning, he frowned worriedly at the child leaning against him tiredly.
His sister paid him no mind as she bravely (and admirably) tried looking out over the guild. "Erza," she announced in introduction.
Nodding once with finality, Natsu turned away, fully prepared to lead Erza back to her bed.
Of course, the guild had other things in mind.
"What kind of magic do you all use?"
Peeking over his shoulder, he saw two small girls rushing up to them, smiles stretching their lips. One with brown hair and the other with blue. Unfortunately, the question had gathered most of the guild's attention again.
Natsu sighed. He really needed to help Erza back into a bed, she needed to save her strength. She was still confined to her bed until they'd gotten her healthy enough for her new eye, she shouldn't be walking around, especially on her own.
"You kids want to handle this or should I?"
There was a certain pride that came with the magic they wielded. It was a gift from their parents, mighty dragons, rulers of the skies. He was confident that they'd all appreciate being able to tell everybody themselves, and he was mostly right.
Gajeel went first, never one to bow down from a challenge. "I'm an iron dragon slayer!" He smirked, letting out a cheeky 'gihee!' as some black-haired boy scowled at him. "I was raised by the iron dragon, Metallicana!"
The same black-haired boy, apparently still upset about something Gajeel had done the night before, took the time to make a very, very bad mistake.
He laughed.
"Bahaaha! A dragon! Baha! That's hilarious!" He wiped a tear from his eye and held his stomach. "Dragons don't exist!"
Yeah.
Not a smart move.
Natsu wrapped his arm around Erza's shoulder and held her steady as the children all worked up a mighty glare.
Well, the children minus Wendy, who was crying.
Damnit.
"Oy! Uhh.. kid?" He might want to start learning some names. "Apologize. Dragons are very real, and I don't appreciate you making Wendy cry."
Seriously. What the hell was with people and making Wendy cry? It had to happen at least twice a week during their travels. Not cool, guys.
As he waited for the apology, Natsu danced his body back and forth, trying to encourage Wendy to focus on something, anything but the kid's words. It worked.. to a degree.
Of course, the kid seemed far too preoccupied taking his pants off to apologize.
Go figure.
"What the.. ?"
Natsu stilled, his face frozen with his eyes wide and his tongue dangling from between his lips.
Why was he taking his pants off?
This guild was weird.
Sighing, Natsu simply shook his head and turned away. With one arm supporting Wendy and her arms wrapped firmly around his neck, he began taking slow steps in the direction of the infirmary. "Come along, children." If they were just going to get laughed at for by some brat in his boxers then he might as well just bring them somewhere they could play on their own. The comments didn't really bother him, it would be the equivalent of somebody walking up to you and saying 'I don't think humans exist' like..? Natsu is a dragon, saying they don't exist was just kind of.. dumb.
It was dumb.
But the kids took his words to heart and that was an issue.
Partly because Natsu hated seeing them upset, but also because he was the one who would have to make them happy again and just—ugh.
Erza kept one of her hands against his back, her fingers clenching the fabric of his shirt tightly as he led her away. Just behind her were the twins, both of them scowling at everything and nothing at all as they tromped along.
Gajeel, naturally, started a brawl instead.
That was fine.
Natsu's line of duckling followers was long enough as is.
They entered the infirmary.
He did a headcount.
He'd picked up two stowaways.
Great.
"Err.. hi?" The two girls from earlier were back, standing awkwardly in the center of the room. "What are your names?" Turning away before they could answer, Natsu quickly set Wendy down on Erza's mattress before helping the girl back into bed.
"Cana."
"Levy!"
Uhh. Shoot.
He turned back to the two, squinting as he took in their faces.
He probably should have paid attention to which was speaking when.
Oh, well. Who needs to know names anyways? The one on the right can be Pony Tail and the other can be Blue Hair. That's fine. Hopefully, it doesn't get confusing.
"If you came to say anything mean to the kids, I'll have to ask you to leave. They don't like it when people say things like that about their parents." The number of tantrums he'd had to quell over the months spent traveling was astronomical. Today's reaction was rather tame, all things considered. Small blessings, he supposed.
One of the two, Blue Hair, shook her head quickly. "I believe you! I've read lots about dragons in books!"
"You have?" Huh. He didn't know people wrote things like that down. Then again, he'd spent most of his life around dragons as a warrior, not really his area of expertise. It wasn't like there was much point four hundred years ago, nobody knew how to read back then. Not unless they were royalty, but he was no Queen Irene or King Rung.
The bluenette nodded proudly. "Mhmm! They were really good stories! Do you want to read some with me?"
"Uhh.. " Okay. Issue. He can't do that. "I'm sure the kids would love to hear some stories. Kids?"
In an instant, they were all seated on pillows at the girl's feet, ready and waiting for the story to begin. The girl, either Cana or Levy, smiled happily and held a finger up in the air. "Wait just a minute! I'll be right back! Cana, can you keep them company?" So, Pony Tail was Cana. Neat. That would mean Blue Hair was—
"Wait—Levy?" Cana spun around to face her companion only to be greeted with an empty space. "EH?"
Natsu cleared his throat as he peeked around the shelf nervously.
For once, he'd managed to sneak away from all of the other slayers.
Gajeel was most likely training, he wasn't all that complicated of a kid. If he wasn't eating, he was training. If he wasn't training, he was eating. Natsu could respect it.
The other three, who he just told everybody were triplets for simplicity's sake, were all napping back in the infirmary.
Erza was still in bed, but some of the baby fat was slowly returning to her face, so Natsu took solace in that. She didn't seem to like being alone, but she never said anything about it after that first night. He tried to stay in the room as much as possible, but he needed something now and he couldn't exactly get it when there.
Which is why he was in the library.
A pair of eyes turned up to look at him, a slight tilt to the girl's head as she regarded him. "Sir? Did you need something?"
Natsu's nose curled up. Sir? Gross.
"Just Natsu works, Lever."
Lever blinked.
"It's Levy."
The fire dragon slayer's mouth formed an 'o' as he nodded.
Yeah. That made more sense.
"Right. Sorry, Levy. I was.. hoping you could help me with something?"
"Uhh.. " The young girl's mouth hung open. Help? Her? Help with what? Wasn't Natsu like a powerful mage? She was just a girl! "Y- Yeah.. sure? What do you— what do you need?"
The book in her lap shut with a quiet thump! and she easily slid it back into its place on the library's shelf.
"W- Well.. " Natsu chuckled, rubbing the back of his head with a bright smile that hopefully hid how awkward he felt about this. "You.. you're pretty good at reading, right?" He wasn't really confident on that, but she'd read all of those books to the kiddos and that had to mean something, right?
"Yes?" Where was he going with this?
"Could you teach me how?"
"Teach you how toooo.. what?" She didn't get it.
"How to read."
Levy blinked once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Then, just for good measure, she blinked a fourth time.
She smiled brightly. "Of course! I'd love to!"
"Hey, Wakaba."
The smoke mage sighed and took one last pull of his cigarette before turning to the man who'd smacked his arm. "Yeah? What is it?"
The other figure, a tall man with wild, spiky, blue hair. "What do y'think's going on over there?"
Wakaba followed his finger to a table where two people sat. The new guy and Levy. There was a book between them and they were talking about something, he didn't know what, nor did he really care. It wasn't his business. "He's probably just reading to her, Macao, honestly, why should I care? He's had a kid at his hip the entire time he's been here. Maybe it's just storytime."
The other man just shook his head, not willing to believe it. "But he's with Levy. Why would she want him to read to her? She's never asked anybody else."
Again, Wakaba just sighed. "Why does this matter?"
In lieu of an answer, Macao just grabbed the collar of his friend's shirt and dragged him through the guild, inching closer to where the two were seated.
".. so how do you think this one is pronounced?"
They caught the tail-end of whatever Levy had been saying. Her small hand was hovering over the page, rhythmically tapping the paper. They couldn't tell which word she was alluding to, but it didn't really matter.
They shared a look.
Macao turned back to the two, coughing into his hand and gathering their attention. "Whats.. uhh—what's going on?" He really couldn't figure it out.
Natsu didn't even look up, his mouth still fumbling clumsily over the letters on the paper. Pausing for just a moment, he answered. "She's teaching me how to read." Then, as if that particular bombshell didn't require any more explanation, he kept trying to work on the word.
"W- W- Weh? Weh-n.. "
The blue-haired mage blinked. "She's.. teaching you to read?"
"Yep!" Levy chirped up with a bright smile. "It's great! Natsu is a great student!"
Almost absent-mindedly, the pinkette reached up and pat the child's head, humming thankfully as he read and reread the word on the page.
Macao couldn't help it. He laughed. It was just so funny! He couldn't believe he'd been afraid of this guy that first night at the bar! The dude who'd looked strong enough to take on the entire guild including master couldn't even read!
Levy frowned at the man's laughter, unsure if she should be offended for herself or on Natsu's behalf.
She decided on Natsu's.
"H- Hey! Why are you laughing!? That's mean!"
"Well, it's just—" He snorted. "—just—" A chuckle. "—he can't—" He wiped a tear from his eye. "—he can't read!"
"So?" Levy didn't get it! What was so funny about that? He was doing his best to learn now, so what was the big deal?
"So," Macao grinned, "it's funny!"
Beside him, Wakaba was quiet, a pensive look stretching his lips. He wasn't paying any mind to Levy and Macao's ongoing debate about reading ability and its comedic value, instead, he was focused on the dragon slayer himself.
Natsu was staring intensely at the page, a frown on his lips as he narrowed his gaze at the word that stretched the center of the paper. Wakaba could read it pretty easily. It wasn't that hard. Really, only five letters.
But he had no trouble figuring out why Natsu didn't have any issue being publicly humiliated for something like this.
Wakaba was still watching as Natsu's eyes went wide, mouthing the word one last time before a bright smile crossed his lips and he whooped and hollered in his excitement. The shouts drew the attention of the rest of the guild.
"Wendy! It says 'Wendy!'"
Levi clapped, offering him an equally bright, closed-eye smile as she nodded once in confirmation. "Great job, Natsu! That's exactly right!"
Pumping his fist in celebration, the pinkette quickly plopped back down into his seat and slid the book back in front of his eleven-year-old sensei. "Can you do another one, please? I want to keep going."
"Of course!"
Macao, naturally, only found the situation funnier. "Wendy? Wendy? You don't even know how to spell your own daughter's name?" Hilarious! "How do you not even know that much?"
The attention remained fully on their little group as Natsu cocked his head to the side. Nobody noticed the front door opening or the metal-studded boy slipping through during the commotion (nobody except one girl, who smiled softly before quickly scribbling something down on the paper).
Natsu, not really understanding the sudden attention, just shrugged. "Well, I don't know how to spell any words. That was my first one, is that weird?" He paused, before speaking again, almost as an afterthought. "Also, Wendy is Grandeeney's daughter. I'm just her protector." He glanced around the room; his head tilted ever so slightly to the side as he looked at the other people. He could see a few other people holding a hand over their mouths, trying to stifle their own laughter, but he still didn't understand why.
"Is it weird that you don't know how to read?" Somebody spoke up from the other side of the hall, Natsu looked in their direction and nodded. He wasn't sure who that was, but that was what he was asking. A new person spoke up, one of those who'd been trying not to laugh, letting out a derisive 'yeah!' as he finally cracked and devolved into a fit of laughter.
A few others joined him in the merriment, either giggling or chuckling reservedly, some even laughed openly and mockingly at the thought.
Natsu frowned slightly as he looked around. He didn't get it. What was so funny?
"Natsu?"
He looked to the side, facing the one who'd spoken.
Levy smiled softly and slid the book back in front of him, paying the rest of the guild no mind. "Here. Try this one out."
Natsu did.
The word the bluenette had written out was longer this time. A lot longer, actually. It looked about twice as long as 'Wendy' had been, but Natsu was no less determined to figure it out.
Tapping his finger atop the first letter, he hummed quietly to himself. "M." He recognized it well enough, but word had Levy said was a good example of when it was used? He couldn't remember. The next letter was an 'e,' he remembered it from Wendy's name.
M-E.
M-E.
What's next?
As Natsu continued to work, the guild returned to semi-normal activities. A few people still focused on him and Levy. There were a few remote groups of people still settling down from their earlier laughing fits, but there were also a booth or two of people talking lowly.
"Well, I think it's cute." One girl spoke up, her chin pressing into her palm as she leaned forward.
Another raised an eyebrow, reclining back and crossing her arms. "Cute?"
"Yeah!" The first nodded. "Didn't you hear that? His first word was 'Wendy,' that's the little blue-haired girl's name, right? The one that always follows him around?"
"I think so?" She really didn't know; she hadn't paid much attention.
"You're telling me that a man learning his child's name as his first word isn't cute?"
A shrug. "I mean.. I guess? Kids don't really do it for me."
The first rolled her eyes. "Come on, Enno. You're telling me you don't see any kids in your future? You can't expect to have your fill of men for the rest of your life."
Enno's previously crossed arms lifted upward, pulling her bikini-clad chest with it. "You don't mean that." She bat her eyelashes. "These girls are pretty nice, wouldn't you say?"
Her friend rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to say that she would not, in fact, say they were 'pretty nice,' but was cut off by another figure joining them in the booth.
She sighed.
"You know, what I feel like you two need is a third opinion on the matter. Enno, dear? May I?"
"Not going to happen, Macao." Enno retreated further into the booth, sweat dropping at the man's sudden appearance. Hadn't he just been across the bar? How had he even heard her? "Weren't you busy terrorizing Hercules back there?" She jerked her head over to where Natsu was busy scratching his head.
Macao simply waved her off, not letting the 'Hercules' comment phase him. He'd have to be blind to not see a certain.. appeal to the dragon slayer. "Bah!" He scoffed. "Him? This next word is going to stump him, believe you me. Ten whole letters." A wink. "Guy never stood a chance."
The first girl to speak opened her mouth to say something, no doubt some scathing remark followed by her full confidence that he would pull through, but she was once again interrupted. The only difference was this time she smiled rather than sighed.
"I got it!"
And just like that, all of the guild's attention was back on Natsu.
(Not that she cared, she'd watch him all day long if she could.)
Levy nodded encouragingly, already knowing that the boy was right from what she'd heard in his muttering. "What does it say, Natsu?"
Instead of answering as she'd hoped, Natsu shot to his feet, his eyes scanning the room quickly before he took off like a bullet. "Hey, brat!" The pinkette was grinning like an idiot as he stopped in front of his target, twisting the book around to show it off. He tapped on the page, just below the word scrawled across it. "Guess what this is!"
Gajeel glanced around the room warily, frowning at the sudden attention on him. He'd been watching for a while now, and unlike the elder slayer, he understood that they were all making fun of Natsu.
So, pushing down the part of his mind that told him to admit he didn't know and not let Natsu suffer alone, Gajeel instead scowled and looked away. "What are you asking me for? Can't you read it yourself!?"
Natsu, for his part, didn't even seem remotely phased by the boy's reaction. In fact, it looked like he almost expected it.
Shaking his head, he let out a chipper 'I can now!' before explaining. "It's your dad's name! Metalicana!"
As if by magic, the book disappeared from Natsu's hands. Then (and in a completely unrelated fashion), Gajeel turned around and looked down. Not even a few seconds later, the sound of ripping paper echoed through the guild hall before the book reappeared where it once was, one page thinner.
The iron dragon stormed off, barely even managing to mutter out a 'thanks, Salamander' before disappearing through a back hallway.
When Natsu turned back, it was like his impossibly wide smile and gotten impossibly wider. He beamed with pride.
"Let's do another one, Levy!"
"Okay!"
They continued on like that for a while. After a while, the triplets woke up from their post-lunch nap, wandering out of the infirmary they'd been set down in. A significantly less grumpy Gajeel led through the hall, bringing them over to Natsu's side before plopping them up on the bench and disappearing once again.
It was only then that anybody worked up the nerve to ask Natsu the question that was on all of their minds.
"Hey, Natsu?"
He looked up from the paper, letting out his signature 'yo' of greeting.
"If you didn't know how to read all these years, why the sudden interest now?"
Natsu blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Then, he pointed at the triplets at his side.
"So, I can teach them?"
Well, that and job requests. He was going to need to make money eventually. He had enough stuff in his requip space to sell to keep him and the kids going for a while, but he didn't want to overstay his welcome in the infirmary. For now, he'd been happy to go hunting during the night while the kids slept, but he would need money in order to build a house.
Still, he wouldn't have done all of this if he didn't have the kids with him. He could have lived the rest of his life content to never learn, but job requests were written so the kids would need to learn.
"It wouldn't really be fair to have any of you stop what you're doing to teach them. I'm their guardian, so I asked Levy to teach me so I could teach them."
Leaving a silent guild in his wake, Natsu returned to his studies.
Somewhere, in the back of the guild, a smack rang out as Wakaba slapped the back of Macao's head, muttering an 'idiot' as he walked outside. Neither of them was exactly blameless, nor was the rest of the guild, but it was Macao who'd been the first to shove his foot into his mouth.
The awkward quiet was interrupted by a cough, kicking the guild out of their stupor and finally getting everybody back into the swing of things.
Still, more than a few people (women, mostly) continued watching the pinkette stare down the notebook with frightening intensity, smiling softly at the while.
Across the bar, a girl smiled smugly across the table, sing-songing an 'I told you it was cute' as she did.
Next chapter will have more Erza content. I'm still getting comfortable with the characters, with this being my first Fairy Tail story it's less instinctual to figure out how each person should be written, so hopefully everybody seems accurate.
Also, been trying to figure out a ship for Natsu. It won't be anybody significantly younger than him, especially not anybody who he will see grow up (meaning most of Fairy Tail will be ruled out). I've been considering bringing Anna in later as a love interest (but dealing with Natsu's anger at her first), or maybe Irene or Seilah.
Still not really sure, let me know your thoughts.