Summary: Natsu and Lucy try to teach Nashi how to swim….it fails.
Pairings: Parental Lucy/Nashi, Parental Natsu/Nashi, Natsu/Lucy, implied sisterly Erza/Natsu, implied brotherly Gray/Natsu, implied Aquarius/Lucy friendship, and some other friendship feels tucked away somewhere.
Author's Note: Thank you so much for giving me over SEVENTEEN HUNDRED reviews! I'm so glad you enjoyed this fic so far and I hope you enjoy this one since I know some of you requested more Nashi. I hope this satisfies you XD.
If there was anything Lucy had learnt in her five years of being parent was that everything was a big mountain to climb (that and Natsu was useless whenever their child turned her big brown eyes onto him) and nothing was easy. Not even getting their child to put her shoes on. Therefore it really shouldn't have surprised Lucy that when she decided Nashi was old enough to learn to swim (she was, after all, five, capable enough to start brawls, and could really use a hobby that didn't involve punching Gray's kid, or shooting Gray's kid with arrows or burning the house down….), Nashi disagreed, loudly.
"I don't want to learn how to swim!"
"Sweetie," Lucy tried comfortingly, "everyone needs to learn how to swim. It's a necessary skill."
"No!"
"If you don't want us to teach you," Natsu said cheerfully. "You can learn how I did."
"How did you learn to swim?" Nashi asked eagerly.
It was obvious that Nashi was hoping for anything that didn't involve a swimming pool in front of everyone. After all a certain so-called friend was lounging round the pool waiting for her to make a fool of herself. Children, Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Yes," Lucy said curiously, "how did you learn?"
She had been hoping for a good tale that had a moral in the end that will inspire their daughter to jump in the pool and learn how to swim with ease…..seeing the sheepish look on Natsu's face, however, told her she was going to be disappointed.
"Well…."
Natsu and Gray were fighting. As always. Natsu couldn't remember what they were fighting about but they were fighting near the river again (the best place to go when they don't want Erza to catch them), Natsu had successfully knocked Gray down and had stupidly turned his back on the half-naked boy to laugh and glory in his victory.
It was then when Gray leaped up, did a sneak attack, and kicked Natsu hard into the river. Natsu flew right into the middle, and deepest, part, and landed with a loud splash.
Gray laughed smugly himself until he realised it had been a couple minutes and Natsu had still not come up to the surface swearing.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Gray screamed Natsu bobbed back up only to instantly sink down again, choking on the water, he was flailing around desperately, and for the first time since Gray met the annoying arsehole, Natsu looked vulnerable. "SWIM YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Natsu flailed some more before he finally sunk deep into the water, leaving only small bubbles of air behind him. Gray screamed again, tore at his hair panicked for the total of three seconds (Fuck! Erza and Lisanna were going to kill him, and let's not think what Gramps might do!) before he then dived in after Natsu and had to use that stupid scarf of his to haul the heavy git out of the river and onto the river bank. Gray did not give the pink haired moron the kiss of life (no matter what Erza claimed later) but he did bang Natsu on the bank till he spat out all the water and gasped for breath. "How the hell do you not know how to swim, you fucking retard?!" he roared furiously.
"Who are you-?"
Natsu broke off his retort for another coughing fit and Gray had to bang his back even more to help him out.
"What is this?"
"Gah!" Both Natsu and Gray screamed as they clung to one another. Erza's shadow loomed evilly above them. "Erza!"
Erza's face was pinched in worry, having witnessed the whole thing. "Natsu doesn't know how to swim?" she asked in concert. "We will have to change that"" she declared determinedly. "Don't worry Natsu you will be swimming by the end of the day. Just like how I taught you to read," Natsu stiffened and whimpered at the memory. He clung even tighter to Gray who was his only salvation. "Now then…." Erza suddenly summoned three swords, and one very large axe, and managed to keep them levitating by her head. "KICK YOUR FUCKING LEGS BEFORE I CUT THEM!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Both Natsu and Gray tried to swim as fast as they could.
"….And that is how I learned to swim," Natsu finished at the horrified look on his daughter's face. Natsu shuddered in agreement. "Your Aunt Erza is evil."
Erza, having decided to spend the day in the hot tub next to the swimming pool, merely raised an eyebrow. "What was that?" she asked in a very dangerous tone.
"I said your Aunt Erza is erm…ah….very nice!"
Lucy and Nashi both face-palmed at that. Nashi was only five years old and even she didn't believe that lie, what with her father stammering like a little kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Still," Lucy murmured, "I would take Erza over how I learn to swim."
Nashi turned her wide and deceptively innocent eyes to Lucy. "How did you learn, Mummy?" she asked. After all if Lucy had a very long story to tell it might distract her entirely from the swimming lessons and Nashi could get away Scott free.
Lucy seemed to have lost her soul entirely at the memory and then shuddered. "Aquarius."
Natsu and Nashi didn't even need the details to know what happened. They could see it now, Lucy being no older than Nashi, small, innocent (far more innocent than Nashi is that's for sure), and instantly drowning in a tidal wave while Aquarius screamed abuse at her.
Natsu looked almost sick at the thought. "I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone," he said horrified.
"Aye," Nashi agreed with a shiver.
"So you have a choice," Lucy said sternly, "either we," she indicated to herself and Natsu, "teach you now, or either Aunt Erza or Aquarius can teach you."
"NO!" Nashi screamed. "I'll learn now. Watch! I'm learning!"
She then jumped straight into the deep end of the swimming pool in order to escape any terrifying, life threatening, lesson from Aunt Erza, or, worse, Aquarius.
However instead of flailing around before realising she could float on her back, like any normal child would, Nashi seemed to sink into the pool like lead right down to the bottom of the swimming pool, and began to drown.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Lucy and Natsu both screamed, horrified, with their eyes popping out of their bodies, before they snapped into action in order to save their only beloved child. They both dived into the pool without hesitation. They found Nashi easily as she laid on the bottom of the pool, choking, and without even needing to look at one another, Natsu and Lucy effortlessly scooped her up and swamp her back to the surface.
Natsu then swept her away and carried her to the pool side, and Lucy leaped over to perform CPR (because trust her, you don't want Natsu doing it, he doesn't know his own strength, and you end up with a fist sized bruise on your chest for weeks), and before they knew it, Nashi was breathing in greedily as she snuggled her head on Lucy's lap and allowed Lucy to pet her hair comfortingly.
Natsu looked like he had died out of sheer relief.
"I think," Lucy said as her heart was still beating too fast, "we should stop the lesson for today and work on floating tomorrow."
Nashi hid her delighted grin at that. If her mother saw it there was no chance in hell Nashi would escape swimming lessons for the day.
"Honestly," Ur smirked from his ring that he had been lounging in the entire time, "what sort of moron can't even kick?"
It is needless to say that Ur fully deserved that kick in the face which proved once and for all that Nashi certainly could kick. Not that Lucy agreed with this and Nashi ended up grounded for two weeks.
Nashi didn't care. Not only did she get out of swimming lessons for two weeks but her Dad ruffled her hair, told her he was proud of her, and gave her a huge bag of sweets for breaking Ur Fullbuster's nose.