Hey Guys,

I know, I know, it has been a long time and way past when I said I'd update again. Let's just say that school is kicking my butt. I literally come home some days and just stare at the wall or the ceiling for a good half hour, I'm so drained. Then, the very thought of having to use my brain for something else just causes me to shudder. So, here is chapter 20. I will continue to write, I promise but I can not promise a timeline. Usually, by now, I'm used to everything but this year is going to require a lot more.

With that being said, please enjoy and feel free to leave comments and reviews.

- Singed

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

Lucy

Lucy stared at parchment twenty for a moment, unsure of where to start. She picked up her quill, set it down, picked it up again, dipped it into her ink, and then hovered the quill point just above the parchment. Her quill was magical, so the ink did not drip off or run on its own, but her hand shook and so she had to place it down again out of fear that she may dislodge some of the dark ink and ruin the parchment.

Conceding defeat, she stood and went to her kitchen. She boiled some water for tea and as it warmed, she put honey at the bottom of the mug and chose her flavor. She was feeling like mint tonight, but that could be because she always remembered her mother most when she drank it. Mint tea had been her mother's favorite so much so, that she always smelled of it at night. It was the one tradition both her and her father kept after her mother had passed. Every night, whether they were together or more often separate, they would each order a cup of mint tea with honey.

When the kettle whistled, Lucy poured the steaming water into the cup and then submerged the teabag a few times to slowly release the flavor, then she let it sink in fully and began her count by singing The Garden Song.

This had been a childhood game with her and her mother. It was a song she always sang to keep the time the tea bag needed to stay in the water. In retrospect, Lucy realized that simply watching the clock would have worked, but this was more fun and had probably been used by her mother to teach her both numbers and garden plants.

"One pumpkin sitting in a patch," she began, the melody simple and catchy, "all alone and orange like a match." and so the song continued until she got to the ten little pea pods. Just as she removed the tea bag, she heard the distant rumble of thunder. She glanced at the clock and was surprised to realize that it was later than she thought. She'd been in the bath longer than she'd realized.

"Okay, no more procrastinating," she muttered and sipped her steaming tea. It was still a bit too hot for consumption, but it helped to steal her nerves.

She marched over to her desk and began.

Piece 20 - You Understood a Lost Dad

Natsu,

I struggle to write this letter. In truth, it will probably be one of the most difficult for me, so I'm just going to dive right in. We were rescued from the island and made it back to our guildhall, only to find it nothing more than a shell and the laughing stock of the guilds of Fiore. I was angry, just like everyone else, but I knew that with everyone together we would bring our guild back to its former glory and then some. I wasn't afraid of hard work and I knew no one else would be either.

There were a few roadblocks, like all your money being stolen and I not being able to get back into my apartment, but I didn't realize that all of these problems were nothing compared to the shock I received when I went to tell my father the good news of my return. When that woman at the desk told me about dad … I just didn't want to believe her at first. This had to be some sort of mix up. There was another Jude Heartfilia who had succumbed to an illness, not my father. My tall, strong, imposing father who had never been seriously sick in his life. He wouldn't have died because of some silly illness.

But after the few seconds of denial, I knew. Deep down I knew he was gone. I can't explain it, but something in my bones, a whisper in my heart, knew that he no longer walked with the living. So, numb to the world and it's cruelties, I marched to the nearest florist and then to the graveyard. There he laid, next to mom's new grave. That at least gave me some solace. They were together again, as they should be.

I remember just standing there, thinking, wishing, that I had made it back just a month earlier. That I could have seen him one more time. If he'd known that I was back, would it have given him the strength to keep going? Would he have been able to live for me? Maybe, but maybe not. I had lost mom at such a young age and now I was losing my father as a teenager, though I should have been in my twenties, still too young to be orphaned but at least a little less heartbreaking. Then it hit me, I was an orphan. That was the closest I came to tears as I stood there before their graves. Then I felt guilty that I hadn't cried yet. That was when I saw your shadow.

It scared me and I almost whirled around to confront whoever was coming to attack me. Then I remembered, you'd come with me. I'd forgotten you were there since I'd received the news. You'd stayed so quiet as you followed as I stumbled about. I was surprised that you hadn't tried to say anything yet, not even a sorry, like that would have helped. Then I realized, you too had lost your father and knew that no words, no apologies would be enough. The only thing that could and would help was for you to simply be there. It was wonderful to know that you understood and that you weren't trying to fix it, because it couldn't be fixed.

It also warmed my heart when you yelled at those brats that spoke so carelessly about wishing their fathers' deaths. In truth, there was a time I could have ended up like them, so consumed in my own little world that my father's death would be seen as an advantage. I'm so grateful I didn't become such a hollow creature. I spoke to you for the first time after that and you took it as permission that you could walk next to me from then on out. Which was true, I'd had my distance, now I needed support.

So you walked by my side for the rest of the way and we spoke of frivolous things. You left me at the park because I needed space again and went to get us food at the guildhall. That was when my landlord found me and brought me back, saying that my rent had magically been paid in full and that I could return. I was floored, especially when I found out that my father had been the one paying and had been sending me birthday gifts every year, because just as my heart had whispered earlier, so had his. He knew, deep down, that I wasn't dead. I then read his letters to me and finally, I cried. How long I cried, I don't know, but then you showed up and told me that you and Happy were going on a job and that I was more than welcomed to come if I wanted.

Some people thought this insensitive of you, but I knew better. Once again, you got it. I needed a distraction, I needed to go back to something normal, and I needed my support and my family at that moment and you were that for me. So, I ran after you glad to know that you understood what it was like to lose a father.

Love

Lucy

She quickly stood and took a step back and let the tears she'd been holding fall freely. She took a few calming breaths to stop and then went to blow her nose and brush her teeth. She needed to go to bed now. She was spent and she suspected that tomorrow, she would need to have a nice long talk with Erza. She suspected that if she could just speak to her, she might get her bridesmaid back. As she crawled into bed, the thunderstorm arrived announcing its presence in large raindrops hitting her window. She fell asleep to the sound of rain.

Natsu

As Natsu sat to finish his last recording for the day, his door suddenly slammed open, and Happy flew in on the winds of the next thunderstorm.

"What is with this weather?" He cried as he dropped onto the couch and took a couple of big, deep breaths.

"Not sure, but I was thinking the same thing? Where did you stay to keep out of the first storm." Happy didn't answer for a moment or two and Natsu wondered if he'd already fallen asleep.

"We got caught in the first storm."

"We?" Natsu asked.

"Carla and me. She said we needed to discuss something important and so we decided to take a night flight. I'd been over visiting her and Wendy along with Lily. We had a game night."

"So, what did she want to discuss?"

"Not sure. She was building up to something when the thunderstorm came on. We immediately dropped into the trees and hid in a small hollow."

"Oooo," Natsu cried. "Did you put the moves on her?" It was a joke, but when Happy didn't answer Natsu looked over to see the embarrassed, not sure how to answer look.

"Happy, did you put the moves on her?"

"Yes … no. Uh, it's so confusing and complicated right now I don't even know what to think."

"So what happened?"

"Huh, well after we got settled, we watched the rain for a while. We made some small talk, nothing crazy and when it became apparent that we were going to be stuck there for a while, I asked her what she wanted to talk to me about. She opened her mouth but then closed it."

"Nothing," she finally told me, "it was just something that she found out while visiting her mom and she wanted me to know about it, but she told me she had time to tell me and right then didn't seem the right time."

Happy suddenly huffed in agitation and an angry glint sparkled in his eyes. "I don't know why that got me so angry, but it did. So I said, 'Carla, you are always not telling me stuff and treating me like a lesser being! I may not be a big deal in the Exceed world, but I am your friend and your guildmate! I deserve your respect and I can handle whatever it is."

"What did she do?" Natsu asked, fully engrossed in the story.

"She seemed shocked by my anger and for a moment I felt bad for having lost my cool, but she just turned away from me and said. 'It's not what you think Happy. I know that I don't always tell you everything I should. I'm working on that and I may be the queen's daughter, but I'm not really considered respectable by our kind at the moment, which is why I'm glad I have you and Lily, my friends and guildmates. You know I think of you as a friend."

"So I said, 'No Carla, sometimes I really can't tell what you think of me. Sometimes you're cold and mean other more rare times, you're warm and friendly, but most of the time you are just ... distant. So no, I have no idea what you think of me, even though I have made my feeling towards you more than obvious. I just wish I knew for sure …'"
Happy grew silent and Natsu leaned forward.

When it became obvious that he wasn't going to continue, Natsu asked, "Well, what happened?"

"She kissed me," Happy whispered. Natsu fell out of his chair and crawled to the couch, flinging himself onto the cushion next to Happy.

"She kissed you?"

"Yeah. just shot forward and kissed me. I was too shocked to do anything but sit there for a moment. She pulled away before I could kiss her back and she looked really embarrassed. Before she could say anything else, I kissed her."

"What was that one like?"

Happy sighed happily and fell back onto the couch. "Amazing. It was a nice long kiss, both of us fully involved in our passion."

"So then why did you come in looking all upset and confused?"

"Because right in the middle of it, a huge thunderclap shook the whole forest and it scared us enough that we pulled back. Once we realized we weren't going to die, I turned back to her to say something or to get back to the kissing and she was looking at me like she'd rather be dead than sitting next to me. I tried saying something when she flew off into the thunderstorm. I chased after her, concerned for her safety but also because I knew that we needed to talk about what had just happened, but I lost her and the wind and rain weren't letting up. So, I hid again until the storm passed. I quickly flew to Wendy's place to make sure she'd made it home. Wendy answered the door and told me that Carla had made it back but was refusing to leave her room. Wendy seemed worried, but I told her to give Carla some space, then I flew back here." A loud thunderclap sounded overhead and Happy sighed. "Right on time, it seems."

"Hey man, sorry that that happened."

"It's fine, I figure she'll pretend it didn't happen and just move on with her life."

"You going to let her?" Natsu asked.

"No, but if she refuses to talk to me about it, there is little I can do."

"True."

"Anyway, I'm going to take a nice hot bath then turn in."

"Yeah, I just have one more recording then I'm going to bed too." Happy nodded and flew to the bathroom. Natsu sighed and shook his head after the door shut. In all honesty, he was really happy that he'd been able to skip all the starting of a relationship drama. It had been so much easier to just pop the question and for her to just accept without having to actually date. He never had to ask permission to kiss her or wonder if it was the right time. If a girl just accepted your proposal, it had to be the right time for a kiss. Natsu smiled remembering that kiss. It had been a bit awkward when they started, but not being quitters, they didn't stop until the kiss turned quite enjoyable.

Natsu turned to the lacrima and turned it on.

"Hey Luce," Natsu started.

"Man did the craziest thing just happen. But I'm sure by the time you are watching this, I've already told you about Happy's first kiss, so I won't be going into that story too much. Anyway, it's late and I need to get up kind of early to make sure that you are okay and apologize. I'll even beat myself up if it will help things with Erza." Natsu stopped for a second as another loud thunderclap shook the house.

"This weather is crazy. Anyway, I guess I should just get started."

Piece 20 - I Was Your Family Now

"So, we made it back from Tenrou Island alive and I was angry at how much of a dump everything was. I was even angrier at how those jerks down at Twilight Ogre kicked our guildmates around. I'm glad we put them in their place as quickly as we did. But, more than anything, I was just happy when we took a breath and decided to just pick up where we left off. I had seen a job that looked interesting and it was perfect for the three of us. I needed some type of normality and I knew you did too."

"However, you decided you needed to see your dad first and I realized that duh, of course, you did. The poor guy had thought his daughter was dead for seven years. I told Mira to put our names down for the job to hold onto it so we could go visit your dad. I was actually tempted just to let you go on your own because I wasn't sure you wanted me there for the reunion. I'm glad that I went and that you didn't even question why I was coming."

Natsu suddenly got silent and the heavy rain was louder than the thunder for a moment.

"I'll never forget your face when the woman at your dad's guild told you that he'd passed. I could see the disbelief and your denial, but I could also see when you realized that it must be true. I'd never seen this before. Seeing someone realize they were an orphan. I had felt it, I'd gone through it and many of our guildmates had also been forced into such a life, but we'd all met after the fact. Here, I had to watch you realize it. I think … I think if I hadn't gone through that kind of pain myself, I would have burnt down the guildhall in my anger at your pain. But I knew. I knew you didn't need my anger. You'd have plenty of anger about the situation soon enough. Heck, you usually felt some anger when your dad was involved anyway due to your past relationship with him. But, I knew this would be a different kind of anger. Your anger wouldn't really be about him. Your anger would be at the world or the thing that took him."

"I remember trying to figure out what to say. I remember following your body as it walked to the nearest flower shop and just watching as you moved about in autopilot. You really weren't there as you picked up a bouquet and walked it to the graveyard. You were miles away. At the time, I desperately wanted to say or do something to bring you back. I remember almost being in a panic, wondering if this was how I was going to lose you. We survived the dragon, but we'd all had to pay a price. Your price was steeper than the rest and would it be too much? Would you be the same person, would you walk away?"

Natsu sighed and shook his head. "I'm just glad that I kept coming back from these thoughts and realizing that all I really needed to do was be there and be silent. Because, I had gone through it, and I knew that if I'd had friends back then, then that was all I would have wanted. That, and a listening ear when it was necessary. So, I just waited, followed, and didn't speak until those harpies had to go and be the worst possible people at the worst possible time. You seemed to be a bit better after I told them off and then you told me to be quiet. It wasn't how I would have necessarily liked our conversation to start, but I could tell that you would talk to me now."

"After we got back to Magnolia, I remember realizing that my first thought was true. We needed some type of normality back into our lives, so when I went for the food, I grabbed the job from Mira. I was surprised to find you in your apartment, but I didn't question it. I figured that you had made a deal with your landlady or something. Anyway, I remember telling you that I had a job for us and that you could come if you'd like. I didn't think you would, but I'd hoped all the same. So, I was very pleasantly surprised when you came running after us. You chattered away as you always did and I remember thinking, as clear as day, that I was determined to be your family now. I mean, we already were family in a way, but now that you didn't have blood relations, I was going to be all you had and I was determined to be even better than a born into family."

Natsu took a breath to continue when the lacrima suddenly shut itself off. Surprised, he tried to turn it back on, only to see the symbol for full. He was a bit angry, but then he realized that in all honesty, that had been the best place to stop anyway. He sighed, stretched, and moved to his room. Happy opened the door to the bathroom just as he passed and he waved before he shut his own door. He was tired, but not enough to fall asleep immediately. He just kept thinking about the Erza issue and he was still uneasy about the weather. Tomorrow, he'd check on Lucy, tomorrow he'd fix things with Erza. Tomorrow he'd be one step closer to being a legal family with his Lucy.