A/N: Another week, another chapter. Thanks as always for your kindness!

I tried to give him his space, I really did. But a week went by and Natsu wasn't answering my texts or anything. I had to see him at least once more before classes started next week. I didn't know why, I just had to. So I took the bus across town to that familiar little house near the school.

It was Mr. Makarov who answered the door.

"Come in," he said. By the look on his face, he seemed to know why I was here. "Natsu is in the backyard."

I went to the back door and found Natsu squatting in the grass of their tiny yard, tossing chips into a fire pit one at a time and watching them flare up. His expression was unusually vacant. Pinch, toss, repeat. It was if all energy had been drained from his body. And perhaps it had.

I silently walked over and sat cross-legged beside him, laying the skirt of my dress over the gap between my legs.

He looked up slowly, eyes widening in surprise. "Lucy," he said.

"You're not answering my texts."

"My phone is off."

"I get worried, you know." I gave him a long look.

He glanced back at the fire. "Sorry." He watched the flames flicker for a while, and added another chip to watch it burn. "I'm just a little out of it these days. Waiting for news, waiting, waiting."

"You look exhausted."

"I am."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"I figured. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

He looked upwards. "You know, I really thought he'd still be alive. I was naïve. And stupid."

"No you weren't. "

"Do you know how they found him?"

"How?" I knew the story had been in the news, but honestly I was too afraid to read any of the articles.

"He was mummified."

"What?!"

"The killer, whoever it is, mummified him. He's been dead since the beginning. A big chunk was taken out of his body and then he was mummified. And they only found his body because the killer wanted them to find it. Somebody called in the location with a burner phone, and they say there's evidence the body was placed there recently. No DNA, no nothing. Just my dad's mummified body lying there in an abandoned building."

I was speechless. This was worse than I could have ever imagined. I hadn't looked for any news about this, afraid of what I might find, and it seemed I was right to be frightened. How could a human being be so cruel?

And so methodical, too. Mummifying a body wasn't an easy process, I imagined. And to keep that mummified body preserved for all these years…why? How?

I wrapped my arms around Natsu's shoulder and rested my head against his. It was all I could do. I couldn't speak, I couldn't make anything better. I could only hope this show of affection and support would be enough.

And maybe it was, because his shoulders began to shake, and soon he was crying, heavy sobs escaping his throat as he clung to me tightly, fingers digging into my arms. I held him tighter, until it felt like we would squeeze the life out of each other.

I didn't notice when it happened, but at some point a box of tissues and two glasses of water appeared next to us. I pulled a few tissues and handed them to Natsu as he wiped at his cheeks. He took them silently and blew his nose.

"You okay?"

He nodded. "Sorry," he mumbled.

I laughed lightly. "I'm sorry, too. I ended up crying as well." I passed him one of the waters and kept the other for myself.

"Where'd these come from?" he asked.

"I don't know. I didn't notice whoever brought them."

"It was probably Gramps. He's been doing this sort of thing a lot this week."

"That's nice of him."

"Actually, it was me," said Wendy's voice. I looked behind us, and she was standing at the sliding door watching us. "Gramps just made dinner. Come inside and eat. Lucy, you too."

Natsu hesitated. "Can I...just one moment..."

"Nope," I said, hopping up. It was time to play Positive Lucy. I grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet. "Let's go eat. We gotta keep our energy up."

"He made Russian meatballs," Wendy told me.

"Yes! They're my favorite!" Natsu said. His smile was bright and natural, and it brought a smile to my face as well. His ability to bounce back always amazed me.

Mr. Makarov's cooking was great, like always, and conversation was cheerful. It was clear everyone was trying to keep the mood up, knowing that Natsu and I had just spent however long crying in the backyard, but they did it in a way that wasn't insensitive.

I was impressed that even Wendy was putting on a strong front for Natsu's sake. I'd have to talk to her later to check up on her. I'd been so focused on worrying about Natsu that I'd nearly forgotten Wendy was also involved with his father's case. As far as I knew, only Natsu's dad had been found, so what about Wendy's mom?

Wendy's case was a little different from Natsu's in a few ways. For one, it was her mother rather than her father who disappeared all those years ago. Secondly, the disappearance was her biological mother; unlike Natsu, Wendy didn't get thrown into the adoption system until the incident. And thirdly, her father was found the same day, killed with a bludgeon to the head. It wasn't unusual for the suspect — other family members of the victims had also been killed if they tried to interfere with the kidnapping — but little Wendy had been the one to find her father dead and her mother missing the next morning. A seven-year-old child alone in the house with her father's bloody body and her mother nowhere to be found.

And now it was likely her mother was dead, too. Had she been mummified like Natsu's dad? I wasn't sure what I should be hoping for. It all seemed so bleak.

But I shook those thoughts from my head. This was their burden to bear, and I had no right to get depressed about it in front of them. Not when they were trying their hardest to be strong for their own sakes. And if I made such faces while eating Mr. Makarov's cooking, he would most certainly be offended.

"It's been a while, Lucy," Mr. Makarov said as I sat down to join them at the dinner table. "Usually it's Natsu over at your house, not the other way around. You haven't had my meatballs before, have you?" I wasn't sure how Russian meatballs were different from any other kind of meatball, but at the very least I didn't think I'd had this particular dish made by Mr. Makarov before.

"I don't think so," I said. "I don't usually come over at dinnertime."

"Well, then today you're in for a treat," he said. "There's nothing like Russian comfort food to soothe the soul."

"Thanks, Gramps," Natsu said, spooning four huge meatballs onto his plate. He didn't waste a moment before digging in.

"Let the guest serve themselves first," Mr. Makarov reprimanded way too late. "Lucy?"

"Thanks," I said, trying not to laugh as Natsu made a mess of himself. Why was I dating this slob again?

"Natsu, manners," Wendy droned, really only half paying attention. It was obvious this happened a lot. And by the way Natsu obliviously ignored her, it was futile trying to get him to eat like a civilized person. I knew that firsthand; eating dinner with Natsu always required much more cleanup than even eating with all three of the girls.

"Natsu," I said slowly, "you know we've all been worried, right? I don't mean just me."

He looked at me and nodded.

"You should talk to your friends. Gajeel even got my number from Levy so he could text me asking about you. Apparently Jellal's been bugging Erza to bug me. It's a mess." I laughed. "Really, though, even if you don't want to talk they'll understand. Just let them know you're okay."

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Sorry."

"You got good timing, Lucy," Mr. Makarov said. "If you hadn't come along today, I would've forced his sorry butt out that door to go get some fresh air. Maybe you'll have better luck whipping him back into shape. A boy is allowed to grieve, but he's been making himself miserable on purpose. Aren't you, Natsu?"

"I'm just feeling kinda down," Natsu said, eating slowly. "Depressed and stuff. Lucy's right, though."

"See? He listens to you more than me now," Mr. Makarov sighed. "Why couldn't I be a pretty young blonde named Lucy?"

Wendy made a face. "Gramps, don't say things like that. It's gross."

"You make sure you take care of yourself too, Wendy," I said. "It can't be an easy time for you, either."

"Or you," Wendy said. "Didn't you tell Natsu you were moving?"

Suddenly the quietness felt stifling. I looked to Natsu for help.

"Nothing's confirmed," he said. "Focus on one thing at a time for now. No use worrying over stuff that might never happen."

Thanks, Natsu. "It's nothing to worry about yet," I said, ruffling Wendy's hair.

She pouted as she fixed her hair back to normal. Sometimes I forgot she wasn't that much younger than me, but with a face like that and hair that fluffy, who could resist? Plus, it got things back into a normal mood as we strayed away from the troublesome topics and on to the impending start of school. A certain heaviness lingered in the air, but the good-natured groanings about school took precedence for a little while and everyone was smiling.

Then actual school started. And the smiles started to fade again.

"Yo Dragneel, I heard what happened. You okay man?"

"I'm fine," Natsu said for probably the millionth time that week. After that snappy answer, he bluntly ignored his soccer teammate by breezing past him in the hallway, leaving me to play catchup so I wouldn't also get left behind.

"It really is big news around here," I marveled. "I avoided media outlets when it happened so I didn't realize how much coverage it got. Is there anyone who doesn't know?"

"I sure hope so," Natsu grumbled, "because I'm getting sick of all the pity."

"You'd think people would try to be a little more sensitive to these things."

"You'd think."

I grimaced. Natsu was in a really bad mood. How many questions had he gotten about it today? I knew that one just now was far from being the first, but he sounded particularly worn out and irritated today. At least I'd be with him at home as he got some time to relax; today, we were hanging out in his room. I'd recently discovered the softness of that one red dragon plushie he kept by his bed, and I couldn't wait to squeeze it.

But when we entered his house, we realized Mr. Makarov had a guest over. They were sitting in the living room, talking in deep voices. The guest was a rather large man with a heavy brow, square jaw, and wild red-tinted hair.

Natsu stopped short.

"Welcome home, Natsu," Mr. Makarov said. "You have a guest. He came here an hour ago looking for you."

Natsu's face slowly grew into a grin. "Uncle Atlas!"

The man's face lit up. "Is that Natsu?" He stood and the two men embraced. "Natsu, you're all grown up. Look at you! Igneel's boy really grew up well. Oh, and who's this?"

Natsu pulled me forward. "This is Lucy! Oh," he reached down to pick up his cat who'd come to greet him, "and this is Happy. They're my best friends! Well— Happy's a cat, and Lucy's my girlfriend."

The man let out a hearty laugh. "You're at that age already, are ya? Nice to meet you, Lucy, Happy." He shook Happy's paw, to which the little cat meowed.

"Nice to meet you," I mumbled. If Natsu called him uncle, then was he Igneel's brother? It hadn't occurred to me that Natsu could have family outside of what I already knew, but it made sense. Even if he didn't know his biological family, he had Igneel's family, and Mr. Makarov's.

Even after almost a year of knowing each other, there was probably a lot I still didn't know about Natsu.

"What're you here for, Uncle Atlas? Ah…well…"

Uncle Atlas scratched the back of his head, a familiar gesture. Is that where Natsu got it from? "Yeah, it's rough, isn't it? But since it's for sure that he's gone, we have to hold services."

"Yeah, I guess so," Natsu, said, scuffing his feet.

"Sit down and let's talk," Mr. Makarov said. "Lucy, maybe—"

"Yeah. I'll go," I said.

But Natsu grabbed my hand. "No. We were gonna hang out today, so stay here."

I hesitated, but somehow I could feel the anxiety through the touch of his hand. I squeezed his hand back slightly before sitting down next to him.

Uncle Atlas spoke first. "I'm sure you already know that they called me in first for all the things regarding Igneel."

Natsu nodded. "You were his emergency contact, right?'

"You were just a kid at the time, and you still are. But you're his only kin, so I thought you should be involved." He must've seen the curiosity on my face, because he added, "Igneel didn't have any siblings, and he wasn't close to any cousins either. He and Natsu only had each other, really. I'm just a close friend of Igneel's."

"But I call him 'uncle,'" Natsu said.

"I'd tell you to call me 'Mr. Flame' but you're Natsu's girlfriend so you're just as much family as I am, so you can call me 'Uncle Atlas,' too." He winked, and I laughed nervously.

"You're scaring her, Atlas," Mr. Makarov said.

"Hey, what does she call you? Gramps?"

"He's Mr. Makarov," I said.

"She's a student," Mr. Makarov said.

Uncle Atlas laughed. "Ah, right. I always forget you're a teacher. It doesn't suit someone like you."

"Mr. Makarov is actually really popular at school. He's a good teacher."

"Yeah, yeah, you're not the first to tell me that."

I continued, "Though I will say that I don't know why he's warning you not to scare me when he's the one who makes gross innuendos every time I come here."

Mr. Makarov blustered, and Uncle Atlas let out another mighty laugh. "I like this girl!" Why did all the people in this extended family have the same reaction to me? I guess I should be flattered that they all proclaimed to like me, but...

Natsu slung an arm around me. "She's awesome, right?"

"I'm glad he's got you, Lucy," Uncle Atlas said. Seems the topic was shifting to me for the time being. Great. "I always worried about that boy. Growing up, he had little interest in girls, or boys for that matter."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why, is that a problem?"

He looked taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered. "You really picked a good one, Natsu. Keep her. She's got spunk."

"You don't have to tell me that," he grumbled.

"Anyway, back to business. We had that small ceremony a while back when they couldn't find him, but it wasn't a real funeral. Now we have Igneel and we know he's gone, so it's time to give him a proper send-off. Natsu, I wanted to check with your schedule this weekend. You're one of the people who absolutely must be there, after all."

"This weekend?" Natsu exclaimed. "So soon." It was still Wednesday.

"That's usually how funerals are, Natsu," Mr. Makarov said gently. "It's never good to wait too long. The fact that it's been delayed this long is only due to police investigations regarding his body. They'll be done gathering evidence in a few days."

"What...what will you do with him?" Natsu said. I squeezed his hand, trying not to tear up at the sound of his voice cracking.

"You mean his body?"

Natsu nodded.

"He'll be cremated."

Natsu nodded again. "That sounds right. Dad was like me; he loved fire. He loved burning things."

Uncle Atlas laughed, a loud bellow of a laugh that echoed off the walls. "Don't we all? You're right; I didn't even think of it that way, but it's a right way to send him off to the afterlife."

"We'll have to prepare the family altar in the house, too," Mr. Makarov said. "I can't be of much help with that, but you did it for Wendy's father all those years ago, so maybe you can do it again for Natsu."

"Of course," Uncle Atlas said. "Always happy to pass down cultural traditions to the kids. They gotta learn how to do this stuff, especially for when they have kids of their own, eh?" He winked at Natsu and me, and I swear Natsu was ready to tackle him.

Makarov started cracking up. "You're even worse than me, Atlas! And I'll bet there's better traditions to pass on than just the family altar."

"Eh, that's true. Just trying to lighten the mood a little, y'know?"

"We're talking about arranging a funeral here," Natsu said darkly.

Uncle Atlas sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. Shall we get back to business?"

A/N: I know that when Igneel died in the manga, Natsu didn't spend very long outwardly grieving, but here he didn't have his father's last words to encourage him so I let him be miserable for a bit longer (I know, I'm so evil).

Thanks for reading!