Lucy's POV

The hour was late and most of Fairy Tail had dispersed. There was the issue of the kids appearing that had made it difficult to decide where they should stay. Some like Natsu and I, had decided to take our child home together, while others took their children home separately. Though the child complained at first, they eventually came to an understanding that you couldn't force this type of arrangement on someone who was not ready. I was in agreement, but Natsu insisted we be together, especially after her argument with Scarlet. The Exceeds decided it was best to stick with Wendy for a few nights while the parents dealt with the kids.

Ten years… She hasn't seen us in ten years? I wonder what she had meant. Had we disappeared on a mission without telling her, and never come back like at Tenrou Island? Or was it something worse…? Whenever she had mentioned it, it instantly reminded me of Natsu and Igneel. His foster father had disappeared on him as a child, and he has been searching ever since. It had hurt Natsu to be abandoned, and even now, he still searched for his missing dragon parent. Just like Wendy and Gajeel.

We were on the way to my apartment, and Natsu was carrying Nashi on his shoulders. She was only about four years younger than him, but he carried her like she weighed nothing. He ran in circles and jumped onto discarded boxes on the street, causing her to scream and laugh in excitement. He was taking this transition from single teenager to parent easily and was just as thrilled as Nashi. Ever since she arrived, I've never seen him frown. He just always had the same smile on his face.

Watching them made my heart ache and a blush creep onto my cheeks. I was smiling too before I even knew it. My mother had died when I was young, and my father…well he was not much of a parent when she died. Looking at Nashi, I could only guess the type of pain she had went through after not seeing her parents for ten years. Although I was slightly still uncomfortable with knowing that Natsu and I had a child, I would do anything I could to stop that pain. No one should suffer without parents the way Natsu and I both had. I would be the best mother I could to Nashi, and Natsu…well he already had our child enraptured in bliss.

We arrived shortly to my apartment, and we walked in. I opened my door dramatically and swung my arms out like the beautiful women on Jeopardy Lacrima. However, when I went to let them in, I realized no one was behind me. "Wh-what?" I looked left and right, but they were nowhere to be found. "Where are they?"

"Hey mama, what are you looking for?" Nashi asked behind me. I turned around into my apartment and saw her and Natsu standing in my window sill. Of course they had to take the damn window. I slammed the door, slightly irritable that I made a big show of welcoming them into my home for nothing. "What's for dinner? I'm starved!"

"Do you eat fire chicken?" Natsu asked. He rubbed his stomach and started salivating at the idea of his favorite dish.

"Of course! Mama and Mira used to make it for me all the time!"

Used to make it? I wondered again at the past tense, but decided to ignore it for now.

"It's one of my specialties that I just recently perfected," I admitted and started for the kitchen. I threw my purse onto the couch, and Natsu and Nashi followed.

"Luce always makes amazing food, but there's not much she can't do," Natsu told her. I turned around and smiled at my best friend. He was usually not this open about how he felt, and it was nice to know he thought that about me. "Except using sex appeal to distract guys in battle. That never seems to work."

Nashi laughed, and I rolled my eyes and started their dinner. Of course, he had to ruin the one sweet moment he had. I pulled the chicken out of the fridge, grabbed the hottest spices from my cabinet, and went to begin, when Nashi suddenly bumped into my arm. "I want to help, Mama!"

"Sure," I replied happily.

Natsu's POV

Nashi's powers still weren't completely controlled, but I had to give her credit, she was doing better handling fire dragon slayer magic at her age than I was. After all, there was a reason Happy and I lived a few miles outside town. As she was helping Lucy, she could barely control her excitement, and she kept setting a couple things on fire. Such as the chicken, and the stove, and the spices, and the dish towels, and Lucy. Actually, there wasn't much she wasn't burning. All of it made me laugh and remember my earlier days in the guild when I used to burn everything I touched. That's what started off my fights with Gray in the first place. Damn stripper.

I had to give Lucy credit though. She never gave up and decided to cook it herself. I suppose somewhere down the road between freaking out about us having a kid and being together and where we are now, she had realized the same thing I had. We grew up basically without a family, and we weren't about to let that happen to our daughter.

Our daughter. I sighed happily. Guess I finally got the courage in the future to confess to the blonde. Fighting demons? No problem. Destroying towns? I had that covered. Telling my best friend that I was in love with her? I couldn't even say how beautiful she was for Mavis's sake. I tried once to kiss her though. When Bisca and Alzack left Asuka with the guild, I made a deal with the kid that I would do anything she said for a day if she promised to make me kiss Lucy at the most opportune time. She had agreed, and we played it off like she had won a shooting contest against me. I obeyed her every demand, and when she told me to kiss Luce, I tried, but at the last second, she pushed Happy in the way. That was embarrassing to say the least.

Everyone thought I was the dense one, but it was actually Lucy who denied her own feelings. Usually I just let her be and wouldn't push her into anything, but now seeing Nashi, and knowing that somehow something had worked out between us, I could no longer wait. I had to have courage, and I would finally do it. I just hope she would feel the same…

"Yes!" Lucy yelled, pulling me back from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I asked, watching her and Nashi. Lucy held up the dinner, and Nashi had set it on fire, only this time it was on purpose. Lucy set it a plate of fire chicken in front of me, and my stomach rumbled. "Food!" I shouted excitedly back. "Thanks Luce and Nashi!" She blushed and gave a small smile while Nash sat down across from me, fork and knife ready to dig in.

Lucy waved her hands at us. "You two eat. I'm not that hungry. I'll go take a bath instead," she said. "Do you mind washing the dishes when you're finished though?"

"Aye!" Nashi and I said and unison, and we dove into the delicious chicken.

Lucy's POV

The bath was heavenly and rightly needed. Even though I was only cleaning my skin, I always felt like I could wash away my worries as well. It gave me time to think and relax in privacy. Now that two more people would be staying with me for a little while, everything was going to change, and I only wanted just one moment to myself so that I could think.

When I was done, I grabbed a towel to dry myself off and wrapped it around my hair. I quickly realized then that I had not grabbed a fresh set of clothes. Silently cursing myself, I unwrapped the towel from my hair and pulled it tightly around my body instead. I tiptoed to the door and quietly opened it. The apartment was dark, but I could just make out the lump sleeping in my bed. I sighed gratefully that the fire mages were asleep and crept to my drawers to retrieve clothes. I heard movement in the bed and jumped, but it was only them rolling around.

I walked silently back to the bathroom, scared to even breathe. If they woke up and saw me like this, I'd be screwed. I would be the worse, perverted parent ever. Thankfully, they never woke, and I shut the door to the bathroom without any complications. "Finally," I breathed and pulled the towel off. I sat the clothes on the cabinet beside the door.

"Umm, not that I'm complaining, but you should probably put clothes on," said a voice from the bath. I shrieked and tried to cover myself when I noticed Natsu sitting in the tub. "I saw you walk out, and I was about to bathe when you walked in." He stood up, revealing his lack of clothes. I shrieked again, and tried hiding my eyes with my hands, but my damn curiosity got the better of me, and I caught myself peeking between my fingers.

Even I had to admit that I had my own fantasies, and a few did include the dragon slayer. I thought they were only dirty thoughts and tried to ignore them, but I always wondered what he would look like completely exposed. I had always thought since the rest of him was firmly built, that everything down there would be as well. Now I knew I was right. No wonder he was confident about everything, he had every right to be.

Standing here looking at him like this made my heart suddenly soar, and I felt heat building in my lower body. I guess me standing her without clothes had an impact on him as well because he started to grow before my eyes. I uttered a rush apology and started dressing like he had mentioned earlier. He grabbed a towel and covered himself, but he couldn't hide the growth poking through the towel. When I was fully clothed again, I turned to look at him, and noticed the blush on his cheeks. He was staring at the corner of the bathroom, trying as hard as he could not to peer down at me, and I knew he was trying to be a gentlemen and a rather awkward situation.

I coughed to let him know I done. His eyes grazed over my body, and I felt exposed all over again. He finally looked into my eyes, and I could tell he was waging some type of internal battle.

"So," I managed, looking for a change of subject, "y-you guys went to sleep right after dinner I take it." I just needed to talk about anything right now. Anything. Not how the way he was looking at me made me want to melt into his arms, or how I wanted to suddenly sate my curiosity and see how his body felt everywhere, or what his lips would feel like… I needed to say something, except what I really wanted. I couldn't tell him about the sudden effect he had on me. He probably didn't even feel the same, and we were friends! Partners! We were a team! I couldn't just tell him that I—

"Lucy," Natsu growled deeply, snatching my attention back to him. He took a step closer to me, breaking the small distance that felt like miles before. I could feel the heat radiating off of him, hear his loud heart beat that was just as erratic as my own. He brushed the back of his hand down my cheek, and I closed my eyes as I leaned into his touch. He caught my chin and made me look up into his onyx eyes. They poured warmly into mine, and I could see the raw emotion he always kept hidden from everyone. I could see his strength, his worries, his conflicts, his fear, and his…love. His eyes flickered down to my lips, and he gulped audibly. He was nervous and scared, something very unlike him. Then suddenly, his eyes broke, and he released me and took a step away. "I'm sorry. I-I don't…" He clenched his jaw in frustration and burst through the bathroom door, leaving me alone and confused as I stared into the darkness after him.

Aww! So close Natsu! You could have had her haha sorry about that teaser everyone! Maybe next time, Natsu will have the courage! Next chapters will be longer, I promise, and I'll be jumping around from the kid's POV soon!