Sharp onyx eyes followed the people across the building with an intent that was unusual for one of his age. He studied the way they interacted, the way the eldest of them all grinned and scooped up his children with a laugh, and suddenly, he felt a twist of jealousy in his heart that he'd never before felt.

"Mom," he said, reaching for her sleeve. His small fingers caught it with ease, as if he knew just where it would be. "Mom, why don't I have a dad like Arch and Rimu?"

The blonde woman, who'd been working on a journal in front of her, paused, the fountain pen falling from her fingers. She turned her dark eyes on the boy beside her, as if shocked that he'd ask such a thing, and it was brief, but he saw the way her hand gripped the end of the scarf wrapped around her neck.

"Haru," she began, "You have to understand-"

"Don't lie to me," Haru warned. His smart brain was working quickly to sort out such things. "I'm eight now, Mom. I know when you lie."

"That's because you're as intuitive as your father," Lucy Heartfilia retorted, tapping his nose with a gentle touch. He wrinkled it, and then sneezed as she turned on her barstool to face him with a serious expression. Lucy's eyes darted to where Gray was playfully holding his son and daughter on his shoulders, Juvia watching them carefully with a wary look on her face.

"Haru," Lucy began again. "First, I need you to know that I'm sure your father would love you very much."

Haru perked up, eager to hear of his father. His mother rarely spoke of him except in the darkest moments of the night, when her nightmares took over and she cried out for him.

Natsu Dragneel.

The fire dragon slayer of the guild. The man who'd been missing for near nine years. He knew fully well who his father was, even if he didn't understand why he wasn't there.

But he was about to find out.

"Okay, so why isn't he here?"

Lucy licked her lips and then admitted, "A long time ago, he left to get stronger. Remember how I got this?" She tapped a nasty scar that crossed down her cheek, blinding her in one eye. The color was milky, showing its blindness. Haru nodded hastily. He remembered the story well; his mother had upset someone of great wealth, and had been the target of an assassin for nearly a month before the assassin finally got himself killed by trying to kill her and - in the process - her partner, who had been brought down with a sharp blow. It had been Gajeel, officially, who had finally killed the assassin, and the iron mage still held no regrets about it.

"Well," she continued. "Natsu blamed himself." Haru tilted his head, blond locks falling into his eyes. It was rare that she said his name. "So he left. To get stronger so that something like this wouldn't happen again. But he just...never came back. I guess he forgot about us, hm?" Her voice was sad, and both were aware that they were being watched by a good majority of the people around them.

"But I'm sure," Lucy told her son. "That if he knew you were here, he'd love you very much."

Reassured, Haru gave her a toothy grin and then launched himself into her arms or a tight hug, burying his face in her shoulder. She giggled and hugged him back, kissing the top of his head before sending him off to play with the other children. Rimu came to his side immediately, his partner in crime, and Arch glared. Alexus and Blythe exchanged curious looks, then shrugged and moved on, going back to scolding Alexus' younger brother Saviir about his lack of consideration for others.

He didn't need his father, he told himself, peering back at his smiling mother, who turned to chat lightly with Mira.

He had his mother.

And that was all he needed.

When Natsu Dragneel returned nine years later and learned that the person he cared for most in the world was dead, killed eight and a half years before in a way no one was sure of, he cried.

His seventeen year old son didn't feel a lick of sympathy. He'd grieved when Mirajane had come to him with the news, pressing her keys into his hand and explaining that it was all they'd found of her.

I guess we're a broken family after all.

And…just a little one to catch up with angst week. The prompt was "family" so I figured I'd do a drabble idea I had for a fanfic that I'll write at some point in the future.

Small children guide: Haru is Natsu and Lucy's son, Arch and Rimu are Gray and Juvia's son and daughter (respectively), Blythe is Erza and Jellal's daughter, and Alexus and Saviir are Gajeel and Levy's daughter and son (respectively). These are my precious children that I created for them. I love them all very much.