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Chapter Four

She called you Daddy

The guild wasn't as lively as it usually was. Natsu had noticed. But still he was happy to be back. The fire dragon slayer had spent all morning sat at the bar causally stirring his lemonade till all the bubbles had been released, causing it to go flat. Although he was there physically, mentally he was away with the fairies, recalling his dream with Lucy over and over again and reminding himself that it was real and it had resulted in a child and had missed 4 years of their life.

He slumped his shoulders and crunched his neck as he rolled it, sitting in the same position for hours had made him stiff, and as he sipped his lemonade his face twisted, pushing it back from him with disgust.

"That's what happens when you leave it for so long" Natsu didn't bother looking up. He could smell the ice maker miles away. "It loses it's fizz" he felt the cold hand press on his back, patting it slightly as he moved to sit beside him on the next stool. "So…how did it go?"

"How'd you think ice prick?" Gray fumbled in his seat, ignoring the insult. "You guys could of warned me sooner"

The ice maker shrugged his shoulders.
"Erza said it wasn't our place to say, the whole guild was told if you came back, let Lucy be the one to tell you" he muttered lowly.

"Well…clearly she didn't get the memo"

"Did she not tell you?" Gray asked, frowning.

"Eventually, I ended up working it out" Gray leant back mouthing an 'oh' as he gripped the bar's counter top.

"Well it's not hard, she's got your hair for starters" Natsu allowed a small smile creep upon his face as he pictured Nashi. "And she is a really sweet girl too. My Ren likes her"

"Steady on ice breath, I've not even been in her life 24 hours and you already wanna marry her off to your son" he grunted. "Back off"

Gray snorted.

"Chill out fireball, I was just saying!" Gray groaned as a forehead attached to pink hair butted into himself. "Right…that's it!" quick to suddenly start a brawl, Gray leapt out of his stool, yanking at Natsu as they fell to the ground in a heap. Punches, flames and ice catapulted from all angles as everyone avoided that particular area.

"Same ol' Natsu eh?" Macao sniggered as he sipped his juice. "Poor guy's only just got back and he's already taking out half the furniture" him and Wakaba watched eagerly, this clearly being their morning entertainment, until the front doors open and everyone welcomed Lucy, and her daughter Nashi.

Her smile was bright this morning, as it usually was when she entered the guild. She waved across at her fellow guild members, moving further inside with her daughter at her side. Her head clocked the commotion to her left instantly, escorting her child the opposite way.

"Morning Lucy, hi Nashi" Mira welcomed them.

"Ello Mira-Jane!" Nashi waved, still gripping tightly her bunny.

"Are you staying with me again today while Mommy goes to work?" Mira asked the small child.

"If you don't mind, my bills are up the end of the month and I'm trying to save for someone's birthday…" Lucy whispered. Mira's eyes lit up with excitement, beaming with delight.

"Oh my, it's gone to quick! Nashi, how old will you be?" Mira asked, already knowing the answer. The little girl looked at her small fingers and counted each digit, before raising up 4 on her hand. "Four?! Wow you're getting a big girl now"

Upon hearing her voice, Natsu forced his opponent away immediately and glared across at the room. He searched needlingly before landing his eyes on Lucy and his daughter beside Mira and strained his ears to listen in on their conversation, all while pinning Gray down.

"Yeah, if you could watch her for a couple of hours. I just need to finish off some overtime" Lucy mumbled softly. Mira nodded, her eyes fluttering as Natsu leapt up from the ground, releasing Gray and stumbled over, landing before Nashi. The girl giggled at him sweetly.

"Hi Nat-su!"

"Natsu?" Mira repeated, confusion in her voice.

"Yeah, Natsu" Lucy quickly confirmed, her eyes staring darkly at him. "What do you want?"

"Let me do it" he was quick to beg, kneeling himself up with a reassuring smile. "I'll look after her, while you're gone" this made Lucy scoff at him, her eyes rolling.

"No way"

"Please Luce" he plead.

"I told you, I don't need your help" she clarified, making herself clear.

"I know, but…I want to spend time with her. Just give me that at least" he was quick to defend himself, his eyes fully stressed to hers and not once blinking. Lucy growled, her head shifting to Mira who shrugged. "Please…"

"Fine Natsu. But if anything happens to her, I swear…" she lowered her finger to his nose and gritted her teeth, growling through her lips.

"I won't let anything happen to her" he promised. "I just want to spend time with her" he rose off the ground quickly, a smile widening across his cheeks as Lucy nodded her head unsurely.

"Fine…but…" she motioned him away, leading him towards the entrance door and away from Nashi. "You can't tell her anything about who you are" she said gravely. He frowned about to argue back when she stopped him suddenly. "It's too confusing for her right now, please…just let me tell her" he scowled harder.

"And when you plan on telling her?"

"When I'm ready to accept it"

"Luce, that's not fair" he groaned.

"It is to me" she shot him a warning glare and he slowly huffed in response. His eyes snapping away from hers and landing to Nashi with an excitable grin.

"So kiddo, you're with me today!"

Nashi smiled, clapping her hands together with her bunny.

It was hard for Lucy to accept it of course, as she gave her daughter the biggest squeeze and left for work. But she was relieved in some sense that she was with Natsu, knowing that he was good with kids anyway after witnessing it before when they were younger and that he could protect her. And so when she left, she wasn't completely worried at all. It was like she somehow still trusted him.

Natsu was thrilled that he had been given the chance. Swooping the child in his arms, he was already ready for their first adventure. Nashi was taken back by the stranger's enthusiasm, so much that it rubbed off on her instantly. His whole personality seemed infectious and the thrill of them going on an adventure perked her interest even more when he swung her around his to sit over his shoulders and charged out the door before Mira could stop them.

She giggled, gripping tightly to his hands. The breeze flowing through her hair as they ran down the street, avoiding the people walking past and leaping out of people's way. She squealed with delight, clutching him firmly as they raced down towards the playful children's park.

As soon as they reached their destination, Natsu hovered her down to the ground and smirked, pointing over at the little climbing frame with a slide.

"How high can you climb?" he asked, brows knotting.

Nashi shrugged, snuggling her bunny between her chest. "Have you never climbed before?" he watched her as she shook her head back and forth nervously. "Let me teach you, watch this" he lunged at the frame and held his hand to bar, placing it foot on the lower.

Although he was too big for the structure, his determination seemed to encourage the little girl to do the same. She dropped her bunny to the side of the frame and reached out to the bar, placing her foot on the first one she saw. She looked over as Natsu stood over her for support. "Right kiddo, can you reach this one?" he helped her much like an adult should as Nashi used all her willpower to scramble up the climbing frame.

With every mount she took, she looked back to see if the pink haired male was still there, before clambering up even higher. Before finally reaching the top and grinning from her success. In her eyes, she was high, peering down at the hard floor beneath her. Now how does she get down?

Natsu's eyes never left the girl, watching her every move for safety reasons. He was sure that Lucy would have a fit if she were to find out that Nashi had been climbing and had accidentally fell- resulting in him never seeing her again. For that reason alone, he kept his arms out ready to catch her.

"You ok poppet?" Natsu called out to her. "You can climb down now" he waited for a second, anticipating her next move.

Nashi stilled, her grip loosening from the bar. She very slowly bent her knee, and then stretched down, suddenly panicking as she couldn't find the lower bar to place her foot.

Flustering to find the bar to place her foot on, she gaped, her eyes darting to her little hands that had now lost their grip. She squealed, fright filling her lungs as she dropped from the frame expecting to hit the hard flooring. "I gotcha!"

Natsu snatched her mid-air, clutching her in his arms as she rattled herself. She wanted to cry, the terror of falling caught in her throat. "I'm here Nashi" he said softly. The girl snaked her arms around his neck, embracing him hard as her tiny chest pounded quickly, forcing herself to hold her weeps back. "You don't have to worry, I'll always be there to catch you" he promised.

His voice calmed her, as he rocked their embrace side to side before releasing her to the ground.

"Shall we go on the slide instead?" he suggested, pointing to the metal glide. She nodded, her voice stuck in her throat as she grasped his head for him to take the lead. "It's easy, get to the top then slide down…ok?"

"Ok…" sounded easy enough. Doing as she did before with the bars, she rose up to the top and peeked down to make sure he was still near her. Just to be sure. "Slide down?" she confirmed, looking at him weakly. He nodded. "Now?"

"Now or never" he called back, watching as she sat her bum down against the metal drop. "Push yourself down…"

Nashi gulped, using her hands behind her to push herself forward, her smile widening as the thrill of the fall took her by surprise. She slithered down, not too fast and not too slow, reaching Natsu at the bottom. "Da-da!" he chuckled watching her start to laugh.

"Again!"

"Ok, let's go again" he followed her back round as she ran to the bars, climbing back up as before and wasting no time to fall back down on the other side. Which each slip down, the higher and more powerful her laugh. "You really do like the slide eh?" he chuckled, watching her once again reach the bottom and charge back up.

"It's fun!" she said brightly. "I wanna come here everyday!"

"I dunno about that" the adult nervously sniggered, rubbing the back of his head. "But I bet you come here with Mommy a lot right?" it was strange, him calling Lucy by what Nashi would refer her to. He got weird chills, like it was something he was going to find hard to adjust to.

"Mommy doesn't take me here" Nashi admitted, climbing up the top once more. Natsu's face dropped by the comment.

"You've never been here?" he wondered. She shook her head, forcing herself down to the slide to smile at him at the bottom.

"Nope"

Natsu had a feeling the conversation should have stopped there, but his interest had peaked him. The thought of the young child never visiting the park that was only a few streets away from where she lived, didn't sit right with him.

"Why?" it was short and sweet, as he watched her reach the top once more. This time she sat there, her brown eyes locking onto his.

"Because Mommy works a lot" Nashi's response was innocent, much like he expected it to be. But as she slid down, this time her face no longer sparked it's smile, like it was somehow sharing Natsu's.

"Mommy works a lot…" he repeated, a guilt pooling in his stomach.

"Yeah…"

Natsu wasn't stupid, he knew that having children cost money and with her options being very limited for work, that explained why she was left with Mira at the guild most times. She couldn't go on the bigger missions and leave her child for days just to get a higher reward. And it wasn't like she had a second helping hand.

"Hey! Let's go on that!" his attention drifted back to the child who quickly ran out of his view. What she had seen was a strange moving contraption. It looked like a spring rocking horse embedded into the hard ground. Natsu's face turned green by the sight of it.

"Sure…" he followed her.

Nashi was keen to attempt to climb it, her arms outstretched as she tried to pull herself up and over to sit on it's back. But as she tried to yank herself up, the horse rocked back and forth, making it twice as hard.

Natsu gurgled as he approached her, lifting her little body up and over onto the horse as he bounced back and forth. She gripped the horse's handles and giggled, throwing herself along with its motion.

"This is fun!" she rocked it, swinging her legs back and forth in time with the horse before suddenly turning pale. "N-Natsu…" she burbled, a whoosh of nausea taking hold of her face and causing her stomach to rumble. "I'm…gonna…be sick!"

"Sick!?" his eyes expanded with pure alarm, clutching the girl from the horse and holding up away from him as she launched what appeared to be porridge from her tiny mouth, all across the hard floor beside the horse. He held her out for longer, peering round to see her greenish complexion addressed with a saddened tired look.

There was no doubt about it, Nashi really was his daughter.

"You alright?" he asked, watching her slowly nod.

"I don't like that ride" she admitted softly. Natsu smirked at this, moving her away from the danger horse.

"You and me both kiddo" he snorted.

After rides were clearly now out of the question, just because it was taking Nashi a while to recover. Natsu had wondered what better way to cheer a child up then ice cream. She had already puked her guts up, and if she was anything like him, which he gathered she was, then she must be starving now.

"Where we going Natsu?" she asked, rubbing her tired eyes. She held Natsu's hand as he strolled her down the street to a small ice cream shop on the corner. He beamed, admiring the freshly painted panels. It was still here, still standing and still familiar. "What's that?" the girl asked, looking up at the bright blue and pink display.

"This is your Mommy's favourite ice cream shop. I used to take her here all the time…" Natsu stopped, catching that word once more on the tip of his tongue. Mommy- Lucy.

"Really?"

"Yep, I thought as you puked all your food up, you got to be hungry…am I right?" she looked down at her stomach and rubbed it. "Then let's get you some ice cream!"

He collected her up in his arms, saving her the rest of the walking till they reached the shop. He opened the door and they were immediately greeted by a hostess who was keen to seat them at a table. The woman cooed at Nashi, collecting two menus up in her arms.

"Hi, I'm guessing table for 2?" she asked brightly. Natsu nodded, his hand resting softly on Nashi's shoulder. "Well aren't you lucky, Daddy's taking you on a little date" the woman gushed. Quickly hearing what she said, Natsu attempted to interject, his hand out to stop her. The woman looked back at him. "She looks so much like you. A little angel"

"Uh…" unsure how to respond, he looked down to Nashi who had seemed to be quiet. Perhaps she didn't listen.

"Right this way then…" the woman escorted them over to a small table and handed them the menus, winking as Nashi took her seat beside Natsu. "The chocolate funcake with sprinkles is the best…in case you struggle to decide" with a soft reassuring smile, she trotted off.

"Hm…ok then, lets see what they have" Natsu opened the menu in front of them, eyeing the selection. "Strawberry scoop…that's tasty" he pointed to the picture showing Nashi. She looked distant, too quiet for Natsu's liking. "Don't you want ice cream?" he frowned as she stared at the picture he was pointing to. Her lips stayed sealed. "It's my treat Nashi, so pick whatever you like ok?"

A few more seconds went by till at long last, she spoke.

"Your treat?" she repeated, still staring at the menu in front of her. Natsu smirked.

"Sure is. Whatcha fancy?"

"That one" she pointed at the menu, at a particular image of a dessert and Natsu glanced over it with a gape.

"That's the Strawberry glory…" he said out loud. He watched as she nodded her head to confirm. Ironic. "That's what you Mommy always picks too…"

Nashi said nothing, sinking into her chair quietly as the same woman darted back over. She collected the orders and darted back, all while the little girl remained mute. It wasn't till the dessert arrived that she thanked him for the treat and dug in, smearing strawberry scoop ice cream across her chops and on her nose.

"How did you manage to get it all over you?" Natsu exclaimed, with a wipe in hand. He mopped her face. "Did you even eat any of it?"

"Yeah…"

"Doesn't look like it!" he watched as she presented her sticky hands, grumbling with displeasure as he wiped her hands with the last remaining wipes. "Did you enjoy it at least?"

"Yeah!"

Natsu rolled his eyes, her colour pumping back into her cheeks.

"Well, guess it's time to take you back…" he rose from the table, helping her out of her seat before dipping his hand into his pocket.

It was rare he had carried jewel on him before, but it was now being more relied on, to live you needed it. He flashed out a small wallet and opened it, flicking some paper jewel down to the table. "Right, lets go" shoving it back in it pocket, he took the girl's hand and escorted her out, waving goodbye to the kind lady that served them.

"She was a nice lady" Nashi admitted as they strolled back towards the guild.

"Yeah, she seemed nice" he agreed, focusing more on the destination that topic of conversation. Nashi's hand gripped him harder as they walked across the canal, pass Lucy's old apartment.

"Did you like her?" Nashi quizzed.

"Yeah, I said she seemed nice" Natsu repeated, watching as she pulled herself towards the edge of the canal. He frowned as she attempted to climb with one hand onto the edge to walk across it. Natsu lifted her up and held her hand as she skipped along with a smile. The conversation continued.

"She called you Daddy"

Natsu froze quickly, hearing the word drop like a bomb.

"What?" Nashi puffed her cheeks.

"She called you Daddy!" she repeated, this time louder. Natsu shuddered, gripping the little girl's hand tighter as she wobbled over the edge.

"Ha, did she now?" play dumb.

"Yeah…she did"

"Silly lady then isn't she?" Natsu mocked nervously, tugging her tighter as she wobbled over once more. "Lets get you off this now" he reached out, collecting her up into his arms to place her back on the cobblestone path. "We're almost at the guild" he pointed to the large building ahead and smiled, hoping that would change their topic. "The amazing Fairytail guild…" he choked on his words, watching as Nashi frowned up at him.

"Are you ok Natsu?"

"Yep, perfectly fine…lets keep going. How about I race you there?" competition peeked her interest and before he even had a chance to call out the counting down numbers, she was off… running as fast as her little legs could carry her.

Obviously if Natsu wanted, he could win. His stamina, energy and longer legs were all winning features to his success. But when it came to children, he enjoyed losing. He did it with Romeo, he did it with Asuka…he would still do the same with Nashi.

He kept his pace however, running slightly behind her as she jolted on ahead, all while making sure she was in his sights at all time. When they reached the building, it seemed Lucy's motherly instinct was right on cue as she stood outside the door waiting.

Nashi didn't wait to spring into her mother's hovering arms, clutching her tightly as she pointed back at Natsu jogging behind her.

"Beat you!" she laughed. "I win!"

"You sure did kiddo, you're too fast for me" he panted.

"Glad you had a nice time sweetie" Lucy whispered nudging her nose to hers. Nashi giggled, unable to control her excitement as she wriggled in her mother's arms. Natsu grinned, feeling like he had completed a mission and the reward was sweet as ever. "Um…where's bunny?" his grin faded.

"Bunny?" he whispered.

"Nashi…where's your rabbit?" Lucy asked again, facing the little girl's dropped smile. "Natsu?" Lucy turned to him, concern in her eyes as Nashi suddenly began to tear up, sniffling away as she searched for her rabbit.

"The rabbit…Bunny…ah…" he gulped, trying to think back his steps. "It wasn't with us at the ice cream shop" he pointed out. He tried to think, but hearing Nashi's wails made him lose concentration. His heart pounded and his stomach stilled as the little girl went red in the face from the tension her tears were building.

"Ice cream shop?" Lucy bounced her daughter in her arms, trying to hush the crying child while frowning at Natsu with bewilderment.

"It will be at the park, it's the only thing I can think of" he exclaimed, clicking his fingers together. Lucy gaped as Natsu pulled their daughter from her arms and into his own, rocking her softly. "We gotta go back to the park Nashi!" he said promptly. "Are you ready?"

Lucy frowned as Nashi's tears halted, fear swallowing her as Natsu bolted down the street with Nashi in his arms.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelped, chasing after him. "Wait…"

Lucy's heart rushed, almost certain that it skipped a few beats as she charged down the street following the pink haired wizard with her daughter. "Natsu…" she heaved, catching her breath she slowed, reaching the park.

Natsu and Nashi were already inside, searching for the rabbit that she loved so much.

"Found it!" Natsu chimed, lifting the stuffed toy in the air. Nashi beamed brightly, rushing over to retrieve it.

"Bunny!" she never squeezed it so hard, thankful that it was now happily safe in her clutches. With her smile still beaming, she waved it towards her mother, who was still heavily panting to catch her breath. "Mommy look!"

Lucy waved back, her other hand firmly on her chest to slow her heart.

"I'm…glad…you…found it" she breathed.

"And Mommy, look what I can do!" Nashi squealed, delight overwhelming her as she scurried over to the slide, the one thing in the park she loved. She climbed up one side, peering down to check that Natsu was nearby before slither down back to the bottom. She laughed hard, running back down to repeat the process. Lucy smiled, standing beside Natsu as they admired her joy.

"She's never been to the park" Lucy admitted shamefully.

"I know, she told me"

"Oh" she looked away shyly, humiliated.

"It's ok, she can come with me to the park anytime…if you let me have her that is" Natsu's voice was steady and brisk, his eyes not faulting away from the child playing.

"Um…sure…I guess I can trust you with her" her eyes wondered the park, the night slowly drawing in. She smiled, glancing around at the children's playground before latching onto the rocking horse and the pile of vomit beside it. "Did I forget to mention she has motion sickness…"

"I gathered, thanks for the warning Luce" he smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Did you know what she picked at the ice cream shop?" the blonde shook her head lightly. "The strawberry glory" he answered.

He heard it, a playful giggle escape her lips. His smile grew wider.

"Come on Nashi, I need to take you and Mommy back home" he called out to the little girl. This made her quickly whine as she was at the top. "One more, lets go!"

"You don't have to walk us back" Lucy told him.

"What kind of man would I be to leave you here with a kid in the dark?" Natsu growled, his eyes glancing at her sternly. "Let me walk you back, just peace of mind for me"

"Ok…" Lucy gulped, her eyes drifting to Nashi as she slid down the slide and attempted to run back up one more time. "Nashi, it's getting dark now sweetie" the mother called out.

"Just one more…" Nashi whimpered. Natsu sniggered, snatching her up into his arm.

"You just had your last go…come on kiddo…" she huffed at him, her cheeks puffed out as she wriggled through his grip. But no escape. She was stuck in place.

They wondered out of the park, with Nashi still in his hold. They walked in silence, Natsu and Lucy, while Nashi continued to squirm and squeal on their route home. When Natsu finally placed her down, she was at the door step.

"Are you going to say thank you for today Nashi?" Lucy asked, as she opened the door for her to run inside.

"Thank you Natsu!" she cheered, quickly disappearing with her bunny tightly in her grip. Natsu smiled, watching her vanish from his sight into the home.

"Yeah, thanks for today Natsu" Lucy mimicked. "It was different for her today, normally she's stuck at the guild"

"Do you always work so much?" Natsu asked, his brows tensing. She nodded.

"I need the money…" she whispered. "This house is double what my apartment was, but it was the only thing available when she came along" her explanation made sense, but that didn't make Natsu feel any better. "It's ok though, we're doing alright" she smiled.

"If you need money…"

"I don't want your money Natsu" she shook her head. "I've done fine on my own"

"Just accept my help" he grunted, watching her face turn sour. "Or just move in with me…my place is big enough"

"No Natsu, that will just confuse her…confuse me" she shook her head at his offer. "I'm not ready to be playing happy families with anyone right now"

"But we are a family. If you let us be" Natsu offered, staring at her. Again she shook her head, the door now closing.

"I'm not trapping you to be with me Natsu, just go live your life" she sighed, softly shutting the door and leaving him stunned. He heard her squeak a soft 'goodbye' behind the door and he grumbled against his throat.

Lucy Heartfilia, what are you doing to me!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter - I wanted to do a little Natsu / Nashi moment so I hope this worked out ok?
Let me know your thoughts.