And we are back with another chapter! This one being an interesting one as it's Nashi's birthday!
The little character is now 4 years old and her world is about to be turned upside down!
I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 8

Happy birthday Nashi!

It had been 3 weeks and something was approaching fast. Natsu hadn't prepared for anything much like this before, especially when it involved the little girl that he was smitten over. Nashi was turning 4.

It wasn't a big deal for most guild members, but Natsu wanted to make the most of it. And if it meant beating people into submission to help decorate then so be it. Gray and Gajeel were in the card deck for that, both losing and now groaning as they each stood either side of room on ladders pinning banners to the highest point of the wall.

"Oi salamander…is it straight?" Gajeel yelled, holding up the long banner. He eyed Gray on the opposite side of the banner. "Keep it up will ya!"

"Just hurry up already…I still got a list of things to do!" the ice mage snapped. "Natsu!"

The fire wizard flicked his head towards the moaning losers and eyed the banner by squinting.

"Yeah, perfect…pin it already- what's taking you so long!" he ordered, suddenly rushing back to the section of balloons.

"We were waiting on you, you moron!" Gajeel growled, slamming the pin to the wall. Natsu ignored him, his hand resting on Wendy who was joined along with Romeo to help blow up the coloured balloons. Who better to blow them up than the sky dragon slayer?

While they blew up the balloons, Natsu turned his head slightly to a squirm that came from his blue exceed partner.

Blue feline was overjoyed to be reunited with his partner once more, but not so much when he found out about the list of things he had been asked to retrieve all for his little girl's birthday.

"Natsu…" the blue cat whined.

"What's up buddy?"

"You put a slide on the list…how am I supposed to get a slide?!" the cat burbled, waving the piece of paper in his paw. "I can't exactly steal the one at the park"

"Why not?"

"Because it's bolted to the ground!" Happy exclaimed. "Trust me, I tried" he added. Natsu slumped his hands to his hips, thinking of his second plan. What else could he get that Nashi would enjoy?

"Lushhhhhy!" his attention span halted by Happy's quick call as he flew into the blonde's arms, crashing into her chest as she entered the guild hall. Her eyes grew wide as she looked around at the many decorations hanging up and across the room.

"Um…Natsu…don't you think this is a bit much?" she asked, stroking the sobbing cat.

"He wants me to steal the park slide…but I can't do it" Happy cried. "I failed!"

"Natsu, you're going over board" she admitted. Quick enough the two males on ladders quickly agreed with her. "See?"

"I gotta make sure she has the best birthday ever!" Natsu chimed. "It's not every day she turns 4 right?" Lucy rolled her eyes. She understood he wanted to make an effort, but the place looked like Reedus had a painting explosion all over it. She didn't know where to look. Colours clashing, banners swung from each direction, balloons scattered.

"Natsu…" her voice sterned.

"What?" he torn himself away from decoration briefly, smiling at her. "She's gonna love it…where is she anyway?" his eyes scanned for the small pinknette.

"She's with Lisanna, I had to pick up her cake" Lucy informed. His face lowered. "You can see her later on at the party"

"Hmm, ok!" he clicked his fingers, his attention drawn back to Happy who was firmly cuddled between Lucy's chest. "Oi, get out of there! We have no time for hanky panky business Happy!"

"Isn't that what today's all about?" he sniggered, pulling himself away from Lucy. The blonde blushed, tutting at him as she walked away. Natsu frowned, his face revealing for Happy to elaborate. The cat smirked. "If it wasn't for you and Lucy doing the hanky panky…we wouldn't be here today to celebrate little Nashi's birthday…aye?"

Natsu's cheeks heated. He did have a point.

"Aye, which is why today needs to go perfectly!" the father demanded. While still thinking of his second option, his thoughts quickly jumped to Happy bouncing to Lucy's chest. He smirked proudly, his head snapping to his feline friend. "Happy! I want a bouncy castle- go get be a bouncy castle"

"And where's that gonna go?" Gray grumbled, staring around at the filled room. Natsu smirked, positioning himself in the centre of the guild hall, his arms spread out wide.

"Right here!"

"It wont fit there idiot" Gajeel snorted.

"Of course it will! Just you watch!"

Nashi blinked, unsure how to properly react as her mother escorted her into the guild hall only to be stunned by party poppers from all angles and pops of colour around the guild hall, framing a giant bouncy castle inflatable in the centre. Already she could see that her friends, Ruby, Ren and Aiko were already bouncing around on it, giggling away and kicking the coloured balloons.

"Happy birthday Nashi!" Natsu cheered as he sprawled to the front of the crowd. Everyone cheered behind him, clapping and singing away as she walked further in. "Do you like it?"

"Uh, yeah?" she hesitated, looking up at her mother who shared the equal mirrored look of puzzlement. "It looks cool, thanks Natsu"

"Then what ya waiting for, get jumping!" he signalled for her to join her friends on the castle.

"Uh, ok" she stumbled up, climbing up to the castle to start bouncing around. Natsu smirked, his arms crossed with satisfaction written across his face. A job well done.

"Jeez Natsu, I said don't go overboard" Lucy growled.

"I didn't, this is tame. You wait till next year!" he roared excitedly, pumping his fists into the air. "And look, she's having fun!" he pointed over to their daughter who was happily bouncing back and forth the castle walls. "See"

"I don't see how this is tame" the blonde whispered, flashing her eyes in every direction. "You didn't even pick a colour scheme"

"Nah, every colour has a part to play!" he hailed. She shook her head, rubbing her forehead. She really needed to lie down, maybe even take a nap. The mix matched colours were giving her a headache. But as she glanced over at her daughter, at least there was one thing. She was smiling…

And that was something.

It gave her some ease knowing that her daughter was happy, smiling at least. Something she knew she was thankful to Natsu for. He had tried his hardest over the last couple of weeks to really be a part of her life, their lives. And as much as Lucy wanted to deny it, she was grateful.

For her, it had been hard. But that's why she was determined to keep things the way they were. Nashi was her responsibility, and at the end of the day she chose to keep her and birth her, which changed her whole way of life. This was her decision to make.

4 years ago today, she made that choice. Pushing out a small little being that belonged to her. Nashi Heartfilia was hers, and hers alone. She knew from that moment, it would be the two of them, regardless of whether Natsu had returned or not. They were a family, just the two of them.

So why was she so against Nashi knowing the truth? Lucy knew that deep down her heart and mind were having an ongoing battle of what was right and wrong. In some respects, she knew that Nashi deserved to know who her father was, but on the other side of that balance, Lucy felt that they had done this for so long without him, that Nashi didn't really need to know. But she was also aware that was because of her shame and jealousy pegging her down.

If Natsu didn't want her, then why would he want Nashi? She was just a pawn in this never-ending fight between them. After all, Natsu didn't decide to have her, Natsu didn't want to keep her- that was Lucy's choice. He wasn't around to deal with the consequences, the endless nausea or the painful cramps, the mood-swings and the giving birth. Why should he have a claim to her daughter like that? Because he randomly came along and pumped a few drops of his generics into her.

Lucy groaned by the thought.

Was it really Nashi that she was worried about getting hurt? Was it really Nashi she was worried about confusing…or was it her? The more the blonde thought about it, the more she began to realise…it was her.

She didn't want their lives to change, she was happy as they were.

"Natsu did a really good job" her eyes flashed to Erza, who ironically was stood by the birthday cake that Lucy had purchased. "It's…the best party yet" the red head motioned around the guild hall, intrigued by the sense of colours that swarmed the banisters and walls.

"Still got as a good as Elfman and Evergreen's wedding though" Lucy smirked, watching Erza blush by the pure memory. The after party of their wedding had been hectic, full of alcohol and lust on some people's part. One being how little Ruby was created.

"Hmm, yes…that night was…special" the guild master sniggered. "That was the night Jellal confessed his love for me" she said sweetly. "Though I always knew anyway"

"You did?"

"I did, it was the way he would protect me during battles, the way he would look at me with so much affection. I just knew" she shrugged her shoulders playfully. "All I was doing was waiting for him to tell me…"

"You're so soppy" Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but… our love resulted in the most precious little girl" Erza's eyes casted over to her daughter, playing on the bouncy castle with her pink haired friend.

"She is adorable, your little Ruby" Lucy admitted.

"As is yours Lucy" Erza smiled, her eyes now falling to the delicious cake beside her. "Now, I am waiting for you to open up this tasty treat…it looks amazing"

Trust Erza to drool over the cake. Lucy nodded, her eyes scanning across to the bouncy castle once more. Her eyes focused as Erza's words touched her softly. Their love resulted in the most precious little girl… this made her heart thump weakly. So did hers…

…

"Isn't Natsu the greatest!" Ruby cheered as she front flipped across the middle of the castle, bumping into Ren. "He planned all of this!"

"You're so lucky Nashi!" Aiko muttered. Nashi smiled at them, as she bounced across the castle and back to the other side, all avoiding her friends that did the same. "My Daddy didn't do this for me" she added, slumping his shoulders.

"That's cause your Daddy's always grumpy!" Ren chuckled. This was true, for Aiko's 4th birthday her parents had planned a small get together at their home. It was nothing amazing as such, and from what Ren recalled, Gajeel spent most of the time complaining about how many people were in his home.

"Daddy?" Nashi repeated, her smile falling. Nashi knew of the word, but it was never associated with her before. She stilled, suddenly wondering why Natsu had planned her party. Only parents did that sort of thing, surely.

"Yeah, Natsu" Ruby addressed as she pointed across the pink haired male who was chatting away to a group of guild members. "Did you not know?"

"Know what?" Nashi's eyes shot across to the same man and her brows tensed.

"That Natsu's your Daddy?" Ren admitted questioningly. "Everyone knows" his bouncing lowered as Nashi's face dropped by the sudden realisation. "Wait…you didn't know?" her head shook slowly, her eyes bolting back to her blue haired friend.

"You did?" she asked back. All three of them nodded slowly back at her. "I didn't know…" now that made sense. It nibbled at her the moment he appeared on her doorstep 3 weeks ago, the fact he made her mother cry that very same night, the spending time with her and the nice lady at the ice cream shop. Her mouth gaped as she stopped her bouncing, pulling at her pink hair. They had the same colour hair too…

"Nashi, are you ok?" Ruby pushed herself forward, arms reached out to embrace her but Nashi was quick to push away. "Nashi…"

"No" she growled. Her arms had quickly reacted for her, pushing Ruby into the side of the plastic wall of the castle. Her face twisted with fear, watching as Ruby slowly wobbled up to face her.

"Nashi…"

The small girl didn't know what to do. Everything was suddenly making sense to her now. Why her mother was always acting weird around him, around them together. She couldn't believe it, but it was true. And everyone knew!

"Ok! Who's up for cake!" Natsu's voice bellowed loud as a large cake was brought out courtesy of Elfman. Lucy was stood beside him, placing 4 little candles in their place on the cake, with Natsu lighting it with a touch of a fingertip. "Nashi, come blow your candles out!" he called out to her.

Everyone looked over, the whole guild as they crowded around Elfman who held out the sweet cake in his hands. The candles burnt softly, flickering with the slow movement he made as he approached the bouncy castle, towards her.

Nashi's eyes widened as all eyes landed on her, watching her every move. She croaked, brown eyes suddenly turning into glass as she held back that sudden urge to cry. But when Natsu looked directly to her, his smile dropped.

And in that moment, she felt the wall break and all she could do was cry. Hot salty tears quickly flooded her eyes and ran down her face, causing everyone to quickly back up at the sudden commotion of the birthday girl.

Lucy stammered forward, reaching out to her just as Natsu did the same, his eyes remaining on hers the entire time.

"Hey sweetie, what's wrong?" Lucy whispered, her arm slowly snaking around her little frame. Nashi pushed her away quickly, her face scowling. "Hey…"

"Nashi, what's wrong?" Natsu asked, concern risen in his voice as she continued to weep. "Don't you like your birthday surprise?" tears continued to fall. Lucy snapped her head to him, frowning displeasingly.

"I told you it was too much" she snarled.

"I don't think its too much" Natsu growled back, his face now looking directly to Lucy. "I was trying to make it the best day ever"

"And look what's happened, you made her cry" Lucy snapped.

"Me? What effort did you put in?" Natsu retorted back, his temper rising. Lucy's nose scrunched.

"How dare you Natsu!"

The two bickered at the front of the castle where Nashi continued to cry, while everyone watched behind them. As awkward as it was, Happy flew between them, his paws pressing against both of their chests as they leaned into each other's faces.

"Guys…stop" Happy called out. "Stop fighting!" he struggled between them as both Lucy and Natsu glared at each other, their voices raised for everyone else to hear. Which had not been much of a surprise as this was something they did often, but with their little girl bawling her eyes out in front of them, it wasn't really the best time.

Happy continued to shove Natsu away from Lucy, now using both hands to keep him place as he continued to bark at her. He had enough of her mixed emotions, he was done with her constantly judging him for everything he did. The whole day was for Nashi, not for her.

Lucy on the other hand, was shocked that Natsu had argued back so quickly. But she kept her ground, firm as she wasn't going to let him get the better of her- or put her down in front of all their friends and guild members.

She felt Erza's hand attempt to pull her back by her shoulder, with a hushed voice she tried to coax her away from the heated discussion between the two of them. There was a time and place, and it was definitely not now and not here.

But it wasn't until Nashi's tears faded that the word she came out with silenced them all.

"Daddy"

The guild hall stayed quiet. Lucy's eyes widened, turning to her daughter as she stared directly to Natsu. A lump formed in her throat as she braced herself for what was coming. This was it for her.

Natsu, however froze on spot, not only had he never been called that title before, but it come from the little girl's mouth. His daughter. He felt Lucy's heated stare on him, but he ignored her. His arms opening up allowing Nashi to slowly walk into them, sobbing into his chest.

"Natsu…" Lucy whispered, fear escaping her.

"Shh Luce"

"Did you tell her?" she challenged, watching as he tucked his head to his daughter's neck.

"No" he confessed softly. "I didn't tell her" He rubbed her back as the small girl continued to weakly cry into his scarf, her eyes now puffy and red. "Shh, Nash…" he endured her sobs into him, stroking her hair before finally lifting her up into his arms as he stood up. With everyone still watching, Natsu swung his body round to face them. They remained silent. "Let's postpone cake for now" he announced, his usual grin plastered on his face. "Carry on" he ordered.

"You heard him, nothing to see here!" Erza bellowed after him, rising from her knees. She patted Lucy's back as the blonde remained on the ground, her eyes now staring at the solid wooden floor beneath her.

Everyone slowly began to talk once more, the party slowly picking back up while Natsu escorted himself with his daughter through one of the rooms to the side. He sighed heavily, unsure how the conversation was going to start. No longer feeling Lucy's presence behind him, he knew that this was all down to him. What would he even say? He hadn't expected this to happen, let alone be the one to confirm what she had asked.

He panicked, his head shifting behind him to see Lucy was still sat on the ground, barely moving. He moved further into the room and placed the young girl to the ground. His heart pulled as he watched her wipe her weeping eyes, still soft sobs escaping her chest. Her breathing slowed and her little brown eyes dropped to his hands as he held them out for her to take.

"What was all that about kiddo?" he asked slowly, looking down at the top of her head. Her pink hair had been tied into two pigtails, framing her head. He smirked, staring at the colour.

At first Nashi made no sound but small whimpers, her shoes rubbed against the floor nervously and her hands now resting into his. He admired how small her hands were, as she lightly lowered them to his palms. "Nashi…" he soothed.

"You…your" she couldn't get the words out, her mouth drying up by the very thought of her saying that word once more. "Daddy" it sounded alien to her, more so for Natsu as he heard her say it once again. He was only just getting used to her calling Lucy the phrase 'Mommy', now he felt he had to start all over again. "Are you…my Daddy?" his eyes narrowed down to her, homing onto her lingering word. He breathed in, mentally begging Lucy to come in and rescue him from this awkward moment.

With the silence aired between them, Nashi's head slowly moved up, her eyes now scanning his with hope and fear blending into one. She doubted herself, wondering if it was really true, why hadn't he admitted it yet. Did he not want her?

"Nashi…" he choked on his own thoughts. "I-" he paused, feeling guilt as the small girl began to slowly titter on the edge of tears once more. Her hands left his immediately as she pulled them to her face, attempting to stop the tears from falling. Her bottom lip wobbled as she let out a tiny innocent squeak of regret.

"Don't…you want me?" she whispered.

He groaned softly, his chest tightening. He gave into his sudden urge to embrace her, his long muscular arms now caging her frame and forcing her into him. He squeezed tightly, not wanting to let go as he nuzzled his face into her hair, inhaling her sweet scent.

"Of course I do!" he squinted his eyes, cursing the escape of his own tears now being released from his eyes. Dam emotions getting the better of him. But still, he held her there, comforting the small child as she blubbered into his shirt. Her hot tears soaking the fabric and causing it to stick to his skin. He brushed his nose to the centre of her hairline and mumbled softly, his voice croaky "I want you more than anything, you're mine"

She tensed by his words, her nose pressing into his chest. She enjoyed how warm he was, how his own scent was how she expected it to be, comforting- like a campfire. It brought her some sense of pride as she wriggled herself further into him, embracing his heat. She didn't want to let go.

"I am…your Daddy" Natsu confirmed, his arm now lifting up to brush her hair. "I'm sorry…"

The little girl pushed away from him suddenly, although her face now puffy and red, stained with her fallen tears, she still smiled- a smile that reminded Natsu of her mother. It was wide, pretty and full of joy.

"So I do have a Mommy and Daddy…" she said sweetly, feeling overwhelmed by the idea of having two parents.

"Sure you do, how'd you think you was made" Natsu sniggered as Nashi quickly tilted her head and answered him.

"Wizards?"

"Um…yeah, sure" he accepted her answer. After all it wasn't the right time to have that conversation.

"That means we can be a family!" she exclaimed proudly, clapping her hands with joy. "You can live with us!" Natsu's smile faded by her comment, his hands holding down her shoulders to stop her from jumping around happily.

"Um…no, Nashi…you're getting ahead of yourself" he hushed her down, watching as her smile quickly dropped. "I can't live with you" he admitted softly.

"But we're family?" the small girl muttered back to him.

"Yeah, but…we're not like other families" he bit his lip, trying to come up with the best way to explain to this now 4 year old toddler. Her head tilted to one side as she looked at him confused. "Me and Mommy, we're not together" he stated. "So I can't live with you"

"Not together…" Nashi repeated his words slowly.

"Yeah" he watched fearlessly as the small child frowned by his words. She stepped back, trying to understand what he was saying. "Um, we don't love each other" he said again, watching her face pull suddenly.

"Oh"

Natsu sighed, now she understood.

"You don't love Mommy?" she questioned, looking at him dearly. Natsu felt his lips pull back, his tongue curling in his mouth as he tried to respond back to her question.

"It's complicated" he admitted. "Me and Mommy…we don't love each other" he repeated his words from before, watching Nashi's eyes cast to the floor with disappointment. "But we are friends" he piped up, in hopes that would encourage her.

"Friends…" Nashi whispered.

"Yeah, and nothing has to change. I'll still take you to the park, and we can go for ice cream…" he paused watching her shoulders lower even more.

"Without Mommy?" she wondered sadly.

"I guess…" he frowned at her. "Mommy is welcome to come…but" he looked away, feeling the urge to get up and run away. He was now beginning to understand why Lucy didn't want this day to come, the awkwardness between them both as he tried to explain their new lifestyle was challenging, especially when the little girl wanted only one thing. A family.

"We'll still be by your side Nashi, both me and Mommy ok?" he stood up briskly, holding his hand out to her. "But for now, lets go and enjoy your party" warmth cloaked his hand as his little girl placed her hand in his. He grasped it tightly, as they strolled forward, through the door to where the party was.

No one seemed to acknowledge their appearance, which helped Natsu as he ventured further into the room to join the others. He felt Nashi release his hand as she ran towards the bouncy castle once more to regroup with her friends. He smiled, now looking at the empty spot where Lucy once was.

He inhaled the air, picking up her scent quickly and following the trail.

…

He followed it outside, to the small communal gardens behind the Fairytail building. He knew of this place, it was filled with flowers that Lisanna had planted. In the centre was a fountain and sat on the edge of it was Lucy.

Her arm was outstretched, with her finger tickling the surface of the water as she danced it around the little movements of water she was making. Her head was low, her eyes focused on the clear liquid as the water treadled out from the top of the fountain's figure to its base. She hadn't noticed him watching her, admiring the way she delicately swirled her hand around, in complete deep thought.

He sighed, stepping forward and scrunching his foot against the stony path to get her attention. Her breathing hitched immediately, her shoulders tensed, and her thighs clenched, knowing who it would be to disturb her thinking.

"I told her" Natsu's voice deepened. To this she replied with a soft hum. "I also told her, nothing changes" he added, his eyes focusing on her reaction. Again he expected some sort of rise from her. But she just shrugged her shoulders back, her eyes remaining on the stream of water. "Luce…say something" he begged, stepping towards her.

"There's nothing to say, is there?" she whispered.

"Surely you want to say something…" Natsu's voice croaked out his concern, stepping forward once more. "Anything"

"There's no point Natsu, we'll just end up arguing about it anyway" she seemed distant, too distant for Natsu's liking. He stepped forward again, this time now standing over her with worry in his eyes.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier…I didn't mean it" he claimed sadly. "I was just so caught up in the moment…I didn't mean the things I said. I was…out of order" he rubbed his nose, her sweet scent overwhelming his senses. How he wanted to hold her, like he had done moments ago with his daughter. How he wanted to comfort her.
"Luce?"

"It's fine…" her voice remained monotone, unfazed by his plea. But Natsu had finally given in, his hands reached hers, pulling them into his chest as he bent down to see her face. His knees curbed the stone path, grazing them as he looked up into her dull eyes.

"It's not fine Lucy!" he groaned, tugging her hands into his chest. "I'm so grateful for everything you've done for our daughter" he admitted sorrowfully. "And I was wrong to say those hurtful things to you, you really are amazing, you know that" he nudged his fingers over her knuckles, the heat of his power warming up her hands as he held them. "I'm an idiot, you told me before. But I really do want to be apart of her life, if you let me…"

He sighed, feeling Lucy pull her hands away from him.

"Well she knows now, so there's no stopping you" she said with a light shrug. "You be apart of her life, if that's what you want"

"It is, it really is!" he exclaimed.

"And…nothing changes?" Lucy's voice edged, as she asked him the question. Some part of her hoped that he would argue yes, but when he shook his head, her eyes lowered once again.

"No, nothing has to change!" he said confidently. "We can raise Nashi together, but…apart" he tried to smile, reassuring her that was what she wanted. That's what he thought she wanted.

"Ok Natsu…"

"Ok?"

"We can raise her together"

And there you have it, Nashi now knows that Natsu is her father.
I originally wanted to do it so that Lucy told her, but I had a thought and really I decided that in a way it should be Natsu that tells her and explains it. To me it made more sense. But whether you guys agree or not, is entirely up to you.

A quick note: the last chapter was indeed written to be Chapter 6, but I wrote something and I felt it fitted better to be before this chapter, hence why Chapter 6 is now "She's not mine" rather than "You got me something"! sorry for the massive confusion!