Hello all, I'm back with the next chapter! This one however is rather long, so please forgive me.
Again, thank you for your reviews and PMs.!

I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 12

I'm fine

"Why me?" He asked stubbornly. He was perched on the bar stool, scoffing his face with Mira's homemade breakfast when he was bombarded by three females, two blue heads with different shades and the blonde...

Four days had passed since they had learnt of Nashi's new gift, and for Natsu that meant four days of sleeping under the stars on his futon mattress right by his charcoaled house. Not that he blamed his daughter for it, but it had upset him that all his things were now gone.

Happy had called him a pirate before, he collected things from every mission he ever did and claimed them as his treasures. But now all that was lost, either turned into chunks of charcoal or grey dust of ash. Either way, they were no longer visible to the eye anymore and that hurt him.

Now he was being swarmed by a grumpy Lucy, a worried Wendy and a timid Levy. All of them begging him to do one thing. Train Nashi.

"Why can't you do it?" He asked, his eyes narrowing to Wendy. "You're a dragon slayer, you can train her"

"Her ability comes from you Natsu, fire and flames... I don't know how to control that magic" the sky dragon slayer mumbled softly, shuffling her feet away from him.

"I can't train her. I don't even know how to" he admitted.

"Please Natsu, she needs you" Levy begged. "She's so vulnerable right now, and you're her Papa, you need to pull yourself together and step up to it- train her"

Natsu rolled his eyes, forcing another spoonful of beans and sausages into his mouth. He chomped hard, ignoring their watchful eyes on him. It was irritating.

"Come on Natsu" Mira whispered, joining in as she leant over the counter. "Do it for your baby girl"

"Don't you side with them too!" He pointed his spoon at her fearfully. "I told you; training dragon slayer magic is a big thing. Perhaps when she's older-"

"You need to train her now Natsu" Lucy growled. "If she can at least control it, then I won't have to worry about my house being burnt down"

"What like mine has?" He snapped.

"Well, if you hadn't of left..." Lucy trailed off, her eyes now avoiding his as he slapped his hands to the counter, either side of his plate.

"Who started it?" He shot back.

"If I remember correctly, you did..." Lucy poised her finger to lips, smirking at him as he gritted his teeth.

"O...kay! Now guys, think of Nashi's wellbeing here!" Levy cried out. "To prevent it from happening again, Nashi needs to be trained"

"Okay!" Natsu scoffed lightly at them, his hand reaching a hash brown that was still sat on his plate. He bit into it, chewing it down before looking at them with confusion. "What? I said okay!" He growled, annoyed at them watching him eat.

"You'll train her?"

He rolled his eyes.

"I was gonna have to train her eventually, weren't I?" He grumbled. "Just leave me alone now will ya"

"When? Today? Tomorrow?" Levy asked excitedly. "I'm doing research on her!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

Natsu cocked his brow.

"Is my daughter some kind of science frog for you to study?" He asked darkly. Levy shook her head, waving her hands innocently at him.

"No, no! Not at all, just her 'type' has never been studied before, and I'll like to write about it for our archives" the bookworm whispered, suddenly harsh of breath from explaining it so quickly. Natsu eyed her, turning to Lucy who shrugged.

"Fine, we'll train today..."

Xxx

They were sat in the middle of a field, both sat opposite each other with their legs crossed and their hands rested in their laps. Natsu was breathing heavily, focusing on his fire burning inside of him while Nashi sat there staring with wide eyes and fully alert. Her head tilted as she eyed his nose, his nostrils flaring in and out as he controlled his breathing. While keeping his eyes closed, he could sense the child's distraction. His mouth opened thinly.

"You're not focusing" he aired.

The little girl gulped, adjusting her posture. She closed her eyes and strained, trying to focus on this said flame her father spoke about.

"Just relax" he told her, "Let the flame light itself and warm your body"

Nashi wriggled her bum to the floor, huffing with boredom. Her eyes opened quickly, catching sight of Levy in the distance. The bookworm was sat on a picnic blanket with her notebook and pen in hand, observing the two as they sat there. Nashi squinted her eyes, admiring Levy from afar who chirped excitedly at the first session of training.

"Let the magic element reveal itself in your mediation..." Levy spoke out loud as she wrote the same words down in her book.

Natsu grunted, smoke now tunnelling through his flared nose.

"How do you expect her to concentrate!" He bellowed over at her. "Shut up!"

Levy timidly sunk low, taken back by Natsu's irritable attitude. She muttered under her breath, asking what his problem was but tensed when he snapped back at her. She had forgotten about his sensitive dragon hearing.

"Nashi, close your eyes" Natsu ordered. "Ignore everyone else around you" he opened his eyes, peering over at the bushes. He could see three pairs of eyes staring at them. "I can see you!"

"Dammit!" Wendy jumped up from the bush, followed by Lucy, and Erza's daughter Ruby.

"You can do it Nashi!" Ruby cheered, pumping her fist into the air. Natsu grunted, rolling his eyes.

"If your gonna watch, just sit there and be quiet!" He roared at them. Lucy frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. She snorted at him.

She wondered why he was being so touchy. She understood that he had lost his house, but she heard from Gray that he had been sleeping under the moon. Something that he said he didn't mind. So why was he so angry?

Natsu had also wondered the same thing himself. He didn't know why, but every little thing was beginning to irritate him, more so now than ever before. And he had no way of controlling it. The only thing that did, was setting off some steam by releasing his magic energy.

He knew he would have to go on some missions soon to take his mind of whatever was causing him to feel this way. But for now, he had Nashi to support.

He didn't want to train her. The real reason behind it was Nashi was still a child and training took a lot of time and energy, it surged your magic and although it made you stronger, he didn't want Nashi to lose her fun years of being a playful merry kid.

He had already heard that Laxus was training his son at such a young age, and so was Gajeel with his. But they were kids, they shouldn't have to worry about being the strongest yet, or even being able to fight.

He twisted his nose in disgust. He didn't want Nashi going into battle or fighting at her age, she could barely do things for herself as it was.

And yet here he was, watching the small child struggle sitting for the longest amount of time as she practiced controlling that tiny flame flowing inside of her.

Her concentration was off. She lost focus and her attention span was exactly what he expected a child her age to be like. Non-existent. He scowled, arms folded over his chest as he observed his daughter fidget once more under his nose.

"Nashi!" He grumbled.

"Daddy...I...cant, I'm bored!" She stropped, puffing her cheeks out with desperation. Her eyes opened lightly, straining them up to her face as she pouted. "I want to play!"

"You have to train" he told her. "Train first, play later" his eyes darted to the trio in the distance, exhaling deeply. "I need you to channel your flame Nashi"

"I don't wanna!" She whined. "It's boring"

He couldn't deny that. Even during his training as a child with Igneel, he found it draining and unfulfilling. Much like how his daughter was feeling right now. If only he could get her to feel the flame at least, that could have been a start to guiding it. But there was no way he could do that now. His eyes casted down on her.

She fell back, her legs in the air and her arms behind her head as she stared up at the clouds. Her cheeks still puffed out, grumbling away to herself as she kicked her feet up for some sort amusement.

He rolled his eyes, now looking over to Levy who seemed to be writing everything down that the child was doing. He groaned, releasing his arms from his chest, he placed them behind his back, pillaring himself as he leant backwards in defeat.

"Fine" he said simply. "Let's play a game"

Hearing the word, the daughter jolted upright to face him.
"Game?" She repeated, interested.

"Yep, a game" he pushed himself up, standing up to stretch out his legs and arms from the long period of sitting. He needed to let off some steam anyway. He flexed his muscles, clicking his neck as he shook himself down, ready to do some cardio.

He patted his feet against the ground, getting himself adjusted as he worked up his heartbeat.

Nashi watched him.

"It's called...copycat" he thought of it on the spot, grinning his fanged smile down at her. "Get up..." he motioned her up from the floor with his hands. "You have to copy everything I do...ok?" He smirked, jogging on the spot.

Nashi frowned at him, watching his movements. She quickly started to follow his actions, kicking her feet against the grassy ground.

"If you copy me, you get a point. If you get 10 points then you can have an ice cream...got it?" He nodded at her, encouraging her to want to play the game.

"Ok...Daddy" she panted, already out of breath from the light jog. The idea of an ice cream right now was really appealing to her.

"Ok...let's start" he quickly continued to jog, but this time faster than before, watching as the little girl copied his speed. He then, without any warning, lifted his knee up and fired a fearless kick to the side. It was a strong kick, a high one too, but he wondered if Nashi could copy the style.

Her little legs jotted on the spot, her tongue sticking out as she boosted her knee up to her chest and flicked her leg out. The movement carried her slightly, as she kicked her leg out, her other leg balancing wobbly that she fell to the floor.

Saddened by her mistake, she looked back up to her father who was still jogging in the same place. He looked at her, nodding his head for her to get back up and repeat it.
"You can have another try, do it again" he told her. "Just lift the knee up and swiftly kick out..." he demonstrated again. "Like that"

Nashi nodded, lifting herself up. She tiptoed on the spot again, pitter-pattering her shoes against the grass before lifting her knee up once more. She kicked out, landing her foot back down onto the grass. She smiled.

"Very good. One point"

Pleased with her father's praise, she continued to jump on the spot, copying exactly what he was doing. The jog had indeed turned into bouncing, and this time Natsu had started to punch out his fists in the air in front.

Nashi did the same, pleased when Natsu had changed his action once more and stomped his foot to the ground. Nashi repeated him.

"What's this got to do with helping her magic?" Lucy grumbled, watching them kicking and punching the mid-air.

Natsu smirking upon hearing her. There was a reason he was doing this, getting Nashi used to certain dragon slayer attacks meant that certain movements were to be made.

This time he dropped to the ground, looking at if he was about to do a push up when he swung his legs up into the air, using his upper body to hold him steady. Nashi frowned, watching with amazement as flames sprawled around his feet and legs, causing him to twist his body before pushing himself up to a standing jog.

Nashi's eyes widened. How was she supposed to do that?

"Copy..." he demanded.

The little girl stopped her light jog and dropped to the floor, her stomach laying on the dry grass. She tensed, leaning against her forearms as what her father did, before pushing herself up to hold her weight. She kicked her legs up once as they fell back down, then twice she was able to hold.

"Now flames and spiral" the father instructed watching her.

Nashi bit her tongue, kicking her legs out in some hopes that would bring on her flames.

"Come on Nashi, flames!" The father grunted. The daughter struggled under his gaze. Her breathing hitching as she panicked to keep herself steady and upright. "Release the flames"

"Daddy...I... can't" she yelped out between pants. "I can't"

"Yes you can, focus!" He edged forward, his arms stretched as he grabbed her little legs to keep them tall. "Focus!"

"Daddy!" The girl whined.

"You can do it" he told her. "Just think fire!" The little girl shook her head, her breathing now intense as she flopped her legs out of his grasp and back to the ground. She shook her head harshly, enough to give her whiplash on her neck. "What, you almost did it!" The father growled. "Why did you stop?"

"It was hurting..." she whimpered. "It hurt"

"Training will hurt" Natsu admitted bluntly. The daughter sighed at him, rubbing her arms from the weight they were carrying from her stunt.

"It was a game" she said softly.

"A training exercise, game yes" he grumbled. "You was supposed to copy me"

"But it hurt" the girl now began to sob lightly, feeling she had let her father down. Her shoulders flopped low as she looked to the ground below her.

"Fine, no more training. Your too young anyway!" He turned his back, grumbling while hearing Lucy's patted steps rush towards them.

"Nashi! Don't cry sweetie" the mother hugged her child close, her head snapping to Natsu with frustration. "What's your problem?"

"I tried didn't I?" He grunted at her. "She's too young to focus on it right now, you'll just have to wait" he waved her off, walking away from them.

"But she needs you to train her" Lucy shouted, watching him leave. "Natsu!"

He hissed through his teeth, shaking his head as he ignored her. He wasn't a dragon, training dragon slayer magic was different. Dragon slayers couldn't train, dragons could. He knew it was going to take time. But the more he thought about, the more angry he got.

Nashi was a child; she should be playing with her friends not sat in a meadow burning the place down. Not at her age.

He groaned, shaking his head. He felt so angry, so distant. What was wrong with him?

Xxx

Levy tutted to herself as she wriggled into bed beside her husband. Finding the corner of the sheet, she pulled it up to her torso and heavily sighed as she laid down into the thick padded mattress, shifting back and forth to find her comfortable spot.

A grunt came from her husband as he span his body over to stare at her.

"What's wrong with you?" He started, his lips thinned as he stared back at his pouting blue haired wife. "You've been mellowing in that head of yours since you got home, what's wrong?"

She sighed heavily, slapping her arms to her sides.

"Not me" she breathed. "Natsu"

Upon hearing his name, Gajeel's brows lifted with surprise. His nose wrinkled as he saw the despair in Levy's eyes. Something he that didn't sit right with him.

"What's that salamander done now?" He scowled across to her, watching as she shook her head lightly, as in almost in deep thought once more. "Oi, don't leave me hanging!" He grunted, his hand reached out to grasp her arm. He shook her lightly, pulling her from her daze. "What's that salamander done?" He asked again.

"Oh, I don't know...but he seemed...really grouchy, like not himself" she frowned, recalling her friend's change of personality. "Like he was agitated over something, grumpy even, just like..." she paused, her eyes focusing to her husband. "You"

Gajeel huffed with annoyance at her comment, releasing his hand from her skin, he shoved it behind his head, keeping his elbow locked out.

"Is that it?" He questioned her. "You're telling me, ya been lost all day over that?" He snorted, shaking his head with disbelief.

Levy's head twisted to him, studying her husband as he chuckled away to himself- like he knew the exact cause of Natsu's personality switch. Her lips poised, waiting for him to give her an explanation.

"Gajeel..." Levy mumbled. "Do you know something?" She pressed on, eyeing him from her side. It was clear he did, by the way his laughter halted and a eerie silence fell between them. With a low grumbling gruff, he responded.

"It's a dragon slayer thing"

Her eyes narrowed him further, refusing to accept that as an answer. Gajeel noted her stare and rolled his eyes at her, scrunching his nose as he regrettable continued on.

"He knows"

"Knows what?" Levy wondered harshly.

"That bunny girl's his mate" he admitted, shrugging. "He'd already claimed her"

Levy nodded.

"State the obvious Gajeel" she snapped. "Tell me something I don't know!"

"Well, if us dragon slayers. Once we've claimed our mate...we obviously need to maintain that connection with them" he eyed her slowly, waiting for the smart bookworm to clock on. She frowned, still not understanding. He huffed once more. "Natsu needs a good seeing too, ya hear?" His voice bellowed louder than he had originally expected it to be, but at least it got the message across.

Levy's eyes slowly widened with the thought. Clogs turning in her head as she began to register what he was saying. She sucked in her bottom lip slowly, cheeks burning by the sudden realisation that her friend Natsu, was sexually frustrated.

"Oh, you mean..." she gulped, her eyes peeling away from him. "Natsu...needs to mate, with...his mate"

"Just think, he claimed her just under 5 years ago right? He's obviously only just found out he claimed and mated the bunny, which means now his instincts have kicked in" the iron slayer shrugged causally, perking his head up and over to catch sight of his wife's flushed expression. "If ya don't mate with ya mate, or have that connection at least...it makes you grouchy...duh" he put it simply.

"Oh my gosh, does he know?" Levy wondered innocently.

"How am I supposed to know, shrimp?" He groaned, frowning at her. "Salamander's sex life is the least of my worries, why don't ya just ask him ya self?"

"I can't do that!" She nervously shook her head, blushing crimson under his gaze. He snorted at her, shuffling himself beneath the sheets.

"Then quit worrying about it" Gajeel huffed at her. "Leave it up to him to figure it out"

He pulled the sheet over his head, keeping his back against her. Levy sighed deeply, as she pressed her head against the pillow and looked up at the ceiling.

Could that really be why he was acting so distant?

Xxx

He panted heavily, sweat dripping from the top of his hairline. He wiped it steadily with his arm, growling under his breath as he charged once more. His body lit up in hot flames, smashing into the icy snow creature that towered over him.

The beast hailed, stepping back from the exploding impact as the wizard connected his powerful burning fist into its stomach. Before it even had time to attack back, Natsu pounced up, his right fist connecting up straight into its jaw, pulling its body from the snowy ground and into the air.

He landed gracefully, his eyes watching the beast drop into the slushy snow, trembling the ground like a mini earthquake. The snow that had dressed the green trees around the area were shaken off by the sudden vibrations and the wildlife creates scattered from their hiding places.

Natsu frowned, his fire scorching around his body as a threat to the beast who was now lying unconscious.

His mission was complete, a simple one which required less energy but a chance to let out his rage and steam. Where better for a fire dragon slayer to let out his flames, than the icy mountains in Mt Hakobe.

He was still nearby Magnolia, another reason why he chose the mission. To be nearby his daughter. The thought of going too far out for a job didn't sit well with him, especially now that he knew that Nashi had magic coursing through her. One that she was unable to control. He needed to be on hand, even though there was not much he could do. He couldn't eat her flames.

He was pretty useless if it came to that scenario where Nashi did unleash her power. The flames would have no effect on him as it had been proven only recently, but nor could he contain them either.

And training her was almost impossible. He spent a week trying to train her but Nashi's concentration was non-existent, she was bored and rightfully so, she was a child. He didn't want his child to hate him for putting pressure on her for using magic. She was so young and naïve that he didn't want to do it either.

He had heard at the guild about the intense training that Laxus had put on his son, who started at a young age. How the poor boy was now being dragged pillar to post across Fiore on missions with his father. The young child was only 8, just slightly younger than Gajeel's son Saito.

Only difference was Levy refused Gajeel to take their son to missions at his age, claiming it was unsafe regardless of if he was there or not. While Mira hadn't had a say at all with her son's training, Laxus wanted him to be strong and a protector of the guild.

Natsu didn't want that life for Nashi. He wanted her to have her own path. Of course, being a father was still new to him and her very existence was like an emotional rollercoaster for him after all, he didn't know how to be a father, nor did he have that experience with her as soon as she entered this world but he did know what he wanted for his child. He wanted her to experience life surrounded by her friends and family.

"Well, well, well... look who it is"

His attention turned by the sound of a familiar voice, one belonging to a cocky dragon slayer.

"I thought I recognised that smell" the voice chirped excitedly. "Natsu"

Natsu smirked lightly. He thought the smell of the icy air had changed, replacing it with a scent of peppermint and seawater. A smell he only connected with the sabretooth guild master, Sting.

"What brings you to my neck of the woods?" Natsu lifted his brow, turning his head to face the blonde wizard dressed in a thick padded coat.

"Ice, funny enough" the master chuckled. He bowed his head to his associate, a young teenager with icy pale blue hair dressed in a long black trench coat. She blinked, revealing her grey eyes. "This is Lily, she's an ice wizard" he introduced.

Natsu nodded his head to her.

"Natsu Dragneel, the famous fire wizard. It's a pleasure to meet you" she bowed low, her smile growing respectfully.

"She's cute right?" Sting patted her back briefly. "She's only 15 but already a great wizard. Might even surpass your Fullbuster dude"

"Isn't she a little young for you Sting?" Natsu grumbled, watching the young girl blush by his comment. Sting laughed, shaking his head.

"I mated years ago. I don't have eyes for any other" he chimed confidently.

"You mated?"

"Of course I did, it took a while for her to accept me. But you know what Yukino's like" Sting shrugged his shoulders, turning to Lily with a smile. "Do you wanna head that way, the ice should be in the caves" he pointed to his side, leading the young female off into his pointed location. As she began to slurry away through the snow, he turned back to his fiery companion.

"Yukino eh?" The fire wizard mumbled.

"Hmm, she wasn't exactly thrilled about the whole mating business" he tilted his head, smirking to Natsu. "I'm guessing Lucy was the same"

"What makes you think Lucy's my mate?" Natsu fired back, brows tensing. Sting sniggered louder.

"You got a kid together, haven't you?" He asked. Natsu's arms folded across his chest eyes glaring to Sting as he smirked wider. "For that to happen, you claimed and mated"

"Right..."

"Yukino gave birth to my son around the same time as your Lucy announced her pregnancy. So they'll be what... 3?" His scrunched his nose up as he attempted to calculate the years in his head.

"She's 4" Natsu corrected bluntly.

"Skye's 5, but turning 6 soon. You know..." he paused, brushing the blonde hair from his face. "You should bring her and Lucy to his birthday party" he nodded his head, as he thought up the invite in his mind. "Yeah, it's not for another couple of months yet, but you Dragneels should come!"

Natsu frowned slightly.

"Skye needs more friends anyway, the Guild isn't exactly family friendly... he's the only kid we have in the guild" he chewed his bottom lip, clicking his fingers after another wonderful idea popped into his head. "How about you guys come for a barbecue at ours? Get the kids to meet?" He flashed his grin across to Natsu, a plea for him to accept.

"A barbecue?"

"Yeah, fire up some food. Let the kids get to know each other" Sting cheered out happily. "Will be fun!"

"Hmm, I'll have to speak to Luce" Natsu's voice was weary.

"How about I get my wife to get in touch with yours and we can plan a date?" Sting wondered. Before Natsu could interject, the blonde dragon slayer clapped his hands proudly. "I gotta go, catch up with my mage... I'll hear from you, ok?" He trotted backwards, pointing smugly at the fire wizard with a smirk. "Laters Natsu!"

Natsu grumbled under his breath, turning back to the beast behind him who was now starting to stir. His flames released from his fist, firing it a fearsome fireball in the monster's direction, knocking him out cold once more.

"Typical" he grunted.

XxX

Train station trips were always the worse. And while he had begged for that bracelet that Lucy had given him before, she wasn't planning to give it up as easily. She was annoyed to say the least, after receiving a phone call from her friend Yukino about setting up a day for the family of Dragneels to come to theirs.

Lucy's eye had twitched as she attempted to explain the situation, as both herself and Nashi were not in fact Dragneels but Heartfilias, not that it made much of a difference as Yukino seemed to be so excited for them to plan in their date, she dismissed everything Lucy had told her. All the pieces that the blonde thought would make things easier with her simple explanation had been bypassed which lead to Lucy's irritated mood.

So she decided to let her pink haired friend suffer on the train, as it was due to him that lead them into this situation.

However it wasn't so bad. Lucy hadn't seen Yukino in years, and only seen Skye when he was born. She knew that motherhood was exhausting and the communication between them had slowly drifted as life went on. But still, seeing her friend did give her some satisfaction at least. Even if it meant a 2 hour journey with the sickly dragon slayer.

Nashi had Blue squished between her arms as she looked out the window watching the farms and fields go by. When her mother announced that they would be seeing an old friend, Nashi was excited to be going on an adventure. Although trains gave her a tummy ache, the end result was always pleasing. New places to explore and venture in.

When the train stopped at their destination, Nashi reached for her mother's hand and off they went. She looked back briefly at her father, who crawled behind them, his eyes almost popping from his head and cheeks swollen as if he was about to throw his guts up across the deck.

"Mommy, is Daddy coming?" The child asked sweetly, her eyes now pointing up to her mother.

"Unfortunately," Lucy mumbled, her head turning over her shoulder to eye him. "Let him sort himself out" with a soft tug of her daughter's hand, the two of them walked off and onto the streets of Crocus.

Nashi awed at its beauty, how big the place was and how surprising clear and shiny the buildings were. Everything was cluttered with flowers and banners, suggesting events going on across the large city. She was amazed by the amount of colour, bright pink flowers that spiralled up the lampposts as they walked past. The market stalls full of fresh vibrant fruit and vegetables, sat in woven baskets out for display. Nashi's eyes sparkled.

Natsu hollered behind them, catching up to their side.

"Wonder what events are on?" He looked up at the banners hanging from houses and posts as they walked down the street.

"Some festival for the king" Lucy mumbled, averting her gaze. "His birthday or something" she shrugged, tugging Nashi closer to her side as they walked down the street to a row of houses. "Guess we could ask Yukino"

"Hmm, good idea"

They walked down the street, their eyes glaring at each door number they passed before stepping in front of a largest white house.

"They live here?!" Natsu croaked, studying the oversized house.

"Yeah, this is Sting's house. Yukino moved in with him when she was pregnant" Lucy walked up to the door and knocked it firmly, tightening her daughter's hand as the door swung open with a clasp.

"LUCY! Welcome!" Yukino was overjoyed as she stepped in view of all three of them. She threw her arms around her blonde friend, beaming brightly before turning her attention to the small child in her hand. "Oh my, look how adorable you are! You definitely look like your mommy dont you?" Yukino cooed the child sweetly. "Please come on in, Sting's out the back" Yukino directed the two females in quickly before nodding her head to Natsu who followed them. "Sting's been so excited to have you over Natsu, he's been talking about it in his sleep" she giggled, as Natsu smiled back at her.

"Well, he did seem rather keen" he observed their house as he entered. Everything looked expensive and polished. Not a single bit of mess out of place. "Nice place you got" he looked to Lucy who also seemed to be admiring the view.

"I love the marble effect" Lucy blurted, scanning the marbled worktops as they were directed to the back garden.

Yukino smiled, thanking them as she opened the slide door to reveal the large open garden. Nashi's eyes widened at the big climbing frame connected to a treehouse, which happened to be accompanied by a slide. She beamed, attempting to slip out from her mother's hold.

"If it isn't the Dragneels!" Sting's voice bellowed with joy as he stood up from his chair, arms out wide as he welcomed them. Lucy tensed, her eyes burying into Natsu's. He pulled away from her view quickly, walking forward to greet his friend. "Natsu, Natsu, Natsu" his hand clamped the hand of his friend and squeezed it tenderly before turning his gaze to Lucy. "Ah, Lucy! Thank you for coming, both of you"

He wasted no time in looking down at the small shy child.

"And you must be Nashi..."

The girl nodded quickly. Her eyes scanning the slide.

"Feel free to go play, my son Skye will be in the treehouse. Go have fun!" He directed her to the large climbing frame and smiled as Lucy slowly released her hand. Nashi giggled as she ran towards the treehouse, excitement overwhelming her. "Guys, take a seat"

He sat back in his chair, grabbing his cider from the table.
"Yukino my love, can you grab us some more drinks?" The wife nodded at him, ushering inside the house.

"Thank you for having us" Lucy said sweetly as she sat down in one of the chairs.

"It's a pleasure, it's nice to see you both. It's been a long time" Sting whispered. "Though, I saw you a few days ago, eh Natsu"

Natsu grumbled, rolling his eyes at the male.

"Saw him beat up a Hakobe monster" Sting explained, his attention turning back to Lucy. "I was on a job of my own, collecting ice for one of our clients"

"I see" Lucy mumbled. "A bit far for you to travel, just for some ice"

"My client only wants the rare crystal blue ice that's up there. He makes ice sculptures with it and takes it up to the palace for the king" Sting explained causally. "Lily, our new ice wizard is great at extracting it"

"Is that for the event?" Natsu asked.

"The king's 40 years on the throne, yeah" Yukino responded softly as she came out with her tray of refreshments. "They're holding a big celebration for it, you should stay a couple of days if you can?" She blinked innocently. "We have rooms spare"

"That's ever so sweet of you but-" Lucy clenched her teeth as she was quickly interrupted by Sting's clapping of hands.

"Great idea my love, you guys could stay!"

"No, really it's fine" Lucy whispered, shaking her head at his offer.

"Nonsense, you and Natsu can take the master guest room and Nashi can have the small room. It's perfect" he suggested.

"We don't have any clothes with us" Lucy said promptly.

"We do need to head back anyway, I have a mission and Lucy has work" Natsu admitted bluntly. "So no can do"

Sting's face saddened.

"Oh, well that's not a problem. We can always re-arrange it" he forced a smile at them, causing Lucy to slowly sigh with relief. This was going to be mentally draining for her.

...

Nashi pulled herself up to the top of the treehouse, amazed by the space inside when she reached the top of the ladder. Inside was a box of toys, paper and crayons and some random collection of hats. She frowned when she crawled across the wooden slats to investigate. There were cowboy hats, spaceman helmets, tribal bands...all the headwear she could think of.

She picked one up and observed it closely. A scent came from it, a smell of salt and mint. As she inhaled, the scent deepened her nostrils causing her to sneeze forcefully.

"Ew! Your gonna get all your girly germs all over my hats!" A boy shouted angrily. Nashi span round on her knees, staring up at a small body with the lightest blonde hair she had ever seen. His dark brown eyes buried themselves onto the hat she had delicately picked out for herself. His brows narrowed. "That's mine!" He demanded, pointing to the pirate hat. "Give it to me!"

Nashi looked at the small pirate hat in her hands, then back at the boy. Her nose twisted as she stuck out her tongue and placed the hat on her head, allowing her pink haired ponytail to squish behind her neck.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing!" The boy growled, stepping forward to snatch it from her head. Nashi ducked down, running under his arm and out of his reach. "Hey!" He snapped, flicking his head back to her. "Give me that back!"

"Catch me first!" Nashi announced bravely. She stuck her tongue out at him once more before darting across to the slide entrance. Her hands clamped the hat to her head as she scooted herself further into the slide's hole before disappearing down the shoot.

The boy quickly chased after her.

Nashi giggled excitedly, feeling the rush of the chase as she reached the bottom. She laughed harder, clutching her newly stolen hat before climbing up the roped ladder back up to the treehouse.

"Hey! Girly, I'm warning you!" He slid down the slide, dropping to the bottom. His eyes searched for her.
The noticeable pink hair.

His attention turned over to his father across the way, along with his mother and two newcomers. One was a female, who looked fairly familiar. Her long blonde hair was tied up into a bun, dressed in a skirt and layered top. While the male next to him, he frowned upon. That pink hair. The scaly white scarf and the smell of charcoal and burning logs.

"Skye, come meet Natsu and Lucy" his eyes bolted over to his father, his hand up and waving him over to the table. The boy sighed, turning his head back to see if he could spot the little girl who stole his hat.

He sulkily strolled over.

"Natsu, Lucy... my son Skye!" He introduced proudly. "Son, this is Nashi's father and mother"

"Nashi?" The boy questioned.

"Yes, Nashi. The little girl you're playing with" Yukino responded softly. "Make sure you play nice with her, she can be your friend"

Skye looked over at his playhouse, eyes focused on the pink haired child peering out of one of the open windows with his hat on her head. He grumbled, ignoring his mother's wishes- he bolted back towards the treehouse and began to climb up.

"Give me my hat now, girly!" He snapped, pulling himself up on the rope.

Nashi frowned at the boy's temper; it vaguely reminded her of her friend Aiko when she would get riled up. To which Nashi enjoyed taunting him even more. She took the hat off and waved it around in front of her, dancing on one spot before with a large toothy grin.

"Catch me, catch me!" She sang.

"Just give me it, you thief" the boy growled, charging at her. Nashi watched as his hands came at her, but she once again evaded him by slyly slipping to the side as he edged closer. He fell into his box of toys, groaning as he rubbed his head.

"Don't you know your manners, your meant to say please" she told him. "Please" she repeated the word again, waving his hat in front of his face.

Skye groaned, fumbling his hands out in front of him as he tried to snatch the hat from her grasp.

"Look here girly!" He roared.

"My name is Nashi!" She exclaimed. "Nashi..." she reminded him.

"I don't care what your name is" Skye grunted, eyeing her. "Thats my hat, give it to me" he extended his hand out for her to place the item in his grasp but she shook her head.

"It's fun to tease you" she whispered, bashfully waving his hat in front of him. Skye rolled his eyes at the playful girl, sighing as she darted off in the opposite direction and back down the slide once more.

"Hey!" He lunged at the slide, calling down the shoot as she hit the bottom. "I said give it back" he shouted.

"You never said please" the girl called up at him. She placed the pirate hat back on her head and skipped round the tree trunk waiting for him to chase her once more. Of course, he did just that. Sliding down the shoot, he rushed off his feet and bolted towards her. She sprinted off ahead, grinning as she avoided his approach on collecting the hat.

"They look like they're having fun" Sting noted, as the parents watched them. "She's a fast little one isn't she?" He watched the sprint of the small child, admiring how quick she was to evade his son's light attacks.

"Nashi's taken up a lot of traits from her father" Lucy admitted displeasingly.

"Good things, obviously" Natsu added, smirking. He received a scowl from Lucy causing him to retract his comment. "Mostly"

"Are you planning on having more?" Yukino wondered, flashing her eyes to Lucy.

"Anymore traits and she may as well be a copy of Natsu" Lucy muttered. "So I hope not"

Yukino waved at her, blushing by the misunderstanding.

"No, I meant children" she stated. "Are you planning to have more babies"

Natsu quickly choked on his drink by the sudden question, while Lucy nervously laughed and shook her head.

"We hadn't even planned on having Nashi. Let alone any others" she paused watching Yukino look across to her husband with a frown.

"You didn't want children?" Sting questioned, brow raised as he looked to Natsu, who was still undergoing his choking fit.

"Nashi... wasn't planned" Lucy gulped, suddenly finding the conversation grow too awkward for her liking.

"Oh, you guys didn't want children" the white haired made confirmed smiling.

"Oh no" Natsu patted his chest, redeeming himself from his splutter. "Me and Luce, we're not together...never have been" he sat upright, still red in the face from his lack of oxygen. Hearing this however, the married couple stared at each other in disbelief, while Lucy sunk low in her chair.

"You're not married?" Sting eyed them both.

"Nope" Natsu chimed. He quickly received a bat on the head from his fellow dragon slayer.

"What are you playing at, fire breath" he turned to Lucy quickly muttering an apology before whacking Natsu's head a second time. "Have you no shame? You don't just get a girl pregnant, you moron"

"I didn't know she was pregnant! Jeez, stop hitting me!" Natsu defended, growling under his breath.

"I thought you guys were in a relationship anyway" Yukino admitted shyly. "Even before the grand magic games, you both were...close" she looked to Lucy who blushed under her gaze.

"No, we were just really close friends. And since Natsu's been back we have been raising Nashi together, but separately" Lucy defended sweetly.

"Wait? Where did Natsu go?"

"He left the day after we uh..." Lucy gulped.

"What the hell Natsu?!" Sting snorted, displeased with what he was hearing. "You knocked her up and left her?"

"Woah, I didn't know I did that! I went on a long 4 year mission!" Natsu grumbled, rubbing his now sore head. He turned to Lucy with betrayal. "Help me here!" He begged.

Lucy rolled her eyes at him.

"Natsu had to go on a mission, he's only recently come back" she shrugged her shoulders causally. "I've been raising Nashi by myself, which was fine" she assured them. "He had no idea about Nashi till he returned"

"Wow...way to make it complicated" Sting sniggered. He looked to Natsu and frowned as Yukino reached out to Lucy with sorrow.

"You poor thing, having to go through all that on your own!" Yukino whimpered. "You should of called!"

The two women chatted amongst themselves, causing Sting to lightly stand up and urge Natsu to follow. They causally walked over to the barbecue, lighting it up with Natsu's flame.

"She doesn't know then does she?" The blonde slayer asked darkly. Natsu remained quiet as he watched his flames dust the coal in the metal compartment. "Does she?" Sting said once more.

"She doesn't know I claimed her as my mate that night, no" Natsu growled, eyes nervously scanning the area around them.

"You idiot. I knew you guys were mated, your scents all over her" he whispered. "The fact she doesn't know, well that's gonna end badly for you...you know that right?"

"She doesn't want me, so..." Natsu shrugged.

"Clearly she did though, like I said. Your scent is all over her. She accepted you" he confirmed watching the fire burn. "So I'm guessing you've not been with her since?"

"Of course not"

"No wonder you've been aggy" Sting rolled his eyes at his friend. "You seem really on edge, different. Normally your excited and bouncing off the walls..."

"I've grown up" Natsu admitted bluntly.

"No, you're having withdrawals from your mate. Which makes sense if you've not done it since conceiving Nashi" Sting explained dully. "Rogue was the same for a long time. He mated for the first time with Minerva, but it was just a fling. He grew bitter over it, dark and angry. He couldn't just sleep with someone else, that's not how dragon slayer mating works. You have one and only one" Sting ripped the packet of meat that was laying to rest beside the barbecue, and slapped the first steak onto the grill. It sizzled under the flames. "It wasn't until Minerva came back to us, to redeem herself that she and Rogue hit it back off again. They are living happily together now"

"And your point is?" Natsu grumbled.

"It drives dragon slayers insane if they're not with their mate. And let's face it, we don't want you of all wizards going insane now do we?" Sting sent him a look, causing Natsu to roll his eyes.

"I ain't gonna go insane" he hissed defensively. "I'm fine"

"If you say so, dragon king" he bowed his head lightly, gritting his teeth as he slapped another steak to the barbecue. His eyes casted up and over at the females, flashing his wide smile. "Who's hungry!"

Xxx

For what Nashi had described as a great day where she had made a new friend, despite what Skye had claimed. The day was still drawing into a close and her family were now back home from a long day and tiring journey.

Nashi kept the pirate hat, stolen from Skye which was gifted by his parents. She placed it on top of her toy box in her bedroom, collapsing to her bed and rubbing her eyes. The tiredness haze was clouding over her eyes as she shut them close to escape into a dream. Only to be disturbed by shouting.

Her lids fluttered open, yawning out loud before sitting up in her bed. Her senses were getting stronger by the day, her hearing especially. She focused on the two voices that lead from downstairs, both belonging to her mother and father.

She knew they didn't get on often, but this particular argument had quickly escalated further. She jumped from her bed, hearing the voices bellow back and forth, each trying to overpower the other.

It seemed that the day had gone well, but only for Nashi.

The little girl sat with her back against her closed bedroom door, sliding down it to her knees. Her bottom lip wobbled delicately as she tried to come up with an idea in her head on how they could get along.

The reason they argued or complained was her doing. She lightly tapped the carpet floor, softly whimpering to herself as she heard their voices echo in her ears.

It was clear that Natsu wanted to be in Nashi's life, just as much as Lucy did. But the two clashed at everything they did. They couldn't be a real family like Nashi hoped, nor could they get along for just one day together it seemed without one having to pick a fight with the other.

First the bickers had started with her mother, but as time went on she noticed that her father's cheerful personality was drifting further away and that he was the one instigating the more recent ones.

Her eyes glassed over to her bedside table, where her cuddly teal coloured dinosaur sat. Blue.

Getting up slowly, she tiptoed over and reached for it. Snuggling it close to her chest. The smell of her father warmed her, it was like he himself was cuddling her back.

She attempted to block the loud shouting from her ears by pushing her face into the teddy's chest, curling its arms over her ears. She squinted, the voices now becoming muffled and distant. She stayed like this for ages it seemed till eventually she heard the front door slam- an indication that her father had left.

He would probably go into the woods and burn down some trees, then pretend the next day that nothing happened. He'll be his cheerful self once more until the evening came. It was becoming an endless cycle, one that Nashi had picked up on more recently.

She sighed, looking over at her toy box and catching Bunny from the corner of her eye. Her mother got her Bunny, and she had it since the day she was born, not that she could remember that far back.

Bunny also gave her comfort.

Keeping one hand grasped around Blue, Nashi charged over to her toybox and selected her stuffed rabbit, smiling at it as it smiled back at her.

She took both teddies to bed with her, wrapping them up warm before closing her eyes into a sleep. Comfort from both her parents lay beside her.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Thanks :)