Before I forget, I do want to point out that there will be no standard length for chapters. They will be however long I feel they need to be. Some may be relatively short, while others might drag on. It really depends on what is happening in the chapter. Also I will probably respond to reviews with a PM. instead of here, unless it is a guest review that I feel needs to be addressed. If I do answer a review here in the story, it will be part of the author's note here at the beginning.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail. I do not own these characters. I do not own the story idea, at least not entirely. Then again, someone else may have had the same ideas I did. Eh, how about I don't own anything in this story. Is that a good enough disclaimer?

Chapter 2.

Natsu's Revelations

Despite knowing he really needed to talk to his brunette friend, he didn't wake her up from the sleep she'd fallen into. She needed to rest, and he seriously doubted she would be able rest after he explained a few things to her. Not to mention the fact he had to come to terms with a few things himself.

Instead he just sat down in the chair he'd been sitting in while the doctor had given the Cards mage a once over just to make sure she was alright. He did turn it to face one of the other visitors chairs so that he could prop his feet up however. Once he was comfy he crossed his arms over his chest, closed his eyes and leaned his head down.

'Alright Natsu. You're a smart guy. Let's work through your concerns one at a time.' He thought to himself before letting his mind drift towards the first topic he had to handle. Cana. As a dragon slayer he had far more in common with dragons than the world both knew or even expected. One of those things was how they mate. There is only ever one mate for a dragon, and that same statement applies to dragon slayers as well. Igneel had told him he'd know his mate by how his instincts reacted to them and what he did in certain situations because of those instincts.

He was fairly certain his reaction to Cana's injury earlier had been a prime example for what Igneel was trying to explain. For a moment his mind had blanked in terror, which was something he'd never experienced. Not to mention he had done more for Cana in regards to healing than she or the doctor had noticed. He had seen the bruises from where she'd been knocked around and into walls by that wyvern. Yet the vast majority of them were gone just as quickly as he'd healed up the gash that she had in her stomach. He knew his draconic traits would be far more effective at healing his mate than they would anyone else. Given the fact he'd only ever healed one other person and the differences between how much they healed was like night and day, he was fairly certain she was his mate. Especially now that he was more aware of her presence. He could literally feel his magic calling to her.

'The best way to find out would be to see if she's willing to try dating.' He thought to himself with a nod.

Satisfied that he'd worked through one of his issues, he moved on to the next topic. The baby he was going to take care of. He already knew he was going to adopt her, and what that would entail for him. As a dragon slayer, instincts demanded he protect and nurture the child. Add in the fact he she reminded him of himself a bit and it was a forgone conclusion that he'd do whatever it took. The real concern was if he could leave his friends and family behind if they didn't support him and instead tried to stop him. He would have to stop hiding his true nature, and likely have to show them all just how much he usually held back, just to leave the guild with his soon to be daughter. But could he handle the emotional pain from leaving?

The frown that came to his face as he thought about the idea must have been quite worrying. Before he could start to answer that question for himself he heard Cana softly calling to him.

"Natsu. Natsu! Are you alright over there?"

Shaking himself out of the thoughtful mood he had been in he turned to face the brunette. Having already decided he owed her a proper explanation, he figured honesty would be the best policy with her.

"Just worrying about some stuff… I'd go into detail, but considering it'll be brought up again here shortly let's put the matter aside for the moment."

Cana felt her eyes widen just a bit at his response. She knew he wanted to talk to her, but if it included his worries for the future now that he was planning to adopt a child then the conversation was far more than she had realized.

"There are a few things I need to talk to you about, and they somewhat tie in with my worries."

The pink haired man told her when he saw her trepidation.

"Oh."

She couldn't really say anything else. Her mind was already racing as she tried to figure out what exactly he needed to talk with her about. Back when he first brought the idea up, before they began to move towards this hospital to check in with the people Happy had evacuated, she thought he had wanted to talk about her fight with the wyvern. But now?

"I know Wendy, the metal freak, and I have harped on the fact that as dragon slayers we are far more like dragons than everyone expects. But it is the truth, especially since we were raised by dragons."

Unable to figure out where he was going with his statement, Cana just nodded.

"It might be better to call us humanoid dragons given just how much we act and think like dragons do. Not to mention our instincts..."

He started to say before trailing off into a mutter. But the brunette heard every word.

"Natsu, please don't beat around the bush. What is it you want to say?"

She stated softly yet firmly. Knowing she was pushing him so he wouldn't ramble, Natsu gave her a smile before answering.

"We have a lot of the same traits and instincts as dragons. One of those is that when we fall in love and find our 'mate', it is for life."

"That sounds romantic."

Cana replied suddenly feeling a bit nervous, and somehow giddy as well.

"Let me ask you something Cana. All of the women in the guild are quite beautiful, but have you seen me or the metal-head really react to their beauty?"

She had to tilt her head in thought over the matter. After a moment she responded.

"No not really. Does this have to do with the whole 'mate for life' thing?"

"Exactly. Now the way Igneel explained it to me, is that I would know my mate based off how I react to her presence and what I do instinctively in regards to specific situations involving her."

Cana bit back a groan of frustration as Natsu had somewhat started to ramble again. It was germane to the topic and rather important information, but she felt he was mentioning it to drag the conversation out. Of course she was starting to suspect why.

"Natsu, have you found your mate yet?"

Her question caused the pink haired man to take a deep breath.

"Based on how I reacted earlier when I saw your wound, and the fact that on top of mostly healing that gash, a lot of your bruises were healed as well despite not being near the cut, I would say I think I have."

Cana felt her eyebrow raise at that.

"I did feel a lot less pain after you healed me. Are you saying your magic reacted towards me in such a way that the effect was strengthened?"

Natsu just nodded in response. For some reason the giddiness she felt was growing even stronger after learning that.

"I'm not completely sure of it yet, but I want to find out. If you're willing, I'd like to try dating and see if you really are my mate."

In the blink of an eye, and without thinking about it, Cana was out of the hospital bed and wrapping her arms around Natsu with a smile. When she realized what she had done a blush came to her face, but she didn't step back. Not that she could since Natsu had also wrapped his arms around her.

"For some reason ever since you rescued me from that wyvern earlier, I've wanted to be close to you. It's like my gut is telling me things would be better for me If I was with you. I don't know if you can call it instinct, but I'm sure as hell not going to ignore the feeling."

She said before leaning in and planting a kiss on Natsu's cheek. Both of them had a dusting of pink across their faces because of the cheek kiss.

"So we are dating now?"

"Yep."

"I'm really happy, but there is still more to talk about."

Natsu commented as the smile on his face fell slightly. Cana felt a bit of worry set in when she saw his signature grin fall a little.

"Please don't be mad at me for what I'm about to say."

Cana rolled her eyes at that. Despite being a bit fearful of what else the pink haired man had to say, she felt like she could take on the world.

"Aside from my fake personality, I have lied to the guild. And I do mean everyone in the guild, even gramps."

"Natsu, We all know there are things you haven't told us."

Cana offered, but he shook his head.

"That's not what I meant. Because of how I was raised, I follow the dragon culture. That means there are things I do not talk about, or even flat out lie about, to all but very specific people."

"Alright, is it possible for you to give me an example?"

She inquired, knowing he wouldn't feel better about the topic until he was finished.

"Actually yes. It's why I was going to put my foot down on returning to the guild quickly. I have to head back to the forest Igneel raised me in. Well, more specifically the cave we lived in, but still."

"I don't mind making a detour, but I take it you want to walk rather than take the train?"

Cana said with a smirk.

"Of course. I mean, for one thing taking the train will be a pain in the ass. Also, it means I can take more time to bond with the little one over there. Just being near me will help finish awakening her magic if it still needs to be awoken after we leave here, and if we can do that before getting back to the guild then I'm all for taking the slow route."

"It would give US more time to bond with her."

Cana corrected him with a smile, stressing the word us as she did. She had been serious earlier when she told him she wouldn't let him raise the baby alone. The grin on her face was match by the one on Natsu's when he realized what she had said.

"Right… But I'm still a bit worried about that. Unless gramps tells everyone before we get back, and he spills the beans about me faking my normal attitude, I think I'm going to have a hard time getting the guild to accept the idea."

"When you set your mind to it, have you ever let something stop you from reaching your goal? Hell no. They won't be able to stop you, and even if they tried, I'll have your back."

"I'm more worried about just how far I might have to go. I mean I really wouldn't want to and would hate doing it, but I'd even leave the guild forever if they pushed on the matter."

Natsu told her, his eyes watering as he thought of how painful it would be to do so. The raw emotion in his eyes caused her to flinch.

"Well, I promise you if it happens I will be going with you. Because there's no way in hell I'm letting you raise that baby alone. Even if you could handle being a single parent, you shouldn't have to" the Cards mage commented with a nod then she continued "But I don't think it'll come to that."

The pink haired man smiled at her words, happy that she had his back. Glancing at the clock and seeing how late it was he let out a yawn.

"I hope not. But that's all I wanted to talk to you about and it's late. Let's get some sleep."

- XXxxXxXxxXX-

"I know you are sure, but for formalities sake, I have to ask if both of you are absolutely certain you wish to do this?"

The doctor, Daniel Oathsbel, asked as he handed Natsu and Cana all the necessary paperwork. Two days of observation, making sure the little baby was in perfect health, and watching over the two of them had him feeling positive it was the best thing that could happen for the infant.

"Yes. We're positive" Cana responded as she accepted the paperwork. Natsu had only nodded in agreement.

"Alright then you just need to fill out the paperwork. However, do you mind if I mention something that might be a bit personal for the two of you?"

Daniel inquired, wanting to make sure they understood the situation developing between them as well. The two mages from Fairy Tail shared a look for all of a second before their attention was back on him.

"Go on."

"I am able to use my own magic to actively see how a person's magic interacts with their body when they aren't casting a spell. Over these last few days, while checking up on the little one, I've also noticed your magics as well. I'm not sure if you know about it already, but the two of you are highly compatible magically. Your magics are actively calling to each other, almost pushing the two of you to bond. I suspect, if you aren't already, the two of you will begin to date within a month or so, and should things stay the same you'll be married by the time your soon to be adopted little girl is fifteen months old, at the latest."

He told them bluntly, having already realized they both preferred it when people were simple with them. Cana's eyes widened just a bit, though she accepted the words as she realized that was why her 'gut' was telling her to get closer with Natsu. Natsu however just grinned.

"That confirms my own thoughts on why Cana and I have gotten closer since we took the job that brought us out here."

"Ah. I see. Well then, I'll let you fill out the adoption forms now. Unless there's something else you need?"

But Natsu shook his head in the negative at that. Together he and Cana filled out the paperwork for adoption. They had talked with a few of the people that worked at the distillery and vineyard about the baby, and learned that no one knew the little girl's name. Her mother had always just refereed to her as 'my little sun'. Which caused them a bit of strife over figuring out a name, but it was settled fairly quickly.

When Daniel came back he had the little girl in a bassinet and a bag of changing supplies, a few bottles, and some baby formula for her milk. They had just finished signing their names on the last page of the paperwork when he sat down. He did a quick look through to make sure they hadn't missed anything. Once he was satisfied the paperwork was filed properly he grinned at them.

"Well, allow me to officially thank you for adopting this one, and congratulate you on adding to your family. Do you mind if I ask what you decided on for her name?"

Cana smiled as she took the bassinet and placed it on her lap so she could look down at the little girl sleeping peacefully inside. Natsu gave the man a wide grin as he responded.

"We decided to name her Koharu. Koharu Alberona Dragneel."

"That's a lovely name. Now I'm sure you're starting to feel cooped up having spent the last few days here, so I'll go over the results of her last check up and let you go alright?"

When they nodded he continued on, listing everything he could about her for them in a way that showcased why they needed to know each detail. Of course he did mention that testing with Natsu's aid, had shown that the Fire Dragon Slayer was correct, and that her magic was only partially awoken. But he also mentioned all the other results of the various tests that had been done to make sure the baby was whole and healthy. It didn't take long, but by the time he was finished, Natsu and Cana both were more than ready to go.

"Aside from the onesie she's currently wearing, we prepared two others just in case it took you a day or two to find a store with baby clothes. They're all simple but they'll do until you can get her clothes of her own."

Daniel mentioned as they stood up. Cana had the carrier and Natsu had the supply bag. Both nodded as they thanked him for the help, with Natsu stepping forward to shake his hand.

When they finally left the hospital, Cana looked towards Natsu with a smile.

"So, where to?"

She asked, recalling how he needed to make a stop in the place he used to live with Igneel.

"We'll head back towards Magnolia, taking the route going around the northern side of the mountains in the center of the country. The forest slightly south-west of Shirotsume is our goal."

He replied, steering them into the direction they were wanting. The weather was nice, and really, it wasn't that far from them on the map, so Cana went along with walking to their destination rather than taking the train. (A/N: if you look at the map of Fiore on the Fairy Tail Wiki, I'm placing their current location about the space of a capital W, in a size 12 font, from the top corner of the E from the word FIORE written in the upper left side of the country.)

It was a few hours later when Cana began to see large copses trees that a question came to her mind.

"Natsu? How close are we?"

"Well at our current pace we're about and hour and a half from the edge of the forest, and from there a little more than five hours to the center where the cave Igneel and I lived in is. Why?"

He responded just going off of memory.

"I though Fiore was large enough to make it so you almost had to use trains to get anywhere."

"Nope. People are just lazy. Either that or they want to rush to their destination. I mean really it's only a three hour walk between Magnolia and Hargeon, yet the train ride takes what forty minutes?"

That made Cana look at him in shock. As she, like everyone else in the guild, used the trains to get around as much as possible, she hadn't realized how quickly you could get around the country on foot. They had left the hospital around eight in the morning and it was only going on one in the afternoon.

"Despite stopping every time something caused Koharu to cry, we've made really good time. I mean if I had been by myself I'd be at the edge of the forest right now. So we've done great to get this far this quickly."

Natsu commented as he lead her to a small clearing where he pulled his pack off his back. It only took him a few minutes to set a blanket out for them and to prepare lunch.

"A picnic? Don't mind if I do."

Cana chuckled when she saw what he'd set up. Natsu just shrugged before saying he thought it might be nice to get off their feet for a bit. Not to mention it was a good chance to get Koharu used to them holding her.

Even when they'd finished eating they sat there, enjoying the day, and showering Koharu with attention. For her part the baby girl loved it, giggled happily and waving her hands about while babbling at them as they played.

"Natsu, do you mind if I ask what specifically you wanted to come back here for?"

Cana asked when Koharu was tuckered out and fell asleep on Natsu's chest. Knowing his magic would help her fully awaken her own, he subtly adjusted the temperature around them to be warmer than it had been.

"Given what the doc said, I think we can safely say you are my mate. With that being the case I can share some secrets, but still not all. That's only for now though. If slash when we go through the draconic marriage ritual, I will be able to share everything with you. But for now... The first my secrets is this. My scarf isn't the only thing Igneel left me. It was just the only thing I could access at that time. There was a note with it, explaining how his other gifts for me were locked behind a seal that would only be removed when my magic was strong enough."

Accepting his answer, she pressed on.

"So you think you've hit the point you can remove the seal?"

His quiet laugh caught her off guard.

"I know I have. Because of how Dragon Slayer magic works, I reached the point of being able to access it right after I killed the first wyvern we had run across."

They had been laying on the blanket watching the clouds as they talked, but after hearing that, Cana rolled onto her side so she could face him.

"Speaking of. I've never seen or heard you use that spell you used when you saved me."

The smile that was on Natsu's face dimmed a bit.

"Yeah. Gramps forbid me from using most of my spells actually. The ones I normally use are the only ones I can use that aren't lethal to humans. Because of the guilds rule about killing, he made me swear to only use my non-lethal attacks when fighting. He's going to have my ass- uh, butt, over what I did."

Both of them smirked at his slip. They'd been curbing their language ever since he had decided to adopt Koharu, just so she wouldn't pick up any bad habits. Of course it was harder for Cana, as she was also trying to cut back on her drinking as well.

"You did what you thought was right. Besides, I've heard Gildarts talking about his jobs at times. The no killing rule was put into place to prevent guild members from starting to enjoy killing. So long as you didn't enjoy doing it, you'll be fine."

The brunette commented after a moment. Natsu let out a sigh before he responded.

"True. But it means gramps has to keep a leash on myself and the metal-head. Wendy hasn't reached the turning point yet, she's still young and dislikes fighting. Dragon slayer magic is still a form of Draconic magic. Draconic magic is so powerful simply because in a life or death fight, the winner absorbs the magic of the loser."

"Everything you kill makes you stronger?"

Cana inquired feeling a bit of concern for how stressed that information would make Natsu feel. But Natsu shook his head. Despite still being on his back, he knew she had rolled over and would see it.

"Not entirely. Dragon Slayers are approximately 80% dragon and 20% human. Because of that, our magic will only absorb the losers magic if they were another of the draconic races. In other words I absorbed the magic from the two wyverns because I killed them. But if I were to kill a normal person or a magical forest animal, I wouldn't absorb anything from them. Full on dragons though? Yeah, everything they kill that has magic strengthens them."

He explained softly, the low tone of his voice reminding her not to get loud, as she had spoke up a bit louder with her question. After all they didn't want to wake Koharu up.

"On the flip side to that however, because we aren't fully dragon, dragon slayers aren't limited to one element. We can gain control over another element. It's a nightmare because it's extremely painful and you will be sick for weeks if you fail, but it is doable."

Cana opened her mouth to ask how he could learn to use another element, but Natsu wasn't finished. Not only that but she noticed he was being completely serious as he used Gajeel's name rather than one of his nicknames for the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Of course gramps knows all of this, but he'll have to be careful with Gajeel and I. The problem is the image it would present. People might start to worry that dragon slayers are a threat. I know gramps would fight against it, but to avoid unnecessary bloodshed he would eventually back down and stop protecting us. Especially seeing as how if it meant saving lives I would break his order to only use non-lethal magic without a second thought."

"Is that why you killed those wyverns?"

Her previous desire to learn how he could learn a second element for his dragon slaying magic was shoved to the side as she felt curious about why he had broken the masters order.

"Partially. Wyverns are mindless beasts, but they are extremely dangerous. I didn't think I actually could just simply knock them out or make them run away with my non-lethal spells. It was also a matter of preventing them from causing more damage and destruction later on."

"Then make sure the master understands that. Maybe you can convince him to ease up on the restriction, so as to avoid your worry about the image him keeping a closer eye on the dragon slayers would present."

Cana responded, knowing that master Makarov would understand. He might not necessarily agree with Natsu's reasoning, but he would understand and accept it. Natsu chuckled.

"Oh I'm sure he'd understand, but he'd still have to give me a sermon about it. Heck he point blank told me that the rule about using non-lethal spells only is only in place until I become S class. Mostly because he expects that I'd follow Gildarts' lead and take on the SS and SSS class missions just so I could cut loose without worry."

Cana frowned at that. The idea that Natsu could be gone for long periods of time was something she didn't even want to think about.

"You are not allowed to follow my dad and be gone for years at a time because of a job."

"Of course not. I'd miss being around everyone. It's part of why I've stopped doing solo jobs with Happy. If someone else can't or doesn't want to go with me I'll sit around at the guild and mope, but only because I'd rather have company than be alone."

The Fire Dragon Slayer responded as he slowly sat up. With a motion that was startlingly smooth he put Koharu back into her carrier and started to pack up from their lunch.

"We can always talk more about the guild and things later. For now we should get moving again. I estimate it'll be about dinner time when we get to the cave, and depending on how much Igneel actually left for me we will probably stay the night."

He told Cana as they moved to get everything back in his bag. Less than five minutes later they were walking towards the forest once again. Despite the need to be quiet to avoid waking Koharu, it was a pleasant afternoon for them, one they both agreed they would find a way to repeat.

True to his guess it was roughly six o'clock when they entered the clearing that housed the cave Natsu and Igneel lived in when they were together.

"As curious as I am about what Igneel left me behind the seal, I think we'd be better off getting dinner first."

Natsu commented as the feeling of nostalgia hit him hard. It was hard not to just break down as he recalled memory after memory of his time with his dragon father. Cana noticed the emotional turmoil he was fighting through and moved closer. Setting the carrier that had Koharu down, she pulled Natsu into a soft embrace, with one hand rubbing small circles on his back.

"It'll be alright Natsu. I'm sure you'll find him."

Realizing she was right, Natsu started to take calming breaths as he slowly let the feelings flow out of him so he could do what he needed to. A few minutes later and he was back to normal. Rolling his neck to relieve a bit of the tension, he stepped back from her hug, to smile brightly at her.

"Thanks Cana. I needed that. Anyway I'm going to leave my pack here and go catch us a deer or something for dinner. Would you mind setting up a campsite?"

"Not at all. Just don't take too long."

She responded as he set his backpack on the ground and turned towards the woods once more. By the time she had gotten a fire pit set up and ready for cooking on, Natsu was back with a rather large buck slung over his shoulder.

"I know I didn't need to get one this big for just the two of us, but I was hoping to do something Igneel and I used to do with the remainder either after we've finished eating, or sometime in the morning."

Fascinated by the idea of learning more about Natsu's past Cana just nodded. Unfortunately for them, Koharu woke up at that point and wanted attention. Mentally shrugging to himself Natsu looked towards the little one with a smile.

"If you'll keep her occupied I'll finish up and get dinner for us."

"Alright."

Cana nodded as she set the skillet she'd pulled out of Natsu's bag on top of the rock she'd set the fire-pit next to. She then playfully spun on her heel and walked over to the carrier that Koharu was in. Smiling gently she leaned down and picked up the little girl that was starting to get fussy over not being held.

"Shhhh... Shhhh... You're alright sweetie."

She spoke trying to calm the child down. Knowing that after Natsu finished getting everything set up he'd start skinning and butchering the deer for him to cook, she walked into the cave. She wanted to explore Natsu's childhood home, and it gave her a place to be where Koharu couldn't squirm around in her arms and watch when Natsu dressed his kill as hunters would call it.

As she walked the Cards mage felt a very comfortable warmth in the air. She had a feeling that Natsu and Igneel both had spent so long together in the cave that their magic saturated the very air. If she were to be honest, it was the kind of feeling she wanted her own home to have. Though she did want it to be more comfortable than hewn rock and stone.

Despite having been babbling to her the moment she got comfortable in Cana's arms, Koharu had fallen silent when they entered the cave. Every so often the brunette looked down at the baby to make sure she was alright, and each time she saw the little girls onyx colored eyes sparkling as she looked around. As she got further into the cave it became harder to see and Koharu started to squirm again.

"Have you had enough of the cave then? Alright let's go back out."

Cana said when she noticed the movement. She was just in time to see Natsu standing beside the fire pit with the skillet in his hand. Without even looking up from his task Natsu told her "give me about five minutes and the venison will be done."