A/N: Thanks for clicking on this story! I needed to write a little one-shot to fight off writer's block. I hope you all enjoy this!

*whispers* Characters, especially Jude, are OOC.

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Fairy Tail!

{Father knows best.}

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Pairing - NaLu

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Jude Heartfilia sat behind his desk, and tented his fingers. All the curtains in the large study were drawn shut, and the only light source was the lamp in the corner of his desk. In front of him, seated in a lovely chair with plush cushions, was an absolutely horrible monster that needed to get out of here now or so help him—

He took a deep breath. Calm down, Jude. Calm down. You promised Lucy that you'd see this through. You promised you wouldn't smack this boy across the continent like you almost did with the last one that dared to put his hands on her shoulders.

(So what if that last boy had been Lucy's celestial spirit? The only time Jude should ever get to see a man carry his daughter bridal style was at her wedding!)

The blond man inhaled, exhaled, and then forced a smile.

It must have been a bad one, because the boy flinched.

Good. He must be intimidated. Intimidation played a key role in these kinds of things. "So. You're Natsu, are you?" Jude began, trying to keep his voice even. "So you think you can be my daughter's boyfriend, do you?"

The boy laughed nervously. "Well, uh, sir…guy…man, I kinda already am Lucy's boyfrie-"

Jude threw himself on his desk so that he was inches away from this Natsu boy's face. The blond man jabbed a pen into the boy's cheek. "Excuse me? Did you interrupt me?"

The Natsu boy paled. "I - I d- didn't!"

"If I say you interrupted me then you interrupted me."

Natsu gulped and nodded. Beads of sweat poured down his forehead.

"Let me ask you one thing," Jude said, still centimeters away from Natsu's face. "What – kind – of – sick – crayon – box – did –you –come –from?"

With each enunciated word, Jude dug the (blunt end of the) pen further into Natsu's cheek.

"Wh-what?"

"What's the deal with your hair?"

"M-my hair?"

"DO YOUR EARS NEED CLEANING?!" Jude roared into Natsu's face. "Why's your hair pink? You think it's funny? HUH? DO YA PUNK?! DID YOU DYE IT?! ANSWER ME!"

"NO!" Natsu shouted back, still sweating profusely. "I d-didn't! It's natural!" Pause. "And, also, Lucy's old man, it's salmon-colored, not pink. There's a difference."

"ARE YOU INSINUATING THAT I DON'T KNOW MY COLORS?!"

"That's not what I said!"

"ARE YOU SAYING THAT I'M HEARING THINGS?!"

"NO!"

"THEN ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR?!"

"OF COURSE NOT!"

"And also," Jude continued, lowering his voice. "I'm not old. OKAY?!"

"…well, uh…"

"But enough of that," Jude went on. He narrowed his eyes and backed off from Natsu at last. "What kind of shirt is that?"

"My shirt?"

"CAN YOU HEAR OR CAN'T YOU?!"

"I CAN!"

"Then answer my question! What's wrong with your shirt?!"

"Umm…"

Natsu couldn't tell. He was wearing his usual outfit. The jacket that exposed the right arm but covered the left.

Jude laughed, and shook his head. "You can't even tell. Oh my Mavis. What did Lucy ever see in you?" Pause. "You shirt's missing a sleeve! How can you only have one long sleeve, and the other arm is sleeveless?! What kind of shirt is that?! PUT ON A PROPER SHIRT WITH PROPER SLEEVES YOU HOOLIGAN!"

"Right." The Natsu boy's voice was small.

"And what's this?" Jude said, looking down at the papers in front of him. "My sources tell me that you are a Dragon Slayer – a rare type of mage."

Natsu looked relieved. "Uh, yeah. Rare. I'm pretty strong, too, and-"

"LISTEN!" Jude shouted, and Natsu almost fell out of his chair in shock. "THERE WILL BE NO SLAYING OF DRAGONS NEAR MY DAUGHTER, OKAY?!" Pause. "Her eyes are not ready for such a violent thing." Jude wanted to continue on and compare Lucy to a flower that needed to be cherished in the sunlight but that stupid, damn boy interrupted him before he could.

"N-no, but, uh, dragon slayer magic was taught to me by a dragon so I don't plan on killing drag-!"

"WHAT?!" Jude yelled. "Your father's a dragon?!"

"Um…in a way."

"HAS LUCY MET HIM?! ARE YOU HERE TODAY TO TELL ME MY DAUGHTER'S BEEN EATEN?!"

Natsu gulped down nonexistent saliva. "How is that possible? I mean…you saw her, like, five minutes ago."

"What are you trying to say?!"

The boy was silent for a moment, and then, "Well…I'm trying to say that your daughter is alive."

Jude stood up, and his mustache bristled. "OF COURSE SHE IS! I JUST SAW HER FIVE MINUTES AGO! DO YOU THINK I'M STUPID?!"

"…no…"

"That's it!" Jude shouted, his face turning purple. "HOW COULD MY DAUGHTER EVER BE WITH A PINK-HAIRED-!"

"Salmon."

"…INTERRUPTING LITTLE RUNT WHO DOESN'T EVEN WEAR A PROPER SHIRT?! LISTEN TO ME! YOU NEED TO GET A GOOD SHIRT! HOW ARE YOU EVEN GOING TO SURVIVE IN THE WINTER?! IF YOU ONLY HAVE ONE LONG SLEEVE, YOUR OTHER ARM'S GOING TO FREEZE! DO YOU WANT THAT?! DO YOU WANT YOUR OTHER ARM TO BE COLD WHILE THE OTHER ONE IS WARM?!"

"…no."

"So get a proper shirt!"

"…okay…"

The doors to the study opened, and Lucy strode in with her arms full of groceries. "Hey, guys."

"Oh, hello, Lucy, dear," Jude greeted, a smile appearing on his face as quick as lightning.

"Hi, Daddy." She came over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She looked around in bewilderment. "Wow, it's dark in here. Is everything fi- Natsu! What's wrong?! Your face is really white!"

Natsu stood up, and waved her off. "Uh…I'm fine. Okay. Never better." Pause. "I'm…I'm going to go to that nearby store."

"What? Why?"

The Dragon Slayer looked Lucy right in the eyes. "I'm going to buy a shirt."

Lucy blinked. "Okaaaay."

Her boyfriend left in a hurry – so much so that he tripped over a fold in the carpet.

"Did you do something, Daddy?"

Lucy thought back to the time when her father had slapped Loke across the face for picking her up in his arms.

Jude fixed his tie, and smiled. "I like that boy. Marry him."

Lucy jumped in surprise and blushed. "Daddy!"

"Father knows best, Lucy."

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the one-shot! Please review!

Now off to try and update my other stories!