DISCLAIMER: Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima and TvTokyo; I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. This is a purely fan-made fiction.

Natsu sighed as he was sitting in Lucy's room, just looking out at the city of Magnolia. Something was bothering him, something really serious, and something very deep too. Happy was hovering about his head, until he landed near him and sitting on a nearby nightstand.

"Natsu, what's wrong?" he asked his partner. "You're so sulky today. You're not supposed to be like this! You're supposed to be happy, and-" he was interrupted as Natsu turned away and laid down on Lucy's bed, just looking up at the roof. Just then, said blonde girl stepped inside her bedroom to find them there.

"Natsu! How many times must I tell you that my room is not a hotel!" Lucy snapped and pointed to the door. "Get out, before I kick you out!" No response from the pink-haired Dragon Slayer. "… Natsu? You ok?" she went up to him and looked at him. His face was neutral, no feelings whatsoever. No rage. No sadness. No happiness. Nothing. He was just looking up at the roof, not minding Lucy's presence. He looked slightly at her.

"I know, Lucy. Just let me rest for a while, and I'll leave." He said solemnly, and then returned to looking at the roof. Lucy was sort of worried for him. He had never been like this before. So… blunt. She nodded and sat down on a chair nearby. "Lucy…" he then said again. "What do you think… the Dragons are doing right now?"

"I don't know, Natsu." Lucy said as she looked out the window. "Perhaps they're far off in a foreign country or something… where humans or mages won't hunt them. So they can be happy, and fly forever." She turned to Natsu. "Don't you think so?" she managed a small smile. Natsu shrugged a bit.

"I guess. I just wonder what Igneel is doing right now…" he then sighed, his face turning slightly saddened. "I miss him…" he had missed Igneel for quite a while now. For some reason, whenever he thought the slightest thought about his foster father, he could feel a slight quivering in his heart, as if a wrench was squeezing around it slowly, choking it. He sighed as he looked at Lucy. "You think he's ok, Lucy?"

"Of course he is, Natsu!" Happy intertwined before Lucy had a chance to say a word, beaming happily. "He's Igneel, Natsu! Your father and the biggest, meanest dragon ever! He'll beat anything that would try and bash him up! Trust me, Natsu! He'll be fine!" Natsu chuckled a bit at Happy's cheerfulness, but sighed as he stood up from the bed and walked out. "Natsu? Where ya going?" asked the blue-furred cat.

"Out." He said simply. "Go back to the Guild, Happy. Tell the others I'll be home later." His voice was determined and firm and he glanced a bit at Happy with serious eyes before he headed outside. Happy just flew back to the Guild without a word, and Lucy sighed, sitting on her chair.

'Natsu… don't do anything stupid'

Later on, the pink-haired boy was sitting in a forest near Magnolia, next to a lakeside. He was sitting on a log, looking over the lake's crystal-clear water which sparkled in the late-evening sunset. Its colors of crimson red and yellow reflected up from it, and glowed slightly over his body. He sighed as he picked up another rock and made it skip along the water surface, breaking the once pristine mirror in the water as he watched the ripples spread across the surface.

"Igneel… why did you leave me alone? Why did you just disappear?" he muttered to himself as he felt his heart quiver again, and he grasped his chest tightly through his vest. "I-It hurts… w-why does it hurt? Is it because… I-I miss you? I-Igneel… I-I dunno if I can take this anymore… please… come back to me. I-I want…" he suddenly began crying. Natsu had not cried in a very long time, it seemed, as he had always been busy being happy with the others of the Fairy Tail Guild. But now, as he sat there all alone, his true feelings emerged; he felt loneliness, sadness. Because everyone else in the Guild have had parents… and not he. He never had any parents when he was younger. Igneel was all he had to even consider a "father" to him, and now that he was gone, it felt like everything had been taken away from him. Like he had nothing in this world to support himself on. No one to cheer him up when he was sad. All he wanted was Igneel, no one else. "I-I want my dad…" Just as he was about to fully scream out in tears, he felt something in the air. As if something was telling him what it was, he knew it was the presence of someone. Or something. He wiped away his tears, still sniffling a bit, as he stood up and looked around.

'H-Huh? Who's there? And why do I get this weird feeling that… it's someone I know?' he thought for himself as he looked around. He was slightly alarmed of the feeling it was someone familiar to him. At first, he thought it was Happy, but then he heard it; a faint voice, inside his head. Calling to him.

'Natsu… I'm back…' then, as sudden as the voice had found its way into his head, it disappeared. Natsu was bewildered; the voice had sounded so familiar, too! Could it be… he had to find out. Having no time to lose, Natsu opened his eyes and rushed into the forest, bashing away bush leaves and tree branches to get forward. He heard the voice echo his name slightly; 'Natsu… Natsu…' it got stronger and stronger, until he could hear it as clear as any normal voice would sound to his ears. As he passed through a final bush, however, he found himself in a big clearing, which stunned him a bit.

"Huh? How did I… end up here?" he asked himself, and after examining the place a bit more, he gasped in realization; this was the place… where he and Igneel grew up. "W-Wait a sec… is this… really the place…" he walked around the clearing, and then bumped his foot into something. He looked down, and saw a clumsily-made 'pyramid' made of rocks stacked upon one another. He smiled as he thought of the old memories it gave him; He was just a child, and he had taken Igneel outside to show him that he had managed to build a pyramid, like the ones in the books. He remembered Igneel had just laughed it off and told him it was the best pyramid he had ever seen that was built by a human child. A tear of slight joy escaped Natsu's eye, but he wiped it out as he looked to his right, to see a big cave opening. "M-My…" he went up to it, and saw a carving on the entrance that said; 'This is the home of Igneel and Natsu Dragneel' "My… home." He went inside, and instantly remembered the old, faint scent of sulphur and charcoal, and felt the moist, yet sleek, soft walls of the cavern. He kept walking inside, until he saw a faint fire flickering at the end of the tunnel. He hurried his steps a bit, wanting to come to the source of the fire quicker. As he finally came to the main "hall" of the cave, he didn't believe his eyes; Right in the middle of the massive, dome-like hall of the cave, was a huge, reptilian figure laying down, almost seeming to take a nap. Its huge wings were beating as it was lying down, though, providing a cool breeze in the room, but wasn't yet powerful enough to blow out the blazing torches on the wall which made his body visible. Its crimson scales gleamed with a ruby-like sparkle in the sheen of the fire, and its crème-colored belly-scales were showing slightly. And then, he opened one of his huge, yellow eyes, which glared right at the young Dragon Slayer.

"Natsu… it's good to see you, son." He said with a faint smile. Natsu didn't know what feeling he would have right now; would he be happy and just rush up to him, throw his arms around his neck – as good as he could – and bawl his eyes out in happiness? Or would he be mad at him for leaving him all alone that time long ago and take out his anger at him? He got somewhere in between, as his eyes were soaked with tears of both anger and happiness, and his fists clutched, blazing with flames.

"G-G-Good?" Natsu yelled suddenly. His temper was showing as his body was flaring with flames made from his body. "Y-You're saying it's good to see me… W-WHEN YOU HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN THERE FOR ME WHEN I NEEDED YOU THE MOST?" he roared as he charged at his foster father, and before Igneel had a chance to stop him, he bashed right into the dragon's chest, fire erupting from his fist. Igneel only cringed a bit, as if stung by an insect, but Natsu kept pounding his big, scaly body. He was lost in both rage and sadness, as tears fell from his eyes with each hit he landed upon the dragon. "W-WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME, IGNEEL? W-WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME ALL ALONE WITHOUT EVEN SAYING GOODBYE? IGNEEL, YOU BASTARD! I-I… I…" he suddenly halted himself and supported himself with his fist pressed firmly against the dragon's chest, his fists still clutching, but the flames long since diminished. His face was looking downwards as tears streamed like a river from his eyes, dripping down on the cave floor, before he uttered three last words, as if a whisper; "I-I hate you…"

"Natsu…" Igneel sighed slightly and shook his head a bit, looking down at the crying boy. He had never wanted to leave Natsu unless it was utterly necessary, and that day when he had to, he was forced to do it. He didn't know Natsu would take it this seriously, though. Sighing again, he brought his giant, clawed front leg around Natsu, pressing him gently against his warm chest as if to gesture a hug. "I am terribly sorry for leaving you alone all those years. I knew I was doing something horrible, but I had to do my duties. The human world was growing more and more tense, and we dragons felt we had to leave for a while. And well… some of us did not just want have anything to do with humans anymore. I… was one of them."

"D-Dad…" Natsu, after feeling his father's warmth and comfort, began to cry out of joy instead. Happiness was welling inside of him until it knew no boundaries. He was so happy that, despite having been so angry at him earlier, he was finally together with him again, feeling his warmth, hearing his words, and most of all, feeling him press his body against his scales. His arms soon woke to life, and began clinging onto the dragon's scales, while softly begging for him to not go. "P-Please, dad… d-d-don't go again… I-I don't know if I can live through it… I-I need you, dad…" he kept crying and begging for Igneel to stay, which made the large dragon sigh slightly. But a smile crept onto his big muzzle, and he rubbed Natsu's back with his claw.

"Of course, Natsu. This time… I will stay with you. But, don't you have other friends to go to, as well? I heard you have joined Fairy Tail during the years I was gone…" he gave off a self-confident grin from the fact that his son was now so well-famed and powerful to join a Guild. Natsu nodded, and in doing so, his cheek nuzzled against Igneel's large chest scales.

"Y-Yeah… I joined them. A-And I got stronger, dad! Way stronger!" he looked up at him with a big, tear-soaked smile. His tears had not fully dried out yet, but he was still so happy to be with Igneel again. "Igneel… I-I never, never once, doubted in you! I-I knew you were ok, all the time! And that one day… you'd be back for me…" he blushed slightly as then, as a friendly gesture, Igneel bent down his big head to him, and carefully used his huge, slick tongue to lick across Natsu's face. "A-Ack! Dad! Don't get dragon spit all over me!" he gawked slightly at the stickiness, but he just laughed afterwards, and his father gave off a rumbling chuckle.

"Hehe… sorry Natsu, couldn't hold myself. You see, I am very happy myself, to see you again. I've missed you, my son." He murred lowly as his snout began rubbing against Natsu's body, nuzzling him affectionately. Natsu smiled at his father and wrapped his arms around the dragon's nose while he was nuzzled.

"I missed you more, dad. I couldn't go through a single day without thinking about you." The pink-haired boy admitted, looking Igneel in his big, yellow eyes. "I've missed you so much dad, it's been hurting me lately. I just hoped it would all go away… and now, I… I feel at ease. I'm happy. And now… I never want you… to leave…" his words trailed off with a slight yawning, as he laid his head down on Igneel's nose, nuzzling it slightly. Igneel chuckled again as he picked up Natsu, then laid down in a curled-up position, placing Natsu close to his chest with his tail wrapping around him to warm him.

"Someone's sleepy. Time for bed." He mused, remembering how he used to do this to Natsu when he was younger.

"B-But dad… I'm not… sleep-" he was cut off as he fell asleep, snoring slightly. Igneel laughed quietly for himself as he curled up fully, his head resting close to Natsu as his warm breath made Natsu smile in his sleep. He felt secure, for once. Secure with his father nearby.

"Sleep well, Natsu Dragneel… my son." He smiled, before he too fell asleep next to Natsu, a huge smile curled onto his muzzle. He would never, ever leave Natsu if he needed him. Back then, he had to because he was forced to. But now, nothing in the entire world would make him leave. He had the responsibility as a parent, after all.

Author's Note: Meh, half-arsed ending is half-arsed, I know. Don't expect me to continue on this. It's a Oneshot, and I am keeping it that way. But I hope you liked it! ^^