His Rock

Natsu has gone through rough times in his young life. It all started on that faithful day seven (technically fourteen) years ago when his father, all mighty fire dragon Igneel, left him alone. The young boy at the time thought nothing could ever fill the void in his heart.

He was wrong. Natsu joined a guild, made a team, had countless adventures with his family.

But that didn't stop the hard times from finding him. Lisanna had died two (again, technically nine) years ago. His guild was destroyed (intentionally and unintentionally) more times than the number of fingers he had. And he had watched his friends-his family-put their lives on the line. Hell, Natsu had rushed into battle more times than anyone else in the guild. It came with their jobs.

The Dragon Slayer wanted everyone to be safe. Natsu wanted her to be safe.

When Igneel left Natsu as a boy, he thought that nothing could ever replace him. But a certain blonde had entered his life and made everything fine for him again. Sure, the guild, especially Happy, had given life to a certain extent. There was something missing. Something that was Igneel. Igneel's spot, which seemed to be completely permanent, was never filled…That is, until Lucy came into Natsu's life. She had filled the empty spot in him that was Igneel's permanent spot with ease. No retaliation (from him), no force (from her).

Unknowingly (and knowingly), Natsu was drawn to this warmth provided by Lucy. So much that he would protect her and the warmth she filled Igneel's spot with. It was something that no one in the guild could ever give him. And, as he creates a strong bond with her, Natsu only wanted Lucy making him feel whole again. He would do everything to keep her safe.

He wasn't able to keep that promise to her. There were times (ever since their first mission together) where Natsu couldn't protect Lucy. She got hurt plenty of times in her first year at Fairy Tail. He didn't like how she got hurt, he absolutely hated it when she put her life on the line when he would do it for her without another thought. But Lucy would never let him do that, at least when she's still conscious of her surroundings.

But when Lucy's hurt, Natsu starts losing control. He can't think clearly when she's hurt (badly). Her needed her to be safe so he could be sane (well, sane enough), be calm (well, calm enough). Lucy was Natsu's rock.

When Natsu was on a rampage, Lucy would bring him back down a few (a LOT) notches. When he was being an obnoxious bastard, she would keep him grounded. When he was on the verge of breaking down, she would always be there for comfort.

Lucy was his rock. And Natsu was hers for all time.

"LIVE NATSU!"

Two magnificent dragons were locked within each other's claws. One vibrant and red as the flames it was cloaked in. The other black as the darkest shadow in the dead of night. Every mage in the vicinity gazed upon the sight, amazed by the fight between the two dragons.

Kneeling before the sight, a boy with vibrant rose-coloured hair stared up to the part of sky where the dragons fought in. Slightly behind him was a beat-up blonde with bloody scraps decorating her skin and heavily damaged clothes barely covered her body. Her brown eyes were locked on the boy's racking body.

Slowly, the girl walked over to the boy's side. Her eyes softened when gazing upon the boy's wet face. "Natsu…" she whispered.

Natsu's onyx eyes had released his tears that were pent up for seven (fourteen) years. Being in Fairy Tail and even being with Lucy, Natsu never forgot about Igneel. He never could. He has always waited. Waiting for this very day.

Releasing his bottom lip from his canine bite, he pursed his lips to keep him from sobbing and completely breaking down beside Lucy. He let his tears continue to fall.

"Dad…" he whispered, his voice on the verge of cracking.

The blonde's eyes warmed up along with her soft smile. Reaching an arm across Natsu's chest, she made him lean against her shoulder with her other hand maing his head rest on the crook of her neck. She felt his tears fall on to her skin and felt him shaking against her. Her fingers began stroking the scalp of his head, making his shaking slow down, calming him.

"You alright Natsu?" Her voice was warm and soothing, the voice he loved to hear when he was like this.

"Yeah…Lucy." He moved his hands from his lap. He right arm pulled Lucy closer to him by her waist while his left hand gripped her hand in his hair. He interlocked his fingers with hers. Natsu nuzzled his nose deeper into her neck, deeply inhaling her natural peach scent. "Thank you Lucy, everything's better now."

Lucy was his rock. She would always make sure that he is safe, that he is grounded. Natsu would always be there for her, to make sure that she's by his side. Natsu would always protect his rock.