A fairy's tale|| natsu x reader

Part two-chapter thirty one: voices

It had been two weeks since the h/c woman had given birth. Currently, she was laying in the bed she shared with her husband, completely asleep. However, the same couldn't be said for her husband as he continued to toss and turn throughout the night.

The fire mage never had problems making decisions, he was impulsive and impatient, normally doing whatever his gut had told him to do.

This was different.

With the newest addition of his growing family, his mind had began to race, and his insecurities and fears ran amok. Little voices in his head telling him he wasn't strong enough to protect anyone, that his family would do better without him, and that no matter how hard he tried all his loved ones would soon perish.

This wasn't the first time the voices had appeared, they had been around since he was a child. However, after recent events the voices seemed as if they were yelling at him, screaming that no matter how hard he tried, he would still be too weak to protect his family.

The pink haired male raised himself from the bed, exiting the room and walking into the kitchen. He was never the type to be a drinker, however recently, especially on nights like these, a light beer wouldn't hurt.

"Can't sleep Natsu?" A blue feline asked, his partner merely nodded, patting a spot beside him on the sofa.

"Y'know if you keep doing this, you'll end up like Cana...or worse...Y/n" he joked, the fire mage chuckled a bit, scratching behind the exceed's ear.

"I know, it's just the voices...I'm scared that what happened to Igneel is gonna happen to the kids, and I wont be able to do nothin to stop it"

"Natsu, they're dragons. Regardless if you're a dragon slayer, you're still a person...people have their limits."

"I mean yeah but...a little training never hurt anyone"

The exceed sighed, ultimately giving up on his attempt to make a point and bidding the fire mage goodnight, flying back into the small bedroom.

The fire mage stood up, throwing out the rest of the beer and heading back into his own bedroom. His original plan was to attempt to go back to sleep, however he became sidetracked at the sudden noise that erupted from a small crib.

He walked over to the crib, only to be met with his baby girl babbling incoherent things while reaching her hands out. The mage smiled, picking up his daughter out of the crib and walking out into the living room.

The small baby continued to babble, all while grabbing her father's nose and hair. He smiled, sticking his tongue out at the little girl in a playful manner.

"You sure are a night owl, aren't ya princess?" He asked, the girl only continued to babble in response.  He chuckled a bit, sitting down on the sofa while sitting the baby on his lap. The little girl wrapped her tiny hands around his fingers after Natsu had grabbed a pacifier and placed it in her mouth.

"Papa loves you...so much, I just don't know if I'm making a mistake or not." The little girl, completely oblivious to his question, continued to babble.

"Y'know Haruna, you're not a great listener. Guess you probably get that from me." He commented, still, Haruna paid no mind. She continued to babble to her hearts content as her father remained lost in thought.

Without even noticing, Haruna had successfully grabbed her father's scarf, draping it around herself messily before her father took notice. Which only took about thirty seconds of Haruna punching him in the chest with her free hand.

"Alright princess, relax, you got my attention now."

Haruna smiled, her little innocent, adorable, and gummy smile. She leaned in closer to her father, which Natsu took as a sign to pick her up and hold her.

Thats when his dilemma really hit him.

Does he listen to his heart or his head?

His heart said to stay, stay for all the smiles, the love, and for his family. Staying to continue to make memories.

His head said to leave, to leave to protect the innocence of his children, to grow stronger so he could protect his family.

The mage paced around the room with this question in mind, laying out the pro's and con's. Haruna soon fell tired, yawning in her father's ear multiple times. Natsu gently switched the position of the almost sleeping baby, cradling his daughter in the safety of his arms.

He looked down at his daughter, her semi closed eyes, her relaxed features, her slow breathing. He took it all in at once, admiring the girl the same way he'd done before two weeks prior.

"Ill be someone you and your brother can be proud of princess, I promise." He whispered, walking back into the bedroom, setting down the baby girl back into her crib before turning to his sleeping wife.

He knew she would be pissed, he smiled at the thought of her calling him an absolute idiot for his decision. He knew though, he knew it was for the better. He knew his wife better than anyone else, he knew she could could this without him.

"I hope you'll wait for me n/n...forgive me" he whispered, placing a gentle kiss on the h/c woman's forehead.

The fire mage walked out the bedroom door and into his son's bedroom, leaning down beside him and raking his hands through the smaller boy's hair.

"Im sorry for doing this to you again buddy...I love you so much. I'll be back soon, I promise."

And with that, Natsu woke up his blue exceed companion, informing him of his decision, packing up everything he needed.

It couldn't have been any later that dawn when he walked out that door, holding a book, a picture book no less.

Filled to the brim with pictures of his family, his motivation.

For their sake, he'd do anything.

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Alright, that wraps up part two of this story!

Part three is already being written, before that one releases I will put out a small epilogue a few days before chapter one of part three is released.

Thank you all so much for the support, I genuinely enjoy writing this story and i'm excited to continue it...who knows maybe once this story is done I'll do a sequel...maybe a prequel too 👀

No promises though, i get lazy so we'll see.

Ily all, be safe, and go drink some water :)