Understanding My Heart

Chapter 18

"Lucy? Where are you?" called Natsu. He was standing on the sunny hill from the second dream he had shared with Lucy. The sunlight was bright and a light breeze rustled through the grass as he looked around for her. "LUCY!" he shouted, wondering if she was hiding from him. He was about to start walking around to look for her when a dark shadow suddenly moved across the sun. A loud roar filled the air and Natsu was buffeted by an immense gust of wind, and the dragonslayer flung his arms up to protect his face. Something slammed down to the ground in front of him. He slowly lowered his arms and opened his eyes.

"Dad...?"

An immense red dragon stood regally in front of Natsu. His huge wings flapped once more before folding themselves in to tuck tightly against his body. He was covered in old battle scars, and Natsu knew the story behind each one... The huge red head swung down, so that Natsu was looking into one burning eye.

"Hello Natsu, my son," rumbled Igneel.

"Dad..." Natsu said shakily, tears pouring down his face. "I... I've been looking for you for so long... Where are you? I know it's not really you...this is a dream..." The dragon rumbled low in his chest, looking at his foster son with a mixture of love and sorrow.

"I may not be with in physically, but I am with you in spirit," he said, causing Natsu to stare at him with wide, shocked eyes.

"So... It's really you dad?" he asked, a glimmer of hope in his heart. The dragon chuckled and butted the young man gently with his head.

"Yes Natsu it's me... You needed me, so I came," he said. Natsu cried out in joy and flung his arms around the great beast's snout. He cried unashamedly, overjoyed to finally be seeing and speaking to his father again... Even if it was in a dream.

"Igneel I have so much to tell you," Natsu said, wiping the tears from his eyes. The dragon smiled in the odd way that he did and shook his head.

"I know Natsu... But there will be time for that later. I don't have long, the spell needed to enter your dreams takes up a lot of energy and I need to conserve my strength," said the dragon. Natsu hung his head in disappointment. "Don't be like that Natsu," said Igneel butting his foster son gently again. "There will be plenty of time to talk later. I promise," he said gently, knowing how much it was hurting Natsu to not know where he was.

"Alright... So why did you come here now?" asked Natsu, pushing away his disappointment. He was the Son of Igneel, he could handle this. Igneel chuckled.

"You tell me Natsu, you know why you called me," he said. Natsu thought of his plea to the dragon before he had fallen asleep.

"I asked you to give me the strength to tell Lucy I love her," he said. Igneel nodded, giving his son another smile.

"Yes. I can't physically make you strong enough to do this. This doesn't require physical strength... But I can help you to find the courage to do what is needed to claim your mate," the great dragon said. Natsu gave his foster father a confused look.

"How can you do that?" he asked. Igneel chuckled and settled himself on the ground, curling up in the way he had used to when they were having long talks that Natsu remembered so fondly.

"Why don't you start by telling me about this woman, Natsu. Tell me everything. Hold nothing back," he said as Natsu sat down cross-legged in front of him.

Natsu talked for what seemed like hours. He told Igneel everything about Lucy. What she looked like, and how beautiful he thought she was. He described how she laughed and how her eyes sparkled when she did so. He spoke of how much she loved Fairy Tail and everyone in it, how she would do anything for her friends. Natsu felt tears in his eyes when he told Igneel about how she had cried after seeing all the gifts that her father had sent her on her birthday, even when they had all been missing on Tenrou Island. He told the red dragon every last detail that he could remember about Lucy.