Trail of a Fairy

09. A Street

"Nashi!" Natsu shook his son. "Wake up!"

Groggily, Nashi rubbed his eyes. His father's face was floating a few inches away from his own. Nashi stared at his dad, not really wanting to get out of bed. But Natsu was stubborn, if anything. So he began to poke Nashi's forehead. And kept poking it.

"Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up."

Nashi swatted his dad's hand away. However, it didn't remain gone for long. Natsu continued his barrage of annoyingness.

"Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up."

Finally, Nashi swatted away his dad's hand again. He pulled off the covers and put his feet on the floor. The wooden floor was cold on his feet. Briefly, Nashi considered putting his feet back in bed. But that would invite more prodding from his dad. So Nashi stood up. He reached for his pack and grabbed a fresh set of clothes.

Natsu sat on the chair and watched his son get ready. Nashi knew this, and saw it from the corner of his eye. As he turned to pronounce himself dressed, Nashi stopped.

"You shaved."

"You noticed!" Natsu grinned. "Finally, I was scared it was going to take you all day."

Nashi shrugged. "It's kinda noticeable when you lose a pink patch on your face."

Natsu grumbled, but stood up. He left his cloak on the chair and went to leave the room. "C'mon, kid. It's breakfast time."

Nashi followed his dad out of the room. They went down a small corridor and into a dining room. There were only ten or so tables there. Each table had a salt and pepper shaker and a set of napkins. Other than that, the tables were bare. Natsu turned to talk with the innkeeper who was sitting at a table. Nashi followed.

"Is it too early to have breakfast?" Natsu asked.

The innkeeper smiled. "No. I can make something up. What would you like?"

"Scrambled eggs and toast is fine for me."

"And you, Nashi?" The innkeeper asked.

"Uh... scrambled eggs and toast for me too, please."

Nashi followed as his dad sat at a table.Natsu sat comfortably in his chair, while Nashi sat on his hands. Nashi wiggled a bit, looking from his dad to the floor and back again. Natsu raised an eyebrow at his son, but didn't speak. Nashi sat still as the innkeeper brought in their plates and chatted with his dad.

"How's that other couple doing? I think they were the Full... Full..." He trailed off.

"Fullbusters?" Nashi piped up.

"Yes! That's it!" The innkeeper nodded. "How are they doing?"

"They're doing fine." Natsu grunted. He picked up his fork to start eating.

"They have a daughter, you know." Nashi piped up. "Her name's Gael. She and I go on jobs with our friend, Freyr."

The innkeeper smiled at Nashi. "That sounds nice. But I'm afraid I have to clean up the kitchen now."

"Oh."

As the innkeeper walked away, Nashi picked up his fork. The eggs were good and the toast was nice and crunchy. Nashi focused on eating quickly since it looked like his dad was too. Natsu finished first and stood up, leaving his plate on the table. Nashi quickly shoved the rest of his food in his mouth. Mouth full, he chased after his dad. It didn't take long for Natsu to leave the inn and be in the streets of Hargeon. Nashi pushed through to his dad, finally swallowing his food.

"Where are we going, dad?"

"To a street." Was all he said.

Nashi groaned. "Dad, there are hundreds of streets in a town. Can you be a little more specific?"

Natsu just shook his head and carried on. They were almost there anyway. The cobblestone road was the exact same as any other road in Hargeon. The shops were built closely together and none of them really stood out. Nashi kept walking, but Natsu stopped. Nashi turned around to look at his dad.

"Dad?"

"Here." Natsu looked around. "I met your mother here."

"Here? In the middle of a street?" Nashi asked. "But, the innkeeper said you guys met when you fought a guy named Bora."

Natsu chuckled. "Well, yes and no."

Natsu could see it. The flock of girls surrounding that idiot. Himself and Happy pushing through the crowd. Getting beat up by the girls when he refused an autograph. The smile on Lucy's face as she thanked him.

"C'mon." Natsu motioned. "There's another place you need to see."

"But-" Nashi cried. "How did you meet mom here?"

Chuckling, Natsu turned around. His son was staring after him, a painful curiosity on his face.

"She was swooning over some idiot who had a charm spell on her."

"And?" Nashi begged.

"I broke through the crowd of fangirls to see who this guy was. He was calling himself the Fire Dragon, or Salamander - I thought he could be Igneel." Natsu chuckled. "Imagine my surprise when it turns out to be some idiot!"

Nashi stared at his dad. He was laughing, but he wasn't saying what Nashi wanted to hear. "But how did you meet mom here?"

Natsu sighed, and looked at his son. "She was under this guy's charm spell - basically making her fall in love with him. When I broke through to him, I also broke the charm spell on Lucy. And she thanked me for it."

Natsu turned and mumbled something to himself. Nashi watched with disbelief. A simple little street. Surrounded by other women. With his mom under the charm spell of some idiot. And that's where his parents met for the first time.

"B- But how?" Nashi whispered.

Natsu kept walking away. His shoulders were still a little hunched, and he could feel the heat behind his eyes. The magic of Charm and capturing the heart, huh? Well, Luce, you got me pretty good.