Trail of a Fairy

23. Scarf

Nashi was sitting on the couch when his dad got home. He watched carefully. Natsu was slumped over, and his hair hid his face. But Nashi could still see the wet spots on his dad's scarf. Nashi's heart dropped a little after seeing it. Guess dad's gonna lock himself in his room again.

But, Natsu could see Nashi sitting on the couch. He wasn't doing much, just holding his new communication lacrima. Communication. Every bone in his body screamed for Natsu to go hide himself; what kind of dad allows his son to see him crying? But I'm a crappy father figure anyway. So Natsu tried. He walked up to his son — who gave him a curious glance. But Natsu didn't react to that. He just grabbed his son and hugged him.

Nashi was taken by surprise. He was off the couch and hanging by his father's arms. He blinked a few times, totally unable to wrap his head around it.

"Dad?" His voice trembled, and almost as if in reply, Natsu's arms trembled. "Dad, what's wrong?"

The two were silent for a few seconds. Natsu held his son close, and pet his head. There's no blood on this child. Our child, Lucy. He shuddered once more, and took in an unstable breath.

"I'm so, so sorry Nashi."

Nashi stayed there, unmoving as he heard those words. I'm sorry. His dad was apologizing. Natsu was apologizing.

"I've been such a shitty father. I've been such a horrible family to you. I'm so sorry Nashi."

Nashi stayed silent. Natsu felt him tense up, and he sighed. It's not gonna be this easy. But he didn't let his son go. He couldn't. Nashi was twelve; he was still small. Still frail. And that frailty was what made Natsu cry. He cried even more onto the shoulders of his son.

Nashi waited, unmoving. But as his father began to cry, he could feel the heat behind his own eyes, and the blurriness was starting. Yet still, he did not move.

"I'm so sorry!" Natsu sobbed. "Ten years! It took ten years for me to realize how much I missed!"

Nashi moved to hug his dad. He was shaky, and too large for Nashi to fully embrace, but he tried. He wrapped his arms around his dad's neck, and nuzzled up to him. His dad smelt like a campfire. But only stronger.

"I'm so sorry..." Natsu sobbed again.

Nashi sighed as his father apologized. "You don't have to cry, dad. You're my dad."

Nashi felt himself being lowered to the ground. His feet touched it, but he wasn't let go. Natsu still held him tightly. But Natsu tried to at least stop the shudders that racked his body. Nashi waited patiently. He could feel it. His dad was slowly getting better. He had already stopped shuddering, and the snuffles were beginning to stop. So he waited a bit more. And his dad stopped crying.

Pulling himself away from his son, Natsu wiped his snotty nose. He tried to chuckle. "Man, I must have one messed up face."

Nashi smiled briefly. At least his dad was smiling again — through the redness of his eyes and the moistness of his cheeks, Natsu was smiling.

"Welcome back, dad."

With a heavy sigh, Natsu nodded. "It took a while. And I'm not done yet."

"Well then," Nashi suggested. "I'll be testing you a lot now. And I only want the best. Okay?"

Natsu felt a groan, but didn't voice it. Family. "Sure, ki- Nashi. Test all you want. I'll do my best."

Nashi grinned. Finally. "Then, I want to know all about how you proposed to mom."

Natsu shuddered. But he looked at his son — with a fat grin on his face. How can I take that smile away from him?

"All right. I'll tell you all of it. But as I said, it was totally uncool."

"Dad!" Nashi groaned. "Just get to the point already!"

Natsu groaned but continued. "Fine! I got it, I got it." He sighed.

"And?" Nashi pushed.

Shoving his son lightly, Natsu chuckled. "You can be so pushy sometimes, you know that?"

Nashi rolled his eyes, and shoved his dad back. Natsu stumbled a bit, letting Nashi's shove affect him.

"Okay — your mom was leaving the guild."

Nashi immediately stopped to listen. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was open. Dad's actually telling me!

"And as usual, I didn't really think it through. I just shouted — really loudly — Lucy's name. Oh man did the guild look up in surprise. And Lucy did too."

Natsu sighed, and looked at Nashi. He was surprised too. His face looked almost exactly like hers. The raised eyebrows that made her brown eyes seem even larger, and the slight blush that was in her cheeks; it was all there. It was all hers. And Nashi's.

"If course, I didn't answer when she asked me what was up. I was trying to get my tongue back from a cat."

"What?" Nashi interrupted.

Natsu groaned. "Ever heard the phrase cat got your tongue?"

Nashi shook his head. Barely. He was so focused, he felt that any movement would change the course. And that was something he desperately hated.

Natsu groaned. He felt the shivers start. It started in his shoulders. The one with his guild mark. His guild mark that matched her blood. It carried down his arms and through his back. Freezing himself, he tried to stop it. But it continued down into his feet. Feet that wanted to run away. Run away from what? Again?

So he steeled himself by taking a few deep breaths. And Nashi watched all of this; doing nothing.

"And..." Natsu continued. "I told her everything was fine. It wasn't. I felt like puking even more with each step, but I did it. Eventually. I had to lead her around town blindfolded for a bit."

"Blindfolded? Why? And with what?" Nashi shook his head.

Natsu looked at his son. He was so confused. But Natsu had that look on his face. Similar to Nashi's, but not quite. Sure, he was confused, but there was something else. Disbelief. How often did I make this face for Lucy?

"My scarf of course, what else could I use?"

Nashi froze. His scarf? Nashi blinked in disbelief. The scarf dad never takes off. The scarf dad never lets anyone touch. He just handed it over to mom? "Really?"

"Uh, yeah?"