Prologue

In hindsight, Natsu probably should've realized that his life was too good to be true.

And to think, when he fell asleep that night, that was exactly what he thought.

It started with screams. Screams, Natsu recognized as he tossed in bed and searched for behind the walls, that belonged to his mother and father.

His bed creaked as he threw the covers off and stepped onto the carpeted floor, tiptoeing towards his closed bedroom door. Pulling the door open the slightest bit, his eyes darted up and down the hallway to check for danger. When no one was in sight, he took a tentative step out into the hall, realizing quickly that his parents were downstairs. And that instead of screaming because they were hurt, they were yelling at each other, a concept unknown to Natsu.

Overwhelming fear - and undeniable curiosity - overcoming the idea to give his parents privacy, Natsu, who was fully awake at this point, took a seat on the top step. Rubbing his eyes to remove the sleepiness from them, Natsu listened in on their argument.

There were lots of words he didn't know, probably bad words, he figured. His mom always told him not to repeat swear words or his mouth would be washed out with soap. Biting down on his lip, Natsu continued to listen.

"Explain this!" He hears his mom scream, resulting in a long pause between her and her husband.

"Grandine, really, it's not what it looks like-" His dad begged. Natsu could hear the worried strain in his voice, and he wondered what his dad did to make his mom so mad.

"I'm not blind, you asshole!" She fired back, cutting him off before he continued his excuse. "Don't you think I can't see these pictures of this skank? How dare you go and have illicit relations with this girl!"

"I'm sorry, it was a mistake-"

"Mistake? Mistake?" Grandine's voice practically shook the walls, and Natsu covered his ears, surprised at how loud his mom was shouting. "You go and send these pictures with one of your students, twenty years younger than you, and you call it a mistake? This is pedophilia, you sicko! It's illegal! How could this possibly be a mistake?"

Dad tried to speak again, and he was angry this time. He started shouting a bunch of words Natsu didn't know, and he covered his ears so his mom wouldn't be disappointed that he heard them.

When Natsu removed his hands from his ears, the next thing he heard was smashing. Shattering glass. Papers scattering. Things being knocked over and tumbling to the floor.

"Just get out!" Grandine screamed.

"I think I will!" Dad shouted back. "It's not like you put out anymore anyway!"

"That's because I'm pregnant, you bastard!" Grandine's voice was hoarse from shouting so much. "But this baby will never see your face, I'll make sure of it. Now get out of my sight!"

Of course, this baby never would see her father's face. She wouldn't see much of anything except darkness and slinking shadows across her eyelids, as she would be born blind.

Following the slamming of a door that echoed throughout the whole house, Natsu heard his mother in hysterics. Her loud, strangled sobs turned into soft whimpers of pain, gasping desperately for a breath. Natsu rushed down the stairs, seeing the whole downstairs in disarray. Furniture was knocked over, and his mom's favorite glass vase had smashed into little pieces in the kitchen. The flowers, wilting from old age, scattered pathetically on top of the glass shards.

Natsu's mom laid in the middle of the mess, curled in the fetal position. She had a large, purplish bruise forming on her cheek, and dried blood crusted on her upper lip. She hadn't noticed he came downstairs, and visibly flinched when he reached out to touch her arm.

"Mom-?" He whispered, eyes widening in fear when she yanked her arm away from his touch. Upon hearing Natsu's voice, something broke within her, and her glassy eyes shattered and she remembered who she was and where she was. "What happened?"

"Oh, honey," Grandine pulled herself up into a sitting position. Looking away, her pale-blue bangs covered her face. "You should be asleep."

"I woke up to shouting," Natsu told her. "Mom, what's going on? Where is Dad going?"

"Dad's going to be gone for a while," She explained in a quiet place, voice shaking. "It's just going to be you and me, okay?"

"But, I don't want Dad to be gone," Natsu's lip quivered, and he felt a lump rising in his throat.

"I know, honey, I know," Grandine rubbed her eyes. "But I need you to be brave for me, okay?"

Swallowing thickly, Natsu nodded and clenched his fists. Anything for you, Mom, he thought, but he didn't say it. She already knew. He brushed the hair covering her face, pushing her blue bangs back.

Grandine gave him a watery smile, tears still in her eyes. Her pale hand reached up to stroke his cheek gently, her skin cool to the touch. "Thank you, Natsu," She whispered. "My beautiful little boy."

She blinked, and Natsu watched with horror as her shining blue eyes swirled into the pupil and faded to a dull grey. As her eyes changed color, so did she, and she collapsed to the floor, eyes closing again.

"Mom?" Natsu whispered, voice desperate. "Hey, Mom, wake up! Mom? Mom!"

And since that very moment, amidst the crying and the confusion and the loneliness, it would mark the moment in which Natsu would hate that lifeless color forever.

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A/N: Hi everybody! So this is my new story, Color of Love (name still pending). I'm super excited about it so expect another update in the near future! I'll also be updating The Angel Uprising so don't worry about me abandoning that story. Tell me what you think below; did you like it? What do you think is going to happen in this story? Don't forget to vote, comment, and share!! I love you guys!!