Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong To Hiro Mashima

Did you know that the reason I joined the guild was so I could find my father?

Natsu watched from behind the tree where Lucy had shoved him and Happy without even an explanation. He stood transfixed, not knowing what it was about Cana's words that had him on edge. They just felt like they were important. Meaningful. Life changing.

He saw the tense way Cana was standing as she stared at old Gildarts sitting on the deck and he unconsciously mimicked it. Gildarts face mirrored how he felt. He looked confused as if he was wondering what it was that this had to do with him. Natsu could hear Lucy muttering at Cana Just tell him.

His name is Gildarts.

The moment Natsu heard those words his brain kind of froze. Time seemed to stand still as he continued to watch the joyous moment unfold in front of him. He felt something deep in his chest, and it was an emotion he was not very familiar with. He wondered if this was what jealousy felt like. Except that didn't seem right, he didn't really feel jealousy. It wasn't in his nature, this was something else entirely. He wasn't upset with Cana for claiming what was hers. So then what?

His brain showed him memory after memory of his time with Gildarts and Natsu focused on Cana, who had never been far from them. Over and over he saw the disappointment on her face. How had he never noticed it before? He realized then that what he was feeling was guilt. He had taken Gildarts away from Cana, and even if he'd no intention of doing it, he'd hurt her. They'd both hurt her.

A little voice inside his head nudged him that he had known something. Cana and Gildarts smelled like each other, and he'd realized that a long time ago. He'd told himself it was the faint smell of alcohol that they both exuded continuously, but he knew better. He was a dragon, with a dragon's nose and he could smell deeper, past those superficial scents all the way to a person's essence. Gildarts and Cana's essences smelled similar, just like Macao and Romeo, and that could only mean one thing.

Family.

He had chosen to ignore that knowledge, and now he needed to ask himself why. Had he subconsciously been avoiding this day? Was he so determined not to lose another father figure that he would selfishly keep Gildarts away from his own flesh and blood?

That thought left a bad taste in his mouth, but he didn't have long to consider it because suddenly there was a strong smell, followed by a loud noise in the sky. Gildarts' wounds that he had gotten from his fight with that dragon began to hurt, and he, the strongest of all Fairy Tail mages commanded them to run. That alone shocked Natsu, but there was no time to even follow Gildarts' advice.

A dragon appeared in front of them. An actual dragon, black and beautiful but also exuding an aura of malice and for the first time since Igneel's disappearance Natsu was confronted with the real purpose of his magic. He, along with the other dragon slayers, was meant to kill it. Gramps ordered them to run away, and he put up a good fight, but they could never leave him behind.

They worked together, all of Fairy Tail's strongest mages, to bring down this new enemy but it was no use. Nothing they did made even the slightest dent and after being battered and tossed they came together in a circle. They held hands and channeled all their magic to desperately invoke any defensive spells they could. They knew it was futile, but they refused to go down without giving it their all.

The air around them was tense with anticipation as the monster raised its head back and roared, preparing to unleash devastation. As the water began to rumble and crash around them, they felt the island sink deeper and deeper until...

...there was nothing but darkness."

o-o

When Natsu woke from their slumber there was no room to think about Gildarts and Cana, and how he may or may not fit into their family. A slew of other feelings had ambushed him during Acnologia's attack. Feelings of longing and regret and they all revolved around a certain stripping ice bastard who had been a thorn in his side since the day they'd met. It was too much for him. Too much thinking, too much feeling - he didn't like it.

The world had carried on, careless of their stasis. It had changed. Almost seven years had passed, and in that time people had gotten older and stronger, had started families, and essentially moved on without them.

They now found themselves trying to make their way in a world that was just different enough to make them feel out of place. The whole situation was complicated and unwelcome; Natsu liked things straightforward. He wanted to be pointed in a direction and then - well he didn't usually stick around for the instructions. His one plan was typically good enough to take down most anything. Eventually. But this time there was no enemy to fight, no direction to follow and he felt lost.

Usually, when he felt like this, he would search out someone stronger than him to challenge. His goto person was usually Gildarts, the one mage he hoped to best someday, but now he felt slightly awkward around the crash mage. Natsu still felt guilty for any part he might have played in Cana not telling Gildarts who he was to her. He wanted Cana to have her old man to herself, to give them a chance to figure out their new relationship. It made him feel sad and a tad lonely, but he'd had Gildarts to himself for a long time. It wasn't as good as an apology, but it would have to do for now.

So he set about getting stronger. He trained day and night trying to bridge the training deficit. That brought about its own benefits. Gray demanded to train with him saying he refused to let Natsu get ahead of him. They began to spend a lot of time together. More often than not Juvia would trail after them and drown them in the incessant chatter of her devotion to Gray. It set Natsu's nerves on edge but there was nothing he could really do, Juvia was Gray's problem to handle.

The best days were the ones where they could outsmart her and get away to spend the entire day doing what they did best - bickering, sparring and getting surprisingly closer. Soon they were conversing in a language all their own, made up of side glances and accidental touches. They rapidly advanced to deliberate touches and shy conversations about something they had never tackled before.

Feelings.

Those conversations left him more confused than anything else. Natsu didn't quite understand what Gray wanted from him and only vaguely understood what he wanted. It was never something that had concerned him much, he'd never really felt attracted to anyone before. So he did what he always did when something confused him, he avoided thinking about it at all costs and focused on something else.

Natsu's brain began to once again shift back to Cana and Gildarts. He noticed Gildarts watching him every once in a while, but the crash mage didn't make an effort to approach him, and that hurt a little, even if he understood the why. So he kept himself away and started watching Cana. He soon realized that he'd never paid much attention to her before, he knew very little about her. She had always just been there while Natsu's world had been filled with Gray, Erza and Lisanna.

Natsu found that the way Cana reacted to people around her fascinated him, her scents changed so much based on who she was interacting with. There were a few times that he caught a smell that confused him, but it took him quite a while to make the connection since he was not very attuned to those types of things, hence his problem with Gray.

The amount of alcohol she drank had gone down considerably now that she was spending time with her father. Natsu loved to watch the way Cana gazed at Gildarts when he wasn't paying attention to her, her expression a mixture of fondness and irritation, her smile softer than Natsu had ever seen it.

Natsu knew Gildarts well enough to start seeing the signs of his wanderlust. It was hard for Gildarts to keep his magic under control for very long. He'd already stayed longer than usual, and although Cana made a show of pushing the crash mage away, Natsu could see how much happier she was now that her secret was out.

Gildarts would be leaving soon. With that realization Natsu found himself feeling oddly protective of Cana. How would she react to Gildarts leaving so soon after finally confessing he was her father?

o-o

"You've had enough for tonight, Cana," Mira told her for the fourth time.

"Come on, beautiful," Cana said, purposefully softening her eyes and giving Mira a flirty smile. She tapped the bar stool next to her. "Why don't you pour yourself one too and we'll have us a nice little drink."

Natsu watched Mira examine her, probably looking for the tell-tale signs of inebriation she was used to seeing in the others.

"I said you're done," Mira replied, arms crossed in front of her chest. "Go home, I don't feel like watching you do this to yourself anymore tonight."

Cana looked at her in disbelief. "I can hold my liquor just fine, it's you that can't handle me." She got off the bar stool unsteadily and wobbled her way over to the door. She turned with a grin and said, "There are still plenty of other bars in town that have no problem selling me what I want."

"Night, dollface." Cana blew Mira a kiss before pushing the guild doors open with her weight and leaving the guild.

Mira looked worried, she'd hoped for once Cana would be agreeable and just go home and sleep it off but if she went off to another bar who knew what could happen.

"Don't worry Mira, we'll make sure she gets home alright," Gray said as he nudged Natsu.

"Come on, Fire Breath. Let's go." Gray started towards the door and hesitated when he noticed Natsu wasn't behind him.

Natsu had still made no move to leave the table they'd been sharing, and Gray repeated his words more forcefully shooting him a confused look. Natsu sighed and then got up and followed Gray out of the guild.

"Ok, what was that about?" Gray asked curiously.

"Nothing," Natsu muttered and walked beside him.

"Don't nothing me, you've been acting strangely around Cana ever since we got back from Tenrou. What's up?"

"Can it, I'm trying to track her." Natsu figured it shouldn't be too hard, that amount of alcohol should leave quite the stench for him to follow. He groaned when he saw where they were headed. It was one of the biggest dives in Magnolia. Of course, Cana would head there.

They entered the bar and looked around, Cana was quite easy to find. She was already seated at the bar, drink in hand and words at the ready. Natsu groaned when he saw the crowd of men already surrounding her, the stink of their lust almost making him gag.

It would be that much harder to get her to leave without a fight. Natsu and Gray looked for a table far enough away that she wouldn't see them but still allowed them to watch over her. Outwardly Cana seemed amused by the attention she was getting, but Natsu could see that wasn't precisely true. Her eyes darted from one man to the other analyzing them as she fended off their advances with her wit, sometimes pulling out one of her cards to make her point, or perhaps to have a defense at her fingertips if needed.

It was fascinating how alert she still was considering the amounts of alcohol she has ingested, was still ingesting. Natsu had never really observed her outside of the safety of the guild, although he had heard from Loke and Gray that it wasn't uncommon for her to frequent the local bars. She seemed to be holding her own well enough.

Natsu continued to watch Cana intently, but he could feel Gray staring at him, it made him nervous because he didn't know what was going on inside the Ice Block's head.

"Seriously, Pyro," Gray suddenly asked, "You never used to pay any attention to her, Is there something I should know?"

Natsu shushed him trying to listen to the conversation that was happening at the bar.

"Listen, if you like Cana, I won't get in your way," Natsu could hear the pain in Gray's voice, and he stared at him in shock, "I just thought we had something, you know?"

"It's not like that! I don't like Cana, Ice Princess, I just feel--," There it was, that scent again, Cana was in trouble. Natsu jumped out of his seat and rushed towards the bar with Gray following behind.

"LET GO OF ME," Cana's shriek pierced Natsu's sensitive ears, and he had only enough time to register that Cana's cards were on the floor and a large man was holding on to both her hands as she struggled against him. The other men had disappeared, and the noise in the bar remained the same, no one intended to help the card mage. Natsu immediately engaged while Gray collected Cana's cards from the floor.

"Get away from her," Natsu said the words slowly but with force, enunciating every syllable. "She's not interested in you."

"Buzz of, man. She's already taken," The man turned away from him and went right back to grabbing Cana. The smell of Cana's anxiety was overpowering his sensitive nose, and he was surprised to hear a small whine coming from the back of his throat.

He grabbed the man's arm with more force than was strictly necessary, his other hand already covered in his fire. He placed his lit fist close enough to the man's face to form beads of sweat.

"What the hell man, are you her boyfriend or something?" The man was still trying to act tough, but his eyes kept darting back to Natsu's flaming fist nervously.

"I'm her brother," Natsu blurted out. He heard both Cana and Gray utter gasps and quickly cursed himself for his poor choice of words. He ignored them for now and focused his attention on the large man in front of him.

"So, are we going to have a problem?" Natsu raised an eyebrow.

The man shook his head and held his arms up in a gesture of surrender. Natsu let go of his arm, keeping his fist lit until the man turned around and left the bar.

"Brother, huh?" Cana asked, her voice guarded. "I don't remember asking for your help, Natsu."

"I know, I just.... your scent, it was....you needed help." Natsu said in consternation at his choice of words.

Cana looked him over and grunted. She patted the empty barstool next to hers and ordered two drinks. He quickly sat next to her not knowing what to expect. He'd been impulsive, and now he'd gotten himself into a conversation he probably wasn't ready for.

He felt Gray sit on the other side of him, and looked over to see the ice mage sporting a dumb smile on his face. Natsu was annoyed that Gray was here to witness this, but he didn't have the heart to say anything once he felt the ice mage grab his hand under the bar and squeeze it encouragingly. He felt his heartbeat speed up at the gesture, an equally dumb smile settling on his face as he accepted the support he was being offered.

"What did you mean about my scent?" Cana asked. She looked like she was having second thoughts herself.

Natsu played with his wristband, answering that question would mean admitting that he had been observing her more than was probably normal.

"Happiness, anger, sadness, they have a scent. All emotions do really, some of them are pleasant but others..." Natsu wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You like to drink and flirt a lot, but when it comes down to it when someone appears to be interested in you in an...uhm intimate manner, you get anxious or scared."

Cana narrowed her eyes, her expression decidedly unhappy. "You've been watching me. Why?"

Natsu took a few sips from his drink, buying himself some time to think of how to explain his actions. "After Gildarts left, I-- I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Natsu fiddled with his vest, Cana's gaze felt heavy on him. He didn't look up to meet it.

Cana started to laugh, confusing him. Was this the alcohol talking?

"So you think because Gildarts is my dad, you're suddenly responsible for me, is that it?." Cana snapped, startling him. He searched her eyes trying to understand what she was thinking, her scent was confusing him, there was anger, but it was mixed in with many other emotions, "Well, I never expected anything from him, and I certainly don't need anything from you!"

"No, Cana, it's not like that...I--I want to," Natsu quickly explained, "I wasn't a good friend to you in the past, and I want to change that."

"What are you talking about?"

Natsu realized she didn't sound that drunk anymore and wondered how she did that so quickly.

"All those years, I should have realized--no, I think I did realize," Natsu looked down at his hands not wanting to see the recrimination in Cana's eyes, "I'm so sorry, " he added miserably.

Cana began to laugh in earnest, "Oh Natsu, you're so cute! Did you actually think I resented you because of my dad?"

"You-- you didn't?" Natsu had never been so confused in his life.

Cana motioned for him to down his drink, and once he did she handed him another, "Nope, I mean yeah it stung a bit, but I always knew you needed him much more than I did. I was lonely, but you, you were lost without Igneel. Gildarts was the one who first brought out your smile, I could never resent either of you for that."

She smiled at him briefly before downing her own drink and tapping her fingers on the bar to ask for a refill.

"The truth is, the only person to blame for me not saying anything to my old man is me. I spent too much time trying to make myself worthy of him, and I wasted all those years," Cana turned her head and seemed to notice Gray sitting next to Natsu for the first time. She snickered and ruffled Natsu's hair roughly whispering, "Don't make the same mistake as your sister, ok?"

Natsu's felt the blood rushing to his face both as a response to Cana reminding him of his earlier words and her calling him out on his feelings for Gray. He quickly downed his drink, trying to make it appear as though the blush was a result of the alcohol. Cana's amused laughs, however, let him know he'd failed miserably.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I think I'm done for the night," Cana yawned, stretching her arms up in the air before getting up from her stool and leaving some jewels on the bar to pay for her tab. She headed out the door with both Natsu and Gray following, each taking a place on either side of her as she walked.

She looked at them and rolled her eyes, "I'm getting the full service, huh? Fine, fine you can walk me home."

They walked together in comfortable silence, and when they reached Fairy Hills Cana waved to them, she was about to enter the dorm when she stopped and turned around.

"Hey, Natsu, " Cana called out, "Maybe the three of us can go out drinking the next time Pops comes home."

She waved again and went inside, and suddenly Natsu felt lighter than he had since this whole situation had come to his attention. Cana had never hated him, and she'd just invited him to be a part of her family. He did belong with them.

"Are you okay?" Gray asked him carefully, "You look... uhm yeah."

"I'm fine, I'm just relieved."

"I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions earlier," Gray scratched the back of his head and looked away, embarrassed by his earlier words, "I shouldn't have."

"It's my fault, you've been very patient, and I haven't really given you much," Natsu noticed they were walking by the park and deciding to heed Cana's advice he grabbed Gray by the hand and led him towards a bench.

"I-- I like you, " Natsu said, finally admitting the feelings he'd never voiced, caught between wanting more and fear of change, "A lot, and that's never happened for me before with anyone. I don't know what to do or what to say, and I'm scared I'm going to screw it up and hmmm--"

Natsu's speech was interrupted by cold lips pressing down on his own gently, his eyes widened in surprise before closing in eager acceptance. He kissed back doing his best to imitate Gray, the simple kiss inciting sensations in areas of his body that until then had been eerily silent. Much too soon, Gray moved back, and Natsu opened his eyes to see Gray smiling at him, his midnight blue eyes shining softly.

"I like you too," Gray held out his hand for Natsu to take, "That's all we need for now, we'll figure the rest out together, our own way."

Natsu reached out with his hand to meet Gray's, slowly lacing their fingers together. Natsu's heart was full of love and hope for the future, and it made him realize the truth in Gray words, it was all he needed for now. He placed his head on Gray's shoulder and relaxed against him, looking up at the peaceful night sky and enjoying this momentary peace with his boyfriend. Natsu smiled, he liked the sound of that.