Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong To Hiro Mashima

"Where are we going?" Natsu asked excitedly from his spot on Igneel's enormous back. They were flying up in the air, and this was unusual so early in the morning.

For being a dragon, Igneel was very particular about his schedule. Mornings were for teaching Natsu about reading and practicing his letters. Physical and fire magic training took place in the afternoons. While the evenings were filled with hunting, and cuddling on a full belly. All in all, it was a pleasant schedule, but Natsu hungered for adventure.

"You'll see, youngling," Igneel replied with a touch of mischief in his voice, making Natsu think they would be embarking on a great adventure. They flew for another hour before landing in a vast valley. Natsu got off the great dragon and looked around. His face fell as he took in his surroundings, this couldn't be it. There was nothing here.

"Why are we here?" Natsu whined, frustrated that his hopes of adventure had been dashed.

"You seem disappointed, Natsu," Igneel remarked containing his amusement as best he could.

"Well, it's not that," Natsu was quick to not hurt the dragon's feelings, "It's just... what are we doing here, Igneel?"

"Well, what can you hear?" Igneel asked almost nonchalantly, and that's when Natsu knew there was more to this place than met the eye.

He extended his new enhanced hearing as much as he could and listened to the sounds all around him until he could make out something. Natsu strained even more and was able to make out the sound of running water. Natsu looked at Igneel with a confused expression and ran towards the noise. He ran through a grove of trees, the sound of the water getting louder and louder until he finally saw a large waterfall. He was running so fast he almost ran over the edge.

Igneel came behind him slowly, the trees impeding his movement. He snorted, "I guess your hearing has improved after all."

Natsu ran towards him and gave him a big hug, "I take it back, this place is great. Can we go swimming?" He waited for Igneel to give his approval before finding a spot where he could safely dive into the water. He jumped in and was soon splashing around and frolicking happily.

He was having a grand old time when he heard a rather undignified cry of "King Dragon Splash!" and with a start saw Igneel run off the side of the cliff and let himself fall into the water with a resounding splash. Natsu found himself flying in the air along with many fish and a large amount of the water supply that until a moment ago had been residing at the bottom of the waterfall. There was a loud thundering sound in the air that Natsu immediately recognized as Igneel's laughter.

Natsu felt himself begin to fall and he flailed his arms trying to control his descent, soon landing on top of a scaly belly.

Igneel was still laughing, "You should have seen your face?!" Natsu thought he could almost see tears coming out of those giant yellow eyes. He wanted to pout, but the fact was it had been hilarious, and his heart warmed at the sound of his father's laughter.

He lay on his back and made himself comfortable, letting the sun dry his body. After a few minutes, he grew bored of this and plopped on his belly, peering into the water to try to spot any marine life, although he knew Igneel had probably scared most of them away.

"Hey Igneel," Natsu crawled up closer to his father's face. Igneel shook his head a little, the warmth of the day making him drowsy.

"What is it?"

"What are you gonna teach me today?" Natsu asked curiously.

"Just this," Igneel waved his arm at where they were.

Natsu thought about what the dragon could mean, looking around at the waterfall and the rest of the beautiful scenery that surrounded them. "I don't understand."

Igneel smiled lazily, "It's all well and good to learn how to fight, use magic, and all the other things I try to teach you. But every once in a while, it's also important to just relax and enjoy yourself, to spend time with the ones you love and remind yourself of what it is you're fighting for."

Natsu remained quiet as he thought about Igneel's words, his nose scrunching up cutely, making Igneel smile.

"Ok, look at it this way. Why do you fight?"

"To win of course!" Natsu jumped up and down on Igneel's body, and after some more thought he added, "And because it's fun!"

"Well yes, that's nice of course, but that's not why you should fight. You fight because you want to protect someone or something. It could be as simple as seeing a place like this exist for others to enjoy or because a friend is threatened or even just because it's the right thing to do," Igneel explained slowly, knowing sometimes it took Natsu a little while to grasp more abstract concepts.

"I'd fight to protect you," Natsu said seriously as he hugged as much of his father as he was able to surround with his small arms.

Igneel's voice was gruff and full of affection, "I know you would, and as fierce as you are I don't envy anyone who gets in your way!"

Natsu's chest puffed with pride at the rare compliment. He thought the lesson was over, but Igneel continued. "What I'm trying to say is, Natsu, you can't fight all the time, sometimes you have to stop and enjoy the world around you and just be for a little while."

Natsu looked at Igneel seriously, "That sounds really boring."

"Oh yeah?" Igneel's grin became mischievous again, and he managed to somehow flip and have Natsu land on his back. He quickly took off and flew as fast as he could with Natsu holding on for dear life, his initial screams of fear quickly morphing into squeals of glee as Igneel began to dance in the air, doing acrobatics that made Natsu's heart dance as well.

"I love you, Igneel," Natsu yelled into the air.

"I love you too, Son."