8 years later

It was early in the morning, the sun had yet to rise. The house on the outskirts of Magnolia lay perfectly still. No one in the building suspected that something was lurking in the shadows.

The creature in question stalked quietly towards one of the rooms at the end of the hall. A floorboard creaked under it's weight, but it didn't let that bother it. Nothing could prepare the inhabitants of the house for what it had in store. As it reached the door, it grasped the golden doorknob and turned it slowly, pushing the door open.

The bedroom was one of the larger ones in the house. It had a large dresser with a built in mirror up against one wall and a door to the restroom next to it. The light from the large windows on the opposite side of the room illuminated the mahogany bed a few feet away. Sleeping on the bed were two individuals, a man and a woman.

The woman's blonde hair covered most of her fluffy pillow. The man beside her had one arm wrapped firmly around her waist. Bits of his pink hair shot up as he snored, falling back down as he inhaled another breath. The two looked so peaceful and at ease, completely unaware of the new presence in their bedroom.

The being crawled toward the large bed with predator like stealth. As it neared the man's side, it climbed onto the bed's edge and stared down at it's prey. A fanged smirk spread across it's face. It leaned closer to the male, ready for the attack.

With little warning, the man rolled over, crushing the creature under his heavy weight. It let out a started yelp that soon turned to mumbles due to the man's back covering it's mouth. It moved frantically, trying to free itself. At this point it didn't care if it woke the sleeping couple, so using whatever strength it had in it's lungs, it screamed.

"Daddy!" It sounded muffled, but the pink haired man heard very clearly. He smirked as he rolled off the little monster that tried to wake him up. He glanced at the small child that took a deep breath once her father got off her. Her pink hair was all frazzled and messy due to being shoved up against the bed and her pajamas were all wrinkled. She stared at the ceiling wide eyed as she evened out her breathing. The child shot her father a glare as he chuckled happily.

"You were awake the whole time weren't you," she said as more of a statement than a question. Her father smirked, bringing a hand up to his ear.

"You forget Nashi, that I'm a Dragneel too." The child didn't remain angry with her father for long because a moment later, the two were laughing so hard their stomachs hurt, and they woke up the woman who was sleeping.

"Natsu, Nashi, can you two be a little quieter," she glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand, "It's 6:45."

"But Mommy," the child said, sitting up, "Daddy said he would make me pancakes because today is a special day." Natsu placed a hand playfully on his chin, pretending to think really hard.

"Now why is today special again?" He glanced at his child who was gaping at him like a fish.

"Is it Beat-Up Uncle Gray Day?" he asked Nashi. The girl giggled, shaking her head "no".

"Is it the Fantasia Parade today?"

"No!" said Nashi.

Natsu snapped his fingers, a large, fanged smile on his face, "Oh I know!" He looked down at Nashi who was staring at him expectantly. He pulled the child into his lap and started tickling the life out of her, "Today is your birthday!"

"Y-Yes!" she cheered through her giggles. She struggled against her father's strength trying to free herself. Natsu stopped when the angelic laughter of his wife, Lucy, rang through the room.

"How could we forget Nashi? You're father is more excited about it than you are."

"Well that's because I have the perfect present for her," he stated proudly. He had made it a while ago, but he was saving it specifically for Nashi's eighth birthday. She was eight when he met her in the alternate future, so he knew that at age eight she would be able to fully appreciate it. Nashi bobbed up and down excitedly in her father's lap like she was four years younger than she actually was.

"What is it?"

"You'll have to wait until your party at the guild," said Lucy. Nashi pouted, but soon morphed into a smile.

"Okay, I'll wait."

"That's my girl," Natsu said, lifting her off his lap so he could climb out of bed, "Now let's go make those pancakes."

"Awesome!" she cheered, climbing off the bed and running out of her parent's bedroom. Natsu followed after but glanced over his shoulder at his wife one more time.

"You coming?"

"I'm going to take a quick shower first. You go ahead," she said, putting both feet on the floor and walking toward the bathroom.

"Alright, love you Luce."

"I love you too," Lucy smiled, closing the bathroom door behind her. Natsu strolled out of his bedroom. He walked down the hall towards the stairs where he saw Nashi jumping off the last step and running into the kitchen area. The Dragon Slayer smiled to himself as his daughter disappeared through the arch and into the kitchen. The last eight years had been better than he originally thought. It had been a pain dealing with Nashi's first few years, but it's what he deserved for not being there the first time. He was most relieved that she kept her kind personality. She never held a grudge but she still had her father's competitive spirit, not to mention his magic.

He let out a small sigh of relief. Him and Nashi had started training last year when Nashi turned seven. Because Nashi was born with her magic, they had to be careful to keep it under control for the first few years. When she was seven, Natsu and Lucy both decided it was about time she learned to actually use it so they didn't have to worry about her giving out after using too much power. Nashi had been super excited to start training. Carrying on the dragon heritage of her father was something she was incredibly proud of, and Natsu couldn't happier that she felt that way.

Natsu reached the final step of the stairs and strolled leisurely into the kitchen. Nashi was bopping up and down in her seat, a large smile on her face.

"You realize that they will take a few minutes to make," her father said, grabbing the pancake mix from the pantry. Nashi froze in her actions upon realization; Natsu couldn't help but laugh at her.

"Why don't you go get dressed and wake up Happy?" Nashi perked up and ran out of the kitchen to wake up the exceed. Natsu grabbed a bowl and the other ingredients for pancakes and started making his daughter's birthday breakfast. It was hard for him to believe that it had been eight years since the little girl was born. It was around this time in the alternate future that Nashi... died.

Natsu stopped his stirring of the batter. He stared absentmindedly at the counter in front of him as he recalled the other possibility. He shook his head furiously to rid himself of the memory. Natsu had been thinking a lot about that day recently due to Nashi's birthday. He promised that he wouldn't let that fate befall her again, not as long as he was there, but he couldn't stop himself from dreading the possibility that it could happen again, especially since she is the same age now as she was then.

While he was lost in thought, Lucy came walking down the stairs. She had all her long, blonde hair pulled into a side ponytail. She wore a blue shirt with a white collar and a golden bow. The front of the shirt looked like a stitch pattern with golden strands holding them together. She also wore brown, knee high boots and a white skirt with sash tide around the waist. And of course, her ensemble wouldn't be complete without her belt and keys.

She looked at her husband knowingly from her spot. She slowly walked into the kitchen while he prepared to cook the pancakes. His back was to her as he poured some batter onto the pan. She snaked her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. Natsu responded a few moments later, taking his free hand and placing it on Lucy's.

"Everything will be fine," she said softly. Natsu gave her hand a squeeze.

"I can't help thinking about it. I can't get the image out of my head." Lucy removed one of her hands from Natsu's grip and brought it to his cheek. She turned his head so he was facing her.

"Natsu, that is in the past, you changed that. It isn't going to happen anymore."

"But what if something else happens?" he questioned, "what if I lose her again?"

Lucy smiled lovingly, "then you'll just have to find her. You are Natsu Dragneel, and you don't know the meaning of giving up, and if something happens to our daughter, you will find a way to bring her back, no matter what the cost."

Natsu smiled at her, bringing her into a hug. They basked in each others love for a few seconds before Natsu had to get the pancakes off the pan. Lucy helped him finish the rest and set up the table for breakfast. She turned around after putting the plates down and was caught off guard when her lips met with those of her husbands. She closed her eyes and sighed in content. Natsu wrapped his large arms around her small frame and Lucy brought her hands to his neck.

"Eww!"

Lucy pulled away from Natsu, but they kept their holds on each other. A couple feet away from them stood Happy and Nashi. Happy was giggling while Nashi gawked at her parents playfully. The pink haired girl wore a white dress with golden trimming and maroon socks with brown boots just like the one Nashi from the alternate future wore, only instead of a long sleeve salmon cover-up it was short sleeved, going up to her elbows and she had a brown belt around her waist.

"They looove each other!" Nashi and Happy cooed in unison. Lucy blushed while her husband burst into laughter.

"Yes we do!" He yelled, lifting Lucy off the floor and swinging her around. His wife screamed in panic, taken by surprise. When he put her back on the ground, he kissed her on the cheek.

"Admit it, you liked it," he said. Lucy pouted; folding her arms over her chest while a fierce blush graced her face. Nashi and Happy giggled, walking over to their seats at the kitchen table. Lucy took her seat beside her daughter, still slightly embarrassed. Natsu grabbed the plate of pancakes and started dishing them out to his family, saving Nashi for last.

"There you go, baby girl, the perfect plate of pancakes for a perfect little princess," he said, kissing her on the temple. Nashi laughed at her father as he poured syrup on her pancakes.

"Daddy, I'm not a princess. I'm a dragon!" she roared loudly, earning a laugh from everyone in the room.

"That's right, you're Daddy's Little Dragon."

Natsu took a seat beside his wife, dishing up a large amount of pancakes onto his plate. The family ate their delicious breakfast happily, talking about random topics. Eventually, Lucy cut to the topic of the day.

"Natsu, I was thinking you could take Nashi out training while we set up her party." At the word "party", the birthday girl perked up and started jumping up and down excitedly.

"Can we Daddy, can we?" Natsu glanced at his wife to see if she said what he thought she said. When she nodded, a fanged smile grew on his face.

"I don't see why not."

"Yay!" Nashi sped through her pancakes faster than Natsu ever had. When she finished, she jumped out of her seat and ran to her father, tugging on his tank top.

"Hurry Daddy!"

"Alright, alright. I got to get dressed first." He took one final bite before rushing up to his bedroom. Lucy had Nashi and Happy help her clean up the kitchen table while they waited for Natsu. Just as they finished cleaning, Natsu came down the stairs, wearing his black one-sleeved coat with orange trimming. Instead of flip-flops, he had on brown boots, and of course he wouldn't be Natsu Dragneel without his signature scarf.

Natsu smiled at Nashi as she ran up to him and started pulling him toward the front door. Lucy followed them, giving Natsu instructions.

"I need you both back at the guild at 5:30. You can go get lunch, but nothing too drastic, we'll have plenty of food at the party. And don't leave the city limit and-"

"Luce," Natsu interrupted, silencing his wife, "relax, I know the rules. We're just going to our regular clearing."

Lucy sighed, "I'm sorry Natsu, I have a lot to prepare and I still can't find entertainment."

"You'll figure something out. When in doubt, label Ice Princess and Metal Head as freaks and create a little freak show. That'll entertain the kids." Natsu and Nashi laughed, however Lucy didn't find it too funny.

"I don't know why I married you," said Lucy exasperatedly. Natsu smirked, "because you looove me."

Lucy smiled, her irritation diminishing. Natsu pulled her closer, kissing her temple.

"I love you. See you later."

"You too," Lucy whispered. Natsu smiled, opening the front door of their home. Him and Nashi walked into the early morning, grinning like a couple of idiots. The pink haired Dragon Slayers glanced back at Happy and Lucy who were standing in the doorway.

"Bye Mommy! Bye Uncle Happy!" Nashi waved. Natsu followed his daughter's example and waved back to his family. Lucy and Happy responded the same. The two in the house closed the door, leaving Natsu and Nashi to go to their favorite clearing to practice magic.

As they started their trek, they passed a small caravan of colorful wagons and weirdly dressed people. Nashi paid no mind to the travelers; however, Natsu couldn't ignore the uneasy feeling coming from the man leading them into Magnolia.