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~Nobody's POV

Natsu and Zeref were in the car, the older one driving while the other one was on his phone.

It was a rainy night.

Their mother, Grandeeney, contacted them, saying she wants another chance. She wasted her years in hiding and now she was ready to do the things she should have done.

Zeref and Wendy's reaction when Natsu told them she's still alive is exactly what he expected. Zeref didn't know what he felt back then. Anger, happiness, betrayal, fury, confusion.. it was too much to think. Wendy was happy, wanting to meet her mother. Needless to say Wendy didn't know about the dark time and forgave her. Natsu and Zeref were still feeling bitter about her though.

Natsu was in the 11th grade and Zeref in college when she 'died'.

And the brothers remembered how hard it was to deal with it.

Natsu was a mess, closing himself off from the world, letting nobody see how he felt. His friends didn't hang out with him anymore, betraying him in the time he needs it. His grades dropped till the point he almost didn't pass that year. He struggled with concentrating and his temper always got the best of him.

Zeref had put on a façade, letting nobody see what was wrong. His grades dropped slightly, but not to the point where people would notice. At home he wouldn't talk for days and eat less. And he had those moments where he just couldn't pretend, breaking down crying.

Wendy was crying about wanting to see them, but she was too young to understand what was happening. She was too innocent then.

At the time Makarov was still alive, coming by every day to check on them. Wendy was taken care of by the family. And the brothers... the brothers trained harder than ever. They wanted distractions in every possible way. They spend most of their free time in the gym by the basement, learning combat, shooting, strategy in a short amount of time. Everyone thought it would be the best for them to go to therapy, losing one parent is hard enough, but losing both is just the worst. They refused.

"You don't know what's going through us now. Don't think you know better. This is our way of coping."

"What is she doing there?" Zeref said, stopping the car abruptly. Natsu looked at the direction. He gritted his teeth when he saw what he saw. In the dark alley they could see a figure fighting 4 people.

They knew it was their mother by the way she was holding herself and her blue hair. She was being held by one guy and the other guys were ready to advance towards her. Why though, they don't know. She still stayed on the streets, even after her kids offered a place to stay. She said it makes her humble and understand the pain people go through more.

Natsu didn't waste a single second and got out of the car. He was seething wth anger as he saw a guy grabbing her hair forcefully. Despite everything, she was still the mother who raised him. Zeref followed as he watched his brother. "Get your fucking hands off her!" Natsu shouted and walked to them.

They looked at their dark shadows as he approached.

"This is none of your business. Get out of here, little shit," one guy said.

Zeref advances forward and immediately punched the one holding Grandeeney. The force was enough to send him straight against the wall. Enough to knock him out. Natsu followed his lead and twisted two guys' necks, almost snapping them.

Zeref and Natsu stood beside each other, watching the last standing guy with menace. "Who do you think you are? You have no right to lay your hands on a woman," Natsu spat. He was feeling the most intensive anger out of the two of them.

"W-what is your business here?" He finally saw who they were. The feared brothers. He didn't stand a chance.

Without anymore words Zeref also knocked him out. Shaking his head at those imbeciles. They turned to their mother, who had a smile on her face by seeing them.

"Get in the car," Natsu said through gritted teeth. The way he glared at her now made it clear. He hasn't forgiven her yet.

Grandeeney sat in the beakseat. She flinched when Natsu slammed the car door shut.

Zeref began driving without another word.

"Thank you, by the way," their mother began. Instead of hearing a 'you're welcome' or something in that direction, she got an outburst of her youngest son.

"What the fuck were you doing there? You know how dangerous the streets are nowadays."

Zeref sucked in a sharp breath, knowing the conversation will soon escalate. He was the most composed between the two.

"I was just passing by when they decided to attack me," Grandeeney defended. Natsu turned around in his passenger seat and glared.

"What could've happened if we weren't there to save you? Stop being so damn stubborn and return to the family," Natsu said, giving her an annoying glance.

"I don't deserve to live there with the people I abandoned," she shouted. She clenched her hands as she avoided the look of her sons. Zeref looked at her in the rearview mirror. His look was softer than Natsu's, but still harsh.

"I can't really expect you to forgive me now," she said, looking down.

"We really can't now, looking at you," Zeref said and continued, "You have to heal first, get the self-loathe out of your system. We don't want to see you drown in your own thoughts."

"That's really difficult if I continue to see those glares you are giving me."

Natsu turned around and hit the head seat with his fist. "You think you're the one going through a difficult time? Just admit you created the mess you're in now. If you didn't leave us, we wouldn't feel betrayed."

"And I'm said I'm sorry and ready to change. Why can't you forgive me now?" Grandeeney begged.

"Because Zeref and I endured the most pain after you left. We went through the darkest time of our lives. Mum, I thought about suicide," Natsu said. It was clear in his voice that he was over it, but that doesn't take away what he went through.

Grandeeney gaped and covered her mouth, silent tears falling down on her cheeks. She didn't think it was that bad. She could have lost him without knowing. Proving once again she doesn't know anything about them anymore.

Zeref placed his hand on his brother's shoulder, whispering things to him. He looked at his mum, undeniable disappointment in his eyes. "This is the reason why we can't."

Natsu turned back to the front again, ignoring his mother on the way back.

-two weeks later-

Natsu was working in his office, frustated at how some employees made the same mistakes over and over again. Big ones. And now he has to fix the mess.

"Dad!" Nash said and stormed inside his office.

"What?" Natsu said, his voice coming out harsh. It was evening and he was trying the to fix the whole problems for a whole day right now.

"It's time to eat! Mum made your favorite meal. Let's go," Nash said cheerfully.

"I'm busy," he said flatly.

"But you have to eat." Nash whined. Natsu gripped his pen tightly before breathing out. "Tell your mother I'm busy working."

"Come on, dad, it only takes an hour or so."

"I said I'm busy!" Natsu shouted at his son, immediately regretting it. He never shouted that harshly at Nash for somethings stupid.

His eyes widened as he looked down. His hands turned into a fist. At the same time Lucy walked in, her jaw dropping.

"L-Lucy," Natsu said and dropped his pen.

Lucy gritted her teeth. "I was coming to see why it took so long..." She stomped angrily to Natsu. "Nash, why don't you eat already? Make sure to feed Evelyn, too."

He immediately agreed and walked away, not wanting to be part of this.

Natsu stood up and also walked to Lucy. "I swear, I can explain."

Too late.

Lucy pushed him by the shoulders. "How dare you raise your voice?"

"I'm sorry. I was frustated about my work and now wasn't really the time for someone disturbing me," he said as he looked away.

They made a promise to never raise their voice at the kids.

"That didn't give you the right to yell. Nash was just getting you to eat dinner with us."

"I know. But I was fixing a big mistake, alright? I'm the one who makes the money here, not you, so I should watch my work carefully."

"Jeez, you forgot that I tried to find work but you made everyone in the city not accept me."

"Because you don't have to work, I could provide enough."

"Then don't use the fact that I'm not working as an argument. Are you avoiding the problem at hand now?" Lucy asked, glaring at him.

"It isn't really a problem. I did wrong and regret it, nothing else." Natsu looked away. He regretted shouting, he tried to controle his annoyance but it obviously didn't work. He sighed. "I'm going now, letting myself cool down."

Lucy sighed, her eyelids feeling heavy. "I'm sorry for reacting like that. It shouldn't surprise me, we would lose our temper it sooner or later. It's just the sleepless nights I'm having and I'm so tired. Just come and eat."

"Not hungry, I'll eat the leftovers," Natsu said softly and walked to her. He kissed her forehead tenderly.

"I'll try next time, okay?"

Lucy nodded, looking like she could fall alseep any moment now. She forced herself to stay awake and returned to the dining table.

Natsu walked through the main room, clenching and unclenching his hands.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

He heard footsteps coming his way but he didn't care at the moment. He rubbed his temples, clearly upset he yelled at Nash.

"What's wrong?" The sudden voice scared him. It wasn't particularly because it came out of the blue.

It was the person asking.

His mother. These past two weeks their relationship got a little bit better. Though it would go from high to low in just a minute.

"Nothing. I just need some time, alone," Natsu replied emotionless. It was hard opening up to her when she abandoned you.

She came from behind and placed a hand on his shoulder. She sighed defeatedly. "Look, I know I'm not the most comfortable person to be around now—"

"No shit."

She smacked him on the head with her other hand. "Respect your elders, son."

He turned around, snatching her hand away from his shoulder. "Respect goes both ways," he said harshly. "When I say I need time, I need time."

His mother ignored him and looked him deadly in the eyes. "I learnt from my mistakes. I'm not going anywhere anymore. I'm staying."

Natsu inhaled sharply, his eyes widening a little bit before returning normal.

"As I said, I know you're still holding unto that part of hatred, but know you can come to me any time. If you have problems, questions or even when you just want to talk. I am trying, but if you want this to work I expect some effort in return, too."

"Mum," Natsu began, "you want me to forgive you so bad, but I can't. It's just the reason that you had my whole trust and then you crushed it. I can't just not look in your direction without feeling betrayed."

"I know, and I really get it. But holding that grudge will just eat you alive. But I know you won't forgive me that easily. All I ask for you is to try."

After some unseen tears are shed Grandeeney smiled softly. "So... what were you so upset about?"

Natsu looked away, gritting his teeth while doing so. "I promised my wife I would never, ever shout at my children. But today I did it out of frustration and Lucy witnessed it."

"You're upset Lucy saw it?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, of course not. I'm upset my frustration and anger gets the best of me sometimes. I saw the disappointment in Lucy's eyes. And I saw how down Nash looked after I yelled at him. This is the reason why we try not to. It breaks a kid to see their parent yelling at them, you know?"

"Natsu, anger is a human emotion as is frustration. You can't expect to never yell at your kid, no matter what." She chuckled. "Actually, your dad and I had the same kind of promise. But guess what? Igneel never held his word."

Natsu frowned, the memories of him flowing through his head. He loved his father, so damn much. But he died, and it always left the emptiness.

"Really?" he asked surprised.

She nodded, giving him a gentle smile. "I come home from work and I see Igneel yelling at you guys for the stupidest reason. Like you stealing your brother's food, or Zeref arguing with Wendy making her cry. He felt bad afterwards. I started yelling at him and everything. Though later I understood the meaning of not being able to hold it in. You guys are so much like us in some aspects." She just wanted to tell more about them, but her attemps fired backwards.

Natsu gritted her teeth and looked her with fury in the eyes. "We are nothing like you," he spat. Grandeeney stepped a little back, feeling upset about the hostility in his voice.

It took awhile to figure it out. She just said they were like them... thus saying Lucy or him will likely leave their children too. "I didn't mean it like that!" she exclaimed, getting her mistake.

"Sure. Just like you didn't mean to leave us," Natsu retorted. His eyes were emotionless, even the anger was masked. He was opening up and now he closed off again. Grandeeney's courage deflated a little bit.

"I told you I was sorry—"

"So you think saying 'sorry' helps? That it makes everything alright again? If only it was that easy. You have to make up for those 14 years you were absent. Don't expect me to make it easy. Respect is earned, as is forgiveness."

That was the end if the conversation. Grandeeney looked away, not knowing what to say. Natsu put a hand in his pocket as he stared intensively at his mother.

"Give me some advice you would always tell me when I was a kid," Natsu said. If you could listen carefully you could hear longing, for his mother. But it wasn't that easy. His voice has calmed down, the fury disappeared and a neutral voice came into place.

"Just don't feel bad for slipping up, okay? It happened; what's done is done. Now go eat your dinner."

He nodded before walking away, stopping by the door entrance. He looked over his shoulder. "Mum?"

She looked up from her hands and blinked. "Yeah?"

"Thanks, I guess."

He soon left after that and Grandeeney grinned. He thanked her for the first time since forever. Even if his voice was cold, still, it was enough.

It gave her hope.

That maybe soon in the future, their relationship will be strong again.

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Is it too bad I actually don't want this story to end? Like I have sm to write about but you can't always hold on.

I really, really appreciate you guys for reading my book. I may not show it sometimes, but the smile I have when I see someone reading my book is just great.