A/N: Not my first try at a Fairy Tail story, but my first try at Natsu and Lucy. I hope you like it :)

Natsu woke up with a start. Looking to his side he saw that a certain blonde mage was still sleeping peacefully in his arms. It had become his habit to sleep in Lucy's bed with her and even when she screamed at him every morning it was still worth it to have her this close. Her scent was addicting and sleeping next to her felt just right. No matter how dense people thought he was, his dragon instincts had told him long ago what this meant.

However this time it wasn't her enticing scent that was the most present one, but a scent that he had last smelled years ago when he was little. It was a special smell of fire that couldn't be obtained by a regular fire created by humans. Its power and intensity was so strong that only a dragon could be the cause of it. Natsu didn't want to get his hopes up, but there was only one dragon that could possess such a power and that was Igneel. Even if the chance was small that it was really him, the dragon slayer had to take it.

Carefully Natsu removed Lucy from his side and lay her back on her pillow. The last thing he wanted was to wake her up and have her screaming at him. He hoped that one day they would be able to sleep in each others arms as lovers and not only as best friends, but this was all she was seeing in him. Sighing he stood up and opened the window. There was a more pressing matter now than his troubled feelings and that was the possibility to see Igneel again. Hopefully this time he was really coming back.

Following the scent of fire he ran through the thick forest. The scent got stronger by the minute and then he could finally see an endless sight of scales. It only took him a few seconds to come face to face with the legendary dragon.

"Dad." Was the only word that escaped his lips and he was trying to hold back his tears. There in front of him was really Igneel, just as he remembered him.

"It's good to see you again son." He opened his claws a little as if inviting Natsu to hug him and the dragon slayer didn't need to be told twice.

The emotional reunion lasted only for a short moment before Natsu hit Igneel with enough force that the dragon could feel it.

"Why did you leave?" Natsu roared. "I searched everywhere for you and you never showed up."

"Is that a way to talk to your father." The dragon complained.

This reunion was definitely special, with two hotheads meeting again there was a lot to discuss.

After a while Igneel sniffed the air around his son and with a sly smile asked his son an important question.

"I can smell a female on you. Have you found your mate?"

Natsu was speechless for a moment. Of course could Igneel smell Lucy's scent all over him, after all she had slept in his arms for almost the whole night. However that he asked him about it was surprising, after all the only time they had talked about mates was when he was younger and Igneel had told him everything about dragons, including their way of courting.

"Yeah." He finally answered. A simple answer to a complicated problem.

Though his son was smiling Igneel could see that something was holding his son back from being completely happy.

"Does she know that she is your mate?" A shake of the head confirmed his suspicion. "Why haven't you told her?"

"We're partners and best friends. She doesn't know what mates are and she doesn't know my feelings for her."

"I see." Igneel said thoughtfully, before speaking up again. " I want to meet her." The tone of his voice implied that there was not an option to deny his request.

When Natsu walked back to Lucy's house he couldn't feel more happy. Igneel was finally back and he wanted to meet Lucy. Two of the most important people in his life would meet each other and he couldn't wait for it.

Seeing that it was already morning Natsu entered Lucy's house just like he always did, through the window. When he heard the shower running he went to the kitchen and decided to pass the time by eating the food from her fridge.

As soon as Lucy came out of the bathroom, dressed in a beautiful blue dress and freshly showered, Natsu took a hold of her hand and dragged her out of the house. Her protest could be heard miles away, but when he told her that Igneel was back and they were going to see him she was quiet.

When they arrived in the forest Natsu couldn't help but smile at the sight of his father. It was making him so happy that Igneel was finally back that he couldn't keep the big grin from showing up on his face. He was aware that he was still holding Lucy's hand, but he didn't want to let go. With his father meeting his chosen mate, Natsu hoped that Igneel would see how great she really was.

The dragon look closely at the girl by his son's side. There was no denying that she was beautiful and judging by what his son had told him she held the power of celestial spirits, which was a respectful magic. She seemed a little hesitant and he saw her grip on his son's hand tighten. Then again he couldn't blame her, she had surely never seen a dragon before and he could be intimidating. However his son was obvious to her insecurity and gently pushed her forward with a big smile.

"Luce this is Igneel. Dad this is Lucy."

"Nice to meet you." The dragon did his best to seem as harmless as possible.

Still a little hesitant, but more confident the blonde girl stepped closer and lay her hand on his claw.

"Likewise. I'm happy that Natsu finally found you." There was such sincerity in her words and smile that Igneel could feel his heart warm. His son had chosen her wisely, that much he already knew, but he wanted to know more about how she thought about their relationship.

"So what do you think of my son?" He asked slyly.

"He gave me the chance to join Fairy Tail and because of him the whole guild became the best family I ever had." Igneel noted a certain sadness in her voice, before it disappeared at her next words. "We are partners and he saved me more times than I can count. Natsu is my best friend and I can't imagine my life without him anymore. He means the world to me."

Igneel could tell that her words came directly from her heart and in that moment he knew that his son's feeling weren't unrequited. Maybe with a little push in the right direction he could help them.

"I think you chose the right mate, my son."

"Dad." Natsu screamed at him, blushing. Why was Igneel doing this after he had just told him an hour ago that Lucy wasn't feeling the same way.

"Natsu what does that mean?"

The dragon slayer thought that he could hear hope in her voice, but it was surely his wishful thinking. There was no way that he could lie to Lucy about the meaning behind Igneel's words, so he took a deep breath and prepared for the rejection that was sure to come.

"Dragons choose only one mate for their lifetime. They will never leave their mate and love them for their whole life. Dragon slayers have some of the same traits as actual dragons which means that I have a mate as well and that's you." When Natsu said that he saw Lucy's eyes widen in shock. Trying to soften the blow his words had caused he spoke up again. "That doesn't mean that you have to return my feelings. It's your choice and-"

Natsu was never more happy to be interrupted and he could get used to the way she interrupted him. Soft lips were meeting his in what he could only describe as an explosion of fire. He had never kissed anyone before, but from what Igneel had told him about mates he was sure that it only felt this great because it was Lucy. Unusual shyly he pulled her closer. This was new for him and even though he was confident to win every fight, this battlefield was different.

Igneel looked at his son. He was so proud of him and he was happy that despite missing a big part in his life, he could at least help his son to finally confess to his mate.

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think :)