GaLu Week: Day 2 - TRUST

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER

Lucy was standing at the stove when Gajeel finally stumbled out of their bedroom half-asleep. Slowly, his addled mind awoke, the scent of coffee perking and bacon frying firing up his senses, as he made his way toward his girlfriend.

He couldn't help but smile at the scene before him, Lucy rocking her hips to the faint sounds of the radio, her soft voice singing along. He loved waking up to this every morning, and as he wrapped his arms around her waist, he felt a flash of contentment.

For so long, he'd been on his own, depending on no one but himself, and then she'd walked into his life and turned everything upside down. She'd quickly become the most important thing in his life. He simply hadn't been able to help himself. He'd fallen for her hard and fast, and he hadn't ever looked back.

Lucy gave a happy sigh, sinking back against him. "Morning handsome," she hummed, tipping her head back to look at him. "You're actually up a little early today."

"Can't sleep without my sexy girl beside me," he said, leaning down to kiss her.

The blonde laughed at his statement. "Of course. That explains why I've been up for over an hour, and you're just now rolling out of bed."

Ignoring her rational argument, he gave her a quick squeeze, then stepped back to swat her ass. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be feeding me already, woman?"

"Watch it buddy," she threatened, pointing her spatula in his direction. "You never know what I could do to your food when you're not looking."

"You'd never hurt me. You like me too much," he quipped, smirking at her as he stepped over to the coffee pot.

Lucy paused for a moment as if in deep thought. "Hmmm...are you sure about that? I'm not so sure I like you that much."

Gajeel's mouth quirked up at her response. They were always doing stuff like that...him swearing she couldn't live without him, and her pretending that she could. But he knew the truth – she loved him just as much as he loved her.

He poured himself a steamy cup and had just pulled down another for Lucy when she waltzed over with a plate laden with food. "None for me today baby," she said, putting her mug back in the cabinet. "I've gotta get going."

"Where are you off to so early on my day off?" he grunted, grabbing a piece of bacon off his plate.

"First, it's not that early," she argued, smiling up at his disgruntled expression, "And I'm...just meeting Levy for breakfast. And on that note, I need to head out. Don't wanna be late."

Raising up on her tiptoes, she placed a soft kiss on his mouth, offering her customary "Love you!" before hurrying out the door. Gajeel shook his head at her upbeat attitude, then carried his plate to the table. He was just about to sit down when he realized he hadn't grabbed his coffee.

Shuffling back into the kitchen, he reached for his cup, and the phone rang, causing him to knock the whole thing over. He watched as the dark liquid spread out across the counter and cursed. What a way to start the day.

Snatching the cordless phone from its cradle, he barked a greeting as he scrambled to clean up his mess. He couldn't believe what he'd just done, and he cursed again as he realized he'd wet a bunch of mail Lucy had set at the side of the bar.

"Um...Gajeel? Is everything okay?" a quiet voice asked through the phone.

"Sorry...just spilled my coffee all over every damn thing," he groused, lifting the wet envelopes so he could clean under them.

Levy giggled. "Sounds like you're having a rough morning, so I won't keep you. Is Lucy there?"

"No, she already left," he muttered distractedly as he leaned forward to swipe a soapy rag over the counter.

"Aww...I was hoping I could drag her out for breakfast today. We haven't been able to get together all week."

Gajeel's brow wrinkled at her response. "What do you mean? Aren't you meeting her?" he asked, pulling his arm back and unerringly knocking that same stack of mail onto the floor. "Son of a bitch."

"Oh, did she want me to meet her? Why didn't she just call me?" Levy mused, continuing to talk in spite of Gajeel's sudden silence.

He looked down at the bills scattered across the floor and frowned, reaching out for a small scrap of paper. On it, he found a man's name along with an address, written in Lucy's own hand. What the hell was this?

"Gajeel? You still there?"

"...Yeah," he mumbled, his mind consumed with the understanding that his girlfriend had lied to him. That and the name on the slip of paper in his hand seemed to scream that things were not what he'd believed them to be, that Lucy wasn't what she seemed to be.

His heart sank, his stomach knotting up in distress. Could she be cheating on him? Was this her new man?

"Look, I've gotta go," he choked out, hanging up the phone to the sound of Levy calling out to him.

Almost instantly, the phone began to ring again, but he made no move to get it. He just couldn't think. He felt like someone had punched him in the gut.

He thought he'd finally found someone who loved him, someone he could trust. He couldn't understand how she could do this to him. He'd been so certain they were happy, that Lucy was happy with him, with their life together. Had he missed something?

The doubts plagued him, all those old issues rising up to remind him that no one had ever wanted him. His own mother had abandoned him. Why would anyone else stick by his side?

He shook his head in denial. No...she wouldn't. Lucy wouldn't do that to him. She loved him.

Once more, his past came back to haunt him, igniting those fears he thought he'd conquered long ago, and he slammed his fist into the wall. He had to know. He couldn't just stay here and wonder. He had to know if she had betrayed him.

Taking the disturbing scrap of paper with him, he grabbed his keys and pushed out the door.

Thirty minutes later, Gajeel pulled up in a parking lot and looked down at the address Lucy had written out. This couldn't be right. Checking the numbers again, he frowned. This was the correct address, but it didn't make any sense to him.

Scanning the big wooden sign on the front of the building, he found a list of names, and glanced back down at the paper.

Jonathan Singleton.

His eyes shot back up to the sign, and there he was. What the hell was going on?

He looked over the sign again, this time taking the time to read the thing, and his eyes widened. A doctor? Was something wrong with Lucy?

Fear shot through him at the thought. Why hadn't she told him? She'd acted so happy this morning, her smile bright and sunny just like every other morning. She'd hadn't seemed like something was wrong. Was she hiding something?

Once again, he found himself unable to wait. He pushed open his car door and stepped out, grabbing the cursed slip of paper again and headed toward the door of the office. Halfway there, the door opened, and his world stood still as he watched Lucy walk out.

Her face was alight with happiness, a soft smile on her face as she studied a page in her hand. She looked...completely fine. No, she looked positively perfect to him.

"Lucy," he called out.

Her head whipped up at his greeting, her expression stunned. "Gajeel? What-" she broke off with a laugh, moving towards him. "What are you doing here?"

Raising his hand, he showed her what he'd found. "Are you okay? Why are you seeing a doctor?" He rushed through the questions, desperately needing to know what had happened.

Lucy's eyes went wide at his worry, and she reached out to touch his face. "Oh Gajeel, I'm so sorry...I'm fine. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Then what's going on?"

At his question, her eyes began to fill with tears, and she smiled tremulously, causing him a moment of panic before she handed him her own paper. "This..."

He looked down at what she'd handed him and realized it was a picture of some sort. He studied it for several seconds, before whipping his head back up at her. "Is this..."

She nodded quickly, her smile growing larger as she cried, "Yes...we're having a baby."

"A baby," he mumbled to himself, trying to wrap his head around the idea that he was going to be a father. Less than an hour ago, he'd wondered if he had lost the only person he loved, and now, he was finding out that they'd started a family.

With a bark of laughter, he pulled Lucy into his arms, holding her closer than he ever had before. "God baby..." He laughed again, shaking his head. "Here I was thinking you were cheating on me..."

Stepping back, she glared at him. "What? How could you think that I'd do something like that?"

"I'm sorry babe. It just freaked me out...Hey, wait a minute. This is kinda your fault for lying to me."

His accusation brought a frown to her face, and she winced. "Okay, that might be true, but I just wanted to be sure I was pregnant before I told you. And you should know I'd never cheat on you. I love you."

He found he couldn't stay mad at her, not when she was standing there so contrite, saying those words. And she was pregnant. God, she was carrying his baby. It was so incredible.

He reached out for her again, cupping her face in his large hands. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

Her lips lifted marginally. "It better be a lot."

"It might be," he teased, then dipped his head and took her lips in a gentle kiss.

He knew she'd never know what she meant to him. She'd never be able to see how much she'd changed his life, but that was okay. She didn't have to understand it just yet. He had the rest of their life together to show her, and he would. He'd make sure both she and their child knew that they were his whole world.

A/N: Aww...look at that sappy stuff! lol Okay guys, you still have time to contribute to GaLu Week, and don't worry if your submissions are late. I'm cool with GaLu all the time! :D Here's the prompts once again:

1. DATE

2. TRUST

3. TOUCH

4. LONELY

5. COMMUNICATION

6. GUILT

7. SECRETS