"Hey Luce, I got that garlic bread that you wanted to go with dinner", called out Natsu, as he shut the front door behind him. He walked into the kitchen with the grocery bags, plonking them onto the bench next to the sink. It looked like Lucy had already made a start on dinner; a rich Bolognese sauce was simmering on the stove, and the spaghetti was bubbling in a pot of salted water. He turned on the oven and put the foil wrapped garlic bread in; dinner looked like it would be ready any minute.
"Luce?" called out Natsu, wondering where his wife had got to as he put groceries away in the fridge and pantry. He had his answer a few seconds later as he heard the toilet flush, and he grinned, realising he should have known where she would be. Lucy's constant visits to the bathroom now that she was eight and a half months pregnant were a running joke between them, one that she was getting mightily tired of.
He peered around the corner of the kitchen to look down the hallway with a little trepidation, wondering which Lucy would greet him tonight. Over the last two weeks, her mood swings were getting a little… difficult. Not that he was complaining too much. At least he wasn't the one that was going to have to push a baby out anytime soon. Nevertheless, he smiled in relief when Lucy looked happy to see him, although she also looked exhausted. She was already changed into her pj's – a black singlet top that used to be his and a pair of boxers with the waistband pushed down below her baby bump. One more day of work, and she'd be on maternity leave.
Lucy waddled over to Natsu to give him a squeezy hug, well, the best approximation she could with her baby bump in the way. "I'm so glad to see you", she sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder. Natsu rubbed her lower back with his strong fingers, and she groaned in relief, making him chuckle.
He kissed the top of her head in greeting. "Did something bad happen at work today?" he asked, continuing to knead her sore muscles.
"Not really", Lucy said. "I'm just so tired Natsu. The lift broke down and I had to walk down three flights of stairs for a meeting, and then back up again. At least it was fixed by the time I left to go home."
She gave him a small affectionate peck on the lips and moved over to the pasta. "Why don't you go wash your hands while I plate this up. Should only be a minute or two before its ready."
Natsu wandered down the hallway of their small apartment to the bathroom, quickly washing and drying his hands. As he walked back past what used to be the spare bedroom, he couldn't help but stop to lean on the door frame and look, like he did now every time he walked past this door. Even though he had seen the ultrasound images, felt the baby move in Lucy's tummy, talked to and read the baby stories as Lucy giggled at him, read all the 'dad' chapters in Lucy's pregnancy books and attended every information class at the hospital, this room… this is what made it finally feel real for him.
The once beige walls were painted a pale blue, and cheerful yellow gingham curtains decorated the window. A white chest of drawers was filled with little baby onesies and singlets, and a blue pram was pushed into the corner. Nappies were stacked on the wooden change table, sharing the space with creams and baby wipes. A plastic baby bath stored underneath, a bright yellow rubber duck sitting proudly in its centre.
Lucy had painted a mural on one of the walls – a red dragon flying in a night sky, filled with silver stars and a smiling moon. A big cardboard box that contained the pieces of the wooden cradle leaned up against the wall opposite him. That was his job for this weekend; to put it together and set it up in their bedroom, ready to be used by their son or daughter when they brought him or her home.
A sudden squeal and crash had Natsu sprinting back to the kitchen. Lucy was sitting on the kitchen floor sobbing, with the upturned pasta pot and water spilled over the floor. He dragged her backwards away from the spreading water and sat her down on one of the kitchen chairs, examining her anxiously.
"Fuck Luce, are you okay? Did you burn yourself?" He turned her hands over, checking for burns, patting her pyjamas to see if they were wet anywhere, and then stooped down to check her legs and bare feet. When he couldn't find any injuries, he cupped Lucy's face in his hands, trying to wipe away her tears with his thumbs as they continued to fall. "Tell me, what's wrong? You're worrying me."
Lucy's face contorted as she tried to get words out through her sobs. "Can't do anything right", she finally managed, trying to get a hold of her emotions. "So stupid and clumsy… dropped the pot. It just fell out of my hands."
"Hey", Natsu crooned, still stroking her face. "It's just pasta Luce, it's not worth all these tears. I can just make more. Please don't cry." He put his arms around her shoulders and rocked back and forth, and Lucy buried her face in his shoulder, still crying. When her sobs started to calm down, Natsu pulled back a little so he could reach the box of tissues on the table. He dried her eyes and handed her another tissue, so she could blow her nose.
While Lucy sat on the chair, gradually becoming calmer, he began to clean up. Not wanting to risk her slipping on the wet floor, he stripped off his black t-shirt, and mopped up the water, wringing it into the sink, then scooped up all the pasta in his hands and put it into the bin. After putting the empty pot in the sink, he turned off the oven and stove and served the chunky mince Bolognese sauce into two bowls, adding a few hunks of garlic bread and a fork to each. He carried them into the lounge room and placed them on the coffee table and came back for his girl.
"Do you wanna tell me what's really wrong Luce?", he asked, helping her get to her feet. She leaned on him as they walked into the lounge room, still sniffling. Natsu sat down on the sofa, stretched out lengthways, and helped Lucy sit down so she was cradled in between his legs, her back resting against his bare chest. He reached out and started rubbing her stomach in circles. "Tell me, baby girl, I can't help if I don't know what's going on."
Lucy sighed, still hiccupping a little. "Nothing's really wrong", she said. "Just a lot of little somethings that all built up. It started when I got dressed for work this morning. My feet were all swollen and none of my shoes fit. I had to wear my slippers to work."
Natsu tried very hard not to, but a small snort of laughter escaped. Lucy hit him on the arm. "Fine", she grumbled, "you can laugh, everyone one else at work did too." That stopped his laughter, and he began rubbing small circles again, kissing her neck gently in apology.
"What else happened Luce?"
"Well, I already told you that the lift was out. I had to walk downstairs for a meeting, and when I got there, I realised that the folder I needed was still on my desk, and I had to walk all the way up there again and back down, and then I was late." Natsu murmured sympathetically.
"Then because I was late, by the time I had lunch they'd run out of all the sandwiches I like in the café downstairs. All they had left was curried egg, but I was so hungry I bought it and it gave me horrible heartburn all afternoon. But that wasn't the worst part." Natsu hugged her tighter, racking his brain for comforting phrases to say after Lucy revealed what might have made her so upset.
"I was talking to the new sales manager about who he'd need to contact for that big conference next month, when Levy popped in with the twins to say hi to everyone who hadn't got to see them when she was in hospital." Although Lucy smiled at the thought of Levy and her one-month old twins, Natsu sensed that she was about to reveal something that had really upset her.
"They weren't even in my office, they were out in the tea room. I was trying to wrap up the meeting so that I could go see them when Jonah started crying. Crying really loudly." Lucy covered her face with her hands.
"Hey, c'mon, it can't be that bad…" began Natsu.
"My boobs leaked Natsu. I was wearing a white shirt, and my boobs leaked. The front of my shirt was covered in two big wet patches. And Jason just kept staring at them. He didn't look away and I didn't know what to do! I was so embarrassed! So I pretended I had another meeting and went and hid in the bathroom for half an hour."
"Creepy bastard", growled Natsu. "Remind me to punch him for ya if I see him at the office Christmas party."
Lucy giggled, but it was a worn-out tired giggle. "I'm so sorry Natsu. I know at the moment I'm not always the nicest person to be around, but I'm just so exhausted. I can't sleep properly because I can't get comfy, and when I finally do, I have to get up to go to the toilet, or those stupid Braxton Hicks contractions start up. I keep forgetting stuff and dropping things. I don't even know what my feet look like anymore."
While she was talking, Natsu kept on rubbing her stomach. He drew up her singlet top, so it revealed the pale skin stretched tight over her bump. The baby wasn't kicking so much anymore, because the midwife had informed them that he or she had pretty much run out of stretching room, but every now and then Lucy's stomach would move, and Natsu's hand would reach out to rub and press on her skin where the baby was. When she had finished speaking, he dropped a loving kiss to the top of her head.
"Luce, you know what I think? I think today was your last day at work. It was a shitty day, and I don't think you need to go back there tomorrow. I think tomorrow we're both gonna call in sick, and I'm gonna pamper my princess while I still can, before we're both too busy running around after a newborn for stuff like that. What do ya say?"
"Natsu, that sounds so tempting, but…"
"But nothin. I'll even call the midwives at the hospital to see if we can get a medical certificate for ya to mail to them. You've already done all the hand over stuff Luce. I'll call Gajeel tonight and let him know – all the appointments we have booked in for tomorrow are smaller tattoos, he can handle it."
Lucy sighed. "Okay". Suddenly she felt like a huge weight had been lifted off he shoulders. She placed her hands over his on her belly, and they both smiled as the baby bumped a small knee, or perhaps an elbow, into their joined hands.
"Thankyou Natsu. I don't know what I'd do without you." Natsu kissed the top of her head again, and then laughed as Lucy's stomach growled loudly.
"Right back at ya, baby girl." He helped Lucy sit upright on the sofa and reached over to the coffee table for a bowl of Bolognese and garlic bread with a fork stuck in the middle of it. "Here ya go madame, fine dining at its very best."
Lucy began to shovel in forkfuls of the savoury mince into her mouth, suddenly realising how hungry she was. "So Natsu, what sort of pampering were you thinking of?"
"Well, I thought I could give you a foot massage or a back massage", began Natsu, stuffing a piece of garlic bread in his mouth. "Maybe we could watch a movie together on the sofa." His green eyes took on a greedy glint. "If you were feeling up to it, perhaps I could give you a 'Natsu Special' massage, with all the trimmings."
Lucy grinned at him. "Is that massage for you, or for me?"
"Both of us", winked Natsu, leaning across to give her a loving kiss. Lucy started kissing him back, but then couldn't stifle a yawn. "But tonight princess, it's off to bed early for you. I got lots of pampering I wanna do, and I can't do it if you're asleep."
He bent down to kiss her belly too. "Listen Junior, stop treatin' your Mumma so rough. She's the only one you got, so you gotta take care of her. Try not to tap-dance on her bladder tonight, so she can get a good nights sleep, okay?" He kissed her stomach one more time, then got to his feet, holding his hands out to Lucy. "Bedtime Luce."
Lucy grumbled, but Natsu helped her to her feet, and gently pushed her down the hallway to their bedroom. He grabbled the extra pillows, and after she got herself settled on her side, he stuffed one between her knees, and one under her bump. He knelt down next to the bed to gently stroke her forehead as she yawned again.
As her eyes drifted closed, he realised that their nights like this, with just the two of them here in their home would be coming to an end in just a few weeks, maybe even just a few days. It both excited and terrified him.
He stood for a few moments, watching Lucy sleep, her hands curled protectively over her rounded belly filled with their child. He realised that he wouldn't want it any other way.