Remember Me
Chapter 1
It was cold enough outside for his breath to fog up as he walked down the street, the only sound being his footsteps echoing against the ground. The sun wouldn't be up for another two hours, but the sky was already lighting slightly. Good. He'd get home right before it was time for her to wake up.
When he got to the house, he was as quiet as possible getting in and walking around. He didn't want to wake her up early, after all. In the bedroom, he found her where he thought she'd be, all curled up in bed, breathing softly. He didn't check on her first like usual. Not anymore.
Instead, he dropped his bag at the foot of the bed before heading over to the corner of the room, where the crib sat, housing the silent child.
Silent. He was so relieved. Part of him was afraid that it would be crying when he got there, which would only aggravate his headache. No good. That's all the baby had done before he took off on the job. Cry. Constantly. And that was him looking back after a month and a half, after nostalgia set in.
Looking over the side of the crib, he found the baby sleeping in it, of course, laying on her back while snoozing. He just stared down at it for awhile, watching her. He had only been around for a little over two weeks after she was born before he had to go out on a job. One that ended up lasting over a month. He kind of felt bad.
Just a little. It was always decided, from the first time Mira spoke about them having a child, that he wouldn't be around much. He didn't want to be around much. He told her as plainly as possible that kids just weren't his thing. At all. And she had agreed and told him that she just wanted a baby for herself and that as long as he was helping by doing jobs, she had no problem with him being mostly absentee.
He figured originally that that wouldn't be too bad. And besides, Mirajane really wanted a baby. Partially because, well, Levy and Gajeel were having a kid and she thought that it looked fun. He tried to explain to her though that a kid would pretty much kill their entire relationship, but she just sort of laughed at him, that way she always did when he was negative.
Pregnant Mira, when they got to that step, was a lot to deal with though. She was, for the most part, just pure evil. In his eyes at least. One minute she's cry and wants him and then the next she tells him that she wished that he would just leave for real and never come back. It was horrible. And they went through all that for a kid? When he could just get her a pet to keep her company while he was gone?
His attention was taking back to the baby all of a sudden, its eyes opening to reveal deep blue irises. He just stood there, holding his breath, waiting for the baby to begin crying.
But she didn't. Instead, she just laid there, staring up at him. He stared for awhile, still holding his breath. He had never seen her awake, really, without screaming her head off. After about a minute though, he relaxed and decided that she wasn't going to start up. Good.
Slowly, the baby brought her left hand up to her mouth before sticking her fingers in there. Disgusting. That was another thing about babies that he had explained to Mira. He didn't do spit, vomit, poop, piss or any combination of the four. Oh, and snot. Snot was definitely another thing that he just didn't do.
"Laxus?"
His breath caught at the sound of her voice. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that she was sitting up in bed, watching him. He grinned before looking back at their baby.
"You should be more alert, Mira," he told her softly. "If I wanted to, I could have snuck in here, taken her, and left." Then, sneering, he added, "Though I pity the person that takes the daughter of Satan Soul."
He heard her slowly get out of bed and come over to him. The second she was close enough, her arms were around his middle and her head was pressed against his back.
"I got us so much money, Mira," he told her softly when she wouldn't let him go. "Took care of a major job. I'll tell you about it later, okay? Were you fine while I was gone? With money?"
"Mmmhmm."
"You sure? I worried about you running out or something."
"Even if I did, Elfman and Lisanna would never let me-"
"I don't want to talk about them right now."
She released him finally before taking a step around him and standing by the crib herself. When the baby saw her, she made a noise.
"Oh, good morning, silly." Mira reached down to pick up the baby while Laxus only stood by with a frown.
"She's bigger than when I was here."
"It's been nearly two months, Laxus." Mira was careful as she cradled the baby in her arms. In response the baby smiled slightly wiggling one of her arms. "Mmmm. You wanna hold her?"
Laxus only shook his head slightly, still watching. "She, uh, has more hair too."
"Mmmhmm. She's gonna look just like you." She grinned at him then. "It's still a little early for me to start getting ready. Did you wanna talk?"
"Doesn't she need…to be in there?" He nodded at the crib. When he had been there last, they had to practically walk on eggshells, keeping quiet near the child, or else it would disturb her. "Or-"
"She's not a newborn anymore, Laxus." Mira was staring back down at their daughter then. "She likes to hear people talk anyhow. It soothes her."
"A lot changed in a month," he mumbled. "And a half."
"A lot," Mira agreed.
"I didn't think…it was that long."
"You never do."
"Mira-"
"You don't have to defend it to me." She went back over to the bed then, sitting down on the edge of it. "Come here. You have to hold her at least once. Do you not want to?"
"I don't… What if I drop her?"
"Laxus-"
"I mean, I have held her before. A few times. Before I left. What difference would it make now?" He only shook his head. "Besides, I want to take a shower."
She wouldn't look at him then. Only sighed. "'kay."
Still, it took him a few moments of just standing there before turning and heading back out of the room. Shower. After his shower, he'd be fine. Then he could eat something, sleep some, and be ready to rest for a week or two. Yeah.
The warm water was welcome and he stayed in the shower for some time. When he got out, he took some time shaving as well. He hadn't had a chance to get rid of his facial hair in the past month and knew that it was probably best to just go ahead and get it out of the way. He didn't care for it and Mira had never seemed to like when he grew his beard out.
When he finished with his shower, he listened for Mira and heard her in the kitchen, talking to the baby as she did something in there. Hmmm. She was probably making him breakfast. Maybe. Just in case, he figured he had better head in there before he went to bed.
He found, as he predicted, Mira quickly working on making food that he had no doubt was for him while their daughter was laying in her playpen, just outside of the kitchen in the open room. He peaked in at the baby who didn't seem to care for him at all before going into the kitchen.
Mira was still saying something, talking loudly so the baby could hear her, as she went around preparing his food. He cleared his throat, but she only smiled brightly at him over her shoulder when she saw him.
"Laxus." She was in a good mood again. Sigh. "Are you hungry?"
Grunt. He went to get a glass of water.
"Haven's in there all alone," she said then slowly. "Maybe you could go play with her?"
"How?"
"Hmmm?"
"How do you play with a baby?"
That time when she looked over her shoulder at him, she frowned slightly. "Laxus, honestly?"
Grunt. "Wasn't part of the agreement anyways."
Rolling her eyes, she went back to the stove. "You could at least go wait in the living room with her. If you want her to ever bond with you, you're going to have to spend some time wit her. Especially considering you'll be leaving again soon."
Grunt.
"When do you think you'll be going again?"
"Don't know. Few weeks. Maybe." He glanced back into the living room. "I got a nice amount of jewels for the last one though."
"You were gone awhile though."
"I told you I would be."
She only sighed. "Anyhow, didn't you want to tell me about your job?"
So that's how they killed the time as she made him breakfast. Dinner, really, as he was going to bed right after. When she was finally finished, she just gave him his plate before going to get the baby and head back into the bedroom. Whatever. Maybe they'd be more in sync the next day.
After he was finished eating, Laxus went back to the bedroom, where he found the baby in her crib once more, but no Mira. She was in the bathroom, probably. He only went to go watch Haven for a minute or two, making for certain that she was alright. He was playing tough for Mira, but he really didn't want anything to happen to the kid. It was weird. He didn't want it, but at the same time, he didn't want anything to happen to it.
Then he stripped for bed before going to lay down. Being home didn't really feel real until he woke up there, after all. So he went to sleep.
"There you go. Are you ready for your nap? Huh?"
That wasn't Mira. That was the first thought that passed through his hazy mind as he woke to a groggy feeling. Peeking open an eye, he grunted slightly.
That stopped whoever it was that was talking. When he rolled onto his back, he found Lisanna was in the room, tending to the baby over by the crib. Lisanna?
"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"
He blinked. "What are you doing?"
"It's time for her nap."
Grunt. "Here is what I meant. Where's Mira?"
"Working, of course," Lisanna said with a giggle as she went back to settling the baby in. "I take the morning shift and she takes the afternoon and night. So that one of us is always here with Haven."
He sat up slightly, rubbing at his eyes then. Lisanna avoided making eye contact with him though when she glanced at him.
"Mira wanted one of us to go to the store."
Grunt.
"I was going to go for her, but then you showed up and she said you might want to."
Grunt.
"I didn't think so. So anyways, she said if you wanted me to go, then you had the jewels, so-"
"In my duffle bag," he grumbled slightly. "And I'll know how much you took, so-"
"You're so silly, big brother Laxus."
That woke him up fully.
"I told you not to call me that."
And that's exactly why she did. She remembered on Laxus and Mira's wedding day, how red he turned when she coined that name for him. More embarrassment than anger, she was sure. Ever since, it was practically the only thing she called him.
"Woops."
"Just get out of here."
"Can you take care of the baby all alone though?" Lisanna was riffling through his bag then, but he didn't care much. As much as he tried to make it seem otherwise, he did rather think of Lisanna as a little sister. It was hard not to. He and Mira had been together for nearly five years and married for a little over two. Lisanna was a constant fixture in his life, as Mira never liked her far away. Not after being without her all those years ago. "It's her naptime, so she should sleep until I get back."
Grunt.
"If she wakes up, she might be hungry. Can you make her a bottle?"
Grunt.
"I won't be long. And you can change a diaper, right?"
Wrong. That was in direct violation to the rules. It fell under the Laxus Doesn't Deal with Bodily Functions clause.
Still, he just grunted.
"Okay then. And remember, don't yell at the baby."
Grunt. If they really thought that he was going to yell at her, then why were they leaving her with him? Huh?
After Lisanna was gone, Laxus laid around for some time before getting up. Again, he just peeked in on the baby, making sure she wasn't, like, dead or something (imagine explaining that to Mira), before going off to take a leak.
When he got back to her, it was with panicky movements. It was crying! Shit. Shit. Shit. Why did he ever say he could do this?
"Hey." He glared down at the baby. "What's wrong with you?"
That did nothing. Then he sighed. He was going to have to pick her up. Ugh. What if he…did something wrong? Gah! Why does he always get himself into such stupid situations?
He tried to mimic Mira as best he could when he lifted the baby into his arms, trying to remember all she had taught him from those two weeks he had stayed in the beginning. But even once he was cradling her, it didn't stop her from screaming. What did Lisanna say again? Something about a bottle. Or diapers.
"Please don't be smelly," he grumbled as he leaned his head down and took a whiff. Nope. So no poop. Good. And she didn't seem to be wet. "And I lied about that bottle stuff. I'm pretty sure you don't just drink milk from the jug, do you? 'cause if not, then we're kinda screwed, kid. So please don't be hungry. I can't make formula."
It took a lot of pleading and rocking, but eventually the baby calmed down. He was relieved…until she totally spit up and some of it got on his shirt.
Gah!
He knew that babies could do that, but seriously? That was more of a violation to the agreement than the whole diaper thing.
So then he had to shift her to one arm and root around to find something else for her to wear. Apparently puking was just what she needed though, because then she went back to making noises and not crying. Which was great…if they both didn't have her vomit on them.
"You're more annoying than Mira," he complained as he laid her down on the bed to chance her. "You know that?"
He had already gotten her back in her crib and was busy changing his shirt when Lisanna arrived back at home. She had come immediately into the bedroom to make sure that everything was okay.
"Everything's fine," he grumbled as he faced his closet while pulling the new shirt over his head. "Except the kid freaking puked on me. Is it sick or something?"
"Oh, Laxus. It's just spit up. Babies spit up a lot. You don't have to change every time it happens. Just wipe if off your shirt and-"
"You're disgusting me." When he glanced back at her, he saw that she had two bags overflowing with groceries in her arms. Making a face, he asked, "Do you make dinner now?"
"I'm over here, so I usually make myself something to eat, yes."
"Then you should be helping pay for the groceries. Where's my change?"
She only giggled before turning to leave the room. "You're so cute, Laxus."
"Lisanna-"
"Come help me put the stuff away."
He checked on the baby again, but she was just laying there, so he figured she was fine. Then he headed after Lisanna. He really wanted his change back.
"Where's my money, Lisanna?"
"Big brother Laxus-."
"I'm serious."
But he wasn't, because she most definitely would give it back eventually. She was just toying with him again. She was always toying with him.
"Mirajane said that you-"
"Don't change the subject."
"Help me put stuff away, Laxus."
Frowning, he began to do so. Lisanna kept glancing at him though and smiling. Ugh.
"So I'm guessing that you aren't very fond of spit up?"
That got a look. "Shut up, Lisanna."
She giggled. "Elfman will be here soon."
"Elfman? Why?"
"He likes to spend time over here with Haven too."
"Well, tell him not to. You don't even need to be here."
"I don't?"
"No," he told her gruffly. "It's my place, so-"
"What are you going to do when she spits up again?"
Hmmm.
"And are you going to make yourself dinner?"
Great points.
"You can stay," he decided. "But Elfman needs to fuck off."
"You know, Laxus, that we're the ones that have been helping Mira while you've been gone. And we will be when you leave again. So maybe you shouldn't bother us, huh?"
Now she was getting on his nerves. It wasn't like he and Mira hadn't gone over exactly how their lives with the baby would play out beforehand. She knew that the only job he would ever have was being a wizard and that he would continue to take jobs off the board in the guild. It was the easiest way to get them money. The baby was her deal, her desire. Not his.
When they finished putting the stuff away, Lisanna went to get the baby while Laxus settled out on the couch in the living room. Part of him wanted to go back to bed, but he other part wanted to go out. The main part of him realized though that Mira would want him at home, with the baby. Although…her sister was over. So maybe-
"Here, Laxus. You wanna hold her?"
He frowned when Lisanna came into the room, his daughter in her arms. "No. Why would I?"
"Were you not the one that wanted me to leave a minute ago?"
"Yeah, and I was just going to leave her in the crib. Why-"
"Because, Laxus, you can't just leave a baby in the crib all day." Was she scolding him? 'cause he really couldn't take that. "They need stimulation."
Grunt.
Lisanna gave up on him then and went on caring for the baby as she usually would during the day. He just laid around on the couch, watching. Eventually, she put the baby down on the living room floor, laying some soft plush toys around her. Then she went into the kitchen to start on dinner.
The baby seemed fine by herself, but Laxus knew that secretly Lisanna had put her in there for him to pay attention to. And it wasn't like he had much else to do…
So he focused on the baby, watching as she laid on the ground, mostly just making noises and waving her arms. He was honestly more worried that she'd vomit again or something equally disgusting.
Then he heard the front door open and of course it was Elfman. When wasn't it stupid Elfman?
Elfman seemed shocked to see him, apparently not even having gone to the guild that day, or else Mira would have told him that Laxus was home.
"Hey there," Elfman greeted stiffly to which Laxus only nodded slightly. Just as quickly, Elfman singled in on his little niece, down there on the ground. Laughing at the sight of her, he quickly lifted her into his arms.
"Ah." Elfman just looked silly, given his size and stature, holding a small child. Laxus figured he looked the same way. "Been waiting to see you all day, little one."
Great. Elfman talked to the kid too. Was that a normal thing? Because Laxus cared enough about her, he never wanted anything to happen to her, but talking to her like that? In front of other people? No way. No freaking way.
The baby though responded well enough to him. She seemed to like him. Maybe she recognized him? Hmmm. He wasn't sure if babies could do that. Though if Elfman was around as much as Lisanna implied he was, then it was possible. Maybe.
Ignoring Laxus completely, Elfman headed off into the kitchen with his baby. Which just ticked him off so much because…well, he wasn't sure why it pissed him off. At all. He hadn't wanted to carry her, but…he didn't want Elfman to have her. Maybe it was just a possessive thing. He totally had that problem with most other things.
He pushed off the couch before heading into the kitchen to see what they were doing in there that was so freaking important.
Lisanna was just chopping vegetables though, as expected while Elfman was at the table, Haven in his lap as he spoke loudly to his sister about some job or something. Whatever.
Randomly though, Elfman would look down at the baby and say something specifically to her. Laxus narrowed his eyes at that as he went to get himself a glass of water. He had long gotten used to his wife's siblings just coming and going as they pleased, but now that his baby was a factor in that, he was learning that he minded. A lot.
What if the kid, like, bonded to Elfman or something? Huh? Then what? Would it start talking about real men and stuff? Because Laxus had a lot of problems with that. Not to mention, it wasn't Elfman's daughter. It was Laxus' daughter. And he felt some sort of thanks towards Elfman for watching over her, but still. His baby. End of story.
Then, out of nowhere, the baby started crying. Lisanna looked over, but Elfman only groaned.
"Oh no," he groaned. "I think she needs her diaper changed."
His dragon nose was no help to Laxus in that moment. At all. "Yeah, it's definitely that."
"Elfman, can you-"
"Sure, sis. You're cooking and all, so-"
"No." Laxus' mouth was speaking for him without him wanting it to. "I'll do it."
Elfman seemed surprised, but only shrugged as he stood to pass the child off to her father. "If you're so insistent, have at it. Believe me, it's a welcome offer."
"Laxus, have you ever changed a diaper?" Lisanna asked, worried. "I mean-"
"I got this," he grumbled, quickly heading out of the room.
It was then that he promptly found that he did not have it. At all.
Like seriously though, what higher being thought that it would be a good idea for little babies to be able to produce…what Haven had? Huh? That was the most vile thing in the entire world. And he felt bad for her, fine, because he knew how uncomfortable she must have been, but he felt worse for himself. A lot worse.
And he had a sinking feeling that the baby planned on doing that multiple times a day. More than once a week would have been bad enough, but a day? Gah! And he couldn't even get mad at anyone, but himself and his stupid possessive streak. Like seriously, would it have hurt anyone to let Elfman change the kid? No. But he had to go and volunteer.
Oh, and damn Lisanna for letting him think that he could deal with that. Traumatizing. Seriously. Why did Mira even want a kid if it was only going to do that in return? Huh? There are animals that aren't even that bad!
Then the baby had the audacity to just lay there on the floor of the bathroom and watch him as he feverishly washed his hands. As if it wasn't her complete and utter fault. Gah!
"Here," Laxus said to Elfman when he got back the kitchen. "Take her."
"You don't want-"
"Get me for dinner," was all he said to Lisanna before walking and heading back to his bedroom. He easily found his Sound Pod before collapsing on the bed. For a first day back, it had been brutal. He'd almost rather be out on jobs than at home. Almost.
When Mira came through the front door, the first thing she went to check on was Lisanna. She was sleeping on the couch, as she always was when she got off, as she usually was the one to stay with the baby all night.
"Mmmm. I made some stew," was the first thing Lisanna mumbled to her when she awoke her. "Laxus and Elfman liked it, but-"
"Thank you."
"I got to the store too," Lisanna yawned, sitting up. "I better go then. I-"
"It's late," Mira told her. "I'll walk you home."
"What? No. Laxus just got home. He-"
"I'll fucking walk you home."
They both looked up to see Laxus coming into the room, already in his shoes and with his coat.
"But come the fuck on," he grumbled as he came closer. "Who usually does it anyhow?"
"She normally spends the night," Mira told him with a sigh as she went to hug him. He only patted her on the head. "We share the bed when you're not here. If Elfman stays though, he'll walk her home."
"I'm a wizard just like both of you," Lisanna complained, frowning at them. It was bad enough with Mira and Elfman tried to protect her, but Laxus? "I can take care of myself. I don't need either of you-"
"Come on then," Laxus sighed. "Hurry up. I want to get back home and go to bed."
Lisanna complained the entire way home. About how they all treat her like a baby and think that she can't handle herself even though she was just as old as all of them. Blah, blah, blah. He eventually told her to shut up, that she was the baby sister and that's just how it went.
Then she had to go and get all emotional on him and tease him about being protective towards her and that they were siblings. Bleh. He was just trying to be nice. Remind him never to do it again.
When he got back home, Mirajane was in bed already, but she was waiting up for him. He took his time stripping, continually glancing over at the crib to make sure that the baby was still fine. She wasn't making much noise, but he figured it was normal because Mira wasn't making anything of it.
"I have missed you so much," Mira told him as he got into bed. He only rubbed his head against her neck until she fell back on her back. "It's really hard, Laxus, when-"
"I know." He kissed her neck. "Believe me, I know."
Then she was giggling and he was sort of smiling and it was a really cute moment and…and, well, then the baby started crying. It was his turn to fall onto his back.
"Did she shit again? Because I can't do that. I'm serious, Mirajane, I can't."
"Calm down." She patted his chest before getting out of bed. "She's probably hungry."
Grunt. He shut his eyes. "I know why she was in here when she was a newborn, but when does she go to her own room? I did paint that damn nursery, after all."
"It's just easier for me and Lisanna if she's in here when you're gone."
Grunt. Then, peeking an eye open, he asked, "So, like, you work again? When did that happen?"
"I couldn't take off forever, Laxus."
"I know. I just-"
"And Lisanna and Elfman are very helpful."
"Yeah," he grumbled. "I've noticed."
"They're just, like, the best brother and sister that anyone could ever have," she went on as she tended to their baby. "I just love them."
"I know, babe."
Mira came to sit on the edge of the bed as she fed the baby, right on his side. He only pushed himself up and moved to sit next to her.
"I don't think that the baby likes me much," he mumbled slightly her. "I mean, she vomited on me."
"Babies spit up, Laxus, if that's what you're talking about."
"Well, I'm not down with that," he told her with a frown. "And then if you were here when I had to change her diaper-"
"You changed her diaper?" Mira looked up at him with shock. "Really?"
"She is my kid, you know."
"I know," she said with a nod of her head. "But you always told me that you would never-"
"Things change," he told her gruffly.
"That much?"
"Well." Hmmm. "She's my daughter too, you know."
"I know. I just thought-"
"And I won't be doing it again anyhow. Ever."
Mira just smiled down at the child snuggled to her bosom, feeding. "Alright."
"I'm serious."
"I'm agreeing with you."
Grunt. Then, after kissing Mira's head, he turned to crawl back over to his spot. "It's not going to, like, vomit again is it?"
"She might spit up some, sure, but sometimes burping her helps."
"Babies are so weird." He settled out some. Usually when he got home, that night they'd fool around some, but he had a feeling that moment was over. Way over. Spit up did that. Even just talk of it. Gah! He was going to have to get that crib out of the bedroom and soon.
"Laxus." She rolled her eyes. At least he was home. Really home. She just hoped it was for awhile that time. "You know that she can hear you."
"She cannot understand me, so don't play like she can."
"She can hear your tones though, Laxus, so-"
"Then she needs to get used to it." Snort. "I mean, she already doesn't like me, so-"
"Stop saying that."
"Why? She-"
"It's not that she doesn't like you, Laxus." Mira stood then, going back over to he crib, the baby snuggled in her arms. "She just doesn't know you."
He didn't blame Mira for what she said. Because, honestly, it was true. But by the same token, it wasn't exactly something he wanted to hear. Rolling onto his side, he curled up towards her spot, not wanting to look at the crib anymore.
"Mmmm. You tired?"
Grunt.
When Mira came back to him, he just pulled her towards him, bowing his head slightly to rest it against hers. She looked up at him for that, but he only rubbed their noses together.
"It's cold."
"Uh-huh."
"And…I missed you." Then he glanced over his shoulder at the crib where the baby was (hopefully) falling back to sleep. "Both of you. I thought a lot about…this."
She tilted her head down again. "Mr. I Don't Want a Kid sure sounds pretty-"
"Don't start," he warned.
"You were the one-"
"My opinions can change just like that," he warned. "And I meant it about that diaper thing. Never again."
"I believe you." She kissed his chest. "Trust me."
He just nuzzled the top of her head again. Always.
Aye. I honestly have no idea how long this story will be (5 chapters sounds good, but we'll see). It'll be a little time jumpy, though only by a few weeks or months at a time.
This story's kind of in the vain of how I would think it would be hard for someone like Laxus to really connect with a kid. Not because he's a complete ass most of the time, but because of being an S-Class wizard. Other than Mira being a barmaid, that'd be how he'd support the family, so he'd kinda have to be gone a lot. Which wouldn't be so bad for an older child (like Romeo), who'd see the job as cool, I guess, but with a baby you'd kinda be screwed out of a chance to be around it much. You know?
