Pacification

Mirajane was singing, attempting vainly to get the whining toddler she was holding to stop crying.

It wasn't working.

"How come Marin's cryin' so much?"

Laxus only laid there on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Instead of answering his daughter, he only stretched his arm out, rumbling around on the bedside table before his hands landed on his headphones. Picking up his Sound Pod, he sat up some to look down at the blonde snuggled up in his bed.

"Here, Haven," he sighed, his daughter starring up at him at the sound of her name. "I know that Marin's being loud. Listen to these."

The five year old only accepted the headphones, waiting for her father to turn them on and turn the volume down before she laid back against the pillows. Laxus stayed there with her for another minute, to make sure that she was okay, before slowly slipping out of the bed. Mira had been in there for thirty minutes at least. He figured it was his turn.

"Hey," he whispered as he came into the bedroom that his two daughters usually shared. But with the younger one once again being ill, he'd let Haven stay in his room, if only so she'd sleep better. "Let me try now."

Mira stopped singing then, looking up from the little rocking chair in the room to stare at her husband. "I think she's getting sleepy."

"Well, let her get sleepy with me. You have to get to the guildhall in the morning." He came over to gently pluck the girl out of her mother's lap. The toddler didn't like this anymore than she had a single thing that day and just continued sobbing.

"Laxus," Mira complained as she got to her feet. "Let me-"

"Haven's still up. Go sing to her," he grumbled as he moved to take her seat in the chair then, putting his baby in his lap. "I want this one right now."

Mira didn't want to go, he could tell. But she'd already taken two days off from tending bar up at the guildhall and knew she needed to go back to work in the morning. As it was already midnight and she usually was up by four, she really did need all the sleep she could get.

"Fine," Mira sighed, leaning down to kiss Marin's head, brushing back the child's white hair. "I really think she is about to give out on this."

He knew better though. When Marin was upset, she could scream for at least two hours, nonstop. The pair of lungs the kid had, she could be a deep sea diver.

"Marin," he whispered after Mirajane left. She only turned away from him though, her face all scrunched up and red. She loved Laxus a lot, yeah, but she loved her mother more. "I know you want Mirajane, but Mommy has to go to bed. And so do you. So that I can."

Laxus leaned forwards then to nuzzle his head against Marin's. she didn't like this though and pushed away from him.

"I know you don't feel good. That your tummy hurts and you want us to make it better, but you won't feel better unless you sleep. Do you want Daddy to sing to you? I can."

"Mommy," the baby whined. "Mommy."

He knew too that if Mira heard her calling for her, it'd only take a few times and-

"See?" Mirajane was back. Sigh. "She needs me."

"Mira, she does this all the time. She just doesn't feel well and-"

"And you're not helping." Mira went to take her daughter back from him, snuggling her in her arms. "You never help."

"I'm trying here, Mira. You think this has been great for me? Huh?" He stood then, glaring at her. "She kept me up all day today. Whining. And then the other one's being…well, she's acting normal, but that's no good either. And the day before-"

"Then go somewhere else, Laxus." Mira turned away from him, cuddling Marin to her. "What do you want from me? She's sick."

"She's always sick. She always-"

"Well, shove a lacrima down her, Ivan, and give her to her grandfather then."

His eyes shaded over as he glared at her. And even though they were both stressed and Mira was annoyed with him, she did let out a soft sigh.

"Laxus, I didn't… I'm sorry. I'm just-"

"Marin is too loud."

They both glanced over at the doorway then as Haven came into the room, her father's Sound Pod in her hands.

"Haven," Laxus groaned. "Go back to bed. You-"

"No." She went to shove his Sound Pod at him. "I don't want this."

"Go to bed," he ordered again, taking the Sound Pod from her. "Now."

"No." That time, she went to stand next to Mirajane, staring up at the toddler in her arms. "Is Marin dying?"

"No, Haven," Mira sighed, going to take a seat once more in the rocking chair. "Now go-"

"She gets sick too much," Haven complained, following her mother over to the chair. She was tall enough then that when Mira set the child in her lap, Haven could reach out and pat her sister. Marin didn't like this.

"No," the baby whined. "No, Ha'en."

She patted her again. "Stop crying."

"Haven, leave her alone." Laxus went to grab his oldest daughter. "I mean it."

"I'm helping!"

"No, you're-"

"Laxus, leave her alone," Mira sighed when Haven fought her father off. "Haven, Marin doesn't feel well. Go get back in our bed, huh? Daddy'll be there in a-"

"Maybe she just wants to play." Haven, now free of Laxus' grasp, headed over to her toy box in the corner. From it, she pulled some stuffed animals. "Here, Marin."

"Haven-" Laxus sighed, but stopped speaking as the five year old only headed right over to her sister and placed the toys in their mother's lap.

"She likes these ones best," Haven told them as she moved to rub one of them, a stuffed dog, in the little girl's face. Marin batted at them. "No, Marin. You snuggle with them. Now! Stop being a baby."

"Okay, okay, Haven." Mirajane moved to make the little girl release the toy. "Don't shove things at her. She's just upset."

"Mmmm…have you tried giving her kisses?" Haven leaned over her mother's lap to kissed her sister's cheek. Again, Marin batted at her. "When Laxus give me kisses, I feel better."

The man only stood there, staring down at his daughter. "I don't think she likes that, Haven."

She ignored him though, continuing to press kisses to the two year old's cheeks, only to be batted way. After a few times though, slowly, Marin's cries turned to giggles.

"Ha'en," she giggled, pushing her sister away again. "No!"

"Yes!" Haven was practically in Mira's lap then, still pressing kisses to the child's face, as the two's parents looked on in shock. Haven was usually her younger sister's biggest tormentor. This was…this was different. "Marin!"

Her tears were disappearing then as Haven kept giving her kisses. And then, bored with that, Haven moved to take a step back.

"There. Now no cryin' no more," Haven instructed the toddler. Marin only reached out for her, Mira having to grab the baby to keep her from toppling over.

"Ha'en," the toddler complained. Mira only took over though, pressing a kiss to her youngest child's matching white locks.

"Thank you, Haven," Mira said then as Marin only giggled. "You're such a big girl."

Laxus and Haven left the room then to allow Mira to finally put the baby down for the night, the five year old reaching out to snatch the Sound Pod from her father once more the second they were in the hall.

"How'd you know how to do that?" he asked Haven with a frown, glancing down at the blonde. Haven only took to latching the headphones onto her ears before glancing up at him.

"You're a daddy," she reasoned, staring at him. "How did you not?"

Even though he was overly tired and still a little peeved at his wife, Laxus found himself chuckling, if only slightly.

"You're something else, kid," he sighed, patting Haven on the back of the head as they made it to his room. "You know that?"

"And you're a smelly old man."

"I'm not old," he grumbled. Then, as an after thought, he added, "And I don't smell."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Then how come you're going to sleep in here with me? Huh? Huh? Yeah, thought so."

Haven only headed to clamber back up in the bed, taking her spot in the center. Laxus slowly went to join her.

"'cause I love you, old man."

He blinked. Then he only rolled onto his back once more. "Don't mess up my headphones, brat."

"I'm not a brat."

"You're a little brat."

"Smelly old man."

Grunt. Then, slowly, he reached out to pat her on the head. "I love you too…brat."

"Laxus," she complained, but it was with a giggle.

It only took Mirajane a few minutes to show up in the bedroom, child free.

"That easy?" Laxus grumbled as Mira only went over to pluck the headphones off Haven's ears.

"Hey-" the child started to complain.

"Go to sleep." Mira sat them on her bedside table before moving to get back into bed. "And yeah, Lax. I told you that she was close to nodding off. She just needed her big sister to help her. Huh, Haven? You just love your sissy so much."

"Ew." Haven snuggled up close to Laxus, if only to get away from her mother. "Gross."

"Yeah, Mira," Laxus complained, still not opening his eyes. "Gross."

"What? I could have sworn, Haven, just from the way you were acting that you loved Marin."

"No," she complained. "I wanted her to be quiet. That's all."

"That's all, huh?"

"Yes, Mommy," she complained, still cuddled into Laxus' side. "Yes."

Laxus only grinned as Mirajane giggled.

"Okay," Mira sighed. "Since you don't love her-"

"I don't."

"-then why did you help me get her to-"

"'cause I wanted to go to sleep," Haven said. "Like now. So be quiet, Mommy."

Laxus peeked his eyes open for that, staring down at Haven. Slowly, he leaned down to press a kiss to the five year old's head.

"It's okay, kid," he told her. "I had to learn too."

"Learn what?"

"That it's okay to love creepy little demon's with white hair and blue eyes," he told her. "Trust me, things will only get better once you admit it. We can't help it. It's in our genes."

Haven took to grumbling then, hiding her face from both of them in her father's side while Mirajane only sat up some to stare at Laxus.

"It is, is it?"

"Yeah," he sighed, shutting his eyes. "It is, demon."

"Well, lucky me," she said as she laid back down to sleep. Laxus only grinned, shutting his eyes once more.

"Lucky you."

Today's a slow idea day. I'll probably start working on the sequel to Parenthood now.