Zeref's Pain
Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail
Summary: Zeref doesn't have the perfect childhood, but he'll do his best to survive. AU.
Author's Note – I'm taking a drabble I made for Dragon Family Values and turning it into a mini multi-chapter fic.
Chapter 1 (Rated M)
"Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, ends with a tear. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one smiling and everyone around you is crying."
If only life was truly that simple. And for the newly created Dragneel family, it really wasn't.
Aki and Haru Dragneel, having only been married for nineteen months—six of those months with their newborn, Zeref Dragneel—were at their wits' end. Having a six-month-old baby boy should have brought nothing but joy and wonderful prospects for the future for such a young and seemingly happy couple.
However, having a child so soon had done nothing but create a rift between them. One they weren't sure they could mend.
Ever since Zeref had been born, Haru had done nothing but devote all of her time and energy to raising their young child, leaving Aki to earn their income. But every time he left for a job and returned home, he began to notice that his young wife paid little to no attention to him at all. It made him feel as if he were worth nothing but the reward he received.
And maybe that was true.
This was what probably led him to his first moment of weakness: giving into the advances of someone who made him feel like more of a person rather than an empty shell that brought home the bacon.
And when Aki's wife had found the not-so-innocent note in his jacket pocket, both of their worlds seemed to crumble.
"What is this?" Haru screeched, flailing the note in her husband's face. "How dare you do this us!"
"Us? What us? You spend every waking minute with Zeref and ignore me completely! And what you've said in the last thirty seconds is more than what you've said to me for the past week!"
"What? Are you jealous that I'm taking care of our son?"
Aki paused. "Yes. I am saying that. If you'd give me the time of day, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Can you really blame me for wanting affection—from anyone—when I can't even get it from my wife? And you won't even let me take Zeref off your hands because you think I'm incapable of being a father!"
"You're incapable of being a husband as well if you're going to cheat on me!" Haru hissed. "I can't believe you did this. I'm telling your mother…and I'm going to tell her what you've done."
He knew she'd do something like this. But his mother would just tell him not to do it again and that would be the end of it. If Haru would only be his wife, then he'd swear this would never happen again. Never.
"Do you have nothing to say for yourself?" questioned Haru, looking lost now that her anger had dissipated.
"What more do you want me to say? Do you want me to tell you that this will never happen again? Do you want me to get down on my knees and apologize to you? Is that what you want?" he snapped.
"It's a start," she replied quietly. "I want us to have a second chance at this…us."
Haru wanted more than anything for things to work out between them, but it was becoming too much. The honeymoon was over. This was the real world—real life. Nothing could have prepared either of them for this.
They were too young. They'd moved too fast. But it was too late now.
A sharp cry from Zeref startled the both of them out of their thoughts.
"You should go get him," Aki hissed, crossing his arms as a flash of jealousy graced his features.
Haru swallowed hard as she went to attend Zeref. Picking him up in her arms, she shushed him until he was quiet before setting him back down. Gripping the sides of his crib, her knuckles turned white. But when Aki placed a hand over hers, she relaxed.
Looking back up at him, she saw something else in his eyes. Or perhaps it was a reflection of what was in her own.
Either way, when they both gazed back down at their child, a new feeling washed over them in the pits of their stomachs.
Hate.
It was hate.
They hated that Zeref had come between them. He'd ruined everything, even though it wasn't really his fault. But the nagging feeling wouldn't go away. Whether it was because they needed someone to blame or they just honestly hated him, they didn't really know.
And they didn't really care.
If anything, agreeing to hate the child who'd caused this mess brought them a step closer to being together again. However screwed up that was didn't matter. They'd make things work…even if it killed them.
End Chapter