A/N: Fairy Tail does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form. Thank you.

So. I wondered how they would be as children. But then I thought of Lucy Ashley and, well… Edo-verse children, here we go~

I really am sorry these are all so short this time around...

"Bu-but-but-but—"

"Shh, quiet now, you're all right," Layla soothed, petting his hair gently. The boy hiccupped, chest heaving as he held back his tears. "Lucy," the blonde woman turned to look at her daughter, raising a disappointed brow. "Lucy. What do you say?"

"Sorry." The response is bland, without emotion, and said in a total deadpan that means she obviously doesn't mean it. The boy, nonetheless, peeks a single violet eye out, turning slightly from where he's holding onto her mother tightly.

There's another pathetic sniffle before he swallows, looking up at Layla. Despite her daughter's less than stellar apology, the boy seems to believe her. She smiles warmly down at him and he raises a hand, swiping at his eyes before nodding. Layla slowly eases him back down to the floor and he stands before the little girl, head tilted down and lip still trembling slightly. "I… I'm sorry… for… for—" Layla's just about to step in, to tell him it's not necessary for him to apology, not when her daughter was the one holding him in a headlock on the floor, screaming at him. "—for saying mermaids were stupid…"

Lucy looks smug and triumphant and Layla has half a mind to send her to her room and spend the rest of the afternoon coloring with Erik, the poor boy probably too gentle for her rather… rambunctious daughter.

"It's okay. You know better now."

Layla's frown deepens, eyes narrowing slightly as the boy meekly nods. "Lucy, Erik is over to play. You need to be nice to him. If you're not, I won't let him come over anymore." Both children look startled at that declaration and Layla's shocked to see tears forming in Erik's eyes once again.

"B-but, Mi-miss Layla!" The boy hiccups, bottom lip trembling. "I li-like playing with Lucy!" Her daughter smiles over at the boy, pink blossoming on her cheeks.

Layla waves a hand, indicating they're fine and are free to go. She's already tired of trying to deal with this. If he wants to be bossed around by her daughter, who is she to stop him? Lucy takes his hand, pulling him out of the room, chattering loudly about how, if he wants, she could introduce him to Aquarius, her mother's best friend, who is totally a mermaid.

Layla can already hear the shrieks of terror.

"MI-MI-MISS LAAAAYLAAAAA!"

Layla drops her head, sighing heavily as she pulls herself to her feet. She can hear his sobs echoing around the house, her daughter's high-pitched voice loudly telling him to stop being such a baby, it was just a little water, how was she supposed to know he couldn't swim?