/disclaimer/:: i only own your soul.
/title/:: veni, vidi, vici
/summary/:: Luxus conquers babies. Erza watches. — Erza/Luxus; fluffzilla
/note/:: not that anyone's particularly familiar with my writing style, but this will be written in short bursts of text because i hate dragging on.
—
Never mind the 'what' that is obviously unexpected, it's the 'who' and the…well, primarily the 'who', yes, that is most unexpected here…Luxus' figure walking into the guild...the image is rarely accompanied by anything cute.
Erza notes how big his hands look, how utterly terrified and awkward he looks. She's probably the only one who sees it that way. His face is taut, like he's trying so hard to keep it from running off the rest of his head.
Because everything is personal in this guild, whether they realize it's an accusation or not, things immediately take a sharp turn towards 'commitment'.
"Where'd ya get your baby, Luxus?"
"The brat yours? You knock up some chick?"
"Your baby looks kinda cold, ya know…"
"It…it isn't mine you bunch of morons," he growls, frozen nose blending into the rest of the rising blush dusted over his face. Erza has to admit she's tempted to make jokes as well, the way his huge coat makes him look like a bear. Her breath fogs the mob around him in her vision to make a pretty late-autumn picture though, so she doesn't move from her spot.
"You say you found it," Mira says softly, producing something to swaddle the kid in out of nowhere. Erza blushes, getting a better look at the little booger tucked away like a plucked cherry. She can't tell if it's a boy or a girl. It doesn't have a lot of hair yet, either.
"It was cryin' and stuff in an alley so…I dunno…it fell asleep when I put it in my coat…"
"That was a good thing to do," the eldest Strauss praises, letting everyone crowd a little to have a look. Bixlow claims it has Luxus' face, Fried telling him he's an idiot because Luxus' face isn't that fat. Natsu pokes its cheek, and for an instant there's a hush that falls, then teasing giggles when Luxus barks at him to keep his grimy hands off.
"You might break it, idiot," he mutters, frustrated and grumbling when Mira shoves the bundle back to him good-naturedly and leads him to where she thinks they can let it nap.
"Of all people, Luxus found a baby," Lucy says, face deadpan and devoid of enthusiasm. "It's going to die."
"He won't keep it," Cana says matter-of-factly, shrugging. "Even if he couldn't just take it to an orphanage, he'd just find someone else to take care of it."
"As long as it's not me," Gray says avidly.
"Gray-sama as a father…" Juvia remains unresponsive after letting this tumble out of her mouth. Erza shakes her head and starts walking away.
"You can't even keep your clothes on. Nobody would even ask you."
It's what her autopilot is used to responding with, but her feet are tracing the way into the infirmary now. That huge coat is sitting on a chair, the bed swallowing the tiny person snug in fuzzy cloth and oblivious to the confused, troubled face staring down at it. Erza stands in the doorway, waiting for him to turn to look at her.
"You didn't just find it, did you," she asks. Otherwise, he would be angrier. He would be louder. He would be less contemplative. He would be less...this. She thinks, anyway. Does she even know him as well as she thinks?
He doesn't say anything for a minute, yellow hair almost gray with the dusty light through the window.
"She was walking away from it. I saw her leave it. Nobody even stopped or did anything."
"The mother?"
"Yeah."
His words are crafted, each like he's pulling metal, pounding it to sound harder than it probably had in his head. This is Luxus' armor, and Erza can respect that.
"You did, though."
"Ha…"
He misses the smile, so she lets it linger a while so it might warm his back.
—