Lazy Afternoons

If there was anything that Lana Dreyar loved, it was apples. And trips the park. Ice cream. Her pet doggies (brothers). Tickle fights. Stuffed animals. Ooh, and she really, really liked puppet shows.

Somewhere very high up there, however, was her daddy. And her mother as well, of course. Really, if it came down to it and she actually had any reasoning skills above if she bit, she'd get put in timeout, she might have understood this concept. Since she was only three, however, the hopes of that happening anytime soon were zilch.

But she was sincere in her ways. She did care very deeply for her parents. Perhaps at times not as much as ice cream or apples (food, duh), but certainly a lot. They did a lot of things for her, after all. Sure, her aunts and uncles and other random babysitters did a lot for her, but even in her young age, she realized that most of her time (and their energy) was spent with them doing things for her.

Or stopping her from doing things.

Like eating random things.

Lana really liked eating things.

Even non-food things.

She didn't like them so much then when they stopped her from eating things, but she did still love them. And, maybe, one day she'd be thankful they'd done so.

Maybe.

Probably not.

But maybe.

Anyhow, one of their favorite things to do for her (if only because it was the easiest) was entertain her with stories. Laxus, her father, took on this job more often than her mother, if only because, well, the man was quite self-centered and loved to talk about all the adventures he had partaken in during his more request filled days. Sure, Lana wasn't necessarily a captive audience, but she was an audience, which was definitely great. Definitely.

Sometimes though, when they were having a lazy day and Mirajane didn't have anything more fun planned for them to do (she was constantly trying to fill their time together with such things), her mother might tell her a story. If she asked, that was.

Such was one of those times as they laid in bed one day, in the middle of the afternoon. Mirajane had just gotten off work and wanted to catch a nap, which just so happened to coincide with Lana's usual nap time. And Laxus was there too because there was no way that he would miss an opportunity to be with both his girls (or at least that's what he said; in actuality, all of the Thunder Legion already had plans). The doggies (Lana's brothers) were there too, Tenjin sleeping at the foot of the bed and Raijin, always the attention hog, with his face in Mirajane's, begging his mother for kisses and pets.

It was while she was gently stroking the dog's soft, golden fur that Lana, who wasn't tired and was happily singing to her father (he was trying to be just as happy listening; she'd been singing for twenty minutes), noticed something on her mother's hand.

"That's ring," she explained loudly to them all. Tenjin, down on the edge of the bed, twitched his ears at the sound. "Mommy."

"Hmmm?" Mirajane glanced at her daughter. "What, baby?"

"Ring, Mommy," she explained to the woman, reaching out to pat at her hand. "Ring."

"That is a ring, isn't it?" the woman agreed, moving then to admire it as well, much to the annoyance of poor Raijin, who wanted more attention right that second. "You're so smart." Then, giggling, Mirajane added, "It's my wedding ring. You know that, huh?"

Maybe. Maybe not. What she did know, however, was how impressed her father was when she showed off her very broad (in his mind) vocabulary.

"Good, Lana," Laxus yawned, reaching over to gently ruffle her white locks. "My good little baby dragon. Huh, hatchling?"

Meh.

Still, she giggled, rubbing her head into his touch while Mirajane just sat up some, still staring at her wedding ring.

"Have you never noticed my ring before, baby?" the woman asked though, by that point, she'd more or less lost the child as Lana moved to pounce on her daddy dragon, the man falling willingly back onto his back at the attack. "It's pretty, isn't it?'

One could call it that. If they wanted to. Lana didn't. But whatever.

"Daddy," she giggled as she sat victoriously atop his chest. "Fall down."

"That's just 'cause you're so strong," he conceded. "You- Hey! Raijin! Stop licking me! Mirajane!"

She was far more busy admiring her engagement ring and wedding band, which both sat on her finger. Mmmm.

"You know who gave me this, don't you, Lana?" she asked as, bored with her father who was mostly just yelling at her biggest brother, Raijin, the toddler climbed right off his chest and back across the bed to her mother.

"No."

"Yes, you do," she said as the white haired child only sat there, her father wrestling with the overly energetic Raijin behind her. "Daddy did. At our wedding."

Hmmm. Then, "I 'member."

"No," Mira giggled. "You don't, silly."

"Yes."

"You weren't there, honey. It was before you were- Laxus, do not hurt him!"

"He's biting me!"

'It's love bites, you big jerk." Then, in a softer voice, she called out, "Come to Mommy's side, Raijin. Daddy's in a bad mood."

"I am not," he growled as, finally, Raijin bounded back across the space to Mirajane. Tenjin, finally, lifted his head a bit, staring up the bed at all of them. "I just don't want him slobbering all over me."

"Sure."

"I don't. I-"

"Daddy." Lana was turning her attention back to him once more, glancing back at the man. "You give Mommy ring?"

"I gave it to her," he corrected. "And of course. What sorta sorry dragon do I look like to you, baby demon? Huh? I'm a man of culture. Refined taste. Of course I treat my woman to much of the same."

When Lana just stared, Mirajane said, "Yes. He did. Because he loves me."

"Well, yeah, there's that," the slayer agreed, Lana giggling just from the word. Love. She loved the word love. Mostly because it usually meant kisses were coming soon. "But a lot more too."

"Give Daddy ring?" she asked her mother then. "Mommy?"

"Huh?" Mirajane was stroking the diamond then, on the engagement ring, still able to recall the day it was presented to her. "Oh, no, sweetie. Girls don't buy the rings. Boys do."

"Daddy have ring." She pointed then to the gold band the man was sporting.

"Well, yeah, but I didn't buy it for him," Mirajane said. Then she frowned. "I put it on his finger, I guess, at the wedding, but rings are more of a woman's thing. Not a man's. It's a whole ordeal, after all, Lana. Picking out a ring for a woman you love."

Laxus shrugged as he sat up some. "I just went in, told the guy how much I's gonna spend, and then bought the one that looked the biggest."

"You did not."

"I did too."

"Shut up, Laxus," Mirajane told him with a frown. "You're only confusing her."

"Mirajane, she's not even following the conversation! And hasn't been since it started. So-"

"Funny," his wife complained. "When you're telling a story, suddenly she has the comprehension skills of an adult."

"A young adult."

"Lax-"

"Daddy took tons of jobs, Lana," the man said, gently tugging the girl back over to him. She fought him for a moment, just to be obstinate, but gave in when he placed a kiss to the top of her head. "To save up for that ring. Because I do love Mommy. And I knew how much it would mean to her, when I gave it to her. And then I had to save up again, for her wedding-"

"It wasn't that expensive," his wife complained. He just stared over at her. "It wasn't. Just...a few S-Class jobs worth of jewels."

Grunt. Then he snuggled Lana a bit. "I would spend a lot more on yours, Lana, but you're not gonna get married, are you?"

Not if she had to wear a stuffy dress like she'd seen in her mother's wedding photos, she wasn't. It was bad enough when they made her wear them now, for important events. One would think it would be cool, not having to wear pants, but it wasn't. Dresses were always getting snagged on stuff or tracked through the mud and then Aunt Ever would scold her for not being lady like and Mommy would complain about having to clean it later and ugh! Lana just liked running around naked. Then she could just take a bath and be done with it.

Honestly, she didn't understand why everyone didn't feel that way, as she'd yet to learn the definition of modesty much less decency. After all, she sometimes ate off the floor and regularly liked to smell her feet (they were quite interesting at times).

"Yes, she is," Mirajane said a tad forcefully. "She has to."

"Why does she have to?" The slayer raised an eyebrow at his wife. "You sayin' that Lana can't be a strong, independent woman? That she needs a man in her life to define her? Huh?"

"No," the woman sang. "I just want to plan her wedding."

Heh. Figures.

"Well, Lana's not getting married," Laxus informed Mirajane. "She's gonna live with me forever."

"I do not agree with that idea."

"I'm sorry, did I say that you were allowed to stay with us?"

"Don't get on my nerves right now, Laxus." She didn't even glance at him. "Not while I'm reliving how amazing our engagement was."

"It wasn't great! I was gone constantly, trying to get money, nearly the entire time."

"Yeah," she agreed, "while I got to sit around and plan our wedding. That sounds perfect to me."

"You hear that, Lana?" He nuzzled his head against his baby's. "Your mother's over there picking on me. Tell her, baby, how that's not allowed."

"No' woud!"

"Yeah," Laxus agreed, glaring over at Mirajane who, at the moment, was trying to keep Raijin from nuzzling up against her, so she could continue staring at her diamond. "Not allowed, Mira."

"Do you know what else Daddy gave me, Lana?" the woman asked then, glancing over at the two of them. "On the night he proposed?"

"Mira," the slayer complained, ceasing his snuggles of their daughter to throw his hands over her ears. "Don't talk about that in front of-"

"What are you talking about?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked back with a frown.

"Not whatever the heck you think we did when you proposed," the woman complained as Lana titled her head back, staring up at her father while also patting at his hands, which were still firmly over her precious little tiny dragon ears. "I'm talking about how we went on that train and to the-"

"Oh." He dropped his hands then, much to the enjoyment of the giggling Lana. "Alright then. Carry on. And listen up, hatchling. This is important."

"Oh, it's important now?" Mira tsked.

"If you're braggin' on me, then totally."

"To'ly," Lana agreed, nodding at her mother. Still, the woman only smiled and Raijin moved to lick at his (pretend) sister's face. Tenjin had already fallen asleep, however, and ignored them completely. "Mommy."

"Well, sweetheart, before we were rudely interrupted," the woman began, "I was going to tell you about how, before he proposed, Daddy took me on a train ride. And you know how much he hates trains-"

"No, she doesn't," the dragon complained. "Because that's not true."

"Sure."

"It's not."

"Well, anyhow, Lana," Mirajane went on. "He took me on this train, right? Out of town? And it was so much fun! We used to never leave Magnolia for dates. We still don't. Ever. Go on dates now, I mean, but-"

"Mira," Laxus complained. "I went out and got us dinner just last week."

"And we ate it in separate rooms."

"It's not my fault you didn't wanna eat in me and Lana's fort," the slayer retorted. "All yours."

"All you's," Lana repeated. "All you's."

"You know, honey, you could repeat after me sometimes," Mirajane pointed out. "It wouldn't be horrible."

Nothing. Just Lana and Laxus sitting there, waiting for the rest of the story. And Tenjin nappin' some more (he'd spent the entire night before howling loudly at the moon; literally entire) while his big brother Raijin rolled onto his back to get his belly rubbed.

"Well, anyways," Mira went on when it was clear she wasn't going to get what she wanted. "We went on a train, out of town, and Daddy booked us these great reservations at this fancy hotel. And at this great restaurant, really close by."

"Is that what I got you?" the slayer asked with a frown. "Oh. I thought you were going to say when we got back to the room and-"

"Laxus!"

"What? I wasn't gonna say it."

Heh.

"So," Mirajane began once more, loudly than before. "we spent, literally, the whole weekend up there and we didn't call home or anything. After that first night, when he proposed, I mostly just sat around and stared at my ring. And you sat around and stared at me, huh, dragon?"

"More like the bill you were rackin' up."

"You'd promised me room service."

"I said nothing about those bottles of wine you kept-"

"It was implied."

"Sure."

"You give Mommy ring," Lana said with a giggle, snuggling up to Laxus then as she stared up at his face. "No give you nothin'."

"Hey, that's right." The slayer sighed. "I guess I was just a better fiance than she was."

"I gave you Lana," the woman pointed out, shifting away from Raijin then and across the big bed over to where her baby and husband were. Grinning at him, she said, "And I think that is worth way more than a silly ring."

"Definitely," he agreed with a nod. "Sentimentally and jewel-wise."

"Laxus."

"It's true. My baby's expensive. She always needs stuff." Then, directing his question towards Lana, he asked, "Do you need new toys, Lana?"

She knew how to answer that question. "Yes!"

"And new clothes?"

"Yes!"

"How about some new little hair ties for when Mommy does your hair real nice?"

"Yes!" Her voice was so high pitched then and full of enthusiasm that, finally, Tenjin had to bound up the bed, Raijin not far behind, to attack their little sister.

"You knock it off, you disgusting beasts," Laxus complained as the toddler giggled, shoving at the slobbering mutts. "Have you no couth?"

No. Not at all.

Did he forget that they were just poor, senseless doggies?

"Leave 'em alone, Lax," Mira complained, settling slowly back into the bed once more. "They're playing. Aren't you, Lana?"

"Yes!"

"Well… And hey, demon, you didn't finish tellin' her how awesome I am!"

"I told her about how you got me reservations at a hotel," the woman pointed out as she snuggled under the blankets, turning to face away from them. "And dinner. And a bunch of wine. Oh, and the ring. What more do you want, Lax?"

A lot. But, staring over at his wife, who was clearly exhausted after her packed work schedule the past few days, he just wanted to be right there, right then, with her and their...children. And, with a sigh, he settled back into the bed as well.

"Nothin'" he told her as, finally, the dogs ditched Lana for the sound of another dog barking, somewhere off in the distance. They high tailed it right out of the bedroom to go run around the house and bark for a bit.

It was okay though. They'd be back in ten minutes when they finally got scared of the other dog (and perhaps, even, the echos of their own barks that they mistook for other dogs), leaving them to rush back to the safety of their parents. Mostly their daddy. He'd bark right back at the other dog! Err, rather, them for disturbing him, but it had the same effect.

"Raijin!" Lana complained, trying to crawl after them as they ran out the open bedroom door. "Tenjin!"

"No, hatchling." Laxus pulled her right back though. "You stay with me and Mommy. They'll be fine with out you. Trust me."

Always.

Just not when it came to her brothers.

He seemed to be rather annoyed with them most days.

"Mmmm," Mirajane moaned, back still to them as she settled out. "Let's all be quiet for a bit, huh, Lana? It's nap time. Okay? For Mommy?"

If she had to…

Laxus, however, just snuggled up too Lana, not giving her the chance to escape on them, while staring over at his wife. "I'll wake you for dinner, Mira."

She just laid there though, facing towards the door way, staring absently down at her hand as she considered sleep.

Even all those years out, it was the best diamond she'd ever seen.

"You're buying?"

"I'm making."

Through a yawn, she added, "And we'll eat together?"

Nuzzling against Lana who, finally, seemed to be done fighting the fact she was tired, he said, "We'll eat together."

It felt like a Lana and Laxus day to me.