I DID IT! I WAITED A WHOLE WEEK BEFORE POSTING! (ARE YOU PROUD, GRIZ?)
Lots of kids to remember...I realize this.I figure Natsu and Lucy have a lot of love to spread around and I agree with the general view that they would be amazing parents with ridiculous amounts of children...but hey - it's not the 2 dozen Natsu told Layla they were going to have. lol
To help keep it straight, I'll make a bit of a list here.
Natsu and Lucy's kids (Natsu and Lucy are now approaching 40)
*Lark (Larcade) age 16 ...Aki age 15
*Aimi age 14 ...*Haru age 14
Hansuke age 12 1/2... Mieske age 10
Connor age 9 ...Brielle age 7
* = Adopted
Rogue and Laki's kids
Daisuke age 16
Megumi 12
Sting and Yukino's kids
Ren 15
Saichi 14
Gajeel and Levy's kid
*Sora 16
Thanks for all the likes and follows! Thank you to the Guest that recommended adding pairings to make this story easier to find in the filters as well. I didn't even realize I hadn't done that for any of my stories. (Oops?) Interestingly, Larcade is such a new character, his name isn't even available to select for main character.
Capturing his character will be difficult since there's so little known about him, but the main gist is, he's got a zen nature (except when he's destroying things - he can be spontaneous and reckless). He is known as the Hentai mage (which obviously I can't go too far with since he's only 16 in this story). Larcade's anger is driven by his hatred for Natsu because ultimately, Zeref loves Natsu more than his 'creation'.
I'm really looking forward to learning more about Larcade in the manga. He's been out for a few chapters, but I can't see Hiro leaving him out - he's a great character and I'm really looking forward to seeing how his relationship develops with Natsu. For the purposes of this story, Larcade is a hormonal teenager who is greatly confused by his ability that no one else seems to have. He has no past before being adopted by Lucy and Natsu. Although he feels that Natsu and Lucy don't understand him...well, we'll just have to see how the story develops (wink)
Lucy pulled up to the driveway, her heart immediately melting as she heard roars of laughter coming from the back yard. That could only mean one thing…Natsu was off work early and he was playing with their kids.
The laughter was music to her ears. It had been a very hard couple months as the family adjusted to life without their beloved kitty, Happy. Death was never easy to explain to children. Brielle played it out with her stuffed animals, where one of them would die and the others would be sad. Mieske often sat outside on the balcony where he'd found Happy. He never said anything, but Lucy knew he often wondered if he'd come home any earlier if he could have prevented the death. It was his younger brother, Connor, who had made Mieske see that nobody blamed him. Everyone else had tried, but it was Connor who sat him down and laid it on the line. Sometimes Connor blew Lucy away with his maturity.
She tiptoed around the side of the house, hoping to catch a sneak peak before they realized she was back. She loved watching them play. Natsu was just a big kid at heart. Sometimes, she would join their games too. But today, their game was already in session...so she wouldn't interrupt.
Natsu had his fist to his lips, using his best announcer voice. The tell-tale shirts were on the ground, distributed at 1st, 2nd, and 3rd base. A fourth shirt lay on the ground where 'home base' was located. Mieske was at 3rd base, Hansuke at 2nd, and Haru at 1st.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Natsu announced, "This is the biggest moment of the game! Bases are loaded and the Dragneel kids can still win this! It's all up to their star hitter – Brielle Dragneel."
Brielle waved at the pretend crowd, grinning ear-to-ear as she stepped up to the 'plate'.
"The pitcher ascends the mount!" Natsu announced as Aimi picked up the ball, "She looks left…she looks right!"
Aimi looked right first, making the other children giggle.
"Heeeeere comes the pitch!" Natsu said in an excited, yet hushed voice.
Aimi wound up, pitching the ball toward Brielle. Brielle swung and missed.
"Don't forget the rule, Brielle!" Natsu called, "Umpire has missed the ball! Hit it with the bat! Hit it with the bat!"
Connor, who was the umpire, scrambled for the ball as Brielle lowered the bat, bumping it lightly on the ball.
"OH! The Umpire is not chasing the ball! Something HUGE is happening here, folks! The Umpire has switched teams! The Umpire has switched teams!" Natsu yelled, "He's a Dragneel in disguise! What's this? He's throwing the ball to the bushes! It's a touchdown! It's a touchdown!"
Connor chucked the ball to the nearest bush, grinning wildly.
Lucy wrinkled her nose. A touchdown? Did Natsu know anything at all about baseball? Whatever…this was too adorable to watch.
"RUN BRIELLE! RUN!" Natsu yelled.
All the kids began to run. The three on the bases all made their way around to score at home. Brielle ran all the way around, the other kids cheering loudly as she crossed the home plate.
"THE DRAGNEELS SCORED THE WINNING GOAL!" Natsu cheered.
Lucy stepped into view. The children's squeals of excitement from the game turned into, "MOM'S HOME!" She found herself instantly swallowed up in her children's arms, all happy to see her.
"That was quite the baseball game!" she remarked to Natsu.
He grinned, playfully smooching her cheek, "What are you talking about? We were playing hockey!"
She punched his shoulder lightly, giggling, "Okay Dragneels! Let's go inside and wash up for the victory supper!"
The kids cheered, filing into the house one by one.
"I love it when you play with them," Lucy told her husband, stealing another kiss.
He grinned, "I love playing with them! In fact, I can safely say there's only one person I like playing with more!"
Lucy smacked his arm playfully, "You're bad!"
"Nope!" he denied, "I'm a man who is in love with his family and his beautiful wife!"
The smell of the stir-fry that Aki was making wafted into their noses as they entered the house. She looked up, a smile on her pretty face, as she recognized both parents were home. Her waist-length pink hair was pulled into a ponytail so that she could see as she cooked.
"Smells great, Aki!" Lucy called out, putting her jacket on its' hook, then making her way to the kitchen to help set the table.
"Thanks, Mom!" Aki replied, adding the fried noodles to the mixture in the wok, "I'm almost ready to serve. The other kids have done their chores…except Lark."
Lucy frowned, "And where is Lark?"
Aki shook her head, confirming what Lucy already suspected…Lark wasn't home yet...and that was why Natsu was home early.
"So…Friday night then?" Lark asked, running his fingers through the brunette's hair. His other arm slinked around her shoulders as he leaned in close to her.
They were seated at a small café. At the table across from them, Daisuke heaved out a sigh, shaking his head as he caught Sora's eye. Lark was two seconds away from closing yet another date.
The brunette giggled, "Okay! 6:00 at the theatre?"
Lark gave her his best smile, removing his arm, "It's a date."
The brunette giggled again as Lark returned to his own table, maintaining eye contact with her until he'd taken his seat beside Daisuke.
The brunette's friends squealed with delight, then rushed her for details.
Sora rolled her eyes.
"Do you even like her?" Daisuke asked, taking a long sip of his milkshake, "I mean, she's 2 years younger than you. Do you even know her name?"
"Michelle," Lark defended himself.
"Her name is Kacia," Sora moaned, dramatically bumping her blue-haired head onto the table, "Seriously, Lark…you've got a problem. We're going to have no choice but to have an intervention for you."
"I see no harm in dating!" Lark huffed, taking a drink from his milkshake, "Girls like me. I'd be doing them a dis-service if I didn't date them."
"Maybe you should try finding one you actually like and date her exclusively," Daisuke muttered, "Then they won't come crying to us the following week when you never call them again."
Lark shot him a look of mock-shock, "Where's the fun in that?"
"Either way," Sora reminded him, "You can't date her Friday night. You already have plans."
"No, I don't!" Lark denied.
"You do," Daisuke told him, "Family weekend, remember? You're going to Akane with the whole family."
Lark's face fell. He'd forgotten. His parents were very big on family quality time.
Daisuke and Sora glanced at each other, already knowing Lark was planning in his head how he could get out of the family vacation. In recent months, Lark had become impossibly selfish and reckless. He rarely agreed to anything Natsu and Lucy had planned for the family unless they made him do it. There'd been more than a few times lately where he'd left the babysitting of the younger Dragneels to his younger sister, Aki. He often blew curfews to do his own thing, whether it was a date with some girl he had no intention of ever seeing again, or doing something like skateboarding the boardwalk.
However, there was really no point in arguing with him. Lark was stubborn. Both Daisuke and Sora had tried.
"It won't be so bad," Sora said, trying to offer Lark a smile, "Akane Beach is beautiful."
"Probably some good-looking girls there too," Daisuke added, "And it's been awhile since you've done something fun with your family."
"Neither of you have 7 siblings," Lark muttered, "They're a pain in the ass. I really don't want to go."
"You'll disappoint Brielle," Sora said softly.
Lark sighed. He hated it when Sora played the Brielle card, knowing she was his weakness. His 7-year-old sister had Lark wrapped around her pinky finger. Maybe it was because he was the only sibling who had been old enough to help take care of her as a baby. He had a special bond with her and he didn't want to disappoint her.
Sora smiled her encouragement to Lark, knowing she'd struck a chord.
"Fine," he grunted, running a hand through his blonde locks. He stood up, putting his empty milkshake dish at the edge of the table for the waitress, "You suck, Sora."
She nodded her acknowledgement as he spun on his head, approaching Kenzie's table so that he could break their date. Kenzie, right? No…it was Michelle. Lark heard himself sigh out loud.
Whatever her name, she probably wouldn't be too happy.
"Romeo!" Rogue warned as he walked through the coffee room, eyeing the younger man with slight amusement, "If you ever want to leave the precinct tonight, you need to stop with the coffee breaks!"
Romeo sighed heavily. His partner, Natsu, had left earlier due to a family emergency, leaving him with all the paperwork.
"I should just let my dad handle it," he grunted, "That's pretty much all he does all day anyway."
Rogue shook his head, trying to hide his smirk, "Your dad has put 40 years into the force and is now getting ready for retirement! He's entitled to his desk job. You, on the other hand, have to prove yourself."
"I was supposed to hook up with Chelia tonight," Romeo pouted.
"Welcome to life as a cop!" Rogue quipped. He picked up the coffee mug in front of Romeo and poured it down the sink, ignoring the despairing cry from his colleague.
Rogue heard his cell phone go off, picking it up immediately. He spoke in a low voice for a few minutes before hanging up and glancing over at Romeo one last time before departing.
"I have something to deal with. Get that paperwork done, kid," he advised, "Because Sting and Yukino are having another one of their 'issues' and once I finish telling Sting this news, he's going to be looking for someone to take it out on."
Romeo sighed as Rogue left the lunch room, knowing Rogue was mostly teasing him. Although Chief Sting Eucliffe and his wife, Officer Yukino Eucliffe, fought often, Sting was too laid back to actually take it out on anyone. Romeo loved his job, but he preferred to be out where the action was. Paperwork was for the birds.
He knocked back his coffee cup, capturing the last precious drops that remained in the empty mug, then ventured back to his desk to begin his long, boring task.
Lucy was mulling over the papers in front of her. She sat at her desk with the latest case file. It looked like things were well in hand now. Fairy Tail's newest case involved a young couple. She had a session tomorrow the young man and wanted to be ready.
"You okay, baby?" Natsu asked, knocking lightly at her office door. He brought her a cup of tea, placing it to the side of her desk.
Lucy sighed, "Yeah. I'm almost done for the moment. Therapy session tomorrow."
Natsu nodded. His wife was a Fairy Tail counsellor, along with Cana and Lisanna, in addition to writing a column for the newspaper and creating resource material for the clients. She often came home for supper, then reviewed her clients for the next day.
She glanced back at him, smiling gently, "Where are the kids?"
"Brielle's sleeping," Natsu replied, "Mieske and Connor are in their room having quiet time before bed. Haru is taking a shower. Aimi is reading a book and Aki is watching a movie in her room."
"And Lark's not home yet?" Lucy guessed.
Natsu nodded, a dark shadow crossing his face.
"Don't be too hard on him," Lucy stood up from her desk, crossing the room to her husband and settling into his arms, "Lark's a good kid. He's growing up. He doesn't want to spend all his time here with his younger siblings."
"He's reckless," Natsu muttered, "And he's been getting into a lot of trouble lately."
It was true. In addition to being suspended for a week for blowing up the science lab, Lark had also been skateboarding in restricted areas, skipping school, and disappearing without advising his parents where he was in recent weeks. He had a cell phone, but rarely bothered answering texts requesting his whereabouts. Natsu and Lucy had been at their wits' end more than once lately.
"It's a phase. Reminds me of a pink-haired rookie cop I once knew," she chided, kissing his lips gently.
"I was never reckless!" Natsu denied.
"Really!" Lucy exclaimed, "Maybe I should call Gajeel and ask him to tell me about your driving lessons again!"
He grinned down at her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly, "I love you, Luce."
"I love you too," she replied, kissing his lips again.
"Mommmm!" a voice outside in the hall yelled, "I forgot I need a costume for school tomorrow!"
Natsu and Lucy both sighed heavily. It would be just like Mieske to remember that now…an hour before bedtime. It was a good thing she'd been through most of her case review. It seemed she would not get any more work in for the rest of the night.
"She didn't have to hit me. That's all I'm saying," Lark muttered, rubbing his sore cheek.
Kacia had not taken the date-break well.
"Kinda your fault," Daisuke laughed, "You probably shouldn't have told her you have an MMA match that night."
"Better than telling her I have a date with 7 siblings and my parents," Lark shot back.
Sora snorted, "You didn't have to go that far, Lark. You could've just asked for another day."
They were walking home now. Darkness had started to fall. The boys were walking Sora home first, since her parents, Gajeel and Levy, were rather strict about her being out alone after dark.
"Just shut the hell up about it around my old man," Daisuke warned, "Knowing our parents, they'll get talking and Natsu will end up inviting us too."
Sora laughed out loud, "That would probably be a good weekend – you should do it, Lark!"
Lark shot him a mischievous glance. Daisuke whacked his shoulder playfully.
"Of course, I could also mention it to Gajeel and Levy," Lark teased.
Sora laughed again. Honestly, she would love to spend the weekend at Akane Beach with Lark…but she could never tell him that.
Gajeel was sitting out on the steps as they neared the house. He glanced at his watch pointedly as they approached the house.
"5 minutes early, sir!" Daisuke saluted, "She's home safe and sound as promised."
"Nothing like leaving it to the last minute," Gajeel grunted, eyeing the two boys, then his precious daughter, "Did you have a good day, baby girl?"
"Yes, Daddy," she grinned, kissing his cheek as she passed him on the stairs to go in the house, "Night guys!"
Gajeel turned, giving a half-wave to the boys, maintaining eye contact with Lark for a few moments, then followed her inside. Lark watched the door closed, wondering if it had ever occurred to Sora that her parents weren't normal. It was very obvious to Lark. But then, Daisuke hadn't noticed either. Lark was the only one who could see their 'glow'.
The boys threw down their long boards, weaving through the sparse foot traffic on the sidewalks of Magnolia, as they ventured toward their own houses.
"Watch where you're going!" an old man yelled at Lark when he came a little too close.
Lark waved as Daisuke yelled out a "Sorry, sir!" then split off in the opposite direction toward their houses.
"Should I come in and tell Rogue and Laki all about Akane?" Lark called back to Daisuke, who was mere feet behind him.
"Do it and I'll tell Natsu and Lucy about the fire alarm you pulled at the mall!" Daisuke yelled back, ducking under a branch of a tree they were whizzing by.
"You just finished telling me how awesome Akane Beach is!" Lark yelled after him, "We'd have a great time!"
Daisuke waved his hand in dismissal as he turned the next corner and disappeared. Lark laughed to himself. He already knew that Natsu and Rogue had had the discussion. Rogue was planning to tell his family about their impromptu vacation tonight.
"Sting."
Rogue opened the door to Sting's office, obviously interrupting an intimate kiss between Sting and his wife, Yukino. They blushed as they pulled apart.
"Haven't you figured out how to knock yet?" Sting demanded.
Rogue chuckled, "I take it you made up again. Did you apologize, Sting? Or did she finally come to her senses?"
Yukino gave Sting a backward glance as she removed herself from his lap, "Talking about our lovers spats at work again, dear?"
Sting sighed as she disappeared out the door, closing it behind her, "Aaaaaand I'm back in the dog house. Thanks for that…asshole."
"Then you'll be thrilled to know that you're staying late tonight," Rogue quipped.
Sting glanced at Rogue expectantly, waiting to hear his news.
"Crocus sent back their review of the drug bust last week," Rogue told Sting, laying some papers in front of him, "They're faxing their questions. If you intend to take the weekend off, you'd better review it now."
"Okay," Sting sighed, "Guess I'm reading paperwork tonight instead of going home to make up with Yukino."
"You'll make up in the morning, Chief!" Rogue slapped his shoulder playfully, "Plus you'll have all weekend. It's not like your fights last more than a day anyway, but if you want, I'll grab a 6-pack and tell Laki I'll be late tonight. Romeo's staying late to do paperwork too. Maybe we'll throw a beer his way. He's already stood his date up."
Sting snickered, thinking about the irony of Romeo being the same age he and Rogue had been when they joined the Magnolia Police Department. Up until about 16 years ago, they'd been Magnolia's most eligible bachelors. However, Yukino and Laki had come into their lives out of nowhere one year. Suddenly, neither were married to their work anymore and 'a night out' meant bringing their kids over to each others' houses to hang out while the parents talked.
Unless a paperwork night came up.
It seemed the only beer time they got these days happened when they stayed late at work, doing paper work there hadn't been a chance to do during the day or familiarizing themselves with the witnesses that would be charged to Fairy Tail's care so that Magnolia police could back them up as needed.. Not that either Sting or Rogue actually minded. They both loved their wives and their children immensely. But that didn't mean that they didn't relish their man-nights too.
"Yeah," Sting agreed, taking $20 out of his wallet to contribute to the beer, "That 6-pack sounds like a good plan to me."
Lark walked down the street alone, taking in the sights around him. He wasn't really ready to go home yet. He paused to get himself a coffee from the local diner, then continued walking a bit.
He watched a young lady hurrying down the street, a young girl in tow behind her. Behind them, a tall man followed them in the shadows. Lark wasn't concerned about it after he took a closer look. The man was an Angel. He was protecting the young mother as she made her way home before it got really dark.
Across the street, an older man stopped to buy some flowers from the street vendor. He held the flowers close to him as he wandered around the corner, presenting them to an older lady. Lark smiled at the exchange as she gave him a hug, but soon his smile turned into a frown as he recognized another Angel nearby. One or both of the older couple would die tonight, he realized. The tell-tale white dress indicated clearly that the Angel following them was an Angel of Death.
Lark had learned from observation about the different types of Angels that frequented Earthland.
Guardian Angels made no effort to hide from his line of vision, although he was sure they knew he could see them. They followed their human counterparts, sometimes visibly as their best friend, and other times in the shadows as protectors. They often wore human clothes, but Lark could see a 'glow' around them. He'd stopped trying to understand why he could see this 'glow'. It made no sense no matter how he tried to come up with an explanation.
Angels of Death usually showed up suddenly. They wore the white dress garbs and golden sandals on their feet. That's how he knew one or both of the older couple was about to die.
Sure enough, the man grabbed his left arm suddenly, panting heavily. The older woman screamed, trying to catch him as he fell. Around them, people were getting out their cellphones to call 911.
Lark turned away at first. He didn't want to watch. He'd seen many people pass to the other side. It wasn't as scary as humans thought it would be. Angels were kind and gentle. The man would be fine.
But as he listened to the woman's cries of despair, he knew that she wouldn't be okay…and he couldn't ignore it. Lark put his skateboard against a tree and kneeled beside the woman. Onlookers stilled their cries of panic to watch him as he drew her into a hug.
"He's going to be okay," Lark whispered into her ear, "The Angel has come for him, but he'll be at peace. Tell him you love him. Tell him you'll be okay and you'll be waiting for the day when you can be together again. Make it okay for him to go. You're going to be okay too. There is life after death...you'll see him again."
She looked up at him with large eyes. He smiled his encouragement as she leaned down to the man's ear, whispering to him.
Lark backed out of the crowd, grabbing his board. The Angel of Death who had come for the man nodded to him, then proceeded to do his job.
Strolling down the street, he thought about the Angels he'd seen from time to time at Natsu's police station and Lucy's work at Fairy Tail. Those Angels hid from Lark. He rarely saw them, and if he did, it was usually just a quick glance. He knew they were protectors of some kind and that they often helped keep certain individuals out of the way of danger. Somehow, it was comforting since the two people who had named themselves as Lark's parents were both in somewhat dangerous lines of work. Whether he actually caught glimpses of the Angels of Fairy Tail or not, Lark knew they were there. He could often see the traces of the 'glow' they left behind.
He sighed, checking his cell phone for the current time. 9:15 pm. Aki had been sending messages after school, but there hadn't been anything for hours. He supposed he'd better go home. Natsu and Lucy would not go to bed until he was back.
In the distance, he could hear the wails of the ambulance that was coming for the man who'd just had a heart attack in the street. He offered a silent prayer for the lady, watching the pure white soul ascend to the Heavens, then continued on his way.
Romeo approached the lunch room, curious at the boisterous laughing coming from within.
"Chief?" he asked, knocking lightly at the door, "I'm done all my paperwork. I think I can go home now if there's nothing else."
Sting was sitting at the table with his feet on top of it. Rogue was at the counter, pouring himself another beer. Papers were strewn all over the tabletop. Romeo quietly wondered if they'd gotten any work done at all since it was quite obvious both of them were really drunk.
"Romeo!" Rogue greeted him, ushering him inside and pushing him down onto the couch, "We're just discussing what Sting has to do to make up with Yukino. You're just in time – we're opening the second box of beer."
"Actually," Romeo said, trying to get up, "I'm going to go. Chelia has been waiting for me…"
"Seriously, man…" Rogue drawled, "Sting needs all the help he can get…"
"Shut the hell up, Rogue! If you didn't open your yap, I'd be at home in bed with my wife right now!" Sting snapped.
"Maybe if you'd stop doing stupid shit, that'd be true!" Rogue snapped back.
"Yuki knows that I talk to you! She's being ridiculous!" Sting yelled.
"So stop talking to me about your personal shit!" Rogue yelled back.
"You know I can't do that!" Sting took another swig of his beer, "You're like a brother to me."
"I can't argue with that," Rogue sighed, "Without my advice, you'd have been divorced 10 years ago."
Sting shot Rogue a glare that could melt ice.
Romeo went slightly red, a little horrified at being caught in the middle of this conversation.
"So, who's Chelia?" Sting asked with a raised eyebrow, clearly changing the subject.
"She's new to Magnolia," Romeo said, blushing slightly, "She just moved from Margaret Town."
"Nice!" Rogue praised him, helping him open his beer since apparently Romeo was serious about not opening it since he had to meet 'Chelia'.
"And how long have you known her?" Sting pressed.
Romeo reluctantly took a sip of his beer, "Only a few months."
"So you're serious, then?" Rogue asked.
Romeo stood up, putting the barely touched beer on the table, "That…is outside of work conversation and a conversation I'd rather be having with Chelia."
Rogue and Sting exchanged glances as Rogue chucked his hands in the air, a gesture meant to tell Sting - See? Personal shit - NOT talked about at work!
"I'll see you tomorrow," Romeo waved and disappeared out the door.
The house was somewhat dark when Lark finally rounded the corner to it, but he held no illusions. His parents would both be waiting for him in the kitchen. He hadn't told Sora or Daisuke that he was supposed to be home to help babysit today. They would have refused to get a milkshake with him.
"Hello parental units," he greeted as he shut the door behind him, kicking off his shoes.
He hadn't even turned around yet, but he could feel their stares into his back.
"Lark," Lucy began slowly, "You're late again."
He turned, flashing his red cheek to his mother immediately. The sympathy card would go a long way about now. If he could keep Lucy on his side, Natsu would go easy on him.
"What happened!" Lucy exclaimed, running to him immediately.
"It's okay," Lark sighed, "It's just a slap mark. I came across a girl having a fight with her boyfriend. He went to slap her and I stopped him."
Natsu eyed his son as Lucy examined Lark closely, "Well, it appears to be okay. C'mon. We saved supper for you."
"You going to tell us what really happened?" Natsu asked, his voice devoid of humour. That was unusual for Natsu. He preferred to deal with everything lightly since his job demanded him to be serious at times.
Lark smiled at him as Lucy grabbed an ice pack, applying it to his cheek. Natsu shook his head at Lucy. She lowered the ice pack with a frown on her face, but backed away from Lark so Natsu could talk to him.
"Lark, you blew off babysitting," Natsu started, "Aki had all 6 of the kids on her own for 2 hours today."
"I forgot," Lark stated, shrugging his shoulders, "I went for a milkshake with Sora and Daisuke."
Natsu maintained eye contact with him, shaking his head slightly, "For 6 hours? Assuming you left school at 3:30, of course."
"I left at 3:30," Lark confirmed, "And we went for a milkshake, then skateboarded at the park for awhile. It's no big deal."
"Aki needed your help," Natsu told him, "The other kids, Brielle included, did all their chores and had their homework done and Aki had them do it by herself. You were supposed to be here to help her - that was the agreement when you asked for a larger allowance."
Lark shrugged again, attempting to go around Lucy so he could retreat to his room, "I have things to do too, you know. I'm not your slave."
Natsu blocked his path, anger showing in his eyes, "Unacceptable, Lark! And it's not just today! I talked to the school the other day and you skipped a few days last week…after being suspended for a week for blowing up the Science lab."
"That wasn't my fault!" Lark half-shouted.
"The teacher told you specifically not to mix those chemicals!" Natsu told him, his voice rising a bit as well, "And suddenly you think you're this master liar! And you've been pulling stupid stunts like not showing up today to help Aki. You need to wake up, Lark! Because we will not tolerate this behaviour!"
"I think –"Lucy intervened, getting between her two men and smiling radiantly to try to break the tension, "-what we mean to say here is that we don't know what's bothering you, Lark. You've never acted out like this before. What's going on with you?"
Lark was still making angry eyes at Natsu, but Natsu's expression had softened slightly. Nobody on Earthland could calm him like Lucy could. It was odd, but she had that effect on Lark too. In a motherly way, of course. He loved Lucy like he loved no one else on Earthland.
She turned to Lark, her eyes reflecting her concern, "Please Lark. Talk to us. Tell us what's going on. Are you still upset about Happy?"
He lowered his head, contemplating the myriad of thoughts in his head. It had been weeks since Happy passed away. He missed the blue fur ball. It was far from the only reason he was acting out, but it was one that his parents would buy. He nodded slowly.
"I would really like to see more effort out of you," Lucy said softly, squeezing Lark's hand, "We love you and we miss Happy too. We'll get through this as a family. I think it's good that we're going away this weekend. It'll be a good break for the whole family."
Lark nodded again.
Lucy moved out of the way to let Lark pass.
"Just try to be more considerate," she said as she put his food in the microwave.
"Okay," Lark said finally, glancing at Natsu. All of the anger he'd seen in Natsu's eyes a few minutes ago was gone now. Lark was banking on that. Lucy could pretty much diffuse Natsu's worst moods. Not that he got mad often.
"You still have to do your chores before bed," Natsu reminded him, reaching for Lucy's outstretched hand. She led him into the living room where they would watch TV together until bedtime, "and your part of the babysitting money will go to Aki for today."
Lark sighed. He was counting on that money for his next date.
Lark took the time to change out the garbages in both bathrooms and the kitchen, putting them out into the garage, then put away the contents of the dishwasher. His chores done, he could now wait for the microwave to beep and make his hasty retreat to his bedroom before Natsu and Lucy decided to check on him. He took his stir-fry to his room, placing it on the night stand before flopping onto his bed.
"Plue!" he called into his pillow.
Seconds later, he felt the familiar weight of Plue nestling beside him on the pillow. He reached a hand out, not even pulling his head out from the pillow, and pet the strange snowman-like dog.
"I don't want to go to sleep, Plue," he murmured.
Plue whined into his side, nudging Lark's hand with his snout…which looked oddly carrot-like. Something about the dog's presence comforted Lark. He often called him to go to bed with him.
Lark rolled onto his back, sighing deeply, then sat up to eat the stir-fry his sister had made for dinner that night.
Plue let out a low growl.
"I know, Plue, but they don't believe me about seeing Angels either. I stopped trying a lot of years ago to make them understand," he finished his stir-fry, eyeing the dog-like creature as he continued to grunt at him.
Plue cocked his head, letting out another strange noise.
"I know what you're trying to say," Lark sighed, "but there's no point in telling them anything. They won't believe me. And then they'll just bombard me with stupid questions that I can't answer because they won't believe the truth."
The dog stopped his noises, curling up on Lark's pillow and resting his head on his paws.
He sighed, "Stay here, okay? I always sleep better when you're close by."
The dog grunted, assuring Lark that he wouldn't go anywhere.
Lark sighed heavily, resting one hand on the dog's quivering fur.
"Thanks, Plue," he whispered, "Here's hoping for a dreamless night."
Lark closed his eyes as Plue cuddled in close.
Lark Dragneel could see Angels and did so on a daily basis. But it wasn't the Angels that scared him. He could only see them as good and pure.
It was the nightmares that haunted him at night that scared him…the ones that called his name, beckoning him to join them. He'd had them as long as he could remember, but previously, they'd been much less frequent. For the last few months, the nightmares had become a much more regular occurrence, now occurring around twice a week.
He shuddered, feeling a small wave of comfort as Plue moved a little bit closer to him, licking his hand reassuringly. Somehow he knew, Plue would keep him safe for this night anyway. He felt the tug of slumber and called out a last minute silent prayer that his sleep would be uninterrupted...just to be on the safe side.