Baby Steps

Chapter 3

He didn't even know about it until he got back into town. And, honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that Mirajane knew everything about everyone, he probably would have stayed up at the guildhall, drinking until close, and not gotten home until much later. But as he lucked out, Mira was a very so was a busybody. And there was nothing more that she liked than to spread the gossip she overheard.

"It's just so sad, you know?" Mira asked as she delivered a beer to the table he and his Exceed were sharing. Neither was listening to her much, as she had a habit of rambling, but that didn't stop her from speaking. "That Gaia is sick? I mean, I would hate to have a sick baby at home. Levy must be swamped. Although, if you're up here, instead of at home with her, then-"

"What?" Gajeel, who was about to pick up his beer, slammed the mug right back down. "What are you talking about?"

"Gaia. Your baby?" Mira was being called over to the Thunder Legion table then and, as easily distracted as ever, said, "She had a fever or something, right? I thought that was what Levy said, but maybe I'm wrong. Not that I am very often, but- Okay! Calm down, Bickslow. I'm coming."

Gajeel didn't even down his beer. Just tossed some jewels on the table before standing up. The baby was sick, huh? You'd think that he'd have some sort of sixth sense about it or something.

"You coming, cat?"

Lily nodded, forming his wings before taking to the air. "I'm sure that it's nothing serious, of course."

"Of course," the man mumbled, though just the thought of the baby running a fever had him on edge. What accompanied fevers? Were they serious? Arg! Just so much stuff that he didn't know.

And things didn't get much better when they got home for him to find her crying and practically inconsolable. Levy was up with her, of course, and was clearly glad to see them. Even smiled when they came into the baby's room. Smiled. As if nothing was wrong. Right.

"Hey, guys," she greeted as they came in, Lily fluttering over to stare at the baby. "Back so soon?"

"What's wrong with the child?" Gajeel grumbled. "Mirajane said that she was sick or something?"

"Just has a fever."

"She's not dying, is she?"

Frowning, Levy said, "Is that really the first place that your mind went, Gajeel? Honestly?"

"Well."

With a sigh, the woman took to bouncing the baby some more. "I just can't get her to calm down is all, really."

"She is rather loud," Lily agreed as, when his wings disappeared, he landed gracefully on his feet. "But everyone must get sick eventually, yes?"

No. Gajeel just kept watching the baby and the way she had her face all scrunched up.

"Here," Levy said then, moving to pass her off to her father. "I need to go- Gajeel."

"No way," he said, dodging her. "She's all snotty and sobbing and-"

"Are you serious?"

Very. He was, underneath his veneer, concerned for his daughter, but was not going to get himself all gross just for her.

"Hold on," he grumbled, turning then to walk from the room.

"Where are you going? Gajeel-"

"I'll be right back," he told her. "I just need to get something."

"What? Gajeel!"

But he only headed off to go fetch his acoustic guitar. If the baby wasn't happy, well, he'd make her that way!

For his own sanity, of course. He couldn't stand the sound of wailing, after all. He was just trying to fix things for himself. Duh. Not for some other silly reason that he knew Levy would think up. No way.

"What is that?" Pantherlily asked as the man came back into the room, guitar in hand.

"My acoustic, idiot," he grumbled, frowning at both of them in preparation for the ribbing he was about to get. "The hell does it look like?"

"We know what it is, Gajeel," Levy said with a frown. "We were more concerned about where it came from."

"I bought it, of course."

"Of course," his cat mumbled.

"When though?" Then his wife thought of a better question. "And why did you go get it?"

"Because," he grumbled as he slung the strap over his shoulder. "It's gonna calm the baby down."

"Uh, no," the woman said, trying hard to keep a smile on her face. "That's okay. Really, Gajeel, she's fine."

"Clearly," he grumbled. "She's not."

"And you think," Lily asked slowly, "that your…guitar play will help?"

Neither he nor Levy could keep a straight face at that one. And, with a growl, Gajeel told them, "Me and her have a thing. A…a…bond, Levy. Over music. My music."

"Right," she said slowly. "The baby likes out of tune, horrible, and loud music. Okay. Makes sense."

"It's true! She enjoys me playing the guitar for her. She, unlike you two, appreciates me."

"We appreciate you, Gajeel," Lily was quick to tell him. "Just not…your musical abilities."

"Or," his wife added, "lack there of."

"Just shut up. Both of ya," he grumbled before looking to his baby again. She was still just as upset as ever. "And watch this."

It took a minute or two, actually, and in that minute, Levy gave him this still skeptical look while Pantherlily debated whether or not it was rude to reach up to cover his ears. Rude won out, but that didn't stop him from wanting to.

And, when the baby stopped, it seemed at first less like enjoyment and more like she was confused by the sound. And then, when Gajeel started that horrible singing of his, Levy about put a stop to it. It was, after all, truly the worst 'skill' that he had. But, just before she could, it happened.

The baby giggled, moving in her mother's arms to look over at him. And Gajeel was just as serious about his playing as always, revolting as it was, and took little notice of this. But both Lily and Levy did, the former glancing up at the baby in shock. She kept giggling too, her tearstained face turning into a grin as she watched her father.

When he finished the song though, he just stopped playing and glanced over at the three of them, face as serious as ever.

"See?" he complained. "I-"

"Gajeel," Levy groaned as the baby started sniffling again, almost immediately. "I will never tell you this again, so soak it up. Please play another song."

"Fine," he grumbled as he started strumming again. "But not because you asked me to!"

Even Lily stuck around to listen to the, well, technically it was music, but no one other than Gajeel would ever call it that. Gaia too, apparently.

He played her to sleep that night, as it was the only way to keep her from crying. Levy had never been happier for her husband's perceived musical abilities and figured she never would be again.

"It is almost too quiet," Lily remarked as they all left the baby to sleep in her room. "Without all that noise."

"It's ain't noise, cat," Gajeel grumbled. "It's music."

"So," Levy prompted as they just followed the man as he went to put his guitar away. "When were you gonna tell us?"

"Tell you what?" He still wasn't happy with the two of them. "Huh, shrimp?"

"About how," she began, but had to stop to giggle, "you and the baby have this little connection?"

"It ain't a connection," he told them both harshly. "It's just me, a very talented musician, practicing while my daughter, who clearly has a keen ear for it, listens. That's it."

"You went out and bought a new guitar," Lily remarked with his own grin and teasing tone. "Must be serious."

"I needed an acoustic," he told them both with a slight snarl. "So just drop it."

"It was so cute," Levy went on as Lily finally did let a snicker loose. "Watching you play for her. I think-"

"You don't know nothing," he told them both with a frown. "What? A man can't broaden his horizons? Huh? Can't be a hardcore blues player and an acoustic master?"

"I still don't see how that sentence has anything to do with you," Lily told him as Levy started giggling too.

Growling some more, he stalked away. Stupid shrimp. Stupid cat. He knew that letting them know would ruin everything. But what could he do? The baby clearly needed him to lull her off to sleep.

Not that that was why he did that! No way. He just…well he…

Ugh. Becoming a father was worse than originally planned.

Still though, now that the secret was out, he didn't have to wait around for him and the baby to be the only ones home. He could play for her whenever he wanted. And, the next morning, when she woke up a tad whiny, he just sat her down on her bedroom floor with some toys before getting down there with her.

"Go away, Levy," he grumbled as he strummed idly, just enough to keep the baby happy. She was for the moment, just sitting there staring at him as some snot ran down her face. Not that he was reaching over there to wipe it for her. Gross. She could figure that stuff out on her own. He was the entertainment and that was all. "If you're just going to bother us."

"I'm not bothering you," she reasoned as she stood there, staring in at them. "At all."

'Yes," he retorted. "You are."

"How, Gajeel?"

"You're here to tease me and-"

"Is that what you think? Huh?"

"It's what you and the cat were doing last night," he accused. "You-"

"We were laughing at how cute it was, Gajeel. And the fact that she actually likes this…music." Again, it was a reach, but hey. The baby was young. She'd learn. "But not that you were spending time with her or anything like that. We're not making fun of you or something."

"Like I would care if you were," he said, trying to sound as insolent as possible.

"Gajeel, it's not like it's something to be ashamed of anyhow," his wife reasoned. "That you and the baby both have something in common. What? Do you think that it'll make you weak? Huh? To actually enjoy being around your daughter?"

With a frown, he moved to set his guitar to the side and get to his feet, much to the annoyance of Gaia who took up whining almost immediately.

"Gajeel, honestly?" Levy made a face at him as he tried to leave the room. "You're such a baby about things."

That got him to stop, though it was just to glare at her. "What?"

"You heard me," she said as she went to go lift up their daughter. "You're always so convinced that everyone's against you or is talking behind your back that you won't even let your guard down at home. Around us. Me and Lily love you."

"Shrimp-"

"And it's just stupid that you're going to stop playing with her because you think that we're teasing you or something. Which, by the way, we're not. Lily isn't even here! And-"

"Don't feel so high and might. I didn't stop because of you," he grumbled. Then, suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "I sensed them coming."

"Who?" she asked, but he just grunted before heading off to answer the door. Levy was quick to follow, her daughter still whining from her arms.

It was Lucy and Lisanna, of course, who she just remembered then she'd been planning to go out with. And, when they saw that Gaia was sick, they were more than ready to cancel, but Gajeel only grunted and took the snotty mess from his wife.

"Get outta here," he growled as he just turned and walked off. "I like to practice alone anyhow."

And by alone, he meant with his baby. Always. From that point on.

Levy didn't really want to go, but the baby's fever had been down all morning and Lucy and Lisanna had come all that way, after all. After she was gone, Gajeel just went right back to what he was doing, which calmed Gaia right down.

"I don't get them," he told her simply as the baby chewed on some toys and he played his guitar for her. "And why they need to be around one another constantly. Women. Don't make no sense. The only people I need to see is the shrimp, the cat, and you, baby. That's it. But they gotta get together and talk about one another and other people and… She's gonna tell them! I just know it!" Then, as an afterthought, he was quick to say, "Not that I'm embarrassed by you or anything, baby. Not at all. But this isn't exactly how I want others to think I'm spending my time. I-"

"Gajeel?"

He would have jumped, had he been a lesser man. With a frown, he looked over at the doorway and was suddenly reminded that Lily was still very much home. The Exceed just stood there though, staring in at him.

"Are you…speaking with the child?" he asked slowly, coming closer.

"Of course not! I-"

The cat just shook his head. "It is alright. I do it too."

And, to his surprise, Lily came to sit down and listen to him play too.

"You do?" he asked, hardly strumming then. Just enough to satisfy the baby. "Really?"

'Of course," Pantherlily said as the baby waved at him. Returning it, he said, "She is a very good listener. Understanding too."

"Yeah," the slayer mumbled. "She is."

"I have much that I must get out, you know."

"You do?" He didn't know, apparently.

"Of course." Lily coughed and, if only for a second, Gajeel could have sworn that he looked nervous. No way. Not Pantherlily. Not his kitty. "I do not just exist around you, you know. I have my own life traumas as well."

"Traumas, huh?"

"Well, what do you talk to the baby about?"

Mostly how underappreciated his music was.

"Nothing, really," the man said with a slight shrug. "She mostly just listens to my music."

"Yes, well," the Exceed said as he scratched at his head. "It does not sound nearly as bad. On an acoustic. It almost sounds decent."

Gajeel almost didn't accept that, but, well, it was probably the best compliment he was going to be getting any time soon. At least until Gaia could speak better. And by then, who knew? Her tastes might change. He couldn't be too picky.

"I am glad that we have the baby," Gajeel said then, almost softly. If he wasn't playing so halfheartedly, it would have been drowned out. "If only 'cause she's so helpful with my music and stuff."

"Yes, well," Lily said. "Everyone has a purpose."

"Yeah," the man agreed, fighting a grin as he looked over at his daughter. "I guess everyone does."

When Levy got home, she was glad to find that the baby was napping and had eaten a little. She was mostly happy with Gajeel though.

"Thanks for watching her while I was out," she said as she went to give him a kiss. He was sitting at the kitchen table with Lily, drinking a beer, but did let her kiss his cheek.

"She is our baby too," Lily pointed out as Levy went to stroke his ears a little.

"Of course she is," she said. "You guys just got home from a job though. That's all. I figured that you'd wanna rest all day."

Shaking his head, Gajeel said, "The baby needed us, so we were there. And you deserve to go out sometimes. Me and Lily do enough."

"I guess so."

"I'm serious, shrimp," he told her then as she went to go start on dinner. "And…I'm not ashamed, okay? Of the baby or whatever. Or you. Or that…that I love you. So don't act like I am! And I don't wanna talk about it anymore."

Lily just blinked as Levy smiled over at him, if only a little.

Everyone had a purpose, after all. His just so happened to be to look out for his family. And if that meant sparing a few inner thoughts from time to time for the shrimp's sake, so be it.