"Locke, your lunch is on the tab- Oh. You've...brought all your friends."

Levy was at their kitchen table when the kids entered through the backdoor of the Redfox house, a bowl of something set before the seat beside her. She made a bit of a face at the other children, but Locke was quick to shake his head.

"They're not here to eat," he said though Kai had perked up a bit at the notion. "They're here for help."

"With what?" And she cocked her head to the side a bit, but smiled all the same at them. "Locke?"

He'd been toying with the cube on the walk over (he really wanted one of his own) and moved to hand it to his mother. At the sight of it, she smiled brighter.

"Ooh," she said as all the kids gathered around, watching. Even Haven seemed a bit interested in the whole thing. "Who's is this?"

"Mine," Kai told her as, though he was terribly concerned over whether or not she could help them, he still took a glance into Locke's lunch bowl. Stew. How lucky. "I have to figure out how to do it, all on my own, before Ravan comes back or else I lose a bet. And Erza says that I have to do it all by myself."

"Then how do you want me to help you?" she asked.

"Well...all by myself kind of sort of, I meant," he told her with a bright grin and, easily, Levy returned it.

Kai really liked Locke's mom. Kai really liked a lot of things about Locke. He liked his house, he liked his toys, he liked that he could read. The list went on. Mostly though, he really liked his-

"What are all these fucking brats doing here? Huh?"

Not his dad. Gross. Gajeel was a boar. And a bore. No, Kai liked-

"The boy can have friends, Gajeel. Just 'cause you don't have any-"

"Are you my cat or are you his, Lily?' the dragon slayer complained.

"I'm an equal opportunist," the Exceed said as he fluttered over to the table where he landed, much to the glee of the children. Gajeel and he were coming into the room for their lunch as well, no doubt. "Sounds like you're just too worried Locke will get too popular for even you."

"You know what, cat? I-"

"Dad," Locke griped a bit with a frown as Haven snickered at him. "Knock it off. They're just here for help."

"Help with what?" And then, to the complaint of his wife, he came to snatch the cube from her hands. "Ah, a puzzle cube, huh? Which one of you geeks are into these sorts of things?"

"Me!" Kai proclaimed proudly because he didn't know what a geek was.

"I want one too," Locke remarked softly because he knew exactly what a geek was.

"Gajeel, honestly," Levy told him with a frown. "Don't antagonize the kids."

"What are you talking about, shrimp? Antagonize? "

"It means-" Lily started, but it only got him barked at by the man.

"I know what it means, cat!" Then, huffing some, he took to twisting the cube around. "I meant that I wasn't doing that. I had one of these as a kid."

And the room was silent as even the kids who didn't know the man too well seemed a bit shocked by this statement.

"You did not," Levy remarked as Lily snickered.

"I did so," Gajeel griped. "I even know how to solve one."

"You do?" Kai asked, hopeful.

"Really?" Navi asked, doubtful.

"You brats. Why are you in my house?"

"Gajeel-"

Growling in response to his wife, he only remarked, "I wasn't like you little spoiled shits, with your parents and your toys and your basic needs being met."

"So," Lily sighed sarcastically, "spoiled."

"I had to find other things to occupy my time," he said as the children rolled their eyes and Haven considered just how much she could smart off to Gajeel. She gambled on none at all. "Between training with Metalicana and fighting for my own survival, what else was there to do? Can only make up so many stories in your head when you're bored. You gotta have something to do."

"So you went out and bought a puzzle cube?" Levy asked while Navi only muttered to Haven about how, by far, Locke's daughter was the most verbose. "Gajeel?"

"Ha. No." Shaking his head some, he said, "I stole it off some other geek, like this one here. What's your name? Raven?"

"I'm Kai," the little boy complained. "And my brother's name is Ravan."

"Tshe," came the sound from the slayer's mouth. Twisting and turning the cube with far more ease than those before, it only took a minute or so of silence before he presented Kai with a slightly altered challenge. "See here? I made a cross with the squares. You should be able to solve it from there."

"Wow!" Snatching it right up, Kai held the cube victoriously above his head as Marin cheered. Haven only made a face though.

"You know you still have to solve the whole thing, right?" she asked to which the boy only shrugged.

Life was a journey, after all. A few steps here, a few steps there, everything changes.

Kai, throughout it all, was always an optimist.

"Ha ha, Ravan," he snickered as he looked over his cube, as if guessing his next move. "I'm gonna win!"

"Now get gone, brats."

"Gajeel," Levy sighed. To the kids though, she did say, "Locke has to eat and then do his chores. He can't play now."

Assuming any of them wanted to play with Locke.

And that was a big assumption.

Haven made it clear enough as the children, now minus both the older boys, headed back out. Navi wasn't so sure if she agreed with this, but without Locke around to keep Haven at bay, found best to just nod her head in agreement.

"Are we going back to the guild?" Marin asked her older sister as they walked off from the house. "Daddy said-"

"I'm not, no."

"Haven-"

"I'm going wherever I want."

"But Daddy said-"

"Laxus doesn't tell me what to do. He-"

"But he said-"

"I told you I don't care!"

Navi decided to hang back some, from Haven and her sister as they fought (they were literally headed towards the guildhall anyways) and instead fell in line with Kai who, paying no attention to where he was headed, hardly even noticed.

They were probably the least likely to interact in any way of the group. Navi had known Marin since they were babies and, considering Haven was kind of sort of her best friend, maybe, sorta, that meant she at least knew the other girl. Spent the night at her house. Hung around her. Kai though, she just found to be...well, odd.

Worse than Ravan, either, which was hard. Ravan was a jerk, but an understandable one. Kai seemed to be equally aloof as he was blissful towards that fact and it was rather off putting, overall. Marin found it to be cute and the others just ignored it, but Navi was rather in tune with others and the awkward vibe Kai gave off just about killed her.

Still, it was terrible having to listen to the two Dreyar girls argue and, to alleviate this, she asked Kai, "So do you think that you can do it?"

"Do what?"

"You know,"s he said with a shrug and a nod. "Get the cube done before Ravan comes back."

"I dunno," he admitted though it was with a grin. "But probably. I'm really, smart, you know."

"But you've already ruined the cross that Gajeel made for you," Navi pointed out. "And-"

"We'll just go back," Kai told her. "If I screw it up too much. And he'll help me-"

"Uh, no." And Haven was back into their business then, for some reason. Her argument with her sister hadn't ended in tears from Marin though, so honestly, it was already better than expected. "We won't."

"Why?' Kai complained. "If he'll help me-"

"Because I don't want to have to go back to Locke's house today, so I'm not."

"But Haven-"

"Don't say my name. Don't even talk to me," she told him with a glare. "I don't like you, Kai. I only went with you guys to Locke's because I had nothing else to do. By the time you're stupid self realizes you need to go back, I won't be available."

"Available," Marin repeated slowly as the word was rather large for her and cumbersome.

"I," she told them all loudly and proudly, "am going with Laxus to train."

"Well, Navi will walk me back to Locke's then," Kai decided as he finally glanced over at the pink haired little girl. She only frowned at him.

"Why do I gotta?" she asked. "Can't you walk yourself there?"

And even Marin seemed to give Navi a look for even asking.

"He'd get lost," the youngest Dreyar explained.

"We could be so lucky," the older griped.

"Besides," Navi went on, "I have to go home eventually too, you know."

No, Kai didn't know. He and Ravan didn't have this weird 'checking-in' system the other kids had and, overall, it seemed pretty tedious.

Navi didn't want to let on then, though, that she didn't really have one either. Her mother seemed to like to keep an eye on her, but Natsu more or less thought that when they weren't hanging out together (and he constantly wanted to hang out together), she should just be able to go do whatever. He kind of wished she didn't and was more like Happy, who he couldn't get rid of if he tried, but he had to let her spread her wings, as it were.

Or at least that's what Lucy said. That he couldn't constantly force her to hang out with him or else she might grow to resent it.

Rather than having to head home for any sort of parental reason, Navi just wanted to get out of what was turning into a pretty crummy situation. Best case scenario, Haven got to leave, happily, with her father, and Marin and Kai found something else fun for them to do. Worst? Haven somehow got in trouble before leaving, threw a huge fit, and Marin and Kai for some reason continued to hang around poor Navi.

Usually their lives fell somewhere in the middle.

And the latter of the worst case scenario was what Navi feared the most.

Haven, for all her bitching about having to walk Marin back to the guildhall when she wanted to go home and get ready for her adventure with Laxus, seemed to do it through her complaining. This probably had more to do with, if she didn't, said adventure would be off because Laxus would be mad at her.

She was self-centered, righteous, and absorbed, but wasn't stupid by any means.

They had barely crossed past the Fairy Tail gates when, loudly, Kai proclaimed, "We have to go back! I screwed it up too much. I-"

"I'm not taking you." Now having completed her sisterly duties, Haven rushed off inside the hall to confer with her father over just when they were leaving. "Losers."

Marin and Kai glared after the blonde before looking to Navi who, realizing this, threw up her hands.

Of all the things she didn't want to do, having to be around Gajeel again was pretty low on the list. They'd gotten out of there relatively unscathed that times, but the man's cutting words could only be kept at bay for so long.

He seemed to dislike her in particular, just for being Natsu's kid.

"Well, I'm not taking you back," she told them with a shake of her head as both Marin and Kai stared expectantly at her. "I-"

"Oh, here you all are."

Navi grinned brightly as Lisanna, who'd narrowly missed being run into by Haven (that might have gotten her in trouble with Laxus as well, so she was counting herself lucky on that one), came over to the group of children.

"Hi, Lisanna," the older child said as Marin and Kai, who'd already been around the woman that day, only glared after Haven.

"I was actually headed over to your house," she told Navi. "Your mom was babysitting today for me. Were you headed that way?"

Now she definitely was.

But, when she nodded, for some reason, Kai thought that Lisanna was speaking to him too.

"Okay!" he said with a bright grin. "I'll go with you. Levy's real smart, but your mom's high up there too, Navi. She'll help me."

That was hard to disagree with.

Still, Navi wished she had.

Marin tagged along after informing her mother and, off they set, to the Dragneel apartment. It was as homey as always, in a relaxed kind of way. Between three kids and Navi's frequently over friends, the tiny apartment was high on traffic usually, but there was just something about the nature and charisma of Natsu that gave a comfortable atmosphere to the whole place.

Of all the homes the kids bounced around in, even though it was the tiniest, it was their favorite.

"Navi! And Lisanna!"

Happy, who was very busy helping Ajax build block towers on the floor, bounced right up as they all came into the house. This knocked over the tower, but luckily, Ajax was more entralled than displeased.

"Navi's home?" And Natsu poked his head out of the kitchen, grinning from the sight. For a moment, anyways. Then he frowned. "What smells like Gajeel?"

"Hopefully no one," Lisanna giggled as she headed right over to her son, Ajax responding in kind.

"I went over to his house, with Locke, today," Navi said as she went right over to her father. "I-"

"Salamander!" Kai, not known for manners, strode right in with little concern while Marin just followed her aunt over to greet her cousin. "Can you help me with something? Or is Navi's mom here?"

"Both," the pink haired man said as, coming further into the room, he let Navi wrap her arms around him while he only stared over at Kai. "I've been known to take on a side job or two."

"You can't charge Navi's friends, Natsu," Happy tsked with a frown.

"Not at least without a discount," Lisanna clarified.

"We're not friends," Navi decided for them all.

It fixed things up nicely.

Not bothered by this, Kai only said, "I can trade you slightly used comic books or extremely used action figures."

"Keep your chump change," Natsu snorted. "I'm looking for some insider secrets to Erza. One that only a person who sleeps day in and day out over at her house."

"Well," Kai thought as he tapped a finger to his lip, "did you know that-"

"Kai," Marin complained as she frowned over at him. "You can't give up what you got before he helps you!"

"Something tells me," Lisanna hummed while lifting her son up, "that it's unlikely he can."

"Aw, come on, Lisanna," Natsu complained with a frown over towards her. "Have some faith."

"It's help with a puzzle, Dad," Navi said as, continuing to hug him, she titled her head up to look at the man. "A puzzle cube."

"Well… Lucy is home," the man conceded to the giggles of all other than Kai. "Luce! Are you busy? Got you a job."

"A job?" came the call back. "Is that what you yelled?"

"That's what I said. And Lisanna's here, too."

It was only a minute or so before Lucy came down the single hallway, one of her babies in her arms, whining a bit. Lisanna, not one to like bothering others, spoke quickly.

"I just came by to pick up Ajax, was all," she told the other woman. "Thank you. I-"

"Oh, you can't stay?" Lucy asked with the look of disappointment. "I've been trapped here all week. Don't you wanna sit and-"

"Don't say trapped, Luce," Natsu complained from the kitchen where he and Navi had gotten off to.

"We're not holding you captive," Happy agreed as, when Lucy went to sit on the couch, he fluttered over to perch on the back of it and stare down at the sleeping baby in her arms. "We just, you know, can't function without you."

"I feel the love," she retorted as, letting Ajax loose once more, Lisanna came to join her on the couch with a grin.

"Mrs. Salamander," Kai addressed the woman then as he came closer. "I'm the one that wants your help."

"Hmmm?" She smiled at him, though somewhat tiredly, as the boy came to stand before them, his cube outstretched. "What's this?"

"It's my puzzle cube," the little boy explained. "I have to figure out how to solve it, all by myself, without anyone doing it for me, before my brother Ravan gets back home from his job."

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"To help," he said. "Without doing it for me. Don't you summon spirits? I bet one of them is good at 'em. You got a lot, huh?"

"I do," Lucy agreed, but still shook her head. "But I doubt they'll be helpful with this."

"But-"

"I'll help you though, don't worry."

So as he took a seat on the couch as well, Marin went after Navi to see what she was up to. Natsu was actually the one up to something as, with so many guests, he thought it was a perfect time to try his hand at cooking.

"Sandwiches," Happy remarked as he too joined them, "aren't cooking."

"I'm helping out," the slayer defended. "Lucy likes that."

She did.

But even she would agree it wasn't cooking.

Natsu let the girls help him out with the crafting of all the sandwiches, which he took seriously while they only giggled. Navi's father was such a shock to the other girls when they were around him as all their fathers were rather reserved and cold, in most ways. Though Gajeel could show his love with taps to the top of Locke's head and Laxus tried his hardest to give his girls what he never had, the open love that Natsu had for his daughter was noticeable to her friends.

They all ate together, the adults in the kids, littered around the living room. Lucy even went and got the other baby to join them. They were getting so big! Though Navi found herself frequently annoyed by their presence, in that moment, she did enjoy showing off her twin brothers to Kai and Marin.

Considering she was speaking to the younger pair of the other two siblings up at the guildhall, it would be lost on them to try and explain how hard it had been, getting both Iggy and Jude (though he was frequently called Lucky) introduced into her life. They did understand though how annoying they could be when, before the meal was even over, one of the babies began to sob and, of course, set off his brother. This was worsened by the fact that Ajax, for some reason, saw their tears as a reason to start his own.

Between Lucy and Lisanna, however, things were calmed with relative ease. Iggy needed to be changed, Lucky was sleepy, and Ajax was just being a brat. They were in the nursery though, sorting all of that out, when they finally got around to talking.

At first, it was over other things going on. Lucy wanted to hear all about the guild and what was happening up there. So Lisanna filled her in on what she could, but other than the past day, she'd been away for a bit as well. It was a hard jump from them talking about that and into what had been going on in Lisanna's personal life recently.

"It's that way sometimes, you know," Lucy sighed as she cradled Iggy in her arms, the baby not to be silenced so easily it seemed as he cooed back up at her. "Natsu and I were in a pretty bad place, right after the twins were born. You just get stressed and-"

"It's more than that though," Lisanna sighed as she stared down at Lucky in his crib. Ajax toying on the floor with a stuffed bear and didn't seem to mind for the moment that his mother was giving another child attention. That could change at any moment though. "Bickslow and I are always, you know, so in sync. But he's been off recently. Mentally. He's not usually so...uptight. And then we're fighting anyways, about jewels."

"I know that fight," Lucy agreed because it was becoming impossible, it felt at times, for Natsu to balance time at home and the constant influx of jobs it was going to take to support them. Lucy had started back taking them too, when she had someone to watch the twins, but it was hard to get someone to watch two babies and equally as hard to find two people to each watch one of them and then there was Navi who wasn't as hard to find someone to look after her or even to have join them on a job, but…

Things were much harder than Lucy had ever thought her life would get.

Sometimes, it felt rather bleak, even.

All the same, she wouldn't change it for a second.

And she knew her husband felt the same way.

"I know," Lisanna giggled slightly, grinning over at the other woman. "No one said being a mage was easy."

"No one smart, anyways."

"Are you guys doing okay? Right now?" Lisanna asked and it was so broad, could apply to anything, but honestly, Lucy had no better answer than just to nod.

"Yea. You know, recently, we really have."

"That's great." And Lisanna shared another grin with her. "You know that if you need anything-"

"Same," Lucy was quick to return. "And all that stuff that's been going on between you and Bickslow… It'll all work out. I know it will."

With a nod, the other woman agreed, "I'm sure."

But from out in the hallway where Marin had been headed towards the bathroom, but stopped at the recognition of what the women were speak on, things didn't sound good.

At all.

When they fell silent in there though, she hurried on towards the bathroom, as not to be noticed (eavesdropping was an offense punishable by a finger wag from Mirajane). Still, the entire thing bothered her even as her aunt walked her and Kai back to the guildhall.

"Navi's mom was great," Kai informed the two white haired ladies as they went along, Marin holding her aunt's hand tightly, but silently. "She showed me how to make that cross thing that Mr. Gajeel mentioned before and showed me how after that I have to...well, she wrote it all down and you can read it to me, Marin, and-"

"Aunt Lissy," Marin interrupted as the woman grinned down at her. In one arm she held Ajax, of course, but the other was holding just as tightly to her niece's as her niece was holding to hers. "Can I spend the night tonight? With you and Uncle Bickslow?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Lisanna said with a grin. "But why?"

"Daddy and Haven are gonna go training and Mommy's gonna stay up at the guild and I don't wanna stay up there forever with her," she told her which, for Marin, was actually a pretty good lie. It was easy too.

Gosh, she was going to have so many things on her conscious.

Pretty soon, she'd be as bad as Haven!

Err, well, Kai, maybe, or Locke. Navi was a good median.

"You know you can stay over whenever you want," Lisanna assured her. "We'll go to the hall and tell Mirajane, then I'll take you to your house to get some-"

"I can stay too, right?" Kai, who had been busy messing with his cube, looked up then. "Please?"

That got another giggle out of the woman. "Well, I guess we'll have to ask Erza about that one, huh, Kai?"

"She'll say yes," he told the woman with confidence. "With Ravan gone, she'd love to get rid of me."

"That's not true," Lisanna insisted. "And you know that."

Until, at the hall, when he asked Erza, she literally said, "Good. With Ravan gone, I was looking for a way to get rid of you."

"That's not too nice, Erza," he griped though she only shook her head at him a bit.

"I have not had a night alone in my house for over three months. That is what is not too nice, Kai."

"Well, what are you going to do all alone?"

"I've been wanting to reorganize my weapons displays for months," she informed him. "And I just got a new novel that I…that I want to read. Without interruption."

"You sure are boring."

"Kai-"

"Wont' you miss me at all."

"Not particularly."

Frowning, the boy only replied, "Oh."

"But by the second day," Erza assured him as she reached over to pat him on the head, "I certainly would. So be sure to come back, huh?"

He nodded with a grin before asking, "Can you water my plants for me though, Erza? Today? I got so busy with my cube, I forgot."

"That," she said with her own nod, "I definitely can do."


I legit had to skim through my old work to find out what I'd named Lucy's twins. I thought maybe I hadn't, so I guess it's a good thing I did check rather than just rename them. Can't remember every detail, I guess. It'd had been a bit, anyways.