Disclaimer: I do not own Hiro Mashima's "Fairy Tail", but all original and a plots and characters are mine.

Summary

In which he is desperate to put his little girl to bed

Inspired by

Grown Ups 2

From Fairy Small to Fairy Big

by

Magnafeana

Time for Bed (In More Ways Than One)

Ages

Luna: 6

When Natsu walked through the door and closed it behind him, he heard utter silence and thanked God for it. Going on that job with Gray proved to be more of a hassle than what it was worth, but Lucy had insisted he go with Gray as "bonding time"— whatever the heck that meant— and Natsu was certain Juvia convinced Gray to do the same thing. Still, the job was not as simple as either anticipated, which meant more fighting, which meant more destruction, which meant less reward money. If it was just him living in his little shack, receiving half the reward he should have would have not been a big issue. But he, along with Lucy, were supporting a family that all seemed to have ravenous appetites.

Lucy was going grocery shopping every two days, and that was just for snacks so the kids did not eat them out of house and home.

He quietly went up the staircase and passed by the closed doors. He could hear Igneel's wild snore a mild away.

"You know, Lucy, he gets that from you," he tried to tell her.

It earned him a blush and a pout. "I don't snore!" Lucy had insisted.

She did. Maybe not as loud, but she snorted. But that was okay. It was a quiet, cute little snore…

But was he going to tell her that and lose an opportunity to tease her? Hell no.

Natsu was about to open the door to the master bedroom when he noticed light seeping through the door. He raised an eyebrow. Lucy was still awake? He opened the door—

—and his eyes completely widened.

Lucy offered him a smile full of trouble and eyes heated with lust he nearly gulped. "Welcome home, Natsu," she purred.

He was a sucker for her purrs.

Natsu gently closed the door and took off his scarf and kicked off his sandals. "What's all this?" he asked. He promised he had no complaints (in fact, getting Lucy to pull out the fancy lingerie and wear it for him was always a big fat no), but for her to be laying on their bed with a hand trailing her thigh and that lacey nightie in his favorite color (red) was a bit of a shock.

Still. No complaints.

"Well, I just thought a I should thank you for listening to me and going on that job with Gray," Lucy told him as he made quick work of taking off his shirt and crawled on top of her. She put her hands on his shoulders and was slow to trail them down his naked shoulder blades. His eyes flashed red as he growled lowly, and her smiled turned into a devious smirk. "And with the kids asleep, I just thought we could have a little fun of our own," she told him.

Natsu dipped his head down, but his lips went to the corner of her mouth. "Fine with me," he murmured as he trailed hot kisses from the corner of her mouth to her jawline to her neck and finally kissing her Mark. Satisfaction grew in the form of a smirk when he heard Lucy's hitch of breath and he looked up to see her eyeing him like lioness challenging her mate. "Hope you're not planning on keeping this dress of yours," he told her as he lifted a hand and played with her shoulder strap.

Lucy chuckled. "I should be expecting it by now. You keep ripping off everything."

Natsu breathed a laugh with her and lowered his head until his lips brushed against hers. "I'm blaming you. You're the one driving me crazy, you little tease," he teased.

"Natsu—"

He cut off Lucy's reply with a searing kiss.

This was what he missed during his week away. Well, he missed Lucy's cooking and their kids and spending time with his family, but being able to touch his mate, his queen, his wife was so relieving and so satisfying in more ways than one. Especially when he was kissing that mouth of hers. Smooth and plump and perfect and so Lucy. From her scent that grew with each moment they molded into each other and languidly kissed to the Mark on the crook of her neck to the curves his fingers knew by heart, being with her just made him feel so—

A small sniff. "Daddy?"

Natsu and Lucy slowed to stop when they heard the sniff again.

"D-Daddy?"

Natsu groaned and buried his head into Lucy's neck while she stroked his hair. "No," he whined. "Not now."

"Your daughter's calling you, Natsu," Lucy sighed. "You better go answer."

The voice came louder. "Daddy?" was the whine.

Natsu lifted his head and looked at Lucy seriously. "Stay right there. I'm going to make this quick." He dipped his head to give Lucy one last kiss before sitting up and getting off her. As he walked over to the door, he heard Lucy's voice.

"I'll be waiting for my dragon to return to me, Natsu."

He stilled and stifled a groan. Damn that woman…

Natsu opened the door and shut it behind him before padding down the hall to his baby girl's room. He pushed the door open to see Luna looking up hopefully at his arrival.

"Daddy!" she cheered.

Natsu offered her a smile. "Hey, baby girl. What's all this whining for?" he asked as he walked over to her bed.

Luna frowned and her eyes glistened. "I had a nightmare," she admitted quietly.

Oh. Natsu sat on the side of the bed and brush a strand of hair away from his daughter's face. "What was it about this time?"

"You didn't come home."

Natsu thought his heart broke a little from the quiet confession. "Don't worry. I'll always come back," he promised. "It'd take a lot for your pops to get buried."

Luna smiled. "Yeah. Daddy's the strongest!"

"Definitely," Natsu chuckled. He gave Luna a kiss on the forehead and stood up. "Well, if that was all…" He was getting restless. Lucy was waiting for him in the bedroom with that coy smile and seductive brown eyes. He already missed kissing those lips.

Damn those lips…

"Daddy?" Natsu looked down at Luna who gave him those big eyes. "Could you lay down with me until I sleep?" she asked him in a small voice.

Damn it. With those eyes and that plea, he could not refuse.

No matter how hot he got thinking about how sexy Lucy looked in that silk number…

Damn it!

"Sure," Natsu agreed in a mutter, getting back on the bed. "Whatever you want, baby girl." Luna fell asleep easy. He would have Lucy underneath him in no time.

Underneath him… Kissing him… Moaning for him…

Natsu petted Luna's hair gently as Lucy had done with their children to get them to relax. If he got her to relax enough and drift off, he could sneak out quickly and get back to bed.

Luna sighed and shifted so she cuddled with him, and Natsu kept threading his fingers through her hair, staring up at the ceiling. She would be out like a light. She would fall asleep fast. Those were the only sentences that kept Natsu going.

After five minutes of carefully listening to Luna's breathing even out into quiet snore (she was so much like her mother), Natsu slid away from her with utmost care. He quickly replaced his presence with the stuffed fish Happy had gotten her when she was born. He paused to observe his work.

Luna was still sleeping, and he was a free man.

Lucy, here I come! Natsu cheered as he turned around and tiptoed to the door. Just as he pulled back the door, he winced as he heard—

"Daddy?"

Natsu turned around with a forced grin. "I thought you were asleep, baby girl." Come on, kiddo, just let me get back to your mom…

Luna rubbed her eyes, frowning. "I keep having that nightmare," she pouted.

Oh, please, no, not pouting…

Luna batted her eyes. "Could you lay with me some more, Daddy?"

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

Natsu swallowed back his curses and nodded. "'Course, baby girl," he agreed in an instant.

God, he was so close… So close!

Natsu went back and slipped onto Luna's bed. She cuddled to his side—

("She got cuddling from you, Natsu."

"No, she didn't!"

"Who's the one that would break into my own apartment at night and cuddle with me?"

"Oh, Lucy, details, details.")

—and Natsu curled her closer. "This good, baby girl?" he asked.

Luna nodded, sighing. "Can you tell me a bedtime story?" she requested.

"Uh, don't you want your mom to tell you those?" Natsu laughed nervously. He had just barely made it through the last time he told a bedtime story. How was he supposed to make up another one?

"Mmm-mmm," Luna hummed. She opened her eyes and looked up at him and damn him for being weak. "Please, Daddy?" she pleaded.

Natsu sighed, rubbing a hand on his face. "All right, fine. One story, then bed," he instructed. Bed for the both of them. "Okay, uh, let's see here… Once upon a time—"

"Tell me about one of your adventures with Mama," Luna requested.

Now they were getting somewhere. Natsu had plenty of those kind of stories. "Sure thing. I guess I never told you about the time your mom and I and Happy hung out with Asuka," he supposed.

Luna yawned. Good. She's getting sleepy. "Tell me," she murmured.

Natsu crisply remembered the day. "Well, your aunt Bisca and uncle Alzack wanted me to watch over Asuka when she was younger, you see? I didn't really mind that much since Asuka is pretty cool. She was definitely showing signs of being an awesome Gun Mage."

Natsu could remember when Asuka was first learning how to use her toy gun. Her parents were so proud. At first, he was proud too. But he finally understood that parental pride when Nashi began mastering her Magic and taking on small fights.

Those were the moments he cherished.

"Your mom tagged along with Haps and me and Asuka and we had a pretty great day together," Natsu explained. "But then Asuka wanted to do a job. At first, your mom and I didn't like the idea, but we got her to do small jobs. It was fun, even if the jobs were kind of boring. Seeing Asuka smile was the best part of it. You know that snow globe in Alack and Bisca's house?"

Luna hummed her affirmative, but it was drowsylike.

"Asuka bought it back for them," Natsu told his daughter. "But I guess what really made my day was when Asuka asked if your mom and I kissed." He chuckled at the memory of Lucy's blush. "Man, your mom was so embarrassed. Especially when Asuka demanded we kissed. Lucy's face was so red! But we ended up not kissing." He wrinkled his nose. "I kissed Happy instead, but I don't count that as a kiss. Still, seeing your mom so red was so cute. She's so cute when she blushes, you know? And when Asuka demanded we kiss, I didn't really mind it. I actually…wanted to kiss her."

"Well, it ain't like we're gonna die or anything..."

"Wait, wait… You've got to be kidding…"

A soft smile blossomed on Natsu's face. "Thing about your mom is that, yeah, I love her and all, but it's more than that. I like her. She's my partner and my best friend. Best thing that could've happened to me. She's been with me through a lot of stuff, and forgave me for a lot of the crap I pulled too. So, it just makes her even more special to me." Natsu turned to give his daughter a fangy grin. "Get it?"

SNORE.

Natsu looked at his snoozing youngest incredulously. You fell asleep through all of that?! Wait! An idea popped in Natsu's mind. This is my ticket to escape!

Natsu quickly slipped out of the bed, eyes darting from the door to Luna just in case she woke up. However, once he made it out of the door and closed it behind him, it was clear she was dead asleep. A mischievous grin lit his face as he tiptoed back to the master bedroom. Finally! Now, I can get my Lucy-Time!

Natsu opened the door and turned to shut it. He cackled darkly. "Oh, Lucy," he purred as he turned around. "Ready for your dragon to—?"

SNORE.

Natsu's jaw dropped at Lucy's sleeping figure under the covers. You fell asleep too?! He walked over to the bed and leaned over to poke her cheek. Still, Lucy only mumbled and quietly snored. Natsu scratched his head, disappointed. Damn… I was really looking forward to some Lucy-Time…

Natsu still climbed into bed and slid under the covers. A hand shot out to turn off her lamp, encasing them in comfortable darkness. He then brought his arms around his wife and snuggling her into his chest. Lucy instantly put a hand on his chest and muttered his name before snoring again.

Natsu grinned down at her, drool and all. Well, this isn't too bad, he supposed. He placed a soft kiss on Lucy's forehead before tucking her under his chin. Any time I get with Lucy is always Lucy-Time. And any Lucy-Time I get, I cherish.

So Natsu closed his eyes and allowed Lucy's breathing and heartbeat to be the music that lulled him into his sleep. He was home. Lucy was in his arms. Everything was just right.

Right as Natsu felt sleep tugging at him, there came a quiet sniff.

"Daddy?"

Damn it!