Teething

"So what're you thinking about naming them?" Wendy asked Juvia. The two girls – along with Lucy, Nashi, Levy, and Erza– were sitting at a table in the guild, talking about nothing in particular. Just about whatever came to mind. And the current topic of conversation was Juvia's pregnancy.

"Um…" Juvia hummed, drumming her fingers on her tummy. "Juvia doesn't know for sure. But she likes Amaya for a girl, and Raiden for a boy."

"I think Amaya is a great name, Juvia," said Lucy, smiling as Nashi gummed her finger. Juvia beamed.

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, Amaya is translated as 'night rain,' right? That's the perfect name for your daughter."

"I agree completely," Levy chirped. "And Raiden means 'thunder and lightning.' Both are really good names."

"What about Gray?" asked Erza, taking a bite of her strawberry cake.

"He likes Hitomi for a girl, and Avalon for a boy."

"'Beautiful eyes' and 'the island of apples,' huh?" the sky Dragon Slayer mused. "Interesting."

"Amaya and Hitomi, or Raiden and Avalon…" said the solid script wizard slowly. Her lips curled into a blinding grin and she giggles excitedly. "I don't know which one sounds better! Oh! What will the plan be if one of the twins is a girl and the other is a boy?"

"We decided it would be Amaya and Avalon if that were to happen."

"Just the other day, I was talking to Natsu about the possibility of you having a boy," Lucy said. "I told him that your son and Nashi could wind up dating and maybe even getting married." Juvia gasped.

"That would be wonderful, would it not?" she exclaimed. "Juvia approves!" The girls at the table all laughed.

"What did Natsu have to say about that?" Wendy inquired.

"He didn't like the idea, only because it would make him and Gray brothers."

"Wow."

"I know."

"What about you, Lu-chan?" Levy piped, turning to her blonde friend with a small glint in her eyes. Lucy looked up from Nashi, brows furrowed in confusion.

"What about me?"

"Are you and Natsu thinking about having another kid?"

"Um… not at the moment, no," Lucy replied, saying it like it was obvious. "Why would we be thinking about having another kid when Nashi is only eight months old? She doesn't even have teeth yet." As if on cue, something sharp pricked the pad of the wizard's finger as it rest in Nashi's mouth. With a surprised yelp, she withdrew her hand and saw a tiny trickle of blood trail down her finger. Lifting a brow, she used a finger that wasn't bloodied and lifted her daughter's lip. Sure enough, there was a tiny white tooth poking out of her top gums. "Well, speak of the devil…" she said slowly, placing her finger into her own mouth to clean off the blood.

"What?" said Wendy. "What happened?"

"Nashi's baby fangs are coming in," Lucy responded, her voice distorted slightly with the obstruction in her mouth.

"So she's going to start teething, right?" asked Erza, setting her fork down and focusing all of her attention on her blonde companion. Lucy shrugged.

"I guess so."

"I heard that teething is relatively painful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but it's easy to soothe." Lucy shifted Nashi to rest in the crook of her right arm, letting the left to rest. "You can rub their gums, give them ice water, or let them chew on a rubber teething ring." She looked down at her blissful, giggling child and offered her a silly grin, causing her giggles to go up an octave. "It's weird though, she hasn't shown any signs of irritation. Juvia, was she acting a little cranky when you and Gray watched her last week?" Juvia shook her head, her blue hair swaying across her shoulders.

"No. She was just the sweetest, happiest child. She didn't seem irritable at all." Lucy hummed, watching as Nashi inspected her hands with awe before shoving a fist into her mouth. It really is strange that she hasn't been cranky. The book said that a child can be irritable when he or she is teething, but she's been the same happy little girl that she's always been.

Natsu and Lucy both started awake at 3:28 AM, the sound of a baby's cries echoing throughout the apartment. The Dragon Slayer groaned and positioned his head under his pillow to try and muffle the sounds of his daughter's screaming, but it didn't do much, thanks to his heightened sense of hearing. Lucy groaned as well and tossed the comforter aside as she slid off the bed, striding toward Nashi's room. "Hey, baby," she cooed, and Natsu could hear her approaching footsteps as the child's cries escalated in volume. Growling in tired frustration, he fisted his hand in the pillow and threw it onto the floor, officially giving up in trying to go back to sleep. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, his usually strong muscles straining against the simple action. His body seemed a lot heavier when he was tired, like he was suddenly made of lead.

"Why is she crying?" he asked groggily, rubbing his slightly bloodshot eyes.

"I think it's because she's teething," she answered over Nashi's crying, sticking a finger inside the baby's mouth to message her gums. Her crying dwindled down a little, but still remained high in pitch. Poor Happy was retreating farther and farther into Lucy's drawer, his paws pressing down his ears to try and block out the sound. Natsu frowned at him, a pang of sympathy bursting in his chest. The sound must be murder on his poor cat ears. He looked back up at his wife when she made a noise of frustration. "Natsu, could you hold her for a second?" she asked, moving toward him. "Message her gums while I go fill her bottle with ice water."

Natsu cocked his head to the side as he took Nashi into his arms. "Message her gums?" he repeated, confused.

"Yeah. Put your finger in her mouth and gently run it across her gums." With that explained, she trotted into the kitchen. Natsu cringed as Nashi let out something close to a scream, and he quickly lifted a hand and did as told.

"Make it stop…" Happy whined pitifully, and the fire wizard shot him an apologetic glance.

"Shh, Nashi…" the father murmured, lightly bouncing her in his arms to try and soothe her, his finger stroking her gums and taking care to avoid her sharp first tooth. "I know it hurts, baby, I know. Shh…" Lucy came back into the room and sat down on the mattress beside her husband.

"Drink this, Nashi," she said softly, positioning the bottle above her mouth with one hand, using the other to caress her defined hair. "It'll make you feel better. I promise, sweetheart." The child hesitantly reached for the bottle and pulled it into her mouth, drinking the ice cold water. After several gulps, she pushed it away, and her parents remained quiet to see whether or not it worked. She sniffled and gurgled and leaned into her father's chest, gripping his shirt in her tiny hand. Pretty soon, she fell asleep, causing the two wizards and the cat to sigh in relief. "Thank Mavis…" Lucy muttered, standing and setting the bottle down on the nightstand. She reached down for her daughter. "I'll put her back to bed."

Natsu nodded and placed a kiss on her forehead before lifting her up to meet Lucy's grasp. She turned around and walked back to her room. With the house finally silent once more, the Dragon Slayer reached down and grabbed his pillow, plopping it down behind him and collapsing into it with a groan. He really hoped she wouldn't suddenly wake up like that every night…

Author's Note: Ne, mina! Thanks to Captain Ea Rayos for the idea for this chapter! And thank you to everyone else who reviewed! I love you guys so much! Let me know what you guys thought in a review!