"Why does he have to be with us again?" Laxus asked, crossing his arms.
"He doesn't have a partner yet," Lucy said, glaring at Laxus. It has been two weeks since Gray joined the DPA, and they still haven't found him a partner yet. Lucy managed to check everyone out, so she was sent on little missions again. They were currently going to the nearby hospital to check the babies. It was weird, but she was used to it.
"So, uh, you just have to kiss all the babies?" Gray asked awkwardly. He looked down at his hand intertwined with Lucy's and blushed.
"Pretty much," Lucy said. She was acting like holding Gray's hand was the most normal thing in the world. She was internally freaking out, but he didn't need to know that.
Laxus pushed the hospital doors open. The few people in the waiting room turned to look at them. Gray nervously looked between them. He felt like he was doing some dirty, secret operation that he would go to jail for if anyone found out.
"How can I help you?" the woman at the window asked. Laxus and Lucy pulled out their badges, showing they were form the DPA. "Of course, right this way please." The woman grabbed a box behind her and led the three to the room with the newborns. She handed Laxus the box and left the room.
"What's that?" Gray asked, pointing to the plastic box.
"Baby wipes," Lucy said. She pulled one out and wiped her mouth with it. "They can't risk the babies getting sick, so I have to sanitize my mouth."
"That's...unsettling," Gray said. He watched Lucy walk over and pick up a little boy. She smiled at it and rocked it back and forth a few times. The baby giggled. Then she kissed him. Gray awkwardly looked away.
"You're so squeamish," Laxus laughed. "It's not that big of deal."
"It's just weird," Gray said quietly, not wanting Lucy to hear. Laxus couldn't argue the fact that is was weird, seeing your girlfriend kiss a bunch of little kids.
"He's so cute," Lucy said. The little baby feel asleep in her arms, holding onto her finger. Gray smiled faintly. She looked oddly good with a baby in her arms. "Hmm, let's see," she mumbled. She looked at the crib the boy was sleeping in. She smiled when she saw the sign with his name. "Haru, huh? That's a cute name."
"Will you just put him down already?" Laxus asked. "We have at least fifty kids here. I don't want to be hear all day."
"Why don't you go somewhere else then?" Lucy snapped. "Gray's here, so I won't be alone."
"Whatever," Laxus mumbled, walking to the door. "I'll be in the waiting room." He slammed the door behind him.
"I don't know why he has to be so difficult, huh, Haru?" Lucy asked in a baby voice, rocking the sleeping boy.
"So, uh, don't you have to write something down?" Gray asked.
"Right." Lucy put Haru back in his crib. She took the bag off her shoulder and pulled her notebook out. She threw it at Gray, who barely caught it. "Write his name down, that he dies of old age, and inevitable death." She picked up the next baby, which was a little girl.
The next three hours was spent the same way. Lucy would figure out how the baby died, then Gray would write the information down. She would play with him or her for a little bit, then move on. There were about forty babies all together. When they were done, they went back to the waiting room.
"Finally!" Laxus cheered, standing up. A few people gave him weird looks. He just glared back.
"I wouldn't get too happy," Lucy said. "We still have to visit the little kids."
"Are you serious?" Laxus asked with an annoyed tone. "I hate dealing with them."
"At least Gray's here," she pointed out. "He can help keep them busy."
"Wait, what?" Gray asked. He nervously followed the two blondes to another room. Inside, there were dozens of toddlers. They were all younger than five. They were playing with blocks, coloring, and running around.
"All these kids are sick in some way," Lucy explained to Gray. "When they are no longer contagious, they all come here to play for a few hours during the day."
"I'll go color," Laxus said. He walked over to the little table and sat down. A few of the little girls blushed.
"He always takes the easy job," Lucy sighed. She pulled a coin out of her pocket. "Heads or tails?" she asked.
"Tails," Gray said, not really sure what they were flipping the coin for. She flipped the coin, and it landed on heads.
"Ha!" she laughed. "I get blocks."
"Then what do I do?"
"You get the wild kids."
Gray's eyes widened. He had to entertain the kids that were running around. He understood why they had to flip a coin. It was clearly harder to handle the wild ones. She just stuck her tongue out and walked over to the kids playing with the blocks. He played tag with the kids.
"Hi," she said, sitting down by the blocks. A little girl was stacking squares. She looked about five. She had big blue eyes, but no hair.
"Hello!" the little girl said cheerfully.
"What are you making?" Lucy asked, crossing her legs.
"I'm making a wall," the little girl said. She looked up to Lucy and grabbed a piece of her hair. "You have pretty hair."
"Thank you," she said, smiling. "You have pretty eyes." The girl blushed. "What's your name?"
"Annabelle," she said. "What's your name?"
"I'm Lucy. Can I play with you?" Annabelle nodded. Lucy smiled and grabbed a yellow triangle. She set it on top of the stack of squares. "Look, it's a castle. Everyone princess needs a castle, right?" She put her hand on the little girls head.
"Then you need one, too!" Annabelle said. She grabbed a few rectangles and made another tower. She set a pink triangle on top.
"Do you know what else every princess needs?" Lucy asked. Annabelle shook her head. "A crown." Lucy got up and went over to the coloring table. She came back with two crowns. She folded two pieces of paper into cylinders. Annabelle's was pink, while Lucy's was blue.
"You're a pretty princess," Annabelle said. "And is pretty princes needs a prince!"
"Oh yeah?" Lucy laughed. She felt bad for the girl; she was so sweet. A girl that sweet doesn't deserve to have cancer. She knew that because she was bald, and also because the worse part of her day was getting the treatment.
"Yeah!" Annabelle giggled. "I know who it is, too!"
"And who would that be?" Lucy asked sweetly.
"It's him!" Annabelle pointed across the room. Lucy turned around and smiled. Gray was chasing the kids, pretending to trip so he didn't catch them. They were all laughing. He stood up and scooped one of the girls up. She laughed and tried to pus him away. He held her by her legs and swung her. She laughed more and tried to keep her dress up. Three boys ran over and jumped on him. He let them knock him to the ground. Gray looked over to Lucy and smiled. She smiled and waved back.
"Yeah, he's my prince," Lucy said, looking back at the two towers.
"You'll make a great queen, Lucy!" Annabelle said happily. Lucy found herself blushing. It was a completely innocent comment, but she found herself thinking of marrying Gray. She blushed harder and looked back at him. He was chasing the kids again. She shook her head and looked back at Annabelle.
"You'll make a great one, too," she said. She leaned over and kissed her as quickly as possible. Annabelle smiled and kissed her on the cheek.
"Thank you, Lucy!" she said with a smile. Lucy smiled, too. Annabelle was going to die of old age. She would be cured of her cancer. That was definitely something to smile about.
"Lucy!" Laxus yelled. She looked over and saw him standing up. "Bosu wants us back."
"Give me a minute!" she yelled. She always loved playing with the kids. She always told Laxus she was there for work, but it was always a lie.
"Will you come again?" Annabelle asked.
"I will the next chance I get," Lucy said.
"Lucy?" Annabelle asked. She pointed behind the blonde. Lucy looked behind her and saw Gray.
"Laxus already left. He wants us to hurry," Gray said.
"But I'm visiting Annabelle!" Lucy whined.
"I didn't want to do this," Gray sighed. He picked Lucy up like a baby.
"Gray! Put me down!" Lucy yelled, hitting his chest.
And Lucy was carried away like the princess she was.
Sorry for not updating! I have been busy the past few days. I was going to update all my stories a day after I updated the second chapter for Dance in the Rain, but I got slammed with stuff to do. A thousand apologies!
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