xX Talking Body Xx
Xx Chapter 20: Meet the Parents xX
(PiSSS: going with a movie this time 'cuz since when have I been consistent)
Jude Heartfilia loved his daughter more than he loved his company.
If his baby girl asked him to quit his business because she wanted to spend more time with him, he'd toss the job to Capricorn and never look back. She was the light of his life, his child, his heart, and he loved her dearly. Just as much as he loved her mother, and he loved her mother a lot.
When Lucy was born, he would admit that he hadn't always been there, and was gone even more when Layla became sick. That was purely his fault. She was young, and young kids wanted everything. And to get everything she wanted, he had to work. A lot.
So he did. He buried himself underneath piles and piles of papers to make sure his little angel got whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted it and had everything she needed before she even knew that she needed it. And as a result, he wasn't around as much as he wanted to be, as much as she needed him to be.
It got worse when Layla fell ill. Between the hospital bills and his little banana nut muffin going to school, he didn't have the time to dote on her like any loving father would. He didn't have time to eat the little mud-pies she would drop on his desk. He didn't have time to help her with her homework, because he had to work. Work, work, work.
And once again, the result ended in him seeming like the deadbeat daddy, making Layla seem like an independent mother, and Lucy seem like a bastard child.
It split their family apart for a while, with Layla threatening to divorce him and take Lucy with her. He helped her create their little sun, so he should've been there for her when Layla couldn't have been. Jude had argued that he was working so hard for them, to make sure his wife got her medicine, and to ensure that his daughter was smarter than a fifth grader. He did it all for his family.
Layla understood, but that didn't ease the fact that he hadn't spent more than an hour with his daughter everyday for over seven years.
It was a close call, but Jude finally grew a big pair of balls and put on his big boy pants, taking responsibility for his child, his soul, his heart, Lucky Lucy Heartfilia.
He started giving more work to his Vice President and the other workers, deciding not to completely shoulder all of it. He started taking her to school in the morning, and picking her up at the end of the day. He was present for all of her dance recitals and band concerts. On career day, he showed up in his crisp suit, but would sit down in her tiny chair when she begged him (he looked like a fool, but it made his little fruit laugh). When dinner time came around, they would go to the hospital together and eat it with Layla until she fell asleep on his lap.
He taught her about sex when she came crying that she was going to shoot out babies like a machine gun while bathing in blood (his parents had told him it involved a stick and hula-hoop, and something about banging the two together for a while until it broke. And there were frogs involved?). He sat through the period talk (he handed that over to Layla, he wasn't even going to touch that subject). And he even allowed her to get a...a...boyfriend!
(But only after he performed a thorough background check, got a hair sample, and his fingerprints.)
Long story short was that he was there, and he acted like the father he was, and now they were extremely close.
Well..at least he thought they were.
Now he wasn't so sure since she had bought that...that beast with her!
"Lucy..." he started lowly.
"Yes, Father?"
"My little Lucy."
"Yeah...?"
"My lovely baby doll cabbage patch kid darling daughter girl...child."
"Um-"
"Who. In Mavis' holy name. Is that. Beside you?"
"You, um..." his dear, sweet child stammered. "This is Natsu. The one I was telling you and Mama about?"
The pink-haired heathen stuck his hand out in greeting. Jude didn't shake it. The boy scratched the back of his head.
"And, pray tell, dearest child of mine, why the hell is he here? At the hospital? Standing right in front of me? Scratching the back of his head like he owns the place?"
That didn't even make sense, but Jude still crossed his arms to make him seem like an imposing figure. Which he was, and he was making it known. Blatantly.
"Because," Lucy started slowly, and he could see her eyes narrowing, "I called you earlier and told you I was stopping at the hospital and to meet me there because I wanted to introduce you to someone." She gestured in that...abomination's direction. "This is him."
That crusty creature waved his hand with a large grin, and Jude got the sudden urge to strangle him.
"I thought I was meeting - I don't know - another Erza?" Jude asked, and not once did he remove his eyes from that monster. "Where's the other Erza?"
"Well, I guess he's like an Erza." Lucy looked at the man next to her, roaming her eyes up and down his body. Jude didn't like that look. "He likes strawberry shortcake."
"I like everything, Luce," that nasty man chimed.
"He's kinda strong."
"Really strong. Super strong."
"And that's about all of his redeeming qualities."
"That's right - hey!"
His daughter smiled. And Jude frowned.
She seemed...comfortable with him. He didn't have to see much, but Lucy hardly ever jokingly put down someone. Anyone she was acquainted with was sort of sensitive, and she couldn't afford to hurt their feelings for fear of losing their friendship. And Lucy didn't have many close friends. So to see her sarcastic side, to see her eyes shining with amusement at the expense of someone else-
And to see that cretin smiling back at her, completely unaffected by the minor insult, it made Jude feel some type of way he was unsure he liked.
"Lucy, you-" the father started.
"Jude? Lucy dear? Is that you in the hall?" the trio heard a voice from the hospital room. Jude straightened, Natsu tensed and Lucy just walked right in. He could hear his wife greet her daughter happily, and the two men looked at each other.
Natsu grinned uneasily at him.
Jude ignored him and walked inside.
"You're feeling a little better today, Mama?" Lucy asked, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. Her mother smiled and nodded happily.
"I am. I actually took my medicine today, though that's not the reason I feel better," Layla said, placing her hand on her child's head and stroking her hair. "I've been told I can be discharged in a few days."
"Really?" Lucy sounded hopeful and happy and Jude was surprised. He hadn't heard this news.
"Yup! Doctor Meth-"
"Doctor Morth."
"-said that my health has been improving, and as long as I keep taking my pills, I can go home!"
"That's wonderful, Layla," Jude said, taking a seat in the chair next to his wife. "Listen to Doctor Meth."
"Morth," Lucy corrected.
"That's what I said."
"No, you keep calling him Meth and meth is bad-"
"Who is this young fellow?" Layla interjected, staring straight at Natsu. Said man shifted uneasily and stuck out his hand in the woman's direction.
"Dragneel. Natsu Dragneel," he said just as Layla took his hand and shook it with a smile.
"Oh you're the one my little Lucy was telling us about! The stripper." Despite how wonderful Layla was, how she could easily charm a person out of their wallet and shoes, and how she had such a disarming look about her, she lacked tact. Layla said what was on her mind without hesitation, and if that could either be a good thing or a bad thing.
More often than not, it was a bad thing.
"Ah...yeah," Natsu said, flushing lightly and scratching the back of his head. "That's me...the stripper."
"Oh, there's nothing to be ashamed of, boy. You can do whatever you want, it's your life." Jude's wife smiled.
From the look on Natsu's face, he wasn't expecting to be accepted with open arms, especially since Jude had treated him so...coldly. But how else would Jude react? Lucy was his beautiful darling flower, and he was supposed to protect her. Men were evil creatures (and women were more so sometimes) so he had to make sure his daughter would be happy with any male she came into contact with.
"I, uh...thanks. I didn't think you'd be okay with it."
"I'm not really," Layla said, smiling serenely. "But if Lucy likes you enough to introduce you to us then, well, we have to give you a chance. Isn't that right, Jude?"
No. It was not right. "Yes, dear." But one didn't disagree with Layla out loud.
Lucy smiled up at Natsu, and he smiled back, his shoulders dropping in a less tense form.
"So," the sick woman started, "how much for a show?"
"Layla!"
"Mama!"
"Well your daughter gave me a fifty, but for you, I'll say a quarter."
"Oh, how nice of you! Such a big discount! Jude give me my purse."
"If you think I'm letting him dance all over you in my presence, then you can forget it!"
"Then leave. This is something I need in my life."
"Layla!"
"This includes the removal of clothes and hip thrusting, yes?"
"But of course!"
"Jude. Purse. Now."
Lucy laughed.
...
"So what made you become a stripper?"
And here we go.
Jude and Natsu had decided to go to the cafeteria in search for dinner for them. Lucy opted out f the trip because she could trust her father not to murder him during the trip.
Natsu himself wasn't so sure.
Layla had taken a liking to him almost immediately. His happy-go-lucky nature was almost a breath of fresh air from the seriousness and stuffiness her husband emitted. Natsu was sure they loved each other immensely, but Jude was a constant ball of tension that just needed to be rubbed off-
What a gross image!
Anyway, he officially had Layla Heartfilia on his side, but Jude was like a ticking time bomb. One wrong move, and he could say goodbye to Lucy forever.
And that was something he wasn't going to allow to happen.
"Financial problems back when I was in University."
"What did you study?"
"Tried to major in Public Safety."
"You dropped out."
"Well I don't see how I could've stayed when we were in a tight situation."
Jude's lips thinned and Natsu inwardly jumped off a cliff. Shit, it felt like he was doing that in this conversation.
Note to self: don't sass best friend's papa, especially when said man could destroy his life economically.
"So you decided that becoming a stripper and a phone sex operator would be the best path?"
"Not the best one, but if it gets me money, then who the hell cares?"
"I do, and so does Lucy."
Natsu paused.
They reached the cafeteria and Jude walked over to the salad bar, Natsu trailing behind him.
"If you think she doesn't care about the fact that you're a male stripper, then you're-"
"Wrong, I know," the pink-haired man finished. "I know she doesn't really approve of what I do - hell, I don't either - but it's better than being unemployed." Natsu stack a bunch of cookies and donuts on his plates. "It would be too good to be true if a girl I liked actually accepted what I did immediately. It'd be better if she could join me, then we could strip together, and chill at home naked all the time."
Jude somehow had a knife in his hand, so Natsu quickly cut that thought off. "Anyway, I know she doesn't like it, but she doesn't say anything about it because she doesn't have the right to make me change my career, especially if I like it. And I do. So ha."
Now Natsu admitted that sometimes he was a little blunt. A little too straightforward and a little too...brash. It was his nature, and he could change that if he tried, but he didn't want to. It just made him unique.
But since he was trying to get on Lucy's daddy's good side, he thought he should tone it down a little.
"You know Layla's really hot. I can see where Lucy got her looks from, ya know?"
Or not.
...
"It was really nice meeting you, Natsu," Layla said when the pair gathered up their belongings, preparing to leave. "You're a lot different than what I expected."
Natsu perked. "Oh? And what did you expect?"
Layla laughed, and it was a tinkling sound that made Lucy grin and Jude crack the tiniest smile (the first one of that night since he spent most of the time glaring at Natsu). "Well I didn't expect a charming young fellow such as yourself. I expected more of an...excuse my language - an asshole really. I was prepared to see a man who insulted Lucy subtly and who was just a mean fellow all around. You're not like that, and I'm glad."
"Of course I'm not like that! Lucy's amazing, who'd ever treat her like that?!"
Layla giggled and shook her head. "I'm just glad to see that you're treating her well since you guys seem to genuinely like each other. I was about ready to stab a used syringe into your neck if you had hurt her."
She...she said it with such a serene smile that Natsu couldn't tell if she was joking or not.
He decided to believe her.
He laughed uneasily.
"Oh, but you don't need to worry about a thing, sweet heart!" the mother placated. "You don't have to worry about getting AIDS today. Just keep treating her right and I'll keep my needles in the waste."
He fucking hoped so.
In any case, Natsu stepped forward and shook the woman's hand firmly, not letting go immediately, but holding it there and staring at her with such hard resolve that Layla couldn't help but smile back. "I promise to take care of your daughter. She's...really special to me-"
"I want grandbabies, but not just yet."
Behind him, Lucy screeched and Natsu choked on air (how did one choke on air? Quite easily, it seems). Jude practically grew spikes and glared daggers at his wife.
When Natsu had pictured Layla, it was not the woman sitting there on the bed. He pictured a snobby, rich-witch woman who turned up her nose to chocolate because she was 'too fancy' to eat chocolate and that would 'destroy her figure.' But Layla actually joked around (maybe, still couldn't tell if the syringe bit was playful or not), she smiled, she laughed, and she was a cool dude lady mama.
But grandbabies...
Grandbabies meant that they had to have sex...
"...I'm working on it," he blurted before he could stop himself.
Jude roared and threw a chair, Layla laughed out loud. Lucy blushed to the tips of her hair and covered her face, reciting history facts. And Natsu...
Natsu was surprised.
Because where the friggity freak did that come from?
...
"Well I hope you know that you're officially on my Dad's hit list now."
"As if I wasn't already the moment I breathed the same air as you in his presence."
That was so true, it hurt.
Lucy sighed as she pulled into the driveway of his house, turning off her car and just sitting there. Natsu's parting comment did not bode well for her father's approval. Not that she cared honestly, her mother's was way more important. But it would've been nice to have her father like him as well since, well, she liked him and she was pretty sure he liked her.
Like come on, after a year of their Friendly Benefits relationship-not-really-a-relationship-but-actually-a-relationship-but-NO-not-really, there was no way they couldn't have gained mutual feelings.
Natsu was denser than freaking osmium, but he wasn't that dense. He was probably...iridium.
Look it up. They're pretty dense.
Chemistry aside, the point was that they were both clearly attracted to each other. Lucy admitted that Natsu had quite a bit to go for him, and he had admitted that she didn't look like a horse and that was fine with him.
It was already in the air, open and noticed, accepted, but the question was...what now?
Neither wanted to muddy the strong friendship they already had, and though it wouldn't be enough to sever it completely, it would put them at an impasse while they tried to figure out how the hell they could go back to cuddling without it being weird when he 'accidentally' squeezed her boob.
(It was never an accident with that boy.)
But to more important matters. (Tit squeezing wasn't on her high list of priorities.)
"How do you like my parents?" Lucy asked.
"They're more civil than mine."
"That's not an answer. I asked how did you like them?"
"They could go for a vacation once in a while."
"Natsu!"
"I like them!"
Lucy smiled, happiness swelling in her chest and putting a flush on her cheeks.
"I worry that I'll wake up without my balls one day though."
"That'd be your fault since you wouldn't have been able to keep it in your pants."
And they paused.
"Natsu...?"
"...what?"
"When you said...the thing...what did you mean?"
He didn't answer immediately, but when he did, his voice was husky and it sent shivers rolling down her spine. "Ah...that...what did I mean?"
"Yeah...the meaning?"
"You mean you want to know the meaning of the thing that you asked what did I mean? That meaning?"
"I mean, I need to know that meaning of that thing that you mean? If you mean it."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean-"
They were getting nowhere.
"I mean-" she started again, then slapped her forehead, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart. "What you said back at the hospital, about 'working on it,' does that mean you want to-"
"Yes!" he blurted, and Lucy was surprised to see him blush. He dipped his nose into his scarf to hide it as she gaped. "I mean-" he sighed, "who wouldn't? You're nice, funny, you smell good and you don't look like a horse." He said that once before. "Anyone would be crazy not to, so just...don't say it."
They weren't avoiding the topic. No, they were avoiding the words.
Because if they said the words, it might make everything awkward.
...but still...PROGRESS.
"One time?"
Natsu spun around to face her, and Lucy flailed her hands she digested the true meaning (god dammit!) of her words. She hadn't even realized that she said it out loud. Suddenly, it seemed like words were coming out like a waterfall. "It doesn't have to go all the way - it can be just something that satiates the curiosity and gets rid of the what it would be like but you don't have to agree I'm not even sure if I like this idea myself but I just want to try it out and-" she paused to breathe, and it seemed hr voice came out even louder, "we wouldn't have to let this get in the way of our friendship because it would be something that we both agree on but I think we can agree to disagree - I'm really saying agree a lot - that our relationship would stay the same but as I said before it canonlybeonetime-"
Lips covered her own.
She stopped talking.
1. OKAY.
2. 20 chapters. That's a long time. I didn't expect to get past ten to be honest. Why not end this milestone with a cliffhanger thatmakesmewanttoshootmyselfinthefootbecauseoooooo-
3. *throws a table out the window* FRUSTRATION.
4. I fell up the stairs. How do you fall up stairs?
5. NEED I EVEN EXPLAIN HOW FRUSTRATED THIS CHAPTER MAKES ME? THERE'S PARENTS, THERE'S NATSU, THERE'S DIRTY NEEDLES. ADD THAT TO THE FACT THAT IT TOOK AGES TO GET OUT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE A MALE SEAHORSE GIVING BIRTH. AND I'M NOT EVEN MALE! SO WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM? So i'm just going to leave this chapter's explanation for the next one since they're connected.
6. I totally see Jude as the type of father that calls his child all these different names. Don't know why, but I love it.
7. Gotta question! Do you guys feel like you know me? I NEED ANSWERS.
8. There's a lot of caps lock in this A/N. UGH.
9. Drizzity (I'm making it a thing Mirai, don't judge me - actually, judge me) dropping off the earth again because NO TIME. Between school and work not giving me any time to piss, I couldn't push out this chapter. But you guys don't care right? As long as I'm not dead? Well I'm not dead, so REJOICE.
10. So many of you guys sleep with socks on when it's cold huh? I sleep with them all the time. I feel naked without socks. Just like how I feel naked without something on my right wrist. Are you left or right-handed? I'm right-handed, but I eat finger food and stuff with my left hand.
11. No matter what I say, it always goes back to food.