A New Family
Chapter 29
Her First
Note: Sorry about not uploading last week. I think it would be best to update this story every other week. My plate is starting to fill up with a lot of other things; other things meaning schoolwork; so that's definitely pinning me down. I promise, though, that chapters will continue to come out. I'm sorry for the news, but I hope you're all enjoying the story.
Time went by and things started to a take for the better. Luna was maturing at such a tremendous rate that no one was expecting it at all. All of the major things that one could possibly think of, she managed to do.
Right as her first birthday came around the corner, she managed to stand up onto her feet and take her first steps. This nearly made Natsu and Lucy cry. This meant that she was ready to destroy the house. However, they were already ready for this phase and were prepared for whatever she was conspiring. She also managed to speak her first words. This was a very random moment. They were having dinner together when Luna randomly spurted out, "Papa." When this happened, they all shrieked in excitement. Luna was now at the effective learning age.
When her second birthday came around, she started to develop her first couple of teeth. As great a moment as this is, it was hard on Natsu and Lucy. The formation of teeth is a big thing for babies so Luna was in pain all of the time. Natsu and Lucy managed to work up a schedule where they would evenly comfort her without wasting too much energy at any one time.
Although the two of them were capable parents, this was another difficult time for them. The days were long and the nights were even longer. Luna kept them up almost every night, but they tried their hardest to not complain. This was what they were signing up for so they couldn't complain. All they had to do was stick through it and wait for the final results in hopes that they did their absolute best.
As for Luna herself, she was starting to build her own character. When she wasn't in pain, she always had a smile on her face and everyone said that it reminded them of Natsu. Lucy, Wendy, and everyone at the guild agreed that Luna was shaping up to share Natsu's looks. Of course, there were a lot of jokes that bagged on Natsu's looks, but he just put them aside. He managed to come up with some wise crack that if Luna got Lucy's looks, this entire world would ask them to make their babies for them. It wasn't that good of a comeback, but Lucy acknowledged him for his effort.
Luna also started to take a liking to Wendy and the two Exceeds living with them. Every opportunity she could, she walked to Wendy and played with her. Wendy really enjoyed this because it made her feel like a true older sister. All of her life, Wendy was treated as a little girl and a younger sister. This was finally her chance to turn things around and guide Luna to be a wonderful woman.
Luna's developments were so astounding that it totally made up for 95% of the time that she was a burden. Whenever they thought that, they just had to think that everyone goes through this and that they just had to suck it up.
…
One day, Natsu and Lucy decided to go into town which left Wendy and the Exceeds alone with Luna. They were able to do this because whenever Luna was with Wendy, she rarely acted up in any way. It was a strange thing because in the past, she only acted like that when she was with Natsu. Apparently, Luna's taste in people changed as well. Natsu didn't mind this though. He liked to see to Wendy and Luna connect more as sisters, even if they weren't true sisters. Once they made sure everything was alright for them to leave, they said their goodbyes and disappeared.
Thankfully, Wendy did a lot of maturing as well. She was never bad with caring for little kids and this experience only made her better at doing so. She knew what she had to do if something ever happened. If Luna started to cry, there were many options for why she was crying. Wendy simply had to stay calm and verify what was wrong. With this ability, Luna was in good hands.
"Luna, watch out for the dragon. Ahhh." Wendy grabbed the stuffed animal and waved it through the air. "It's gonna get you." She swooped her arm towards her and Luna threw her arms up playfully.
"Hahaha."
"Uh oh. It's not over yet. Here it comes again." This time, she swooped in and nestled it onto Luna's tummy.
"Hahaha." Luna's giggling was so contagious that none of them could contain it. They joined in with the laughter until something completely threw them off guard. "Onee-chan." Wendy suddenly stopped with the tickling as her eyes widened.
"Luna, did you just…"
"Onee-chan, haha." It happened… It finally happened. Someone else called Wendy, Onee-chan. Even though this isn't that big a deal, this hit Wendy hard. Luna was still pretty young and yet, she was recognizing her as her big sister. This nearly made Wendy melt with joy. In her head, she was constantly thinking about how good those words sounded to her.
"Onee-chan, huh? It does have a nice ring to it."
"Onee-chan." Wendy looked down and saw Luna throwing her arms into the air at a fixed pace. At that moment, Wendy knew that she was asking for the special activity. Wendy immediately picked her up off the ground and slowly levitated her body into the air. "Hahahaha." Somehow, Wendy managed to try this on Luna and she loved it. Her only guess was that the wind that was hitting her body was tickling her. The only thing was that Wendy had to focus incredibly hard when she did this. She knew her own strength, but there was absolutely no way she could mess up. If she did, she would hear it from Natsu and Lucy, mostly Natsu though. Also, this was their little secret. Natsu and Lucy had no idea that she did this to her.
"Hey Wendy, we're back. The stores ended up closing earlier than…" At that moment, the two of them walked in and saw the whole scene. There goes their little secret.
"Natsu, we can explain."
"Aye, you see, Wendy was…" Natsu put up his hand indicating that there was no need for an explanation. As this happened, Lucy was completely silent. She didn't really know how to react so she just decided to let Natsu handle the reins.
"Wendy," he said sternly.
"Y-Yes, Natsu-san." He took a deep breath and spoke his mind.
"That's such a great idea. Why didn't I think of that?"
"Are you kidding me?!"
"What? It looked fun and she wasn't hurting anything."
"Come here."
"Ow!" Lucy gripped him by the ear and dragged him across the living room and over near their room. "Come on Lucy, lighten up. They were just having fun."
"I know they were having fun, but shouldn't we restrict something like this?"
"Why? Wendy's a smart girl. I'm sure she knew what she was doing." Lucy sighed incredibly loud. She thought that Natsu could handle this situation, but she totally forgot that she was the only "adult" living in that house.
"Wendy, I would like an honest answer. Is this your first time doing that to Luna?"
"N-No." Although Wendy was afraid that answer was going to be worse than if she lied, Lucy's reaction wasn't so bad. She put her head in her hands and just shook her head.
"Well, it's obvious that Luna's not hurt. I just… If you're gonna do it, all I ask is that you be extremely careful."
"I am."
"No, I mean: Extremely careful." Lucy gave her a really menacing look and Wendy immediately switched the other way. She stood up straight and saluted to her. "Ugh! You guys are such a handful."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault Wendy."
"D-Do you wanna hear something cool?" Natsu nodded his head vigorously while Lucy sighed once again. "Luna called me Onee-chan for the first time. Isn't that awesome?" Their reactions were total opposite ends of the spectrum.
"That's awesome. Good job, Luna," Natsu said as he rubbed the top of her head. Meanwhile, Lucy turned around and headed off to her room, telling them that she was going to bed. Everyone else was a little confused, but simply decided to let it go. When the night grew late, Natsu entered his room quietly and noticed that Lucy was still awake. He walked over to her side of the bed and knelt down in front of her. "Hey, you okay?" She sniffled before she could answer. "Hey, what's wrong? It was something I did, wasn't it? Gosh, I'm so dumb."
"No, it's not." She grabbed his wrist as he twirled them around like an idiot.
"Oh, it's not… Then what's wrong? You just left us without saying a single word. Are you sure there isn't anything bothering you?"
"Am I not special enough?"
"Huh?"
"Luna's first word was "papa." She just called Wendy "Onee-chan" for the first time. She still hasn't called "mama." Why? Have I not done enough for her?"
"Don't say that. Compared to anyone else, you've done more for her than any of us could ever do."
"Then why hasn't she called me…" Lucy started to cry. "I don't want her to feel what I felt when my parents weren't around. I want to be there for her. I want her to know that she can rely on her mother whenever she needs me. I just…"
"Lucy, don't worry. I'm sure she'll call you mama sooner or later. For now, just treat it like some forbidden word. She won't be able to speak it until the right moment. When that happens, I guarantee you, you'll be so overjoyed that you won't even know what to do."
"But when…"
"I don't know. Just keep it in your head and wait for the surprise." Natsu leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. "Now, go to bed. Late nights are unhealthy."
"Don't talk to me about health."
"Haha, you got me."
End of Chapter 29
