Who wants another little story about post story life for our favorite pair?
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As always, thanks for all the love and happy reading.
Lucy glared at the stairs as though they had personally offended him. Her back hurt. Her feet were swollen. She had been doing a good job only going up the stairs at night when she went up for bed, but she couldn't avoid it this time.
Natsu had blasted through the house an hour ago and she hadn't heard from him since. Whatever he was up to, he was so focused he hadn't heard her calling for him for the past five minutes and she was getting worried.
With a grumble, she began to climb the stairs, annoyed with how uncomfortable she was. Stairs were no fun when her belly was so big, and she was ready to be done with this pregnancy. Had been, in fact, for the last month. She was already a week past her due date, when was the baby going to come out?
As she finally reached top, she took a moment to catch her breath before going in search of her husband. The bathroom and bedroom were both empty, and she found the baby room was shut, which was unusual. When she opened the door, she had intended to scold him but her mind blanked as she finally saw what he was up to.
"Uh... Natsu?" Her husband continued to mutter as his hands fisted in his hair.
Everything in the crib had been removed except the mattress. The stuff animals and all the baby clothes were scattered all over, as well as... what looked to be every single blanket they owned. Still mumbling to himself, Natsu began to examine the crib, lifting it and turning it on its side so he could study the bottom.
"Natsu?"
His head whipped around and he jumped to his feet. "Why are we not ready yet?!"
Completely lost, Lucy lifted her arms only to let them fall again. "Not ready for what, Natsu?"
"The baby!" he shouted, as though it were obvious.
"Well we were, until you pulled everything out of the-"
"This isn't a good nest!" he yelled. He turned around and gestured wilding at the crib. "First of all, it's square. All dragons know that nests are circular! How on earth are we supposed to keep the egg warm if there are gaps in so many spots?!"
Lucy's mouth opened and closed slowly. "... Egg?"
"I have tried every single blanket in his house and none of them make an adequate nest!" He grabbed a blanket and pulled the crib up with one hand before carefully arranging the blanket inside it. "Igneel used to talk about how important it was to have the nest ready before the egg needed it, and I've FAILED!"
"Natsu-"
"The egg needs to be kept warm all the time, and I just can't get this set up correctly! There is no way to make a circle nicely in this thing, why did we get something so square?"
"Natsu."
"Why did I approve this?! What was I thinking when I agreed on this thing?! Sure, it's a nice color-"
"Natsu."
"- and I really like the shape of the spindles, don't get me wrong-"
"Natsu."
"-but I need a circle-"
"NATSU!"
He flinched and turned her way. "What? Why are you yelling."
With a sigh, Lucy gracefully walked among the wreckage of the room until she could reach Natsu. She gently cradled his face with her hands and smiled up at him. "Natsu. Honey." She gave him a peck on his nose. "You are not a dragon anymore. And I never was." His eyes slowly widened as she pulled away. "We are having a baby, not an egg."
Natsu swore colorfully under his breath before moving to clean up his mess. He went on and on about instinct and being taught about babies from a dragon. Lucy began to chuckle as he went. His ranting grew more and more absurd as he continued, until she was bent over laughing, trying to breathe. She was so big, there didn't seem to be any room for her to get air into her lungs.
"Oh gods, LUCY!" He ran over and grabbed her arms to pull her upright and shake her. "You're having a baby!"
His words, combined with how shocked he looked, sent her over the edge and tears began to pour from her eyes as her laughter grew louder and more intense. Natsu began to loudly express his concern over not knowing how to take care of a baby- "When it was just an egg, there was still time to figure things out!" -until she was laughing so hard, she ended up on her knees. Concerned, Natsu dropped down with her, trying to figure out what was wrong.
It took some time, but she eventually caught her breath enough to tell him she was okay. "It's fine, Natsu, I was just laughing."
"Luce, there are tears all over your face!"
"I was just laughing," she reassured him as she dried her cheeks. "You were just being so ridiculous, I couldn't help myself."
"Wait." He pulled back and gave her a mocking glare. "I was upset and you were laughing at me?" He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "How rude."
She laughed a little as she got up on her knees and kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry, love. I really am."
"Humph. I don't believe you."
"You know what I don't believe?" She glanced around the room. "You destroyed our child's room."
He flushed as he looked around them. "Uh, yeah, I'm sorry."
"You're going to fix that, right?"
"Yes." He pressed his forehead to hers and sighed. "I'm sorry I freaked out."
"It's okay," she reassured him.
She continued to kneel as he worked, quickly cleaning up the blankets and removing them from the room before coming back to return the animals and clothes to their shelves as well. Lucy quietly applauded him as turned her way, dramatically stretching out his arms. He chuckled as he came to kneel at her side.
"Alright lady, let's go. I'll help you get back down the stairs so you don't have to walk."
Lucy swallowed loudly. "Could you maybe do me a favor first?"
"Sure," he said. "What is it?"
"Could you get me a towel?" When he frowned, she moved so that she was sitting on the floor instead of kneeling, revealing a wet spot on the carpet beneath her.
Natsu frantically grabbed her arms. "What happened, are you okay?!"
"Yes Natsu, it was just my water. I think it broke while I was laughing."
He stared blankly at her for a long moment before he finally found the words. "Your... water broke?"
"Yes," she said with a nod.
"... The baby is coming?"
"Not right away but soon," she answered. When he continued to stare blankly at her, he shook his shoulder a little. "Natsu, I need a towel so I can clean up so we can go." A mild contraction started, causing Lucy's eyebrows to pull together. The pained expression snapped Natsu out of his stupor and he bolted to his feet. "Bags! I gotta get the bags!"
He bolted out of the room before Lucy could remind him about the towel, making her sigh. "I'll be back up in a minute!" he hollered from the first floor. Lucy chuckled and slowly got to her feet so she could head to the bathroom herself.
Despite the discomfort, she was filled with joy. Their little was finally coming, soon!
She couldn't wait to meet them.