Hello, everyone !

I'm back with the sixth chapter :D

Enjoy reading this one~

Disclaimer: I only own Haru Heartfilia and the plot

"Hands up, sweetie."

"Up!" Haru raised his hands obediently so that Lucy could put his clothes on him.

"Alright, you're all set." Lucy gave Haru his small backpack.

"Haru gets to go with Mommy!" Haru said excitedly.

Lucy laughed at her son's antics. "Haru will be a good boy while waiting for Mommy to finish her work, right?"

Haru quickly nodded his head. "I'll stay quiet and still in the waiting room."

"Good boy." Lucy praised. "What else should you do, Haru?"

"Not saying Natsu-nii-chan's name!" Haru said, then put his index finger in front of his mouth. "His name is a secret, sssh… Haru couldn't call his name and must pretend not to know him, so his hero identity will stay safe with me!"

"My Haru's so smart!" Lucy squealed and showered her son with kisses, causing Haru to giggle full-heartedly.

Ten minutes later, the mother and son pair had gone down from their apartment and took the taxi to go to the building where Lucy would be interviewing Fired Up! this time. Because the editors and the readers were satisfied with her interview article, Lucy's boss put her to be in charge of Fired Up!, replacing Minerva. That senior of hers was more than happy to oblige, because that meant a lesser responsibility for her.

A lesser responsibility could also mean more time to get some rest.

Normally, Lucy would ask Levy to look after Haru, but unfortunately, she had work to do today. Left with no other choices, Lucy received permission from Jason—her kind and understanding boss—to take Haru along with her to work, as long as the little boy could behave.

Haru, of course, was okay with going anywhere as long as he's with his mother. But when Lucy told him that they would be going to see Natsu, his round eyes glittered even brighter. He quickly promised Lucy that he would behave while she was working and asked his mother to bring him along.

Once they had arrived at the interview venue, Lucy quickly took Haru to her waiting room. This is where Lucy would get a retouch for her make-up and where she would rehearse her interviewing lines.

"Oh, a big room!" Haru quickly sat down on a sofa.

Lucy put her bag down on the table and took out her make-up tools. Having a son in such a young age like she did brought inconvenience sometimes—well, most of the times, actually. People talked about it, or at least, they stared. Lucy couldn't care less about it, but she didn't want Haru to be affected. Which is why she did her own make-up and didn't have any particular staff to help her. That way, she could keep Haru as private as possible in her line of work.

Especially now, since Haru has befriended Natsu. Lucy would do everything she could to make sure that her son wouldn't be in the spotlight. As an entertainment reporter herself, she knew which gaps she had to avoid. She would do everything to keep Haru safe.

Lucy was practicing her question lines when a knock was heard from outside of her door.

"Lucy?"

Lucy's ears perked up. "Natsu?"

"Yeah." Natsu's voice replied. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Lucy said. She stood up and walked towards the door, then opened it. Natsu was standing there with his usual toothy grin.

"Hey."

"Hey." Lucy smiled back.

Natsu glanced inside and his eyes lit up. "Haru!"

"Natsu-nii-chan!" Haru greeted back happily.

Natsu walked inside and scooped Haru into his arms. "You're coming again with your mother this time?"

Haru nodded and giggled while playing with Natsu's hair. "But Haru will stay here quietly until Mommy finishes her work!"

"You're not going to quietly wait for me to finish my work too?" Natsu gave a little pout. "I've been waiting to meet you, though."

Haru giggled. "I'll wait for you too!"

Natsu ruffled Haru's hair affectionately. He then looked towards the door. "Haru, Lucy, I want you to meet my friends."

"What?" Lucy whipped her head towards the door. A second later, the door was opened again, and Loke along with the rest of Fired Up! came in.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelped in surprise and confusion. "What is happening—"

"It's okay, Lucy." Natsu reassured her. "I'll tell you everything later."

"But…"

"Ooh, cool brothers!" Haru excitedly looked at Natsu's friends. "Are they also secret heroes just like you, Natsu-nii-chan?"

Natsu chuckled upon hearing Haru's question. He then walked towards his friends to introduce them to the little boy. "They are, Haru. They are my very good friends. This is Loke, this is Gray, this is Jellal, and this is Gajeel. Guys, this is Haru Heartfilia, Lucy's son."

"Haru will keep all of your hero identities a secret!" Haru covered his mouth. "Haru is a great secret keeper!"

The rest of the boys' gazes quickly softened. Even though they were still wary about Lucy and Natsu's relationship, but they had to admit that her son is really adorable. He inherited all of her trademarks, a bright blond hair and a pair of warm chocolate orbs.

Now they know why Natsu is smitten with the toddler.

"Hello, Haru." Loke greeted. "Thank you for agreeing to keep our identities a secret."

Haru nodded his big head. "Haru likes heroes! Haru likes secrets!"

Haru's comments made the boys laughed. From the side, Lucy watched them in worry. But seeing how happy Haru was with them, her worry lessened. She had a good idea on why Natsu suddenly introduced his bandmates to Haru and she could understand his reasoning. Although, she would be more than willing to listen to the reasoning from his own mouth.

"Lucy-san," Another knock was heard from outside of the door. "we're ready for you."

"Alright, I'll be there." Lucy answered, then walked towards Haru who was still in Natsu's hug and kissed his forehead. "Alright, sweetie. Mommy's going."

Haru nodded. "Haru will be waiting here!"

"I'll take care of him." Loke suddenly said.

"What?" Gray turned his head to look at his manager. "You're not going to stay with us during the interview?"

"Nah," Loke shrugged his shoulders and stretched his arm to invite Haru into his arms. The little boy happily accepted and Natsu a bit reluctantly handed him over to his manager. "I'm sure you'll do well. I'm just going to stay here and play with Haru."

"You don't have to do that, Loke-san, that'll be too troubling—"

"Don't worry about it." Loke cut Lucy's words with a smile. "Taking care of such an adorable kid can never be too troubling for me. And you can just call me Loke. We're all the same age as you."

Natsu inwardly scoffed. Clearly, his manager was smitten with the toddler as well.

"Haru wants to play with Loke-nii-chan!" Haru said.

"Is that so?" Loke grinned from an ear to another. "Let's play a lot, Haru!"

Lucy smiled in defeat and gratitude. "Alright then, I'll leave him in your hands, Loke. Thank you for your help."

"No biggies, Lucy." Loke smiled back.

"Alright Haru, Mommy's going." Lucy waved her hand at her son.

"Ganbatte ne, Mommy!" Haru cheered on his mother.

"Thanks for dropping me off, Natsu." Lucy said.

"No problem." Natsu said. "Do you want me to help?"

"No, it's okay. I got this." Lucy smiled. "Although… Do you want to stop by for some coffee?"

Natsu's heart skipped a beat. "N—no, it's okay. I'll just…"

"You still owe me an explanation, remember?" Lucy chuckled.

A memory crossed Natsu's mind. "Right."

"Let's go, then." Lucy took off her seatbelt as carefully as possible, so she wouldn't wake Haru up who was sleeping in her arms. Lucy didn't know what kind of games did Loke play with her son, but he was so happy playing with him that he ended up falling asleep by the time Lucy returned.

Loke then handed a car key to Natsu and told him to drop Lucy off at her home.

"Are you sure?" Natsu asked again to make sure.

"Yeah. Wear your cap and let's go." Lucy said. "As long as we're careful, I'm sure no one around here will know that you came."

"Alright." Natsu laughed and put on his cap.

The two of them then carefully went up to Lucy's apartment from the parking lot. The building was pretty much empty and quiet, which could be considered as a good sign. Once they entered Lucy's apartment, Lucy quickly brought Haru to their bedroom while telling Natsu to make himself comfortable in her living room. Natsu inwardly whistled at how neat her apartment was. Even though she was a working woman with a child, but she could still keep the apartment neat.

Natsu sat down on a sofa and that was when his eyes accidentally saw a few of framed photos, displayed on a small table at the corner of the room. Natsu stood up and walked over to take a look. There were three photos of Lucy and Haru, two photos of Lucy with a blue haired girl that he didn't recognize, and a photo of Lucy with a light blue hair that he somewhat recognized.

The girl with that light blue hair looked so similar to Haru.

Natsu blinked in surprise. Haru looked similar to Lucy, but he looked even similar to this light blue haired girl. They had the same shade of chocolate orbs and their facial features were basically the same.

Who is she? Why does she look so similar to Haru, even more so than his own mother?

Then, another realization hit Natsu. Wait a minute. Judging from these photos… Why doesn't Lucy have any photos of her husband or her whole family?

Is she… Is she really a single mother?

"Haru looks exactly like her, doesn't he?" Lucy's soft voice suddenly was heard from Natsu's behind.

Natsu turned his head in surprise, he was greeted with a smiling Lucy who handed him a mug of coffee.

"Oh… T—thanks." Natsu awkwardly muttered.

Lucy then walked back towards the sofa, and Natsu could only follow her. They sat on the sofa in silence and Lucy sipped her coffee quietly.

Natsu cleared his throat to ease the atmosphere between them. "Right… First of all, Lucy, I want to apologize for introducing my friends so suddenly to Haru without discussing it first with you. You see, they… They knew that we've been hanging out together lately, and they…"

"I've thought so." Lucy chuckled. "It's okay, Natsu. I'm not mad or anything. I was just surprised, but I know your friends are kind people."

"You're… okay with it?" Natsu asked.

Lucy let out a soft sigh. "Truthfully, not quite, but Haru is so happy spending time with you and your friends. I understand your friends' concerns, though. Hanging out with a young single mother could create quite a scandal for you and your band's image."

"Don't worry about that." Natsu whole-heartedly reassured. "We're doing a pretty good job in protecting our private lives."

Lucy chuckled. "I bet you are. Now that we're on that topic… I guess you deserve to know the truth as well. I trust Haru's judgment in you and I want you to know more about him."

Natsu tilted his head in confusion and curiosity, but he didn't say a word.

Lucy smiled and put down her coffee mug on the table. She then stood up and walked towards the photos, lifting up the photo that made Natsu's mind wonder.

"This girl here is Haru's birth mother, my cousin, Yukino Agria." Lucy said with a smile filled with sadness and longing. "She got pregnant with Haru while she was still in college and her boyfriend back then didn't want to take a responsibility. But Yukino didn't want to abort her baby, and as a result of her conviction, she was kicked out of her family. Since then, she had worked various part-time jobs to support herself and her baby, while the only person she contacted with is me."

"We are pretty close with each other because we are the same age, and we consider each other as our real sibling. But being pregnant alone and pressurized by work, Yukino's already-frail-body worsened fast. When she was seven months along, she asked me to take care of her baby boy once he was born and to take her baby as my own. I knew she said that because she knew that she wouldn't survive her birth, and so I promised her that. Not only because I love my cousin, but also because I love my nephew."

"Yukino… She didn't survive her birth, as expected. And since then, I took her baby, whom she named Haru when he was still in her womb, and raised him as my own. I cannot adopt him due to my 'single' status, so I registered him as my own son instead." Lucy ended her story. "So… Now you know. I'm actually his aunt, although I'm his mother legally."

Natsu couldn't find words for a good minute. He was indeed shocked upon learning Haru's birth, but he wasn't disappointed or anything. In fact, he was… amazed. Amazed with Yukino's decision to keep her baby despite all the odds against her, amazed with Lucy's commitment to her cousin and her sincere love towards her nephew, amazed with everything that both Haru and Lucy had gone through.

"You're really amazing, Lucy." Natsu smiled and stood up to walk over to Lucy. He then placed his hands on her shoulders in support and smiled. "I'm sure Yukino is so glad you're the one who's raising her son."

"You think so?" Lucy chuckled, tears started to fill her eyes.

"I know so." Natsu smiled. "And thank you for telling me, Lucy. I'm glad you trust me."

"I trust Haru's judgment. I guess he has a pretty trustworthy gut feeling like you do." Lucy chuckled again and wiped a tear that was rolling down on her cheek away.

Natsu grinned back and used his thumbs to gently stroke the sides of Lucy's eyes. "I'm glad Haru trust me. And I'm glad you trust me, too."

Lucy stared at Haru's sleeping face and rubbed his chubby cheek lovingly. The little boy must have been exhausted today, he played a lot with Natsu and the rest of his band mates, after all. Actually, Lucy was still a bit scared to let Haru befriended Natsu. But seeing how happy Haru was when he was with Natsu and his friends, Lucy's fear finally dissipated. Natsu had always made Haru such a happy little boy since day one, how could she separate them away?

Besides…

Natsu was a great company to her, too. It was weird and yet amazing at how comfortable she is when she was being around Natsu. Lucy's hand instinctively rubbed the side of her eye, the spot that Natsu's thumb gently caressed over earlier.

Natsu's warmth and affection towards Haru—and her—suddenly recalled a particular memory in Lucy's brain.

The memory of when Lucy met the newborn baby and how her boyfriend back then decided to break up with her.

Three years ago…

"Lyon!"

"Hey, babe." Lyon smiled as he greeted Lucy who ran into his arms and planted a chaste kiss on her forehead. "All of your classes are over?"

"Yeah." Lucy nodded her head.

"Mine too." Lyon smiled. "Should we go on a date today?"

"Oh, there's somewhere I want you to take me to." Happiness and sadness flashed in her eyes. "Are you free?"

"Anything for you." Lyon agreed. "Let's go."

The couple then walked towards Lyon's motorbike which was parked not far from the university's gate.

"Where are we going?" Lyon asked as he handed a helmet to his girlfriend.

"The Magnolia's Central Hospital." Lucy answered.

"Are you sick?" Lyon's eyes laced with worry.

"No." Lucy softly shook her head. "I'm visiting someone there."

"Your parents?" Lyon asked.

"No."

"Then who is it?" Lyon raised an eyebrow.

"My cousin, Yukino." Lucy answered with a sad smile which went unnoticed by Lyon.

"Oh, Yukino." Lyon turned on his motorbike and Lucy hopped on behind him.

"You remember her?"

"Duh." Lyon chuckled. "You told me a lot about her, babe."

Lucy softly chuckled back and hugged her boyfriend tight as Lyon drove his motorcycle to the hospital. Half an hour later, they arrived at the parking lot.

"I guess now it's my time to say hello to your dear cousin?" Lyon chuckled.

"Oh…" Lucy's gaze dropped. "Lyon, that's… You can't."

"Oh, why?" Lyon asked. "'Boys aren't allowed to visit' policy?"

"No." Lucy's lightly chuckled. "You can't because you just can't. Yukino… She passed away this morning."

"Oh, Lucy, I'm so sorry." Lyon readily brought his girlfriend into his hug. He knew how close Lucy was with her cousin, she always told him that she and Yukino were like real sisters because they were practically the same age. Yukino actually had an older sister, but she wasn't that close with her because her older sister was a flight attendant and thus was rarely at home.

Lyon's warm hug and sympathetic voice brought tears flowing down from Lucy's eyes. She softly sobbed, mourning for her dear cousin's death in her boyfriend's arms. Yukino's death was something she knew would come, but she didn't think it would come so suddenly, to the point that she couldn't be there to be with her during her final hours.

"Sssh, it's okay, Lucy." Lyon lovingly ran his fingers along Lucy's hair to soothe her. "It'll be okay."

"I just wish I was there when she was gone." Lucy weakly sobbed.

"It's okay." Lyon soothed. "I'll accompany you to the morgue, okay? You weren't there this morning, but you're here now. I'm sure Yukino is waiting for your arrival, so the two of you can properly bid your goodbyes."

Lucy softly nodded her head in response to Lyon's words. They broke the hug and Lyon held Lucy's hand tightly before heading to the morgue together.

Lyon had only seen Yukino through several photos Lucy had shown him, but her cold body didn't look that much different from what he had seen in those photos. Yes, her skin was pale white, her chocolate orbs could no longer shine, and her light blue hair had dimmed, but even so, she still looked as sweet as her cousin.

"Yukino…" Lucy broke in tears as she hug her cousin's body. "I'm sorry I'm late… I'm sorry I wasn't there this morning… I'm sorry…"

Lyon ran his hands along Lucy's back in an attempt to calm her sobbing. Lucy's an only child, so Lyon knew that Yukino was the closest person Lucy could consider as a sibling.

"Don't worry about Haru…" Lucy said. "I'll keep my promise to you, I'll take a good care of him… I'll take him as my own son and I'll give him the best life I can…"

Lyon's hands stilled.

What… did she just say?

Son…?

"Rest in peace, Yukino…" Lucy stroke Yukino's light blue hair affectionately. "You've done really well, now it's time for you to rest…"

Lucy then gave her last kiss on Yukino's forehead, before the coroner draped back the white cloth over Yukino and pushed her body back to the freezer. The coroner then asked Lucy's permission as Yukino's guardian to approve of her cremation tomorrow. Since the next day was Saturday, she could also attend the cremation because she had no classes.

Lucy and Lyon then stepped out of the morgue.

"Thank you for being there for me, Lyon." Lucy wiped her tears and smiled. "Now I just need to stop by at—"

"Come with me." Lyon cut Lucy's words and pulled her towards the emergency exit.

"Lyon?" Lucy called in confusion as Lyon's behaviour suddenly changed. "What's wrong?"

Lyon closed the emergency exit's door and let out a short exasperated sigh. "I'm the one who should be asking you that! What were you thinking, Lucy? You're going to take care of your cousin's son?"

"I'm sorry, Lyon, you must have been so surprised." Realization dawned on Lucy. "Yukino had always been a frail girl even since she was little, and her pregnancy took a toll on her body. I…Well… The two of us—me and Yukino, I mean—had known that she most likely wouldn't have been able to survive her birth, so I promised her back then that I would take care of her baby boy once he was born…"

"Why would you do that?!" Lyon asked angrily. "Lucy, how could you promise something like that? That baby is Yukino's child, he is none of your business! Give him back to Yukino's husband!"

"Lyon, she's… Yukino's a single mother." Lucy sighed. Right, that part of Yukino's life was something Lucy had never told Lyon before. Not until today. "Her boyfriend didn't want to take responsibility."

"Gosh, Lucy!" Lyon's anger flared up. "If you knew about that too, then why would you promise to take care of her child? Give him back to Yukino's side of family instead!"

"I can't do that." Lucy said. "When Yukino said that she wanted to keep the baby, she… She was kicked out of her family. I'm the only one she has left. Besides, Lyon, I am still her family."

"You're a freaking college student, Lucy!" Lyon said. "Raising a kid is a huge responsibility! You're not even working yet!"

"I can get part-time jobs and freelance projects." Lucy said. "Lyon, he's my nephew! I can't just leave him!"

"You can and you will." Lyon hissed. "Because I don't want to share the responsibility of raising him! Either you send that baby to the orphanage or we're over!"

"Lyon!" Lucy gasped in utter shock. "What… Why… How… How could you say something so heartless?! My cousin has just lost her life this morning to give birth to her son prematurely and her son is now all alone in this world! You want me to abandon my nephew just like that?!"

"Yes!" Lyon said. "Lucy, we're just a bunch of college students! We're not ready to raise a kid, I'm not ready! Besides, do you know what people will think of us if they see us with a baby between us?!"

"So, what?!" Lucy retorted. "They can judge for all they want! None of that is our business!"

"Stop being so selfish, Lucy!" Lyon said. "It's fine if you don't care about others' opinions, but I do care! What kind of thoughts do you think will cross their minds if they know that I'm raising a baby? What will my family think? What will my friends think? Let me tell you: they'll think that I knocked you up!"

"We can just tell them the truth!" Lucy said. "I'm sure your family will understand and those who are your real friends will, too!"

"Stop being so naïve!" Lyon ruffled his hair in annoyance. "Lucy, I will never agree to raise Yukino's son! If you keep insisting to adopt him, then let's break up right now!"

"You… You're willing to break up with me because of my nephew…?" Lucy asked in disbelief. "We've been going out for two years already, Lyon, and now you want to end this just like that…?!"

"Yeah!" Lyon said. "If you don't want to break up with me, then just forget about the promise you made to Yukino and send that kid to the orphanage!"

Lucy swung her hand and slapped Lyon right across his face. "NO!"

"Lucy, you…!" Lyon cupped his swollen cheek and stared at Lucy, both in anger and in disbelief. "You really want to break up with me just because of that kid?!"

"He's my nephew!" Lucy retorted, tears were flowing down from her eyes. "I am his aunt, I am the only family he has left! Whether you like it or not, Lyon, whether you agree to it or not, I will still adopt him!"

"Have you lost your mind?!" Lyon retorted back. "You're not a married woman, Lucy, it's forbidden by the law for you to adopt a child!"

"Then I'll register him as my son!" Lucy said. "I've promised Yukino that I'll take him as my own, and I have no intentions on taking back my words!"

"FINE!" Lyon huffed in annoyance and frustration. "He's all yours then, he's your sole responsibility! I won't take any part in any of this!"

The bluish silver young man then stormed away, descending the stairs without sparing any final glance at his—now—ex-girlfriend. When Lyon's footsteps became a soft echo down there, Lucy fell onto her knees and started to sob.

Her two-years relationship ended just like that.

Done !

Whew, talk about a nasty break-up ._.

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