Natsu paced the floor of the guildhall, his empty seat at the bar warmed every few minutes when his exhaustion pushed him to sit before his anxiety forced him to his feet once more. Lisanna had given up on telling him to sit still a long time ago, her repetitive words wearing down everyone's resolve except for the subject of her attention. And the slumbering infant in her arms certainly appreciated the lack of interruptions to her sleep.
As he started his hundredth lap, his eyes darted up toward the rooms lining the second floor. Gajeel winced in sympathy, his fingers drumming a senseless tune against the scarred wood before him. Laxus wasn't much better, his murmured conversation with the Thunder Legion punctuated by his own glances upward.
Everyone was on edge, even if the three Dragon Slayers were the only ones privy to what was actually occurring upstairs. Well, them and the several women locked up in the infirmary.
As Natsu passed by her table, Erza grabbed him by the waist and yanked him onto the bench beside her. He glared at the table, knowing better than to direct his fraying nerves at the Requip mage. "Sit down," she said conversationally and not like Natsu's brain was about to turn to mush. "Walking your feet off is not going to help her. And it certainly doesn't do any of us any good either."
Natsu grumbled, leg bouncing despite his best efforts. Happy fluttered down onto his head, offering his best friend support even as his own little heart raced. "She'll okay, won't she?"
From across the table, Juvia snorted quietly. Sylvia snoozed on her lap, small hands wrapped tightly around the neckline of her mother's dress. She shot a quick glance to the corner of the guildhall, her toddler son playing happily with Gale as they both tried to postpone their inevitable afternoon nap. "Don't worry, Happy. She's had no problems these last nine months, and both Wendy and Porlyusica are with her now. She couldn't be in better hands."
Erza nodded once, her firm grip locked around Natsu's elbow. "Pretty much all of these women have been there at least once over the past four years, and every single one of them is fine."
"It's different this time," the Dragon Slayer mumbled, digging his fingers into the flesh of his thigh as his gaze trained on the room above where his wife, his Lucy, cried and groaned and fought. She would never cease to amaze him.
Anyone who said women were weak obviously didn't understand how painful and endless labor was.
Cana squeezed onto the bench next to Natsu, draping her arm over his shoulders in an attempt to distract her friend. It worked, at least until Lucy's next cry caught his attention more. The brunette held her bottle up to the Dragon Slayer's mouth, but he bumped it away with a careless hand.
Cana scoffed. "Natsu, man, you have to loosen up a bit. She's gonna be fine, even if it sounds like shit right now."
"I've given birth twice. Well, technically three times," Juvia offered up, glancing down at the blue-haired baby curled in Gray's lap. No matter how hard he tried to slip right into the role of father forced onto him the moment he returned, there was still some difficulty in his mind, gaps that could not be filled, events he had missed and would never be present for. And then two months ago on March 20, Kaltain Fullbuster joined the world. The Ice-Make wizard still hadn't quite figured out how to handle the infant girl, but his family had clicked into place the minute he'd first held her. He may have messed up with the twins, and he would forever love and cherish them. But here was his chance for the first step and the first word, the first and last of so many things he had missed with Sylvia and Storm.
Gray threw his wife a small smile before returning his attention to Kaltain, the infant sleeping peacefully for the first time all day. Juvia smiled back, leaving a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. Then she kept talking to Natsu, hoping to reassure the anxious father-to-be. "It hurts, yes, and every minute in labor you wish for it to be over. But then, when it actually is over, and your baby is in your arms for the first time…" Juvia sighed, brushing her daughter's hair away from her face. "It's all worth it. It always is."
"I know," he said with a sigh, collapsing back further against the bench, Erza's grip on his elbow no longer tight and instead merely grounding. "Ugh, it's just-"
"Impossible to act like nothing is wrong?" Bickslow said, leaning over the back of the bench to grin down at the pink-haired wizard.
Natsu swat at the older man's head, muscles aching for a fight. Bickslow easily dodged, smirk uninterrupted as he ruffled the Dragon Slayer's hair and dislodged Happy from his resting place. Natsu swat at him again, only Erza's presence at his side keeping him from leaping to his feet and attempting to deck Bickslow. Happy hung in the air, glaring briefly at Bickslow before drifting over to join Lily and Carla several tables over.
Cana pressed down against his shoulders even as she turned her attention to the bar. "Hey, Kinana, I'm running on empty over here!"
Kinana laughed even as she rolled her eyes. "You know where the beer is, Cana."
"Is that a smart idea, letting her back with the alcohol?" Wakaba asked cautiously.
Macao snorted. "Yeah, we'll go back to check and find she's drinken all the beer."
"Drunk, Dad, not 'drinken.'"
"I think I'm right on this one, Romeo."
"Just because you've spent the last thirty years drinking beer doesn't mean you know how to speak right."
"I have half a mind to not let you go on any more jobs this month, you smartass."
"I'm seventeen now, Dad, so not much you can do."
"Hell yeah, Romeo, you tell him." Cana cheered him on. "What good are our old mans' anyway?"
"Just because you had a shitty relationship with your own dad-"
"Need I remind you, there are children present." Levy's sharp voice cut through the commotion and shut down the conversation. "Just because I know my children are going to know every swear imaginable by the age of six doesn't mean I have to encourage it." She held up her hands threateningly, the words at her disposal enough to warn the older wizards off.
Laxus snorted, reminding himself to tell Mira about the rare show of force from the petite Solid Script mage. Although, his wife would likely be more caught up by the fact that her first challenging job in months coincided with the weekend that Lucy went into labor. At least Elfman was with her. He tore his eyes from the ceiling when Freed coughed, bringing his attention back to the conversation he couldn't seem to hold.
"Natsu," Lisanna said, voice pitched low enough to reach her best friend's ears but not disturb her baby girl. "Come hold your goddaughter for a bit, will ya?"
Natsu maneuvered out of the pile of people he found himself surrounded by, Erza's firm gaze locked on his back as he made his way to Lisanna's side. The white-haired woman beamed tiredly up at him, Marigold shifting tiredly in her arms.
The Fire Dragon Slayer took the girl gingerly. She came awake at his touch, brilliant blue eyes matching those her mother was closing. Tufts of disorderly black hair stuck up every which way, much like Natsu's at the moment. He grinned down at the baby, fingers ghosting over her stomach to elicit a smile. She complied with a hiccup, blanket wriggling as her tiny hands sought freedom from the warm embrace of her swaddle.
Ever since her first real smile yesterday, just a few hours before Lucy's contractions started, Natsu couldn't stop trying to reproduce that same joy in her face. It was infectious, too, and Lisanna sighed happily as she watched the nervous tension fade from her friend's shoulders.
Then he flinched, gaze snapping upward as his grip tightened ever so slightly on Marigold. Lisanna started too, the sounds from upstairs finally slipping through the floorboards at a level she could hear.
The guild quieted, the single piercing scream cutting through the cheerful conversations. After a long moment, Natsu gave the infant back to Lisanna before starting his laps again, hands tugging fiercely on his scarf.
"Just go upstairs," Max said. Natsu didn't deign to respond, concentration locked on the movement of his feet and the pain Lucy was in.
"Do you just not pay attention?" Alzack tossed a napkin at the back of the younger man's head. "Porlyusica kicked him out four hours ago for doing the same thing he's doing here."
"Does that mean we can kick him out too?" Jet grumbled, weary from following the continuous back and forth of the pink-haired man. Droy smacked Jet's arm before returning to his loaded plate.
"Be kind," Bisca scolded. She tapped Asuka on the shoulders as she finished her daughter's braid, and the young girl scampered off. "None of you have been in his situation, and, until you have been, I won't hear another word out of you."
Alzack smiled at his wife, remembering his own jitters during the long night it had taken for their little girl to join them in the world. And that was when Wendy hadn't been there, able to help and save in a moment. The Sky Maiden was a miracle worker and, especially in Mira's case, a life-saver.
By the bar, Makarov sighed. His great-grandson (that title always made his head spin and his throat long for a drink) sat in his lap, smiling and revealing the three teeth in his mouth. The eighth master adjusted the hand he had supporting Xavier's head, bouncing his leg to the best of abilities. The boy laughed, hands reaching up to hold either side of Makarov's mustache. He grunted but made no motion to dislodge the boy's hands. As long as Xavier was having fun and not causing trouble, he supposed he could put up with anything.
Laki observed them with particular attention. "Master, remind me to replace your chair soon."
"Oh, this one is perfectly fine, Laki. You gave me a new one only a few months ago."
"And I say it's time for the next one."
Xavier giggled along, both adults letting out their nerves through the pointless argument. Nab tuned in, preferring to watch them over watching Natsu do another round.
Yet Natsu was slowing, his footsteps coming to a gentle stop by Erza and the others. His head tilted backward until there was nothing in his line of sight but the blank wall separating him from the infirmary. He was vaguely aware of Gray saying his name, the words both concerned and annoyed. But he was in another room in all ways but physically.
A door upstairs creaked open. Gajeel and Laxus looked immediately, the former biting down on a smirk as he heard what the others could not.
"Natsu." Wendy's voice carried down the stairs even before she appeared, sweaty and flushed and beaming. Overall, she was the picture of endless joy. Her weary voice drew the attention of all, but the sparkle in her eyes washed away their worry, along with the faint sound familiar to all.
Natsu was already moving, every step as if he was in a daze. Bickslow clapped him on the shoulder as he passed, and Freed offered him a small nod. The only reason Cana didn't whistle at his back was because of the vise-like grip Erza had on her wrist.
He met Wendy on the stairs. She smiled at him, brushing a strand of damp hair off of her forehead. They continued upward together, Wendy sliding her hand into Natsu's. He was surprised to feel her shaking, although he chalked it up to the same exhaustion threatening to drag him down. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since Lucy's first contraction yesterday. Probably not his brightest idea, but, he'd had worse.
"She's doing great," Wendy murmured, squeezing his fingers. "There wasn't anytime Porlyusica was worried, either."
Natsu nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Wendy smiled up at him, the distance between them much closer than it had been all those years ago. The Sky Maiden pulled away and pushed open the door to the infirmary.
His nose was assaulted by a myriad of intense smells, but he pushed them away. It was easy once his eyes locked onto the bedraggled woman in the center of the room and the small bundle in her arms.
Lucy looked up with tears in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. Her blonde hair lay across the pillow, tangled and damp and the only evidence of the long hours behind her. Her smile widened before she returned her attention to the baby resting against her chest, the newborn's hands clenched in tiny fists as she sniffled and hiccuped, cries slowly ceasing as her mother's warm skin brought comfort.
Natsu stumbled forward, breath catching in his throat as each new step took him closer to his family. He sank onto the bed beside Lucy, entire world centered on this little girl in his wife's arms. "Hi," he murmured.
"Hello," she replied, leaning against him in exhaustion. One of his hands began to card through her hair, gently untangling the golden strands.
"Are you okay?"
From across the room, Porlyusica snorted. "Of course she's fine. I told you the same thing four hours ago, but you didn't seem to get it through that thick skull of yours-"
Wendy laughed and rolled her eyes, joining the older woman to help her repack her bags. "We know, you hate all humans." The pink-haired woman sniffed, refraining from saying any more.
On the bed, Lucy stroked her daughter's back, soothing murmurs slipping past her lips. Natsu pressed a kiss to his wife's hairline, warmth different from his fire filling his bones. "Do you want to hold her?"
Natsu nodded soundlessly, his hands already reaching out. With exaggerated caution, Lucy transferred the baby into his arms. Despite the pang in her chest at the loss of the warm weight, she had to admit that the picture Natsu and their baby painted was one she would forever cherish.
"Hi," he whispered. "Hey, there." His vision began to blur. He rubbed a gentle thumb over her cheek, and she grumbled before turning into his touch. Natsu let out a shaky breath as tears slipped down his face. He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around **the idea that this little girl was here and was his and Lucy's, even after preparing himself for the past seven months. Natsu tucked her closer even as Lucy snuggled further into his side. He didn't move his arms from the baby, but he pressed himself tighter against his exhausted wife.
"Do you have a name?" Natsu blinked, looking over to the side in surprise. Virgo stood by the wall, hands clasped behind her back as she watched the couple.
"When'd you get here?"
Lucy snorted, winding her arm around his waist. "Right after you got yourself kicked out." She swallowed down a yawn, wanting to remain in this moment for as long as possible.
"She was a good helper, but if she doesn't go soon, she's going to drain the rest of your energy," Porlyusica warned, bags all packed. Wendy mouthed a thank you to the spirit, and the Maiden nodded.
"Of course. I don't wish to cause any distress. But Princess, before I go, accept this gift." Virgo came to Lucy's side and held out an expectant hand. Puzzled, Lucy stretched out her own until their palms met. Virgo let her other hand hover over top as a golden light began to pool. The light enveloped their joined hands, and the baby in Natsu's arms grumbled before turning into his chest. Wendy squinted and Porlyusica turned away, muttering to herself as she prepared to leave.
When the light faded, Virgo smiled down with an open expression. Lucy frowned before turning her attention to her hand. A breath of air slipped from her lips as tears began to burn in her eyes once more.
"What is it?" Natsu asked.
Virgo's smile widened as she held up Lucy's hand to show him. "Ten stars. Ten Zodiac keys." And sure enough, ten black stars encircled Lucy's left wrist, each perhaps the size of a nail. Only one glowed a soft gold, and when Lucy noticed it, she looked up at her friend with the question emblazoned across her face. "That one's mine." Virgo tapped the golden star. "When I go back, it'll fade to black like the others. One star for each spirit means that their star will glow whenever they're here on Earthland."
"Oh, Virgo… how can I ever thank you?"
Virgo released Lucy's hand and bowed deeply. "It is not for you to repay us for the love in our hearts. We thank you for the kindness and loyalty you have shown us these past years. After all you have done, the King and the rest of your spirits are forever in your debt. This is our promise, Princess. We will always be by your side, no matter where life takes you." And after blowing a kiss at the newest Heartfilia-Dragneel, Virgo vanished in a cloud of golden bubbles.
Lucy laughed through her tears. She buried her face in Natsu's side, heart too full to be contained. I love you all, she thought, hoping her spirits would hear and understand. She knew they would.
"You never actually answered Virgo's question," Wendy said, sorry to break the spell and yet driven by her overwhelming curiosity. Natsu looked over, not following the Sky Maiden's train of thought. Wendy grinned with a pointed look at the baby he held. "What's her name?"
Lucy pulled away enough to gaze at her child, right arm tightening around Natsu's waist. He pressed a kiss to the top of his wife's head, a fresh tear slipping down his face and melting into his scarf.
"Nashi," Lucy murmured. Natsu nodded once, remembering their many late nights whispering potential names into the darkness. Lucy's left hand brushed across Nashi's forehead, black stars standing in stark contrast to pale skin. "Nashi Heartfilia-Dragneel, welcome to the world."
And here we are. The end. Almost a year later, this monster of a fic has finally come to a close. I honestly don't know what to say except that I am so grateful to everyone who has hung around for this ride and who has let this story into their hearts. Your kind words have made my day more than once, and I won't forget any of you.
I can't believe that I first had the idea for this probably about four years ago. It's envolved A LOT since then, especially my plans for later arcs, but it is still just as special to me as ever. Certain chapters have been through many different versions, while others poured out finished. And I'm super thankful to you all for understanding when I miss an update (like last week, which again I'm sorry about). Later on, I plan on being better prepared.
Which brings me to my next thing! Book Two is in the works! The Paths We've Traveled: Day of Parting. I have no idea when I will start publishing this book, but while I already have a basic outline, I'm nowhere near ready to start writing. I will keep you all updated, however, and hopefully will see you in this next adventure! I'm all fired up just thinking about it ;)
I love you all so so much! Until next time! xoxo