S.R: Okay, like I said last time I ended up writing three chapters worth of content for this story in one sitting. So after this one it'll be a bit. Considering it seems to be doing extremely well I have decided that I'm going to try and update at least once a month preferably two or three times, but at least once.
Natsu: Butting in with a side note. To all the guests saying 'Why not give her both of their last names?' in response to the ending of the last chapter. THAT WAS THE PLAN. WE JUST WANTED TO HOLD OFF ON SAYING IT.
S.R: And now back to your regularly scheduled program.
Cana groaned as she woke up. Trying to roll over in bed and fall back asleep she stopped quickly when she felt a small weight in her arms. Which cased her to open her eyes and look. When she saw the little girl, she sighed.
"Shi-… Shoot. I thought I was dreaming this up."
She mumbled to herself, correcting her language so that she didn't curse in front of the baby. Luckily Michiko was still asleep. But now that they were taking care of her, Cana knew that she and Natsu would have to clean up their act. Including the fact that Cana would have to drink a lot less, if not give up entirely on alcohol. The thought should have made her sad, but she found that she didn't mind it.
Gently and slowing rising from the bed with Michiko still in her arms Cana approached the couch where Natsu had fallen asleep. She nudged the pink haired man with her elbow a few times to wake up him.
"It's morning already?"
He asked groggily as he sat up.
"Yeah. Mind holding Michiko for a bit so I can do my morning routine and take a shower?"
"Okay."
Natsu responded softly, a small smile on his face as he accepted the baby girl from Cana. The sight slightly melted her heart. He was already so caring and loving with the little one. Brushing her thoughts aside Cana entered the bathroom and set about taking a shower.
While she did that Natsu just stared at the little girl in his arms. She was still wrapped up in a blanket, and he was only just noticing the fact that they could only see her face. In fact all they knew about her was that the little girls eyes were the same onyx color as his own.
"I wonder what color your hair is."
Natsu mumbled to himself as he waited for the little one to wake up, or for Cana to finish up with the restroom so he could take his turn.
"Eh, it doesn't really matter. I can already tell that you're going to have me wrapped around your little finger, my little dragon."
Natsu softly whispered, a smile appeared on his face as he finished speaking. One that was mirrored on Michiko's face. The moment he called her his little dragon the smile grew even though she was still asleep. But the smile didn't last long as it slowly became a frown. Michiko was waking up and she wasn't happy. Thanks to his enhanced senses Natsu quickly figured out why. Luckily for them Cana had finished up in the bathroom.
"Hey Cana, think you can go find a store and get the diaper supplies? I'll stay here and clean her up, since it's probably a good idea to give her a bath."
"I guess we're just lucky we made it this far before she needed changed."
Cana replied as she slung her bag over her shoulder. She nodded at Natsu and said she'd try to be back within fifteen minutes.
"Alright then, let's get you cleaned up."
Natsu smiled softly to Michiko, though on the inside he was groaning about the smell. He carefully set her down on the counter beside the sink in the bathroom and unwrapped the blanket that was cocooning her. Not wanting to waste any time Natsu immediately began to change her so he didn't check for the answer to his earlier rambling about her hair color. Because they didn't have any wipes, Natsu settled for using the toilet paper instead. Thankfully Michiko, while fussy, wasn't overly so. When he finished, the now dirty diaper was in the trash and Michiko was sitting in the sink. It wasn't really deep enough for what he wanted to do, but it would work. Using one hand to keep her from falling over and hitting her head, he turned and grabbed one of the smaller complementary towels and a wash cloth.
When he turned back to Michiko and the sink, Natsu held the wash cloth under the faucet and got it damp. Then he gently but firmly began rubbing Michiko's arms with it. He started with her arms, then moved to her chest and stomach, then her back, her legs followed that, her feet were next, after that he moved back up to her hands, and then finished with her face.
"Now the tricky part."
Natsu commented, as he finally took a look at her hair. While there wasn't much, there was enough that he was confident that she'd have long flowing hair like most of the girls in Fairy Tail when she grew up. It was also a very pretty brown, just a shade or two lighter than Cana's. But since her hair was still pretty short, and he had to be careful not to hurt her, the most time consuming part of her bath was washing her hair. In fact part way through the process Cana returned to the room with a bag fully of changing supplies. She set the bag down by the couch and set about preparing a bottle or two for Michiko in case she was hungry.
"I see you've been having fun."
She commented as she joined him in the bathroom. Michiko was still a bit to young and small to play with the water, but that didn't mean she couldn't squirm around and giggle. Which is what she was doing while Natsu tried to wash her hair.
"Yeah. I'm almost done."
The pink haired man replied as he finished washing Michiko's hair. When he pulled his hand and the wash cloth away Cana was surprised to see the little girls hair color. It was a little unsettling how she had the same color eyes as Natsu and roughly the same hair color as her own. But she shook it off as Natsu used the small towel he'd prepared to gently dry the baby girl off. Cana wasn't sure if Natsu knew how to proper change a diaper, and she'd helped Macao and his wife when Romeo was born, so when he was done drying her off, Cana stepped in with the changing supplies. A few moments later Michiko was in a fresh diaper and giggling happily at Cana.
"Alright you two are clean and ready for the day, now it's my turn."
Natsu said as Cana lifted Michiko up and off the counter. She rolled her eyes at Natsu's tone because it was a playful pout. But she smiled anyway. Carrying Michiko back out into the hotel room Cana sat down on the couch beside the bag of supplies she'd grabbed while Natsu was giving the little girl her bath. By this time the bottles were ready, so she decided to feed Michiko while they waited for Natsu to shower.
Despite the fact she was cooing at the baby and smiling while Michiko giggled and reached for her hair Cana was thinking about other things. 'Why does this feel so natural? I mean Natsu and I are raising a baby. Granted she's not our own child, but still. I shouldn't feel so at ease with this.'
Since she couldn't really do anything about it Cana decided to talk to the master when they returned and see if he could help her figure out why she was so accepting of the whole situation. But her musing was interrupted as Natsu exited the bathroom. Michiko hand only gotten a part of the way through the bottle, so Cana asked Natsu to grab the extra bottle she'd prepared and put it in the side pocket of her messenger bag. That way it was in a spot that was easy to get to if the little one was still hungry after the first bottle.
"I've got her, so can you carry my bag and the bag with all the changing supplies?"
Natsu nodded as he picked the two bags up while Cana stood from her seat on the couch. They walked towards the door of their hotel room as Natsu asked a question.
"Do you want to go get some breakfast for us, or are you eager to finish getting the rest of the supplies we'll need?"
"I'm not terribly hungry right now. Are you?"
Natsu shook his head. He had woken up later than he normally would have, but his morning routine after cleaning himself up in the bathroom usually included going for a small run before eating anyway. So he was fine with finishing the baby shopping first.
"Then lets go get the rest of the stuff we need and then have brunch at the cafe by the train station."
Cana decided. Natsu quoted Happy's favorite saying in response, which made the brunette woman chuckle. They stopped by the front desk of the hotel to check out, and then they were heading towards the shop Cana had gone to for the diapers and other changing supplies.
"Oh welcome back miss."
The clerk said with a smile when they walked in.
"I told you I'd be back to finish shopping. We just really needed the changing kit and baby bottles."
She said as she rolled her eyes. The store clerk was an older woman, but not elderly. She did give off a motherly vibe though, which is why Cana readily accepted her help when she had rushed into the store earlier. She had already told the older woman about the circumstances behind the reason they had to shop for baby supplies though, so the woman just smiled as she guided them through the store, advising them on everything the two would need to know in order to raise the little girl that was in Cana's arms.
"I must say, if you don't look closely at her face it would be easy to assume she was your actual child rather than adopted."
The lady said off handedly, as they moved passed the section of the store that contained the diaper supplies. She stopped them in the section of the store that held the formula for making milk, and grabbed a couple cans. Since Cana was somewhat rushing she had only grabbed one when she'd been in the store previously.
"Yeah, that is a strange coincidence."
Natsu replied, as he glanced about the store. Cana had only grabbed two bottles, because she knew some babies would drink more milk than others, but even if Michiko didn't have two bottles at a time, he knew they would need a few more so that there would always be a clean bottle for the baby girl to drink from. With that thought in mind he grabbed another four, which the store clerk nodded at with a smile.
"Smart idea. Always have a clean bottle ready for feeding a baby." She commented as they moved into the clothing section of the store. At that point Michiko had finished her bottle. Natsu noticed and pulled the spare bottle Cana had prepared out from the messenger bag and warmed it up in his hand. Not too much though, before he handed it to Cana who accepted it with a smile. When she put the teat of the bottle in Michiko's mouth, the little girl latched on, and greedily began drinking again. All three of the adults laughed at that. But the store clerk, stopped so they could peruse through the baby clothes.
"Do you have any preferences on the clothing?"
She asked as they began riffling through the assortment of clothes.
"Not really, but if you've got a onesie or something with the Fairy Tail logo on it, we'll take it."
Natsu commented with pride, shifting so the lady could see his guild mark. She just smiled, and pulled out a few different outfits. A simple white onesie, a light pink onesie, a black one with the Fairy Tail logo on both the front and back in white, a white shirt that said 'Little princess' in pink, a lavender shirt with the words 'Snuggle me' written in a cursive font in black, and a white shirt that read 'Future Fairy Tail wizard'. On top of that she grabbed two pairs of white shorts, a pair of black pants, and pink shirt and skirt combo that was pretty frilly.
"I know you probably don't want to spend too much right now, but I figured if you count the current outfit she's got on then with all this she has enough outfits to have a different one every day of the week."
Natsu and Cana both agreed that it would be enough at least for a little while and added the pile of outfits to the shopping cart. After that they grabbed two baby carriers so they could be a little more hands free while carrying Michiko. Then they entered the toys section. Cana made sure they grabbed a couple pacifiers, one of which had the Fairy Tail emblem in black on it. Since Natsu was going to build the baby furniture, they still had a bit more of the budget Cana mentally created in her head as they shopped. So she let him pick out a few toys for Michiko.
In the end Natsu had decided on a baby swing and a stuffed bear toy wise, though he did add a couple story books for them to read to her Michiko. With that there baby shopping was done, and it was still below the budget Cana had already decided on. She wasn't going to let them spend more than 30,000 jewels since they still had to get back to Magnolia, and carrying too much stuff would make that a lot harder. But they managed to stay just shy of that limit, instead spending 29,650 jewels.
Natsu carried all the bags as they walked towards the train station, Michiko in Cana's arms still sucking away on her bottle. The bottle was almost empty but there was still just a little bit left when they got to the cafe.
"I don't know if we should give her another bottle or not."
Cana mumbled when they sat down. Natsu titled his head in thought. He'd never spent much time around Romeo when he was still a baby, so he didn't know how much a baby could eat without eating too much and getting sick.
"I wouldn't. Just let her finish that bottle… Don't we have to burp her or something when she's done eating though?
Cana nodded, happy that Natsu was taking the situation far more seriously than she would have expected. It seemed she owed him a lot of credit, since he was adapting to the changes and not playing around. Because they still needed to get back to Magnolia, they ordered a light and quick meal. With Michiko finishing her bottle as they finished ordering. Natsu grabbed the now empty bottle and placed it with the first one in the side pocket on Cana's messenger bag that way they knew the two bottles would need to be cleaned again before they would used. While he did that Cana softy pressed Michiko into her chest. One hand supporting the baby with her chin resting on Cana's shoulder, while the other was cupped as she softly and slowly patted the little girls back.
After five minutes passed Cana figured Michiko had been burped enough, and let the little girl settle back down into her lap. The little girl was facing Natsu, who was making silly faces for her to laugh at. It was a really cute scene to the onlookers. When their food arrived they both ate slowly, though on her part it was because having Michiko in her lap made it hard to eat without bumping her with an elbow.
"Now to get our tickets and return to Magnolia."
Cana spoke when they stood up. Natsu frowned about riding the train but he stayed silent. It was important that they get home soon after all.
An Hour Later
Their train had pulled into the station at Magnolia and Cana dragged Natsu off the train. Even though he'd sent Happy ahead of them to explain the situation to the master, Cana hadn't been expecting him to meet them at the station.
"I see you two are being serious about this."
He spoke when he noticed Natsu carrying a few bags worth of baby stuff. He was truly proud of them for the effort they were putting into raising the little girl. At first he was worried they'd have to pound the matter into Natsu's head that he had to be serious about it, and a little concerned that they wouldn't be able to handle it. But the sight in front of him caused him to sigh in relief.
"Of course we are gramps."
Natsu grumbled. Cana just stepped closer to the short man so he could see the little one properly.
"Happy said you didn't know her name? Did you decide on one while you were gone?"
He asked a small smile on his face as he looked at the cute little girl in Cana's arms. Nodding she turned to Natsu.
"Gramps, meet Michiko. Oh that's right, you never did tell me whose last name you decided to give her Cana?"
Natsu spoke with pride, a pleased smile on his face at the name since he was the one that thought of it.
"Both. Michiko Alberona Dragneel. What do you think master?"
Cana said with a smirk. Natsu smiled as well, pleased with the idea. Which was something Makarov noticed. 'These two brats… I wonder how long it'll take them to figure it out.' He said in his head. They were far closer now than before Cana had accepted that job, and it seemed like they'd be getting even closer. So he was happy for them.
" I think that's a splendid name. Also since the two of you are being quite serious about it, you've got my support. But I have to ask, how do you two want to handle the guild?"
He asked, inwardly laughing at the idea of how much chaos it would stir up when the guild found out. But Natsu shrugged.
"I wasn't really planning to be by the guild for a bit. I'm going to cut down some the trees on my property to make the baby furniture, and build an expansion on my house."
"I didn't have any plans. Well besides visiting Porlyusica and asking if she'd do a check up on the little one. We don't even know how old she is."
Cana answered.
"My guess is three maybe four months old. But it probably would be a good idea to have Porlyusica confirm her age."
"Gramps you mind carrying this stuff to wherever Cana wants it? I'm going to go get started on cutting down some trees. If I'm lucky I might be able to start building the baby furniture at least partially before the day is over."
Natsu commented as he handed the bags of baby supplies to the guild master before heading towards his home in the forest at the edge of the town. Cana found herself staring at his back as he walked away, unsure as to why the thought of him working hard for her sake made her heart beat faster.
"Let's go see Porlyusica first. After all we need to know how healthy little Michiko is."
Makarov spoke as he and Cana headed for the forest as well. Though their destination was a section of the forest behind the guild hall to the North, rather than Natsu's home in the Northwest section of the forest. When they arrived Porlyusica nearly beat them with her broom for interrupting her day, but the moment before it made contact with Makarov's skull she noticed the child in Cana's arms.
"You brats always seem to do unexpected things."
She mumbled as they followed her into the building that was her home.
"Well… When she refused to go with anyone but Natsu and I after we rescued her, we kinda resigned ourselves to raise her. Though I do find it odd just how easily I accepted it and am settling into the role of her caretaker."
Cana offered. The old pink haired lady didn't say anything though her face softened as she looked at the little girl. She did shy away from the pink haired woman, but unlike when they tried to hand her over to the others they rescued she didn't instantly start wailing. Noticing just how close she was to crying though Cana didn't take her hand away while Porlyusica did her check up. She let Michiko hold onto her fingers, as a way of letting her know she was close and that everything was okay.
"So what is the little one's name?"
Porlyusica asked as she finished up her examination.
"Natsu picked it out. Michiko. He said in an old dead language it means 'beautiful'."
Porlyusica and Makarov both knew what language she was talking about, and though they didn't know it all that well, they did know enough to tell her Natsu was correct about the names meaning.
"Is it bad I'm not surprised that Natsu is smarter than everyone gives him credit for?"
"Remember he was raised by a dragon. He might not have learned common sense, or gained book smarts, but that doesn't mean Natsu isn't intelligent. Natsu probably knows more forgotten knowledge than Porlyusica and I put together."
"So how is the brat handling this situation?"
Porlyusica asked, mostly because while she would never openly admit it, she did feel a bond with the Dragon Slayers, besides Wendy.
"He's going to build the baby furniture himself. Plus he's building an add on for his house since there's only one bedroom… To make it easier for both of us to raise her he even asked if I'd move in with him."
Cana answered. But her words drew shocked smiles from the other two adults. They were both proud that Natsu was taking things seriously, but they were shocked by the fact he'd even offered for the brunette to live with him. Though as someone that knew more about Dragon Slayers than all the none Dragon Slayers, Porlyusica had to wonder how long it would take the two to realize what was going on. Setting the thought aside she turned to face Cana full on.
"From what I can tell right now, she's a perfectly healthy three month old baby. So far at least she doesn't seem to have any allergies, but I can't determine anything about food allergies until she's old enough to eat solid foods. Bring her back after her teeth have come in and I'll check again then."
"Thank you. I know we tend to take your aid for granted especially in the heat of the moment, but it really is appropriated."
Cana spoke as she took the little girl back from Porlyusica. As she and Makarov's left the healers hut with Michiko, Cana turned to the guild master.
"Don't tell the guild about this. I want to do it, but I want Natsu to be there. Though I'd appreciate it if you sent him some help. I know it'll only be a few days for the furniture but add in the expansion of his house and it'll take two weeks at least before he's ready to come to the guild again.I don't think it'd be smart to wait that long. In the mean time, I'm going to head over to Fairy Hills and start squaring things up."
She didn't say it, but Makarov could tell that she was going to take Natsu up on his offer to move in with him to raise Michiko. He kept the thought to himself, mostly because he knew there was a chance she'd get embarrassed and second guess her choice. Though he did follow her to the girls dorms since he was still carrying all the bags of baby stuff.
S.R: There you go. I'll see you guys next time.
