All in the Family
"Mommy! Mommy!"
Nashi Dragneel, the eldest daughter of Natsu and Lucy, was wandering the upstairs hallway in search of her mother. She was thriving at the age of five, and she was just as energetic as her own father. Her younger sister, three-year-old Celestia, was following close behind her like a group of ducklings tagging along with its mother. They had been very close to each other since Celestia was first born, but they wouldn't be the only ones playing around. They were really excited about the arrival of their new sibling, and they were eager to know if they were to have a brother or sister. The new baby would arrive on the same week as Ariella and Freed's third child, and the due date was three weeks away. The Fairy Tail guild would be gladly welcoming to the two newest members, as each of them treated one another as if they were a large loving family. It felt like home to them, in spite of being labeled as the most reckless of all the guilds across Earthland.
"Mama!" Celestia chimed in, their voices echoing throughout the hallway.
"I'm in here," a voice answered, as it was coming from the laundry room. The door was completely open, allowing them to go inside. They spotted their mother taking out bed sheets from the dryer and placing them into a pale blue basket placed on top of the washing machine. It was because she was eight months pregnant and she was unable to bend over due to her rounding belly. She had quite enough of the pain she experienced throughout the previous few weeks of her pregnancy, and they were more agonizing than the mood swings and morning sickness from the earliest stage. She also dreaded the weight gain that made her the same size as Ariella was; in other words, both of them were the sizes of whales. They could hardly wait to welcome their little ones into the world very soon.
Lucy's sunshine blonde hair was worn in a long low ponytail that lengthened to her mid-back, and it was tied by a pale blue ribbon. It went well with a cyan-colored dress that had short cap sleeves and an empire waistline; the dress was hemmed below her knees and it was flattering for her swollen bump. A simple pair of black flats made a finishing touch to her outfit.
The next task of her laundry duty was to take out her husband's clothes of the washing machine. She removed the basket from there and placed them on top of the dryer first; then, she opened up the washing machine and took out the dripping wet clothes that had just been washed. They had a fresh clean fragrance that she loved to smell, as it was much better than the stench of Natsu's sweat.
Natsu would love wearing his clothes again once I give them to him, she mentally mused of him. He and I cannot stand that foul odor from his sweaty body. It's what he gets for going out on missions or training his fire dragon slayer magic.
And speaking of Natsu, he was out running some errands in Magnolia with his friend (and her best friend Levy's husband) Gajeel Redfox. He had left Lucy behind to keep a close watch on the kids alongside Happy, and that didn't seem to bother her in spite of the high energy their toddler girls had.
Once she hung up the soaking wet clothes onto hangers and placed a dozen of Natsu's clothes on the shower curtain rod in the bathroom next door, Lucy returned to get some more hangers and began placing the next batch of clothes onto them when she was interrupted by Celestia calling to her:
"Mama?"
Lucy turned her head and glanced down to see her daughters standing behind her. She was wondering how they got there; they were playing with their dolls downstairs a while ago and got so distracted by their vivid imaginations that they didn't seem to notice her leaving them for laundry duty.
"Ohh. Hello, Celestia, Nashi," she greeted them with a smile. She was occupying herself by hanging up the second batch of Natsu's clothes on a rack inside the closet to let them air-dry. "Why did you come to see Mommy? Did you have something to say?"
The girls nodded to her in unison, with their arms hidden behind their backs as they were standing in front of her. They were both moving their right feet back and forward, and their big brown eyes were staring directly back at their mother's own eyes.
Still smiling and interested about what they would want to say to her, she said to them:
"Go on. Ask me about anything."
"Mommy… when is the baby coming?" Nashi questioned her.
"He or she will be here soon," she replied to her, softly stroking her bump."What do you think the baby will be?"
"We want a sister!" they said altogether.
"We know you do, and I'm sure that you will love her when she does arrive!"
"But what if it's a boy?" Happy asked, as he emerged his head up from a tall wicker basket placed next to the dryer. Lucy's chocolate eyes bulged out in shock, whereas the girls were watching him in astonishment. They didn't realize that he was hiding in there the whole time.
"Natsu's always wanted a son and that would be weird if you have to make him dress in pink clothes."
"Shut up, cat!" Lucy snapped at the blue Exceed, a red vein popping up on her head as she glared at him.
The girls giggled in reaction to Happy's assumption and their mother's anger toward him. It was entertainment to them every time Happy would bug her to the point of enraging her and they would sometimes watch her attack him in order to teach him a lesson.
"Yeah, it would be weird if he wore pink," Nashi said, nodding in concord.
"What about his hair?" Celestia asked. "Would that be weird if his hair is pink like Daddy's?"
"No. I have Daddy's pink hair and I don't look weird."
"You're right, Nashi. You actually look pretty in Daddy's pink hair," Lucy said, as she gently ruffled her eldest daughter's bright pink locks. "If Happy is right about me having a brother for you girls, I hope you would love him just as much as you love each other."
"We will!" both of them chirped, big cheerful smiles forming on their faces.
"Even if he does wear pink," Happy joined in, only to be snatched by the tail and be given a glare from Lucy.
"Keep it up and I will wash you and hang you up to dry…," she snarled at him.
"A-A-Aye…," Happy replied, quivering in terror.
The mother-to-be released his tail from her grasp, sending the little Exceed crashing to the floor. The girls trotted over to him and helped him up, and they each gave him a gentle pat on the head to comfort him.
"You're funny, Happy," Nashi said to him.
"And we love you so much!" Celestia added.
These words of encouragement meant so much to the blue-furred Exceed, as stars were twinkling in his big eyes and tears welled up in them.
Thank you, Celestia and Nashi! Happy thought of them, crying tears of joy. He was lucky to have them around, especially when Lucy would snap at him for his crazy shenanigans or making comments that would irk her. You're much less scarier than your mom!
"Why don't you girls go play with Happy in your room while Mommy has to wash the dishes?" Lucy suggested to her daughters.
"Okay!" the girls said altogether.
"Good. Now you be nice to Happy when you play with him."
"We'll be nice to him!"
Lucy shared a sweet smile that formed across her fair-skinned face, and the girls gave her big jovial grins in return. They each took Happy's paws and they escorted him to their bedroom just as their mother left them, as they were planning to play tea party with him.
Later on in the afternoon, Lucy had to put her daughters down for their naps after hand-washing all of the dirty dishes and drying them. They were tired out from playing with one another and having a tea party with Happy. She was thankful for him to keep an eye on the girls when she wasn't able to herself, for she was responsible for keeping the house in tip-top shape in order to keep herself and her husband happy.
She opened up the door to the master bedroom and quietly closed it, and then she proceeded toward an ivory wooden crib, which would be where the baby would rest in. It was bought especially for them by Ariella and Freed, and it was their special congratulatory gift. Inside of it were a stuffed white teddy bear that had a yellow ribbon tied around its neck, along with a little stuffed lamb. They were sent to them as special gifts from their friends Erza Scarlet and Gray Fullbuster, who were away on solo missions.
Having been up on her feet throughout the day was wearing Lucy down as her soles had started to become sore. A rocking chair with white cushions was calling to her, as it was placed next to and it had to be bought and assembled by Natsu a month ago. Although he had a little difficulty following the instructions at first, it didn't take long for him to complete it so that Lucy would have something to relax herself in during her pregnancy. She had enough of having to use the armchair in the living room when she was expectant with their two daughters, after all.
The moment she settled herself in the chair, Lucy let out a sigh of relief and rested her feet up onto a footstool that came with the chair. It was exactly what she needed to alleviate the sharp pain.
"That's much better…," she said to herself.
Oh, my Mavis. We are so close…, she thought to herself, as she placed her hands on both sides of her bump. Ari and I are going to be welcoming our babies in three weeks, but it's not gonna happen on the same day. The doctor told me that I would go into labor about two to five days after Ari's delivery date. I know that Ari and Freed are hoping that they will have a girl, after having twin boys instead of one boy and girl. On the other hand, Natsu has always been yearning for a son, as he's getting tired of playing dolls and pretend with the girls. At least Happy seems to enjoy their pretend tea parties. I, too, am hoping for a boy and all we can do for now is wait and see.
All of a sudden, a strong kick was felt against her left hand and she immediately flinched. It had disrupted her thoughts and she didn't like that one bit. In spite of this, she was used to feeling the baby's movements and the hiccups it would sometimes have.
"You're pretty strong in there," she said to the little one, massaging her swollen belly. "You will make your entrance very soon."
As much as I don't mind the hiccups, this little one sure loves to kick so hard, Lucy mentally noted with a sigh. I think that he or she is becoming impatient…
In the midst of her bonding time with the baby, she heard the front door creak open and footsteps coming from downstairs.
"Hey, Luce?" a voice called out to her, grabbing her attention.
It turned out to be coming from Natsu, and he had just returned home from his errands with Gajeel. He had some heavy baggage on hand, and it consisted of some groceries for the week and some household essentials like dish soap and laundry detergent.
She opened up the door to the master bedroom and descended down the stairs to see her husband in the kitchen.
"I could use a little help here…," he grunted, as his muscular arms were being weighed down by the excessive weight of the bags.
"Of course, Natsu," she replied to him. "I'll get Happy to help out too."
"That would be great. And can you please keep your voice down? The girls are sleeping."
"Ahh, sorry. You just put them down for their naps?" he said, lowering his voice to avoid waking them up.
Lucy nodded to him and answered him whilst assisting him put the groceries in the fridge, freezer and cabinet:
"Yes, I did. They wasted their energy playing with each other and Happy."
Happy came into the kitchen and observed the couple working together with the groceries, and he figured that he would like to help them too. He trotted his way over and tugged on Lucy's dress, grabbing her attention right away.
"Ahh, Happy. I was going to ask you to help," Lucy said to him. "Sorry about the laundry incident earlier."
"No worries," the little cat said with a smile. "I'm just as excited about your new baby as the girls are, and I also want to find out if you would have a boy or a girl."
"Didn't we discuss that months ago?" Natsu asked him. "I'm still hoping for a son, you know."
"Yeah, and the girls were longing for a sister that they would love to play with other than each other. However, it would be a wonderful blessing either way. They said that they would love the baby even if it does turn out to be the son you always wanted me to have."
"You guys would make a big happy family, especially in Fairy Tail," Happy complimented of them.
"Thanks, Happy!" Natsu replied, patting his buddy on the head.
Lucy nodded in concord with Happy's statement, as she then said to her husband:
"Of course we would. Don't forget that Ariella and Freed will also welcome their newest addition soon. It's crazy that she and I are both expecting our third babies."
It was quite a coincidence that she and Ariella became pregnant at the same time; but then again, it was a surprise that they accepted for themselves, their spouses and children, and all of Fairy Tail.
"I remember when you and Ari made that announcement. All of Fairy Tail went wild with the celebrating and cheering for ya."
"And Cana went a little too overboard with the barrels of Black Star Beer…," Lucy stated with a low sigh.
It was an embarrassing scenario for her to recall, as she remembered seeing Cana Alberona becoming drunk after guzzling down eight barrels of her favorite beer and slurring her speech in front of the two mothers-to-be. And to top it all off, she passed out right in front of them with her eyes spinning in circles and Ari's younger sister Juno assuming that she was dead. However, Natsu corrected her by stating that Cana was simply intoxicated, as she always was every time she would gulp down any alcohol she could get her hands on from Mirajane. As a result, Elfman had to carefully escort Cana back to her home once the celebration started winding down and all of the guild members were driven to exhaustion.
"She just can't help it, drinking the night away during the celebration," Natsu said, shaking his head.
"Aye," Happy joined in with a nod.
"Alright, guys, let's finish putting away the groceries," Lucy ordered them, as she got into another grocery bag and took out two large gallons of water.
"You got it!" the twosome said in unison, and they got straight back to grocery duty alongside Lucy.
It wasn't long before the task was finally completed. Happy was curled up on the windowsill for his nap, whereas Lucy escorted Natsu to check up on the girls. Thankfully, their daughters were sound asleep in their own tiny beds with their favorite blankets draped over them. They were their comfort, along with their favorite dolls placed next to them.
"Thank Mavis they didn't wake," Lucy whispered to her husband.
"Yeah. It's a relief that they were still when we were busy with the groceries," Natsu replied in a quiet voice.
Once they closed the door to the girls' room, they entered the master bedroom and paused merely a foot away from the crib. Lucy took Natsu's left hand and gently placed it over her bump. She grasped it with her own set of hands, just as the baby started to move around again in response to detecting its parents' touch.
"The little one is due to arrive in three weeks," she said to him. "Do you have any names for it?"
"I'm thinking of naming it after my dad, Igneel, if we have our son," Natsu answered. "We can call him Iggy for short."
"That's sweet of you to honor your dragon father," Lucy replied with a smile of content. "I'll consider using your name as his middle name."
A light pink blush tinted across the Fire Dragonslayer's face and his dark brown eyes widened in surprise. He had never been honored with his name being used as the middle name of a child in his entire life; then again, it made sense to him as he was the most important person in Lucy's life.
"R-Really?" he stuttered.
Lucy nodded to him in response, as she kept her hands on top of Natsu's left one. The little one continued to wriggle inside of her, with some small kicks against the parents' hands afterward.
"Thanks, Lucy. That means a lot to me," he said to her with a sweet smile. "Any names for a girl?"
"I already used my mother's name, so if we do have a third daughter… I would name her Estella," Lucy replied.
"That's a nice name for her," Natsu assumed. "But I still have high hopes for a little man!"
"So do I, Natsu. So do I."
With the afternoon sunlight shining through their window, Natsu and Lucy leaned in toward one another and locked their lips into a passionate kiss. They were optimistic about welcoming their newest addition not only into their family, but also into the Fairy Tail guild.
The End
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