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(:)(A)(:)
Unconditional
by AbsentAngel
(:)(A)(:)
"They're all waiting out there," Natsu murmurs, his grin warm against her temple. The words are sleepy, but they still manage to have an edge of leftover adrenaline combined with the softness of admiration. "I'm surprised they haven't broken down the doors yet."
Lucy nods, exhausted but happier than she has ever been in her entire life. The hospital gown she wears is thin and slightly itchy, and the only thing keeping her toes from freezing are the socks she was lucky enough to be wearing when she was checked in and the steady warmth from her husband beside her.
"I know," she says softly, no more than a whisper. The small weight in her arms stirs, a tiny fist escaping from the cotton blanket he is swaddled in. Every movement he makes is jerky and unpracticed, motivated more out of instinct than will, but she still finds her heart melting when that tiny little hand rests against her chest.
His eyes are wide and unblinking as he stares up at her with the dark blue-gray eyes that is so typical in newborns. She wonders if they will darken until they resemble her own chocolate colored gaze or if they will sharpen until they match his father's. He already looks so much like Natsu that it makes her heart swell, but she admits (perhaps selfishly) that their child will at least inherit her eye color if nothing else.
Throughout her pregnancy people, strangers even, lamented on how nothing would prepare her for the sheer amount of love she would feel once her baby was placed in her arms. She would nod and agree with a smile. She didn't disagree, but she didn't fully understand either.
She does now.
She doesn't even know the little boy in her arms - only that his name is Igneel, that she and Natsu are his parents, and that he is already so loved. She loves him without knowing him, without knowing who he will become, and the realization brings a whole new understanding of what unconditional love really is.
She holds him closer and places a kiss on his downy head, lingering to inhale the scent of his newborn skin. "Just a little bit longer," she murmurs, her glassy eyes sliding over to the man hovering beside her. His gaze is on the child nestled against her chest - the warmth in his smile melting whatever is left of her heart. She can tell that he is as much in love with the tiny being in her arms as she is. "I want to savor this for just a little longer."
He reaches out a hand, the back of his callused knuckle gently grazing their child's flawless cheek. "Yeah," he breathes, eyes lifting to meet hers. "Me too."
AN: Have a baby drabble! Because I was feeling inspired! :D