Chapter 72

"So from here to there, that wall will be gone, and this kitchenette will be gone. I want this space nice and open." Gajeel explained to the designer he'd called in. "Think that will work?"

"Well, we'll have to see if this wall is load-bearing." the middle-aged man hummed, looking around the small kitchenette. "If it is, we can put some support beams up there, but that's more expensive."

"Money is no issue." Gajeel waved with a sigh. The designer just nodded and turned to the next task at hand.

"So, the kitchen will be moved to the next suite over. Why don't we go there, Mr. Robertson?" they headed next door and the designer looked around. "Alright, I see what you're going for, when you said to remove that door." he hummed, referring to the main door to this suite. Gajeel wanted that door gone, and a wall torn down where the kitchenette currently was. He was converting two suites into one large apartment, almost. "That's doable, for sure. Just need to get materials to fill up the door. And now, this kitchen?"

"Levy wants a really nice kitchen." Gajeel nodded. His little wife missed cooking, and it was a pain in the ass to go across the mansion to cook or to even get food. Levy wanted the option to just be able to cook when she wanted to.

"Hm, I'm thinking all along this corner and back wall, here, with a nice island with a sink and a breakfast bar here." the designer suggested, drawing a few sketches on his notebook. "I'll have to ask your wife what materials she would like, but marble counter tops are very popular these days." he paused and looked around the room that was currently a living room. "There will be space for a small dining area, between the kitchen and living room, if you'd like?"

"That's fine." Gajeel nodded. He was sure Levy would like that, anyways. "The last thing is this bedroom, here." he led the man towards the huge bedroom with a connecting bathroom. "I want this to become two rooms of even size. And take out that bathroom door so it only opens up to the living room."

"That's easy enough." The designer nodded, adding that to his notes. "Just need to take out that big door, put two new ones in, then put up a new wall. How would you like them furnished?"

"Well, the one by the bathroom, don't furnish it. Just paint it white and put some carpet down. We can pick the color later." Gajeel shrugged. That room was going to be the nursery, and Levy wanted to design that on her own. "But the far one, I'd like some bookshelves in there and a really nice reading area by the window." This room, in particular, was his gift to Levy. She didn't know he was furnishing this room, and it was going to stay that way for now. She'd thought it would remain unfurnished, and if they had any more children, that would be their room. And it would be. But they could always take out the shelves and books and whatnot later. It would be a shame for this room to just go to waste, after all.

"Well, I think I've got everything. Don't worry, Mr. Robertson, I'll have this looking to your exact specifications in no time." the designer smiled at Gajeel, who gave a pleased nod. "I will be back later this week with a contractor, but I'm guessing this will only take about four weeks if we put a rush on it like you ask. Should I follow the same protocol to get in?"

"Yes. Everyone needs to be checked in at the gate. And give us at least an hour's notice." Gajeel nodded. It was the only way to keep these workers in the dark about who they were. All signs of this being a mafia family's headquarters were hidden before the workers came. Fairy Tail symbols were covered, banners taken down, and guards were informed of the visitors and therefore careful not to reveal their weapons, which all had the Fairy Tail symbol on them. "Gray will show you out." he told the designer as they left the suite. Gray stepped forward and politely gestured that the man follow him.

Levy passed them on her way to the suite, and she smiled at Gajeel when she walked into their room. "How'd it go?" she asked happily.

"Really well. He thinks everything will work." Gajeel smiled at his wife, gently pulling her to him with a light kiss. "They'll start later this week. I'll have our stuff moved into a guest room by then."

"I'm so excited. Our own little space for just our family." Levy hummed happily. True, it still wasn't very big. Perhaps the size of a nice apartment home. But it was more space to call their own, and soon there would be a third resident. Gajeel smiled and placed his hand on her stomach. It was still flat, but there was a tiny bit of a bump there now that could be mistaken for chub. Wendy had just given her a thorough check-up earlier that day, before Levy went in to work. Both she and the baby were in good health, and Levy seemed to be around 12 weeks pregnant. If she did the math right, Levy even knew the day she got pregnant... it was the day Gajeel became the Don. She told him this, and Gajeel just grinned happily at this news.

"That's perfect, shrimp." he chuckled. "Shit, now I'm awful happy ya convinced me to do it that night."

"Right?" Levy giggled at her husband, who kissed her sweetly.

"So, when do we get to know the gender?" he asked her now, grinning excitedly. He was beyond excited about this baby, and had been ever since she told him a few weeks ago.

"Well, a few weeks from now." Levy hummed. "You can usually tell around the 18th week or so."

"I want to go with you." Gajeel told his wife, giving her a gentle smile. She smiled back and nodded happily.

"Of course, Gajeel. I scheduled another ultrasound for around that time." she told him, standing on her tip toes to give him a quick kiss. "Think you can take some time off for that?"

"I'll figure something out." he chuckled, already thinking about how he could slip away for a while to go to this appointment. He might just ask his old man to keep an eye on things for a few hours. Hell, that's what he'd done for their anniversary. Speaking of... "Shit."

"What?"

"Shrimp, we've been so excited over the renovations and this baby... we forgot to tell my old man and Lily."

"Oh! You're right!" Levy gasped in surprise... before bursting out in a fit of giggles. "That's funny. And they're the only ones we can tell right now, too." she laughed at the situation. "Why don't we go tell them now? Let's invite your father out to eat, and tell them both then."

So it was decided. It didn't take much to convince Metalicana to go out to dinner with them. In fact, it was becoming an almost monthly thing for them to get together for dinner. Metalicana so enjoyed talking to his daughter-in-law, and they often got coffee or tea together on her days off while Gajeel was busy. Retired life was suiting him well. Of course, he wasn't completely retired. He still hung around and went to the monthly meetings and such. It was just that Gajeel was in charge now. But he was there to provide his opinions and such, and Gajeel really appreciated that he was still around to keep things from falling apart if he screwed up. Not that he needed to worry about that. Gajeel was doing a great job of leading the family.

Anyways, Metalicana happily agreed to go to dinner with them, and Lily came along as their guard for the night. They dressed down to make it appear like they were just... normal people out for dinner. Jeans and shirts for the men, and Levy wore a simple sun dress. Nobody knew who they were, and they went to a very casual restaurant. Lily sat at the table with them, but kept his eyes and ears open for any threats.

It was a pleasant, quiet dinner and Levy was quite surprised at the normal service for once. She'd been in the family so long that she'd forgotten what it was like to be normal. It was refreshing.

They talked about this and that, enjoying the nice evening and quiet atmosphere until it came time for dessert. That's when Gajeel and Levy got Metalicana and Lily's attention. They looked at the married couple with curious expressions.

"We have something important that you both need to know." Gajeel started off seriously, trying to keep his face firm. But as his father and Lily looked at him, he couldn't hold it in anymore, and his smile was breaking through. He gestured to Levy, who blushed and smiled sweetly at the men across from her.

"We're... going to be parents." She informed them, watching happily as both men stared at her in shock, then in joy.

"I'm going to be a grandfather..." Metalicana beamed with pride and joy, while Lily just smiled with happy tears in his eyes. To see the girl he cared so much about all grown up, happily married, and expecting a child... oh, it did wonders for his heavy heart. He just knew Liza and Leo were grinning ear to ear up in heaven as they watched their daughter with pride and love.

The dinner soon dissolved into talks about the baby. How far along was she? Did they know the gender yet? Lily and Metalicana were almost as excited for this baby as Gajeel was. And why wouldn't they be? Metalicana was going to be a grandfather and Lily, well, he might as well be considered her second father, as that was the role he'd stepped into as of late (you, know, aside from the body guard job). This was basically his grandchild, as well, and he couldn't wait to meet the little bundle of joy soon.

Metalicana sighed happily later that night as they were going back to the mansion. He looked back at his son and daughter-in-law through the rear-view mirror as he sat in the passenger seat. They were whispering quietly, Levy cuddled up to her husband as he had an arm wrapped around her shoulders. His free hand rested tenderly on her stomach, and there was a look in the new Don's eyes that Metalicana knew all too well. His son was completely, totally, irrevocably happy. He had the love of his life, and now they were expecting a child together. Metalicana knew the bliss Gajeel was feeling now, that pure joy that filled every inch of his being and gave him such peace and comfort. He'd experienced the same with his own wife, when she was expecting Gajeel.

Ah, to see it all come full circle, it was wonderful. These would be the best years of Gajeel's life, Metalicana just knew it. He'd been there, done that, and he dearly missed those years with his wife and young son. But to see his own son going through it, well, that put a huge smile on the retired don's face. This was what it meant to grow old. You lived your life, shared your knowledge and wisdom, and watched your children find happiness of their own.

Metalicana couldn't be happier than he was in this moment. He couldn't be prouder.

His son was happy, and that was all a father could ever really ask for.

Another chapter, done. Woo.

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-Nerdy12