Thunder Baby was born stubborn.
It worked to his advantage as he started to venture into the world of walking. He was on the early side according to books, but he was ready in his little dragon self. He was on the crux of graduating from babyhood, at least in his own little mind, and he did have a mind.
His father was sitting on the floor, arms open as Yuri held onto the coffee table suspiciously.
Most of the time, his first step away from the coffee table landed him on the ground.
Lucy came in and watched the two men staring one another down. She wondered sometimes what went through her son's mind throughout the day, but at the rate he was growing, he was probably going to let them know fairly soon. She wondered at times if he would inherit his father's somewhat warped sense of reality. There were times that he exhibited signs of what she could only call 'Laxusism,' and her husband objected to this terminology because he said it made their son's likeness to him seem like a disability of some kind.
"Come here, little one," his father commanded.
Thunder Baby threw a toy and shook his head.
Lucy knelt. "Come to mama, my handsome boy! Thunder Baby! You need kisses?"
The baby was persuaded by the sweet affections of his mother and let go of the coffee table to take one, two, three, four steps before he hit the floor and shrieked, "Maaaaamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Both of his parents were shocked because he had never made an actual word. Yuri had been close on a few occasions, but this was purposeful and loud and he called for his mother knowing exactly the word he had formed.
Lucy swept him up from the floor, tear-eyed. "Thunder Baby, you called me..." She gave him a flurry of kisses and snuggled him, and he forgot what he was mad about. "You said mama..."
"Mamaaaa!"
Laxus stood up and ruffled his abundant but crazy blond hair. "Walking and talking, huh? He's getting big, isn't he?"
Lucy really wasn't sure why she was crying so hard—she was sure it wasn't just being overjoyed their son was talking and walking. She'd been so emotional during this second pregnancy. Her first pregnancy was a piece of cake, and although Laxus and Chelia made her life better, there was nothing like being fourteen weeks pregnant and having a ten-month-old at the same time.
So she held her son and cried while he continually repeated the word 'Mama,' which only made her cry harder.
"I really am happy," she said.
Thunder Baby kissed her cheek and snuggled her happily, holding her close as if to empathize with her tears, and this only made her happier to be his mama. It was nothing short of amazing to them how many new things he was starting to do.
They had a happy baby boy and mama moment while Laxus watched them, and he saw his son give him a strange sideways glare, as if to gloat that he was currently the recipient of the woman's affections. Moments like that made Laxus think his son was actually very smart and had a pretty good understanding of what was going on around him. This was especially true concerning Lucy. Yuri seemed to be very good at figuring out how she felt and if she wasn't feeling well, he'd sit and be still and silent for hours until Laxus or Chelia came around, and then release a hours' worth of noise and difficulty.
Laxus took his son from her arms. "I made you an appointment to have a spa day today. Relax, we'll hold it down here. Dragons are a fucking pain in the ass, right?"
"Please watch your language, Laxus. He's starting to talk, and I promise you don't want to be you on the day that baby drops an f-bomb," she warned.
He tried to imagine the baby saying it, and decided there were probably a lot of coarse words he spoke that weren't appropriate and that Yuri would probably learn all of them if for no other reason than to get him in trouble with Lucy.
Lucy meanwhile considered the idea of a spa day carefully. "Chelia is out of town."
"Yuri and I can manage. We'll have a man's day. We'll eat junk food, burp, growl, walk around without shirts, take a nap, and maybe go swimming."
The blonde shook her head. "How is that different from what you do when I'm around?"
Thunder Baby made an argument in his own language, and Lucy finally agreed, leaving the two to fend for themselves.
Lucy dressed and went on to her appointment, grateful she had a husband that still spoiled her after all the time they'd been together.
As soon as she was gone, Laxus changed and dressed Yuri. "I have to meet my client for a job I'm going on, so you're going to stay with Gramps. And we're not going to tell your mom."
He knew this was a pointless measure, as he'd probably just tell her the next time they had sex, which, he noted, would hopefully be sometime soon.
The baby made a fuss and a half along the way because he wanted to be put down to walk on his own but could not walk well enough to pull it off even holding his father's hand. This led to frustration all around, and by the time they arrived at the guild, Thunder Baby was in what Chelia referred to as 'Evil Baby Dragon Mode.'
No one without experience was prepared to deal with that, so right outside, he put Yuri down and held both of his hands, letting the boy take cautious steps right out in front of the guild until he calmed down.
Laxus felt magic behind him and stood protectively in front of him until he saw who was coming.
"Relax, Dad. This is the last place your son will be in any danger," Gildarts said bending down. "He's huge compared to the last time I saw him. Look at him! Standing up and everything. This little guy is pretty cute...Thunder Baby, right?"
By this point, the baby only really responded to Thunder Baby and seemed to treat the word "Yuri" with as much glee as the word "dish" or "table." It held no meaning for him.
Yuri smiled at the older man and this defeated the great Gildarts on the spot.
Gildarts opened the door and took one of Yuri's hands and led him into the guild, where the boys eyes looked over the situation with complete curiosity.
There was noise, there was violence, there was all kinds of insanity, and his little mind could barely take it all in. Thunder Baby was filled with wonder as he held Gildarts' hand and the old man pulled him up so he could see better.
The guild quickly silenced as Laxus forcibly disentangled his son from Gildarts and carried him to the bar counter, where Makarov was waiting with open arms.
"My dear Thunder Baby!"
Thunder Baby was honestly outgrowing the stage where he wanted to be held a lot and mostly liked for adults to pick him up for an improved view of the world. He did not want his great-grandfather to snuggle him, and he expressed this with a shriek as he wiggled free from Makarov's embrace.
Laxus caught him when he wiggled off the counter and put him on the floor, holding him up by one hand. "Ugh, it's so filthy here. Please keep him from crawling around on the floor."
"I see your son has outgrown the cute stage of being a baby. Lucky for me there's another coming here in a few months!" he chuckled.
His grandson rolled his eyes. "I just have to meet the client. Can you handle the kid for an hour?"
"I handed you for decades and nothing terrible happened to you, did it?"
His grandson took a deep breath. "Let's see, you got drunk and left me in Clover. I fell off a cliff when I was seven and busted my skull, I got lost in the East Forest for a week...honestly, we'd be here all day and I've probably forgotten half of it behind my broken skull."
"Water under the bridge! This boy needs a haircut."
Laxus looked down at his son and just tried to imagine the hell he'd raise if anyone got near his head with scissors. "I don't think he's ready for that."
"Erza!" Makarov called.
"Yes, Master?"
"Cut this kid's hair, please."
She requipped and had a razorsharp sword in hand.
Thunder Baby looked up at his father, who looked down at him. The boy had no idea what was going on, but his father was scowling so he scowled too.
Laxus said, "Erza, I swear to Mavis I'll turn your crimson hair crispy."
Erza dropped her requip. "Our team was going to go on a mission but one of our team members was unable to come with us because she's been impregnated again."
Laxus really wasn't sure why everyone kept acting like it was his fault. According a calendar, if anyone really wanted to split hairs, it was really probably mostly Lucy's fault. He was slightly intoxicated and therefore claimed no responsibility in the matter of not wearing a condom on that fateful night. Of course, he couldn't defend himself at all. It was always the husband's fault.
All of her team members had registered assorted complaints. Natsu flat asked him to "stop knocking up Lucy" so they could all go on missions together again.
With two little babies, Laxus and Lucy planned on her taking a little more extensive hiatus from work, but he knew she had to tell them that herself because it wasn't going to be well-received at all. She was easily the most beloved member of her team, and he was the jerk that kept taking her out of commission.
Laxus leaned down and spoke softly to his son. It was a mistake, he'd learned, to pick up a child before putting them down and leaving them. This resulted in screaming and tantrums fairly reliably, so he let him stand there on his own. "Yuri, son, look at me. I will be back, okay?"
The boy nodded, although more in response to the fact he knew he'd been asked a question rather than as an answer to the question itself.
Like many babies, if his parents left him in a strange place, Yuri automatically assumed he'd been abandoned forever and that the world was ending. That desperation kicked in as Laxus turned to leave and the baby fell face first on the ground and held onto his father's ankle.
Laxus sighed. "Yuri."
Makarov said, "Just go. He'll calm down once you're gone."
The baby screamed as if in pain until he saw his father walk out the door and then kicked into angry dragon mode, banging the floor with his fists while most of the guild members watched, unsure of what to do. The Dreyar baby was infamously difficult, despite having good parents, and he continued his temper tantrum until Makarov jumped off the counter.
The old man said, "Well, he's never coming back. Your new life is with us."
The baby understood none of this, but being directly addressed interrupted his fit.
"Once you start walking a little better, you can start taking jobs. You should probably join a team so someone can mash up your food for you and tuck you in. Don't let the fact you're a baby hold you back; you're as emotionally mature as most of our members," he said.
Thunder Baby listened, and understood nothing, but was content to give Makarov his attention as his grandfather joked with him about joining the guild.
And then Makarov had the most wonderful idea.
"Mirajane, where is the guild stamp?"
The white-haired mage smiled softly from behind the bar. "Laxus will kill us all," she sweetly said.
While Makarov and Mira argued about what sort of retribution would follow making it official for Thunder Baby, the baby crawled under the tables in search of the dragon scent he did not know. Laxus, he obviously knew, Natsu was like his crazy beloved uncle, and Wendy was with his nanny Chelia often. There was another, and he crawled to the source of it and tugged on Gajeel's pants as he stood between tables.
Gajeel was doing his best to improve things with Levy after they'd been through a rocky point in their relationship. Her primary complaint was that he needed to be a little more gentle, so there he was, trying to ignore the baby.
"Gajeel," Levy hissed.
The iron dragon slayer felt Thunder Baby pull himself up and stand there reaching up.
"Awww crap..what's this kid's name again? Lightnin' boy or boom baby or..."
Levy said, "It's Thunder Baby."
Gajeel stared down at him with the most intimidating look he could muster, and much to his surprise, Yuri gave him one back and accented it with a vicious sounding growl. He extended his hands upward again, and let out another growl. "What's this kid want?"
"He wants you to pick him up, Gajeel. I don't know how you come around telling me you want a family and you want to make a baby and you won't even be nice to a baby that's already here," she answered in annoyance.
Gajeel blushed, hoping no one overheard Levy talking about them making babies, and bent down. Thunder baby held on tight as Gajeel awkwardly lifted him by one hand and held him up.
Thunder Baby wasn't really hurt, but he looked at Gajeel in a way that very clearly said, You are doing this wrong.
He grabbed him by the other hand, and started to move him around, and Thunder Baby decided it was kind of fun and he let out a shriek of amusement as Gajeel swung him.
And Gajeel had a little confidence as he swung the baby around a little.
Levy was kind of relieved to see her boyfriend and the love of her life suddenly capable of delighting Thunder Baby. Snuggling the baby seemed lost on him, but he could play with him well enough. They growled at one another and he threw the baby up in the air, catching him gently.
Thunder Baby was happy to have a new friend and repaid him for the good fun by becoming motion sick and barfing all over the floor in front of him, narrowly missing both him and Levy.
Levy couldn't help but to giggle at the two and when she got the diaper bag, she put a new outfit on the baby. Thunder Baby's head tilted back and forth as he dizzily watched the world spin. "That was cute. I wonder if he gets motion sickness, being a dragon. I wonder if our babies would too."
"Our babies, huh?"
Gajeel picked Thunder Baby back up, realizing it was helping him out with Levy.
"You're too cute with babies, Gajeel. I can't quit you anyway."
Levy went to go get some paper towels to clean up the floor and Gajeel gave the baby a pat on the head and said, "Thanks, little guy. You helped me out there with my lady. I think we should be friends, okay?"
The young couple spent most of the next half hour giving him attention as they talked about having babies, and Thunder Baby was on his best behavior as he sat on the table between them until he crawled down the table and took a fistful of Erza's cake while she joined the argument about baby stamping at the bar.
He ate half the strawberry cake with his bare hands, made an enormous mess while he did it, and then crawled further down the long table until he arrived in the middle of the Raijinshuu, a group that would always—unapologetically—spoil him to death. Bixlow had him giggling with his dolls in mere minutes while Evergreen and Freed wiped cake off his face, hands, and arms.
Makarov approached the baby with the guild stamp around the time they finished.
Freed clutched the baby close. "Master, think of what Laxus is going to do."
"He'll get over it. Hand over the baby. It doesn't hurt. I don't see what the big deal is."
Freed answered, "The big deal is that you are putting a guild stamp on a baby. Like, Thunder Baby is literally a baby. He can't walk or talk and he wears a diaper. He's too young to join a guild."
"He's a member of Fairy Tail, is he or is he not?"
The Raijinshuu consulted one another over a series on uneasy glances, knowing that their leader was going to be furious, but also knowing that this was a family dispute. So they handed the baby over and distanced themselves from Makarov.
Makarov took off the outfit Levy had just put on and Thunder Baby was all right with this, because he didn't like wearing clothes anyway.
They stood on the table together, and while Thunder Baby was an excessively tall baby, Makarov was an excessively short grandfather.
"Where do you want it? Bicep? Over your heart? Maybe on the end of your tongue like your Uncle Bixlow?" Makarov chuckled at how Laxus might respond to that. "Right where your daddy's is?"
None of this meant anything to the baby, and he tried to brush the mark off when it was stamped on his chest. When it didn't work, he lost interest and crawled back to where Erza was sitting in front of a demolished piece of cake so that he could complete his work there. She gave him a look that would have made most grown men cry, but he was undeterred because her cake was delicious.
And then, he fell asleep in the middle of the table.
Laxus stepped in the door exactly one hour after he left the boy and found his son drooling with his mouth open as he slept half naked, covered in cake, and...
…
…
…
Guild stamped.
"I was gone for one hour. One fucking hour," he growled at his grandfather.
Makarov burped. "But we didn't cut his hair."
"Get rid of it!"
The older man shook his head. "There have been too many Fairy Tail banishments in this family."
"How are you drunker than when I left? First of all, it's noon. And second, you're supposed to be watching my son."
"I watched him. Honestly, what went so wrong?"
Laxus pointed at his son, "He apparently joined a guild, Gramps."
Makarov shrugged. "Is there any other guild he'd join?"
"He's a baby. Fairy Tail is a guild full of crazy drunks that party, eat, and pass out in the middle of guild hall," he complained.
Makarov pointed at his great grandson who was, at the moment, passed out happy on a table in the middle of the guild.
Laxus narrowed his eyes. "This is why you don't get to babysit."
Thunder Baby drowsily sat up, happy to see his daddy again. Laxus listened to mixed reports about all the excitement that had unfolded and brought a hand to his face.
When they got home, they went swimming in the lake, which is to say Laxus swam and Thunder Baby laid on his chest or was held against him constantly. Laxus really wasn't sure how to tell his mother he'd joined a guild during their mans' adventure, and hoped she wouldn't consider this the next time she needed to leave them alone.
Thunder Baby didn't seem to care at all and was having a pretty amazing baby day. It was hard to be upset when one's baby was happy, and the guild experience actually seemed to be pretty enjoyable to him overall.
"So, that's Fairy Tail."
The baby floated in the water in his safety vest, staring at his father.
"I was raised in the guild, which is why you aren't ever there," he said.
Thunder Baby returned a mouthful of baby talk, and his father rolled his eyes. "Of course you feel that way. You ate a whole slice of cake. And not only cake, but Erza Scarlet's cake. Like, you don't even know what a badass you are. There's no man brave enough to do that. I think you have no concept of fear at all."
Laxus had seen a baby his age at the park that was scared of their own shadow, but his child was an entirely different breed of baby.
Thunder Baby splashed him and he splashed the baby back.
Laxus let this go on until his son was so tired he fell asleep mid-splash and took him in, changed him, and put him to sleep.
The baby stayed asleep until dinner time, ate, and was playing quietly in the living room when Lucy finally came home.
"Hungry?" he asked.
"I'm pregnant, so yes," she answered.
Laxus fixed her a plate and she reflected on how happy she was that he'd learned how to cook meals that weren't awful. Baked chicken, rice, broccoli...she felt like she was starving as she devoured it.
Her husband watched her devour her food and grinned. "You had a good day?"
Lucy nodded. "So I have something to tell you."
"I have something to tell you too."
The blonde apprehensively smiled. "You go first."
With a sigh, he admitted, "So I left Yuri at the guild for an hour. I really didn't think anything too terrible would happen, but he's officially a member of Fairy Tail."
"Master?"
"You know it."
Lucy wasn't really that upset about it. She'd known her son had some kind of a future in magic when he started eating electricity out of the wall sockets.
She squeezed his hand. "So I've been worried about how different this pregnancy is from the last one. The reason I'm late is because I swung by Porlyusica. She did what she does with my blood and potions and spells."
His face melted with worry, because as happy and as exciting as pregnancy could be, it was also a scary time. A lot of things could go wrong and since their kids were coming a little close together, he was more worried than he knew he should have been.
"Is everything okay?" he asked.
His wife grinned. "Everything's great. Just different. Porlyusica said every pregnancy can be different. She was also able to use a spell to find out the baby's gender. We're going to have a little girl."
He smiled back at her and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "A daughter...that's perfect. I'm really happy with that."
"Me too. That way when you guys are doing your stupid man day stuff, she and I can do our thing too."
"Stupid man day stuff?"
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Laxus, you knowingly list burping and walking around shirtless as man's day things."
The infant crawled through the kitchen and pulled himself up. "Mamaaaaaaa!"
Lucy pulled him up and gave him half a dozen little kisses. "It kills me when he does that. I wonder what his next word will be. Maybe Dada?"
(It would be 'NO!')
Laxus reached over and tickled the boys feet, causing him to squeal. "You know he has no idea what his name is, right?"
Lucy laughed nervously. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice that."
"You have raised our baby to believe his name is 'Thunder Baby.'"
She laughed again. "At least I didn't let him join a guild."
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