The egg rumbled for hours, and the Dreyar kids waited impatiently for it to hatch. By the time 4am rolled around and the first cracks appeared in the egg, they were asleep all over the living room floor, under blankets their mother had spread over them.
Lucy and Laxus stayed up, awaiting the new arrival to the Dreyar family.
"It's been awhile since there was a baby in the family," he said.
His wife grinned at him. "I kind of miss it sometimes."
They found each other grinning at one another feeling as in-love as ever, but then the egg rumbled again, and he said, "I'm ready for it to come already."
The blonde rubbed her toe on his ankle under the table. "You're always so impatient about babies. It'll come when it's ready. It takes me back though. Remember when I was pregnant with Yuri and you'd lay there and try to talk him into coming out?"
"Stubborn kid. Two weeks late and then decides he's going to come out suddenly. Look how huge he is now," her husband mused.
She smiled at him. "It's been an adventure, that's for sure. It's so interesting watch them grow up and be so different. We've got good kids."
The egg suddenly shattered and a black and orange Exceed floated up, flapping her little wings. It plopped down into Anna's arms, recognizing the one who had taken care of the egg most.
The kids piled around her, touching rubbing the baby Exceed's silky fur and talking all at once.
Lucy took a small fish from the refrigerator she'd purchased for their new addition and took it to the kids, who fed 'the baby' and awwwed over her every move and sound.
Laxus asked, "What are you guys going to name her?"
Anna said, "Rai!"
'RaiRai' was the kids' nickname for the late Raijin, their beloved pet tiger with whom they played, took naps, and grew up with. And, Laxus and Lucy thought it was a little meaningful that their Exceed would be tiger-striped, almost as if the tiger had returned to them in some way or another.
The Exceed squeaked, "Rai!" and continued nibbling on the fish.
The parents observed as their children to tend to 'the baby,' observing them as they took turns nurturing and holding the tiny Exceed, who was all too happy to take all of their attention and then some.
They put the baby to sleep in a baby basket they'd bought together and ended up going right back to sleep all over the living room again, at which point their parents finally decided to head to bed.
The next morning was an exciting one at the guild, with everyone fawning over the newest Exceed while Anna protected Rai from being overcrowded or bothered like an excited new parent.
Halfway to noon, Laxus and Lucy were working in the office when Anna knocked and came in. Mavis had a job flyer in hand and Anna was carrying the basket with the Exceed.
Lucy said, "It's scary when you guys are together like real twins."
"You're going to jinx us, Mom," Mavis replied, holding up the job flyer to their mother. "We want to go on this job."
Laxus asked, "Who is 'we.'"
"Yuri and Layla and us."
"All four of you? And no adults?" Lucy pointedly inquired.
Anna smiled. "Yuri's an adult."
"Since when?" their mother asked.
"He shaves," Mavis argued, as if the presence of a handful of wiry blond hairs on their brother's chin proved he'd achieved adulthood.
Mavis persistently stepped between them. "Please, Mama! It's safe and we'll have a good time. It's an easy job. All we have to do is go, climb a rocky hill, beat up some moles, and come home. They are small. It's perfect for us and we'll be back in time for school on Monday."
The parents were more than a little disinclined at first, because they were both still trying to get over the idea Layla had been targeted and recently injured. In the end, they were a family of wizards and each and every one of them had to learn to stand on their own, especially her. As a celestial spirit summoner, she might be targeted for the rest of her life, and the sooner she learned to win, the safer she would be. Realistically, with Yuri they were in very little danger. With Layla, even less.
As long as they were walking the path of magic, there would be danger, and they were starting to enter the crucial period of their lives when they would grow the most, and soar above their challenges through blood, sweat, and tears. Sheltering them might do far more harm than letting them learn how to become champions in their own right.
The two parents had a wordless conversation with nothing more than a few quick glances, and Lucy took the stamp from the drawer. "You guys have to be careful."
Laxus asked, "What about Rai?"
Anna lit up. "You and Mama can watch the baby. She has to eat every four hours. She needs lots of protein!"
Laxus looked over at Lucy then back at his daughter, and finally back at Lucy. "I think our baby is telling us how to take care of a baby. And, furthermore, our baby thinks she can just run off and leave us to look after this kid she decided to have."
Lucy smiled at him. "Consider this a sneak peek at the inevitable future."
"You're the grandpa!" Mavis said, a little mischief clear in her voice. "Anyway, bye! We're going to go pack! And find Yuri!"
Lucy asked, "Does your brother know he's going on a job?"
"Not yet!" they answered in unison.
The office door slammed shut, and Lucy took the baby Exceed from the basket. Newborn Exceeds weren't really that helpless, but this one seemed happy enough to soak up all the coddling and cuddling.
Laxus sighed. "For a split second, I thought we were going to have the weekend to ourselves."
Lucy snuggled the Exceed. "Oh, don't be like that. You, me, a baby...it'll be like the good old days. We could have another one, you know."
Her husband gave her a confused expression. "Who is this 'we' you speak of? It's bad enough they leave us with this little cat."
His wife smiled and said, "I can just see them all grown up, going on jobs, and leaving the grandkids with us. Iggy and Yuri Jr!"
Her husband rolled his eyes. "In other words, our kids are going to make babies and we're going to take care of them while they work."
"Yes! Gams and Grams! But, I do kind of miss having a baby," she said.
Her husband replied, "This is why I wouldn't let them have a pet."
Lucy scratched the Exceed's head lovingly. "I miss baby kicks and baby snuggles and staying up all night rocking cranky newborns."
Those were wonderful things, and even though Laxus occasionally pretended to be annoyed with their kids, he loved their family. He was glad they had a full house, and the idea wasn't terrible to him. He also missed some things about having babies and little kids.
"I like babies. They're fun to make, I don't have to give birth, and I think we've mastered the art of the newborn. But the problem is that if we have another kid, it's going to grow up, go through puberty, and become annoying like the other ones. I thought the first one was defective, but four in a row makes me think they're all like that," he teased.
She smiled.
He smiled back, "Do you really want to do this? I'm forty-one. You're thirty-five. Our son is fifteen."
"Hell no. I'm just teasing."
The next day, the Dreyar kids easily completed their mission and after splitting the handsome reward, they boarded the train back to Magnolia. Their last stop of the night in Shirotsume town where they had to switch rails only to find there wasn't another train going out. This meant they were going to miss a day of school and invoke the wrath of their parentals.
They rented two rooms right next to each other at a resort that was just about to close when they arrived, and once the girls were settled in, Yuri went into his room and opened the window.
Shirotsume Town was famous for two things: spas and a guild called Sabertooth.
That meant he was close to his ex-girlfriend, the only girl he'd ever liked. He sat in the windowsill for a long time and thought about everything: about how he felt, about how he wondered if she still cared, about whether or not she'd see him.
It was already two in the morning, and far too late to just drop by for a visit. He decided he wanted to get close enough to breathe in her scent and then he'd leave.
So he slipped through the window and followed a scent he'd grown up loving through the strange town she'd left him for. Eventually, he came to a house in a nice little neighborhood where Sting and Yukino lived with Lilia Eucliffe and a couple of babies.
Now Yuri was so close he wanted badly just to say hello, but he didn't know which one of the windows led to Lilia. If he scaled the tree and entered one of the bedrooms, it was possible he'd fall through Sting's window, and that would be bad for his general wellbeing.
A light flicked on and a window opened.
She had sensed him.
And that made him happy, because it was proof of dragons that had bonded together.
Lilia gestured for him to come up, and he looked around. Yuri honestly knew better than to sneak into a girl's bedroom in the middle of the night, but the fact that it was wrong was half of the thrill. The other half was leaping from the tree on the big oak to the windowsill and suddenly being close to the only girl he'd ever had affections for.
He grinned like an idiot.
So did she.
"Hi."
"Hi," he answered with a smirk.
The wooden windowsill cracked a little under his weight, making a sound that was very audible to Sting's ears, enough even to wake him up.
"Get in here!" she whispered.
"Your dad will kill me!"
Lilia quickly shut the window and embraced Yuri tightly. Breakup or no, she still loved him to pieces. They'd literally grown up together, and she felt very lonely without him. He'd gotten taller, and a little more muscular since their separation, and he found her body had changed too, although not in a way he'd ever point out.
There was a knock on the door, and then Sting's voice. "Hey, Lilia, I heard a noise a minute ago. Are you okay?"
"Fine, Daddy!"
"Can I come in?"
Lilia lifted the covers. "Hide!"
Yuri slithered between her sheets like a snake and she threw a bunch of pillows over the lump he left in the bed.
"Come in!"
Sting came in, looked around, and sensed something wasn't quite right, but he wasn't sure what it was. Yuri hadn't been in the room long enough that the room had a specific scent.
"Go to bed already. It's crazy late. You want a tuck-in?" Sting asked.
Lilia just wanted him to leave before he realized she was hiding an intruder, so she carefully got into her bed and Sting sat on the edge of the bed and tucked her in.
"Goodnight, Kid."
"Goodnight, Daddy."
Yuri was scared to breathe and held his body completely still as he knew Sting's hand was mere inches from him.
Sting turned out the lights and left, and as soon as he was gone, she felt a tickling sensation at one ankle and giggled into the sheets. Yuri wiggled up and she pushed the covers down to look at his grinning face, his eyes lit by mischief and joy at being with her at least for a minute.
They were still teenagers in love, filled with optimism and enthusiasm for one another.
They spent an hour talking about everything: Rai the Exceed, Iggy and Anna's fight, parents, friends, guilds, siblings…
They kissed and snuggled, and a little high on the thrill of doing something that was obviously against all the rules and scared of the separation they'd soon partake in, they engaged in a series of escalations.
And then she was on top of him, quietly giggling in his ear before she whispered, "Yuri, I want you to be my first."
"First what?" he dumbly asked.
She started to unbutton her pajama top and he gained a swift understanding of what she was referring to.
Yuri licked his lips nervously and sat up on his elbows. "Are you serious?" he whispered.
"It's gonna be someone. It should be you."
"Now?"
Lilia nodded and reached over him to the nightstand, where she pulled out a box and retrieved a foil packet. "My dad has really never said anything to me about sex except that if I want to be stupid, please don't be 'all the way stupid.'"
"Is that a condom?"
"Yes."
"That's for…"
"Yes."
His physiology was certainly on board with it, and he didn't really have any bad motives. He couldn't think of any reason to say no.
Lilia pulled his shirt off and he embraced her and pushed her unbuttoned top to the ground, allowing bare skin to press against bare skin and ignite a dizzying, intense burn.
The next hour was sighs in the dark, hands and lips in new places doing new things, followed by three minutes of Yuri fumbling with the condom with shaking hands and then the best, most amazing sensations either of them had ever experienced.
And suddenly, it was morning, and Yuri woke up in Sting Eucliffe's house, in his daughter's bed while she slept curled up beside him, long hair spilling around her. When she stirred, it was only to gaze up at him with warm, adoring eyes.
"I have to go. If I get caught here, I'll be something a little worse than dead," he said.
Lilia held him a little tighter. "We made love."
Yuri felt a little silly blushing about it after, but he couldn't help it. It was the biggest thing that had happened to him. He wasn't a virgin. She wasn't a virgin. They'd had sex. Real, important, and wonderful sex.
"Yuri, I want us to be together when we're older," she said.
Yuri kissed her hair. "Me too. We'll figure it out, okay?"
"Will you visit me again?"
He grinned. "Of course, Lilia. You're still my girl after all, right?"
Lilia smiled at Yuri, because he was always the optimist. She didn't really know if it would all go according to plan, but she wanted to believe in it. All his life, he'd been looking after her, and without him, she'd truthfully missed him more than she thought possible.
They said their goodbyes, and he slipped out. She immediately hauled all her sheets and blankets to the washroom to erase the evidence before her father figured out what had gone on in their house.
Yuri made it back to his room and was showered by the time his sleepier sisters awoke, only to find Mavis had slipped out at some point in the early morning.
The idea that his eleven-year-old baby sister was loose without supervision or protection was enough to make him sigh and acknowledge how troublesome women really were. While he went to search for her, she was searching for her own prey. This was her true mission and the entire reason she'd coerced her siblings into taking the job in the first place. She was a mastermind, and everything had gone according to her plan, down to missing the train and getting stuck in town overnight.
Orga J Nangear the Second was unsuspecting, and this time, purely a victim. He had a mouthful of ice cream and was walking alone when he was abruptly clocked upside the head by a neatly wrapped little box with a bow.
"Happy Birthday, Loser!" Mavis shouted.
Baby Orga was disoriented briefly, and rubbed his head as he stared at her. "A wild Dreyar has appeared! Ruggedly charming looks, I chose you!"
"Drop dead!"
The lightning god slayer picked up the gift and unwrapped it. "It is my birthday. This makes me feel really special. No one else gave me a concussion."
Mavis postured herself and cracked her knuckles. "Whatever. You want another one? I heard there's a buy one get one free sale."
Inside of the wrapped box was a baseball signed by his favorite athlete, which Mavis had learned about (along with his birthday) in a profile in Sorcerer's Weekly.
"Teedo Jones never signs autographs, how'd you get this? I begged him when I saw his game in Crocus," he asked.
The girl said, "I electrocuted him."
"All for me?"
"As if!"
Orga gave her a pat on the head. "This is really special. You're a pretty amazing girl, you know. I like how your face is all red."
Mavis punched him in the stomach and then, as he was gasping for breath, his face reddened. "Now we match. You're welcome!"
"Wait, wait, wait, come back my vicious princess!"
"Stop stalking me already!"
Orga argued, "I live here. This time you did it to me, but don't worry, I'm not mad. It's kind of hot. I know you can't resist this handsome face."
Mavis looked around and wondered where the nearest river was and how much effort she'd have to invest in order to beat him up and then throw him in it.
"You can come to my birthday party! I'll tell everyone you're my girl now."
"I'll stop waiting for you to drop dead and kill you myself!"
XXX
By the time the Dreyar kids got home, they'd completed a job, crashed Orga's birthday party, and were partially responsible for turning the Sabertooth guild hall into a melee of next generation wizards from which Layla emerged the undisputed victor.
Rogue and Sting watched this and felt a little nervous at the crushing potential in the little wizard. She was stronger than any of the dragon kids, which was an upheaval in the magic world in which dragons ruled all. She was also petty and spiteful, as evidenced by the fact she only participated in the fight because someone said something disrespectful about the Dreyar name. Up until that moment, she'd acted like her job was to sit still and look pretty, but one ugly word about her family and she laid out everybody like clockwork.
The kids got home the same morning pictures ran in the newspaper, so while they were unpacking and getting ready to sleep off their grand adventure, their parents were sitting in the kitchen.
"I feel like our children are doing things they think we don't know about."
"What things?" Lucy asked.
Her husband said, "Obviously, we don't know. I doubt very seriously they accidentally ended up at Sabertooth."
Lucy was bouncing the Exceed on her shoulder. "They're starting to have their own adventures. That's exciting. I remember when I ran away from home how it felt to just explore and get to know the world around me. Go to new places and do new things."
"Lying little sneaks."
Once the kids were fed and catching up on missed sleep, Laxus went on to the guild.
Layla walked alongside him as they made their way down the street. "Dad, I have a question."
"Okay."
"I'm the pretty one, right?"
Laxus' brow rose a little. "I feel like this is going to be a weird conversation."
Layla said, "Look, Yuri apparently still has Lila, and Mavis that annoying mint-head, and Anna has Iggy. You know what that means?"
"You're the only one of my children whose hormones aren't detrimental to me having a good day?"
His daughter said, "How can the pretty one be the one without a boyfriend? That doesn't even make sense. Dad, I need a boyfriend. Like now. But Sam is just ugh…"
Laxus sighed. "Baby, I'd keep you without a boyfriend for the rest of your life if I could. I'm wholly unsympathetic to you right now."
"Dad! I'm serious! I need a boyfriend!"
He glared at her and said, "Not because you like a specific person, but because you feel left out. Stop being a thirteen-year-old girl already."
"I did. I'm fourteen now, remember? I don't know how you forgot my birthday and it's New Year's Day. I feel like by this point in my life you should realize my birthday is the day you run out of squares on your calendar."
"Oh right, all grown up now. And I said I was sorry."
Layla stuck her nose up. "Sorry doesn't cut it, Dad. Have you forgotten Mom's birthday?"
"Yes."
"You're terrible. How did you even get married?!"
Her father said, "By being a great guy."
"Yeah, right! I believe that."
He bent an arm down and pulled her against him while she struggled against this forced hug. "Look, I don't know what is wrong with your siblings, but somehow you're my favorite now. Your hormones only make you cranky and terrible to live with. That's why you're going to help me with paperwork."
Layla pulled away forcibly. "I think I just remembered something important I need to do."
"What is so important you can't spend the day with your dear old dad?"
"Dad, stop trying to act like spending the day with you is some daddy-daughter bonding experience. We both know you're going to give me the paperwork, then fall asleep at your desk."
Her father found this summary of his plans for the day true and was pleased that his daughter knew him so well. "Being a father is exhausting, especially when your kids go on a job as a cover to visit another town and party with a rival guild."
"I didn't know anything about that. No one told me. Anna and I got left by ourselves at the party and had to listen to that stupid Cheney boy read poetry about dragons. And I quote, 'scaly, shadowed, strong, I miss you for so long.'"
Laxus said, "When you guys do something I have not approved of and have no fun, it's satisfying to me."
"You're petty, Daddy."
"Says the girl who won't go outside if her headband doesn't match her necklace."
"It's called fashion, Dad. I don't expect you to understand. You dress like you are in one of those old rock bands where everyone is getting old and nobody acts like it. Gray hair and leather pants, really?" she asked.
Laxus scowled. "Okay, you're officially the unfavorite again. Brat."
Layla hugged on his arm. "I love you, Daddy."
With a little bit of coaxing, Laxus convinced his most intellectually-gifted child to do his paperwork for him. He wondered what his life would be like had he not been surrounded by extremely brilliant women, but he assumed it wouldn't have gone so smoothly. Besides, surrounding himself with smart women made him look smart too.
Back at the house Yuri stirred and found his mother was at home working with Anna on a school project. He suddenly felt nervous and strange around her, like she was going to look at him and just know what he'd done. And then he felt guilty, because he knew how she felt about her baby boy growing up.
It didn't take Lucy long to realize something was amiss in the world of her precious son. When she finished with her daughter, she tried to casually approach her son only to find that Yuri practically ran from her and left the house.
"Yuri!"
He didn't come home until dinnertime, and after eating, immediately went straight up to his room.
By the time it was nine o'clock, he knew his parents were probably having the 'something is wrong with our teenager' talks, so he crept down to the basement to lift weights. He determined the talk had already taken place because his father was watching him carefully.
"I'm fine," he said.
"I didn't ask," his father replied.
The boy lifted the weight and sat up. "Something happened, Dad."
"On your job?"
"No. The job was fine. Boring. In Shirotsume Town."
His father nodded and crossed his arms. "I heard you went to the party with Lilia. You have confused feelings?"
He shook his head. "I'm actually not confused at all."
"Then what's the problem?"
Yuri chewed on his bottom lip nervously. "Dad, I just wanted to smell her. I didn't really intend for it to happen."
"Please don't ever utter the phrase 'I just wanted to smell her' to anyone else. Someone who doesn't have dragon blood wouldn't understand, it makes you sound like a gross creep. But anyway, what happened?"
His son nervously said, "I spent the night with her."
"Like, slept in the same bed?"
Yuri shook his head.
It took a few seconds for Laxus to process the information, but as he did, his brows rose higher and higher, a look of surprised bewilderment on his face. "...wow."
He sat down next to his son on the weight-lifting bench and put his hand on his son's head. "You okay?"
"Yeah."
"She okay?"
"Yeah."
Laxus sighed, long and slowly, and asked, "Did you use protection?"
Yuri nodded. "Was that wrong, Dad?"
Laxus knew they were walking a fine line, and if he responded according to his gut instinct, he might erode the precious trust they had. He didn't like the idea at all, but he also remembered being fifteen and doing the same thing, only just for the sake of doing it.
Yuri had grown up alongside Lilia, and when she moved away, he didn't really ever start looking at or talking to other girls again. It was pretty obvious he was stuck, and Sting told him Lilia had been moping around without him too.
"You've always been a really good kid. From when you were tiny, you loved your sisters and your mom and just went along with all these crazy girls around you. Then you were scared of all the other girls in the world-I think maybe you just assumed they were all as batty as Dreyar girls are. But your first day of school you came home and all you wanted to talk about was this poor girl you bothered the hell out of all day, and that was just kind of your thing as soon as you met Lilia. You'd follow her around and get on her nerves, but it was good for her because she was really lonely."
"So was it wrong?"
Laxus shook his head. "It's probably a little stupid, but it's not wrong. I don't want you to be having sex yet, but the fact that you are doesn't mean you've done anything immoral or bad. And honestly, becoming an adult means making a thousand decisions that are dumb as fuck but not wrong. It's your life, not mine. I made all my own idiot teenager decisions and you have to make yours. But if you'd not been safe, I'd be taking it a lot worse."
Yuri asked, "Are you mad at me?"
"No. Kind of shocked. Don't take this the wrong way, but you're kind of an idiot with girls. So I feel like it was her idea. I don't really see you as the type to get hot and try to talk a girl into it. Which is good. It's good to let a girl decide when she wants to," he said.
Laxus put an arm around his son and brought him into a chokehold. "Are you planning on continuing this?"
Yuri choked out the word 'yes,' and his father's grip tightened.
"You're going to be careful and safe?"
Another choked affirmative reply followed.
Laxus thumped him on the tip of the nose. "Kid, I love you, but if you get her pregnant, you will be learning how to burp a baby in a body cast. Understand?"
He released Yuri and the boy rubbed his throat. "You're not going to tell Mom, are you?"
"Two things: First, and you should make a note of this because it now applies to you, a real man doesn't lie to the woman he's intimate with. I bother the shit out of your mom all day long, but I don't keep secrets from her and I don't lie. Second, you're not being raised by uptight asshole parents who are going to react crazy. She's your mother. She loves you."
The two spoke for a long time, about what happened, about Yuri's relationship with Lilia, and about how a man should treat someone he is intimate with. Laxus had a suspicion Lilia was going to be a part of his son's life for the immediate future, and maybe forever. They'd taken a leap forward beyond kids who messed around to young adults who whispered plans in the dark about the future that lay ahead of them.
Yuri eventually trudged upstairs to talk to his mother, who was sitting on the couch in the living room with a book and a glass of wine with her feet up. "Hey Mom."
"If it isn't my son who has avoided me all day."
He sat down next to her. "So uhhh...some stuff happened."
"That's very descriptive and helps me understand what's going on with you. I appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to let me know," she sarcastically replied as she put her book and wine down on the coffee table.
Yuri scratched his head, looked away, and awkwardly blurted out, "I'm not a virgin anymore, Mom!"
Lucy's eyes widened, and she asked, "You mean you...and then...you. You. What? You didn't, you're my baby boy. Or maybe...I think we've established you're my horny baby boy. Saw that with my own eyes."
She reached for her wine and Yuri realized it wasn't her first glass. Or her second.
"Mom, are you drunk?"
Lucy said, "I'm not drunk and you didn't have sex. See? Lying is fun."
"Mom."
She downed the rest of her wine and refilled it from a bottle there on the coffee table. "You know your dad and I were talking about having another baby. While our baby was out trying to make a baby."
"Mom, I was not. Lilia and I used protection and I think we should wait until tomorrow to talk. Why are you drunk?"
"I'm drunk because my son wasn't talking to me, and I think I'm too old to have a baby."
Yuri took the bottle of wine. "Okay, Mom. You've had enough."
"I'm not mad at you. I'm a cool parent, remember?"
"You're a drunk parent."
Yuri decided this was probably the best luck he could have caught with his mother, who was ranting about how she didn't need to go make a baby if he was going to go do it. He replied to this by expressing just how careful he was, and she waved him off and informed him that Layla had been an accident and therefore it could happen to him as well.
The conversation went downhill from there, and culminated with Lucy challenging her son to battle over the rest of the wine, which he continued to deny her. She tripped and he caught her.
"Geeze, Mom."
"Shhh. I made you."
Yuri said, "Let's go upstairs, okay?"
Lucy went back to the sofa. "Don't tell me what to do. I'm the parent. You're my big handsome baby boy. You were so fat and cute when you were born. Your head was really lopsided when you came out of me."
"Mom."
"It sort of ended up being the right shape, but sometimes I look at you and I can see it's still a little cone-shaped. If I have another baby, will his head be misshapen too? Do I want another kid with a weird head?"
Laxus came up from the basement and found his son trying to keep wine away from his intoxicated wife. Since Lucy had only become completely intoxicated a handful of times in their entire marriage, he was very confused as to why, but the booze seemed to have softened the blow. She was, at the moment, giving Yuri a graphic retelling of how he was born and why his head looked like it did. The conclusion of the story was that he better practice safe sex if he didn't want to make a baby with a funny-looking head.
Lucy snatched the bottle and refilled her glass, raising it to toast. "To grandparenting, since I'm too old to have more babies."
"Babe, you are shitfaced drunk."
"It's my anniversary, I can get drunk if I want to!"
Laxus seemed blank. "Oops."
"Yeah, oops. You and your son," she matter-of-factly answered, "You guys can go to oops-land and go oopsy all you want."
Laxus gestured to Yuri. "You can go upstairs. This is like an S-Class quest, you need to have had the crap kicked out of you a few times to know what to do."
Yuri said, "Love you, Mom. Sorry if I disappointed you."
Lucy gave him the biggest, longest, most awkward hug. "Goodnight, my non-virgin son. I love you just the same."
"Th-Thanks."
Laxus let his wife sit in the living room drinking wine and sharing her thoughts on life while he washed dishes and tidied the house up a little. It really wasn't his intention to forget, and he had no excuse for doing so. To be fair, he believed she should have known to put it on his calendar.
He carried her upstairs and put her to bed, listening to her drunk, slurred rants well into the morning.
XXX
"The sun...it's extra bright today. Turn it off," Lucy growled upon awaking the next morning.
Laxus closed the curtains and brought her orange juice and a bagel. "Sorry about our anniversary."
Lucy sat up in the bed. "My head hurts."
"I can't believe you got that drunk while the kids were home."
The blonde said, "Our son is having sex?"
"Yes."
"Did the world end?"
"No."
Lucy laid back down. "He's okay and they were safe?"
"Of course. Our son isn't an idiot. They're not bad kids."
She stared up at the ceiling for a while. "I told our son his sister was an accident, and that sex leads to babies with deformed heads."
Laxus shrugged. "He'll be fine. Fairy Tail is full of drunks, so it's not the first time he's seen a drunk person rambling nonsense."
"Come lay down with me?"
He snuggled into the bed with her and felt her nestle as close as possible to him. "Happy Anniversary."
"Happy Anniversary."
Please Review!
Special thanks to JustLoverly, Guest, LucyXHeartfiliaXFan, xxShyxx, yed01, kurahieiritr JIO, Olympe, RoseMcKellar, guest, swallowmysoul, yumeyumi1986, thunderbabyfan, lunastarlady, arouraleona, megumiyoung, andy24amk, jenheartal, helenezahl, tiernank, flamey owl, mewhee89, paname, HoneyClouds, katiekat2001 for reviewing!