Lucy never thought she'd see the day her husband entertained a feud with one of their children, but a month after Layla ran off and eloped, a stack of letters she wrote faithfully every day to him sat unopened in his study. The truth was her husband was very hurt by the sudden marriage, and it had thrown his entire sense of self off.

They were both extremely disappointed in Layla, but Lucy just had an easier time accepting what was done was done.

Laxus? Not so much.

He was the kind of guy who could only sleep on one side of the bed, only drank one brand of coffee, wore the same color of boxers, and if everything else in a wizard's life was unpredictable, there were certain things in his life that had to stay under control.

It truthfully was hard to suddenly have two empty seats at the table.

It did hurt.

Lucy wondered if anyone in the world had cut her husband as deeply as Layla did by absconding with her love without so much as a warning. Lucy got letters too and had been writing back every day so she knew her family still loved her, but Layla ended up being very upset because she felt like her father hated her.

But he didn't want to talk about it.

When they'd been married for a month, Lucy was on her way to force him to talk to her and she found him sitting there with all his letters torn up all over the desk. He had his hands over his face, a tumbler of whiskey to one side.

"She's unhappy because of me, not Sam," he said.

Lucy approached him and hugged him from behind, wrapping her arms around her neck. She kissed his fluffy silvery hair. "I'm not happy they did it either. But they're married and they're probably going to need as much support as they can get from everyone, especially you. You're an important person for both of them, and Layla is your baby girl. You know she didn't do it to hurt us. She's just excited to go live her own life. She's always been the crazy one, and when she makes up her mind, there's no stopping her. Remember this is the kid who carved art into her face so people wouldn't know someone gouged her eye out. That's a special kind of stubborn, and I'm sure she got that from you."

Her eyes were drawn to another piece of nostalgia that had appeared in her husband's possession. This time, he had a baby's drawing, a mess of mindless pink and purple scribbles with some gold in the middle.

"I remember this. Layla drew it right?" she said.

Laxus nodded. "That's me and her, in case you couldn't tell. She was so proud of it. It's amazing how many things I realize I never fully appreciated having them so close. A father was an important person to a family with three little girls. Big girls? Not so much."

Lucy sat on the desk in front of him, neatly stacking the letters. Then she pinched his cheek and said, "I feel like you've been a big bag of depressed lately. Nobody died, Laxus. Anna lives across the street. She ate all of her meals here today and spent most of our day complaining on our couch. Layla is basically on a long job in Crocus. It's just not a wizarding job. She's playing house with Sam, and they're doing just fine. You know that girl is happy."

"I don't understand how they are able to get along."

His wife shrugged. "By doing the same thing every newlywed couple does to work out their frustrations. Argue, sex, lather, rinse, repeat."

"Say no more."

Lucy pulled him forward and kissed him. "Layla is complicated, but you know the thing she's always wanted most is to be completely in love with someone. She and Sam had to go through a lot to get to this point. So don't you think if they can be tenacious and strong enough to make it through everything they have that they can manage?"

Laxus still felt like sulking, but he'd detected a change in his wife's attitude. "You're getting used to the idea."

"Honey, we don't have a choice. They're not bad kids. They are young and crazy and love, and there's nothing wrong with that. I know Layla hurt you. You're the daddy. You were supposed to give her away, and she ran off instead. But you know she's always had a wild spirit. No man can tame Layla. Not you, and not Sam. I'm sure he'll figure that out soon enough," she said.

Laxus noticed one letter he hadn't opened and reached to her left to take it. He ripped it open and found a handful of photographs and a letter. He looked at the pictures first, tilting his head one way. Whatever it was, it was small, black and very hairy.

Lucy smiled. "That's Baby. Sam found a little abandoned kitten missing half of one of his little ears. Normally, he wouldn't be able to do much to help because of his work schedule but the little guy was in bad shape, so he brought it home for Layla. Honey, they went on birth control and adopted a pet. I think they're going to be okay."

He reluctantly decided to swallow his disappointment and his hurt, because it really was pointless. He couldn't stay mad at her forever. Well, he could, but then he'd lose his precious baby girl forever and if it went on any longer, it was going to become a major marital problem and he couldn't bear that either. Long term, there was no room for resentment in a loving family, and if he was stubborn enough, he'd have everybody pissed off at him eventually.

Laxus sighed. "I'll go visit next week, if you can stay and keep an eye on the guild. We have three new members and Natsu and Erza are gone, so I think they might need some help."

"…probably be someone who knows we have five new members, not three…" she teased.

"So, let's talk about a wedding gift."

"Are we buying them a house? That seems excessive and they're a little older and not pregnant."

Lucy glared. "Sam makes more money than we do, so NO. Layla said he's got a fortune. Plus he gets to take a pension when he retires because of his arm, so he'll still be making a living even without going on jobs, and when he leaves the military, he's going to get a bonus. I'm honestly glad. He's organized and good with money, makes budgets and keeps track of income, expenses, and knows how to invest a little. Layla has been s-class for four years and has blown almost all of her money shopping, eating cake at fancy restaurants, and spas. Sam has her on a very strict shopping budget now, which is probably the best thing that's ever happened to her."

"That's actually extremely amusing to me. Sam has a shit ton of money and he won't let Layla spend it. I bet that pisses her off to no end."

"He's really disciplined about it. He won't even let her sex it out of him."

"More information than I needed. But, maybe it's good for her to be with someone like that."

"See? Sam's good for her. And she's good for Sam. They're fine. Anyway, I think we should give them a really nice honeymoon. Hisui said she'd given Sam leave of absence for a couple of weeks, and we could send them off someplace nice and exotic, where he won't be bothered by the military. Maybe one of the islands."

Laxus found this agreeable and nodded. "Just make sure it's a place with lots of great shopping."

She thumped his nose. "Be good, Honey. I'll make all the arrangements, and you can deliver the tickets and papers to them when you visit and let your baby know her daddy's feelings were just a little hurt. Make friends with your grandkitten too."

Downstairs, Anna was sitting at the table cutting up onions.

She had a little pile of onions, some chocolate chips, hot pickles, and a big bowl of chocolate ice cream.

Lex was sitting there at the table, his feet kicking happily under the table as he watched in excitement. "Are you really going to eat it?"

She said, "Why is this funny to you?"

"At school, my friends dare each other to eat weird stuff all the time. Sometimes, we mix everything in everyone's lunches together, and the person who eats it gets money. I don't even have to pay you to watch you do it," he excitedly answered.

Anna answered, "I'll get you if you don't stop teasing me, Lex!"

Mavis came in and sat down with him. "Don't worry, she's just blowing smoke, and probably a lot of farts. I feel like her belly is probably ten percent baby and ninety perfect flatulence. On the upside, she's too big to run already. But, if you were running down a hill and she just sort of rolled…she might flatten you."

Anna glared furiously at her twin, who seemed delighted by the fact she was annoyed.

It was true; at eighteen weeks pregnant with twins, she looked like a normal woman might be at six months. All she wanted was to have a cute little belly, but her mother said a woman having twins was destined to eventually have the same physique of a whale that washed up on the beach.

They watched her eat with great interest and then Lex asked, "Do you want more to eat?"

"No thank you. I'm big enough, but you're such a sweet brother," Anna answered.

Mavis said, "Lex and I have a bet. I have to take him to Hargeon amusement park if you get so big you can't use the door anymore."

Anna's eyebrow twitched again. "Lex, is that why you offered me more food? Are you trying to make me get bigger on purpose?! So you can go to Hargeon?"

"Of course not. You're my big sister, but if you just happen to get too big and I get to ride the world's largest water slide, that would be okay, right?" he said, giving her the gentle kind of smile that typically allowed him to wiggle out of trouble. He might not have been a Dreyar by blood, but in the custom of Dreyar men, he knew how to piss off a woman and how to live to do it again.

"If you get on that water slide, you will puke until your eyeballs fall out, and I will watch," Anna answered.

And then, he decided it was a good time to change the subject.

"Anna, if you have babies in you, how are they going to get out?" he curiously asked.

The twins looked at one another and realized their little brother apparently had no clue about the inner workings of babies and parents. Lex was the kind of guy that got by not asking too many questions, so his curiosity was purely innocent.

"DAD!" they yelled in unison.

Laxus appeared at the top of the stairs nearly instantaneously, because he had a new instinct that was based on his pregnant daughter yelling his name. The others were old enough and mature enough he felt inclined to pretend he didn't hear, but Anna being pregnant made him worry and panic.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he downgraded his panic level and realized his kids were just annoying each other.

Anna said, "Lex wants to know how the babies are going to get out! I just ate the grossest thing, and I'm getting huge, and my belly is itchy—why is it so itchy?!"

Laxus frowned. "Anna, please calm down. That thing is going to happen. I can feel it."

Anna poked Lex with her finger and shocked him. "Like that, Dad?!" She kept shocking him with her fingertip while he stared at his father until she sneezed and fire came out of her nose onto a napkin. Anna did not have any dragon blood as far as they knew, but when she got emotional for the past two weeks, she became electrified and had fire-related issues, leading to accidental and intentional shocks and quite a few burnt tissues.

She slid off her chair and said, "I'm going to my own house. I have marshmallows and soy sauce there and you can't stop me. And Lex, have fun having your childhood ruined!"

Mavis smiled like a devil when the door closed. "Dad, you know what? Yuri was a tramp for a while, Layla ran off and eloped with some punk from the army she hadn't even gone out on a single date with. Anna got knocked up. You know what that makes me? The good one!"

Laxus' brow rose. "That's kind of sad, actually."

"I use birth control and live a lifestyle of reluctant monogamy. I am the most responsible and well-behaved of the Blonde Ones!"

"Lex is our favorite. Fifth try is the charm? Things apparently went wrong on our previous attempts to raise normal children," Laxus said.

There was some merit to Mavis' argument, despite the fact she lived an entire lifestyle of mischief. She never got into any real trouble, ever. She used her magic in precise, powerful bursts rather than wholesale destruction. She was careful and treated all strangers equally terrible, which meant all of them just expected it. She made no serious enemies, had no personal drama, and didn't make crazy decisions.

But still…

"Lex is our favorite. Fifth try is the charm? Things apparently went wrong on our previous attempts to raise normal children," Laxus said.

"I think I want some marshmallows if you're going to be like that," she said.

Mavis bounced out the door after her sister and followed her into the house.

She spent quite a lot of time at Iggy and Anna's house, presumably because she wasn't quite ready to be without her twin.

This left Laxus and Lex in the kitchen, with dishes and a napkin still burning on the table.

"My childhood is ruined?" Lex asked.

"Sort of. Let's have a little man to man talk," his father answered, patting out the napkin.

"Are you going to tell me how the babies are going to get out?"

"Yes, and when I do, you're going to wish I hadn't."

Laxus cleaned up and washed dishes while he talked and Lex sat at the table sipping chocolate milk through a straw with wide eyes.

Lucy and Laxus loved Lex, and since they were older, they were a lot gentler with him. By the time they'd raised their other kids, they'd figured out there were a lot of things they didn't really have to worry about. Children found their own path in the world, and what parents did was prepare them for that process.

Lex learned a lot from his older siblings too: playful mischief from Mavis, patience from Anna, study habits from Layla, and what he and Yuri referred to as 'guy-ness.' He idolized his brother, loved his sisters, adored his mother, and wanted to be just like his dad someday.

Once Laxus finished explaining the parts of the birds and the bees that were age appropriate for a seven-year-old, Lex stared at him for a long time.

"Are you horrified or confused?" his father asked.

"Both," his son answered in bewilderment.

There was a pounding on the door that one might assume came from a large angry man, but before Laxus opened it, he heard high-pitched yelling and thumping sounds.

On the other side was Jane Dragneel and Julia Fullbuster. Jane had pink hair and her demon tail was out and on full display, and raven-haired, blue eyed Julia left big chunks of ice on the front step where the 'little rival demons' (as they were affectionately called) had been fighting at the door. Anyone who thought rival males were brutal would have been surprised to see how ruthless, cruel, and violent two little girls could be while fighting with each other.

"Lex can come play with me."

"No, stupid, he's going with me!"

Laxus watched them march in and continue slapping and yelling at each other over Lex's attention while Lex sat fearfully with his chocolate milk. He wasn't the kind of boy that wanted to have girls as his friends, and he frankly found them a little weird and gross, especially these two. But if he chose one, the other would make him pay and if he ran from them, they'd join forces and hunt him like an animal.

Usually, Laxus enjoyed watching his son trying his best to contend with this situation, but not because it was in any way educational. It just amused him as a parent and he felt entitled to that joy even if it meant watching his son squirm nervously, attempt to reason with crazy little girls, or run for his life.

But today, he decided to have mercy on Lex.

"Girls, he's going to help me today. Why don't you two go on to the Jane's house and do something nice. Play with dolls. Braid your hair. Be cute little girls and not monsters for once," he said.

Jane said, "Who would want to play with ice breath?"

"Look who's talking, lizard demon freak!"

Laxus took the newspaper, turned to the crossword puzzle, and tuned out the sounds of a fire demon and an ice wielder shrieking threats at one another. Pieces of ice flew through the air, the smell of ash hit his nose again. They ran out after one another after tipping over a table in the living room and singing the rug.

After the door slammed and he felt safe, Lex whispered, "Thanks, Dad. Girls are the worst!"

"Not all girls, son. Just those two. Well, that's a lie. Beautiful women also tend to be crazy, so I assume being cute also makes women mad."

"Is that why Mom is crazy?"

And this was the first thing Lucy heard when she entered the kitchen, slipped on a piece of ice, and fell on her butt. "Ow! Little boy, did I hear you say I was crazy?!"

Lex knew his father had saved him from crazy girls but did not have the courage to return the favor. "Dad said it! He said you're crazy cause you're pretty!"

Lucy stood up, rubbed her butt and said, "Do I kiss you or hit you? I don't even know."

Laxus asked, "What's a seven letter word for an element found in bones?"

His wife had already resigned herself to a lifetime of helping him finish crossword puzzles and being kept in a near-constant state of agitation, so she shook her head and said, "Calcium."

She hugged and kissed both her boys, cleaned the ice up off the floor, and had breakfast while her son and her husband chattered about this and that. Yuri had always been in a world run by little girls, but Lex resisted it with every fiber of his being, so he was quite a different little man that his brother was.

She gave her husband a little more love, because she knew his heart was in a delicate place. He knew why she was doing it, but he was a little old to have too much pride. Plus, affection from his wife was always the best thing in the world anyway. She could make him feel excited and happy to be with her even though they'd apparently been together for 'an eternity,' according to their kids.

"When is Anna's doctor's appointment?" Lucy asked.

"Three. No sign of Iggy yet. I told Yuri when they left they needed to be back if it was at all possible," her husband answered.

She said, "You can go on to the guild, and I'll take her if Iggy doesn't get back from the job. Maybe we'll stop and get some new maternity outfits, because that girl is getting huge."

"Enormous," he answered.

Lex said, "But shhh, don't tell her that. I said it was cool she was bigger than anyone I know and she pushed me in the pool and threw her Aquarius key in!"

Laxus glanced over his newspaper. "Lex, pregnant women are like wild animals. They look nice and sweet, but they will kill you if you do the wrong thing."

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, I think subconsciously, every pregnant woman believes it's okay to kill someone since they're adding a person to the world. Add one, take one away, the universe breaks even," his father explained.

Lucy took a deep breath. "Lex, your dad is an idiot. Be glad you're adopted."

"I am. Mavis says the Blonde Ones don't have human souls. I have a soul. I think."

"Mavis is one of the Blonde Ones, and do you think she doesn't have a soul?" Lucy asked.

Lex thought about this and then answered, "I believe it, Mom."

Lucy decided to leave her husband and son to whatever they intended to do with themselves, although she incorrectly assumed Laxus was going to go to work. It had been on his plan, but after Lucy ruffled all their feathers and then headed across the street to Anna's house, he decided it would be a good day to take some time with Lex.

He knew before he even realized how much time passed, Lex would be a man with his own life and his own plans. It was a better day for fishing and being outside teaching him the things he'd need as a traveling wizard although this task was a lot easier for someone who could eat the good and the bad mushrooms with equal satisfaction.

Mavis went on to the guild and Lucy took Anna to her appointment when Iggy didn't make it back on time. They went to a doctor first, then a healing wizard on the edge of town to find out exactly what she had growing inside of her.

"Maybe we should just be surprised," she said.

Lucy dragged her along anyway. "Your pregnancy wasn't enough of a surprise? Don't you want to know? You could have two little girls like you and Mavi, or two little boys, or a boy and a girl. Grams wants to know about the itty bitties!"

Anna's brow twitched for what felt like the tenth time that day. "Was this your evil plan? Take me to my doctor's appointment so you can satisfy your own curiosities?"

"Yes," Lucy admitted.

Anna was excited, but she could have a little less of scheming grandparents. Lisanna had already filled one of their bedrooms with all kinds of baby stuff, Natsu insisted on grocery shopping for her but couldn't follow the list, her dad was constantly trying to feed her, and her mother was her rock for the most part. Mostly.

"Ugh, Mom, enough with your creepy ulterior grandmother motives!"

Lucy said gave her tummy a pat and teased, "You turned me into this monster!"

"Fine, we'll do it, but only because I want to know for myself and for my husband."

There were no words for how weird it was to hear her child refer to her 'husband,' or when Iggy called her his 'wife,' although he still couldn't do it without blushing. There were times Lucy still didn't know how Anna had somehow gotten pregnant with such a bashful man, but the fire sneezing was proof it could have been no other.

Anna went into the healer's shop and they were taken back to a private room.

The healer cut her finger and let the blood drip into a little container, then disappeared, leaving the two blondes.

Lucy was gleefully excited. "I can't wait! What do you and Iggy want?"

"We mostly just want them to be okay. A lot of things can go wrong with twins. Did you have complications?"

"Tons. I had a placental abnormality and was told not to get pregnant again. Had to stay in the hospital for a while. You want me to show you my scar where you and your apparently soulless sister were cut from my poor body?"

"No thanks. I have nightmares already. Is that why you adopted Lex?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Kid, three times is the maximum number of times your husband can get you pregnant. On the fourth time, you get to kill him and bathe in his blood and no one will think you're a bad person. Besides, I was tired of being pregnant and Lex was just…like a fast food baby. No nausea, no additions to my stretch mark collection, my poor breasts got a break—at least for a while, no blood. Just a cute little fat baby."

Anna looked down at her belly. "Did you go to classes? When you were pregnant the first time."

"I did. And I dragged your dad with me."

"No! My dad? My dad went to childbirth classes? I don't believe that."

Lucy nodded. "You know your dad is the one who delivered Yuri, right? It was just him and me."

"My dad delivered a baby? How do I not know this?! That's completely unbelievable."

"It's true. I pushed that kid out into his hands while he stared at me like a terrified idiot. To this day, I'd give up one of my feet to have a picture of his face," she answered.

The wizard came back with a piece of paper, handed it to Anna and quickly left to tend to another customer.

Anna opened it up and then showed her mother.

Lucy lunged at her daughter and hugged her tummy. "The itty bitties are boys!"

"Mom!"

Baby dragon boys sounded like quite a handful, but it also seemed a little bit perfect somehow. From when they'd found out about the pregnancy, their family had been in a state of transformation, but as chaotic as it was, everything seemed to be falling into place like it was always supposed to be that way.

Of course, Iggy and Anna would raise twin boys across the street from their Gams and Grams. It wasn't a stretch to think they'd probably get into all kinds of trouble and mischief that demanded their mother's kindness and their father's patience.

"I win again!" Lucy said as they left.

"Wait, did you and Dad bet on this?! What did you bet?"

Lucy shrugged. "You're a married woman, but trust me, you don't want to know."

"Ew. You guys are so gross."

"…says the girl who got pregnant on a wizarding job."

Anna said, "Actually, no. We were at home."

"Ha! So it wasn't my fault for letting you go on jobs alone together!"

"…in Dad's hammock."

Lucy couldn't help but crack up at this, because her husband loved his hammock but hated for anyone else to get in it. He'd even glare at his own wife. There were times he tolerated sharing it but his opinion was clear that it should not be in use if he was not in it.

"Never tell him. He will destroy the thing he loves," she said.

They stopped to get a few more outfits to accommodate her rapidly growing belly, and then at a store next door for little blue outfits.

"I really did kind of want a little girl," Anna admitted as she held up a little blue onesie.

"You've got the wrong idea. Boys are the best. They love their mamas, no matter how old they get. They're a lot less trouble for mothers. Now Iggy…Iggy is in for it when these little guys start testing their boundaries. They'll give him so much grief and then come home and try to help you and make your life better. Being mama to baby boys is wonderful."

By the time they got back to Iggy and Anna's house, Iggy was back from his job with a busted nose, a few yards of bandages, and his arm in a sling.

Lucy put Anna down for a nap and changed her son-in-law's bandages, fed him, and sent him along to have a sleepy, snuggly afternoon with his new wife. Treating him like family, or seeing Natsu and Lisanna treating Anna as their daughter-in-law was definitely a transition, but it was warm. The knitting of their families together was a lovely thing to Lucy.

XXX

Laxus made his way to Crocus, train tickets and hotel slips in an envelope tucked neatly in his coat. Like it or not, his wife was right about nearly everything. No good would ever come from him harboring resentment against Layla, especially not for living her life. Maybe her decision hurt him, but it wasn't like she'd done it purposefully.

In the end, she was just living her life in her own crazy little way.

At Mercurius, guards showed him to Sam's apartment…well, Sam and Layla's apartment. The door used to say Captain Redfox, but that little sign had been replaced with, "Captain & Mrs. Redfox."

He knocked on the door, and when it flew open, Layla was wearing nothing but black lace lingerie because Sam was due back from visiting a military installation and hadn't been home in three days. She'd bought the sexiest lingerie she could find, had her hair extra cute, some red lip gloss, smoky eye makeup, and a great tan.

And there was her dad, just staring with a confused, terrified look on his face.

She shrieked and slammed the door in his face.

The door reopened three minutes later, and she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, the lip gloss had been wiped off her lips.

"Hi, Daddy!" she jumped into his arms and whispered, "I'm so sorry…you weren't supposed to see that. I thought you were Sam."

"Shhh...if we never speak of it, it didn't happen," he answered.

She pulled him in and he found that she'd redecorated the apartment in such a way it was clear a very feminine presence resided there.

Layla jumped into his arms again and squeezed him so tight he thought she was going to crush his ribcage. "Daddy! I love you so much! I'm so sorry for hurting you. I was just over-excited and I just…I didn't want to miss Sam again."

"It's all right. You have to live your life. Just like everybody else," he gently said.

Layla was absolutely glowing, and from the way she was walking, he wondered if her feet were actually touching the ground.

"You guys are doing well?" he asked.

Layla lit up and nodded. "We're doing really good, Daddy. Being married is really wonderful."

He wanted to express his grievance that he hadn't gotten to give her away, but that would have been as fruitless as telling Anna he wasn't happy she'd gotten pregnant, or Yuri that he'd had sex with countless women, or really…criticizing any of them for anything. Their lives were theirs, and they were all making big decisions.

In their dining room, he found magic books strewn about, with notes that looked like they'd been written by a madman.

Layla saw him glance at the mess. "That's my special project. Since I'm not really doing any jobs right now, I wanted to work on my magic. See, I had this great idea. You know, I can fire off Fairy Glitter now."

"Terrifying."

She grinned and pulled up her sleeve and showed him a tattoo on her arm that resembled the glowing mark that appeared when the spell was used. "So Fairy Glitter and heavenly light magic are already basically cousins, but they both have some areas where they aren't perfect. But it's like me and Sam, sometimes two incomplete things can be one perfect thing."

Laxus flipped through the pages. "You're so crazy, sometimes I forgot how smart you are. The marriage of light magic and fairy magic sounds…powerful."

"Honestly, you've been calling me 'the crazy one' and the dramatic one of your kids for as long as I can remember and you're surprised I did something a crazy person would do. Don't be so shocked at the marriage of the melodramatic madwoman and her dragon," she said.

"Has that ever offended you? Now I think maybe that was mean, and we shouldn't have done it," he said.

Layla shrugged. "I honestly never cared. So what if someone thinks I'm crazy? I always ignore opinions about me that I find unfavorable. Besides, I'm going to become a wizard saint. I better not get passed up just for being young. And screw Jellal for ruining that for me."

"Your last name will make you some enemies in high places. There are a lot of people that are uncomfortable with how many powerful wizards are in the family. If that doesn't make them squirm, we've got big hooks in several other powerful families, especially the dragons."

The blonde huffed. "No one will stop me."

He sat and looked through her notes, and found the work was exactly what one might expect from one of the greatest magic prodigies of the century. It was always strange for him to try and reconcile the genius with the personality.

Layla gave him a handwritten journal with a bow on it. "Could you give this to Mavis?"

"What is this?"

"Gams left some unfinished notes. I read them all the time but I couldn't figure out what was missing, so when I decided to come up here, I knew I'd be by the National Magic Library. It was Titan Magic. I think he was writing it down for Mavis. I was able to figure out the missing parts from studying other disciplines. I have no desire to be fifty feet tall. That's the kind of crazy sick thing that would make her day."

Laxus flipped through the journal. "I am officially terrified of my offspring. You've done all this in this short amount of time?"

"I'm kind of inspired, I guess."

This was probably the clearest sign that Layla was doing well. Like any genius, she had productive and unproductive periods. When she wasn't happy or had something else on her mind, she was limited, but with a clear, focused mind, she was peerless. Her frog-kissing marathon had actually impacted her intellectual pursuits enormously, and now Sam was in the picture, her mind was a perfect machine again.

There was a tiny meow, and she bent down to pick up an angry little kitten from a basket.

"Baby! Dad, this is Baby. My baby."

He bent down. "I'm so glad you're not a real baby that I'm not going to complain about them talking about you like you are. Grow up, listen to your mom, and you better stay off the catnip."

"If he's bad when he grows up, we'll just send him off to live with his grandparents."

"The Redfoxes will be happy to assist you with your furry child, I'm sure. The Exceed your pregnant sister and you left behind at our house has been running around with Yuri these days."

"Rai just likes trouble."

Laxus followed her into the kitchen and held her kitten.

"You want to eat with me, Daddy? I cooked for Sam, but it's getting pretty late. He's probably already eaten by now. Besides, I see him all the time and I really missed you."

She fixed their plates, and he sat at the smaller table in their breakfast area with her.

Layla put a plate in front of him with a huge, juicy steak and a potato, with some asparagus on the side. She poured him a glass of wine and he found this side of her strangely fascinating. She didn't seem like a little girl anymore, like she'd leapt forward several years.

He assumed they were doing just fine if she was ambushing him at the door with lingerie and steak. Being a newlywed was a wonderful and oftentimes awkward period that were marked by all sorts of bliss, and honestly, he was happy she could have those experiences.

"I heard Sam won't let you spend his money," he teased.

"Ugh. That guy. He can be a real military blowhard. When I buy groceries, he makes me keep track of how much things cost. We have budgets for everything. You know what the worst thing about Sam is, Dad? And I know the military did this to him, because I knew him in the good old days."

"What?"

"Sam wakes up at four-thirty in the morning. And you know what he wants to do first thing in the morning? First the alarm goes off, then he rolls over on me with his morning breath when it's still dark outside and asks me if I love him. At four-thirty in the morning, I don't love anything or anyone, Daddy. I don't even want to be conscious," she said.

"I don't need to know anything else," her father said, choking down his wine, "I don't know whether I should be more disgusted you're telling me about your sex life or amused the girl who sleeps until noon whenever possible married into the military. You're actually very undisciplined. Your sleeping schedule had no structure, you waste all your money, you don't make plans one would expect from someone as smart as you are. We decided it was a crazy genius thing and just hoped you'd be okay."

Layla sipped her wine. "Sam plans his day, his budget, his wardrobe, his workouts, his chores, everything. The guy knows how much our dates are going to cost and the exact time we're going to get home when we go out."

"You'll probably meet somewhere in the middle. That's something that would have ironed itself out through arguments and fighting while dating, but you guys skipped that."

"We've had a few fights. Kind of fiery ones."

Laxus gave her a little smile. "If you're happy, don't worry about it. When you're young and everything is really emotional and passionate, the fights are a lot worse. Both people are stubborn and no one wants to give up. When you get older, you'll realize fighting is just sort of pointless and a lot of work. It's easier to let your Mom do something that pisses me off than it is to fight about it."

When they were finished eating, they washed dishes together.

"How's Mom?"

"She's good. Excited for you."

"And everyone else?"

"Yuri and Lilia are trying to reconcile, Mavis is Mavis, Lex's world is still ruled by little girls—you know the princess has a little crush on him too, so he's almost to harem status yet thinks girls are gross and scary."

Layla smiled. "Poor little guy."

"Anna's having twin boys. She's getting enormous. You should come by and visit her. It's interesting to see her growing like that. Pregnancy does to her what wine does to you and breathing does to Mavis. She's pretty mean. It's kind of fun to get on her nerves and then remind her she's the sweet one. She cried about tweezers yesterday," he said.

"Dad, that's terrible."

Watching her be happy was enough to help soothe his assorted wounds, because that was all he'd ever wanted for her from the start. The broken heart of a half-empty house had never been avoidable, and if she'd done it this way or another, her bedroom would have been just as empty.

"What are your plans?"

Layla said, "After he finishes his enlistment, we're going to come back to Magnolia. Maybe get a place. He's planning on rejoining the guild. We'll be working wizards. Start a family eventually."

He stayed with her well into the night, just talking and drinking cocoa with his baby girl.

He told her all about the day she was born, and what it was like for him to be a daddy to a little girl. She told him how he was really the most important man who she'd ever have in her life, because without him, she'd never have become anybody.

She'd missed her daddy, her family, her home, and she didn't have a problem admitting she had no idea how hard it would be to be away from her parents. In a moment, she'd felt she was ready to leap from the nest and fly, and fly she had, but she still longed for the nest and all those who called it home.

The door opened and closed quietly, and she jumped up from the table and ran to greet her new husband.

Laxus leaned against the door to the kitchen and watched them kiss while Sam held her so close her feet were swinging happily above the floor.

Maybe it was just a coincidence, or maybe she'd unknowingly inherited Makarov's weird clairvoyance, but he could remember a tiny little Layla insisting Sam was going to be a knight in shining armor. That's exactly what he'd turned into, having shed the baggage of his teenage years with such success those things hadn't help him back in the end.

He hadn't expected to feel this way, but Laxus was actually really happy that Sam was so happy too. The guy looked like he smiled so hard it hurt him at the sight of his young little wife. They were young and crazy in love and probably a little just plain crazy.

And everything was okay.

Wonderful, even.

If they hadn't jumped, they wouldn't have been happy together, and Laxus wouldn't have wished a less happy future on his daughter.

Sam greeted him, seeming a bit fearful, but Laxus didn't mention the elopement.

"My wife and I decided to send along a little wedding gift. Lucy arranged it all with the queen, Sam. You're on leave until you get back from your honeymoon with Layla," he said, handing them the envelope. "Everything is in there."

Layla screamed and gave him a big hug. "Daddy!"

"You two have fun."

Layla ran off with the envelope to the kitchen to put it away somewhere safe, and as soon as she was out of his line of vision, Laxus glared at Sam and gave him a single highly electrified punch to the back of his skull.

Sam lost consciousness immediately and crumbled to the floor, his hair puffing up.

Layla came back in and dove next to him. "Sam? Sam? Dad, what happened?"

"Maybe he was tired from his trip and fainted," Laxus offered.

His daughter was very worried, and then she touched his hair and found it stood up and stuck to her hand. "Dad, why is his hair standing up?"

"Dragging his feet on the carpet?"

"You're so terrible, Daddy."

"Goodnight, Baby."

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