A/N: Hello again, guys! A pretty quick update this time! I'm having writer's block on Lucid, and this chapter didn't take too long to write, so... Great for the Togetherness fans, not so great for the Lucid fans. Whatever. I'll stop blabbering and let you read.

5 Months, 2 Weeks (23 weeks)

Natsu and Lucy had had another check-up earlier that week. It hadn't been for anything in particular besides making sure Layla was still doing okay, but Porlyusica had reminded the couple of one little pregnancy quirk.

And that was the baby's kicking.

So now, as they sat on their couch this evening because Lucy hadn't wanted to leave the house, Natsu continuously bugged her with one question.

"Has she kicked yet?" Obviously, Natsu was unbelievably and unbearably excited for Layla to kick, and it was starting to annoy the hell out of Lucy.

"No," she grumbled in reply. Natsu got up to put their dirty dishes in the kitchen, and when he came back,

"Did Layla kick yet?"

"No." This was driving her nuts. And she felt like she could scream. She knew that if she just had even a minute to herself to calm down and collect herself, she'd be fine, but Natsu was being so clingy!

Natsu leaned close to Lucy and gave her a kiss on the cheek before putting a hand on her baby bump, still way too into her personal space. Usually, Lucy adored Natsu's affections and clinginess. She had learned a long time ago to give up personal space, as her husband seemed to know nothing about it or was inclined to learn, but right now... She was about ready to snap.

"I can't feel any kicking!" And that's what did it. That's what cut the thin line of Lucy's patience.

"I know you can't feel any kicking, because Layla hasn't kicked yet! I will tell you when she kicks! Now, get off of me!" Lucy stood up, hissed as she grew dizzy from standing too fast, and between the dizziness and the weight on her belly, Lucy wobbled back into sitting down.

"I'm sorry, Luce! I didn't realize I was being annoying!"

"What, my curtness and my grumbling weren't enough!?"

"A-apparently not." Natsu shrugged. "Just stay sitting, Luce, okay? I'll make you some hot chocolate, stop asking questions, and we'll just do something else, okay?"

Lucy closed her eyes and sighed, slowly letting her frustrations out. She opened her eyes to see Natsu still standing before her, obviously apologetic still from being such a nuisance. "What are you doing? Go make the hot chocolate my loving and idiotic husband just promised me!" Lucy yelled. Natsu 'eep'ed and nodded as he ran back to the kitchen to prepare her drink while Lucy took the few minutes away from her crazy husband to calm down.

He's just excited, Lucy, she told herself. You should be just as excited! You're waiting to feel your baby kick!

Well, I am excited! her other half debated. Natsu's just been asking non-stop since he found out about it!

She retorted to herself, Well, yeah, but he's been just like this the whole time you've known about the baby. And he probably just wants to know how hard Layla will kick so he can show off that his baby's already stronger than Gray or something like that. Lucy giggled at the thought, glad to be giggling and the tension in her head already decreased, just as she'd guessed.

But just as she thought about how the pain in her head was gone, a sharp pain from her round stomach grabbed her attention. "Ow!" she shrieked when she felt it. "Ow, ow ow!"

Lucy heard a clatter and crash from the kitchen before seeing Natsu in front of her with a hot chocolate covered shirt. "What happened!? Did Layla k-" Natsu cut off his question, remembering his promise.

"Yes! She finally kicked! In fact, she freaking drop-kicked me! Layla, why are you taking so much from your father? I bet you'll have his pink hair, too!"

Natsu grinned at her last comments, then rushed back to the kitchen to grab Lucy's mug. After setting it down on the coffee table, he was immediately at Lucy's side again, hand on her baby bump to try and feel Layla's kick. A few seconds later, they both felt the kick again, right where Natsu's hand was putting pressure on Lucy.

"Wow!" Natsu exclaimed with a huge grin on his face. "That was a tough kick! You're already stronger than ice-butt!" Lucy giggled at the fact that her prediction had been correct. Natsu looked to his wife's expression, happy to see that she was smiling with joy instead of scowling in annoyance at him.

"She's such a daddy's girl. Listen, Natsu, I'm sorry for being so short with you," Lucy apologized.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Luce!" Natsu pressed a kiss to her lips. "I was the idiot who didn't notice how ticked off you were getting!" He snickered.

Lucy laughed as well. "Yeah, I know. This pregnancy is really tiring me out, though, and that combined with you asking the same question every two seconds... I needed just a minute to calm down."

"Well, let's go to bed if you're tired, then. Come on!" Natsu reached a hand out for Lucy to grab, then pulled her up from the couch, bracing her before she could fall over.

"Don't forget my hot chocolate!" Lucy reminded him. Natsu snickered before grabbing it. "What? I can eat it, er, drink it before I fall asleep!" Natsu just smiled in amusement.

It didn't take long for Lucy to fall asleep after they'd collapsed on the bed. Natsu smiled at his wife as he put her untouched mug on her bedside table. Besides the fact that he'd annoyed Lucy out of her mind, he was very happy with tonight. Just as when they could start calling Layla by name, the fact that he could feel her kicking made her feel all the more alive. And the fact that Lucy had made those comments about Layla taking a lot of his traits... It really made him feel like a dad. He grinned again at the thought of her kick and lifted the hand he'd felt it with to look at it, thinking that this was the closest he'd been to touching his precious child and that he couldn't wait until he could actually hear her and feel an actual kick of hers. The three and a half months left couldn't pass by quick enough. He grinned again before putting his arms around Lucy. Pulling her closer to him, Natsu heard her sigh happily in her sleep and snuggle into him. It was calm, quiet, and peaceful.

Until Layla kicked again and Lucy shrieked in surprise, throwing everything into a momentary chaos.