A/N: Hey, guys! I've a bit to talk about in the note down below, but I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Levy shook with nervousness in her bathroom as she took out an item she'd bought in secret yesterday.
She had missed her period this month.
It should've started a week ago, and it never came.
And she hadn't been feeling great, either.
She'd woken up these last couple of days vomiting.
She and Gajeel had talked about this before and both decided they should wait!
But all signs pointed to…!
Levy gulped. There was no point in worrying yet. She had to take the test before she started panicking.
And as soon as she got her results, she was.
Levy sat on her bathroom floor, quivering, as she stared at the object, prominently featuring two bright red lines that burned into her vision as if making sure she knew she couldn't escape.
She wanted to be a mom and Gajeel wanted to be a dad, but they'd said "Not yet"!
She had started thinking recently that maybe she was ready, but she hadn't talked to Gajeel about it yet! How was he going to react!?
They'd been using contraceptives, even! What were the odds that she'd actually gotten pregnant!?
Of course, Levy knew the odds already, but that didn't make this any better.
Levy took several deep breaths to calm herself. She knew Gajeel wouldn't react super badly to this. As she'd already noted, he did want to be a father. This would just be happening a bit earlier than they'd planned.
It would be fine, just maybe not ideal. Besides deciding that they wanted more time to themselves before starting a family, they didn't exactly have the most money in the world, although they did have a decent amount. Gajeel would just have to go on a bunch of extra jobs while she was pregnant.
Gajeel… How was she going to tell him? Should she give him a card or a present, like Lucy'd done? Should she just tell him outright? Should she wait a bit and see if he asks?
She heard the front door slam shut as her husband came in the house. "Hey, Shrimp! I bought some medicine for that flu of yours!"
Levy sighed, wobbily standing up from the bathroom floor. "I uh… I don't have a flu…" she called to him as she left the bathroom.
"Then what've you been throwing up for?" he asked, finding her in the hallway. Levy looked up to him with wide, slightly tearful eyes before looking down at the floor and biting her lip. "Levy, what's the matter?" Gajeel wondered with concern taking over his expression and voice as he kneeled down in front of her. "Levy, tell me what's wrong," he demanded, lacing his fingers in hers.
"I-" Levy coughed. "I'm…" she took her hands from his and put them on her abdomen, unable to find her voice and hoping Gajeel would get the message.
"Levy," he warned, not understanding the hint and demanding to know what had his wife in turmoil.
"I…" Levy gulped again. "I'm pregnant…" she whispered out, barely loud enough for even Gajeel's dragon senses to hear her.
But he had heard her. And he dropped fully onto his butt on the floor as his eyes grew wide. His mouth was agape, but no sound came from it.
"But… how? You've been on birth control for years," he asked, fully stunned.
"My birth control is only like 98% effective. I've told you that."
Gajeel just continued sitting there, eyes wide open and jaw slacked in shock.
"Gajeel, please say something," Levy urged, kneeling down and taking his hands again.
The dragon slayer kissed his wife's forehead. "Don't get me wrong, Levy, I'm happy about this, it's just… It's a surprise, is all."
Levy sighed. "Let's just forget about this for now. Take all the time you need to process it. I'm still trying to do that myself." She offered a small smile.
oOo
Later, in the middle of the night, Gajeel was having trouble sleeping; he was tossing and turning in his bed.
Their day had been entirely too awkward. They hadn't talked about their pregnancy, but the tension had permeated the air around them. It got to be so much that Levy had gone to bed early to escape it.
Levy and he would get past this, he knew. They had a strong relationship, built on (dare he say) an iron foundation. They loved each other and they would love this new addition to their family. It was more a matter of how long it took for them to process the whole thing.
It's not that he wasn't glad to be having a kid. He was.
But was he ready?
This was a human being they were talking about! Could he bear that sort of responsibility? Could he trust himself to keep this baby safe, to protect it from harm, to be a good father?
He wasn't sure.
He knew Levy would be a fantastic mother. She was probably debating that with herself in her waking moments, but he knew she would be.
Gajeel closed his eyes again to try and go back to sleep, but found himself bogged with memories of his own father - that old ass Metalicana.
"You're an idiot. A stubborn, buttheaded, stupid-as-hell idiot," the dragon grumbled as he watched the tiny Gajeel rest after trying to do too much with his magic, despite several warnings from his teacher and honorary father. Gajeel had just pouted, looking down at the ground as he mumbled something incoherent. Metalicana laughed, the sound rumbling into the ground underneath Gajeel as the dragon laid his head in front of the pouting child. "But I love you anyways."
Gajeel tried hiding the smile that wanted to creep on his lips, widely unsuccessful if his dad's second laugh was anything to go by. They had an unspoken love and affection for each other, so it was always strange (and yet appreciated) when it became verbal. "I don't think I tell you that as much as I should, Gajeel," the dragon grumbled again, his smile faltering, "But I do, ya big butthead."
This time it was Gajeel's turn to laugh, punching Metalicana lightly on the snout. "Yeah, if anyone's a big butthead, it's you!"
Metalicana gave an appreciative chuckle. "Now get your ass up again! If you're gonna insist on trying too hard, then I'm gonna insist on working you harder!"
Gajeel couldn't help but smile. As much as he liked to deny it, he really had loved his father and missed him dearly. Metalicana hadn't been the perfect dad or the perfect role model, but really, who was? But he'd tried, and that had been enough for Gajeel. He'd been angry and upset when the dragon had disappeared and became a bitter piece of shit because of it, but it was only because of how much Gajeel'd loved him and how abandoned and hurt he'd felt when Metalicana disappeared.
He opened his eyes and turned to look at his wife. She was breathing steadily, and he watched her chest rise and fall with every one. He dared to look lower; to look at her abdomen, where she and him had a baby growing.
And everything just hit him all at once.
That's where his child was. His child. He and Levy's child. He and his beautiful, amazing, wonderful wife's child.
He was gonna be a father. She was gonna be a mother.
They were going to be parents.
His lips curled upwards into a smile as he felt a tear slide down his cheek. He was crying? What the hell!?
But the tears only fell faster while his smile refused to falter.
He wrapped his arms around his wife, making sure to place his hands on her abdomen, and pulled her tightly against him, resting his head against the top of hers so he could take in the scent of her hair. Their baby was gonna have part of that scent!
Levy stirred in his arms, giving a groan of his name as her eyes slowly flickered open. He hadn't planned on her waking up. He felt so vulnerable and raw right now! He always felt so weak when she saw him like this, but she always assured him that he was still as strong as ever, if not moreso for actually opening up about his feelings. That was something he still had trouble with.
"Mm… Gajeel?" Levy heard him sniff and cough. "Honey, what's the matter?" she demanded from him, almost fearing the worst.
"I just…" Gajeel turned them so that he was on top of her and kissing her fiercely. She could feel both the grin and the tears in the kiss, which brought about her own in turn. "Levy," he whispered. "I don't know how great of a father I'll be, but…" Gajeel remembered his father's deep rumblings of laughter from his childhood again. "I'll try. I'll really try."
Levy laughed, wiping her eyes. "You'll be amazing, Gajeel."
I'm never gonna leave this baby behind. I'm always gonna be there. I'll at least do that right, you asshole. Gajeel gave a distant laugh and looked up to the ceiling with an affectionate smile. Yeah, I'll get at least that right, Dad.
Levy held his cheek and brought his gaze back down to her before kissing him again. "I love you, Gajeel."
"I love you too, Shrimp."
A/N: Guys, I've been thinking. Should I just go ahead and start posting Lucid, despite my not even close to completing it? I said I was going to finish it before I started posting it, but that was because I didn't think I could trust myself. But with this story... I've been inconsistent with my updates, yeah, and they aren't as frequent as they could be, but I haven't abandoned it. So should I just go ahead and post Lucid and stop worrying so much?
If I do start posting, I would appreciate a beta, just to read through the chapter before I post it to make sure it makes sense and make sure I don't accidentally jump the gun on some plot points, so if any of you are interested, please PM me.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Togetherness! Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following!