Parenthood
Chapter 2
But she didn't. Not in an hour. Not in two. And by close, Mirajane was left with the numbing realization that she wasn't coming back.
The baby didn't seem to miss her much though as for the rest of the day, he was passed back and forth between all the women in the bar as they fawned over him. Even Erza was interested in the child, if only slightly, when she arrived. And Cana, well, Cana mostly just thought the whole thing was funny.
"Laxus had a kid," she laughed as she happily downed a barrel while Lucy recanted the story for her. "This is, like, the best day of my life."
"Supposedly," Evergreen yelled over at her, getting rather red in the face. "No one has any proof that this is his baby. So why don't you just choke on that alcohol, Cana?"
"Aw, what's wrong?" she mocked back over at the other woman, though she wouldn't look full on at her, knowing the power in Ever's eyes. "You upset that it wasn't your baby?"
"You worthless-"
"Now, now," Mira sighed, glancing between them. Elfman, who was next to Evergreen, frowned at the insinuation. "No need to fight. You're going to upset the baby."
Actually, at the moment, he was happily playing with a stuffed toy that they'd found in his diaper bag as Lisanna held him in her lap. Natsu though had finally given up and stomped off back to his house with Happy following, comforting his poor friend. As the day turned to night though, Lucy got worried about them (or rather what they were doing to her apartment) and left for the night.
"I hope everything turns out okay with the baby," she told them as she departed.
She was only the start though. Slowly as the hours came and went, more and more people left. Before Mirajane knew it, closing time was upon them and she still had the child.
"What are we going to do with him?" she asked Evergreen as she went around, closing up for the night. "Is Laxus still downstairs?"
"He left," she told her. "Remember? He wouldn't even come over and look at the baby."
At the moment, said child was snuggled up in Lisanna's lap, sleeping.
"Maybe it's time to just take him to the orphanage or something, Mirajane," Lisanna said slowly. "Or somebody that actually-"
"I'm telling you guys," her big sister insisted. "No one leaves a baby behind. They just don't. She was stressed and probably upset about having never told Laxus about the baby, so she came and left him here. A moment of weakness. But she's still his mother. She'll be back."
"Well, what are we going to do until then?" Evergreen asked. "We can't keep him. Or, well, I can't."
Elfman, who had taken to rather enjoying the baby as well, said, "Can we take him, Mirajane?"
"He can sleep in my room," Lisanna offered.
"No," she told them both, frowning. "He's not a puppy, guys. He's a baby. And he needs his mother."
"But-"
"And if we can't find her," she went on. "Then he needs his daddy."
Ever blinked. "You don't mean-"
"He said he slept with her," Mirajane reasoned. "And the kid looks just like he did when he was young. You've seen the photos."
"Mira, you really shouldn't get involved," Elfman warned. "I-"
"Do men take care of their responsibilities, Elfman?"
"Well, of course," he told his older sister. "And if it was my kid, I'd take it."
"Better not have any kids roaming around," Ever warned under her breath. He only patted her on the head, much to her displeasure.
"But Laxus ain't a man," he told them all then. "So-"
"He's taking his baby back," Mirajane told them all. "And until further notice, that's exactly what this kid is. His baby. So are you going to show me where he lives, Ever, or am I going to have to figure it out on my own?"
Letting out a slow breath, she said, "I guess. But Elfman and Lisanna better not come or else he might not let us in."
"But we can't let him go," Lisanna complained as she snuggled the baby closer. "He's attached to me."
"Go home, Lisanna," Mira said as she came over to them. Taking the child from her, she said, "You too, Elf. Both of you. I'll be home late tonight."
"You sure you don't want me to go, sis?" Elfman asked. "In case he gets, I dunno, violent or something?"
"Laxus wouldn't-"
"I'll be fine, Elfman," Mirajane said, cutting Evergreen off. Bouncing the baby in her arms, she said, "I'll see you when I get home."
After they took off, Mirajane finished closing up the bar before heading out with Evergreen. The baby was awake once more and a little cranky. Mirajane only took to bouncing him though.
"He's pretty big," Ever said slowly, if not a tad awkwardly. Though she was (not) dating her brother, she didn't spend much alone time around the eldest Strauss sibling. "He's two, right?"
"I think that's what Lucy said." She glanced down at the child in her arms. "His name's Nathan."
"That's a dumb name."
"Okay, Evergreen."
"Shut up."
"Maybe Laxus'll change his name," Mira mused. "To something cool."
"Something tells me, Mirajane, that Laxus isn't going to be too interested in doing anything with this kid."
"If it's his baby, he has to be," she insisted.
"You don't know Laxus like I do."
"Of course I do. He-"
"No, Mira, you know what you see up at the guild. When he's moody, selfish, and just mean. He's all those things and more when he's out." Ever shrugged. "Women are just…things to him. And I'm sure that if he does ever think of this kid as his own, it'll just be a product of one of those women. Not an actual baby."
"I don't care what any of you say," Mirajane told her as they walked down the street, the moon hanging high above them. "There's no way that once the shock wears off that Laxus won't take care of him. If he's really his, then he'll have to. I mean, look at how he is with Fairy Tail. He's about killed himself before to protect us. He-"
'Because he thinks of Fairy Tail as his own. He's not going to think of this kid as his own," Ever insisted. "He's going to think of it as that woman trying to screw up his life. He-"
"Laxus is a good person," Mirajane insisted. Glancing down at the baby in her arms, she said, "I just know he is."
When they got to the man's apartment, Evergreen was clearly hesitant. She seemed, in fact, to be contemplating just ditching Mirajane and the demon could tell.
"You can just leave," she told her simply as she took to knocking on the door. "Now that I'm here. I won't tell him that you were involved."
"Really?"
Mira only shrugged. "I doubt you'll be of any help. Just go before he-"
But she already was, taking off back down the hall of the apartment building, calling out a soft thanks over her shoulder. Sigh.
It took some knocking to finally get Laxus to the door. Honestly, Mira was slightly fearful that he wasn't home. But eventually, the door creaked open and she was staring into the eyes of the angry slayer.
"Wha-"
"I brought your baby home," she said as she literally shoved passed him and into the apartment. "He needs to go to bed. I already fed him and apparently, he wears diapers, so there are some in this bag here. Do you need me to teach you how to change-"
"Get the fuck out, Mirajane," he growled though he slammed the door after she came in. "Now. The hell do you think-"
"He's old enough to sleep in bed with you," Mira went on, undeterred as she only went to set the boy on the ground. The toddler only yawned though, standing there and looking around. "But if you're uncomfortable with that, then you could probably make him a little pallet on the floor. You need to make sure that there's nothing he can get into though. I can help-"
"Look, you little-"
"Laxus, don't start, alright?" Mirajane made a face at him as he only glared right back at her. "This hasn't been my best day either, okay? So just take-"
"I told you to take him to-"
"I'm not leaving him with strangers."
"We're strangers!"
"You're his father. You-"
"I am not anything's father," he growled. "I use rubbers, bitch."
She just stared at him then, her gaze so dark that for a moment, he lost some of his momentum and remembered that he wasn't deal with just some woman. He was dealing with the she-devil. She had Satan Soul, which was powerful all alone. And it was one of her weakest forms!
Then she did the most Mirajane thing of all and began to sob.
"I was just trying to help," she cried tears ran down her cheek. "You don't have to be so mean! Or say bad words. I-"
"Mira," he groaned then, not knowing what to do. Tears were not his strong suit. "Stop that. Now. You-"
"I can't help it! You called me-"
"I didn't mean it. I'm just…" Growling then, he took to stomping around. "This is a lot for me, okay? I hadn't seen her in awhile, alright? How the hell was I supposed to know that she was knocked up? Huh? And then she comes to the guildhall, thinking now's a good fucking time to say something? After the thing is already born? The hell did she think-"
Mirajane took to sniffling then. "You're upsetting him."
That was true. The little boy, who apparently was quite nimble on his feet, had run off, away from both of them. He clearly didn't like being left with two people he didn't know. And worst of all, they were yelling!
"I don't care, Mira," he yelled, unable to help it. "I don't want a kid. So take it to some place for unwanted children or something. Alright? I mean, I don't know how many more times I have to say it to you. I don't want it."
"I'm not leaving a baby-"
"then get the fuck out and I'll do it."
"No, Laxus," Mira said, frowning. "Do you know what those places are like?"
"Do you?"
"Well… I know that no one ever takes any of the kids. And usually the people that do hurt them. Or are mean to them."
"Mira-"
"She's coming back," she told him then as she turned to walk off and go see where the little boy had run off to. He was in the kitchen, as she found out. "She has to."
"No, Mira, she doesn't. I know her, alright? We fucked around for awhile. She's… She's no good, alright?"
"Oh, and you're so much better?"
"No, I'm not!" he insisted. "That's what I'm trying to tell you."
"We can't leave him," Mira told him as she found the boy hiding under Laxus' kitchen table. Going to pick him up, she said, "And apparently, I can't leave him with you. So I'm going to-"
"Why do you give a shit, Mira?" Laxus was in the doorway to the kitchen then, glaring in at her. "I mean, seriously. If she hadn't come up to the guild and just drop the baby off at the house, you wouldn't even know about it. I would have given him to someone else and been done with it. So why-"
"Because it didn't happen somewhere else, Laxus. It happened in the guild. And I saw how sad and upset that woman was. And I know that she's coming back for him." She had the child in her arms then and bounced him a little bit as he whined. "I can't just leave him somewhere, with someone that might hurt him. He's a baby. He needs… He needs his mother, but she can't be there. So if you really are his father, then you need to be there."
"I don't want-"
"Yeah, well, sometimes things happen, Laxus. And you're rubber story? I call bullshit."
He blinked, as Mirajane never cursed. Never. As far as he knew, at least.
"You always talk a big game about all the women and all the drunk encounters. The chances of you not using one a couple of times is high. Not to mention, Laxus, they're not a cure-all. Contraceptive isn't a hundred percent. But you know what is?"
He only stared at her, because he'd never heard the tone she was using then.
"Not having sex with anyone and everyone just because you're horny," she told him. "You're an adult. Act like one. This might be your son. And I know that you're still in shock or whatever, but move on. You've got a very short time here to get things all figured out. And if you can't, then I'm going to take him and keep him until she comes back."
Swallowing, he paused for a moment before turning to walk away.
"Then take it," he told her. "I don't want it. You have my permission or whatever. Just get the hell out of my apartment."
"I really thought you'd grown up some, Laxus," she said simply before turning to head out of the apartment, taking the baby with her. "Turns out you're just as much of a dick as you were when we were kids. Huh."
And with that, she left. Laxus only went to lock the door behind her before going to get a bottle of liquor out of the kitchen. He was gong to need it.