Parenthood

Chapter 7

It was some time in the late afternoon, a couple of days if not close to two weeks since Laxus began looking for a home for the little boy. He honestly was. It was just…no one seemed to want a child.

When he would ask, he'd find a few that would, but not a small baby. They wanted someone able to actually work. A child. Not a toddler. And Mirajane told him that she didn't want the baby going to someone like that anyhow, because Nathan wasn't an animal. He was a baby.

"So what do you want me to do?" Laxus growled whenever she'd say that. "If I can't find someone, then what? Huh? Huh?"

"I don't know, Laxus. But we're not just giving him to someone to work like a mule. He needs a mother and father. Or just one or the other. Either way, he needs someone to care for him. Not just use him."

They had that argument almost daily. Quite honestly, Laxus was thinking that she was either, worst case scenario growing attached to the boy or maybe, just maybe, trying to suck him dry of jewels. She was making easy money, after all.

Still though, the days only tacked on. And eventually, Mira became more accustomed to staying over at Laxus' apartment for days at a time. She even had some changes of clothes with her.

She was actually showering when it happened. Laxus was supposed to be watching the kid, but he'd just littered the kitchen floor with toys and left him to fend for himself. Not that he wasn't there. Because he was. But he was over at the table, looking through all his mail.

"Junk, whore, bill, whore, junk, same who- Hey!"

He frowned down at his side then as he felt a little hand shove at his thigh. He saw Nathan standing there of course, looking up at him. In his hand, he held one of those little books Mirajane read to him. She always did before naptime and bedtime now. Either that or sang to him. Sometimes both.

It was getting rather close to the boy's naptime, Laxus observed after glancing at a clock. So maybe he just wanted to be read to.

"Go away," he said. "Mira will read to you when she's finished."

But the little book in his hand only got waved around then as he waited for the man to pick him up and read it to him. Laxus remembered it. Mirajane had gone to speak with Gramps the other day and he'd given her some of Laxus' old things. Children's toys and books. Things like that.

Then, of course, the old man got all emotional and shit. Mira told Laxus all about it. Ugh.

"Don't know why he even gave you this," he grumbled then at his son who only stared up at him, waiting. "We're not keeping you. So you can't keep it! Your new parents can give you shit."

"Ah!" Nate kept reaching up for him and looked about ready to cry over it. Not wanting that, Laxus grunted before reaching down to pick him up. If Mira found out that he let the little brat cry it out, she'd yell at him.

"You stupid brat," he grumbled as the little boy settled into his lap with a giggle. Laxus had never let him sit there before. "I ain't reading your damn story though. So sit here and shut up."

Laxus even took the book from his hands and sat it on the table, out of the reach of the little boy. That was okay though, as he found the other things on the table much more interesting.

"Don't touch that," Laxus complained as his son reached out to grab at the papers sitting there. "Ain't got nothing to do with you." Then he paused and shrugged. "Well, I guess it kinda does."

The little boy looked up at him then, tilting his head back to stare at him. Laxus only scowled back.

"Maybe I can pawn you off on one of these other women," he grumbled before looking over one of the letters. "Tell them they can have my baby. Just in a roundabout way. Bet they'd like that. Some of them."

"Hi," Nathan called up to him before reaching up and patting his cheek. Giggling then, he asked, "Mama?"

"Don't know where she is, kid," he grumbled. "If I did, we wouldn't be here right now."

"Go nigh-nigh?"

"You wanted to nap, you shouldn't have come in here," he told him gruffly. "You're gonna sit here, in my lap, and be quiet."

"Laxus."

He frowned at that, glancing down at the kid. It didn't come out perfectly. It almost sounded like he was trying to say lock ass, really, but he knew what the kid was saying and didn't like it.

"Hey," he grumbled. "Where did you get-"

"Laxus!"

That time, he knew immediately who it was.

"You in here?" Mirajane came into the kitchen. "Hey. You and Nate are-"

"Did you teach the kid to say my name?" he grumbled as she came closer.

"No," she said slowly. "But he's not stupid. I mean, he tries to say my name. I taught him that. Watch." She came over to pick up the boy, taking him into her own arms. He liked that much better and began giggling. "Who am I, Nate? Huh? Who-"

"Mira!"

That wasn't exactly right either. It sounded more like mew-a, but Laxus knew what he meant and frowned.

"Mirajane," he grumbled, glancing at her. "We're not…keeping it. Or at least I'm not."

"I know that, Laxus," she said, making a face at him. "But if I'm spending all day with him, I figured he should know my name. He knows Elf's too. And Ever. And-"

"Me, apparently."

"Well, I guess he picked it up from me saying it so much, yeah."

He only let out a long sigh. "I don't know your game, woman, but-"

"There is no game, Laxus. I'm just doing my job well. I'm a babysitter now, right? And that means that I have to have some sort of connection with him, right?"

Grunt. Then he went back to the bills in front of him. "You'd save me a lot of time, is all I'm saying, Mira, if you just take him."

"I-If what?"

"You like doing this, huh? If you take him and never bother me about him, never tell me anything about him, and never ever tell him that he's my son, he's yours." He shrugged. "Just don't act all woman like about it afterwards."

Her gaze wasn't just dark then; it was demented. Laxus could feel it seeping through her, those demons trapped within.

"As shocking as it is, Laxus, I've been with better men than you and I've crushed every single one." She headed back to the living room, his son in her arms. "So don't be so full of yourself."

Snort. Whatever. He tries to be nice and what does it get him?

Nathan liked going for walks in the afternoon. And honestly, Mira might not have been staying there any longer, but she did really need to keep the house stocked with groceries. If she sent Elf to the store, any money she gave him would probably end up around Ever's neck in the form of a necklace. And Lisanna would probably blow it on something fun with Natsu and Lucy.

So no, she had to be the one to shop.

Nathan liked that too. And he really liked when she let him get a piece of candy or toy. She didn't get him the latter very often though, as he had so many to begin with, but if he was really good that specific day, she'd usually cave.

That day though, she didn't take him to the market. Instead, much to his amusement, they met Lisanna in the park for lunch.

Natsu and Lucy were with her, much to the displeasure of the Dragon Slayer, but Lucy and Lisanna were happy to see the little boy.

"Glad you guys brought lunch," Mira sighed as they found a picnic table to sit at. "I need to go to the store for Laxus. I have some stuff for dinner, but that's about it."

"It's kinda weird," Lucy remarked as she sat Nathan in her lap. Lisanna was next to her and immediately took to stroking the little boy's head. Natsu and Happy sat next to Mirajane, both glaring over at the child. "You know, how you shop for him? And clean house? And…well… You guys are kinda living together."

"I'm just the baby-"

"Sure, Mira," Lisanna said though she was still staring down at Nathan, who was far more concerned with the little plate of food Lucy had given him. "I bet you guys aren't sleeping together either."

"We're not! Lisanna!"

"Can we not talk about this?" Natsu grumbled. "Or anything about the baby? Please?"

"Can you say Lisanna?" the woman in question asked the little boy who wouldn't even look at her again. "Come on, Nathan. I know you can. Say it. Come on. Say it. Lisanna. Lisanna."

"He said Laxus name yesterday," Mirajane told them all then. "And he threw a fit about it."

"Why?" Lucy asked.

"I don't want to talk about this," Natsu continued.

"Because he thinks that I'm, like, attached or something. That I like the baby. Which I do, but no more than I would any other toddler."

"Mira," Nathan told Lisanna, who was continuing to insist that he say her name. "Mira."

"Ugh," she groaned. "Why does everyone like her better?"

"Uh, right here, Lisanna," Mira said, making a face.

"Seriously, guys," Natsu kept up. "Can we talk about the fish that me and Happy caught today? It was giant! Wasn't it, buddy?"

"Aye, sir!"

"Mmmm, I think we want to talk about Nathan some more," Lucy said, grinning down at the child in her lap. "In fact, Natsu, are you even needed here?"

"Hey!"

"I agree," Lisanna said as she went back to trying to get Nathan to pay some attention to her. "I mean, even a baby that came from Laxus is better than you. Imagine if we could get someone we actually like to have a baby, Lucy."

"Yeah. I mean, Mira, if you ever-"

"Don't be mean to Natsu, guys," she said as he glared over at them. "It's not his fault that he's not as interesting or entertaining as a baby."

"When I runaway and find a new group of friends to hangout with," Natsu warned then, "you're all going to be super jealous."

"Super," Lucy agreed, but she was still making faces down at Nathan.

When they finished eating, Lucy and Lisanna took the toddler to go around in the park some, Happy taking their side on that one, floating around over them. Mirajane, who was left with the Salamander, took to noting his attitude.

"You know," she said slowly, glancing at him. "The girls might be onto something, Natsu."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they like playing with Nathan. So maybe you would too."

"I dunno. I-"

"And can you imagine how much it would annoy Laxus? I mean, even if he's giving him up, Nathan's still his son. And if he liked you more than him-"

"Hey. There's an idea."

"Uh-huh. Laxus will get super annoyed." She giggled. "Wouldn't that be funny?"

That was enough incentive to get Natsu jumping up and chasing after the others. Mirajane only giggled. She was just built for taking care of others.

When they got home that day, Laxus wasn't around, but that was fine, as Nathan was mostly sleepy after playing all day. So Mirajane sang him to sleep in his playpen before going to collapse on the couch with a sigh.

Taking care of a kid was tough.

"You dead?" was the first thing Laxus asked when he showed up later.

"Obviously not."

Grunt. He shut the front door behind him before coming further into the apartment. She only sat up some, glancing at him.

"You find anyone-"

"If I did, you think I would have come in here like this? I'd have kicked you the hell out and taken the kid there immediately."

"What crawled up your butt?"

When she sat up fully, he came to sit on the couch next to her.

"Look at this."

She took a letter from him when he handed it over, scanning it quickly before glancing back up.

"She-"

"Yeah."

"But-"

"I know."

Mira only frowned, reading over the letter one more time. It was rather long and clearly meant for Laxus' eyes only, but the gist of it was that the woman writing it, Nathan's mother, wasn't coming back and would be out of Fiore in a few days. She had a job in another country that she was going to be taking.

"I guess we don't have to worry about her coming back after we get him settled with another family," Laxus remarked. Mirajane only sat there in shock though.

"How could…" She looked up at him. "How could a mother leave her baby?"

He only blinked before shrugging. "Mine did."

She let out a soft breath then, still only staring at him. "Laxus-"

"It's not that big of a deal. I knew she wasn't coming back. I'm showing you this so that you know the deal."

"I just don't…" Glancing over at the playpen, she said, "How could you care for someone for two years and then leave them? She had to have loved him, huh? At some point?"

"Sometimes love isn't enough."

"But it is, Laxus. How could you be so cruel? How could she? He's just a baby. He needs his someone. The two people that made him. And yet…" She sniffled, tearing up. Rolling his eyes, Laxus got to his feet.

"The world isn't kind, Mirajane," he said simply as he headed into the kitchen. "You know that. You've seen that."

"Still though."

"What do you think we've been doing this whole time? Finding him a new family, right? So why-"

"I just really thought, deep down, that she'd be back. That she'd at least want to check in on him. She raised him, Laxus. She-"

"She fed him, changed him, and taught him to walk and talk. She didn't raise him. His new family will do that."

Getting to her feet then, Mirajane went to stare over the side of the playpen at the sleeping toddler.

"No one wants him, Laxus. Do you know how sad that is? No one in the world wants him right now. At all."

"You get used to it," he told her. "That's life for most everyone."

But Mira couldn't accept that. Somewhere deep down in her, she'd continued throughout the weeks to think that the woman was coming back. In fact, she thought that even if they found him a family, she'd come and take him back from them.

Or maybe, in her most happy of scenarios, they all learned to live together and raise him and even Laxus went and taught him magic.

Of course she knew she was being silly, but she couldn't help it. Why shouldn't you always strive for a perfect ending? Even when it was impossible?

Then, also, part of her was hoping that Laxus would come around and the mother would come back and the two of them would get married and raise him together and be a true family.

Although, honestly, she did find part of herself being hesitant to wish for that. She didn't know why. It would be truly the best thing for Nathan.

But still. Something about it just made her hesitant.

It wasn't like she didn't want Laxus to get married. Or to be happy. Or for Nathan to have both of his parents.

Still though…

Reaching down, she lifted the child into her arms, pressing a kiss to his head as he whined slightly. She was still sniffling herself. As Laxus came out of the kitchen with a beer, he saw this and frowned.

"It happens every day, Mira, to tons of kids. Constantly."

"And that's sad, Laxus, but this one? This one we can change." She glanced over at him. "Don't you like him? Even a little?"

"I warned you, Mira, not to get-"

"I'm not. But-"

"Look, it is what it is. Alright?' He looked off then. "And crying over it isn't going to help anything. What happened to the woman that was in here the first day, insisting that I find him a family? That was-"

"I'm still strong, Laxus," she told him. "I can be sad and angry at the same time."

Nathan was whining then, annoyed that they had woken him up. But it was far past his naptime then and Mirajane only dropped him down gently to the ground. He only took to grabbing onto her dress though as Laxus slowly made his way over to them.

"You're just a babysitter, Mira," he said, reaching out to pat her gently on the cheek, wiping at some of her tears as well. She only stared at him, slightly shocked and slightly curious. "Nothing more, nothing less. Don't forget it."

After he walked off towards his bedroom, she slowly moved to sit down on the ground with Nathan who took to snuggling up against her.

"I won't," she whispered a tad too late as Laxus was already gone. But she spoke anyways. "But that doesn't mean I can't still worry about you. That I can't still look out for you. Because it's the right thing to do, Nathan. And he knows that. He has to."

Nathan only looked up at her before patting her chest. Then he made some odd noises, almost like singing. Mirajane only smiled down at him.

"But you don't care anything about that, huh?" She went to go get her guitar, which was resting up against the side of the couch, before coming back to him. That had to have been what he wanted because the toddler immediately began to smile and clap his hands. "You just want me to play with you, don't you? Or anyone for that matter?"

No. Mira was the best. He really was learning to like her. That and that blonde one too. She smelled nice. And the pink haired guy knew how to shoot these really cool flames from his hands, which mesmerized the little boy. And he had a talking kitty!

Things were really great for him. At the moment at least. They could get worse at any moment. But he didn't know that. And even if he did, Mira had a feeling he wouldn't care. He was just happy to have Mira there to sing for him and all his toys to listen along. Not to mention when the big mean guy, Laxus, was in a good mood and Mira was off showering or something, sometimes he'd give him these really weird grins. They were actually scowls, but he never rightly got that.

Life was great. He still missed Mama, but not so much. Mostly just at night, when she used to snuggle him. But Mira was there for that now.

So really, what was there to complain about?

"You're so smart," Mirajane giggled down at him as he tried hard to mimic her singing though he really was just making sounds in the same rhythm as her. It was super cute though. "Nathan."

Nothing. There was nothing to complain about. At all.