Parenthood
Chapter 16
Days passed and slowly, Nathan began to get used to staying with Mirajane. He liked it a lot, actually. There was the doggy and Elf and Lisanna and he got to play in the yard. Mira even had a little section of her garden bed that she let him dig in. She told him that eventually, when she got some more money, she'd buy him a sandbox.
He really liked living there.
And Laxus came over to visit a lot. Either that or they went to his apartment. Then, sometimes, and Nate really hated these times, Laxus would come over just for a second and then Mira would leave with him. And they just forget all about him it seemed! He'd cry and Elf or Lisanna would try to calm him down, but it was no good.
How could Mirajane and Laxus leave him behind?
They'd come back, of course, and Mira would usually bring him a little treat, a cookie or piece of cake. Even dinner sometimes. And he'd forgive her, of course, and let her snuggle him, but he always wondered where they went. Didn't they care about him? Miss him? 'cause he did them. Err, well, her.
Sometimes though, he just didn't want to be there anymore. He didn't want to Mira or Laxus or Elf or Lisanna. He just wanted to go home. He wanted his mama.
In those times, Mirajane would snuggle him and sing to him and promise to never leave him. He'd only scream for his mother until he fell asleep, typically feeling much better when he awoke. And the longer he stayed with Mira, the more he got used to it and sorta forgot about Mama or his home.
He was actually pretty happy.
Not that Mirajane and Laxus' relationship was going as well as Nathan's readjustment period was. It mainly stemmed from the fact that, honestly, Laxus' life was changing very quickly. He couldn't stay out and drink all night because he knew if he got too drunk, he'd more than likely wake up in a hotel room, knowing that he just lost everything. Which meant cutting out the only fun he really had in his life.
Not that being with Mirajane and Nathan wasn't fun. Because it was. They did all sorts of things together. He'd take them shopping or fishing (Nate really did like that one) and they'd usually end the night by going to eat somewhere. Either that or he'd hang around the guildhall more than usual, watching the kid as Mirajane worked.
And boy, did they get it from the guild.
Or, well, she did. No one rightly wanted to tease Laxus about anything. Not to mention, a lot of the guys were actually sort of jealous. And the women would only snicker, mostly taking to bothering Mirajane about it.
Not that he cared about any of them. He had bagged the hottest woman in the guild. Let them all be jealous. They should be.
Makarov though told him flat to his face that he didn't like what he was doing to Mira and that he should think about someone other than himself for once. Talk of that mostly just got eye rolls out of Laxus as well as him telling him that the man had wanted him to keep his son; now he was. So what was the problem?
There were actually a lot of problems. Like the fact that Mira didn't exactly want to hookup as much as Laxus. At all. She worked a lot and didn't have much fee time. And the free time she did have mostly got wasted on the kid.
It was annoying.
And Mira was annoyed with him too. A lot. Like how he would say he was going to show up at a certain time, but not show up. It could be hours some times. Then there was the way that he seemed so dissatisfied with everything. He mocked her siblings, berated the other guild members, and flat told her that he hated the dog.
"It growls at me!"
"He doesn't know you yet."
"Mira-"
"He's just protective."
"He likes the kid."
"Well, who wouldn't like Nathan?"
"What are you trying to say, demon?"
The fights went on and on. Between the sheets was good though, the few times he actually got her there. He'd never had any real doubt about that though. Mira had always been a little naughty, so he always figured things would go fine between them.
And, boy, did they.
It was just…not enough.
He wanted it to be. He really did. He wanted to be content with Mira. He wanted to like his life. But…
It was a hard adjustment was all.
Still though, it was Mirajane…
As the days turned into over a month, he found himself truly loving being around her. Practically loving her.
He loved her.
Ha.
Then it happened.
"Where were you last night?"
Laxus frowned as he came into the Strauss house through the backdoor, immediately going over to Nathan, who was playing with toys on the floor, and patting the kid on the head.
"What are you talking about?" he asked Mira, glancing at her. As always, she was preparing breakfast, right on time. He'd usually eat in the mornings and evenings over there, no matter what. "Mirajane?"
"Where were you?"
"How do you know-"
"Where?"
"I…I went out for drinks with some-" He stopped then, glaring over at her. "How do you know that I wasn't home?"
"I just do."
Elfman, who was seated at the kitchen table, suddenly became very interested in the newspaper, unfolding it quickly and staring intently at something. Laxus narrowed his eyes at that.
"Ever. Ever fucking told Elfboy and you-"
"No cursing," Mirajane said as she went back to scrambling the eggs in the pan. "And no being mean to Elfman. You were the one that-"
"I don't have to tell you everything."
"No, but when you're hiding something-"
"I'm not hiding anything," he growled. "I went out for some drinks with some guys and some-"
"With the women you used to sleep with."
"Mira, if it's always going to be like this-"
"Then leave, Laxus. Go." She was scraping some of the eggs off onto a plate then and bringing it over to Elfman. "I don't need you and I don't need this."
"Mirajane-"
"Laxus." Nathan was looking up for him then, holding his arms out to be picked up. "Hung'y."
Huffing slightly, he bent down to pick the child up before going to take him to the table.
"I didn't sleep with anyone, Mira. I just… I'm bored, alright?" He scowled at Elfman when he glanced over the paper at him. "I'm not used to this. And I-"
"And what? You want to-"
"I want to do things, okay? Not just either have to take the kid out to play or hang around with you. I- Mira."
She only slammed the coffee cup down in front of him just the same as she had done the plate of eggs.
"I am not someone that gets played, Laxus," she said simply. "If you want to go out and hangout with your friends, fine. But if you've seen them naked or they've seen you naked, they aren't friends anymore. They are people that you're not allowed to be alone with. Agreed?"
"No, Mira. That eliminates every woman I know practically."
"Except Ever," Elfman added as he sat the paper down. When Laxus only stared at him, he frowned. "Except Evergreen. Right? Right? Laxus? Right? I mean-"
"I haven't slept with fucking Evergreen," he grumbled then when Mirajane gave him a look. "She's fucking ugly."
"Laxus-"
"Hey!"
When he took to growling Nathan giggled, snuggling up against him with a grin. He thought that Laxus was funny most of the time what with all of the sounds that he made and such.
"As long as I ain't sleeping around, Mirajane," he grumbled, "what difference does it make what I do?"
"The difference it makes, Laxus, is whether you'll be with me or if I break up with you. And that's all that you need to know."
She was a tough one. And an annoying one. But she was his one. There were sacrifices for having a family, he figured. And that just happened to be one.
"You spend a lot of time here now, boss."
Grunt.
"And you make us stay too."
"Do not," he grumbled. "I'd actually rather that you weren't here."
Bickslow frowned, his babies floating around his head in a frenzy regardless. "But Freed said-"
"I would just rather us be here," Freed said, bowing his head then. "We shall remain as close to Laxus as he allows us!"
He rolled his eyes before turning them down to the little boy in his lap, who was happily eating his lunch. It was true. He spent far more time there than he'd like, but it kept Mira from nagging him about his whereabouts and Nathan from being bored all day.
Ugh. He was becoming, like, a mature adult or something.
"Mira," Nathan giggled as she walked by, refilling beers. "Mira."
"She's working, kid," Laxus grumbled as the boy only bounced in his lap. "So shut up."
"Your kid and my babies should be friends," Bickslow told Laxus, like he usually would. "Hey, babies, you-"
"No," Laxus told him, just as annoyed as ever. "Your damn dolls stay on that side of the table. Nathan don't need to be bothered by those creepy things."
"Aw," the dolls whined as Bickslow only frowned.
"You're real mean today, boss."
"Laxus," Nathan giggled as he glanced up at him. "Hung'y?"
It was demeaning to him, the way he had to lower his head then and open his mouth, letting the child feed him. That entertained Nate for some reason. He did it every time he ate. He wanted to feed Laxus. No one else. Sometimes Mirajane, but that was just because he loved her so much. Maybe he thought Laxus didn't eat enough?
"It means that he likes you," Mirajane would always say. "And that he wants to share with you. So whenever he tries to feed you something, you better take it, Laxus. I mean it. I don't want you to discourage him from being kind."
The things that he did for Mirajane…
After work that day, Mirajane drug Laxus and Nathan on a long, boring shopping trip. And by shopping, he meant for groceries. Even Nate got bored, riding up on Laxus shoulders as he hunched forwards so that he could rest against his father's head. Honestly, Laxus was just glad that he didn't see anyone he knew.
"So when are you leaving on this next job, huh?" Mira asked him as they finally headed back to her home. "Laxus?"
"I was going to take one in the next few days," he told her as Nathan, who had been shifted to the ground, toddled along between them, one hand clasping Laxus' jeans and the other gripping tightly to Mira's dress. Their arms were full of groceries, both of them, so they couldn't hold him or his hand. He didn't like that, but sometimes you just had to make do. "Why?"
"I was just wondering," she said. "I mean, shouldn't I be allowed to know when you're going to be gone? I am caring for your son."
She had so many stupid rules like that. He hated them all. He was a free spirit. He went where he pleased. He didn't check in with nobody. Not since he was a boy. And even then, the second he felt old enough, he stopped telling Gramps where he went. You know why? Because he was a man. And men didn't have boundaries. They did as they pleased. He did as he pleased! He-
"And I was thinking about making you a big dinner when you got back," Mira went on. "Nate really likes helping me cook and, I mean, I could make it while you're gone, but you just eat so much that it'd be a shame to have a huge dinner without you."
"Great. So my eating schedule depends on whether or not the kid wants to help out?"
"I just meant that when you get back, I'll take the day off and let Nate help me bake and cook and stuff, Laxus," she told him. "Not everything needs a smart remark. Sometimes you can just agree or say thank you. It doesn't make you less of a man or something."
"Mira," Nate called from between them. Then he babbled something that Laxus didn't understand at all, but she seemed to get perfectly.
"We'll be home soon," she told him. "And hey, when we do, maybe we can…hmmm. What do you wanna do, Laxus?"
Grunt.
"Maybe grumpy can take a nap, Nate, and me and you can play by ourselves, huh?" She grinned down at him making the toddler snicker and wiggle around. Laxus didn't understand the affect she had on the kid, but it was strong, whatever it was.
At the Strauss house, he only flaked out in Mirajane's bed as she and Nathan went to work putting the groceries away. By which he meant Nathan played with his toys in the kitchen while she did most of the work. But that was fine with Mirajane. She liked doing things like that.
Err, so Laxus assumed. She never complained much, anyways.
"Laxus."
He frowned as Nathan came toddling into the bedroom, pushing through the open door with ease.
"What do you want?"
He only headed right over to the bed, holding his hands up to be picked up. Narrowing his eyes at him, Laxus slowly moved to lift him up.
"I'm reading, see?" Laxus held up one of his books that he'd brought over to Mira's house. "About places far away from here. Far away from you. So you can see, kid, why I don't exactly want to be around you just this minute. Or any minute."
"Laxus." He only snuggled up against his side, yawning slightly. "Nigh-nigh."
"No, dummy. It's not time for bed. I'm reading. Not sleeping. So shoo. You won't go to bed tonight if you take two naps today."
He only babbled some before closing his eyes, forgetting all about the fact that he hadn't eaten dinner, taken his nightly bath, or that Mirajane wasn't there to sing to him. He was such a brat.
"Mira," Laxus called. "You lost something. Mirajane-"
"You know, as a guest, you could learn to use your inside voice," he heard from the hall as Lisanna walked by.
Though she'd long made up with her older sister, she was not giving up on her distaste for her new relationship. It had been a fun thing to tease her about, but having to actually put up with Laxus Dreyar? No, thank you. Evergreen was bad enough when she was around, but with Laxus filtering in and out of the house, Lisanna just knew it was only a matter of time before they became the meeting place for the Thunder God Tribe, what with one member there so frequently and the man they were guarding constantly napping in the backroom.
Laxus knew better though than to get into it was Lisanna. It was one thing for him and Elfman to butt heads. They were two males, for one, that were suddenly having to share not only Mira's time, but as well as a house a good portion of the time. With their two big personalities that just didn't mesh, arguments were bound to breakout.
But Lisanna? Oh, no. He might rib her a little or complain about her in small ways, but he'd never have a full blown argument with her. For one, he actually kinda…well… He still thought of her as that cute little kid that used to run around the guildhall and, yeah, he'd felt a little bad when she died. More importantly though, Mira had always been overly protective over her. With that two year gap thrown in, she was completely committed to keeping Lisanna happy at all times. He liked to think that he was important to Mira, if only a little, but something told him that there was nothing he could do to ever overtake her baby sister.
Nothing.
When Mira appeared in the doorway a few minutes later, she only grinned at the sight of them in bed together.
"Aw," she crooned as Laxus rolled his eyes. "He loves you, Daddy."
"Don't call me that. And it's not time for bed. So-"
"So let him rest until it's time to make dinner. It won't hurt anything."
"He might not want to go to sleep later though."
"And? You're not staying tonight, are you? So what difference does it make to you?"
He only grunted as she came to join them on the bed. Nathan was on his other side, near the edge, so Mira reached over him to snatch the child up and lay him between them, bothering Laxus who was trying to read.
"I came in here for peace."
"That's one thing that you'll never get in this house," she told him. "I thought that you knew that, Laxus?"
Grunt.
She just giggled before reaching over to the nightstand and grabbing her headphones, which she slipped on.
"You sleeping too?" he asked as she settled into the bed.
"No. just resting," she sighed. "Working all day the bar isn't easy, you know."
"I know."
"But if I do fall asleep-"
"I'll wake you in two hours to start on dinner."
"Thank you."
But he didn't. She was sleeping so peacefully after one hour that there was no way he could bring himself to ever get her up, especially not if it was just to make them all food. So he went around the house, making sure that Lisanna would be eating (she complained at him when he knocked on her door and when he asked her) and Elfman (he had had tentative plans with Evergreen, who cancelled last minute, leaving him a sobbing mess, insisting that he was fine and that real man could handle rejection. Then he headed out to get them all food.
When he arrived home with takeout, Mira had woken up at some point and was really happy with him. So happy that he thought maybe he would score that night…until he remember that Nate was still very much so around, ruining everything once again.
"You know, kid, if it wasn't for you that I was here anyhow, I might just hate you," he grumbled softly to the toddler at one point that night, who insisted on sitting in his lap at dinner.
"Aw, poor Elf," Mira said about that time as they sat around the table, all of them, (not) her dog even hiding under the table, waiting for scraps. "Why'd she cancel?"
He only sat there, head down as he stared at his plate. "I dunno. She just… I love her so much! And when I told her that this afternoon, she-"
"Wait, wait, wait." Lisanna gave him a look. "You told the woman that won't even admit to dating you most of the time that you love her?"
"Well, I do."
"But-"
"If he loves her, why shouldn't he say it?" Mira asked. "I think that's cute, Elfman."
Laxus snorted. "It's not cute. And you probably scared her off. Then again, it's not like Ever has a lot of places to go-"
"Evergreen is amazing," Elfman told him with a glare. "And I do love her. And I want to marry her."
"Yay! Wedding."
"No, Mira," Laxus said as Lisanna choked on her food at her brother's confession. "Not yay. No wedding. The woman is scared to even say that she occasionally has dinner with him. If he goes and tells her that he wants to marry her, she might never go on a date with him again."
"But-"
"We might be too late for that," Lisanna said, cutting her sister off as she stared at Elfman. "You already told her that. Didn't you?"
"Well, it came along with the love confession, yes," Elfman said as Laxus only shook his head.
"Learn from this, kid," he told Nathan. "Never turn out like Elfboy over here, huh?"
"I still think that it's sweet," Mira said. "You and Ever belong together." Then, in a softer voice, she added, "And you really need out of this house…"
"What do you even like about her?" Lisanna asked then with a slight frown. "She's really rude and mean and bossy and-"
"I like all of those things. I love them. How could I not?" Elfman shook his head. "Ever is everything. And now…now I've ruined it!"
"Elfman," Mira sighed, staring at him with sad eyes. Laxus only shook his head and went back to his dinner.
"Before you, Ever used to screw these really, really rich guys with, like, committed relationships and shit," Laxus told him as Lisanna choked on her dinner again, that time more from trying to hide her laughter. Mira only sent him a strong look, which he pretended not to see. "You're the only guy that she's been with that actually likes her for more than, like, fucking. So don't worry about it. She'll hate you and your confession for a few days, be embarrassed to hang around you, but then she'll probably realize how much she misses you and will be crawling back to you. On her hands and knees. Literally. She's a fucking sex addict, swear."
"Laxus!"
Elfman blinked. Then he nodded slightly. "You mean what you said? About the knees?"
"I'm done." Mira stood up from the table as Lisanna about spit out her food that time. Going to pick up Nathan, she said, "I'm glad that you guys are friends-"
"We're not friends."
"Ew, gross, you're going to make me vomit."
"-but this? This isn't appropriate dinner conversations. We can talk about the weather or our feelings or-"
"I think that Ever being horny is a feeling," Lisanna said making Laxus laugh and Elfman have his turn to choke.
"So done," Mira complained as she headed out of the room, Nathan waving goodbye to all of them from over her shoulder. "With all of you."
But she wasn't. She had to come back and do the dishes eventually because there was no way that any of them were doing them. Elfman was in mourning, Lisanna was dying of laughter, and Laxus had went out and got the damn food. What more did she want from him?
"Thought you weren't staying the night?" Mira asked him when they both found themselves in her bedroom. He'd spent most of the night outside, sipping on a beer and throwing around a stick with the dog. It wasn't so bad, as it was turning out. So long as you were giving him attention. Maybe he was warming up to him.
"I didn't plan to," he whispered softly as she sat there on the bed, guitar in hand, as she still played softly. Nathan though, who was snuggled up in the middle of the mattress, seemed to have been passed out for awhile at that point. "But I thought that after hearing about Ever tonight, you'd take some hints and agree to give me head in the shower."
"Okay, I didn't want to do this, but now we are." She moved to set her guitar to the side as she stared at him. "I didn't think that I'd really have to address your vulgarity, but apparently, you don't know what's appropriate and what's not. Me and you? We can joke around. But I'm not…one of your friends. Not the type that you think you have."
"I was seducing you."
"Ew. If that's how you…don't. Seriously. Not to mention, Laxus, Nathan is right here."
"He's sleeping. And he doesn't know what I was saying."
"I don't care," she said as she got to her feet, still glaring at him. "That's another rule. You can't-"
"Rules, rules, rules. You think that this is all fun and games for me? Huh? I'm just…" He only shook his head. "Fine, Mira. If you don't want me here tonight-"
"I never said that. I just said that you have to put a leash on your mouth."
'You don't like me when I'm being mean to your brother, you don't like me when I'm making him feel better. What do you want from me, woman? I got you dinner. I stayed up at the guildhall. I played with the kid. I made Elfman think that he actually had a chance with Ever when, let's face it, she could do way better."
"Laxus-"
"I'm at a loss here, babe," he said, patting his chest. "I'm trying hard, but you don't seem to be very happy with me."
"I am happy with you, Laxus. I just-"
"Then you could try telling me that sometimes. Do you know that this is the longest I've ever been faithful to a woman since…since ever! And you don't care. You just nag me about one thing or the other. I-"
"Laxus." She was over there next to him then, reaching out to take his hands into hers. He only glared back though. "I'm really glad that you're trying for me. That you're changing for me. I am. I think…I think it's amazing that you want to be different for me. For Nate. But-"
"But you keep picking about small things."
"But, you can't talk like you're in a bar in front of the baby. And really, I'd rather not hear half the things that come out of your mouth either."
"I guess I could…try and…not talk about sex so much. If it really doesn't help seduce you any."
"It really doesn't." She let go of one of his hands, reaching out to pat his chest gently. "But you know what does?"
"Hmmm?"
"How you went out and got dinner," she said. "Or went and played with the dog. And cheering up Elf? That was great. Still vulgar, but I'm glad you did it."
"…What are you trying to tell me here?"
"Being good to me or my family? That's really attractive, Laxus," she said. "Okay? I like when you're nice. When you're good. Not when you're being a jerk or trying hard to seem unbothered by anything. That's not interesting to me. At all."
That was different. So what? She was going to, like, be expecting him to constantly do good things? To be well behaved? Hmmm. That didn't sound like much fun.
"Now come on," she said then, turning to walk away, over to her adjoining bathroom.
"Come on and what?"
"I thought I heard something about a shower," she said, glancing back at him. "Or would you rather sit out here and-"
"No," he quickly moved to follow her, knowing that all it took was the kid even so much as making a noise to ruin the moment. "Not a single thing I'd rather do."