Hey, long time no see, party people! A short one this time, but I think it's cute and it makes me smile :)

Enjoy!

#5 Cut

"Mama! Mama!"

Lucy looked up from her book to see Layla hurrying toward the bench on which she sat, her little eyes wide. "What is it, honey? What happened?"

"Luke was climbing the tree – I told him not to, I told him he'd fall – but he didn't listen! And he fell!" her daughter wailed.

"Show me," Lucy ordered, jumping to her feet in worry. Layla spun around and sped off through the park, her mother following along close behind her. When they reached Luke, he was sitting on the ground, his hand clamped over his upper left arm and his eyes watering. Lucy knelt down beside her son. "Let me see it," she urged him, and without a word he lifted his hand to reveal a long, shallow cut on his arm. Aside from that, Lucy was relieved to find, he seemed to be alright. "Come on, let's get you home," she said. "This needs to be cleaned."

Lucy was so experienced in the noble art of dressing wounds that in what seemed like no time at all they had returned home and she had cleaned and bandaged the small cut on the arm of her stubborn eight-year-old, while his twin watched quietly with wide eyes. "You should have listened to your sister," Lucy scolded Luke as she tied down the bandage.

"Yeah, you should have," Layla spoke up, glaring at her brother, who simply rolled his eyes.

"I was fine until you started yelling at me!" Luke shot back. Layla only stuck out her tongue in response.

Lucy held back a laugh, shaking her head. As she finished securing the bandage, she bent forward and planted a kiss over the wound, as if to seal it tight.

"Eww, why'd you do that?" Luke complained, looking at his arm with a funny expression.

"Well," Lucy began with a knowing smile, "you see, a mother's kiss has a special power."

"Like magic?" Layla asked, her eyes growing big with curiosity.

"Yes, like magic," Lucy agreed. Her twins were still too young to learn magic of their own, but they had both always been fascinated by the prospect – Layla especially couldn't wait for her parents to teach her to use it. "Healing magic of the strongest kind."

"Really?" Luke asked, his earlier childish antipathy having completely faded. "I think it's working. It's starting to feel better!" Lucy smiled and ruffled his blonde hair.

"Just be careful from now on, okay?" she warned both children. "I only like to use it in emergencies." They nodded and she sent them on their way, smiling to herself.

Later that night, not ten minutes after the twins had gone to bed, Lucy was sitting in their living room reading a book when the front door opened from the outside. She looked up and smiled as her husband entered and closed the door behind him. "Welcome back," she greeted him.

"Hey," Natsu answered in a low, breathy voice. It was then Lucy noticed something wasn't right – he was breathing heavily and leaning awkwardly against the wall, his head hanging low.

"What's wrong?" she asked, suddenly worried. She got to her feet and was at his side in seconds. He was covered in bruises and small scratches, and there was a bad burn on his right arm, but thankfully she saw no serious injuries. He looked to be so exhausted, however, that he could barely remain standing – which was saying something, for him.

"I'm alright," he insisted and she swung his arm around her shoulders and they stumbled to the couch. "Heh heh… We won, at least." He let out a sort of tired laugh which turned into a groan as he collapsed onto the sofa.

Lucy sat down beside him with an exasperated sigh. "You should really be a bit more careful, you know," she told him, the scolding tone she often reserved for her children coming out. "Weren't you with Gray? What happened to him?"

"He's worse than me," Natsu admitted, closing his eyes. "But he'll be fine."

"Mama?" a small voice sounded from the hallway. Lucy stood up to see Luke stepping into the living room, Layla trailing behind him like a shadow.

"You two should be in bed," Lucy reprimanded them half-heartedly.

"Is Daddy okay?" Luke spoke again, his eyes fixed nervously on his father.

Natsu offered them a wide grin, and looked so much like his usual carefree self that even Lucy almost believed it. "Don't worry, guys," he said, his voice betraying the exhaustion his face was trying to hide. "I'm just tired. Had a long day."

Luke cocked his head to the side hesitantly, but Layla darted around her brother and dashed forward, throwing herself onto Natsu with tears in her eyes. He grimaced at the disturbance to some of the larger bruises on his body, but wrapped his arms around his daughter all the same. Lucy sat back down beside them, watching with sympathy in her eyes. She knew Natsu would be perfectly fine after a good night's rest, having known him for such a long time. But their children were young, and though Natsu and Lucy were often injured when they took on jobs for the guild, the twins were not yet accustomed to seeing their parents in such states. It was a difficult life they all lived, but they lived it. And that was what mattered in the end, no matter how many times Natsu and Lucy would have to comfort and reassure this of their children.

Suddenly Layla gasped, sitting upright and causing Natsu to wince again. "Mama, use your magic kiss!" she said in a voice just above a whisper, her wide eyes trained on Lucy. Natsu turned his head and raised an eyebrow at his wife, as if to ask, Magic kiss?

Lucy chuckled. "I guess it's an emergency," she said, smiling at Layla as Luke stepped up to the arm of the couch to watch. Scooting herself forward on the couch, Lucy placed a hand under Natsu's chin and pressed a light, gentle kiss to his lips.

She heard Luke make a strangled sound of exaggerated disgust as she backed away and couldn't help but laugh. Natsu grinned as well and said, "Hey, I feel better already." Layla's eyes lit up in excitement and relief.

"Alright, now off to bed, you two," Lucy ordered the twins. They bid goodnight and hurried off down the hall.

"So what's this about a magic kiss…?" Natsu asked her with mirth in his eyes once they'd gone.

Lucy shook her head, recalling almost fondly what had happened earlier. "Luke fell and cut his arm today," she explained. "I told them a mother's kiss had special healing power."

Natsu laughed. "That makes sense. I've always thought your kisses were magic," he joked, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She grinned and punched him in the arm, making him cringe noticeably. "Ouch," he complained, rubbing the spot where she'd hit him. "That wasn't very nice. I think I need more magic now."

With a smile, she leaned forward. "Shut up," she replied, before once more covering his mouth with her own.

I love Luke and Layla, haha.

'Til next time!

-oMM