Don't Cry
Prompt: Singing
Author's Note: I own nothing, all credit goes to Hiro Mashima and Guns 'n' Roses
Gajeel stood in the doorway of their daughter's room as Levy sat in the rocking chair trying to soothe their fussy newborn. This was their first child and so far, it has been a challenge. Gajeel sat through the "mommy classes", the "daddy classes", 3 am cravings, morning sickeness, mood swings, everything with Levy and never once lost his patience with her. He would never forget holding Levy's hand in the delivery room as their child came into the world. Hell, he'd never forget the day that Levy told him that she was pregnant.
Gajeel and Levy had been married for about half a year at the time. Gajeel woke up as usual to work out with Lily, shower and make breakfast for the three of them. This had been his routine since before he started dating Levy and the only change had been to sound proof the weight room so that they didn't wake Levy while they threw their weights around. This day was like any other, until Gajeel noticed that Levy wasn't out of bed at her usual time. Normally Gajeel could hear Levy moving around by the time he took a shower, but that day he didn't hear a peep from their bedroom. At first Gajeel didn't think anything of it, he had noticed that Levy had been tired for the past two weeks, so he assumed that she was just sleeping in. When he didn't hear anything by the time breakfast was almost done, Gajeel was worried and went into their bedroom to check on her.
"Hey Shrimp. You ok in there?" Gajeel called while knocking on their bedroom door.
"Yeah, I'm getting dressed now." A small voice replied.
"I'm coming in." Gajeel replied while opening the door.
At this point, Levy was just pulling on a pair of jeans. She looked up at Gajeel with a slightly irritated look.
"Thanks for the heads up."
"No problem Shrimp, it's not like I've never seen your ass before." Gajeel teased her, causing Levy to blush. "In fact I kinda like it." He reached out the grab at her.
Levy artfully ducked out of the way and chuckled.
"What's up?" Levy asked sitting on the bed. "Aren't you supposed to be making breakfast?"
"I am, it's already done. You weren't in the kitchen yet and I wanted to make sure you were ok."
"I am. I'm just a little slow going today. My stomach feels off today."
"Why don't we go eat then? Maybe some food in your belly will make you feel better."
"Sure." Levy went to move past him to leave their room when he grabbed her and stole a kiss.
"Good morning." Gajeel said softly into her hair.
"Good morning."
They both entered the kitchen where Lily was setting the table for the three of them.
"Good morning Levy!" Lily called looking up from his work. "How are you feeling this morning?"
"A little off and tired, but it's probably nothing. Why don't we eat?"
Levy poured herself and Gajeel coffee, while Gajeel made everyone's plates. After a few minutes, the trio were enjoying breakfast together.
"So, what are your plans for the day?" Levy asked the two boys.
"We're have some job at the guild scheduled with a client." Gajeel mumbled around his mouthful of iron omelet. "What are you doing today?"
"I was going to catch up with Lucy. She wanted to talk to me about something so I was going to visit her apartment." Levy replied. "She just got back from a job with Natsu a few days ago. Oh…"
Out of nowhere, Levy dropped her fork and ran to the bathroom.
"Levy!" Gajeel yelled, standing up from the table. "What's wrong?" He followed her out of the room. He could hear her retching in the bathroom. "Levy, are you ok?" He yelled again trying to keep the panic out of his voice.
"I'm fine Gajeel." Levy called back in a small voice. "Don't come in! I'm…" Whatever she was going to say was cut off by more awful retching.
That was the last straw for Gajeel. He opened the door and kneeled down next to his wife. He grabbed her hair and pulled it out of her face while she got sick. After a few minutes, her stomach settled down and Levy was able to move away from toilet.
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Levy said quietly. She stood and went to the sink to wash out her mouth.
"It's ok. I'm sorry that you are sick." Gajeel stood up. "Was it the food?"
"I don't think so. The food tasted fine, but my stomach didn't agree with it." Levy shrugged tiredly. "I'm feeling a bit better now."
"Why don't you go back to bed? I'll clean up breakfast and be in to check on you in a few minutes." Gajeel offered.
"I think that's what I'm going to do. I've been so tired, it must be some sort of stomach bug." Levy replied half to herself.
Gajeel went to the kitchen and with Lily's help, the table was cleaned in ten minutes. When Gajeel returned to their bedroom Levy was sitting on the bed staring at her calender.
"You ok Shrimp?" Gajeel asked.
"Oh!" She jumped. "I didn't hear you come back. Yeah I'm ok."
"You seem a bit out of it. Are you sure something isn't up? I can send Lily in to take care of the job and I'll stay with you for the day."
"No!" Levy all but yelled. "I mean you don't have to do that. I'm feeling better already and we need the money for rent. I'll be fine on my own." She tried to smile with sincerity, but Gajeel could tell that something was up.
"Are you sure? You seem a bit jumpy."
"Positive."
"Alright then, if you're sure…I'll see you later then" Gajeel kissed Levy's forehead. "Call me on my lacrima if you need me ok?"
"I will." Levy nodded. "I love you, Gajeel."
"I love you too."
When Gajeel got home that night, Lucy was just leaving their apartment.
"Hello Gajeel." Lucy positively beamed at him.
"Hi Lucy." Gajeel replied, confused. "Is Levy ok? She wasn't feeling well this morning, but she insisted that I went to work today. Did she have a problem?"
"Well, I wouldn't say she has a problem," Lucy began, blushing slightly. "She's fine though. She just texted me that she wanted to catch up with me anyway, so I came over."
"Ok. Thank you for coming over. I'm happy to hear that she wasn't alone."
"No problem. Well, I better be going. Natsu will be wondering if I got lost. Good night Gajeel."
"Good night." Gajeel replied.
Gajeel and Lily entered the apartment to find Levy sitting on the couch waiting for them.
"How are you feeling?" Gajeel asked.
"Much better physically." Levy replied distracted.
"Good, I'm going to go change I have some soup for you from the guild in case you aren't up to solid food." Gajeel put the bag on the kitchen table and started to their bedroom.
"Actually, Gajeel. I need to talk to you." Levy said nervously, reaching for his arm to pull him on the couch.
"Talk then. I can listen while I change." Gajeel called back from outside their room.
"No Gajeel, I think you should be sitting down when you hear this."
"I'm fine."
"No Gajeel, I think you should listen to Levy here." Lily said, catching on to Levy's nervousness.
"Damn people. What is the big deal about talking to me while I get changed? I can still here you." Gajeel yelled from the bedroom, while removing the belt from his pants.
"Fine!" Levy yelled back. "I'm pregnant!"
"What!" Gajeel exploded, dropping his pants in his shock. He turned to his wife who was now standing in the doorway of their bedroom.
"I'm pregnant." Levy said quietly. Her face was a mixture of happiness, fear, and excitement. "You're going to be a dad."
"How? I mean, I know how, but how?" Gajeel said quietly dropping to his knees. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't father material, anyone could see that.
"You're not excited." Levy looked down. He could see her lower lip trembling. "I'm so sorry." She cried as she burst into tears.
"No! I mean I am excited, but it's more than that." Gajeel scrambled to his feet and pulled Levy close to his chest. "This is a lot to take in. When did you find out?"
"Just today." Levy continued to cry. "That's why Lucy was here. I realized that I was late, and I put everything together. I took a test and it was positive. I'm having a baby."
Gajeel held her close to him and sat them both down on the bed.
"Shhh. It's ok. I'm happy. I really am." Gajeel stroked her hair trying to soothe her. "I just can't believe it."
"Well, believe it. It's happening whether we're ready or not."
"We will be ready. You're going to be a great mom. I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you." Levy sniffled. "You're going to be a great dad."
I doubt it. Gajeel thought to himself.
"Thanks Shrimp."
Announcing their pregnancy to the guild was one of the most humiliating and hilarious things about the whole ordeal. The guys took their shots at Gajeel when Levy wasn't around, while the girls gushed over Levy. It was quickly decided that Lucy was to be their baby's godmother while Lily would be the godfather.
Lucy and the girls made sure Levy had a beautiful baby shower. In fact, the moment Levy entered the guild and saw everyone there on the day of the shower, she burst into tears. Lily and Gajeel converted their weight room into a baby's nursery. The room was decorated in neutral colors since they weren't going to find out the sex before birth. Levy wanted it to be a surprise. If it was a boy as Gajeel hoped it would be, the baby would be named Kai. If it was a girl, she would be named Kira. Levy was happy either way as long as they baby was healthy.
Labor was very hard on Levy, it was rough and painful, but she didn't go through it alone. Gajeel stayed by her side though the whole ordeal. For such a little shrimp, Gajeel couldn't believe how strong she could squeeze while in pain. Finally after five hours, their child was born into the world. As much as Gajeel hoped for a boy, the moment he saw his daughter he was smitten.
"Welcome into the world, little Kira." He said softly while taking his daughter to meet her mother.
As babies go they aren't all fun and joy. There are difficult moments like diapers, feeding times every two hours, and crying at all times of the night. Raising a child isn't easy, but Gajeel and Levy were doing the best they could. Lack of sleep was taking a toll on both of them, but it hit Levy especially since she had been already going on 9 months with minimum sleep. On nights when Kira was particularly crabby, Levy would sit in the rocking chair in the nursery and sing lullabies to get her to sleep, while Gajeel would sit alongside of her or watch from the doorway.
One night, by the time they got Kira to sleep, Levy was half asleep herself. Gajeel took the baby from Levy's arms and gently placed her in the bassinet. Then he turned and picked Levy up to carry her to the bed. Gajeel tucked her into bed and climbed in with her after making sure the baby monitor was on. Gajeel quickly fell in to a nice sleep. Suddenly after what only felt like minutes, Gajeel heard a baby's cry coming from the nursery. He sprung up out of bed, careful not to wake Levy and went to check on their daughter.
As expected, Kira was up crying in need of feeding and a diaper change. How much does this kid need to eat? Gajeel wondered as he grabbed a bottle. After feeding and burping Kira, he began to rock her and started to sing his lullaby.
Talk to me softly
There's something in your eyes
Don't hang your head in sorrow
And please don't cry
I know how you feel inside I've
I've been there before
Somethin's changin' inside you
And don't you know
Don't you cry tonight
I still love you baby
Don't you cry tonight
By the time Gajeel was singing the second verse, Kira was asleep. Gajeel had been singing this lullaby to her since she was born. He didn't mind being the one to put her to sleep again in the middle of the night. Levy was with the baby all day while Gajeel worked to keep them in their apartment. This was his time to spend with his daughter. Gajeel worried about being a good father to his daughter and this was the one thing he could do for her. He could sing well, but when he started with this song Kira always fell asleep.
Little did Gajeel know that Levy was up listening to him sing to their daughter outside of the nursery. After the song was finished, the room became very quiet and there was a long silence. Concerned Levy peaked into the room to see if everything was ok and what she saw, absolutely melted her heart. Gajeel had fallen asleep while rocking and singing to Kira.
Levy smiled and carefully wrapped a blanket around the two of them. She took only one picture, though she was tempted to take more.
I wonder what Gajeel would say if I told him I wanted another? Levy thought to herself. She shrugged. I guess I can ask him in the morning. With that Levy kissed the both of them and went back to bed knowing her baby was with her daddy and that they were just fine.
Author's Note: Hi guys! I hope you liked it. Thanks for reading. Feel free to review and comment. The song is "Don't Cry" by Guns 'N' Roses. It's really pretty so give it a listen some time. Until next time.
-Jay