Learning to Walk

"Hey, Luce?" Natsu called from the kitchen, lifting Nashi off of his feet and into his arms. He and Lucy were currently teaching her how to walk by helping her stand on their feet and walking her around the house. Lucy popped her head into the kitchen.

"Yes?" she chirped curiously, Happy flying into the room. He flew up to Natsu and rubbed his furry head against the little girl's cheek. The feline had taken a liking to Nashi, frequently referring to her as his sister, and he was currently her best friend. She was a gentle child, so he didn't mind playing with her or babysitting her whenever Natsu and Lucy went shopping or something like that.

"How about we walk her to the guild? She's six months old, and she's only been to Fairy Tail like three times." Lucy folded her arms and pursed her lips in thought. He had a point. Why they hadn't taken her to the guild more often was a mystery to her. She honestly didn't know.

"That's a good idea," she said slowly after a moment. "And I'm pretty sure our friends would love to walk her around a little too."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Natsu said quickly. "I don't mind having one of the girls walk her around, but I am not allowing Frost Bite teach my kid how to walk."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Natsu, don't be such a child. You know just as well as I do that Nashi likes Gray, and he is your friend just as he is mine, whether you are willing to admit it or not." Natsu looked away, his lips twisted into a scowl, ignoring his daughter's slobbering on his scarf. He tsked. He would much rather have Mira or Lisanna or even Erza walk around with his little girl, but he would not stand for the stripper even playing with her. It would take some good convincing for him to allow such a thing.

Gray ended up spending the majority of the day with Nashi. He was currently sitting at the bar with her on his knee, which was rapidly bouncing, sounding cute gurgling giggles from the young child. And it was effectively aggravating that child's father, who was sitting a barstool away with his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. Gray absolutely loved Nashi, as did the rest of the guild. She was such a sweet girl who was never unhappy. She was fascinated by the chain around his neck and would stare at it in awe every time it was in her line of vision. She was equally interested in his bracelet, and would try to find a way to remove it from his wrist so she could look at it more closely.

Which the ice wizard didn't mind at all, because she was just too adorable.

It was a pleasant day for Juvia as well, because watching Gray act so cute with a child made her heart melt.

The exhibitionist – surprisingly fully clothed looked over at Natsu. "Why're you looking at me like that, flame brain?" he asked, speaking over Nashi's giggles. The Salamander stayed silent, eyes narrowing even further, his black irises glinting dangerously. Gray snorted as his knee bounced particularly high, sounding a delighted squeal from Nashi as she clapped her hands. "Don't get your panties in a twist just because she likes me more than her own father." Natsu's hand suddenly clenched on the drink it was holding, the glass cup shattering onto the bar table. Gray and Mira jumped in surprise while Nashi applauded with silly giggles.

Stupid man…

Knowing where this was going, Mira quickly reached over the bar and took Nashi from Gray's lap as Natsu stood from the barstool. With incredible speed, he threw his fist into the dark haired wizard's jaw. He grunted and fell backward onto the floor. The two rivals quickly went into an all-out brawl.

Later that night…

The walk home was relatively silent, the only noise being Nashi's excited coos as they passed by something that caught her interest. She was in her mother's arms. Natsu preferred to walk a couple of steps behind Lucy, knowing that she was angry with him. He was pretty beaten up with a small bruise under his left eye, his lower lip busted and puffy, and many scratches ran along his arms. His right hand was torn up rather well, considering all of the glass shards that cut through his skin from the cup at the bar.

Summoning the courage to try and talk to a practically fuming Lucy, he broke the uncomfortable silence. "Uh, Lu—"

"I don't want to hear it, Natsu," she said firmly, silencing him immediately. He should've known better than to try and explain. She never lets him say his piece. She would lecture him for a good half hour before letting him speak, even though it was usually required to be an apology and a statement saying he understood what she had just told him. He dreaded the moment they walked through the door to their apartment, for that's when the explosion would begin. "You don't have to explain," she said, her voice softer. "It's alright. Gray should have known better than to say something like that, and believe me, I'll beat him for you tomorrow."

Natsu's eyes widened. What… had she just said? "Luce…"

"Let's just get home and clean up those wounds, alright?" Natsu could only nod dumbly as they continued their trek home. Once they reached their destination, Lucy sat her daughter in her high chair and gave Nashi her dinner, before sitting Natsu down at the table and leaving to get the first aid kit. The fire wizard watched his child as she ate her mushy food, a small smile fading onto his face. When Lucy came back and sat down beside him, she requested his hand. He set his hand on the table with his palm up, wincing as she began to clean and disinfect it. "Didn't that hurt?" she asked, glancing up at him through her eyelashes. He shrugged.

"I didn't really notice it until a couple of minutes ago," he answered, trying not to clench his hand into a fist. By the time she finished wrapping up his hand, Nashi was finished with her dinner and wanting to get out of the high chair. Her mother quickly lifted her out and wiped her face, setting her on the floor before continuing with her fiancée's wounds. With her eyes fixated on his busted lip, she failed to notice what her daughter was doing. "Uh, Lucy?" Natsu whispered, his eyes wide as he watched it through the corner of his eye.

"Stop moving."

"But Luce…"

"What?" she snapped, pulling away and shooting him a glare.

"Nashi was walking just a second ago," he said slowly, turning to face the child sitting on the tiled floor.

"That isn't possible, Natsu. She isn't old enough."

"Dragon Slayers learn and mature faster than normal humans."

Lucy snorted. "I find that hard to believe." Natsu shot her a look and stood up from the chair and walked to the kitchen counter, only several feet away from Nashi.

"Nashi!" he called, settling down on his knees. Said girl turned her head toward the sound of her father's voice and grinned toothlessly. He held out his arms and motioned for her to come to him. "Come here." Nashi tilted her head to the side like a confused puppy. The Dragon Slayer smiled and beckoned her again. "Come here." By this point, Lucy had stood up as well and positioned herself behind her daughter.

"Go to Daddy," she said, helping the young wizard onto her feet. She pointed at her fiancée. "Go on. Go to Daddy." The celestial wizard gently urged her daughter forward. After some encouraging words, Nashi took a wobbly step forward, followed by another, and another. "That's it!" Lucy exclaimed excitedly.

"Come on, baby girl," Natsu pressed, showing off his fangs in a blinding grin. "You can do it!" The child swayed as her balance faltered slightly, but steadily regained it and continued toward her father. After a little under a minute, she finally managed to get close enough to Natsu for him to swoop his hands under her arms and lift her up into his arms, cheering as he did. Lucy joined him and wrapped an arm around his waist, and he could feel an intense sensation of pride in his chest. He leaned down to kiss Lucy's forehead, only to retract almost instantly. He winced as his busted lip began to pulse.

Author's Note: Ne, mina!

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