Favoritism

"You really should get some rest."

"Natsu, I'm tired of being cooped up in here. I need to get outside, go to the guild."

"But—"

"I feel better now, really." Lucy stood up from the bed, pushing Natsu away when he tried to sit her back down. She took two steps toward her dresser to get a clean pair of clothes, but swayed, the world spinning around her. She wavered precariously, falling back into Natsu's chest. He scoffed.

"Really?"

"Okay, okay. Maybe I'm a little dizzy, but that's just because I've been constantly vomiting for the past three days. I'm just a little dehydrated."

"A little?" Natsu echoed, keeping his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "You can barely stand up straight." Lucy lightly shrugged his hands away.

"I'll be fine, Natsu. I just need some water. And maybe a shower." She paused for a moment before nodding her head. "Yes, a shower sounds fantastic. I'm pretty sure I smell disgusting." The Dragon Slayer tilted his head before smiling.

"Not possible," he stated, folding his arms matter of factly. "You always smell good." Lucy looked at him disbelievingly.

"Whatever," she scoffed.

Natsu pouted. "But it's true! You always smell like cherries! Even right after you come out from a fight!"

"Cherries?" Lucy echoed. "I smell like cherries?" He nodded his head enthusiastically. "Does Nashi smell like anything?"

"Chai." Lucy hummed. She always smelled like cherries, and Nashi always smelled like chai? She didn't know that. Natsu never told her how she smelled. Huh. The novelist staggered over to her dresser to pick out some fresh clothes. When she stood up straight, she wavered again. Natsu stepped toward her, his arms held out in case he needed to catch her again. "You sure you're gonna be okay?" he asked cautiously. Lucy gripped the side of her dresser to steady herself.

"Yes. Like I said, I just need a shower and some water." She laughed lightly as she made her way to the bathroom, reaching down to stroke Nashi's head as she passed by. The child looked up at her sweetly before going back to her beanie-baby.

"Just don't make the water too hot," Natsu advised, raising his voice to be heard from inside the bathroom. He walked over to Nashi and sat in front of her. "I don't want you passing out in the shower."

"You worry too much, Dad," she commented from the other side of the door. Natsu rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Only looking out for my wife." Lucy giggled, absently touching her fingers to the mark on her neck as she approached the shower. She didn't know why, but she picked up a habit of touching it whenever he said or did something sweet. She just did it on impulse. She sighed as she turned the water on, cupping her hand under the water flow to test the temperature. She usually liked taking hot showers, to where the bathroom would be clouded with steam within a matter of minutes. But she had to agree with Natsu. Having the water too hot with her current condition might result in a concussion and a trip to the Fairy Tail infirmary. And she really didn't want another injury. Her broken arm healed just a week ago.

Lucy stepped into the shower and sighed contently. She felt disgusting. She hasn't showered in several days, and she sweated constantly during the first two days. She was extremely tired, too. But she finally got a whole night's sleep last night, and now she was restless. She needed to get out of the apartment, get some fresh air, see her friends. She didn't like staying inside – let alone in one place – for too long. Now don't get her wrong, she loved staying home with her family. Watching Nashi giggle and play with Happy, having Natsu's attention constantly focused on her well-being – she loved it all. But she also loved hanging out with her friends, with her guildmates.

She began to lather up her hair, her nails rubbing and scrapping against her scalp. Over the sound of running water, she could've sworn she heard Nashi. She halted her movements to try and listen, but she didn't hear anything, so she continued the process of washing her hair. She leaned her head back to rinse the shampoo out of her golden locks, but then she heard something again. This time, she was sure she heard it, and she was positive it was Nashi's voice. She stuck her head out of the shower. "Natsu?" she called. She waited. The door opened, and her husband peeked his head inside.

"Yeah?" he said, looking at her with curious eyes.

"Is… is everything alright?" she asked slowly, narrowing her eyes slightly. He nodded.

"Yeah, everything's fine." They stared at each other for a moment, but Lucy nodded.

"Alright." With that, she retreated back into the water and resumed her cleansing. She heard the door shut. Maybe she's just hearing things. She was sick, after all. After cleaning her body, she turned the water off and stepped out of the tub. As she reached for her towel, her head snapped to the door.

"Mama!" Her motherly instincts kicking in, Lucy quickly wrapped the plush white towel around her body and shot out the door, ignoring the brief rush of dizziness that followed. Nashi was on the floor, as she was when she went into the bathroom, but she was bawling, her cheeks red and wet with tears. Natsu was sitting off to the side, looking up at her apologetically.

"What happened?" she asked him, kneeling and reaching for her crying child. She asked the same question to her. "What happened, baby?"

"While you were in the shower, she tried to get into your stuff," Natsu explained. "I told her no, and she got mad at me and tried again. I said no again, and then she started crying!" Lucy grinned and turned to Nashi.

"Aw, was Daddy being mean?" she asked, bouncing up and down to soothe her child. Nashi rubbed her eyes and nodded.

"Uh, huh…" she whimpered.

"I wasn't being mean!" Natsu defended, getting to his feet. "All I did was say 'Nashi, no.' It's not like I yelled at her or hit her or anything!" Lucy laughed, lifting a hand to dry her daughter's cheeks.

"Oh, it's alright, honey. Daddy can be a jerk sometimes."

"Lucyyy! I wasn't being mean!"

"So now I'm the favorite parent because he didn't let you do what you wanted?" Nashi nodded curtly.

"Yeah!" she said, leaning her head on her mother's shoulder, her face stuck in a cute pout. Natsu gawked. His own wife wasn't taking his side? How was this fair? He scoffed and folded his arms, sticking out his lip in a pout similar to Nashi's. He wasn't being mean.

"Little brat," Natsu muttered just loud enough for his girls to hear. Nashi stuck his tongue out at him, and he did the same to her. Lucy couldn't help but giggle. Nashi was definitely the child of Natsu Dragneel.

Author's Note: whoo! We hit 200 reviews! I'm so happy! I love reading your reviews. Seriously. You guys make me gush like crazy. I love you guys so much. Just like always, leave a review! Let's get to 300!