A/N: I know it's a bit early but Happy Easter everyone! When I first thought of this, I couldn't help but feel that it was cute and I hope that you think so too. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter and a great spring break! Well, at least those who actually have off. Please let me know what you think, all comments are welcome! Thanks so much!
For The Love Of Nalu
Chapter 26
Theme: Easter
How to have the perfect Easter, step one:
Dye the eggs.
"Now, watch as I do it." The blond spirit mage stood in her small kitchen, the pink haired dragon slayer stood on her right while on her left, standing in a chair stood a little girl with small, curly pink locks and big brown eyes. Lucy took a moment to glance over at her husband, then to their daughter before turning back to the small plastic tubs that Lucy had filled with water just moments before. "Pick the color you want, then only add three drops. That's all you need." She said sternly, shooting a look at the fire mage knowing that he liked to go overboard at times with things like this.
She grabbed the small bottle of dye, choosing the yellow bottle before adding the three drops to one of the plastic cups of water. Slowly, the water turned yellow itself and Lucy used a spoon to spread it evenly. After each step, she would gaze over at Natsu, before turning her attention to Layla wanting to make sure that both were paying close attention. This was something that she had loved doing with her own mother as a child and she wanted to carry on the tradition with the next generation. "Make sure that the water has turned to the color you want it to be completely before going any further."
Both her husband and daughter nodded, each watching Lucy's movements with deep concentration. Maybe this holiday won't be so bad. It really seemed that they were interested in what she was doing and actually paying attention. A smile grew upon the blonds lips as she turned back to the table. Sitting the spoon on a napkin, Lucy reached forward and picked up a small metal scoop, showing it to both Natsu and Layla before continuing. "You use this to dip the eggs into the water, that way you don't get any of the dye on you." She explained.
Grabbing one of the eggs that sat in a carton just a few inches from the plastic dye cups, Lucy placed it on top of the wire scoop, the thin metal leaning slightly from the weight of the boiled egg. The spirit mage had made sure to boil all the eggs last night and let them cool overnight in the fridge so that they would be ready first thing in the morning. "Just dip it into the cup and carefully let it fall off the scoop. If you're not easy, you will crack the egg so make sure to be gentle." Lucy shot another warning glance at Natsu, who in turn only rolled his eyes.
"Alright Luce, we get it." He chuckled, turning his deep charcoal eyes to the egg that sat heavily on the wire scoop once more. Lucy smiled, her excitement and hope growing that for once they may actually have a nice, normal holiday. She lowered the scoop, placing it into the yellow water before letting it gently fall off and into the cup. "See, just like that." She explained happily as she pulled out the scoop and wiped it down with a spare napkin. "You just have to let the egg sit for a few minutes so it will dye evenly. After that we can take it out and place it back in the carton to dry."
Both Natsu and Layla sent Lucy a matching grin, the tiny pinkette inheriting her fathers large toothy smile. In fact, most of her genes seemed to come from the dragon slayer. Everything except her eyes. Those were clearly Lucy's, there was no mistaking that. Lucy parted her pink lips, about to say something else when a knock resounded on the door. Pausing, she shot a glance at it before turning back to her family. "I'll get that, you two can start. Just remember, three drops of dye and be gentle with the egg." She stated a bit sternly.
"Yeah, yeah. Just go see who's at the door." Natsu said, waving her off as he grinned down at his daughter. The said girl only replied with the same grin, both of their eyes filled with excitement. Lucy giggled, sending them a soft smile as she watched them before making her way towards the door. Once Lucy was out of the kitchen, Natsu immediately grabbed the red dye while little Layla reached for the blue. "Blue? Since when did you like blue?" Natsu asked of his daughter as he unscrewed the small cap on the bottle for both him and Layla.
"Since Mama told me blue was one of her favorite colors." Layla explained easily, grabbing the blue dye from her father and putting only three drops into it, just like her mother told her. That was another thing she had gained from her mother, her ability to listen to directions; though she could get rather excited too at times and go overboard. Especially when it came to her powers. Gazing back up at her father, she noticed the look on his face and she smiled. Even for a five year old, she was pretty good at analyzing people. "Pink is one of her favorite colors too." She added.
Those words seemed to bring the fire back into the pinkettes eyes as he grinned. He moved the bottle of dye over top of the cup before squeezing. Suddenly, a sharp stream of dye came shooting out and causing the water to splash over the table. Natsu had used to much strength behind it and now the bottle sat empty in his hand. "Opps..." He gazed down into the crimson liquid, at least what was left of it and grinned. "Woah! Look how red it is!" Curiosity seemed to get the best of the dragon slayer as he dipped his finger into the dyed water only to see it come out just as red.
"This is awesome! I wonder why Mama never told us about this before?" Natsu asked, sending a glance down at Layla who only giggled at her fathers antics. Following her fathers lead, she dipped her finger into the blue liquid only to pull it out and equal shade of dark blue. She smaller pinkette grinned widely, her eyes sparkling at the look of her now blue finger.
"Look Papa! My fingers blue now!" She rose her hand, placing it directly in his face and when he turned to look, her wet finger bumped against his nose leaving a blue fingerprint in its place. "Oh wow, your nose is blue too!" Natsu's eyes widened before he smirked. His own eyes shined with mirth and mischief as he ran his finger down the length of Layla's nose.
"Ha! Now we match, well not really but you get the point." His words trailed off into laughter at the sight of his red nosed daughter. "Layla the red nosed dragon slayer!" He sung, remembering the crazy song that Lucy seemed to like to sing so much during Christmas. He never really understood the point of it but it was kind of catchy and stuck with him. Layla laughed with her father and sung along with him. Glancing back to his red finger, he dipped it back into the red colored water before running it over his cheeks in the form of war paint. He pulled his scarf up over his mouth and forehead before pulling his hands together. "Nin, nin."
Little Layla laughed once more before shaking her head. "Silly Papa, that's now what a ninja wears." She said, mocking her mothers voice when she was correcting something that Natsu did. Natsu shrugged before putting his scarf back in place. Layla turned back to the dye and grinned. "Lets try a different color!" She reached forward and grabbed the green before putting a few drops into a new cup. Placing new fingers into it, she then began to draw hearts upon her arms. Natsu immediately followed suit, grabbing another dye from the table.
Lucy hadn't been gone long, it turned out only to be the mailmen delivering her a specially ordered gift that she had placed for Layla's upcoming birthday. Upon entering the kitchen, she froze in mid-step and her smile instantly fell from her face. "Look Papa, blue and red makes purple!" Her husband and daughter stood in the kitchen, dyed water spilled all over the table and floor. But what was worse was the drawings all over their bodies. Natsu had smudges of red, blue and green covering his face and arms. Part of his hair was dyed a strange shade of green and there was a green heart on his left cheek. Layla was in mostly the same situation, all down her arms were what appeared to be red flames. Her face covered in blue and green circles and hearts that she had asked her father to draw on her, even if poorly done.
Charcoal eyes shifted to where Lucy was standing before he himself froze as well. Layla, upon noticing that her father had stilled, followed his gaze only for it to land on her mother. She too froze in place, father and daughter watching the mother carefully and Lucy stared on in shock. After a moment, a giggle passed through the blonds pink lips before she bent over and began laughing boisterously. Both Natsu and Layla were surprised by the outburst, watching the spirit mage with worried eyes. "Papa, I think we broke Mama..." Step one...Check.
How to have the perfect Easter, step two:
Hiding the Easter eggs.
"Alright Natsu, while I help Layla shower, you take these eggs outside and hide them." Lucy said, handing a basket of eggs to Natsu. Some of the eggs were partially colored while had almost a tie-dye look to them. Natsu grinned, happy that they had somehow managed to avoid a scolding earlier with the dye but he would just chalk that up to good luck. He rose his hand in mock salute before grabbing the basket and making his way out of the house. Since they were engaged, Lucy had moved out of her apartment and her and Natsu moved into a home together that they managed to only be able to afford after saving up the rewards from several high paying missions.
Standing out back, Natsu glanced around the grassy yard with it's privacy fence, small swing set and sand box. His grin only grew in size as he noticed the different spots that he could hide the eggs. While he worked on hiding the eggs, Lucy stood in the bathroom, drying off the little girl who had once had dye covering her was now clean and smelling like fresh lavender. "There we go, all done. Now, go get dressed and I'll be waiting in the kitchen." While Layla dressed herself, Lucy began to mop up the mess within the kitchen, finishing just before the tiny pinkette came bouncing in.
Layla grinned as she held her mothers hand and they walked out to the backyard, see Natsu standing in the middle with an empty basket and a grin just as large as Layla's. Lucy glanced around, noticing a few eggs that could be spotted easily but there weren't nearly as many as she had given him. So where did he hide the rest? Little Layla ran forward and jumped into her fathers arms, telling him to smell her hair as she just used a new shampoo for the first time. Natsu laughed at her antics and did as asked before complementing her on her great sense of smell. Which of course she had inherited from him.
"Alright Layla, go find the Easter eggs!" Lucy cheered her on as the little pinkette raced around. She found the first few easily, one sitting under the bench, another in the sand bucket. One more sat on one of the swings while another sat in Lucy's garden. Of course Lucy frowned a bit at that. She didn't like the idea of trampling over her tulips but seeing Layla so happy, she quickly forgave him. After a few more minutes of looking, Layla came back to them looking defeated.
"Mama, Papa, I can't find anymore." She held up the basket that contained only four eggs, a frown on her tiny lips. Lucy glanced to Natsu, she herself had wondered where the rest were. Natsu only grinned in response before turning to the tiny dragon slayer, kneeling down and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You can do it, Layla! Smell them out!" He cheered on, motivating her and having complete faith in her sense of smell. Layla grinned before turning back around, a new look of determination burning within her eyes. Lucy couldn't help but think of just how much that look reminded her of Natsu. The little girl closed her eyes and began to smell out the air, moving to where her nose took her with her eyes still closed.
Coming to a stop underneath the large oak tree, Layla glanced up and to shout in glee and point up at one of the higher branches. "I found it, Papa!" Lucy followed Layla's gaze only for her brown eyes to widen when she saw just how high up it was. She quickly shot around and sent the older of the dragon slayers a glare. "Natsu!" Lucy was prepared to immediately begin her scolding when Natsu pointed to something behind her. Turning around cautiously, she gazed down at the spot that Layla had once been in only to see nothing but the basket sitting there. With her brow furrowed, she gazed up at the spot where the egg was only to gasp.
"Layla!" Lucy cried out upon noticing that their daughter was standing on a very high branch and reaching for the Easter egg. "Get down from there! You're going to fall and hurt yourself!" Caramel colored eyes were filled with worry when they turned to Natsu. "Natsu, get her down from there! That's so dangerous!" Her eyes pleaded with him to listen since there was no way she'd be able to get up there herself but Natsu only smiled in response as Lucy's featured hardened. Once more, she was about to begin yelling at Natsu before a soft thud sounded behind her. Quickly shooting around, her heart was beating rapidly as she worried that Layla may have fallen. Her eyes landed upon a grinning tiny pinkette who was currently placing the egg into her basket before picking it up and moving on.
Lucy could only stand there gaping after her, surprised at just how easily the girl had managed such an obstacle. That still didn't sedate her anger at Natsu for putting one so high, but she was relieved to know that their daughter was safe and back on the ground. This time Layla made her way to the side of the house, taking a moment to glance up at it before sitting the basket down. Layla then leaped forward, Lucy's eyes once more widening in surprise and worry as the girl landed upon a lower portion of the roof with ease. Where did she learn to jump like that? The tiny girl made her way over to the other side and picked up another egg. She raised her hand over her head, holding the egg up like a trophy before jumping down from the roof and placing in the basket.
Layla was able to find a couple more after that, Lucy was worried sick about all the different places that her husband had decided to hide them, all the while Natsu continued to cheer on their daughter and count down to how many more places there were. "Just one more spot, Layla!" Repeating the process from earlier, Layla made her way towards the sandbox when she finally noticed two branches that formed an X over the middle. Little Layla quickly grabbed her toy shovel and began to dig her way through the sand. Eventually Lucy heard the girl hit something hard as she squealed in delight. She quickly threw the shovel to the side and began to dig away at the rest with her hands. She pulled out what appeared to be a large wooden box.
"Wow!" Layla cried out before prying open the box only to gasp when she noticed it overloaded with all the rest of the eggs. "It's a pirates treasure!" Layla exclaimed before placing each egg into her basket and running back over to her parents. "Mama, Papa, that was amazing!" She grinned, dancing around in the yard. Even though most of the spots were questionable at best, Lucy had witnessed time and time again Layla prove herself very much capable of taking care of herself. Which, of course, only worried her further since the girl is only five years old. Most girls couldn't even do a portion of what Layla had managed to do. But then again, most girls didn't have the famous Salamander of Fairy Tail as a father. Step two...Check.
How to have the perfect Easter, step three:
A visit from the Easter Bunny.
"This is a bad idea, Luce." Natsu commented, gazing down at the two tortured exceeds as they sported adorable bunny costumes. Carla stood there in all her perfection with a scowl upon her whiskered mouth. Happy stood directly next to her, tears forming in the corner of his eyes as he gazed up at the three standing there. Happy's gaze was mostly directed at Natsu, his eyes begging the dragon slayer to help him but Natsu could only sigh. Charcoal eyes turned to the blond and blunette standing next to them, each with eyes wide and brimming with excitement.
"This is perfect, Wendy! They look so adorable! Layla's going to love them!" Lucy gushed over the exceeds and Wendy only went right along with her. Both girls found them to be way too cute. Carla had only went along with this for Wendy's sake, the white exceed never was able to say no to something that Wendy asked of her. Happy on the other hand, it was clear that he hated this. His big, tear filled eyes turned to Lucy once more which only caused her to gush over the cuteness even more.
"Please Lucy, don't make me do this." He whined which caused Lucy's grinning face to fall. She glared down at the blue exceed, kneeling down to get a closer look at the poor little guy. Happy was startled slightly by the move, his eyes watching the blond closely to see what she would do. It was clear that he was scared of her, especially with that look in her eyes. Natsu felt incredibly bad for the exceed, but having been married to Lucy for seven years now, he knew better than to go against her. At least when she was this serious about something.
"Happy, you love me right?" She paused for a moment, giving the exceed time to hesitantly nod before continuing. "And that same goes for Natsu and especially Layla, right?" The sweet voice that Lucy was using sent chills down Natsu's spine. He didn't like where this was going. "Then you will do this for that sweet little girl in the other room whether you like it or not. And if you don't then I will string you up like a puppet and force you to do it." Her voice remained light yet the words were anything but. Natsu shivered while Happy began to tremble. "Besides, it won't be that bad. It's only Layla. You'll be in and out in no time at all."
The exceeds did as were told and made their way into the little girls bedroom. The said girl turned around at the sound of the door opening to see the two 'bunnies' standing there, a large basket held between them that was filled with all sorts of treats. "The Easter bunnies!" The pinkette cried out and raced across the room. She wrapped her arms around both exceeds, pulling them in for a bone crushing hug as they dropped the basket and tried their best to remain breathing from the sheer strength that Layla used behind her hug. Natsu immediately came forward upon seeing their distress and placed a hand on Layla's shoulder.
"Layla, why don't you play with the bunnies?" He offered. Their daughter immediately grinned at the idea, sitting the two down before grabbing their paws as they gasped for breath. Lucy and Wendy watched from the doorway, large grins on their faces. Layla dragged the two over to her plastic house, and put them inside. She immediately began to order them around, demanding that they play house with her as the exceeds shot another pleading glance at their owners. This only ended up making Natsu feel worse for Happy while Wendy ignored the look and watched on in delight.
Once they were done playing house, they then played with dolls. Then stuffed animals. Then they read a story and before long, three hours had passed and Natsu could no longer withstand the looks that Happy kept giving him. "Alright Layla, I think it's time the Easter bunnies moved on. They have other houses to visit." Layla frowned for a moment before smiling softly. She nodded her head before pulling the exceeds into another hug, this time much softer. "I'm going to miss you two!" She cried out. Natsu felt a tug at his heart at the tears that formed in his daughters eyes. He could hear sobs from behind him which meant that both Wendy and Lucy were actually crying over the sad scene in front of them.
"It's okay, they'll be back next year." Lucy said between sobs as she moved forward to hug her little girl. The exceeds let out a sigh in relief as they left the room, immediately going to change out of the costumes they were forced into. Neither would be repeating this again next year, that they knew for sure. Both Carla and Happy left shortly after, making their way to the guild and wanting to escape that home for awhile. But, Lucy made sure that Happy had a large fish with a bow tied to it waiting for Happy when he got home and that Carla had a new dress to add to her collection in thanks for their hard work. Step three...Check.
How to have the perfect Easter, step four.
Easter Dinner.
Lucy hummed happily as her, Natsu and Layla all made their way to the guild. It was a guild tradition that every Easter there would be a large family feast for all the members. Everyone chipped in, each being assigned something different by Mirajane each year. This year The Dragneel's were assigned mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole and apple and blueberry pie. Of course, with the guild having so many members, this meant that you had to make several dishes for each one. Lugging behind Natsu was a large wheeled cart, made fully out of wood which carried nine trays of mashed potatoes, six green bean casseroles, six blueberry pies and six apple pies.
Obviously that's not enough to feed the entire guild but Mirajane wouldn't leave it up to Lucy to make all that was required of these dishes to evenly feed the guild. She made most while others made a portion of them. The one thing that Mira always made sure that only she made was the ham. She always made the best ham and everyone always wanted Mira's special ham each year. Which, Lucy didn't blame them since it really was that good. Lucy herself was a great cook, but there are just certain things you simply can't top and Mira's ham was one of those.
Arriving at the guild, Natsu kicked the doors open in his usual manner as they gazed inside to see all the tables that were once separated, had been pulled toward to form a large circle with a few tables in the center for the main dish. A few people were already strewn about, some standing, some sitting and some helping the white haired barmaid. Layla immediately ran forward and joined a group of others her age and was immediately welcomed. Two boys who had been fighting just moments ago stopped instantly and greeted the tiny pinkette with grins.
"Hey Layla!" Both called out at the same time before sending a glare at each other for them saying the same thing. One stood there with short and unruly blue hair with deep crimson eyes. His features were sharp, if not scary but it didn't seem to both tiny Layla. She wasn't put off by the usual scowl the boy wore nor by the studded black clothing he wore. Standing next to him was yet another blunette, this one was much less scary. His midnight blue eyes were filled with warmth as he smiled over at Layla. His dark blue hair fell down his face and spiked a bit. The boy was currently standing there with no shirt on which the other boy quickly called him out on. "Put some clothes on, Kori!"
Said boy shot around, taking a step back and placing his hands out on front of him in a stance that most of the guild knew very well. "How about you make me, Tetsu!" The crimson eyed boy grinned, taking a step back himself as the look of excitement flashed in his eyes. These two seemed to love fighting each other just as much as Natsu and Gray usually do. Layla only smiled as she watched the two, completely familiar with their antics now. It was nothing new to them, in fact, it was nothing new to the guild. It seemed that someone always had some form of rivalry in each generation. These two just happened to be the ones in the youngest one.
"Tetsu, Kori, are you two fighting?" A stern voice called from the side as another boy stood there with short red hair, deep brown eyes and was clad in heavy armor. His arms were crossed over his metal plated chest and his booted foot tapped against the wood floors of the guild. Both boys turned around to face the one who spoke only to jump slightly in surprise. Little Layla only giggled at their horror struck faces. "Layla, are these idiots bothering you?"
"No, Sir!" Both boys immediately replied causing Layla to giggle again. She turned her brown eyes to the red head and smiled. "No, they're fine Hiro." Layla assured the boy who smiled at the pinkette in return. He took a few steps closer, pulling something from behind his back that Layla or the other boys had yet to notice. In his hand sat a beautiful white rose, plucked free of it's thorns. He gently placed it behind the girls ear, fixing her curls around it before smiling once more.
"There, it suits you perfectly, just like I thought it would." Layla's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink as she smiled up at the six year old. She fidgeted slightly where she stood, her hands behind her back as she moved her brown eyes to the wooden floor. She could hear Tetsu feigning the sounds of gagging from where he stood and could see from the corner of her eye that Kori was glaring at the red head. But what no one seemed to notice was the small blond haired girl with bright blue eyes standing close by. Her tiny hand covered her lips as she stifled the giggles. "Mama is going to love hearing about this!"
Everyone finally sat down for Easter dinner. They laughed, talked, made bets about simple things, drank and ate till their hearts were content. Some even fought, Natsu and Gray to be exact but in the end, the dinner went as well as could be expected of Fairy Tail. The Dragneel's returned home with a sleeping Layla in Natsu's arms and a yawning Lucy. They laid their baby girl down to sleep in her room, tucking her in safely and kissing her goodnight before making their way to their own room. Mr and Mrs Dragneel both gave each other a loving kiss before getting under the covers and snuggling together. This was the best Easter by far. Step four...Check.