Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail!
Chapter 15: Emotional outburst
Gajeel POV
All of us turn in sync toward the entryway, where Laxus is standing with a very shocked expression. Juvia instantly covers her mouth with her hands as if she just said something wrong. I simply put my hand on her shoulder to indicate that she didn't do anything wrong. Lucy smiles gently at her before turning her head back to Laxus and taking a step towards him, her right hand resting against her tummy.
"You're going to be an uncle, Laxus. Erik and I are having a baby."
Laxus strides towards us, his eyes fixed on Lucy. Erik stiffens slightly before relaxing again. Something in Laxus' thoughts made him relax instantly. Laxus wraps his arms around his sister, burying his face in her hair. Lucy looks shocked for a second before she leans into the embrace and wraps her arms around his back. I can't help the smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. 'My gentle giant.'
"Congratulations, Lucy. You deserve this kind of happiness."
"Thank you big brother."
Laxus somehow copies the exact movement I did just a few minutes prior, wiping a stray tear from her cheeks before kissing her forehead softly. After that, both siblings pull back and Erik joins them, receiving a firm handshake and another 'congratulations' from Laxus.
"So how and when did you two find out?" Juvia asked as she made herself comfortable on the couch, interested in the story.
Lucy chuckles softly before joining Juvia on the couch. "It's all thanks to Erik's Soul Listening. We woke up one morning, right after Gajeel moved out, and Erik was quite puzzled because all of a sudden he heard another soul in the vicinity."
At that moment Erik cuts in to explain more. "Lucy's soul is like a small orchestra of calming music, imagine a piano, a harp and a classic guitar coming together. But that morning I heard something else, like a little flute being played. It sounded so vague, almost muffled, that it took me a while to figure out where it came from. Until the sound of this new soul started playing in perfect harmony with Lucy's."
Juvia sniffles before wiping away her tears. "That's so beautiful. It must have been so magical for the two of you."
Lucy laughed at her friend. "At that moment it really was magical. We suspected it for a bit longer, since I no longer liked my milkshakes and was nauseous all the time, quickly followed by morning sickness. So when Erik heard the new soul we immediately went to Porlyusica to confirm everything."
"The old hag suspects the baby will have both of our magic's. So we'll be getting yet another Dragon Slayer in the guild. Possibly a Celestial Dragon Slayer." Erik joins Lucy and Juvia on the couch, munching on the poison plant bites we brought him from the guild. "We were planning on telling you guys next week, just so we could have a little bit more time enjoying this between ourselves. But I guess we don't have to do that anymore. Now we'll just need to tell the old man and the rest of the guild."
Lucy looks at Laxus, a look of uncertainty clear in her eyes. "How do you think Gramps will react? Do you think he'll be mad?"
Laxus chuckles before laughing out loud. "Are you kidding me? He'll be absolutely thrilled by this news! At least now he'll stop bugging me about having children."
I can't help but feel like I just got punched in the gut. 'I've always known I wouldn't be able to have my own offspring, so why does it hurt to hear him say that?'
Lucy seems to notice the shift in my mood and looks at me, her eyes silently asking if I'm okay. I smile reassuringly and give her a small, nearly invisible nod.
We stay for another hour, Lucy and Juvia gushing over all the baby stuff they want to buy.
Time Skip
Laxus and I walk home in silence. I know that he's onto me and the shift in my mood. Is he just stalling or waiting until we're at home to mention this? As soon as the front door closes, we kick off our shoes and Laxus drags me toward the couch. He sits on it with his legs wide and pulls me against him, my back resting against his chest.
"Talk to me, Gajeel. What's on your mind?"
I huff and close my eyes. "Nothing. At least nothing worth fussing about."
"Don't lie to me." Laxus growls at me. "I know something's been bothering you since we were at Lucy's. Tell me what it is."
I pull away from Laxus and turn around to look at him, anger visible on my face. "How can you not know what's wrong?"
Laxus' eyes narrow in warning and confusion. "Wait, you're mad at me? What the hell, Gajeel?"
"Don't you realize what you said earlier?! How happy you sounded about not being bothered anymore about children?"
His eyes widen in realization. "That's what this is all about? In case you haven't noticed yet, we're both male, we can't even have children even if we wanted to."
"Even IF we wanted to?" I snarl at him, my hands unconsciously balling into fists. "Did you know that I've always hated being gay, because I knew I could never have my own children? It wasn't until I met Lucy that I started to accept myself. And then you came along, my mate, and things just fell into place. Or so I thought. You make it sound like you never want a family, which is something I've always wanted, something I've always craved."
Laxus sighs, his head turned away from me, his voice soft and gentle. "Look, I don't know what I want or don't want. Hell, I'm still getting used to us. I never thought I'd settle down before I was 30, let alone have a family."
"Oh so now it's my fault that you've prematurely 'settled down'? I'm sorry for interrupting your remaining playboy years." I can't stop the outburst that's bubbling up inside me. Why am I getting so angry at him? "Maybe I should just leave. At least then nobody is forcing you to 'settle down', and you can fuck around some more."
I stand up and make my way back to the front door, where we both left our shoes. I don't even reach the doorway before I feel Laxus grabbing my right wrist.
"Where the fuck do you think you're going?"
"Somewhere. Anywhere." I try to pull my wrist from his grip, but he's holding on too tightly.
"The hell you are. You're not going anywhere. You're staying right here and we'll talk this through."
Before I can stop myself, I turn around and swing a left hook at his cheek. He doesn't even block it or move out of the way. My eyes widen as my fist comes into contact with his face. 'What have I done?'
"Laxus…"
He simply lets go of my wrist. "It's fine. If you wish to leave, you're free to do so."
He looks so defeated as he turns around and walks away, towards the bedroom, before slamming the door closed.
I can't stop staring at the space where he stood just moments ago. 'I hurt my mate. Why on earth did I do something like that? What's wrong with me?'
I pull out my lacrima and push some magic into it. Almost immediately, Lucy's face pops up on the screen.
"Gajeel, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
All I can do is shake my head slowly, my eyes still wide, staring at the same spot where Laxus had been standing. "I hurt him, Lucy. I hurt Laxus, I hurt my own mate. What kind of person does that?"
"Oh, Gajeel. Tell me what happened."
As I'm telling her what happened between us, I can't stop the tears from forming in my eyes. I also fail to notice that Laxus came out of the bedroom and has been watching me for a while. Pain clearly visible on his face. He once again makes his way over towards me and takes the lacrima from my hands.
"Laxus…"
"Sorry, Lucy. Gajeel can't talk anymore." He disconnects the lacrima before lowering himself onto his knees in front of me. "I'm sorry, Gajeel. I shouldn't have said what I said. I didn't realize how wrong it all sounded within the context of the conversation."
"I'm the one who should be apologizing. I physically hurt you, mates shouldn't do that to each other."
Laxus simply chuckles. "You think that measly punch hurt me? Yeah, I don't think so, Black Steel."
The nickname sends shivers down my spine.
Laxus cups my cheek in his hand, forcing me to look at him. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I didn't know how you felt and I crossed the line."
I lean into his hand, my lips turning into a smile. "I'm sorry as well, Laxus. I shouldn't have freaked out like that, I shouldn't have yelled at you and I definitely shouldn't have punched you."
Laxus shrugs nonchalantly. "Meh, you can punch me. Just give me a heads up next time, okay?"
All I can do is shake my head in disbelief. Laxus slowly leans into me until his lips capture mine. His kiss soft and gentle, his lips moving slowly against my own.
'This man. He'll be the death of me some day.'