Baby Momma

Chapter Thirteen

The next week found Lucy hanging at Fairy Tail as she normally does. Only this time, Natsu wasn't glued to her side as he previously was. No, this week Natsu decided to go take a job with Happy because he needed to make up lost time for his buddy. Normally Lucy would be occupied with Hikari when she was alone, but tonight she had some plans that fell through. She had asked Levy to babysit her adoptive son so she could hang with Cana tonight, but the brunette was busy downing drinks one after another after Gray had foolishly challenged her.

So now Lucy was stuck at the bar by her lonesome as the rest of her guild mates watched the intense competition between Cana and the ice mage. She watched as Juvia cheered for her loved one as Elfman hollered something about Gray being a real man. The blonde sighed. She hated nights like this, where she was left to her own thoughts.

She hadn't realized how attached she had grown to her dragon slayer in the past year until recently, when Mira had talked about starting the competition up again. She was still trying to process the reason as to why having Natsu call her his friend stung as much as it did. She had an idea, but the celestial wizard wasn't so sure if she could accept it.

She wanted a drink, and that was a lot coming from Lucy. She had never been one for alcohol but tonight seemed like a special occasion. But of course, now that she actually wanted something, Mira was too busy observing the drinking between Cana and Gray, making sure the male competitor didn't drink too much up against Cana.

Lucy sighed once more before slinking away from the counter, deciding to head home for the night. Levy would drop Hikari off early in the morning anyways, so she might as well get as much sleep as she could get. Unbeknownst to her, a watchful eye followed her before they stood up.

As soon as she stepped outside, the doors closing behind her, Lucy slid down the rough wall of her guild. Has she mentioned that she hated being alone with her thoughts? She buried her face into her arms as she curled into a ball. She figured it was safe since no one would be walking at this time of night and all her friends were inside and distracted by Gray and Cana.

What she wasn't counting for though, was the door opening. She quickly shot her head to the person leaving the guild and stilled, not expecting too see the person. They were the last person Lucy thought would come outside.

Gajeel crossed his arms over his large chest, frowning as he looked down at her. His crimson eyes seemed to glow in the dark night as he inspected her before grunting. "Why are ya out here, Bunny Girl?"

"I was heading home."

"Sure ya were," Gajeel responded, "That's why yer on the ground." Unexpectedly, the burly man squatted down next to her, leaning his back against the wall behind them.

"What are you doing?" Lucy looked at the iron dragon slayer curiously as he took a seat beside her.

"What's it look like? I'm sittin'." Lucy didn't say anything, opting to look straight ahead instead. The odd duo sat in a comfortable silence before Gajeel spoke up. "I know we ain't close and shit, but if ya need to talk I can listen. Shrimp says I'm surprisingly good at that."

It took one look at Gajeel before tears began to flood down Lucy's face. "Shit! Sorry Bunny Girl, d-don't cry! It's ugly on ya." She only cried harder, causing Gajeel to mutter a few choice words under his breath before the blonde was suddenly engulfed in warmth. It wasn't the Natsu heat that she wanted, but she appreciated Gajeel for being there at the moment as she wrapped her thin arms around him. Lucy clutched at Gajeel's shirt as her tears soaked it, his big arm awkwardly squeezing her as he patted her back roughly.

"I don't get it, Gajeel," Lucy sobbed, clenching her fists tighter. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this. I was supposed to fall in love with the prince, not the stupid dragon!" Gajeel stilled, his patting ceasing suddenly before his other arm came around her. Lucy didn't mind it as she wailed, his chest muffling the sounds escaping her mouth. "And I had to fall for the one that will never love me back Gajeel!"

"How do ya know he don't love ya, Bunny Girl?" His gruff voice calmed her down slightly as she answered.

"Because he-he told M-Mira that we were just friends. That... That's all I'll ever be to him. I-I thought that I might have had a chance, but then he went and crushed the little hope I had! And he didn't even realize it." Lucy wasn't sure which hurt most, the rejection or the fact that Natsu didn't even know he was hurting her as he casually made the remark.

"Tch," Gajeel snorted, pausing her crying so she could frown at him. "He's an idiot Bunny Girl. For all we know, the dumbass could be confusing his feelings for ya as 'im bein' hungry." Gajeel would never admit it, but a small swell of pride filled him when he heard her quiet giggles. She sniffed softly, rubbing away the rest of her tears. "So I wouldn't be too worried if I was ya. It's only a matter of time until the idiot finally understands."

Lucy nodded in response as Gajeel stood up, brushing off the invisible dust on his dark black pants. "Ya comin' back in, Lucy?" She smiled as Gajeel said her name for what could quite possibly be the first time ever. She shook her head no. "Suit yerself."

He shrugged as he turned to go back in, hoping that he'd see a drunk Gray trying to hit on Juvia so he could have an excuse to pummel someone. With his hand on the door, he paused and turned back to Lucy. "And if Salamander makes ya cry again, I'll punch some sense into 'im."

Without another word, he entered the guild, not looking back.

As weird as it was for Lucy to admit it, but talking to Gajeel like that made her feel a lot better. And it also gave her some hope for her friendship with him in the future. Because now she knew who to come to if she ever needed comfort.

It was just a bonus that the burly man gave awesome hugs, in a weird way.

With that thought in mind, she ran behind him, wrapping her arms around him. He stiffened at the touch, quickly catching the door so it wouldn't crush the girl hugging him from behind. "Thank you, Gajeel. I'm going to hold you to that, okay?" He grunted in response and she released him with a smile before turning back to get home. She was going to need as much sleep as she can get for when Hikari comes back home.

Not to mention the energy she'll need for courage and confidence when she makes her move on Natsu when he comes home from his mission with Happy. Because she's not going to let him slip away from her.