The breeze swept through Nashi's braided hair as she sat on top of the large fountain. She had the high ground, and these amateurs wouldn't know what hit them. She stood up, eyeing her victims before leaping into the air. Her leg shot out in a kick, and she timed it perfectly- positioning to hit the target at the perfect angle.
Suddenly, her breath hitched as she was caught mid-air. Her eyes were dizzy before she came to, realizing that something was holding her by the scarf.
"What were ya trying to do? Break your leg?"
She groaned, dropping her head and swiping a hand down her face. "Papa! You totally ruined my sneak attack!"
Natsu tsked as he set her down. "Don't go doing crazy stuff like that. Your mom would be pissed if you got hurt."
"I just wanted to kick Griege in the head…" Nashi pouted, but he was right. Mama hated whenever she did dangerous stunts.
"Ha! You couldn't land a hit on me, anyway." Griege snickered as he crossed his arms. "I could dodge you from a mile away."
"Please don't start fighting…" Elizabeth walked up and shook her head. "It's a nice day today. I'm not in the mood for mass destruction."
Griege rolled his eyes and Nashi stuck her tongue out. "You're no fun, Lizzy."
"She's right, though. I came out here to tell you that lunch is ready, by the way." Nashi gasped and her eyes shone in excitement. "Lunch!" As she skipped inside, Natsu couldn't help but chuckle. The kid always was too excited about food.
He went back inside after the rest of the kids, letting them go to the dining hall on their own as he left to continue searching for the others. There were so many people in the castle now, it was almost impossible to get everyone together to eat.
"It's lunchtime, guys!" He shouted into the library, startling the bookworms who were reading.
"Geez, don't you know you're supposed to be quiet in a library?" Gajeel growled.
"...You're reading a picture book…"
"I'm reading to the kids, dammit!" The children in the room giggled and began scurrying away. "Thanks for ruining it."
"Hey, if you don't wanna eat then be my guest. You better get moving though, Nashi's already in the dining hall and she'll probably eat up everyone's serving."
"Damn kid's too much like you." Gajeel rolled his eyes and picked up his youngest son before leaving, Natsu taking his words as more of a compliment than an insult.
He poked his head into the music room, his ears ringing when he opened the door. The kids were playing… something… each of them using a different instrument and playing a different melody.
"It's lunch time, everyone!" Natsu had to shout over the loud noise, and he frowned when it seemed as though no one heard him. Wendy heard, though, and she stood up and clapped her hands- causing everyone to stop.
"Did you hear that? It's time to eat!" The kids cheered and put away their instruments, leaving Natsu a little envious of Wendy's natural ability to tame them.
"Papa!" A strawberry blonde haired boy pulled on Natsu's overcoat. "Mama said she can't eat lunch with us…"
"...Aw, Mama is pretty busy, huh?" Natsu sighed as his son began to pout. "Why don't eat your lunch in Mama's room? She'll like to have you around, Aki."
The little boy grinned before running to join the others, leaving Natsu trailing behind. He'd have to ask Lucy about what Aki was saying. He knew she'd been dealing with important business lately, but she was always the main person wanting to eat with the whole court. He detoured to their bedroom, opening the door quietly.
Lucy was sitting at the desk, completely focused on what she was writing. Natsu didn't want to interrupt her, so he decided to leave her and come back with some food for her.
"Honey?" She turned to him, causing him to freeze. He forgot she could sense his presence…
"Sorry, I'll just bring you your lunch…"
Lucy looked up at the clock. "Oh my, it's lunch time already? Akitsu really wanted me to eat with everyone since I missed dinner last night and breakfast this morning…" She stretched and cracked her back against her chair before letting out a yawn.
"You should take a break, then." Natsu walked up to her and ran his hand through her hair. "What've you been doing, anyway?"
"Going through mail, rejecting or accepting proposals, finalizing on construction propositions…"
"Sounds boring."
"It definitely is." Lucy went back to writing, giggling at the way Natsu began kissing her neck and shoulders. "Can I help you..?"
"Well, I was thinking… maybe I could give you a distraction…" He slowly began to lower the strap of her top, but reeled backwards when the door opened.
"Mama! I got you lunch!"
"Aw, thank you, Akitsu~" Lucy smirked at Natsu's grumpy expression. "Were you gonna spend lunch with me?"
Aki nodded and crawled up on the bed. "I got lots of the yucky foods you like!" He grinned proudly. "Come sit with me, Mama!"
Lucy decided to take a little break after all. She sat next to her son on the bed, looking over the "yucky" foods on the plate. There were a lot of sliced pickles next to several sandwiches, she assumed that they were for them to share.
"You'll have to make your own plate, Papa." Aki narrowed his eyes at Natsu as he leaned into Lucy's side, purring when she started running her fingers through his hair.
Natsu simply shook his head. He was such a mama's boy, but he honestly couldn't blame him. He'd want to spend as much time as possible with Lucy, too.
-
"Are you sure? The bed's big enough for all of us…"
"Yes, Papa… I'm not a little kid anymore, I can sleep in my own bed."
Natsu pouted dramatically, causing Nashi to laugh. "Aki is gonna be there, isn't that enough?"
"But he likes to hog your mom… I never have anyone to cuddle with."
"Cuddle with Happy."
Natsu groaned as his daughter continued to giggle at his exaggerated expression. He didn't like the thought of his little girl being too old to spend the night in their room, but he knew he had to let her go eventually. "...If you change your mind…"
"Sure, Papa. Goodnight." Nashi shut her bedroom door, leaving Natsu sulking and dragging his feet back to his own room.
"Told you she wouldn't want to." Lucy giggled from where she laid on the bed, using one hand to hold her book and the other to stroke Aki's hair from where he laid snuggled up against her side. "She's in that phase where she thinks she's too cool to be lovey-dovey with her parents."
"She's only 10!" Natsu grumbled quietly. "She didn't even give me a goodnight kiss… And how come she doesn't mind sleeping with Happy!?"
Lucy shrugged. "That's just how kids are, honey. I think Akitsu will be my little cuddle-bear forever, though." She smiled fondly at her son, he was fast asleep with a snore as loud as his dad's.
"Yeah, yeah… 3 more years and he'll be just like Nashi…" Natsu walked over to Lucy's desk and began cleaning up and stacking the letters she'd been writing. "They're really growing up too fast…"
"Yeah… Time seems to be flying…" Lucy furrowed her brows as she noticed how Natsu began to freeze as he read over one of the letters. "...What's wrong?"
"...Why're you getting letters from Ignia?" He tore open the envelope, growing more and more pissed as he read over the words.
Lucy tried to keep quiet as she fell into a fit of amused laughter. "Oh my gods… I've been getting those for years! I've only ever read one, and it's just him being horny and propositioning me to leave you and move in with him. It's so stupid, I usually just return them with no reply."
Natsu ignited his hands and burnt the letter to a crisp, growling as he joined Lucy on the bed. "That bastard… Maybe I should visit the dragon kingdom and rip him a new one."
Lucy kissed him softly. "I didn't tell you about them because I knew he only did it to make you mad. You shouldn't let him get to you, it'll be a cold day in hell before I leave you for anyone, let alone that asshole."
Natsu watched her closely, suddenly mesmerized by her as she continued to read. He unconsciously leaned in, but quickly stopped when he felt Aki stir.
He got up to lay on Lucy's side opposite to his son, snuggling her in almost an identical position. "You boys are gonna smother me…" She giggled, turning to kiss her husband again.
Natsu didn't let her end the kiss too quickly, holding onto her chin and changing the intensity. Lucy shook her head once they parted but didn't complain as she went back to reading, and he ran his hand along her body, stopping at her stomach.
"What're you doing?" She mumbled, eyes still on her book.
"I wanna feel them…"
Natsu moved his hand over every part of her belly, pausing only when he felt what he thought was movement. "There they are…"
Lucy adjusted his hand so that it laid on an even more accurate spot, shifting it a little and keeping her body stiff to make sure she was feeling properly. "...I think they're both right here…"
"I hope they'll cuddle with me once they're here…"
"Well, maybe, but they could end up being like 2 more mama's boys."
"Nah, Aki isn't gonna share you anytime soon. Besides, I don't think both of them are boys…"
"We'll see…"
He let her go back to reading as he continued to feel around, making it a point to make sure she got a break tomorrow. Maybe he should take over all the letters, though he didn't have such a way with words as she did.
Maybe he could schedule a quick trip to the dragon kingdom, too… Lucy said not to let it get to him, but any excuse to deck Ignia was a good one.