Now that she looks back on it, Lucy doesn't regret picking up the little baby. Not one bit.
In fact, she was glad that unknown woman placed the sweet baby boy on her doorstep. She hadn't known at the time, well, known what was going to happen if she took the child in.
Lucy sighed happily as she drummed her fingers against the table as she thought back on what happened.
•••••
It started on a late night. She had just gotten home from a long mission with Natsu and Happy and was looking forward to sleeping in her bed.
She groaned as someone knocked on her door.
"Coming." She called as she slipped a pink tank top on. She walked to her door, just to be greeted by darkness.
"Uh..." She looked around and shivered as the wind blew on her bare skin. She turned around and began to close the door when she heard a small cry.
It was so small it could almost go unnoticed until it started to get louder.
What on earth is crying?
She turned to face outside once more and looked down. There, lying on her doorstep, was a small child wrapped in a blanket.
"What?! I've only seen stuff like this happen in books!" She stared down with wide eyes at the crying baby.
"Um, hello?" She started to yell down the street, looking both ways. Not even one person was there. Lucy sighed as she looked back down at the teary eyed baby who looked up at her expectantly.
"Guess I should probably take you inside." She bent down and picked the baby up and cradled it to her chest. "Uh, there there little girl." She bounced a steady rhythm as she held the baby.
The baby's cries grew even louder, if that was even possible.
"Um, are you hungry?" She had no idea what to do. She'd never had to deal with a child before, let alone a crying baby.
And then she got a whiff of what was coming out of the diaper said baby was wearing.
"Oh god..." Lucy whined as she pinched her nose, holding the small child in one arm. "I really don't wanna change you..."
The baby's cries rang through out the room while Lucy decided to change the diaper.
"Okay, here we go." She complained as she set the squirming baby on her wooden table. She winced as she saw the waste in the diaper and the baby's genitals.
"Well, I guess I can't call you little girl anymore, can I?" She giggled at her own little joke and saw the little boy give a bubbly laugh with her.
"That was so cute!" She gushed before remembering her job. "That's right. I need to finish this."
Her grin was replaced with a look of disgust as she cleaned the little baby.
"Now what do I use as a diaper?" She wondered aloud as she walked around her home. She sighed as she noticed a thick piece of black cloth lying on the table a few feet away. "That'll do."
She grabbed that and a safety pin and began to make a makeshift diaper on the baby.
"Now that that's done." She lifted the little boy and held her in her arms again. "If you're gonna be with me, I guess you need to have a name." He stared at Lucy with chocolatey brown eyes as if he were waiting for her answer.
"Um... Aki? Since it's fall?" Lucy could have sworn she saw the baby shake his head. "Yeah, I don't like it either." She tapped her chin as she thought.
"How about Hikari? Because I can see you being the light in anyone's darkness." The little baby giggled and clapped his small hands together in an excited manner.
"Hikari it is then. Now, where can I put you to sleep? Cause I need to go to the guild tomorrow." She began to fold a blanket and set it on the table, pressed up against the wall.
"That's one wall. Three more to go." She grabbed a stack of books and placed them, backside down, on top of the table, forming three walls to keep the baby from falling.
"Well, this will have to do until I can get a crib. And I need to get some bottles..." Lucy yawned as she went on with her list of baby supplies, setting a sleepy looking Hikari on the blanket.
"A stroller maybe? Diapers, some formula..." She yawned again as she slipped under her covers. "But we can get that tomorrow morning, right Hikari?" Lucy asked the sleeping baby boy.
"Geez. So much happened within an hour. I became a temporary mother... I need to remember I put missing child papers up through out the city. So that his mother can come and get him." Lucy yawned once more before falling asleep in her warm covers.
Lucy was suddenly awakened by Hikari's screams. The boy screamed as Lucy tripped as she scrambled out of her bed.
"Ow!" She quickly got back on her feet as she ran over to Hikari. "Hikari." She cradled the baby and bounced her in his arms.
She checked his makeshift diaper but it came clean. "Then you must be hungry." She looked at the clock. It's five in the morning?!
"The only person I know who has some formula for you is Bisca, and I don't know if she is even up!" Lucy sighed as Hikari continued crying. She bundled up and wrapped her scarf around the baby who was still covered in his blanket from when she found him.
"Let's go." She ran to Bisca's house, a ways away from hers, making sure that Hikari was alright. She tried her best to keep him quiet for the sake of the people who she passed by.
Fifteen minutes later, when she finally got to Bisca's house, she was panting heavily and Hikari was still crying.
A tired Bisca opened her door. "Lucy? What are you doing here? And why do you have a crying baby with you?"
"I need your help. Do you have anything to feed him? Like some formula or something?"
"Come in, Lucy."
After a while of explaining, Lucy got a bottle filled with some warm formula and began to feed it to Hikari.
"So, you're just gonna take this baby-"
"Hikari."
"Hikari, in? Just like that? No questions asked?"
Lucy nodded her head as Hikari finished his bottle.
"Now, you've got to burp him. You need to place him like this," Bisca placed a towel on Lucy's shoulder and moved Hikari so he was facing her shoulder. "Then, you start to hit his back. No need to be shy, don't do love taps." Bisca grabbed her hand and hit Hikari's back a few times. After a few more hits Hikari burped a small burp.
"There. Oh, I made a list of stores you could go to to find baby supplies for a low price."
"Thank you Bisca. You've been a big help." Bisca nodded as she began to wash the bottle.
"If you need help, you can come to me."
Lucy laughed and thanked her once more before leaving. It's 7 now, might as well head to the guild. Hikari laughed in her arms, playing with her blonde hair.
"You're gonna be a handful. Just wait until Natsu sees you. He's gonna be like, 'Oh Lucy, he's gonna beat Gray and Erza one day! Hikari will be a great fire wizard!'" Lucy laughed at the thought of it.
She heard Hikari laugh too as they made their way to Fairy Tail. She opened the doors jut to be greeted by a smiling Mirajane.
"Morning Lucy- that's a baby." Mira pointed at Hikari with wide eyes. Makarov and the other people in the room, including Juvia, Erza, and Gray, turned to stare at Lucy
"Surprise?"
The room began to roar with questions as people began to surround her. They bombarded her with questions.
"Lucy, where on earth did you get a child?" Erza asked, practically hovering over her shoulder.
"Why does love rival have baby?" Juvia asked from behind Gray who just stared with a surprised look in his eyes.
"Someone knocked on my door last night and just left him abandoned on my doorstep. When I looked, there was no one even in the street."
"So you're going to take him in?"
"What's his name?" Mirajane came up in front of her and held her hand in front of her face.
"Hikari. Do you want to hold him, Mira?" Lucy handed the wide eyed baby to Mirajane.
"He has your eyes!" Mira gushed as she stared at his brown eyes.
"Just because he has brown eyes, doesn't mean he has my eyes, Mira." Mira handed Hikari back to Lucy just as Natsu bursts through the door.
"Hey Lucy I-" his onyx eyes widened as he stared at the laughing child in her arms.
"L-Luce... W-When did you-"
"I didn't get pregnant and give birth within the last 12 hours you were gone, idiot!" Lucy snapped at him as he walked over to her with Happy.
"T-Then why do you have that?!" Happy exclaimed as he hovered over the baby that was taking his place in Lucy's arms.
Lucy sighed as she sat down and told them the story.
"So you're a mom?!" Lucy nodded. "That's so cool!"
"Huh?"
"I'm gonna make him the greatest fire wizard ever! Well, second greatest. No one can beat me!"
Lucy rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. "Called it..." She muttered to Hikari.
"Anyways, I need to go buy a bunch of baby stuff so I'll see you guys later." She began to walk out of the guild hall as all the members said goodbye.
"Now lets go get you some actual diapers Hikari. And some clothes too."
What do you think? Is it good? Anyways, until next time, peace!