Robby," Wendy said with a grin.
Natsu leaned back in his chair. "Robby? What made you choose that name?"
Wendy stared down at the wooden table with solemn eyes. "I thought about all the people who've been a part of my life and lost. You remember Cait Shelter, right?"
Natsu's mouth hung open for a bit before he spoke in a soft and gentle tone. "Of course I do. I also remember how tough it was on you."
Wendy forced a smile and shook her head. "It's okay, Natsu. That was a while ago."
"It hasn't been that long though."
"No, really. It's fine," Wendy assured him, still maintaining her fragile grin. She clasped her hands together on the table. "The guild master's name was Robaul and he was like a father to me. That's how I came up with the name Robby." She kept her eyes focused on her hands as she played with her thumbs. "Is that okay, Natsu?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Natsu got out of his seat and waked over to Wendy. "You clearly put a lot of thought into this. And you're the mother of this family, so Robby it is."
"Mother..." Hearing those words from Natsu never failed to make Wendy feel all giddy inside. She pressed her fingers together as her cheeks flushed pink. "Thanks, Natsu. But...you're the father, you know? So, you should have a say too."
Natsu patted Wendy's head a couple of times. "I know that. And I say that my wife knows best."
"N-Natsu!"
Natsu jumped back in surprise at Wendy's sudden outburst. "What'd I do?!"
"You're...embarrassing me."
Natsu and Wendy walked into the guildhall as one of their guildmates flew past them flying into a wall. Elfman cracked his knuckles with a grin. "You're not a real man if I could beat you that easily.
"Sweet! Looks like a fight's gotten started!" Natsu cheered, pumping his fist. "Hey, let me in on this!"
Wendy grabbed Natsu by the arm. "Natsu, you can't. We have to go talk to the master, remember?"
"Oh yeah, that's right," Natsu said with an awkward chuckle. "Alright, let's go."
And so, the two went over to the front desk that Makarov was sitting atop of. "Ah, Natsu and Wendy. How goes the project?"
"That's what we wanted to talk to you about, Gramps."
"Hm?" Makarov stroked his mustache. "Did something go wrong with the doll?"
"Not exactly," Wendy said, looking down at the baby sleeping peacefully in her arms. She brought it closer to Makarov so that he could hear his soft breathing. "It came to life."
"It what?!" Makarov's shout alerted the entire guild hall and everyone formed a circle around the three.
"That's the doll from the other day, right?" Gray asked, rubbing the back of his head. "It's alive now? Man that's freaky..."
Erza slapped the back of Gray's head. "It is not freaky. It is precious." She oogled the baby, sighing dreamily.
"Um, ow?"
"Do you have any idea how this happened?" Makarov asked.
Wendy shook her head. "Not a clue."
"Quite a strange ordeal indeed." Makarov leaped off of the counter and started pacing around the room.
Natsu turned to face Makarov. "What should we do, Gramps?"
His pacing stopped a she turned to face Natsu. "Keep doing what you've been doing. Though, since it's alive now you have to be even more careful. Raise it as if it were yours and Wendy's very own child.
"Our very own child, huh?" Natsu looked down at Wendy who was twiddling her thumbs. For some reason, he felt a soothing feeling in his chest as he stared at her face.
Raising a real life baby with Wendy. He didn't know why, but just thinking about that seemed to make Natsu feel like he was floating on cloud nine. It would be a tough job, but he had raised Happy before, so this shouldn't be too different, right? And besides, Wendy had been really great at taking care of the baby so far. If he had her with him, he was sure they'd be able to be great parents.
Natsu walked closer to Wendy and gently rested his hand atop the baby's head. "Alright, Gramps. You got it, me and Wendy were be the parents you've ever seen!"
Unknowingly, Wendy leaned against Natsu's shoulder as a light hum escaped form her lips. "Yeah, we'll do our best."
"Well, aren't you two getting all cozy?" Lucy rubbed her chin with an amused smirk.
Wendy and Natsu both looked at each other perplexed. Then, suddenly Wendy distanced herself from Natsu while stammering, "W-what are you talking about, Lucy?!"
"Oh, nothing much." She arched her head slightly before winking at Wendy. "Good luck."
Natsu cocked his head to the side. "Good luck with what? What are you two talking about?" Natsu looked in between the two girls in confusion.
"Try not to hurt yourself," Cana said, shaking her head.
"Man, everyone in the guild is starting to act weird all of a sudden." Natsu stretched his arms behind his back and yawned. "Come on, Wendy. Let's go home."
Wendy nodded. "Right."
"I'll let you know if I find anything else out," Makarov informed the pair as they started to head out.
"Got it, thanks Gramps!" Natsu waved goodbye as he and Wendy exited the guild hall.
"Wahhhhhhhh! Wahhhhhhhhh!"
"What's wrong?" Wendy asked, cradling the baby in her arms. "Are you hungry?"
"Wahhhhhhh! Wahhhhhhhh!"
"Natsu? Can you go get the baby's bottle?"
"You got it, Wendy!" Natsu ran to the fridge. For a minute he was enticed by the delicious smell of the steak emanating from the back of the fridge. Slowly, he reached out his hand.
"No, Natsu! No!" He yanked his hand back and grimaced. "You're a father now. You have to be responsible! The baby comes first." Nodding to himself, he grabbed the bottle and shut the fridge door.
"Here ya go, Wendy." He tossed the bottle over to Wendy, causing the young girl to jump in surprise.
Wendy breathed a sigh of relief as she was able to catch the bottle in her arms. "Hey, Natsu..."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Maybe we shouldn't throw the bottle around like that. It's pretty dangerous."
Natsu gasped. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "You're right, my bad."
"Oh, it's okay, Natsu. You didn't know and nobody got hurt," Wendy said with a kind smile. "So don't feel bad, okay?"
"But I'm trying to be a good dad."
The baby sucked on the bottle as Wendy looked up at Natsu. "It's fine, I doubt any parents get it right away."
"I don't know, you seem like a natural, Wendy."
Wendy shook her head. "Trust me, I'm just as nervous as you are. I just learned a lot from asking people around the guild is all."
"Hm?" Natsu folded his arms as he started to think. "Maybe I should ask some of the guys n the guild. Like Alzack or Macao, maybe?"
The baby took his mouth away from the bottle and suddenly started to cry again. "What's wrong now, little guy?" Natsu asked, staring down at the baby. "Wendy, give him to me. I want to try and figure out what he wants."
Wendy's lips formed a kind smile as she handed the baby to Natsu. "Right, here you go."
Natsu took the child in his arms, gently resting his hand under his head. "I hold him like this, yeah?"
Wendy nodded. "Yep, you got it."
"What's wrong, baby?" The fire wizard asked in a gentle voice. "Are you sleepy?"
The baby just kept crying leaving Natsu at a loss as to what to do. He wasn't sure how he would ever be able to find out what was causing the baby's ire. How are parents able to tell why their baby is crying? He thought about it for a bit and eventually it came to him.
"Coochie coochie coo~" Natsu started to carefully tickle the baby's belly. "Coochie coochie coo~"
The baby started to giggle, waving his stubby little arms around delightedly. Wendy held her arms behind back and beamed. "Looks like you figured it out, huh?"
"Yeah." Natsu nodded, tears forming in his eyes. "You like that, don't you, little guy?"
As he continued to watch the baby's...his baby's playful face, warm feelings began to surge up inside of him. As if his insides have turned into the sun itself. A future with him, Wendy, and a baby. He didn't know why, but that image caused a teary smile to sweep over his features in a split second. It made him feel so at ease...so peaceful.
Wendy walked closer to Natsu and placed a finger on the baby's cheek. "Hey, Natsu?"
He turned his head slightly to face the small girl. "Yeah, Wendy?"
"We can do it," she said softly, snuggling up to his arm.