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Lion's Pride	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 10067 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima. I make no money writing this. I do it for my own pleasure. Any lyrics are my own or I received permission from the artist.

Chapter List
- 26
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"It takes a village to raise a child." - African proverb

Chapter 27

It Takes a Guild to Raise a Cub
Dear Mama,
Well, it happened again. We had another argument. I know it's my fault, but I can't help it. Ever since that vacation, I've tried to live normally, but it isn't easy. Loke spends all of his time with Luke and seems to avoid me. Now that I'm calmer, I understand he's probably trying to make as much of an impact on our son's life while he can, but can't I be part of that bonding? I'm sure he doesn't mean to push me away, I'm probably just being too sensitive, but I can't help it. After all, he'll be leaving me too!
So what did I do? Pushed him away even more! I'm an idiot.
We've forewarned a few others in the guild, just so they know Loke will be leaving again. Master knows, and Erza. I told Levy, who ended up telling all the girls in Fairy Hills. I told Natsu too, partly in hopes that maybe he'd help me fight to keep Loke here. I'm sure, if there was a way we could fight to save Loke, Natsu would do it.
I realized right away that Gray knew something about this. He watches over me more, comes to the dormitory more frequently, and immediately joins me and Loke whenever we go to the guild hall. He frequently asks to hold Luke and sometimes even changes his diaper. I have a suspicion that maybe Loke already asked him to watch over us when he's away, so perhaps Gray is doing all this as a way to ease himself into our lives.
Erza just came by. Apparently Gray is on his way here again. I wonder if Loke asked him to calm me down after I kicked him out. Stupid fight! I'll just admit it was my fault and go make up with Loke again.
I know I've been acting a little colder toward Loke. I'm trying my best to forgive him—really I am—but...why? Why did he have to hide this, Mama? If I had known from the beginning that this was only a temporary parole, I could've spent the past few months preparing my mind. I could've helped him figure out what to do, which path to choose, instead of having him suffer all on his own.
And why the hell does he have to pick between just those two choices? Limited visits to the Human World, or stripped of his status, not just as the Spirit of the Lion, but as a Celestial Spirit completely, including his magic and immortality. Basically, a death sentence!
And he's willing to accept that...for me! I almost want to tell him not to, but I guess we're both a bit selfish.
A few days ago, I summoned Aries and asked her to confirm it. She did and told me the court had already been gathered. They're ready and waiting. With the time difference between dimensions, for Aries the trial is this very day. For me, I still have a few weeks. I'm glad for that, but it feels like such a short amount of time.
I knew Aries was too timid, so I called out Capricorn and asked him to argue against this, fight for an extension, or just let Loke continue precisely as we are. After all, we're both happy with this arrangement. He gets to be with me and Luke all day long. I know now that he returns to a jail cell, but at least he spends very little time there, not enough for it to matter where he returns to, or so he claims. I'm sure it hurts him not to have freedom—he's the Lion, after all—but it encourages him to spend more time with me. And we're not troubling anyone. He's not raising riots in the Spirit World. He says he's only talked to Capricorn and Aries a few times. So why can't we just stay like this?
Capricorn told me: "We've done everything possible purely to give you and Leo-sama this opportunity to raise your child. I truly wish we could do more, for Leo-sama's sake, but we have run out of time."
Time! The Spirit World is ready for this trial, but to me, it seems like there's plenty of time left. We have until sakura season. "When the last rainbow sakura petal falls in Magnolia" is the deadline.
Mama...I've never hated Spring until now.

There was a knock on her door. Lucy sighed, hid her letter, and opened the door to see Gray standing in the hall looking awkward. She knew he was uncomfortable with mediating like this, and she honestly did wish she could hold back her emotions so these fights would not happen. Perhaps Erza's sudden bursts of anger were rubbing off on her.
"You probably know why I'm here," he muttered.
Lucy nodded solemnly. "You can let him know I forgive him and he can come back. I just...I needed to sort out my mind, I guess," she sighed, looking away and hoping Gray would not think she was being a spoiled princess again. "Sorry you got dragged into it."
"I just want you to be happy," he assured. Gray entered her place and waited until she closed the door before saying more. "Be honest, Lucy. Do you still love him? Because if you don't, Natsu and I will make sure he leaves you alone."
"Of course I do!" she shouted. "We're just...I'm having..." She groaned and flopped heavily onto the couch. "He didn't tell me, and that made me angry. I understand why he hid it—there was the baby to worry about, I was weak, he didn't want to upset me and have me depressed the entire time—but still, I feel like I've been lied to. And now he's spending all his time with Luke and not me."
"Lucy," Gray sighed, "if Loke is gone for a few months, Luke's going to be a lot bigger by the time he returns. Especially with his rate of growth! Whereas you'll look about the same. He's going to miss both of you equally as much, but he wants to be sure Luke at least remembers who he even is."
She pouted and looked away stubbornly. "I know. That's why I'm not angry anymore."
"Yes you are," he said knowingly. "Your eyebrow twitches when you're frustrated."
She glared at him, but then laughed softly. Of course Gray knew more about her than most people. They had been a team for so long. He patted her leg, and Lucy looked down to where his hand rested. Although his skin felt cool to the touch and his fingers were roughened from fighting, that touch still conveyed such friendliness.
"He loves you more than ever. The way you're acting though...this is precisely why Loke hid the truth from you. He told me that he's starting to think perhaps he shouldn't have told you at all and just waited until the day he had to leave. Lucy, he wants to see his son, and you! Has he ever demanded to take Luke somewhere and exclude you?"
"No," she grumbled.
"You know what I think? I think you're upset, too proud to admit it, and looking for any excuse to blame him. Whatever argument you had today, it's the same underlying reason as last time, and the time before that. You've kicked him out three times, forgave him three times, but the root of the problem is still there and won't go away until either you both talk this through, or he leaves. I want you both to be happy," he said, giving her knee an encouraging squeeze. "How about you tell him what's really the problem? Tell him you're angry, get it out of your system, so you can return to being a family." He looked aside as a dark memory passed through his mind. "Family is an important thing to have. I lost my family when I was only eight. You've lost yours now, too. Don't lose this one, okay? If it's at all possible, make sure your son has a mother and a father."
"I'll try," she sighed.
"Good. I heard there's a birthday today, didn't hear whose, but you know Fairy Tail; we're using it as an excuse to party. Loke is there now. Go wash your face, I'll pack some diapers and bottles, and we'll head over. A party might do you some good. And talk to Loke while you're there."
She nodded in agreement and left to the bathroom, not realizing that she had been quietly weeping. Gray grabbed a few toys, a bag full of diapers, a change of clothes, and filled some bottles with milk Lucy kept in the refrigerator. Then he hefted Luke out of his playpen and up into his arms.
"You're getting heavy, little guy," he chuckled. "No wonder he wants to be with you all the time. You're growing so fast, he's probably scared that if he even blinks, you'll be all grown up."
He placed Luke in the pram carriage, and when Lucy was ready they walked together down the hill, making the trek to Fairy Tail. The fresh air cleared Lucy's mind, and she began to show her usual smile. Gray saw it, smiled back at her, and felt relieved that she was cheering up.
Just then, two old ladies happened to walk by. They eyed Gray and Lucy with wrinkly smiles, and after they had passed, the two spoke together none too softly. "Look at them! Such an adorable couple. I bet their baby is an absolute doll."
Gray tensed up at hearing them and looked over fast to Lucy. Her face went instantly pink, and she looked over to him, horrified what he might think about their casually dropped observation.
"Maybe you should push him," Gray choked out.
She nodded fast in agreement. He let Lucy push the pram carriage the rest of the way, staying by her but at a slight distance with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, hoping that looked just aloof enough to stop anyone from thinking they were a couple.
Inside the guild, Loke was hunched over a table drinking and brooding. When he saw Lucy enter, he leaped to his feet fast but barely held himself back from running into her arms. He saw that she was watching him, and he waited for her to make the first move. Thankfully, she went to him immediately.
"Gray, watch over Luke for a bit," she whispered and let him take the baby.
He lifted the infant up and smelled a problem. "Okay, someone needs a changing. Seriously, kid, you have some of the smelliest crap."
He was not too shocked that Juvia was by his side, but this time it was not all that annoying. "Juvia can help Gray-sama change the baby. Juvia probably needs practice."
"Thanks," he nodded, and they went back to the infirmary.
Juvia felt aflutter at "playing mommy" with Gray. She told herself over and over again: Calm down, Juvia. You must show Gray-sama that you will make a good mother for his children. Show him your maternal instincts. Gray-sama won't be able to resist such feminine charm.
However, she sensed someone following and looked back. She did not see anyone until she looked down. Proto was following right behind them. "Um, Gray-sama?" She pointed down to the stuffed bear.
Gray just hummed and shrugged. "He follows everywhere Luke goes. He's harmless, so long as you don't threaten the baby."
Proto gazed up at them. "Luke is in danger of getting diaper rash."
"Yeah, yeah, we're hurrying," Gray sighed, not at all perturbed.
On a bed in the infirmary, they laid out a changing pad and all the supplies. When Gray undid the diaper, Juvia gasped, then instantly regretted it because that made the smell worse. Forgetting about maternal instincts, she covered her nose as tears came to her eyes. Gray worked fast to wipe up the crap, bunched up the messy diaper, and handed it to Juvia to throw away. She turned a little green as she held the diaper out far with just her fingertips and rushed it over to a trashcan. Then she opened a window to clear the air. She returned to watch Gray work with fascination.
"Gray-sama is so fast," she praised.
He was already applying baby powder to Luke's bottom. "I've helped change him a few times. Plus it's best if you work fast so he doesn't..."
Just then, a little fountain of yellow piss shot up. Gray cursed and made an ice shield in front of himself so he would not get hit by it. Juvia used her water to clean the mess while Luke laughed happily at the two struggling to wipe him clean all over again. When at last the baby was clean, diapered, and redressed, Gray and Juvia brought him back out to the main hall. Lucy was curled up happily in Loke's arms, so it appeared they had worked things out. Gray called Mirajane over to spread out a rug so Luke did not have to crawl on the beer-stained floor.
Her experience in tending babies over, Juvia rushed off with flushed cheeks. "Gray-sama will make such a good father to Juvia's thirty babies," she declared to herself. Gray heard her anyway and raised an eyebrow to that.
People in the guild were intrigued with Luke's growth progress. Wendy especially was fascinated by the baby she had helped to deliver. She sat on the rug as well, keeping Luke's attention so he did not wander off into the occasional brawls.
"Say mama," the little girl urged. "Say maaaa-maaaa."
Luke happily babbled. "Mah-nah-bah-mah-nah-gah-bah."
Lucy chuckled at the cute pout Wendy made. "His body is growing fast, but it still might take a while for his brain to catch up."
Makarov leaned over, grinning childishly. "Hey Luke! Look over here. Say Makarov. Come on, Luke. Ma-ka-rov."
"That word is too hard," Wendy stated.
Luke laughed at the Master's wrinkly face and yanked on his whiskers. "Mah-gah-wah!"
Makarov sat up fast. "Did you hear that? He said Makarov! He said my name!"
Mirajane tittered at his excitement as she brought drinks over for Lucy and Loke. "Not quite, but it's close. I've heard him almost say nakama too. He's quite smart, isn't he!"
"Of course!" beamed Levy. "Because Lucy's his mother, and she's a writer, so she has a way with words."
Natsu tilted his head and kept clear from the bear Proto. "Lucy's smart?"
The blonde swung a scowling glare at him. "Proto: sic him!"
Natsu leaped away fast and jumped up onto a table like a person terrified of a rat. The other guild members laughed at his panicked face.
Proto just stared up to Lucy with no expression in his beady eyes. "Mother, I protect Luke. I do not attack non-threatening entities."
Natsu sighed and relaxed. He heard Gray laughing loudest of all, got annoyed, and punched him.
Gray was shocked out of his humor, then looked over to Proto. "He just hit me, and you're not kicking his butt?"
Proto shook his head. "Recommended safety proximity has not been breached. Luke is in good health. Luke is not in any danger."
"Hah!" Natsu laughed boisterous. "Is widdle Grayee-wayee hoping the tiny stuffed bear protects him? Pooooor Grayee-wayee!"
Gray threw off his shirt. "Juvia!"
"Ah!" she cried, suddenly pulled out of her fantasies about a huge family of blue and black haired babies. "Yes, Gray-sama!"
"Make sure there's a barrier around Luke so we don't accidentally throw something his way."
"Understood! Juvia will protect him with her life!" She looked quite determined to do so, too.
With that precaution, Gray punched Natsu, making sure he did it at an angle so the dragon slayer flew away from Luke. They at least took the fight to the other side of the guild, and Juvia diligently used a shield of water to keep flying plates and goblets from entering their corner of the building.
Ignoring the brawl, Macao watched the baby from his table and hummed. "Going just by his size, I'd swear he was a year old."
Lucy nodded and hefted Luke back onto her lap. "The growth rate seems to be steady at three times normal speed."
Wakaba laughed loudly. "You're lucky! He'll be potty trained and out of diapers in no time."
She said nothing and just looked into her son's huge brown eyes. Lucky? How can missing so much of her baby's childhood be lucky? At this rate, she had only six years before he was a full grown adult. She hugged Luke close to her, wishing she could squeeze him and keep him small forever.

The party dragged on with laughs and the usual rowdiness. Lucy cheered up and sang a tune with Levy and Mirajane. Loke unconsciously began flirting with one of the new members but was put back in line with a smack to the back of his head from Erza before Lucy could see what he was doing. He apologized profusely to Erza and realized he had a ways to go to break his playboy habits. At least it was not as bad as Gray's habit. Lucy shrieked when she realized he had stripped completely naked again. When he asked to borrow some of her clothes, she threw a diaper at him. That made Natsu laugh and call him "Diaper Boy," which started another brawl.
Loke and Lucy ended up falling asleep where it was safe thanks to Juvia's continuing vigilance. As sleep became more appealing than drinking, or drinking made sleep that much more appealing, others drifted off too. Mirajane and Lisanna were curled protectively in Elfman's arms. Makarov snored loudly from his sprawling bed on the top of the bar counter. Levy used Gajeel's arm for a pillow and Droy's stomach as a footrest, while Jet fell asleep holding Gajeel's hand thinking it was Levy's. Alzack had his poncho wrapped around both him and Bisca with his rifle leaned against the wall. Wendy and Charle had curled up together, and Romeo smiled down at her sleeping face and put his scarf around her to keep her warm. A few were still awake but keeping quiet. These included Gray and Natsu.
The dragon slayer eyed Lucy, Loke, and Luke carefully. "What do you think, Gray?" he whispered conspiratorially. "Is that damn bear asleep?"
"I don't think he sleeps," Gray answered, amused through a drunken stupor that the mighty Salamander was scared of a stuffed animal.
"I wanna play with Luke, but that bear is always there."
"Then just play nicely. Proto doesn't do anything unless you threaten Luke."
Natsu's eyes narrowed. "He glares at me."
"You glare at him."
Natsu rose and walked over to the sleeping family. Luke was awake and watched him with large, curious eyes. Natsu smiled, hoping to look friendly and not scare him. He glanced fast to the bear, but it sat limp. It looked like nothing more than a plushie.
"Stupid bear," Natsu muttered. "Hey Luke, you wanna play?"
"Dah!" Luke said.
Natsu grinned at what he took as a yes. However, Loke was holding Luke tightly. The dragon slayer hummed at this slight obstacle. He lightly tugged on Loke's arm, but he would not budge.
"Luuuke," the Lion moaned in his sleep. "Not losing you. Cave...fish-head...narfmrph..."
Gray crouched down beside Natsu, tapped his shoulder to tell him to get ready, then leaned over into Loke's ear. "It's okay, Loke," he whispered. "I'll protect him. Nothing bad will happen."
Loke hummed in his dream. "Gray...trust you...safe."
"Yes, Loke," Gray whispered, slowly moving his arm aside while Natsu carefully lifted Luke. "I'll keep him safe. You take care of Lucy."
"Luuucy," he groaned. "Bad girl...lion tamer outfit...sexy."
Natsu gagged down a laugh at Gray's disgusted face at hearing that little bit of naughty fantasy.
"Na-nah!" Luke said happily, slapping Natsu on the nose.
"Come on, say Natsu," he urged.
"Not you too," Gray sighed. "He'll talk when he's ready. Now why did you want him?"
"No real reason," Natsu shrugged, "but she looked like she wanted to play."
He nodded over and down to where Asuka stood watching them. The toddler gasped at being noticed and pulled her cowgirl hat down over her eyes as if she could hide away so long as she could not see them.
"Aww, Asuka, you can play with him if you want," Natsu encouraged. He plopped down in front of her with Luke in his lap. "He's a cute baby, right? You two are gonna grow up in the same generation. You'll be good friends. It'll be fun!"
"He's just a baby," she pouted, "but...but he is kinda cute. Cute baby. But," she insisted stubbornly, "still a baby."
"Sure, sure, still a baby," Natsu laughed. "You wanna feed the baby? I bet Lucy has some bottles around. Hey Romeo, you're still awake. Get that bag Lucy had."
"Sure thing, Natsu!" the boy said eagerly, and Romeo brought the baby bag over.
Natsu searched through the supplies, saw some bottles, but then saw a nice green bottle near the bottom. "Ooh, that one looks cooler," he grinned. He tasted the milk and his eyes widened. "Yup, Luke will like this one. Here, Asuka, you hold the bottle while Luke drinks it."
"Can I?" she asked uncertainly as she drew closer.
"Sure! You're a big girl," Natsu grinned broadly.
While they chatted and Asuka looked in wonder as she found herself feeding a baby like a grownup, Lisanna peeked an eye open. She saw Natsu with both children around him, Romeo sitting close beside him, and Happy perched on Natsu's head. It made her smile.
"I wonder if he realizes he's just like how Gildarts used to be, taking time to play with us when we were children," she mused, then snuggled back into her brother's arm. "He makes a good daddy. Maybe...someday..." She drifted off with the thought still on her mind and ready to turn into a pleasant dreams.
Slowly, Lucy began to fidget and wake up. "Potty," she muttered. "Eh? Why am I in the guild? Oh, right, we were having a party and..." She suddenly realized Luke was not with them. She had a moment of heart-stopping panic, then heard a laugh and saw Natsu holding the baby with Romeo beside him and Asuka laughing. Lucy smiled happily to herself. "Even Natsu can be like that, huh? Well, I guess he raised Happy, so he wouldn't be too bad of a...wait...that bottle..." Just then, Natsu turned to Romeo more, smiling at something he said, and Lucy saw the green bottle. "Natsuuuuuu!" she bellowed.
"Hey, Lucy's up!" he grinned. "Hope you don't mind. He was hungry."
"That bottle! That's the bottle Cana gave me that turns everything into alcohol."
"It only tastes like alcohol," Natsu corrected. "Like honey beer, too! Tastes pretty good."
"You drank it!" Lucy raged, shaking in bottled fury. "Natsu, that...that's my milk."
"No, it's Luke's milk," he pouted.
"Aye," Happy said with a frown. "You're really greedy, Lucy."
Her teeth clenched at how dense he was. "No, I mean...that's...my...breast milk."
Natsu suddenly looked as sick as if he had just ridden a train for a full day. In his shock, he accidentally dropped both the bottle and Luke. Gray made a dive and caught the baby's head before he hit, but it still startled Luke, who began to cry.
"You idiot," Lucy screamed.
Hearing his son crying, Loke woke up immediately. "What's going on?"
Proto leaped into action. "Luke is in danger."
"What!" Loke roared.
Proto sprang to Luke's side but determined he was unharmed. Still, he kicked Natsu in the shin. "Do not endanger Luke with your recklessness. Be safe around children."
"Ow! Stupid bear, why the hell did you kick me?"
"It was a warning. You should run away from Luke, though."
"Why? I'm not doing anything."
"No, but Mother is about to shoot you."
"Huh?" Natsu looked up to see Lucy had grabbed Alzack's rifle and had it aimed at him. "Holy shit! Lucy, wait..."
"Ice Bullet!" she shouted.
The bullet that shot out hit Natsu in the chest, instantly covering him in ice. He froze with his hands up and his mouth open as if to tell her not to shoot.
"Bastard, drop my baby, will ya?" She handed the gun back to Alzack, who looked pissed that someone had dared to touch his weapon, then stomped over to Gray. He was trying to calm Luke down, but he handed the baby over when Lucy silently demanded him. "You packed the baby's bag," she accused. "Why did you use that bottle?"
"I didn't know it was Cana's," he defended. "Why did you have it in the cabinet?"
"I can't drink alcohol since I'm breastfeeding, but it makes plain apple juice taste like hard cider."
"Well, it's just a taste, right?" he reasoned. "No harm done."
"I wouldn't have punished him just for that. He didn't know. I just sort of flipped out when I saw him drop Luke. Sorry, Natsu." Then she saw he was still frozen. "Oh. Uh, can you melt that?" she asked Gray.
"Dunno. It's not my ice."
Romeo came up to them. "I'll melt it, Miss Lucy."
"Thanks." She cuddled Luke closely. "Aww, did my widdle baby get scared from the mean, ugly, scary dragon slayer? Don't worry, he isn't gonna hurt you. He's just an idiot," she smiled, rubbing her nose against his. Luke stopped crying and laughed to see her face again. "There we go! That's my baby's smile." Luke bopped her nose. "Aww, yes, smack my nose. Yep, that's your way of saying hello. It's okee. Mama knows what you mean." He laughed at hearing her baby talk, his hand glowed yellow, and he hit her on the nose hard enough to make her head turn to the side. "Ow! No! No hit!" The sharp order made Luke cry again. "Sheesh, you've gotta learn not to hit things or you'll grow up to be just like Natsu. Okay, hush-hush." She rocked him gently. "Time for widdle baby to go sweepy-weepy."
The rest of Fairy Tail watched in cowering fear as the frightful mother bear turned into a cutesy mom once more. Over in his corner, Loke tried hard not to laugh at just how fast Lucy's personality could flip. Natsu tried to shout "Hurry, it's cold" through his icy prison. His eyes looked around left and right, seeking help to escape.

End of Chapter 27

Rhov's Corner:
I'll be up front. This wasn't my idea. I had another chapter ready (including the first half of this chapter), but earlier this week 1337kitsune told me about a dream she had based on "Lion's Pride." To think, I'm influencing people's dreams! Her dream about a party, Natsu feeding Luke the "beer bottle," and Lucy shooting ice at him with Alzack's gun, sounded so awesome. I asked permission to capture such oneiric inspiration with written words. I hope it's as funny to you as it was for me when she told me about it.
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Lion's Pride