#You can trust that Levi's segments would be in good hands with me. Everyone else... (half/half hand gesture)

[avirtualdrive]

Every now and then I think about translating Levi's character song but I don't think there's any point in doing it now especially since we already have an official English TL anyway ww. I shoulda done it waaaaaay earlier oh well. I suppose I could still try my hand at it for fun though

[superfreakerz]

TDS 11

"The Dragneel Scrapbook"

Rated M.

Art by @ccrispy

Summary: They've loved each other every step of the way, from becoming partners to getting married, and now they get to experience raising kids. Snapshots of the Dragneel family life.

Read earlier chapters on FF.net

Chapter 11

Sleepless Nights for All

Being able to hold Nashi in her arms made the nine months of cravings, mood swings, and aches worth it. Lucy smiled down at her baby, cradling Nashi against her chest. After giving birth, she and Nashi were forced to stay at the infirmary for a few days to recuperate, but now it was finally time to go home.

Gently getting out of bed, trying not to wake Nashi, Lucy slipped on her shoes and headed to where the rest of the guild was. She recalled the day Nashi was born, when everyone was finally allowed to see her.

Not wanting to fill the tiny room with the whole guild, they decided to introduce her in small segments, starting with their closest friends. The rest of Team Natsu along with Gajeel, Levy, and Juvia filed into the room, circling around the small family.

"She's beautiful, Lu-chan," Levy breathed out. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Levy-chan," Lucy replied with a smile. "Do you want to hold her?"

"Of course!"

Lucy gently handed Nashi to Levy, who was already familiar with holding babies. With that, everyone started demanding for their turn to hold the child. Even Gajeel had gruffly stated that he should be able to hold Nashi to show Gray how it's done.

Gray took Nashi into his arms, albeit awkwardly. A warm smile spread over his face as he took in the child's features. Nashi's looks, just like her name, were a mix of Lucy and Natsu's. With light pink hair and those big brown eyes, her resemblance to her parents was striking.

Even though Nashi wasn't his child, he already loved her enough like she was. They weren't related by blood, but he'd be damned if she wasn't his niece.

"Thank god," he breathed out, gaining everyone's attention.

"For what?" Erza asked.

"Thank god she's not ugly like her dad."

Everyone besides Natsu, even Lucy, had to stifle their laughter so as not to wake Nashi.

"If you weren't holding my kid right now, I would beat the hell out of you," Natsu said, glaring at his friend.

"I'd like to see you try, Ash for Brains."

"Oh yeah? Then hand Nashi over to Juvia and let's settle this. Unless you're too much of a wimp."

"Will you shut up already?" Lucy said with a sigh. Rubbing her temples, she glared at the sources of her oncoming headache. "No fighting around the baby. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Opening the door, Lucy padded over to the guildhall where everyone else was. Well, save for Natsu and Happy. They were at home making sure everything was nice and tidy before Nashi arrived.

All eyes landed on her immediately and soon enough, she was surrounded by her guildmates.

"It's Nashi!" a few of them cried, gushing over the infant.

"Yes, yes," Lucy replied. "We're finally allowed to go home, so we were heading there now."

"Oh, I'll walk you there," Gray said. Knowing that the blonde was going to protest, he cut her off with, "It doesn't feel right lettin' you walk home alone, so no complaining. Wanna come too, Juvia?"

His wife nodded, and soon enough, all of their friends took it upon themselves to walk Lucy and Nashi home. Lucy sighed, though really it made her happy. Everyone in the guild cared about her and her daughter. It warmed her heart.

Reaching the cottage, Gray opened the door for everyone. Lucy was hesitant to enter, knowing that cleaning was not Natsu and Happy's forte. She really couldn't trust them with the task.

Walking into the small home, Lucy was blown away with how clean it was. Despite being away for days, the place was spotless thanks to Natsu and Happy's efforts. The dishes weren't piled up in the sink, there weren't any fish bones stashed in weird places, and she could actually see the floor.

"Lucy's home!" Natsu exclaimed from the other room. In the blink of an eye, the dragon slayer was bouncing in front of them, his eyes glued to his daughter. "Nashi, Nashi, Nashi!"

Lucy giggled, handing Nashi over to Natsu. Whenever he was at the infirmary, he insisted on holding Nashi the entire time, cradling her close to his chest with a bright grin plastered to his face. Since they were adding a new member to their family, Natsu, Happy, and the rest of the gang decided to renovate their cottage while she was stuck in the infirmary, extending it and adding two new bedrooms, one for Nashi and one for Happy.

"This place looks amazing!" Lucy exclaimed, walking past Natsu to check out the rest of their house. Opening the door to one of the newer bedrooms, she knew right away that it was Happy's based on the pile of fish bones stacked on the floor. She would've been disgusted, but considering it was his room, she didn't mind so much. At least he kept the rest of the house cleaned.

Walking to the adjacent room, she swung the door open. Her jaw dropped on its hinges as she took in the sight. The walls were a pastel yellow with pink stripes. In a corner of the room stood Nashi's crib, which was covered with pink blankets and stuffed animals. Even the floor was covered with toys that were given to them by their guildmates.

"It's so nice," Lucy breathed out.

"I know, right?" Natsu replied, standing beside his wife with a toothy grin. "She's three days old and already has a nicer bedroom than her parents!"

"You can say that again! Thanks a lot, you guys. It means a lot that you helped us with all of this while I was away."

Their friends smiled back at her.

"Don't mention it," Gray said, ruffling the blonde's hair. "I'm just glad that I'm back at home instead of sleeping on your couch."

"I think I'm going to miss bugging you for ice."

"I won't."

With that, the group situated themselves in the living room, chatting softly to keep from waking Nashi. Lucy suggested that Natsu put her in her crib, but the boy refused. It was impossible to tear him away from Nashi.

Once the sun was replaced with the moon in the sky, everyone took it upon themselves to leave. Lucy cracked a yawn, excited to finally be able to sleep in their bed again. The infirmary bed was uncomfortable with loose springs and scratchy blankets.

"Alright, Natsu," she called out. "You really have to put Nashi in her crib now. It's time for bed."

Her husband frowned but nodded nonetheless. Happy flew over the baby, smiling at her sleeping face.

"It's a good thing she doesn't snore like you, Lucy!" he teased.

"I do not snore!" Lucy cried.

"Yeah you do," Natsu replied, laughing at the blonde's misery. "Louder than me and Happy put together!"

Knowing that it was time for bed, Natsu kissed Nashi gently on the forehead before leaning down and placing her in the crib. He and Lucy stood by the crib while Happy flew above them. It was finally their first night at home together as a family.

"Goodnight, Nashi," Natsu whispered. "We love you."

Lucy smiled fondly at her daughter, smoothing a hand over her pink hair before walking out of the bedroom with everyone else. With that, she plopped in her bed, ready to get a full night of sleep.

Or so she thought.

It was only an hour into the night when the whole house was woken up by blood curdling screams. She and Natsu shot up in bed, sharing a quick glance before rushing into Nashi's room. There, they found their daughter yelling, her face red as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Why is she crying?" Natsu asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm not really sure," Lucy answered. A frown spread over her face. Only days into being a mother and she was already hit with a problem she didn't know how to solve. "Levy told me that the twins cried a lot through the night."

"So this is normal?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"So what do we do?"

"I have no idea."

Natsu bent over the crib and scooped Nashi into his arms. Rocking gently in place, he hoped to soothe the girl's crying. Eventually, Nashi's cries turned into faint sniffles before she was back to sleep.

"We did it!" Natsu exclaimed, sharing a high-five with Lucy. With slow steps, he walked back towards the crib and lowered Nashi back in.

"Good job. Now let's go back to sleep," Lucy replied, leading the way back to their bedroom.

Forty minutes passed when they were woken up yet again by Nashi's cries. With half-lidded eyes, the couple went back to her room, their feet dragging as if tied to bricks. Wordlessly, Lucy picked up their daughter and bounced in place, calming her down. Once she stopped crying, they left again.

The next time they were woken up, they were surprised to find that only twenty minutes had passed since they last pacified Nashi. As the intervals got shorter and shorter, so did their time of sleep. The parents looked exhausted with crust in the corners of their eyes, disheveled hair, and sluggish movements.

"Please, Nashi," Lucy whispered as she rocked the child. "Your mom needs her beauty sleep."

"And your dad needs to sleep so he can have the energy to beat up your Uncle Gray tomorrow," Natsu added.

But of course, their pleas fell on deaf ears and almost ten minutes after they got back into bed, Nashi started screaming once again.

"Stay," Natsu told Lucy. He yawned, running a hand through his hair to push his bangs out of his face. "I got it this time. You can just go back to sleep."

Lucy, in her tired state, simply nodded and mumbled a word of thanks before passing out right before his eyes. Natsu smiled down at his wife. After all of her hard work in the last few days, she deserved at least one night's rest.

Walking back to Nashi's room, he peered into the crib. Nashi's tiny hands were balled into loose fists. Despite being dark in the room, he could still make out the red tinge on her face.

"Your crying is loud enough to wake up all of Magnolia, you know that?" Natsu whispered. Smoothing a hand over his daughter's forehead, he smiled. "You just want some company, don't you? That's why you keep cryin' when your mom and I put you back in the crib."

Instead of cradling Nashi, Natsu moved her over to the side a bit before gently swinging his leg over the crib's posts. Hoisting himself inside the tiny crib, he bent his knees so that he could fit beside Nashi. He knew his body was going to ache all over tomorrow, but holding Nashi in his arms and hearing her stop crying made it worth it. Together, the two drifted off into sleep.

The next morning, Lucy was surprised to find that Natsu wasn't beside her. Getting out of bed, she headed straight for Nashi's room, expecting to find him standing up and still rocking her. Not finding anyone once she swung the door open, she was about to check the living room when she heard faint snores.

With an arched brow, Lucy approached the crib, peering in to find Natsu snuggling with Nashi, both of their mouths parted with drool dripping down their chins. Natsu's body was bent no doubt in an uncomfortable position.

A smile graced Lucy's face as she stared lovingly at the two. Natsu may not have always vocalized how he felt, but his actions always made his feelings clear. And in that moment, it was clear as day that he loved their daughter more than words could ever describe.