Blossom

Parental Guidance pt.1

Lucy groaned, her head buried in her arms atop the bar counter. 

She joined Natsu to his job on a whim, but she was right- the smell of food just made her feel sick. No one's paid her any mind, which she was pretty happy about. If anyone tried to make conversation, she might just spill her guts the second she opens her mouth.  

"Lucy?" 

She groaned. So much for no one paying me any mind… Her head rose and her eyes made contact with Mirajane's, worry written all over the waitress' face. 

"How long have you been here?"

"I came with Natsu…" Lucy swallowed, trying to keep her composure, "I don't remember when we got here."

"With Natsu..?" Mira narrowed her eyes, but her face quickly morphed into a sweet smile, "Did the two of you have plans?"

Lucy noticed her odd behavior, but brushed it off, "We're gonna go see Cana's dad."

"Oh, well you're in luck! Gildarts always comes by all the time in September. Actually…" She scanned the restaurant, and then waved someone down, "Here he is right now."

Lucy wanted to stop her and let her know that there was no way she could talk to Gildarts on her own, but it was too late. Mira was already leaving to greet some new patrons that walked in, and a large man took the seat on the barstool beside her. 

He didn't say anything as he waited for Lucy to turn her face to him, but she lost her resolve as soon as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Um..?" Gildarts paled at the distorted face Lucy made while she struggled to swallow the barf in her mouth, "Fancy seeing you here… I suppose."

"I'm sorry," Lucy groaned, "I'm so nauseous right now."

"I see…"

"Anyway, um… well, Natsu wanted to talk to you." 

"Natsu?" It was clear that without context, it must be pretty strange for Lucy to be saying this, "He's working now, right?"

"Yes, um…" She stopped herself from rubbing at her arms, "He and I wanted to talk to you together."

"Oh, about what? Is my Cana-bear giving you any grief?" 

"Oh, no… Cana's okay… for the most part," Lucy shook her head to keep from trailing off, "Natsu just had some stuff to tell you, I guess."

"And you?" 

The flush of Lucy's face had Gildarts very worried, and it was obvious from his concerned expression. Lucy had no idea what to say right now, and she was just about to excuse herself to the restroom when an oddly reassuring voice called out,

"Yo, Gildarts! I knew you'd be here today," Natsu was walking out of the kitchen, and the two men shook hands.

"Well, yeah. I always come in Sept-"

"Yeah, well I'm on my break right now," Natsu grinned, and quirked a brow at the loud sigh of relief Lucy let out, "Oh, did you already tell him?"

"Huh? No, of course not," Lucy hugged her middle, her flush darkening, "I was waiting on you…"

"Oh, cool. Well we were gonna go to your house if you didn't show up here," Natsu sat in the seat beside Lucy and put his hand on her head, "There's something important we need to talk about."

Gildarts looked back and forth between the two, and grinned, "Y'know… I never realized you two knew each other. Are you dating?"

Lucy sputtered, but before she could deny it, Natsu interrupted, "No, but she's pregnant."