142Forgive me for neglecting this story; I hope I can keep up with your expectations for what is to come!
There are only a few more chapters left so stick with me here!
Chapter 14: Weakness
Natsu shook his head slowly. "We both were in the wrong here. You were right to keep the job from me, but we should have thought about it before we rushed in without heads on backwards. From here forth until our child is born, we should look into having you stay with the guild whenever we aren't together. No one is stupid enough to attack us there." With a sigh Natsu ran his fingers though Happy's matted fur. "I'm sure he would be angry with us for how things turned out… We probably will get an ear full when he wakes up. Come on, let's go home."
Mirajane nodded sullenly and watched briefly as the army took the Dragon Slayer and all of his henchmen, only moving when Natsu gently tugged on her arm to get her walking.
A month had passed since the encounter with Ryou and Mirajane could honestly say that she had never been as happy and irritated at the same time as she felt in that exact moment. It wasn't that Natsu had changed, not really. He was as overprotective as he had ever been, but with her pregnancy she had a heightened awareness of her surroundings. He was always there, always within shouting distance and never leaving her alone longer than he had to.
Yet, in those moments that she felt at her lowest, whenever she questioned if they were really ready for a child or if she questioned if she would still be attractive after their child was born and if he would still find her as appealing as he currently did, Natsu would seemingly appear out of the blue and reassure her. Never with words, but with his actions, almost as if he could feel what she was thinking and knew he had to do something. He left her with mere fleeting touches or small gestures.
One particular moment she had stood at the door of the guild after he had been gone for a few days on a mission awaiting his return when out of nowhere her eyes filled with tears. Natsu had stepped out of thin air, gently brushing the hair that had fallen in front of her face back over her ear and smiled. It was that one smile that she had never seen him give anyone else; that same smile that made her heart skip a beat, not the usual toothy grin that people saw but instead more tightly lipped, his canines poking out of the corners of his smile just barely.
It never stopped there, wherever she went he was there, catching her eye but always letting her do things for herself. He let her have her freedom, but was always there when she needed him. If she weren't already pregnant she knew that Natsu would still have been there for her in the same way.
It was everyone else that had become the main problem. No matter what she said, they kept treating her like she was fragile and would break if she underwent any form of stress. What they never realized was that they were doing exactly what they were hoping to keep from her and it was indeed stressing her out, making them try harder to keep her from getting stressed. It was a vicious cycle that they would hear nothing about, ignoring her pleas. It was where she found herself at the moment, sitting in a stool at the bar rather than working behind it like she had wanted to.
"Mira, just relax. It's Kinana's job to work the counter now." Natsu whispered soothingly from the seat next to her, his hand resting on her shoulder gently.
Mirajane sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "I know, but I need to do something!" She whined. "After the last time my magic failed despite this pendant you gave me, I know I can't go on missions with you, but you still have to go so we can have enough money saved up for when the baby comes. I'm not complaining that you have to leave, but sometimes I feel like I'm useless to you just waiting until you come back." She cast a small pout, her eyebrows pinching together. "Master even forbade me from working the counter while you are gone. I have nothing to do here while you are gone; no one lets me do anything for myself."
Natsu smiled, but kept silent knowing that she was just trying to blow off steam. Turning her back towards him he pulled her back up against his chest, his hands resting over her pronounced stomach while he listened. "Lisanna won't even let me clean up after the fights, or even the house! Whenever you aren't around she or Erza follow me around like I'll go and get myself lost if they aren't there. And now I'm rambling because I can't devote my train of thought to anything because I'm useless and it's driving me crazy!" She said exasperatedly, leaning back into her husband and placing her hands over his.
Natsu chuckled quietly and kissed her shoulder. "Things will get better; you don't have to worry about that. Besides, you are far from useless! Without you here who would I steal kisses from, who would I get to cook for me?!" He teased, knowing that cooking was one of the things that she enjoyed doing for him when she could sneak into the kitchen unnoticed. "Not to mention the most important thing you have growing in you. Our daughter will be worth every day you spent off your feet."
Mirajane groaned and let her head fall down onto her chest to look down at the child growing within her. "If this morning sickness keeps up, I won't be in much of a mood to see you off tomorrow. Can we go home? As much as I want to sit around with you, I'm still tired from sitting around all day." She pushed herself away from him, a light bulb going off in her head. "See! I've been so lazy these past few months that I'm too tired to do nothing!"
With a sigh, Natsu pushed himself out of the seat and pulled her down off the chair, holding her hand tightly within his own. "You better get your sleep while you can." Bisca called over to the two as they started to leave. "The first few months are going to be trying Mira; you will wish for the days that you could sleep in and not have to worry about anything."
Mirajane tugged on Natsu's hand and drug him over to where Bisca, Azlack, and Asuka sat. "Would you mind if I stole your wife and daughter tomorrow, Azlack?" She asked sweetly, though from the aura around her he could feel that it wasn't a request but a demand. "I feel that I will need some girl time with someone that has actually gone through a pregnancy."
Bisca nodded her head enthusiastically and Asuka merely cheered while throwing her hands into the air giggling happily, the three of them making plans to meet up at Mirajane's place after Natsu was to leave for his mission.
Halfway home Mirajane stumbled slightly, but Natsu caught her and swiftly pulled her into his arms bridal style. "My hero." She swooned pressing the back of her wrist to her forehead, suppressing a giggle by biting her lower lip. Natsu carried her back to the house that way, only letting her down when they reached the living room and he could set her down on the large couch.
Lisanna poked her head out of the kitchen. "Just in time, I was about to make dinner. Anything particular you want?"
Mirajane smiled and looked over at her younger sister and thrust her fist up in the air. "Spaghetti!" She cried out excitedly. The younger sibling nodded and smiled before going back to the task. Mirajane turned her attention back to Natsu, who sat at the far end of the couch with her feet propped up on his lap. She pushed her feet into his abs and smiled sweetly. Natsu stared at her a moment in contemplation before sighing in defeat, picking one of her feet up between his burning hot hands. Mirajane moaned softly and closed her eyes.
"Hey!" Came a shout from the kitchen. "She's already pregnant! Save that for when you two are alone!"
Natsu chuckled and shook his head. "No promises, Liss." He raised an eyebrow over at Mirajane, giving her a crooked smile.
Mirajane kicked him with her free foot in response, but smiled enthusiastically anyways. "Tell me about the mission you two are going on tomorrow." She said, changing the subject.
"Well, we should be back by dinner if we leave early enough. Lisanna found us something just a couple of towns over, some thief or something like that. It's not just the two of us either, Erza said she would go with us and help us out. In return I'm supposed to go on another job with her in a few days." Natsu commented focusing on rubbing the sore spots of her feet.
"You've been spending an awful lot of time with her. I better not find out anything is going on between you two." Mirajane said darkly.
Natsu, unaffected by her dark expression, cocked his head to the side while confused by what she had said. "What do you mean by that?"
Mirajane shook her head, not wanting to say what she was thinking, but Natsu squeezed her foot and she finally relented. "Well whenever you're not here you are out with her or Lucy." Mirajane mumbled.
Natsu sighed and shook his head. "You're just over thinking things Mira; you have too much time on your hands. Why are you acting so jealous all of a sudden? I think your hormones are working a little overtime lately." He said and knew they were the worst words he could have said at the time.
"Well excuse me!" She countered. "I'm sorry my figure isn't as good as little miss perfect's." She folded her arms under her breasts and turned her head to the side.
Natsu grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, tucking her head into his chest. "Look, I'm sorry it came out like that. You know you are the only one for me, and I wouldn't say your figure isn't good. I'd say it's great, I wouldn't change anything about you."
As fast as she had changed before she was suddenly blushing and giggling to herself. "Maybe you're right though, I think this kid is starting to mess with my mind." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "What do you say after dinner we practice on the next one and you can show me just what you like about my figure?" She whispered making the Dragon Slayer blush at how forward she was.
Natsu woke up a couple of hours before the sun was up and made himself roll out of bed away from his wife. Stretching at the edge of the bed he smiled down at how peaceful she looked sleeping on her side, her hair fanned out around her. He bent and gave her temple a small kiss and watched her for a moment regretfully before turning and leaving the room.
Lisanna was out in the kitchen waiting for him just cooking up a little breakfast for the two of them. She turned and gave him a small smile. "Mira still out of it?" Natsu hummed and nodded, taking one of the plates of eggs and toast from her when she offered it. "I know you worry about her when you leave, but you know how strong she is."
Natsu grunted in response, not wanting to talk about it at the moment. Taking a deep breath he shook the worries out of his head. "I know, I know, she is going to be here with the rest of the guild too. Besides, a little time away from you and Erza might do her good. You should have heard her ranting about how little everyone is letting her do."
Lisanna frowned across the table. "You're the one that asked us to go so far."
"Shhh! Don't say it out loud, besides I said I would make it up to you after we get through this. Just a couple of months to go." The thought brought warmth to his chest and as he picked up their plates to deposit them into the sink he cast a look at the closed door of their room. "I'll grab my bag then we can go." He saw Lisanna nod and head to her own room down the hall to grab her bag.
Inside the room Mirajane sat cross legged in the middle of the bed hugging a pillow, watching him walk over to her sadly. "Come back soon." She said weakly. Natsu smiled and gave her a gentle kiss. "So long as you promise to be safe here without me, we have nothing to worry about." He countered. Her frown turned into a smile and she pulled him down for another kiss.
Natsu wrapped his scarf around her neck and gave her one last kiss before throwing his sack over a shoulder. "I'll be back by tonight. Have fun with Bisca." He called back to her as he rushed out to follow Lisanna down the road.
Mirajane sat there in the bed simply watching the closed door to their room. She hated it when he left. After a few minutes of sitting there she forced herself to lie back down to try and go back to sleep.
Daylight couldn't come fast enough. She hadn't gotten very much sleep, even when Natsu had been there. Her dreams had kept her up and whenever she actually fell asleep she would wake up wishing she hadn't in the first place. Finally, even though the sun was still hiding behind the horizon, she had had enough of her fears plaguing her dreams of Natsu not coming home this time. She knew it was farfetched that he might not come home; he was one of the strongest mages she knew, only because his emotional support would exponentially increase his power.
Mirajane found herself going through her early morning routine; she neatly remade their bed, made herself some coffee (extra strength to ensure she stayed awake), swept the floors, and took a seat on their couch with a nice calming book to wait for Bisca and Asuka to bring her to the guild. She greatly appreciated that Bisca had been helping her so often. It was nice to be around a woman that had learned how to manage the difference in life between being a mother and a mage.
Somehow, despite trying to read through her book, her thoughts returned to her dreams. At first it always started out as a feeling that something wasn't right, then Natsu would disappear. No one would acknowledge that he was gone, or even that he had existed in the first place when it came to some people.
The worst dream, the one that had convinced her to start her day extra early, was much like it had gone so far in reality where she was woken up early, only this time instead of waking up to Natsu leaving, she was woken up by a teary eyed Master Makarov and Elfman. They had informed her that there had been an incident with the train that the two mages had left on when it collided with another train. In her dream she had not only lost her loving husband, but had lost her sister a second time.
Mirajane was brought out of her thoughts when she heard an excited knock at the door, followed by a soft-spoken reprimand from an older voice. In almost as much excitement, Mirajane hopped up and ran over to the door. "Bisca, Asuka!" Mirajane cried out, scooping down to pull the young girl into a tight hug.
Asuka let out a giggle and wrapped her arms around her neck to hug Mirajane back, not catching the desperation in the elder woman's voice. Bisca, however, caught on straight away. "Everything alright?" She asked in a calm, but worried voice.
Mirajane picked Asuka up and placed her on her hip so she could speak with her mother. "Everything is… alright." She said hesitantly. "Nothing to worry about, just some bad dreams."
Bisca smiled sympathetically as she understood why Mirajane was concerned for Natsu. "Don't worry too much; Natsu will be home sooner than you think."
Mirajane nodded and invited the two in for a light breakfast before they were to leave for the Guild. It wasn't too long before her anxiety came back and she started to worry about Natsu and her dreams again. To occupy her mind the best that she could, Mirajane kept up a conversation with Bisca about how Asuka was becoming a beauty just like her mother.
After breakfast they traveled to the Guild, all the while Mirajane thought she could feel someone watching her. That was to be expected though, she was easily one of the most recognizable Mages of Fairy Tail and the gossip about her and Natsu expecting a child had everyone turning their heads to get a glimpse at her. Still, it ate away at her that something wasn't right, but the little girl walking with her squeezed her hand to assure her that everything would be okay. Strangely enough, that simple gesture from one she cared for did more than actually proving there was no one following her. Everything would be okay as long as she had her friends around.
Once at the Guild her focus evaporated. Almost everything was going as it should and she could feel the calming effect that such normalcy could bring. Suddenly Bisca grabbed her free hand and pulled her over to a group of women. "What took you so long? We have been waiting for nearly an hour!" Evergreen cried out, throwing her hands up in the air.
"What do you mean you've been waiting for us for an hour? Why were you waiting for us?" Mirajane asked folding her arms across her chest.
Bisca waved her hand dismissively at Evergreen. "Wouldn't want to rush an angry pregnant woman would we? Besides, we are here now aren't we?"
Just as Mirajane was getting mad at them for ignoring her, she was forcibly sat down in a chair at the head of the table. She was even more confused when three slices of different cake were dropped onto the table in front of her. She looked up and around at the others and saw them pulling out fabric or notebooks and pens.
"What's going on?" She asked again.
"Planning your baby shower of course!" Juvia exclaimed. "Once we have finished, would you tell Juvia how you entrapped Natsu to see you as a woman?" Her eyes lit up with hearts and adoration. "Gray-sama is less dense than Natsu so he is sure to pick up whatever you did to capture your Dragon's heart!"
Mirajane giggled to herself and threw herself into the work that the girls had brought for planning. There were so many things to plan; what the theme would be, what kind of cake, games to play, where it would be held, and what other types of food and drink to serve along with it. Thankfully with all of the commotion, she had forgotten about her worries.
After being walked home by Elfman and Evergreen, she had convinced them that everything would be fine since Natsu should be returning early in the morning. It took a little convincing herself once they were gone to stop checking her windows and doors to ensure that they were locked so she could go to sleep. Her excitement for Natsu to be home ended up being her downfall as she failed to fall asleep until she was too groggy to react to the sound of someone entering the house. Before she knew what was happening, or who had entered, she was asleep.
It only took a few minutes and the hooded figure of the intruder stepped in. he smiled happily upon seeing Mirajane asleep. Her pregnant belly drew his eyes and he slipped forward to run a hand over her, feeling the Lost Magic within. He spoke up as he felt the child within her kick. "Don't worry little one, Daddy is here to protect you. No one will ever take you from me."
When she finally woke up, Mirajane noticed that there was in fact a person next to her, and upon not feeling an overpowering, yet comfortingly, warmth knew it couldn't be Natsu that was lying next to her.
The ivory-haired mage rolled away, or at least tried to. As soon as she moved, the person's eyes shot open and she saw him grab a chain. She slipped off the side of the bed and drew it taunt. How she hadn't realized she was tied up, she had no idea, but what worried her the most was who held the chain. She fought to keep from shuddering as their eyes met while she forced herself as far as she could from the bed, as far as the chain would let her.
"Good morning dearest, I do hope you have not worried for me in my absence." Mirajane recoiled at being addressed as such, almost as if he was speaking to a loved one.
"What do you want?" She growled, already trying to summon her magic. "And how exactly are you even here? Last we saw of you, you were being carted off to jail!"
Ryou grinned and yanked on the chain, pulling her back onto the bed on her hands and knees, just barely catching herself from falling on her face. "Don't be like that; you know I had to get rid of that nuisance before I could take you home." He drew closer and let his eyes follow his hand as he slid it up her chain to the collar on her neck. "Now that there is no one to stop us from being together, I will be taking you and our child where you belong." He grabbed the collar and pulled her face to look up at him. "This will be the last time you see Fairy Tail, better write your goodbyes while you have a chance."
Mirajane could feel the icy touches of panic as it began to set in and she could truly see how bleak the predicament she was in looked. Sudden realization dawned on her. 'I just have to wait until Natsu comes back and he can fix all of this.' She thought to herself, failing to prevent the ray of hope that burst through her.
She saw the smile spread further across the Water Dragon Slayer, but her hope refused to die. "I told you, he isn't going to be a problem anymore. I took care of him and his friends."
"Wh-what did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?" She roared, the air around her pulsating with energy for a moment before it faltered and her pendant glowed to prevent her emotions from forcing her powers out. 'Damnit, this isn't the time for this to happen. I need my powers for this, but without it… My body can't handle Natsu's power as it builds within our child…'
"In a way, he took my place." Ryou said cryptically, chuckling to himself. Standing up, he pulled the collar to drag her to her feet. "That's enough about your ex-lover; it's time that we get going. You have fifteen minutes to write your goodbyes." He turned back to glare at Mirajane for a moment. "Don't try to tell them where you're going, they won't be able to find you until I want them to."
"If I leave, how do we know that I'll be okay, how do you even know if you can keep my child alive? You aren't its father; your magic is too different." Mirajane whispered out, still trying to figure a way out of the situation.
Ryou didn't bother to turn around as he went about gathering her clothes to take with them. "I told you, I've already gone through this. I know what to do now, you aren't in any trouble. I am the only one that can keep you alive, and I will have my daughter."
