Growing Up Fast

"HA!" Erza yelled as she cut down the next tree with a swing of her sword. She watched it fall over like the others before switching weapons to a long spear. She maneuvered gracefully, dodging and slashing through the trunks of the many tress that covered the small forest. I'm still not fast enough. She thought as she continued running. She almost reached the other side of the clearing until she heard a shrill cry coming from the direction in which she came.
She stopped instantly, sending her spear back to its pocket dimension before requipping from her Heart Kreuz Armor into her white blouse and blue skirt. She emerged from the forest and walked towards a tree in the middle of a small meadow. There at the base of the tree sat a smiling Mirajane, and a crying baby Aura.
Mirajane picked the baby up and handed her to Erza before standing herself. "Hey what's wrong?" Erza cooed to her crying daughter, lightly bouncing her up and down.
"I think she's hungry." Mirajane said as she brushed the grass from her dress.
"Well let's get you something to eat." Erza said to Aura as the three headed into Natsu and Erza's home. Once inside, Erza placed the still crying Aura in her high chair before walking into the kitchen. Mirajane sat at the table and watched as Erza rifled through the cabinets.
"Do you need my help?" Mirajane asked.
"No thank you, I can handle it." Erza replied still searching. "Ah, here we go." She said with a satisfied smile. She found a bushel of bananas in one of the cabinets. She took one and put the others back, but not before taking out a wooden bowl as well. She unpeeled the banana and then mashed it into the bowl, making sure that it was truly soft. She then grabbed a spoon from the counter and walked to the table with the spoon and bowl in hand.
She sat across from Mirajane and held the bowl in her hands. She dipped the spoon in it, scooping some of the banana as she moved the spoon close to Aura. "Come on, here's the sword. Open wide." Erza opened her mouth wider and Aura imitated it, allowing Erza to feed her the banana. Sure enough the baby stopped crying. "There, feel better?" she asked with a smile. She then continued feeding her daughter.
"I don't think you're supposed to feed a baby by telling them the spoon is a sword." Mirajane said nervously.
"You don't have to be here Mirajane." Erza said not looking at the smiling barmaid. "What about the guild?"
"Lisanna is taking care of things for the day." Mirajane replied. "Besides, I figured you and Aura could use some company since Natsu and Happy are still gone." She said smiling at the baby.
"It's been two days. You think they would have been done with the mission by now." Erza said slightly irritated as she finished feeding Aura. She then got up, using Aura's bib to wipe away the excess food from the laughing baby's mouth before sitting back down.
"Aw you miss him." Mirajane teased.
"It's not that I miss him." Erza said. "It's just things are a bit…dull without Natsu home." She blushed slightly. Home. She thought to herself, it still made her blush a bit when she said that. "All I've been doing is training and taking care of Aura."
"Da…da…" The baby stammered.
"Yeah, daddy." Erza said to her with a smile.
"Can she talk?" Mirajane asked. "Not yet, but she's trying. Natsu's been trying to get her focused more on walking, I think."
"Really, why?"
"I have no earthly idea, but as long as she can do both I really don't care about the order."
"Have you two talked about what kind of magic she'll use?"
"Not at length. It's still a bit early to be thinking about it, although Natsu believes she'll use Dragon Slayer magic like her future self." Erza looked over to Aura who was now babbling, Erza began smiling again; she found it adorable that Aura wanted to be a part of the conversation.
"You want to be a Dragon Slayer like you dad, huh?" Erza said to the smiling baby as she played about with her hands.
"You don't think she will?" Mirajane asked. "It's certainly a possibility, but if she doesn't, it won't matter. I'm sure she'll have whatever magic she was meant to, Dragon Slayer or not." Erza said. She then smirked a bit. She made have claimed not to care about Aura's magic, but she would be a liar if she said a part of herself would be opposed to Aura inheriting her requip magic.
Aura soon began dozing off, which was no surprise to Mirajane and Erza who thought it was cute. Erza stood up and took Aura out of her high chair.
"Looks like someone is tired." She cradled Aura in her arms and walked towards the baby's room.
"Let's get you to bed. Say goodbye to Mirajane."
"Good night Aura." Mirajane waved with a smile.
Erza walked into Aura's room and placed her in her crib, causing the baby to cry weakly as she fought sleep. "Shhh. Shhh." Erza said trying to calm the 7 month old. "I know, I know you wanted to wait for daddy to come back. Its okay, he'll be home soon. Rest now." She said softly stroking the baby girl's head until she closed her eyes, soon falling asleep. Erza leaned into the crib, kissing Aura on the forehead before walking out of the room and back towards the table.
"She wanted to wait for Natsu?" Mirajane said as Erza sat down across from her.
Erza nodded. "She can't get enough of him." She said with a small smile.
"Neither can you." Mirajane said with a mischievous smirk.
"Hush." Erza said, not realizing that she was blushing slightly. This caused Mirajane to laugh, which also made Erza laugh. Although they managed to keep it down so as not to disturb Aura. Once the laughing subsided, the two looked out the window at the setting sun.
"The S-Class exams are coming up soon." Mirajane said.
"I know." Erza said "I had almost forgotten about it."
"Who do you think the Master will pick this year?" Mirajane asked.
"It's hard to tell, a lot of strong wizards have joined the guild recently and those already in the guild have gotten even stronger."
"Are you going to recommend Natsu?"
Erza shook her head. "There's no need to, if the Master believes Natsu is ready he'll choose him."
Mirajane grinned. "I expected you to say that."
"What about you?" Erza asked. "Are you going to recommend Elfman?"
"Nope, I feel the same way you do. If Master thinks he's ready he'll pick him."
"Do you have any guesses as to who Master will pick?" Erza asked.
"I have some, but like you said it's kind of hard to be concrete about it."
"Well, who do have in mind?"
"Well, If I had to choose…" Mirajane held her hand under her chin to think. "I'd say that both Gray and Natsu are shoo ins, as is Cana."
"Is that it?" Erza asked.
"I'm pretty sure one of the Thunder Legion will be chosen, at the very least so Master can have someone take Laxus' place, most likely Freed. I also believe Lucy has a good chance."Mirajane said.
"You think so too?" Erza said. "She hasn't been in the guild very long, but Lucy certainly has left a mark in Fairy Tail. Although her inexperience may cost her a spot."
"That's true." Mirajane giggled.
"What about Wendy?" "She's still too young." Erza quickly replied.
"You and I weren't that much older than her when we became S-Class." Mirajane pointed out.
"True, but Wendy is still a bit timid when it comes to missions and interacting with people. She just needs a little more time."
Mirajane nodded. "I suppose you're right. What about Gajeel and Juvia? Do you think Master will choose them even though they came from Phantom?"
"If that was an issue he wouldn't have let them join the guild in the first place." Erza said. "Juvia is a very strong wizard and has made herself at home in the guild, but I think her obsession with Gray hinders her potential some. Gajeel on the other hand has made no effort to make friends in the guild. Although, he and Natsu seem to get along well enough."
Mirajane laughed at Erza's explanation. "You think Natsu and Gajeel get along? All they do is bicker and fight."
"It's no different than what Natsu does with Gray." Erza said. "Or like we used to do." Erza smirked at Mirajane.
"Hmm, you're right. Well I guess they do get along." Mirajane said with a smile, laughing a bit.
"No matter who gets chosen this year, the test will prove to be an interesting one." Erza said.
"You're right." Mirajane said with a nod. "Especially now that Gildarts is back."
"I almost forgot about him." Erza said with a smile.
The two talked more about the guild and the S-Class Exam as the sun set. Soon enough Mirajane managed to steer the conversation to a topic that had been on her mind for months.
"Erza I almost forgot to ask, how is being here?" Mirajane asked looking at her.
"What do you mean? Being where?" Erza asked returning her gaze.
"You know, here." She said looking around the house. "How is living together with Natsu?"
"It's…" Erza began looking around the home. She had seen the walls, the kitchen, the doorways, and the windows hundreds of times but this was actually the first time that she actually took everything in. She looked at the walls and decorations with a new vision, each part of the house holding a different memory. There was the scorch next to the fire place from when Natsu had gotten overzealous in heating the house during the winter. The painted picture of Igneel across from the table where Erza and Mirajane sat, Erza claimed that it was to lighten the home but it was actually to cover a hole that Natsu created when he chased Happy after the Exceed laughed at him for Aura throwing up on his vest one day. Even the window the two women looked out of had a story, created from a hole that Erza punched Natsu out of when he tried to sneak up on her one day.
"I've never really thought about it before." She said blushing slightly.
"Ohh?" Mira said lulling.
"Yes." Erza replied quickly. "I've just gotten used to being here with him. I don't think about it much past that." She was lying, but Mirajane chose not to press the issue.
The two continued to talk about trivial things like the state of Magnolia and gossip around the guilds. Time continued to pass and soon Mirajane found herself exiting for the evening.
"I'll see you tomorrow Erza." Mirajane said with a smile.
"Thank you for stopping by and keeping me company Mirajane." Erza replied.
"You're welcome. Try not to stay up too late." Mirajane said winking.
"Goodbye Mirajane." Erza replied serious as Mirajane closed the door behind her. Erza sat at the table and began flooding her mind with random thoughts trying to stay awake but she soon felt her eyelids growing heavy. "No…" she mumbled trying to keep her eyes open. "I have to…stay awake…" she felt her eyelids becoming heavier, the weight being almost too much to bear. "Have to wait…for...Nat-"slowly she faded away, succumbing to slumber.
"ZZZZZZZzzzzZZZzzZ! ZZZZZZZZZzzzzZZzZ!"
Erza instantly opened her eyes, awakened by the frightening sound. What is that? She thought to herself. She sat up and felt something soft under her hands. Where am I? She thought unable to see due to the darkness shrouding her surroundings. She rubbed her palm against the surface she was currently sitting on.
"This feels like the blanket on my bed, but that can't be right. I fell asleep on the table, why would I be in bed?" she slowly reached behind her, trying to get a better understanding of her situation, that horrible grating sound at her back. She soon felt something else soft under her fingers, although not as soft as the bed.
"Mmm." a groan came from whatever she was touching. "Quit it Erza, I'm tryna sleep." A tired whine etched out into the darkness. Erza recognized the voice and her heart jumped a bit.
"Natsu?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yeah." He groaned again. "Who else would I be?" Erza smiled warmly as she moved her hand back to her side.
"When did you return?"
"I don't know." He said rolling over to his side and yawning. "A couple of hours ago I guess."
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked slightly irritated. Natsu yawned again.
"I didn't…see you when…I came in. Me and Happy went to Aura's room. She was crying."
"Is she alright?" Erza said quickly, cursing herself in her mind for allowing something like that to happen. "Yeah…She just had a dirty diaper. I changed it. Then I came out and…" he yawned once more, his voice fading the more tired he grew. "Saw you sleeping. I didn't wanna wake you so I brought you in here. Then…I guess I just…fell asleep…next to you." His voice trailed off.
"Well you still should have woke me and told me that you returned." Erza sat and awaited Natsu's response, but she received none. "Natsu?" she called looking over her shoulder. "Natsu?" she called more forcefully shaking him lightly.
"Mmmm, nobody's gonna be S-Class…before me." He mumbled. "I'm the strongest wizard…in Fairy Tail."
Erza smiled softly at his sleep talking. She then laid back down next to Natsu, kissing him on the cheek. "Sweet dreams Natsu." She faced his back as she soon fell asleep.
"You want some too Erza?" Natsu continued to mumble, a small smirk appearing on his face. "Ok…but I'm warning ya, I'm not gonna go easy on you because you're my..." his voice trailed off again and he resumed snoring. Natsu continued to move around in his sleep, but oddly enough this didn't bother Erza. Even stranger, through all of his thrashing, he never touched Erza. It was as if his body subconsciously knew the consequences of waking her prematurely.
In the next room, Aura peacefully slept in her crib, Happy sleeping in his hammock across from her.
The entire home was quiet for the first in what seemed like a long time.
…
"Mama. Mama." Aura repeated as she sat on Natsu's shoulders as they, along with the rest of the guild, looked on at Master Makarov, Erza, Mirajane, and Gildarts on the stage. Erza stood a small distance behind Makarov and smiled a bit as she saw Aura out of the corner of her eye.
"Shhh Aura." Natsu shushed, trying to quiet her. "I can't hear the old man." The 9 month old soon quieted down. Which actually surprised Natsu, she was usually way more of a hassle to calm.
Makarov and the others stood on stage going over the plans of that years S-Class Exam. Due to the battle with Oracion Seis and Erza's pregnancy, Makarov pushed back the exam until everyone had gotten back into the swing of things, although Erza did express displeasure over feeling that he waited too long to get things rolling again.
"Now that you know all of the details, I want all of the announced wizards and their partners assembled at the port in Hargeon in one week. That is all!" After Makarov's announcement everyone returned to their tables and began discussing the exam along with those who were called. Natsu was on his way to join his fellow exam participants, but he was soon stopped by Erza.
"Natsu." She called, causing him to turn around.
"Yeah?" he looked at her wide-eyed as he held Aura's legs which were resting on his shoulders. The 9 month old laughed and pulled his hair, he tried his best to ignore the pain.
"Here." Erza said reaching her hands up to Natsu's head. "Let me take Aura. You should discuss your plans with the others."
Slightly confused, Natsu complied and removed Aura from his shoulders, giving her to Erza. He then fixed his hair and scarf, all the while Erza looking at him with a sincere smile. Natsu then looked at Erza, noticing her expression.
"Uh you ok Erza?" he asked. She nodded.
"Yes I'm fine." She held Aura against her hip, the baby's legs hanging at her sides.
"Mama." Aura cooed.
"I'll see you at home." Erza said. She then turned around and began walking away.
"Uh, ok." Natsu said even more confused.
"Say bye bye to daddy." Erza said to Aura as she kissed her on the forehead.
"Dada." Aura said, waving her small arms at Natsu, who smiled and waved back. He then walked to the tables where the others were sitting.
"What was that about?" Lucy asked Natsu as he sat down next to her.
"What was what about?" Natsu replied.
"You and Erza." She said pointing her thumb in the direction Natsu came from.
"Were you whining to her because you can't partner with an S-Class wizard?" Gray taunted.
"Shut up." Natsu retorted. "Why would I do that when I already have a partner?"
"Who?" Lucy asked.
"Happy of course." Natsu said pointing to the Exceed who was standing on the table.
"Aye!" Happy replied.
"Besides me and Erza didn't talk about anything. She just took Aura and said she'd see me at home."
"She didn't say anything about you being chosen for the exam?" Lisanna asked. Natsu shook his head.
"Nope."Natsu replied.
"That sounds a bit odd." Juvia said.
"She's probably just focused on the exam." Gray said.
"Speaking of which," Lucy began. "What are you guys gonna do about Aura?" she asked looking at Natsu.
"What do you mean?" Natsu asked.
"Well if you and Erza are both going to the island, whose going to watch her?"
"She's not going with us?" Natsu asked. "No she can't go with you dummy! She's a baby! She could get hurt!" Lucy yelled.
"Oh yeah, you're right." Natsu placed his hand under his chin to think. "Hmmm. I don't know. I'm sure Erza will think of something. Worst case I guess I could drop out. Come on Happy, time to train!"
"Aye sir!" Happy exclaimed. The two then raced out of the guild hall and back towards their home.
"Wait, Natsu!" Lucy yelled reaching out her hand.
"Too late Lucy, he's gone." Gray said. Lucy sighed and sat back in her seat.
"You really think Natsu would drop out the Exam?" Wendy asked looking up at Gray.
"I don't know, probably" Gray said crossing his arms. "Even Natsu knows what's more important in the long run. He knows that if he dropped out, there's always next year."
"He sure has grown up a bit in the last few months." Elfman said.
"Well being a father will do that." Lisanna said with a dreamy smile.
"So who's your partner Gray?" Lucy asked changing the topic.
"Why didn't you congratulate him?" Mirajane asked Erza as she sat at the bar, Aura sitting on the bar top. She handed Erza a cup of tea and Aura a bottle of milk.
"There was no need to." Erza said sipping her tea. "I already knew Natsu would qualify for the exam."
"That's not the point." Mirajane said. "You know he admires you. I'm sure acknowledging him for being able to take the exam would have made him happy."
"Perhaps you're right." Erza said sipping her tea again. Mirajane looked over to Aura, who was drinking from the bottle.
"What are you going to do about Aura?"
"Macao agreed to watch over her while we're on Tenrou Island."
"Macao?" Mirajane asked surprised.
"Yes. He already has Romeo so he seemed like the best person to watch her. Should I have picked someone else?"
"No, it's just...don't you think it'll be hard leaving her here while you're gone?"
Erza put down her cup. "Of course it's hard." She said as she rubbed Aura's head and smiled softly.
"I don't want to leave her at all, but the master needs me for this exam. We won't be gone long, a couple of days at the most. Right?" Erza asked smiling at Aura.
"Have you told Natsu?"
"No, I didn't want him to worry about more than what was needed. He should be focused on the exam right now." She resumed drinking her tea.
"I'll tell him later."
"If you think that's best." Mirajane said with a smile, but Erza could tell that Mirajane didn't wholeheartedly agree with how she handled the situation.
Aura crawled over to her sullen mother, and tugged lightly at her hair. "Mama." the baby cooed, causing Mirajane to grin.
Erza snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her daughter's laughing face and soon all of her cares washed away.
"Natsu! Dinner's ready!" Happy yelled as he emerged from their home.
The day had turned to night as the snow fell throughout Magnolia. Natsu, still in his usual clothes, sat atop a rock and looked out at the city, which lit up in the night sky.
"Are you ok?" Happy asked.
"I'm going to do it Happy." Natsu said.
"Do what?" Natsu clenched his fist tightly.
"I'm going to become an S-Class Wizard. I finally get to show Erza how strong I really am. I get to show everybody. I also get to show Aura that her dad is a really strong wizard."
"Aye sir." Happy said.
Natsu hopped down from the rock and headed back home with the Exceed. "You said dinner was ready right? I'm starving."
"You've been training for hours. You must be exhausted."
"Yeah, but all I need is some food to fill my tank. I wonder where Erza and Aura are." Natsu said before he and Happy entered the house.
"Yeah, they should have been home by now." Happy said as Natsu closed the door behind them. Little did they know, that behind a tree a small distance away from the house stood Erza.
She held a sleeping Aura, the baby's head lying on her shoulder, as she rubbed the baby's back. She smiled warmly as she thought of Natsu's words. Natsu. She thought. I really am proud of you. She then looked over at Aura. I'm sure Aura is as well. She then emerged from the trees and walked towards their home.
The week went by in a flash and soon all of the participants in the exam found themselves at Hargeon Port, each of them eagerly awaiting the chance to board the ship to Tenrou Island.
"Do be careful Wendy." Carla said, still worried about the vision she received a week prior.
"Don't worry Carla, I'll be fine." She said with a smile.
"Come on Wendy let's go." Mest said as he walked towards the ship.
"Ok, coming." Wendy said running after him. Carla waving.
"Do *sniff* your best *sniff* Levy." Jet said as tears streamed down his face.
"Yeah *sniff* we know *sniff* you can do it." Droy added, also crying.
"Aww don't cry guys. I'll be back soon." Levy said with a smile trying to comfort them.
"Time to go shrimp." Gajeel said walking past her.
"O-ok." Levy said nervously as she followed him.
"Good luck Levy!" Jet and Droy said in unison as the tears continued to fall.
"Come on guys stop crying." Max said.
"Do your best Gajeel." Pantherlily commented with a smirk, Gajeel giving him a thumbs up.
I'll be sure to do my best for you…Laxus. Freed thought as he looked up into the sky, seeing an image of the Thunder wizards face. "Let's go Bixlow." Freed said as they boarded the boat.
"Right behind ya, buddy." Bixlow said with his usual tongue out grin.
"Come on big brother." Lisanna said happily as she pushed Elfman from behind. "Our partners and Mira are already onboard the ship."
"Alright alright I'm going. Quit pushin will ya?" Elfman replied irritated.
"Ready to do this?" Gray asked Loke with a confident grin.
"You know it partner. Let's go make you an S-Class wizard." Loke replied as the two pounded fists and boarded the boat.
Cana and Lucy were the next to board, the former with a distraught look on her face.
"Don't worry Cana." Lucy said with a confident smirk. "I'm gonna make sure you pass the exam."
A small smile appeared on Cana's face. "Thank you Lucy." The two then boarded the ship.
Nearly everyone was now on the boat, except for Natsu and Erza, who were both standing in front of Macao.
"We'll be back soon. So be good for Macao, ok?" Erza said to Aura as she lovingly ran her fingers through her daughter's hair. She then kissed Aura's forehead as the baby began to tear up in Macao's arms.
"Mommy and Daddy love you very much." Erza said to Aura before looking up at Macao, giving him a stare that would stop a charging army in its tracks. "If anything happens to her Macao, you will answer to me."
"D-d-don't worry about a thing Erza. We'll take good care of her, right Romeo?" he said frightened as he looked down at his son, who was standing right next to him. Romeo nodded with a smile. "Yeah, you got nothin to worry about."
"I'm glad to hear it." Erza said returning Romeo's smile.
"Time to depart Natsu." Erza said as she turned around and walked towards the boat.
"Alright." Natsu said, his words a bit sad as he followed Erza. "Just wait Aura. Daddy's gonna become an S-Class wizard." He said waving back.
Aura, watching her parents leave, let out a sad, shrill cry; one that both Natsu and Erza felt stab their hearts. Despite the pain, the pair boarded the boat, believing in their hearts that they would return home soon.
7 Years Later
"Are they coming home today?" A young girl asked as she stood overlooking the port of Hargeon, the crisp sea breeze blowing through her shoulder length pink hair.
"I don't know." A young man, not too much older than her answered as he watched the winds blow through the water, his determined gaze seemingly cutting a path through the mighty waves. "But we'll come here every day until they do."