The NaLu Chronicles

Kick

"Natsu, you're going to have to move you hand eventually."

He shook his head, frowning. "No, the baby book said they start moving as early as sixteen weeks, which is right now."

"And up to 22 weeks," she reminded, "which means you will have to move your hand at some point in the next six weeks."

"She's a Dragneel," he argued. "We're notoriously impatient. She'll kick, and soon."

Lucy smiled at him, sitting beside him in bed with his hand cupped under her stomach, thumb stroking lightly. "I have to get dressed you know. And shower and eat and go to work, much like someone else currently taking up residence in this bed."

"In a minute," he muttered before ducking down to rest his head on her thigh, smoothing his hand over and around her stomach. "You think she can hear me?"

"That depends, are you going to tell her to hurry up and kick already?" she wondered, brow raised and lips pursed to hide her amusement.

"Not order, just encourage..."

Lucy reached for him, stroking her fingers back through his hair. "She'll kick when she wants to kick."

"And I will be right here waiting for her," he said stubbornly.

Lucy rolled her eyes, but she was a little bit helpless to how adorable it was. He'd been doing this for days; she should be used to it, but he was only getting more persistent. So she let them linger there in bed for another half-hour with Natsu staring at her stomach as he waited for any sign that baby-Dragneel was moving around.

She was just about to tell him time was up and they were going to be late for work, which usually just meant sharing a shower (which, admittedly, meant being even more late for work, because a wet, sudsy Natsu was not something she was going to turn down, ever), but then...

Natsu perked up, his eyes wide. "Did you feel that?"

"It did happen inside of me, so yes," she answered wryly.

He lit up, pressing his hand a little more firmly. "She kicked," he whispered. "She kicked!"

And then she kicked again and again, directly against her dad's hand and Lucy, for all that she'd bugged him about it, couldn't help but tear up at the proud, excited smile he wore. So maybe he was impatient and stubborn, but it looked like his daughter was, too. And she couldn't say she didn't love that about both of them.