midnightstar | DA KIDLETS because i miss them so

Now that the weather was warmer, the kids were no longer so restless (not that they could be too restless with Natsu around to play with) and were eager to go out and on adventures of their own, both with their older sis/bro/not parents and without. Regine was kept busy helping to tend the guild in their absence, though occasionally she got dragged off by the children for adventures, on days that Natsu and Lucy had work to do.

Although lately there'd been a lot of jobs, so Lucy, at least, hadn't had time to spend with the kids quite so much. Which was why she had suggested taking the kids to the beach for fun, sun, fishing, and whatever else they wanted to do. Good plan, yes? Yes! Nev'd been up since the crack of dawn, full of excitement, and vigor, like a tiny fire-less Natsu. Justyne, on the other hand, had slept in a little more. Lucy just had to put a few final touches on her appearance - since her hair had gotten much longer in the last few months. "Twenty jewels say that Neveren will be knocking on the door in five minutes." She called over to Natsu with a grin.

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Oh lord, he was still energetic. She wasn't surprised actually. Still, she gave a soft, exasperated sigh of amusement as he zipped off, both kids squealing in surprise and excitement. CHARGE DRAGON, CHARGE!

"Honestly, you're too much - don't run so recklessly!" As if she really was worried he might hurt himself or the kids. But the kids did giggle at the fussing, encouraging their dragon-mount to run faster, with Lucy and Herb sprinting after them with the rest of their things.

Figures the kids would pick up the insanity from Natsu!~ Though she kind of liked it that way. They certainly deserved a little craziness in their life. The good kind.

Fire Dragon slayer. Energy was his middle name pretty much. He did a few quick laps around the beach occasionally jumping up and making the kids try and flap their arms to make him fly higher each time. Naturally all he did was adjust the force behind the jump but the effect still got them giggling and flapping their arms wildly. They were going to go out like a light the momen their head hit the pillow.

Oh boy were they ever. Regina was going to thank them by the time they got home. Even the giggles from the kids were starting to sound tired, so when Lucy finally suggested they start heading back, there were no complaints.

Heck, even Herb joined in with a yawn at one point, trotting happily at Lucy's side. "Hee, they're really going to be knocked out. Are you sure you had your fill of food? There might be some left."

Justyne was making herself quite comfortable, leaning against Natsu's fluffy head, while Nev was trying very hard to stay awake.

" Well if there's any left I can just eat it when we get home. Right now we have a prince and princess to deliver to dreamland." Natsu said, tilting his head a little in Justyne's direction but not enough to make her any more alert.

She grinned, "Well I wasn't suggesting you eat it right there." Shifting her grip on the bag she chuckled softly at the group, moving ahead of him and turning to walk backwards, tilting her head a little and studying the sight of Natsu, with the kids on his shoulders.

"I wish I could have a painting of this." She said after a moment, laughing and turning before she missed a step and tripped into the river the little bridge spanned.

Natsu would occasionally look back at Lucy, checking to make sure she wasn't having any trouble with their belongings. Since he did kind of leave everything else other than the kids up to her but he had confidence she could handle it.

"Hm? Painting of what?"

She could handle it~! "Just you and the kids," she said with a chuckle, "It's just an amazing sight to see, I wold have liked to see it frozen in time. It'd be cute~!" Deciding to walk properly along, she glanced down as Herb caught sight of Regina waiting patiently at the door, and the puppy bolted ahead of them, practically knocking the other woman over.

Regina lifted a hand, about to call out, but seeing the sleepy state the kids were in, she covered her mouth with a hand instead, hiding a grin. "Welcome back," she whispered. "Wore them out I see - I didn't think that it was possible!"

"Ah well. Maybe you can find a way to make it happen. It's not like this is gonna be the last time or anything." Natsu commented with a slight shrug that only made the two kids lean against his head even more. He gave a small chuckle when they saw Regina waiting.

"Well what's a day out if you don't sleep like a rock right after it?"

So adorable. She was at a loss, smiling, shaking her head a little. Oh she was definitely going to find a way to get that frozen in time in a picture. Getting the kids and him to sit still long enough on the other hand, might be a little tricky.

Regina grinned, "Do you want me to take one of them?" She ushered Herb into the guild quietly, where the pup automatically started to make his rounds, sniffing around here and there.

Lucy was a creative girl. Surely she'd find a way be it magic or technology. As it were, Natsu didn't even know how fond she was of the scene unfolding. When asked by Regina if he wanted her to take one of the kids he shook his head slightly.

"Nah I'll get them up to their room though you'll need to see if you can get them to change into their PJ's before they hit the sack."

She was already coming up with a few ideas. Though she wouldn't say to him just how much she liked seeing him with the kids like that. She probably wouldn't even tell him that he would make a good father. At least, not yet. Even if it was true.

Regina flashed a grateful smile to the pair, nodding agreement. "Well I certainly wouldn't want them to catch cold sleeping in their swimsuits like that," she chuckled, "It wouldn't be the first time I've had to wrestle with sleepy children though. You must have really made their day." She turned, leading (or following) Natsu up the stairs to the kids rooms.

"Well they were looking forward to it so much. Couldn't disappoint'em." Natsu answered with a grin before slowly and carefully climbing up the stairs to make sure he doesn't hit their heads against anything and wakes them up. Such care and attention in each step.

Him being father material isn't even a thought in his mind.

Regina chuckled, "Well they're going to have a really good sleep tonight," she noted, opening the door to the kids room. Justyne's bed being nearest to the window, and Neveren's closer to the door.

She walked over towards the bed, pulling down the sheets while Lucy moved over towards Justyne's, doing the same for her bed. Regina watched the pair at length, a faint smile on her face. Honestly she'd swear they were the kids parents the way they acted. Very young parents.

"Bet they will. About flying on top of dragons high in the sky and stuff like that." Natsu answered with a grin as he waited for the beds to be made for each one. As soon as they were done, Natsu put the two kids down for Regina to wrestle with now.

"Oh?" Regina laughed, "That will certainly make for interesting dreams. I can hardly wait." Nev, when he was placed down, immediately took over the entire bed, sprawled out, whereas his sister curled up in a ball on her side.

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay and help?" Lucy inquired, glancing over at Regina with a grin.

"You've already done more than enough, spending all day with them like this. Don't worry," Regina pulled out a nightshirt from the drawer and pulled Neveren up so she could start wrestling with him to get the shirt on first. "I've got it. Go on, you two are probably tired too."

Actually, maybe not, she mused, glancing from the overly energetic Natsu to his grinning partner.

"We'll see you guys in the morning then." Natsu said and grabbed Lucy's hand in his own before leading her out of the room. Yes he was eager to have Lucy too to himself now. Even after all of that messing around he still had plenty of fire left in him.

Lucy was about to inform Regina that no, she wasn't tired at all, when Natsu snagged her hand and she was reminded that she didn't get to spend as much time with him as she wanted either. So with a chuckle, she gave a wave to the other woman, closing the door behind them. "She must have gotten a lot done today, not having to worry about what the children were up to," she grinned, squeezing his hand.

"I bet. But it was worth it on our end too. Seeing you play around with them like that. I could watch that forever you know" Natsu said, leaning in to playfully nip at the air close to her cheek.

Lucy giggled, rewarding him with a small squeak of surprise when he nipped at the air near her cheek. Playfully she gave him a shove - even though he wouldn't budge if he didn't want to, and she knew that well by now. "Hahaha~, as if you were the only one watching. Seeing you and Nev working together to take down our little fort -" she giggled.

"Well you didn't see us that much. Spent most of the time digging up under ya before you were any the wiser~" Natsu grinned cheekily and nuzzled lovingly against her cheek this time.

Grinning, she raised her free hand to fluff through his hair. "Yes, and you're filthy because of it. Even after Aquarius' bath." She teased, leaning against him. A little dirt wasn't going to stop her from getting nuzzles, after all.

"It was totally worth it~" Natsu admitted without shame and finally pulled away but only barely. Natsu lead her up to their room without any more delay. "So about that second bath I need?"

She grinned at that shameless response, following along after him, "Mm, hmmm? What, you want me to wash your back?" She teased. No, she remembered a certain conversation he'd hinted into earlier.

Ohohoh she started this game. And he would take her up on that. Natsu chuckled and leaned in closer still taking a good whiff of her scent.

"Welll if you're offerin~"

Whoops, she had only been teasing about that~! And now he was getting closer, which always threw her off, even now. "Well..." she said slowly, grinning, "You can't reach your back on your own, right...?"