Small Steps

When Gajeel opened the front door that morning, he realised two things.

One: his alcoholic ex-girlfriend wasn't lying about having a kid social services were trying to take away from her.

Two: she wasn't lying when she said it was his.

Early in the week, Gajeel had a call.

It was an unexpected call; he never gets calls apart from the occasional ones from Natsu (reluctantly persuaded by Lucy or Wendy), Lily or Makarov, the latter usually calling to ask where he was, if he hadn't been to the bar in a while. The old fart makes sure to check in with all 'his' brats.

No, this call was different. For a start, it was a woman on the line, a familiar one at that, though not one he wanted to hear from.

"Gaaajeeeelllyyy~" a slurred voice shouts from the other end.

"A-amber?" Gajeel stuttered in shock.

Amber Cheney, 21 years old, his ex-girlfriend from two years ago. Long, straight black hair like silk...when it was washed.. and eyes the colour of her namesake, that sparkled like the gemstone... when she wasn't drunk off her face. He'd left her drunken ass once he realised she'd started taking substances as well as drinking. Why the fuck was she calling now?

"Gajeeellly, there's some nasty men around here..." Amber whined into the phone. Gajeel sighed.

"Well what the fuck did ya expect when ya started takin' drugs? Rainbows and unicorns?"

"Not those nasties, those nasties are fuun," she giggled, then burped and gagged. She suddenly became angry. "New neighbours called the cops on me and there's some nasty men here. They wanna take me away."

"Not surprised..." the scowling man muttered, though his ex didn't seem to hear it.

"They want my baby, Gajelly. My baby!" she shrieked suddenly. Gajeel, about to take a drink of his beer, spat it out again.

"Ya have a kid? The fuck!?"

"Yeaaahhh. And guess who's the daaaddy?"

"Some dead-beat druggie lyin' comatose in an alley?"

"Nope, it's youuuu~"

Gajeel dropped his beer.

"Yer fucking lyin'."

"Nope, my baaaby's almost t-twwooo-" the was a cough then a retching noise as Amber apparently started vomiting. Gajeel used that moment to throw a kitchen towel on the puddle on the floor in the mean time. "Eck... two years old. It's been two years Gajelly."

"You shut the fuck up, ya stupid, fucking, whore." Gajeel snarled. "There's no way in hell that I am the father of any bastard kid ya have. Fuck, I wasn't the only one ya were sleepin' with when we were together! Get a fuckin' DNA test before ya get yer ass thrown in rehab."

"I don't wanna go Gajee. I like being the way I am. It's my baby. My stupid fucking baby!" Amber started screaming. Gajeel froze. If she did have a kid, what kind of situation is it in? Was it even alive anymore? He almost felt pity for it. But then again, there was no way it was his. No way.

"Listen, I don't. Fucking. Care. Your problems ain't got shit to do with me. That kid of yers ain't my problem. Leave me the fuck alone!"

"This is the end of my problems, Gajeel. I may not be able to drink where I'm going, but the brat will be gone. It's on you now."

Gajeel had hung up after that, assuming she was just going crazy. Now though, he wasn't so sure.

The door bell had rung a couple of minutes ago, at half past seven in the morning. He grumbled at the earliness then stumbled his way to the door in sweatpants. When he opened it he was face with three people in formal wear.

One of which, the woman, held a child in her arms.

"Oh, fuck no."

"Gajeel Redfox?" The man who knocked asked in a no-nonsense tone. He had a scar on his left cheek that went under and past his left eye and his hair was close-cropped and neat.

"If I say no, will ya take the brat away?"

In the corner of his eye, he saw the woman pull the infant closer to her.

"I'm afraid not," the man sighed. "My name is Mest Doranbolt. My co-workers are Lahar Bevins and Kagura Mikazuchi. We have come to inform you that there has been an incident. The woman known as Amber Cheney has been taken into custody for alcohol and substance abuse, as well as child abuse. Since she is no longer able to look after her child, this falls to the next of kin. Her parents are currently MIA and she has no siblings, though she did inform us of the father." He narrowed his eyes at the tall man in the doorway. "We are told this is you."

"I told the bitch and I'll tell you. I ain't the kid's dad."

"Would you mind undergoing a DNA test to prove this?" the other man, Harry-or-something, spoke up.

"Though there's not much to prove," the woman murmured softly. "You can tell on appearance alone."

Frowning, Gajeel finally turned and gave the child in her arms a proper look.

He was small, very small. And skinny. Premature or just malnourished? he wondered. His hair was long, slightly matted despite obviously being washed recently, and ink black. His eyes, from what he glimpsed before the kid turned his head to cower into Kagura's arms, were red.

Basically, he was a spitting image of a young Gajeel.

"DNA test. I'll do it."

"Congratulations, you're a father." Doranbolt announced flatly, handing him a thin piece of paper confirming the DNA test. They were sat in his office at the social services building in Magnolia. They'd arrived here about an hour ago, at eight thirty, since Gajeel had to wash and get dressed before going with them for the test.

"Fuuuck..." Gajeel sighed. He didn't bother to read it, he just held it in his hands, which surprisingly, were shaking.

Lily Pansa, Gajeel's best friend and owner of the gym he works at, took the sheet off him. He'd come as soon as Gajeel called him, frowning in worry.

"So what's the process from here?" he asked, his deep grumbling voice catching Doranbolt's attention.

"It'll be a difficult process, I'm afraid. Raios, the little boy, was born a month early and since then has been very malnourished and treated poorly. In a normal environment he should, by now, be walking and saying some words as well as interacting with the people around him and learning. But it seems that when he learned to crawl he was hit for getting in the way, and locked in closets for hours at a time with no lights on. If he made noise he was screamed at and had stuff thrown at him. It's made him very reluctant to speak and walk, though surprisingly, he enjoys the dark more than the light. I suppose he's associated being in bright rooms with danger, since his mother seemed to hold a lot of parties with bright and colourful lights."

"Yeah that sounds like her.." Gajeel mumbled. He was still in shock, after all. He's a father. To a two-year old.

"When's his birthday?" Lily asked, keeping a watchful eye on Gajeel.

"We're not sure, we haven't found any birth certificates when we searched Amber's apartment. Though research and doctor reports say his due date was the 24th of December, meaning he was born some time late November."

Lahar, who had been sitting quietly, included: "We have some doctors looking into his exact birthday to give him a birth certificate, as well as health-checking him and seeing what illnesses he might have. Mental age as well; it seems his growth has been shunted quite a lot."

"How am I supposed to look after a kid, Lil?" Gajeel mumbled quietly. "I can barely look after myself... not that I've done a good job at that either.."

"Another matter.." Lahar interrupted. "When the birth certificate is made, what surname should Raios be given?"

"I don't fuckin' know okay!?" Gajeel snapped, jumping to his feet and glaring at the man. "Not two hours ago I was alone with nobody but myself to worry about, and now I have a mentally and physically abused toddler to worry about, one that won't even look me in the eye because even he knows that I'm a terrifying monster!"

"Mr. Redfox, please calm yourself.." Doranbolt moved closer to him, though he stopped when Gajeel whirled around at him.

"Calm down!? Calm down? This is as calm as ya can expect from me, when you fuckin' turn my life upside down!"

"Gajeel." Lily grabbed him, shaking his shoulders slightly. "Sit down before I make you." Gajeel didn't miss the stern look his friend was giving him, so he took a deep breath as calmly as he could, and sat down with a loud thump.

"Give him some time," Lily sighed. "It'll take a lot of it just to make his home child-proof, let alone get used to the idea of having a kid."

Doranbolt stared at the two men for a while, before sighing. "Raios can stay with Kagura for 3 more days," Doranbolt eventually, rubbing his head tiredly. "But she can't keep him for any longer than that, she has a sickly brother to look after."

"We can also give you a financial donation," Lahar added. "Looking after a child costs money, we all know that. We don't expect you to risk bankruptcy by using all your savings. We've already filled out some of your papers for child support, and additional support might be included depending on Raios' health report."

"How much are we talkin'?" Gajeel growled.

"A 500'000 Jewel(1) donation," Lahar read from a sheet of paper in his folder, making Gajeel and Lily's eyes widen in surprise. "plus a estimation of 10'000 Jewels(2) a month in child support, possibly more depending on the results of his doctor's examination."

"The donation can be given to you now if you give us your bank information," Doranbolt added slowly as the two men remained silent in shock. Lily grabbed Gajeel's head and made him nod.

"Gajeel, don't get distracted by the money," Lily warned. Gajeel wasn't listening. "Okay, so be it..." he sighed. "Doranbolt, we'll put the money in my account. I'm his boss and was his legal guardian when he was younger. I'll look after the money until I feel he's... capable."

Doranbolt simply shrugged. "I honestly don't care, though I suppose you're right. Gajeel isn't in the most reasonable of minds at the moment."

"Also, is there any way he could have a professional help him? It's hard enough raising a kid you've prepared for, let alone be unprepared, uneducated about and dealing with trauma."

"Of course," Kagura replied as she entered the room. "You need someone with a friendly aura, someone approachable and resourceful, someone who can coax Raios through his trauma and go through the milestones of being a toddler. Someone who can also teach him not to be afraid and to be confident. This person should also be young, spirited and intelligent." Kagura smirked.

"I have just the girl."

AN/

(1) - 500'000 Jewels - 5'000 dollars/pounds. See the Fairy Tail Wiki, under Jewels it says 100 Jewels = 1 dollar

(2) - 10'000 - 100 dollars/pounds I'm british I use pounds okayyy

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Guys, I really shouldn't be posting this. I'm really bad at having two stories going on at once. So I won't update this one until I have at least two more chapters of The Rhythm of Love done (so until I post chapter 5) because otherwise i know I'll give up on both. Let's see how this goes eh? Tell me what you think!