Author's note: The author in me is slowly coming back. Thank God, I've missed this feeling... I've uploaded a video for all of you, my lovely fans and people who take the time to read/review/visit my works. It's on my FB page, www . facebook MistyQuefromDeviantArt (remove the spacing)

This is something that came up after watching/reading Usagi's Drop. It's a lovely anime, the manga continues a decade after the anime finishes. This won't be like Usagi's Drop, the ending was a bit weird from my point of view, but I liked the manga, nonetheless.

As for my ongoing fics, I'm continuing them. I wanna finish them all for you guys and myself.

I hope the new coming year will be better for everyone! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year to you all!

All in all, thank you for all the patience and love and reviews and reading my fics... And everything! By the way, I'd love to see a review/comment in your native language! (Of course, please consider the writer, as well, since I only know 4 languages: Romanian, English, Spanish and Japanese, so add a translation, as well, if you guys happen to not be a speaker of those 4 languages)

Thank you for the infinite patience, my Misty~es! Lots of love from yours truly, MistyQue!

CHAPTER 1: Meeting you

It was a day like any other day. He was actually still at work when he got the call. His breath stopped in his lungs, and he was burning on the inside. He wanted to drop his cell phone and run home, but his mother was sobbing heavily in his ear. His throat was suddenly dry. He wanted to say something, anything, but his brain had shut down. A couple of moments after not answering, his mother called out to him.

"Gajeel… Are you still there?" She sniffed heavily and waited patiently.

"Uh… Y… Yeah, I'm here…" Gajeel finally answered, lowering his head and tangling a hand in his long, black spikes.

"The funeral is in two days, so… if you wanna come…" She started crying again. He hated hearing her cry, but there was nothing he could do to cheer her up. His own eyes started stinging painfully, so he shut them and tried to steady his voice.

"I'll be there tomorrow."

"Okay…"

"Mom?"

"Yeah?" She sniffed again.

"Hang in there 'till we get there, 'kay?" He knew she would start crying again, but it was what he felt he needed to say in that moment. After all, her husband, his father, had just passed away. He shut his phone off and let his head fall on his desk. He sat there a couple of minutes, his body shaking heavily. A couple of minutes later, after he finally calmed down, Gajeel went to the bathroom to freshen up and stopped by his boss' office to let him know he'd be taking a couple of days off. No one argued.

So he packed lightly and grabbed the night train to his home town. His insides twisted painfully as regret rolled over him. Regret of not coming home for Christmas, or the New Year's, he would've had another chance to see him on his birthday, but something came up at work and he just couldn't get away. He had so many chances, but he always found reasons not to go. And now he was regretting everything. Sleep didn't come.

His feet shuffled heavily down the pebbled alley as he made his way up his house. There were a couple of cars in the garage, and a crowd was forming at the main door. He passed the neighbors without so much as a 'Hello' and searched for his mother. She wasn't hard to find, since everyone was hovering over her shocked form. She didn't talk to anyone, she merely stared into empty space. Juvia, his older sister, was next to her, crying silently.

Gajeel dropped his backpack in the middle of the room and hurried to his mother, pulling her gently out from her reverie. Once she realized who was in front of her, her eyes welled up and her hands searched his face, then she hugged him tightly. Juvia quickly threw herself in her brother's arms, Gajeel caressing both their head while letting his own pain surface. Soon after Juvia wiggled under Gajeel's protective arms, Natsu, their younger brother, kneeled next to them and wrapped his arms around them, holding tightly. No one dared approach the four, since their pain was far worse. So everyone else let them be.

A couple of minutes later, Gajeel released his girls, Natsu taking a seat on the couch next to his mother.

"I'm glad you're here, Gajeel." Juvia finally broke the painful silence, sniffing heavily. Natsu handed her some napkins.

"Me too, but not for this kind of event…" He looked away, wiping his eyes. The rest of the procession was silent, part from the occasional condolences from the neighbors and distant relatives.

A couple of hours later, Gajeel decided to take a breather. So he walked into the back yard, where his father's garden was blooming. A few rose bushes filled the air with their sweet fragrance as the raven haired man strolled along the pebbled alley. He turned a corner and stopped abruptlyonce his eyes met two sad and lost eyes. He couldn't look away from the little girl dressed in black that was tending some purple tulips. A shuffling noise behind him made the child stand up abruptly and run away.

"Who's the kid?" Gajeel asked Natsu after the child looked him in the eye for a long moment and bolted, Gajeel thinking it was after she noticed his many facial piercings.

"Uhhh… Apparently dad had an affair…" The raven haired man snapped his head to his younger brother, staring at him incredulous.

"He WHAT?"Gajeel looked after the little girl with shock.

"Yeah… And that kid's his… We have a baby sister…" Natsu said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Wh… Why didn't he say anything? How long has mom…"

"He came back a couple of months ago and brought her along, saying the kid would be staying with us… He and mom had a huge fight… and his heart… Let's just say mom's blaming herself for everything." Gajeel was lost for words. He couldn't see his old man cheating on his mom after almost 40 years of seemingly happy life. He couldn't remember his folks ever arguing or looking at each other like they weren't the luckiest beings alive for having found each other. He felt jealous most the times, actually. Because he couldn't find someone to be worth that kind of look. "It's a good thing you came, mom wanted to talk to everyone, see who'd take custody of her." Gajeel pondered heavily.

"And her mother?"

"No one knows. Dad never told anyone, apparently."

"Shit… This is the last thing mom needed…"

"Yeah… Problem is… She doesn't seem too willing to take the kid into custody…" Gajeel snapped his eyes to Natsu, who had his hands in his pockets.

"What are you saying?" The raven haired man had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

"I'm not sure. I'd rather not say anything stupid." Gajeel snickered.

"That would be a first." He teased his little brother.

"Har, har." Natsu scowled. "But, really, now, let's just wait and see what happens at the family meeting."

"How old is she?"Gajeel asked suddenly, taking Natsu by surprise.

"Four and a half."

"She's tiny…" The pierced man said in a small voice.

"I'm not sure she can speak, I've never heard her. She's strange for a kid." Natsu said in a judging tone. The funeral car stopped then on the cobbled alley, bringing the two brothers back to reality.

"I guess it's time…" Gajeel turned and headed back to the house, searching for his mother.

The procession was slow, the priest waiting for everyone to gather around the open coffin. A heavy silence followed, the air being filled with the occasional sniffs from grieving relatives. Gajeel saw the little girl in the front row of grievers, his feet carrying him instinctively to her. Once he was next to her, he could fully measure her. Her head didn't pass his hip bone, her long, deep blue hair was falling in her eyes, but she didn't seem to mind it. She was holding a handpicked flower, craning her neck to see the man inside the coffin. At one point, she even stood on her tip toes just when Gajeel peeked at her.

"Do you wanna say good-bye?" Gajeel lowered himself to the child's level, who wasn't sure if she could trust him or not. She merely nodded. Gajeel scooped her up and led her to the open coffin, where his father was sleeping his final sleep. The girl dropped the flower on his soulless body and motion to get off, Gajeel obliging.

"Is he not going to wake up?" She asked in a low voice, looking down. Gajeel's head twitched. Shit… I'm not good with kids… What should I do…?

"No, he's not gonna wake up. His soul went to Heaven, so he can't wake up anymore." He tried his best to make his voice a little less rough.

"Oh…" She sniffed heavily a couple of times, not looking away from the ground.

"Hey…"Gajeel placed a finger under her chin, trying to make her look up, but he never expected to see her crying openly or feel like his heart shattered in a million pieces. "You're gonna be alright." He was panicking. He wanted to make her stop crying, but he couldn't find a way. He merely wrapped his arms around her small body and hugged her, escaping a few tears himself. "We're gonna be OK." He whispered in her hair, waiting for her to calm down.

The coffin was closed and lowered in the ground with the father's last words. Soon after, people started filing out, the two remaining people being Gajeel and the small girl. He waited patiently for her to finish her inner good-bye's, breaking the silence.

"Shall we go back?" He offered his large hand, the small girl looking at him with curious eyes. She nodded and placed her small fingers inside Gajeel's hand, letting him lead her back to the car. Thus the day had passed.

Evening came, and the whole family was reunited. Gajeel's mother called everyone in the huge living room, looking very down. Once everyone was seated, she started.

"My late husband's attorney will come by in a couple of days to open the will. Until then…" She gulped, looking at her hands. "We have to find a home for the little girl he brought a few months back."

"Is it true he had an affair?" Gajeel's uncle asked in a bored voice.

"He… never said anything about an affair. Even though I asked him many times… He just said the girl is his and that's that."

"What a pain…" Jose, Gajeel's uncle crossed his arms, looking displeased.

"Glad to see your cheery and kind self never changed, uncle…"Gajeel said with sarcasm.

"Glad to see you home more often than every half a decade." Jose replied. "Why is he even here?" He asked Gajeel's mom in outrage.

"Because I'm part of the family, whether you're an asshole or not."

"You li…" Jose motioned to get up, but Rose, Gajeel's mother, silenced everyone.

"It is really the time and place to continue such arguments?" Everyone looked at her, then back at the table. Gajeel merely glared at Jose. "Now, let's discuss the problem at hand. Who will take custody of the girl?"

"I have a business to take care of, so I don't even know why you bothered to call me for this 'family' meeting." Jose raised himself from the table, leaving the rest in silence, Gajeel glaring menacingly at the back of his head.

"Well, I can't raise a child by myself… I just got a job, they'll fire me if something like this pops up." Juvia said earnestly.

"Natsu's still in college, so I can't possibly…" Rose said thoughtfully, looking at the table.

"What are you guys saying?" Gajeel felt outraged.

"Maybe it'd be best for her if we just gave her to adoption." Natsu said in a neutral voice.

"She's our sister! You can't possibly think something like that!"

"And who'll take care of her, huh?" Natsu challenged.

"Well, mom…"

"Don't push her on me! Do you think I have the time or patience to raise another child?" Her voice suddenly shot up, Gajeel staring incredulous at his mother, who was struggling to hold back her tears.

"I thought we were gonna discuss who's gonna take care of the kid, not agree on giving her to an institution! What the hell is wrong with you, people?" He raised his voice, making the people from the table turn their head away in shame. "Seriously? Everyone thinks the same? I can't believe you! I mean, I know his death was a shock, but to take it out on a kid! That's another level of asshole!"

"Hey!"

"Watch your mouth, boy!" Jose yelled from the door.

"Shove it, uncle! You have no right to tell me what to watch! You know what? You make me sick! Now I remember why I stayed away for so long!" Gajeel's chair screeched on the floor as he pushed himself away from the table and turned on his heels, going out the door and into the garden, where Wendy was playing with some dirt.

"Hey, kid." He practically yelled at her, making the child jump. She turned her head, curiosity written all over her face. "Wanna come over my place for a while?" He could hear the surprised and outraged gasps behind him, even the chairs shifting on the floor, but he didn't care. What really shocked him to the point of tears was the little girl's reaction.

Her face lit up in the most pure form of hope he had ever seen in his life as she sprung to her feet and ran to him, glomping his legs with too much force for a four year old. And when she raised her eyes to search for any traces of doubt on his face, his heart melted. And he knew what he had to do. Gajeel smiled fondly at her, watching her eyes fill and hiding her face in his pants, grabbing a hold on his back pockets.

"Are you out of your mind? You have no idea how hard it is to raise a child!" Gajeel's mother came behind him, wanting to shake him senseless.

"I'm a fast learner."

"You can't be serious." Natsu came behind his mother, arms crossed.

"At least I got the balls to at least try and give her a home, compared to you. Come on, kid, let's go home." Gajeel bent over and placed his arm under her knees, lifting her up. She immediately wrapped her tiny arms around his wide shoulders and hid in his neck.

"Wait!" His mother placed her hand on his arm, stopping him. She looked ashamed at him for a moment, looking away. "Her things…"

"Mom! Are you serious?" Natsu looked shocked at the gray haired woman, letting her pass him in a hurry as Gajeel waited patiently for her to come back. A couple of minutes later, his mother came back, holding a small backpack and a suitcase.

"Her birth certificate and other important documents are here. This is all she has."

"Thanks." Gajeel said roughly, turning away and leaving the family in complete silence. He was furious. He wanted to break some teeth, but the small, warm body clinging to him for dear life told him it was not the place, not time for violence. His priority was to get Wendy home.

TBC

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