(AN: A little one shot extra for Year of the Sun. I hope you like it!)

First Serious Talk

"Hey, Mama," a small voice asked hesitantly.

Lucy, as she bustled around the kitchen, briefly turned to look over at her five year old son for a moment before turning back to the stove.

"Yes, Haru?" she asked gently.

"How come my eyes are different from yours and Daddy's?"

Lucy froze in the middle of draining the pasta in the sink, her heart skipping a beat. She felt her hand tremble a little and hastily put the strainer, pasta and all, in the sink and turned to face her son fully. Walking over to his side at the dining table, she crouched so she was eye level.

She and Natsu had known this moment would come. Haru was a very intelligent child, always had been, and it was only a matter of time before he noticed that he didn't look like his brother, who was a nice blend between Lucy and Natsu, with Natsu's hair and smile and Lucy's eyes, and ask questions. They had gone over very carefully just how they would tell their son that he was adopted and reassure him that it didn't matter that he wasn't their biological son, but Lucy had never thought the day would come so soon.

She took a deep breath, staring solemnly into her son's red eyes. "Why do you ask, sweetie?"

Haru looked down at his hands as he twisted his fingers into a knot, an embarrassed blush coating his cheeks. "Well," he muttered. "some of the kids at school said that kids should look like their Mommies and Daddies , like their eyes and stuff, and I realized that my eyes don't look like yours or Daddy's."

Lucy bit her lip for a moment before coming to a decision. She had hoped that Natsu would be there with her when she finally broke the news to their son, but he was away on a mission and wasn't expected back until dark. Standing straight, Lucy reached forward and picked Haru up into her arms before walking over to their couch and settling him in her lap with her arms wrapped around him. Haru took this all in stride and snuggled up into her, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face into her neck.

"Haru, sweetie," Lucy began slowly, laying her cheek on his blond hair. "Do you know how sometimes Daddy and I go on missions, for the guild?" Haru nodded silently and Lucy continued. "Well, a few years ago, your Daddy and I, with Uncle Gray and Aunt Erza, went on a mission to find a mean mage that was causing all sorts of trouble for people."

"You mean like the mage that Daddy's out getting right now?" Haru asked, looking up at her. She smiled softly at him and nodded.

"Exactly. Well, on our way to the mage, we got to this town called Anea. When we got there, though, there weren't any people. And so we went to go see why when we met a fire mage." Here, Lucy paused, swallowing thickly before continuing. "And this brave, wonderful fire mage that we met had just had a baby. But because the Mommy had some issues, she died soon after having the baby and the Daddy was very sad. And because he was so sad, he got very sick. When your Daddy and I met him, he was dying. But with him gone, this poor baby had no one in the world. And do you know what we did, Haru?"

Haru seemed to slump in her arms, turning his sad eyes up at her. "That baby was me wasn't it, Mama?"

Lucy bit her lip and nodded. "Yes, the baby was you. And do you know what happened when your Daddy and I met you?" He shook his head and Lucy couldn't stop herself from tightening her grip on him. "We fell in love with you and decided to adopt you. Even though we weren't your real Mommy and Daddy, we loved you like we were and so we decided that no matter what, we would be there for you. Because we loved you from the moment we met you." She paused a moment and then pulled back to stare down at her silent child. "Do you understand Haru?"

His face screwed up into a look of concentration before smoothing out. When he looked up at her again, Lucy could see the acceptance in his eyes and couldn't stand the sadness the came along with it. "So, my other Mama and Daddy are dead?"

"Yes, sweetie. But they are together in Heaven and looking down on you every day and they love you just as much as your Daddy and I do."

Haru seemed to accept this and leaned back in Lucy's arms, hiding his face in her throat. Lucy held him close to her and pressed her lips to his hair, fighting the burn of tears.

"I love you Haru," she whispered after a moment.

There was a moment of silence before the boy shifted in her arms to look up at her. His young face was solemn when he lifted his hands from around her waist to frame her face like he used to when he was a baby. "I love you too, Mama. But-" he bit his lip, his face conflicted. "But, is it okay if I love my other Mama and Daddy too?"

Lucy smiled even though two twin tears fell from her eyes to trail down her cheeks. She bent down to kiss his cheek. "Of course that's okay, sweetie. Of course it is."

Seemingly satisfied, Haru settled back into her arms. All too soon, Lucy looked down to see he had fallen asleep in her arms and smiled at him softly. She was about to get up to settle him into bed for a nap when she heard the soft patter of bare feet. Looking up, she caught sight of her younger son as he stood in the doorway of the bedroom he shared with his brother.

Rubbing a hand over one eye and his cheeks flushed, Kei blinked at the sight of his brother in Lucy's arms. He looked up at his mother in confusion. "Haru sleepy?" he asked quietly, as if not to disturb his brother. Lucy smiled and got to her feet.

"Yeah, he's had a long day and needs a nap." She settled Haru in the sheets of his bed, pulling the covers up to his chin. Turning, she saw Kei standing next to her, peering into his brother's face with concern. "Do you want to take a nap too until dinner?"

Kei looked up at her and a smile that reminded her entirely too much of his father broke out on his face. "'Kay!" With that, he climbed into bed with his brother, cuddling up to Haru's side with a sigh and was asleep in minutes.

Lucy looked at her two boys for a moment, hovering in the doorway with a tender smile. Pressing a hand to her still flat stomach, she couldn't help but wonder if this baby would be a boy too or if she would be able to spoil a little girl this time around.

"Mama loves you boys," she whispered into the dark room before shutting the door behind her with a soft click.

(AN: The idea for this just would not leave me alone and so I just decided to write it to get it to shut up. It seems like even though the story is done, Haru will not leave me alone! Besides, in the story, I never addressed Haru finding out he was adopted, so I thought I would. I'm not really sure why I made it to where Natsu wasn't there, but that's kind of just how it turned out. I hope you liked it and keep an eye out for another just in case.)