Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Voeda.

He swore harshly when the unblemished wood frames fell from his hold and smashed his toes again. This would be the first and last time he bought and assembled a crib if he had anything to do with it- which was 50% of the equation, so he had a good chance of ensuring he wouldn't get dragged through the process all over again. The dark and shining color of the crib pieces openly mocked him, no doubt the soft gray walls were having their own laugh as well at the struggle he endured for a brat not yet born. A problem that fit into the curve of his palm where his wife's belly had just begun to swell, and yet, already working on giving him gray hairs.

His old man had always said if Metalicana found a woman willing to carry his spawn he'd finally get a taste of his own medicine- just comeuppance for apparently causing all levels of hell at tender ages.

A set of nails and screws rolled between his gnashing teeth as he picked up the back slat and once more held it to the front end so he could drive in the screws to attach them. Voeda would chew his ear off for scratching the unmarred polish, but he'd get the stubborn thing assembled even if it took the next seven months of human incubation. The changing table had been rough- considering the company failed to package in the English instructions alongside the Spanish and Japanese ones- but this was a whole other level of ridiculous.

"Should I call Iggy to come help?"

Metalicana snapped his head to the doorway, narrowing his eyes on five foot seven of glowing, maternal bliss. "Hell no. He'd never let me live it down. Then, once they were here, constantly remind my kid that I couldn't even get a crib put together and how do they expect me to be a competent parent if I couldn't even get that right."

Voeda huffed and eased into the room, approaching the haphazard pieces of furniture and inspecting how far he'd gotten- which started and ended at piling the bubble wrap into one corner of the room so it'd be out of the way. He didn't doubt she was simultaneously taking in any damages, sharp and scrutinizing like an insurance agent. She brushed his hands away despite his grunt of disapproval and snatched the screwdriver from his other hand.

"I'm pregnant, not invalid." She lifted her forearm and brushed a stray, dark lock of hair out of her face. Her husband chuckled when it only fell back and she gave the offending strands a frustrated look.

"Here." Metalicana reached forward and tucked it behind her ear, securing it away from her eyes. He watched as her eyes flicked over his face, clearly not missing the way his fingers lingered at her jaw a beat longer than what was the norm. "By all means, Vo, teach me the ways of home improvement."

She tilted her head and smirked, hip-checking him to have him allow her the room she needed to show him up. "Gladly."

It still took him and his all-knowing wife two hours to get the crib standing and not at an angle that would give the Leaning Tower a run for its money. Maneuvering the pint-sized mattress into the frame and stepping away to let her fix the blankets had been a welcome relief to his abused thumbs and toes.

He folded his arms and scoffed good-naturedly, "You realize yer gonna have to wash and change the sheets a few times before you deliver, right?"

Voeda tsked at his tone and skimmed her hand over the wrinkles in the thin sheets, nodding her head in satisfaction once they were gone. "Let me nest and be content before we don't have the luxury of enjoying this." Her hand lazy swept over the low swell of her stomach as she spoke. Voeda studied the soft shade of the sheets and hummed happily as the cream-colored sheets tied the dark wood and light gray walls together rather nicely, in her opinion. Her heart flipped as she noticed that while they tried to decorate for either a boy or a girl, it was becoming obvious that they subconsciously rooted for a boy.

She swallowed the unexpected emotion that caught in her throat, she hadn't even realized the idea excited her.

Everything had just been relieved and hopeful and ecstatic that there was a baby to even decorate for, it wouldn't have mattered if their child was born with green hair and looked nothing like them, it would still be theirs. A girl could use soft gray walls and the same dark wood crib and cream-colored sheets just as well, and a girl would have been as equally wanted and loved and spoiled and protected, but the idea of a boy- dark hair and red eyes and tan skin and a juvenile scowl to match his father's- had a smile curling the tip of her mouth in its own way. She hardly noticed when Metalicana leaned forward on the bar of the crib, settling beside her.

He tugged at her sleeve and raised an eyebrow. "You plan on bein' difficult from here on out?"

Her grin stretched, flashing her teeth and scrunching her nose at him. "Always."

Metalicana chuckled as she echoed his own cheeky response back at him. "Yer somethin' else, Vo."

"Well, would you rather do this with any other woman, Ali?" Her eyes held the spark he knew all too well and he shook his head at the ridiculous nickname she insisted on calling him on days she particularly felt like driving him up the wall.

He stood up and kissed her cheek, waiting patiently for her to turn to face him so he could properly kiss her. His hand came up to brush her hair back from where it had fallen from around her ear again, his hand trailed down her jaw and settled at her chin. Metalicana brushed his thumb at the space just under her mouth and she smiled. Without breaking the contact, he laughed and the puff of his breath tickled her. "Obviously not."

Voeda wound her arms around his neck, running her hands through his hair. If they did have a boy, there would definitely be a limit to hair length if she had anything to say about it- which she most certainly did. When she had first met Metalicana, she had been very pro-clean cut and short hair, but in true Redfox fashion, he swept her off her feet with thick, black hair that spilled just past his shoulders and a shadow of stubble accompanied that damnable smirk of his.

A thought curled across her addled mind, there wasn't a soul she'd want to do half the things she'd done by now without anyone else. Voeda remembered the time they bought their mattress, laying on every display in the store warehouse and going back-and-forth in their second nature way- endlessly amusing the older employees and customers. Hell, buying mouthwash was an event in itself for them and she loved it.

She broke the kiss and winked at him. "Ditto."

A/N: Domestic marrieds nesting.

Another thing for Silv, I had contemplated adding to this and then, she left me another lovely footnote in the graffiti au epilogue- which you should read and tell her what you think about it. This story will remain marked as complete since I don't know when or if it'll get further continuation. At the moment, it's merely a side project that hogs my muse when it wishes.