I do not own Fairy Tail.
Lucy stared at herself in the mirror, heart beating hard. She'd dreamed of this day ever since she was a child, and now it was here; she was getting married today.
"Lu-chan?" a tentative voice, along with the soft creaking of the door opening, made the blonde blink, and she smiled at her friend, whose eyes she met in the mirror.
"It's okay, Levy-chan. You can come in; I need you to lace up my dress, anyway."
"I thought Cancer was going to do that when he was done with your hair and makeup, so that's why we just kind of stayed away." Levy blushed as she lingered in the doorway. "Can I go get the others, too? They're excited to help."
"Of course!" Lucy exclaimed, turning around and holding the back of her dress together. "You just have to stress to Erza that she's not allowed to do up my dress; she might kill me."
The bluenette giggled. "I'll be sure to pass it on. Be back in a minute!"
Lucy continued to smile until she was sure Levy was gone, and then allowed her face to shift back into its tired reality. Yes, she was getting married today...but to someone she wasn't in love with. And she wasn't exactly sure if the groom loved her, either.
Two months after the events of the x791 Grand Magic Games, a suddenly-matured Natsu asked Lucy if she would like to marry him. The blonde had accepted, and now, a year and a half later, here they were. Except...
Ten months before, Lisanna Strauss was in an accident while on a mission, and, upon her return, Natsu hardly left her bedside and threatened to attack anyone who came near her who wasn't Wendy or Mirajane.
During the four-month period of the young woman's recovery, Lucy felt utterly alone, and frequented a bar in a town a short distance away. The first night she went, she ran into none other than Sabertooth's Rogue, and, somehow, he was there every time she was, always willing to listen to her.
The last time the Celestial Spirit mage had been to the bar was three days ago, and Rogue had been there. He'd let her cry into his chest at the fact that her father would not be able to walk her down the aisle, and her mother would not be able to do her hair; two things she'd always dreamed of.
Somehow, somewhere in the span of time that Natsu had cared for Lisanna, Lucy had fallen out of love with the Salamander...and in love with Rogue Cheney.
Lucy closed her eyes, but it did not help; his face appeared, with his unforgettable, bright red eyes that seemed to stare into her soul.
God, what am I going to do?
Natsu stared blankly at the wall opposite him, as his groomsmen moved around the room, talking quite loudly as they got ready. Natsu hardly heard anything, for the only thing he was thinking about was a young woman a few doors down...a young woman who was not his fiancé.
Lisanna.
He didn't know when exactly he fell in love with Lisanna, but he'd discovered it only a few months before, when he'd seen her in a wedding dress as a joke. He'd yet to see Lucy's dress (tradition, apparently), but all of her bridesmaids had tried on dresses for fun, and they'd brought Reedus along to paint pictures.
Lisanna's dress was...it was perfect, and made her so gorgeous that all Natsu had thought about the night after he saw the picture was that fabric pooling around the Strauss girl's feet after he'd pulled down the zipper...
Natsu shook his head, cleared his throat, and ran his hand backwards through his hair, spiking it up wildly.
"Of all of the days for Fairy Tail's Salamander to be nervous, it had to be today, huh?" a voice joked, and Natsu glanced to his right to see Gray, shirtless still, sit down beside him with a cheeky grin.
"Shut up." Natsu said, and there was no trace of joking in his voice; instead he sounded furious. "I don't want to talk to you."
"Whoa, man, cool it," Gray's brow furrowed. "That's no way to talk to your best man."
Natsu looked away.
"You're not really nervous, are you, Salamander?" Gajeel, tugging uncomfortably on his shirt's collar, asked, eyebrow raised.
"I'm not nervous." Natsu retorted, with a sneer.
Laxus looked over at the tone of his voice. "Yo, kid," he said, voice dripping with disapproval. "Keep that up and Blondie's gonna turn around and run right out of the church as soon as she sees your face."
Natsu, temporarily forgetting that there were two other Dragon Slayers in the room, muttered, "That would simplify everything."
"I don't understand you when you mumble." Gray said, calmly, but Gajeel looked like he might explode.
"What was that, Dragneel?" he asked, voice dangerously low.
Natsu averted his eyes from the elder man's. "Nothing."
"Don't tell me that you're thinking about skipping out on Blondie!" This statement was also said in a low voice, but it was loud enough for Gray to hear, and the Ice mage leaped off of the couch.
"Oh, no, don't you even say that that's what you were thinking." he snarled. "Lucy's been dreaming about this day for her entire life."
"You think I don't know that?" Natsu demanded. "That's all she's talked about for the past year and a half."
"Like you would know, kid," Laxus said, calmly. "If I remember correctly, you've been spending most of your time with Lisanna."
"That's because Lucy's out of town so much!" Natsu said in his defence, trying to keep his face from blushing.
"She's out of town because you're ignoring her. Or, at least, that's what Cana said." Laxus crossed his arms over his chest. "It's almost too late to back out, Dragneel, so you'd better sort things out quickly. Come on, Gajeel, Gray. We'll meet up with Romeo and make sure he looks okay. Oh, and Gray? Put on your clothes."
Natsu stared after them as they filed out of the room, then, after the door slammed, he leaned forward and put his head in his hands.
What am I supposed to do?
"Rogue, seriously, it's not like they're going to beat you up for coming," Sting said in exasperation, as his dark haired friend lingered outside the hotel door, staring at Kardia Cathedral, which was visible from any place in Magnolia.
"He's right, Rogue-san," Lector flew up and landed on Sting's head, where he contentedly sat. "Levy-san brought us the invitations, and if anyone asks, we can show them."
"Rogue?" Frosche asked, and the Dragon Slayer stooped down to pick up his friend before saying, "I know that we were invited, but I don't think I want to go anymore."
Yukino, hand in hand with Sting, studied Rogue sadly; she was the only one who knew that Rogue was utterly in love with the woman getting married today. It had been a little bit of a shock to the white-haired girl when he'd confessed to her his love of Lucy Heartfilia, but she sympathized; loving someone you couldn't have was painful.
And Yukino knew this, for her now-fiancé Sting had had so many girlfriends that she'd thought were serious that she'd just given up. Imagine her shock when the blonde man had asked her out a year ago, then popped the question less than six months later. But that wasn't the point. The point was that her friend was suffering, and she couldn't do anything.
"You don't have to go if you don't want to, Rogue," she said gently, "but I think that it would be rude not to, after you've already agreed. Mira-san and the others probably already made food and a place for you, too."
Rogue sighed, and stared at his feet. "Perhaps I'll go for a short time...but I probably won't stay all night."
"That's alright," Sting grinned at his girlfriend thankfully. "I'm sure Lucy-san and Natsu-san will appreciate it."
Rogue grunted, and the three mages - plus the two cats - began their walk to Kardia Cathedral...and the wedding Rogue never wanted to see.
Lucy let out a gasp of breath. "Ow, Levy." she said, and cringed when the bluenette tugged the strings a little bit tighter.
"Sorry, Lu-chan," Levy apologized, as she tightened the next set. "I'm almost done, though." There were a few more uncomfortable tugs, and then Levy said, "Okay, I'm going to tie it, and then I'll tuck the strings into the dress. Er, I might have to reach under your skirt, so don't freak out."
"Got it." Lucy gasped. "But I don't think I'll be able to bend over and help you."
Cana, over by a vanity doing her makeup giggled. "Levy, Lucy's back is going to be all bruised tonight. What if Natsu's upset?"
Lucy blushed and Erza snickered. "I don't know. Natsu might be into that sort of stuff."
"Guys, Wendy's in the room!" Levy scolded, and the three other women turned their heads to see the younger girl standing in the middle of the room, face beet red, as Charla helped her zip up her bridesmaid dress.
"Are these dresses supposed to be the color of Natsu's hair?" the female cat asked, calmly, sitting on Wendy's shoulder after the zipper of her dress was up.
"Yes," Lucy answered, rubbing her back with a cringe as Levy stepped. "The boys' ties are the same color. Except for Natsu; his tie is black."
"I can't believe you didn't notice, Charla," Wendy said, as her face returned to a normal color. "But I guess you weren't really interested in the wedding planning."
"No, not really." Charla huffed.
"Wow, thanks." Lucy rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we've got a checklist to do."
The bridesmaids' eyes brightened, and they all went to their pile of clothes and belongings, retrieving something before rushing back over to Lucy, who was standing in the middle of the room.
"Here," Levy held out a silver hair comb to the blonde. "Gajeel helped me clean the metal. This is your mom's, right? Your something old."
Lucy smiled and ducked her head down, allowing her shorter friend to tuck the comb into her hair.
"And this is your something new," Wendy said earnestly, handing Lucy a little, wrapped box. "It's your wedding present from me; you just get to open it early."
Lucy gave the girl a one armed hug, then tore the paper off of the box, crumpling it in her hand before tossing it to Erza, who tossed it into the trashcan. Upon opening the box, Lucy gasped, and pulled out earrings that coordinated with her comb and her dress perfectly.
"Wow, Wendy. Thanks" the blonde grinned at the younger girl as she set the box down and hooked the earrings into her ears, sliding on the backs. "How does my something new look?"
"Nice," Erza approved. "Here; I brought a something borrowed for you." The object in question made Lucy smile fondly.
"This is some of Hilda's jewelry, isn't it?" the blonde asked. With a sigh, she added, "I still can't believe she made me dress up like a cat just so I could take you some accesories."
Erza just grinned as Lucy fastened the necklace about her neck. "She was just that kind of woman," the redhead replied. "We all loved her for that."
"I know." Lucy just grinned as she adjusted the necklace. "There."
"My turn!" Cana singsonged, holding out her hand to Lucy, something clutched her her hand. She giggled mischievously when the blonde reached out, and dropped the object into her hand.
Lucy and Wendy blushed bright red when they realized what it was; Lucy's garter, made out of cornflower blue material.
"Your something blue." the brunette laughed. "Need help putting it on?"
"Not from you!" Lucy exclaimed, bending over as far as she could in her tightly tied dress to slip the cloth over her bare foot and up her leg. She had to hike up her dress to get it all the way up to her thigh, and poor Wendy blushed red again.
The three elder bridesmaids were laughing so enthusiastically that no one heard when the door opened, and didn't realize anyone was there until the girl at the door cleared her throat.
"Um, Lucy? Natsu wanted to talk to you."
"Oh, Lisanna!" Lucy tried to smile at her, but all of the blonde's worries crashed down on her at the sight of the white-haired girl, and it came out more as a grimace. "Doesn't Natsu know that I don't want him to see the dress?"
"Master suggested that you two stand on opposite sides of an open door so you can talk." the Strauss girl replied.
Lucy shrugged. "Alright." After a pause, she asked, "Can I speak to him completely alone?"
"O - of course," Lisanna nodded. "I'll take you to the door he wants to meet at, and then we," - she nodded at the bridesmaids - "can go sort out some last minute things."
"Okay," the four other girls agreed.
"See you soon, Lu-chan!" Levy hugged her friend tightly, then allowed the other three to hug her as well, before Lucy smiled at Lisanna,grabbed her shoes, and followed her out of the room.
The two girls walked in complete, awkward silence down the hall until Lisanna pointed at an open door, under which Lucy could see a shadow. She started to tell Lisanna "Thanks," but the white-haired girl was already rushing back down the hall.
With a sigh and a deep breath, Lucy approached the door. "Hello, Natsu."
"Lucy." came the familiar reply, and Lucy smiled sadly; Natsu hardly ever called her 'Lucy,' it was always 'Luce.'
"Are you...excited?" the blonde ventured.
There was a long pause, and, after nearly three minutes, Natsu countered, "Are you excited?"
Lucy hated herself for it, but a few tears slipped down her face, and she rested her head against the door with a soft thunk. "Natsu, I can't do this."
"What do you mean?" The reply came much quicker, less than a second after Lucy had finished speaking.
"Natsu...do you love Lisanna?"
She heard him gasp, and she said, voice a little scratchy with emotion, "It's alright Natsu. I guessed."
He cleared his throat. "Lucy - I'm so sorry. I just..."
"I told you, Natsu, it's alright. I...I think I'm not in love with you anymore, either."
There was a pause, and Natsu said, "So...do we just call it off?"
Lucy sighed. "There are so many people already coming, and the food is all cooked...how would we - oh!"
"Lucy?"
"I - I have an idea. Are Gray's clothes in there?"
"Um, yeah, but why - ?"
"Never mind that. Give me his shirt and pants, quick. Oh, and his belt."
"Er..." Natsu's footsteps went into the room, then came back a moment later. "Do I have to pass them over the door, or can I see you?"
"It doesn't matter, now." Lucy ducked around the door, coming face-to-face with Natsu.
"You look nice." he commented awkwardly, and she shuffled just as uncomfortably as she took the clothes from him.
"Thanks." she muttered in reply. "I, um, I'm gonna borrow this room for a minute, okay? Get out of sight and stay out of sight; if someone sees you and asks where I am, be vague." She stepped into the room and shut the door, silently summoning Virgo with the key she had strapped to the thigh opposite of the one her garter was on.
The Spirit, already catching on, appeared with a clank of chains and a flash of light and began to untie Lucy's' dress.
"What are you going to do?" Natus asked, voice muffled by the door.
"Just trust me, Natsu. And go!"
"I'm not going." Rogue said suddenly, stopping in his tracks and making his two companions stop to look at him.
"What do you mean?" Sting asked. "Rogue, we're two streets over from the Cathedral."
"I know. I know." Rogue stepped back a few steps, then fished around in his pocket. "I have a ticket for a train that's leaving in at noon. I just...can't go through with this. I've already arranged things for my suitcase, so I'll see you...whenever."
Before Sting or Yukino could say another word, he turned and ran.
Lucy was rushing through the streets of Magnolia in men's clothes with her hair done up and expensive jewelry on her person, and she'd never felt more strange.
Apparently, though, the people of the town had seen weirder things, for no one looked at her and she ran, eyes scanning the shops.
As soon as she saw the store she was looking for, she crashed into the door, knocking the warning bell off of the frame. The man behind the desk in the back looked up, furious, but his expression soon changed to recognition.
"Miss Heartfilia? Isn't today - ?"
"I'm sorry, Sean, but I don't have time for that today. Do you remember, when I was here to get my dress, my friends tried some on too?" Lucy dashed up to the desk, grabbing it for support since her legs were weak from her run.
"I do, yes." Sean nodded, looking puzzled. "Why?"
"I need the dress that my friend Lisanna - the woman with short white hair - tried on. Do you still have it?"
"Of course." Sean disappeared into the door behind them, then reappeared a moment later with a dress bag. "Do you need it urgently?"
"Pretty much right now," Lucy agreed. "I swear, if you let me take it, I'll bring back my dress and some jewels in exchange. Please, I really need it."
"I trust you, dear." Sean passed the dress over the desk. "But, may I ask what's going on?"
"I promise when I bring my dress, I'll explain." the blonde swore, smiling at him gratefully before turning and rushing back out the door. "Thanks!" she called, over her shoulder.
Sean scratched his head, confused. "I wonder..."
"Where's Lucy at?" Levy fretted. "The wedding is going to start soon and she just vanished? Gajeel says that even Natsu doesn't know where she is!"
"They're Dragon Slayers; make them track her!" Cana exclaimed.
"They tried, but there are so many paths from where we've all been rushing about these past few days that they can't pick one. The most obvious one leads into downtown, but why would she leave the church?" Wendy countered.
Lisanna looked up from her spot on the couch. "What if she skipped out?"
"She would never - !" the bridesmaids began, turning to Lisanna just as the door flew open, slamming shut a moment later.
"Lucy?" Erza turned first to see the blonde standing there, makeup and hair mussed and dressed in men's clothes, clutching a dress bag. "What the hell?"
"No time." Lucy shook her head, then looked over Erza's shoulder straight at Lisanna. With a small smile, she said, "We've got to get Lisanna ready."
"Lucy's planning...what?" Natsu and his groomsmen stared in shock at Virgo, who had just finished explaining her master's intentions.
"Lisanna-san said that if Natsu-san was okay with it, she would go along with it. Princess went to go and get the dress that Lisanna-san tried on for amusement a few months ago."
"This is freaking insane." Gajeel exclaimed. "What happened, Natsu?"
Natsu looked away, embarrassed. "We were talking...and she figured out that I'm in love with Lisanna." he said, sounding miserable.
"Why you - !" Gray started to jump at Natsu, but Laxus grabbed his arm to stop him.
Natsu held his hands up defensively. "And then," he continued, "she told me that she didn't think she loved me anymore."
Gray blinked. "What?"
"Princess arranged this because she feels that she would not like to marry someone she does not love. She also thinks that she should not marry someone who is in love with someone else, especially when that someone else loves the one she's going to marry." Virgo commented, and the boys shared puzzled looks and shrugs.
"So...Natsu's getting married to Lisanna? Do the guests know?" Laxus questioned.
"Wendy-san, Erza-san, Levy-san, and Makarov-sama know." Virgo replied. "Everyone else will find out when Lisanna-san walks down the aisle."
"What's Lucys going to do, then?" Natsu asked. "I mean, wouldn't it upset her to have to watch...?"
Virgo smiled broadly. "Princess updated me on that a minute ago. She met with Sting-san and Yukino-san, and they told her what she needed to know. Right now, Princess has a train to catch."
"Princess, I have informed the men of what is going on," Virgo announced, popping up suddenly next to Lucy, who was once again running through Magnolia, but this time sans jewelry and with her hair hanging loose, wavy from the harsh twist it had been in.
"That's...great," the blonde huffed, ducking around a merchant with his car in the middle of the road. "Need...to...work on...stamina more..." she gasped a moment later. "Although I don't...know when...I'll do this much...running again."
Virgo smiled to herself, then said, "Do not worry, Princess. The train station is just ahead. I will go back now, yes?"
"Go..ahead." Lucy smiled, hoping the Spirit would know it was for her, and then her eyes locked onto the train station and the clock against the brick, and her face became more serious as she threw her last big of energy into her legs as she jolted into a dead sprint, sliding into the train station gasping for breath and looking around desperately.
There!
Her eyes locked onto a dark head of hair in the crowded station, and Lucy, apologizing every few seconds, began to push through.
A moment later, however, the train pulled up, and Lucy heard the clock chime.
'I think it's the noon train,' Sting had said, and the blonde panicked as the clock began to strike the hour.
The dark head of hair began to move towards the train, and, already flushed with embarrassment, Lucy realized what she had to do.
She stopped, took a deep breath, and...
"ROGUE!"
The Dragon Slayer stopped short when he heard the cry, letting the crowd flow around him quickly as they boarded the train. He turned his head, looking over his shoulder, and saw a blonde woman, standing motionless in the crowd, staring straight back at him.
"Lucy?" he said, whipping around in surprise as the crowd continued to go around him.
The two mages stood motionless as the crowd quickly thinned until the terminal, so full before, was almost empty, all of its inhabitants now on the train and bound for their next destination.
With a deep breath, Lucy began to stride forward, until she was just a short disance away from Rogue, who raised his eyebrows at her.
"Shouldn't you be getting married right now?" he asked, after a moment.
"Not anymore." Lucy shook her head.
"So you left Natsu at the altar?"
"No." Lucy shook her head. "I just let him meet the woman he really loves there."
Rogue's eyebrows shot up. "You gave up the man you loved for her?"
"No." Lucy shook her head vigorously. "I gave up a loveless relationship with Natsu to keep the man I loved from leaving."
Rogue blinked. "Excuse me?" he asked.
Before he could react, Lucy took a few more steps forward, then stood up on her tiptoes, grabbing his shoulders for balance, and kissed him squarely on the lips.
The kiss was brief, and, once again blushing, the blonde went flat-footed again, taking a step away with him and clasping her hands behind her back.
(A/N: So much blushing in this fic. So much. I'm so sorry.)
"I love you, Rogue. You were always there when I needed you; you always listened to what I had to say and had kind words for me. I...in these last few months, I've fallen in love with you, and I didn't want to let you go without telling you." Lucy glanced up at the Dragon Slayer, but glanced away again quickly when she saw him staring at her like she had suddenly sprouted a second head.
"I..." he began. "I'm terribly sorry that you had to give up your wedding day for me, but..." - Lucy cringed, expecting a rejection - "I have never been so happy to break up a wedding."
Lucy didn't even have time to look up completely before Rogue's arms were around her, her face buried into his shirt.
Fighting tears, she wrapped her arms around his waist. "So you've broken up other weddings?" she asked, voice muffled.
Rogue chuckled. "Well, there was this one time..."
SLAP
Lucy's eyes widened as her head snapped to the side, the sound of the slap echoing through the reception hall, which silenced all of the guests, who stared in shock.
"Hello, Mirajane." the blonde said, turning her head to look into the barmaid's eyes as her hand went up to rub the red spot she knew was on her cheek.
"Nee-san!" Lisanna scolded.
"Oh, hush Lisanna." Mirajane snapped, before embracing Lucy in a bone-crushing hug. "Thanks." she muttered, into the blonde's ear. "I was afraid that I was going to have to beat you up for making my little sister cry when you got back from your honeymoon."
Rogue and Natsu, who both heard this exchange, chuckled, although the latter's chuckle was nervous and the former's was not.
"So..." Erza said, slightly nervous, after Mirajane released Lucy. "Is anyone else planning on hitting somebody?"
Sting raised his hand. "Can I hit Rogue?"
"No." Rogue and Lucy said, at the same time, and the group shared small smiles.
"I have to say," Makarov began, amused as he watched what was happening, "that I've never seen something quite like this happen to any couple - couples - in my lifetime."
"I suppose you wouldn't have," Lisanna smiled at him, then at Lucy, as she reached for Natsu's hand, twining their fingers together. "But, I have to say, I'm really happy that it happened."
"I agree." Lucy flashed a smile at Rogue, who'd stepped up beside her.
"Is this where we say 'Everyone lived happily ever after?'" Natsu questioned nervously, and the two women shared a look.
"Yes."
I promised a RoLu forever ago, and I have finally delivered, although this story seems a little...mediocre to me. Not that I'm an excellent writer, of course; at best I'm 'eh.' This just seems kinda yuck to me...but it's done. It exists. Yay(?)