"If you really want to get promoted, you've gotta get married," Gray smirked at Natsu while pushing his mug under the coffee maker. "Hell, I was promoted to manager right after Juvia and I got hitched. You just gotta find yourself a woman."
Natsu knew this, of course. It was common knowledge around the office that when one got married, they were promoted to manager right after the office's Christmas bash. Maybe it had something to do with people being a little more stable when they got married. Natsu didn't care much about the way to get the promotion as much as he did the promotion itself, so it worked out. And since the Christmas bash was coming up soon, Natsu had to find himself someone that wouldn't mind becoming his wife.
The one thing he hated the most was Gray. The man seriously couldn't keep his bragging mouth shut about being married. The cooking, the lifestyle, the sex-everything Gray talked about was how awesome Juvia was. Sure, Natsu was happy for the guy at least a little. They had grown up together, and their natural rivalry had made them stick together if not just for the fights.
Natsu had to admit that it made him the tiniest bit jealous. He wanted the cooking, of course, but the idea of having someone to come home to was nice too. And having soft, creamy legs wrapped around his head wasn't too bad either.
Natsu shook his head to clear his dreaming. Maybe this time he really would bother Gray and get himself a wife. After all, Gray had been bothering him about it for the past four months now. It was high time that he got himself someone to snuggle with at night and make love to in the morning.
"Ice Dick, you're about to eat your own words. Because I've already got one."
"Wait a second. You want me to pretend to be your wife?" Lucy practically shouted at Natsu when he went over to her apartment that night.
"Yeah, Luce! See, here's the thing. You actually put up with my shit and none of the other girls in our group do. So I thought you'd be perfect for it!" Natsu told her with glee as he told her the details of their plan.
"It's funny because you picked the last single girl in our group over the age of twenty to play your wife. What do you expect me to do; cook and clean for you too?" Lucy's voice seethed rage. Her eyes were narrowed, and she was now speaking through her teeth.
None of this seemed to faze Natsu, however. "See? Now you're getting the hang of being a wife!"
"Ugh!" Lucy sighed, running a hand through her hair. Anxious, she twisted her long hair up into a ponytail and then announced she was going to take a short bath.
"No peeking!" she told Natsu firmly as she headed into the bathroom.
"I can't make any promises. You are my wife, after all," Natsu reminded her, and Lucy growled from the other room.
"I am not your wife! I'm not even your fake wife yet, Natsu! Why the hell did you tell Gray of all people that you are married? He knows that it's a lie and he's going to hold it over your head when he figures it out that you're not actually married!" Lucy yelled through the door, and Natsu chuckled. She was so cute when she was angry!
A few moments passed before Natsu heard a bird call outside and saw the trail he always walked on when Lucy took a bath. Usually, she took a little longer than she said she would, and to alleviate some of the waiting time, Natsu would take a brief walk.
'Maybe flowers would make Lucy want to do this for me,' Natsu thought, 'and besides, maybe Lucy would like some flowers.'
"Hey Luce, I'm gonna head out for a while and then I'll be back. See ya!" he called and Lucy grunted in reply. Hopefully she would be over that before he came back...
Natsu took his time meandering through the trail and finding the best flowers for his new 'wife'. She liked flowers, and usually it was something romantic to bring a girl flowers. Natsu knew she liked white, so he plucked some white daisies that he found by the side of the trail he walked on. He also happened upon a few pink blooms while he walked through a forest and selected them. On the way back, he found a small patch of red flowers and picked them as well.
"Luce? I'm back!" he announced as he walked in the door. Natsu grabbed a vase from the cupboard and filled it with water from the sink. The flower stems dipped into the water gracefully as he dropped them into the vase, and he placed the vase on the counter near the stove. Natsu turned to look at Lucy, but froze when he saw her form.
She sat on the couch, dressed in a big t-shirt and sweatpants. Small water droplets hung on her forehead and back of her neck, and her hair was wet. She had taken a shower along with the bath, and when he got closer he could smell her violet perfume lingering on her skin. Natsu's heart beat a little faster in his chest despite him only walking that whole time. What was wrong with him?
"I'm sorry for how I acted, Natsu. I just was so worried that you liked me more than a friend that I was rude. I mean, how weird would that be, right?" Lucy laughed lightly.
As Lucy turned to glance at Natsu, his heart beat even faster. It was in that moment he was suddenly aware she was wearing one of his old t-shirts that he had accidentally left when he had slept on the couch a few times. Blood rushed to his cheeks, and Natsu had to cough to get rid of the rising feeling in his chest.
"Yeah, that would be weird," Natsu coughed, hammering his chest with his fist.
"I have made the decision to be your fake wife for the week. That is, if you will let me," Lucy's expression was light and joking, and she looked as if she was holding back a laugh.
"Yeah, that'll work. Thanks, Luce," Natsu told her with a genuine grin. He could feel that his blush was gone, and his heart rate was slowly returning to normal.
"Great. But first, we'll need to practice being husband and wife before the party," Lucy told him. She lifted herself off the couch and took her hand in hers.
His heart rate skyrocketed when she grasped his hand, and the blush returned tenfold.
"Let's start with holding hands," Lucy smiled at Natsu and he had to look away to ensure that she wouldn't see his blush.
Damn her and her beautiful, feminine ways! If she was going to keep this up, Natsu had no idea how he was going to succeed in being fake married to her for two weeks.
As Lucy smiled like a goddess at him and only him, Natsu prayed to the gods that he would be able to keep his feelings in check as they played house. Maybe the key wasn't succeeding...it was surviving.