Howdy ho bewdiful readers of the world! The Senbei be back with a one-shot! *Cries like a hag* Okay, I really pushed myself with this one. I'm finally on a 3 month holiday and after writing over a billion reports for Uni and studying like mad for those super hard exams, I really felt as if writing fanfics would be a challenge. That's why I decided to 're-fresh' myself by punching out a one-shot before I worked on UFO :D ! And really, I LOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS - I shall respond to all the reviews as per usual. Important note at the ending A/N.It's kind of a tradition for me to post before receiving my marks haha!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail!

Dignity and pride. Jude and Layla Heartfilia had not failed in drilling these particular words into the head of a 6 year old Lucy. It wasn't a practice simply meant to uphold one's reputation; it was a way of living, her parents would say. The act of carrying oneself with grace and respect was thus of great importance to the celestial mage. Yet why? Why had she after 17 or so years of living with this in mind suddenly and unintentionally throw all of her dignity out the window? More specifically, what on Earthland had she done to end up in bed with a complete stranger? A half-naked stranger.

Pain. Excruciating pain.

Her head felt as if it had been crushed by Kain Hikaru's fat ass and that she reasoned, was more horrible than death itself.

"Ugh. I feel like shit." She all but grumbled, the throbbing in her head rendering her vocabulary to be less than spectacular. A blurry glance at the alarm clock told her that it was 8 in the morning and frankly, that was weird because she didn't even remember going home last night. That wasn't good. Lucy sincerely hoped that one of her spirits had been kind enough to lug her home. She really did.

Her memory was so fuzzy that it wasn't even funny anymore and to make the situation worse, she needed to go pee. Really badly. Somehow, all signs were pointing to a potential wild night of drunkenness. The blonde felt her eyes go wide at the thought. My god, had she become an uncultured party chick overnight? Was that it? Had Cana's ways finally infected her?

"Okay, calm down Lucy. Just go to the toilet and forget. Forget that any of this happened." And as if she had incurred the wrath of some higher being, she found her hopes being completely crushed. Her planned trek to the toilet was abruptly halted when she found two tan (and wonderfully sculpted) arms wrapped securely around her torso.

"Oh my god." Her voice was wobbly and squeaky and- HOLY FRICKLE FRACKLES. Who, what, when, where, how – She wasn't alone! A stranger with attractive arms was in her cosy bed with her. She felt her heartbeat quicken to dangerous levels but quickly decided to assess the situation with at least some sort of composure.

"Pros and cons," Lucy started with a frantic whisper, "Pro: I'm at home. I am safe. Con: A stranger is cuddling me. Pro: He has beautiful arms. Con: I need to go pee. Pro-" This carried on for at least another two minutes before the blonde felt movement from behind her.

"Urgh. Lucy? What's with the rambling?" The owner of the groggy voice nuzzled his face into the back of her neck, prompting her to let out a squeak.

Being too chicken to even turn back to sneak a glance at the face of her sexual assaulter, she opted to speak instead.

"W-who- How do you know my name?" Her only response was a chuckle that quickly escalated into full-blown laughter. Needless to say, she wasn't very impressed with his reply.

"O-oh god. You're joking with me right?" The man managed in-between his laughing fit. His voice was smooth and strangely familiar.

"W-what?"

"C'mon. Take a good look at my face and tell me who else would be in bed with you." The stranger sounded amused and although Lucy felt the urge to give him a good smack on the head (because really, she shouldn't be expecting anyone other than herself to be in said bed), she felt inclined to take his advice. So she did.

"N-Natsu?!" There lo and behold, was her idiotic partner, pink spiky hair, grin and all in his half-naked glory. The only thing that had saved her virgin eyes (Gray didn't count, did he?) was her duvet which was piled somewhat generously over his- his privates. She felt her face explode into what may have been considered a red brighter than Erza's hair.

"Y-you're wearing pants right?!" Lucy stuttered, her eyes completely focused on anywhere but him.

"And that matters why?" He tilted his head to the side like a puppy, his obliviousness making her want to smash her head against the wall. Repeatedly. It was then that her attention was drawn to herself. Lucy prayed that she was decent and by Mavis' name, she would seriously die of a heart attack is she wasn't. Hesitantly, the blonde spared a glance at her body and almost immediately let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, she was clothed in what appeared to be an oversized T-shirt. Which she didn't remember owning. Okay, never mind.

"Natsu, what happened last night?" She started, her voice cautious. Lucy subtly tried to escape his hold but it didn't seem as if she would be emptying her bladder anytime soon.

Her nervousness only increased when he stared straight into her brown orbs with his onyx ones.

"You don't remember?"

"Uhm, no?" She squeaked. Was she meant to remember something? The situation was getting progressively worse. And those eyes- Mavis, those eyes made her feel like crawling into a hole and dying there. Out of guilt, she gulped before adding, "My head hurts and now that I think about it, so does my whole body." Smart move since it looked like he was very pleased. Sarcasm intended.

"Well, then…should I remind you?" Okay. Warning bells. WARNING BELLS! Her instincts told her to run for the hills but her body only managed to squirm several centimetres to the edge of her bed.

"Uhm. Uhm. Uhm. What about no?" Lucy desperately cried, her sudden movement prompting the two of them to plummet to the ground.

"Oww…"

"Gee whiz, you sure move a lot for somebody who's aching everywhere." Natsu complained, rubbing his head with a hand.

She was about to retort but quickly noticed their rather…compromising position and the proximity between their faces which was slowly disappearing. Her mind was racing at a million miles per second and in a bid to stop whatever was going to happen, she clenched her eyelids shut and shouted quite loudly, "D-did we do the deed!?"

"What?" His genuinely confused expression prompted her to question him even more with vocabulary that was hopefully easier to understand.

"The deed! T-the X-rated things- LEMONS!"

"Lemons? What about lemons?"

"Oh for the love of Mavis, I'm saying that I don't remember what happened last night!" She shouted, quite embarrassed and frustrated at the same time and ready to tug her hair out. Her mind however, went blank when Natsu leant in and pressed his lips against hers.

"And I was saying that I'd remind you. God Lucy, is it just me or did marriage make you go weirder than usual?"

The blonde's eyes remained wide. Did he- Did he just steal her first kiss? And WHAT IN THE HOWDY HO- MARRIAGE?!

"Yes, marriage." Natsu raised a brow. Oh man, did she say that out loud?

"This is some sort of practical joke right?" Lucy's voice trailed off into small laughter as she waited for him to yell out 'Surprise!' or something of the sort. He didn't. Instead, he held one of her hands in his and intertwined their fingers before raising it up to eye level.

"I didn't think that my wife would have amnesia before our 1 year anniversary." And she really had to do a double-take then and there because on her marry finger (as with his), was a simple silver band ring with a diamond in the middle.

"Huh?...Wait, what? Waitwaitwaitwait…WHAT?!" Holy cow, the last time she checked she was still 17 years old. There was something seriously wrong with this situation and the way that Natsu was looking at her made her gut churn uncomfortably.

"Luce, are you alright? I didn't think that yesterday's mission would have knocked you up so much." He looked genuinely concerned. And she was genuinely confused. His next actions served to heighten her panic. Natsu placed a gentle hand on her cheek, his eyes softening slightly.

"Maybe I should call Wendy." His voice was fainter than what she was used to. Everything that was happening seemed to be so foreign compared to what she was familiar with - What in the heck was happening?

Her brain was in overdrive and it was then that she blurted out quite suddenly, "I really need to go pee!" taking Natsu by surprise. With her mind set on escape, she quickly took hold of the opportunity to make a mad dash to the toilet. In the midst of her sprint she heard him cry out something along the lines of 'Watch out for the corner!' but at this point in time she really couldn't care less and that was probably why she hit the wall, smack bang in the head and blacked out almost immediately.

Her head was pounding and her body for some reason, felt strangely constricted. What the heck was going on here? Lucy tried to open her eyes, vaguely recalling something about her being married to a certain pink-haired best friend of hers – Hah. Joke of the century. She must have hit her head real hard or something. Her blurred vision did very little to help her assess her current situation but it soon became apparent that she was surrounded by several of her guild-mates.

"Lucy! You're awake! We were so worried about you but Wendy said that you'd be fine." Erza sounded quite relieved and the other occupants of the room all nodded their heads while voicing out similar lines. The blonde looked around and guessed that she was in the hospital. Wow, some serious shit must have happened.

"Sorry, I must have worried you guys- Wait, why are you all in formal wear?" And really, they were all dressed up fancily as if they were going to attend a royal ball or something of the sort. Lucy reasoned that she must have said something wrong when their faces all dropped.

"Lu-chan, don't you remember?" Levy who was in a beautiful white dress asked quite nervously.

"Remember what? And that's a great dress that you've got there – what's the occasion?" Lucy laughed at her own words but it seemed as if the joke had fallen flat, what with everyone sweating bullets and all. They all murmured amongst themselves, making Lucy quite uncomfortable.

"I call marriage blues!" Gray suddenly piped in from the side before Erza quickly silenced him with a blow to the abdomen.

Marriage blues? Someone was getting married? AND SHE HAD COLLAPSED. "Wait, whose wedding did I screw up?!" Lucy looked at them desperately, waiting for an answer. Erza who appeared quite calm gave the blonde a look which had her quite confused. The ex-quip mage proceeded to rub her chin as if contemplating her next words.

"It wasn't yours, was it?" Lucy managed to choke out, spurring some of her guild-mates to hold in their laughter.

Erza went cherry red.

"NO! Who on Earthland- I don't even- I mean, Lucy – two parties are required for…for a union. And clearly, for me, someone would have to fill in that place before a marriage can take place." The red-head coughed slightly before turning to the side, "I'm afraid that I'm not qualified for marriage." The atmosphere was left hanging and honestly, Lucy felt as if she had just unintentionally upset the strongest woman who she knew. Guilt trip in order.

"Ahem, and since Erza claims that she will be forever alone which is somewhat questionable *cough*Jellal, man up dude *Hack*, Lucy, I think you should take a good look at yourself." And of course, Gray was roughly guided out of the room by a blue-haired man. Everyone cringed slightly when they heard a manly scream ("JUVIA, Your Gray-sama-OW! Is being murdered by a wuss-ARGH! EASY ON THE HAIR- THE HAIR-") but managed to place their attention back on Lucy instead. The celestial mage gave them a funny look when they all motioned for her to take Gray's advice and HOLY COW- WHAT.

"Guys, this isn't funny," Lucy started with dread filling her voice, "I think I just stole the bride's wedding dress."

"Guys? Hello?" Uneasiness was apparent in her voice as she gave them all a desperate look.

Her blue-haired best-friend took a step towards her.

"Uhm, Lu-Chan…I'm not sure how I'm supposed to say this but we were so shocked when you fainted at the altar." Levy let the words sink into Lucy's head.

"Wait, the altar…I stole her place too?" Lucy tried to follow on but it appeared as if she was heading in the wrong direction.

"No, what I mean to say is that," Levy continued with the assistance of some weird hand gestures, "Surprise! You're getting married!"

What.

And that was when she bolted for the doors.

"LUCY! WAIT!"

"Ohnonononono! This cannot be happening! Firstly, I find myself in bed with him and now," She tugged at her flowy white dress, "I'm getting married!?"

The blonde continued her mad dash down the corridors, shocking all those in her wake – It must have been quite the sight, she thought quite bitterly, it wasn't every day that you'd see a blonde in a wedding dress and heels running through the hospital at speeds comparable to Usain Bolt's record sprint. The voices of those chasing after her slowly died down but the celestial mage didn't dare to even look back. Heavens, she must have been sprinting pretty quickly. Maybe this was all just a series of nightmares after all. The thought seemed quite comforting – there was no way that all this could be- could be real.

"LUCY!" And it was then that she cursed under her breath. That voice didn't belong to Erza, Gray, Levy or anyone else that she had seen in her room and there was no way that she could not know it. Natsu. For some forsaken reason she decided to take a glimpse of him just for confirmation, she had reasoned. That or she wanted some last moment eye candy (not that she'd ever admit it to anyone) and by Mavis' name, did he look stunning or did he look stunning? His suit flapped wildly against the wind as he chased after her and his polished black leather shoes smacked hard against the flooring, a clean, clacking noise resonating throughout the corridor with each step that he took. Lucy felt her lungs burn as she continued her escape. She was reaching her limits and it was evident that he was gaining on her. She didn't know why she was running away in the first place – she didn't even know about the whole situation and frankly, it would have been more reasonable to get the whole story from Levy. Her thoughts however skipped ahead. If she was the bride then there must have been a groom and she had the feeling that she knew who that was. It was a crazy thought but her head told her that it was the sprinting, crazy-looking-yet-beautiful man behind her. Good lord. She had just called Natsu beautiful. The last time she checked, he was the guy who would marry a buffet table and she was the girl who considered him as no more than a best friend.

"LUCY! Get your ass back here!" The dragonslayer shouted out with ragged breaths. It was nice to know that he valued his soon-to-be wife. The whole idea of her getting married to Natsu seemed quite foreign but it appeared as if the transition to this relationship would come with minimal changes to their interactions. Was she supposed to be happy about that? All she knew was that he was more Natsu-like…than the one in the previous scenario.

"LUCY! DAMNIT! I had to get strapped to a chair by that metal idiot, encased in a ball of water from that crazy water chick and put to sleep by one of Wendy's crazy-assed spells and now you're running away from me?!" Oh boy, did he sound angry or what? Deciding that it was too cruel to leave him without a word, Lucy turned back to face him.

"NO! I'm not getting married to a stupid red dragon who doesn't even give respect to his future wife!" It seemed as if that had slowed him down a bit.

"W-what?!"

"You heard me! I'm. Not. Getting. Married."

"W-wait Lucy-!"

"To you."

Okay, maybe that was a bit too mean. His face dropped and his features were twisted in a way that didn't suit him at all. He looked heart-broken.

"But I love you." His voice made him sound like a child and made her still slightly. What. Wait. What? For reasons unknown, her face felt hot and she could have sworn that her heart beat had increased times ten.

"Huh?"

She was quite confused when his eyes widened in alarm though.

"LUCY! WATCH OUT!"

Oh yes. Maybe she had been cursed by a higher being after all. She found herself plummeting down the stairs of all things and the last thing she saw was Natsu's stunned face. Dagnabbit.

It felt as if a professional wrestler had body slammed her onto an oncoming truck and this time, Lucy knew that she probably wouldn't be waking up to her normal, daily routine. This was getting old and it was both mentally and physically taxing on the blonde. Perhaps she was caught up in a dream or maybe someone was pulling a sick joke on her. She wouldn't know but she knew that sure as hell, she wanted out.

"Ughhh. This is worse than the previous two scenarios." She groaned as she rubbed her eyes. It appeared as if she was on the couch in her apartment this time.

"And I'm back?!" The blonde felt her hopes rise but it quickly plummeted when she heard several tiny footsteps around her apartment. Huh. Her apartment looked slightly…different but she just couldn't place a finger on it.

"Mummm! Iggy was being mean again!"

Oh no. Ohnonononono. This could not be happening. This really, really, really, could not be happening. Before her very eyes was a small child who probably didn't even reach up to her hips. Good god.

"No I wasn't! Nina's lying mum! She wanted to go exploring!"

GOOD HEAVENS, A SECOND CHILD. THERE WERE TWO CHILDREN IN FRONT OF HER AND THEY WERE ADORABLE.

Lucy leant her back against the couch, mouth agape.

"Uh. Hello lost children, how may I help you?" She squeaked, mind still reeling.

"Mum, dad was right – you are weird." Nina furrowed her brows slightly, hands on her hips. On closer observation, the girl had light-pink hair reaching slightly below her shoulders. Her eyes were round and chocolatey. She looked strangely familiar and her words made Lucy stiffen.

"Mum, are you sick?!" And then there was Iggy. Blonde hair and onyx eyes which stared straight at her with worry. Lucy guessed that he was the older one of the two.

"Uh, and by 'mum', you wouldn't happen to be referring to me now would you?" Lucy was cautious with her words but it still managed to shock the older sibling. She felt like dying when his eyes started to water.

"Y-you don't remember us?" He blubbered, his hands grasping tightly onto her leg. She felt her heart tighten. Something about these two children made her feel…made her feel…motherly and that was not a good sign. "Nina, mum doesn't love-love us anymore!" Iggy continued, earning a gasp from his younger sister. Holy Mavis, what had she done to deserve this? Her current speculations indicated that she was indeed the mother of these two children. And the father- the father was….Lucy blushed an unhealthy red. This was somewhat frightening. No, scratch that, she needed out of this and fast.

"O-of course not, I was just kidding kids." She tried to placate them. Oh, how she wished that she had her keys with her. Lucy had noticed rather worriedly that they had been missing the entire time and it only served to heighten her panic.

"What!? That's not very nice," Nina gave her a cute pout, "You made Iggy cry."

"U-uh…Well…"

"I'm telling daddy." Iggy sniffled. Lucy felt herself sweat even more. Anything but that. It was strange but she felt fear. She had a rough idea of who 'daddy' was and didn't want to entertain the idea of even meeting him. For Mavis' sake, she didn't even think that they were capable of becoming like…this. The previous scenarios had shocked her and she really didn't think that she could handle seeing his face even once more. Feelings that she did not believe had existed were starting to emerge but marriage and KIDS of all things? She needed a break. Sadly, someone else thought otherwise. The sound of keys jingling caught her attention.

"I'm back!"

What. Wait, what?

"Daddy!" The two children raced towards the front door, tackling the man in a hug.

"Oh wow, I think you two got heavier." He choked out, playfully.

"I DIDN'T GET FAT! It's only been like, 6 hours since I've seen you!" Nina complained, much to the man's amusement. Lucy just remained on the couch unable to even stand.

"Hey there Luce," Natsu gave her an endearing smile, "Did you miss me?"

The celestial mage felt her mouth move but no words came out. This was inconceivable. She had anticipated it but somehow, it was still hard to accept.

"Come on kids, it's almost 8 – Time for bed!" He shooed the children off to their rooms before heading straight for Lucy's direction. What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to say? What was she supposed to think?

"What, cat got your tongue? Happy's still at the guild y'know."

"W-what I don't-" And just like the other time, he caught her lips in a tender kiss. This time however, it felt different, warmer and somehow, more filled with love. Maybe that was because this time, she kissed him back. Goodness, she'd have to mull over this later.

"Sorry I'm back late," He spoke tiredly while hugging her, "Erza got me and Gray to work on her house. Ugh. Jellal is such a crappy husband. And then Juvia- oh god. Snow-cone should seriously work on giving his fiancée some more attention." His grumbles made Lucy laugh, something that she had not done at all during the whole scenario thing.

"What?" He glared at her, "Do you think that it's funny?"

She gave him an amused smile.

"Well, I think I'll have to go and have a talk with Erza if she's working you so hard that you'll come through the door rather than the window."

He only rolled his eyes at her reply before carrying her off to their room.

"We're getting some rest."

Okay, seriously?! She had fallen asleep like a normal human but she still felt like shit. Her body ached everywhere and her head felt like it was going to split into a million pieces. It made her wonder if she was stuck in a cycle of scenarios which would make her suffer from more pain after each one was over. And then it would repeat itself until her head spontaneously combusted. Ugh. Not a good thought.

"Ughhhh….Okay, this beats the rest of the scenarios." She placed an arm over her eyes but it did little to lessen the pain.

"LUCY!" She heard several people shout.

"Okay, okay people! Time out. I feel so confused and tired and god, even talking hurts. Am I dead?"

"Okay, she's delirious." The blonde would have rolled her eyes at Gray's reply if she didn't feel so horrible. If her eyes were open, she would have seen Erza send him a death glare.

"Gray, go pay more attention to your fiancée." Lucy grumbled out.

"Okay, she's really delirious." Erza confirmed with a nod.

"And Erza, get Jellal to build you a new house – He's your husband for a reason." The blonde continued to murmur.

"W-what?! W-Wendy. Lucy needs some medical attention! There's something seriously wrong with her!" The red-head spluttered.

"Lucy-san, are you feeling alright?" The youngest dragonslayer was by her side almost immediately, checking on her pulse.

The blonde raised a brow, eyes now on the girl.

"Wendy, why are you checking my pulse? I don't think it'll tell you anything."

"Ssh, Lucy-san, it'll convince Gray-san and Erza-san that I'm actually doing something." Okay, Lucy sure didn't see that one coming. Wendy proceeded to shoo the two out before attending to Lucy.

"You know, they were really worried about you - Happy as well," The dragonslayer brought her a glass of water before continuing, "And of course, I only told them that you got hit on the head but I wanted to make sure that the spell didn't give you any weird side effects." Okay, wait, what?

"Uh…What spell?" The blonde questioned, looking quite confused. Before Wendy was able to answer, the door to the guild infirmary slammed open.

"You're awake!"

Ah yes. The being that had been the cause of her confusion, irregular heartbeats and cold-sweat had finally made his appearance. Natsu zoomed right to her side, hand on her head.

"Does it hurt?" His voice was a mixture of concern and anger (which was most likely not directed at her) and it honestly confused her. For some reason, she had seen so many sides of him in such a short amount of time and she didn't even know if it was a part of reality. It was undeniable however, that each scenario had put her on the edge. Her stress levels had peaked long ago. And that was probably why she snapped at him.

"Well, since you're touching it…yes?" Again. She saw the same expression that she had seen not too long ago and it made her feel so guilty. Lucy bit her lip, angry at herself and at everything that had somehow transpired.

"I-" Wendy cut her off before she could say anything.

"Natsu-san, she needs some rest – I'm sure she's been through a lot and I need to explain several things to her so could you please give us 10 minutes?" Natsu begrudgingly agreed and dragged his feet to the door. Lucy's guilt magnified.

"You see Lucy-san," Wendy took a seat by her side, "When you were on your way back from the Hargeon mission with Team Natsu, you were attacked. I heard it was one of the dark mages that managed to escape but he hit you on the head pretty hard. You also got some small injuries from the previous fight but when I was treating you, I noticed that he had also placed a spell on you."

Suddenly, all the memories rushed back to Lucy. She had been on a mission of all things! She wasn't drunk the previous night nor had she gotten married to Natsu and dare she say it…started a family with him. This was reality. Her realisation that all the 'scenarios' had been a figment of her imagination however, did not bring her joy. Rather, she felt disappointed. A part of her was relieved that she was back yet another part of her felt as if she had lost something meaningful. Mavis, did she just admit that she missed the relationship that she and 'scenario Natsu' shared. Lucy gasped, placing a hand over her mouth and it was without saying that she was once again, as red as a tomato.

"Are you alright?!" Wendy looked over at her with concern in her eyes but Lucy waved her off. "Continue."

"Well, it was a time-warp spell but it was rather strange because it also contained elements which would influence the mind. I didn't tell the others because I wasn't sure of the effects and I really wanted to ask Levy-san for some help but she's on a mission right now."

Lucy took some time to absorb the information. A time-warp spell? So she wasn't delirious and her wonderful imagination wasn't conjuring up some weird fantasies?

"I-I'm fine Wendy. Thanks for taking care of me," Lucy gave her a reassuring smile, "Can you get Natsu for me?"

Looking quite relieved, the young girl left for the door but not before saying, "Natsu-san was worried about you the most."

Lucy's heart skipped a beat but this time, she understood the meaning behind it. She gave Wendy a warm smile, shocking the younger girl.

"I know."

As per usual, please tell me if you spot any mistakes! :D I will jump to it like a super Senbei and patch it up.

So, the important notice: I am receiving my marks by phone in half an hour (12:00am) and I may/may not have failed food engineering. Likewise with Cup Ramen. Seriously, why on EARTH do we have to do engineering when we're studying to be food technologists? *Flips table* I don't know. Numbers don't agree with me and that was my last exam. Imagine going on holidays with the prospect of having to take a supplementary exam of all things! *RIPS OUT HAIR* GOD. NO. And I'm not even sure if I'll be able to pass that. *CRY CRY CRY*. So please, if you have the heart to comfort a very, very nervous and potentially heart-broken Senbei x Cup Ramen, please review! A smiley face will do or if you didn't like it, a frowny face? It's all up to you *Bites handkerchief*. WE LOVE YOU ALL!

Check out our bloggie as well (link is on profile) - I will update that soon :D !

Also, this may have a sequel (I kind of promised Cup Ramen a while ago that it will have one but I have no ideas yet). Do you guys want a sequel? :O