A/N: I've noticed that my three favorite pieces of writing I've done have all surrounded a verbal fight between the characters, like, not fighting with each other, but frustrated at their situation and taking the frustration out through their words.

"Lucy, you can't."

Lucy gasped as Natsu took her by surprise and cornered her in the hallway. She had really hoped Natsu wouldn't find out. She'd been avoiding him all day just to prevent this confrontation.

Not because she wanted to keep away from him, no, she'd never want that, but because she didn't think she could handle this conversation.

"You can't, Luce," he repeated, grabbing her forearm, sensing her wish to run from him.

"We… can't talk here…" she whispered, stubbornly trying to will away the tears that filled her eyes.

"Then we'll go to your quarters," and Lucy didn't get to say anything before he dragged his princess away.

That's who she was. A princess. Far higher in the court than he, a mere manservant to the royal family.

Lady Lucienne Heartfilia, Crown Princess of Bosco, and Natsu Dragneel, nothing but a servant.

Natsu didn't take much care as he swung the door to her chambers open and pushed her inside. A quick glance around to make sure of an absence of maids, and he stole her lips with a kiss.

When they were alone, titles didn't matter. No Princess Heartfilia and no Servant Dragneel. They were just Lucy and Natsu.

And they were desperately in love.

If the palace found out, she'd be scandalized and he'd be beheaded, certainly.

Lucy whined against his lips as her tears fell freely, pushing against his chest and turning her face away.

"We can't do this anymore, Natsu…"

"Bullshit," he growled, holding her cheek in a gentle manner that didn't match the anger in his voice and expression.

"I'm engaged, Natsu," she whimpered.

"To a man you'll never love," he growled again, hands tensing and his hold on her arm tighter.

"It's not up to me."

"That isn't fair."

"It's not my choice."

"That isn't fair." Natsu tried to lift her chin to look her in the eyes, but she refused his goading.

"That doesn't matter," she whispered, barely heard by Natsu. "It's not my choice."

"What would you do if it was?" he demanded, anger and frustration still evident, and a watery edge to his voice giving away the tears he'd held back.

"It doesn't matter what I would do."

"And if it did?" he further urged.

"Then I would… Then I would…" Lucy burst into a harder sob. She couldn't say it. It could never happen.

"Then you would marry me?" he whispered huskily in her ear. She barely heard it, but the words were powerful. He'd never completely asked her to marry him in such a way. It only brought on fuller waves of salty streams down her cheeks because she knew it couldn't happen. "Answer me, Lucy, please."

"yes…" she forced through her throat, choked with tears. "Yes, I would!" Lucy collapsed against his chest, sobbing into his shirt as she clutched it tight in her grip. She felt Natsu press a trembling kiss to the top of her head and wrap his shaky arms around her.

"Then do that," he suggested as delicately as a gossamer-winged glass fairy, like one single word from her would shatter him.

"I can't, Natsu, I can't," she sobbed.

His heart clenched tightly at her answer. "We can."

"I can't…" she repeated again. "The kingdom…"

"The kingdom will be fine. You even said so yourself that the Duke Eucliffe is far more fit to rule." Lucy had said that. Her cousin was well on his way to being a wonderful and benevolent king. The only thing preventing that was the fact that she was next in line. As soon as she left, it would be he who'd be heir. "We'll run away. The dead of night. We'll run to Fiore, make a life there. No one will find us."

"You underestimate my father, Natsu."

"And you underestimate me. You underestimate how much I love you."

Natsu carefully took his arms from her, moving to the wide window beside the bed and quietly swinging it open.

"We could slip away right now, and no one would be any the wiser."

And then he was silent, watching her, waiting for a reaction.

Lucy furiously rubbed at her dripping eyes, trying to keep her sobs at bay, before collapsing on the floor in a puddle of skirt, cries quite audible. Natsu could hear trembling whimpers of "I can't," mixed in with the incoherent wails.

Natsu moved back to her, taking the hands she was crying into and insisting once again that, "We can."

"No! I can't risk them hurting you!" Lucy wept.

He pulled her in for another tight embrace. "And I can't have you used and trapped and unhappy for the rest of your life," he spoke softly into her ear. "I refuse to let that happen."

Lucy shook in his arms as more wails wracked her body.

"But-"

"But nothing, Luce. I love you. I love you so godforsaken much that I am ready and willing to risk absolutely everything if it means we can be together and happy."

Lucy sniffed and looked into his eyes, so full of sincerity and determination and love. Before Lucy knew what she was doing, she was pulling his face to hers in another fierce, desperate kiss.

"I…" Lucy sniffed and rubbed at her eyes again before letting out another choked sob and resting against his chest.

"Luce, just don't worry about what could happen to me, to us. Think about what we will have. What we can finally have."

Lucy did think. She thought about fleeting kisses left in secret. She thought about hopes and wishes whispered between lovers on quiet nights. She thought about dreams that graced her sleep and made her heart wrench in the morning time because of how impossible they were.

But they could be possible. If she only took the risk.

Natsu's heart leapt as he felt Lucy nod against his chest.

"Okay," she whispered.

"Okay?" he repeated, almost scared he'd misheard her.

Lucy nodded again, lifting her head up and wiping again at her lingering tears. When she opened her eyes to him, he saw a new beautiful light in them.

"I can do this," she said, voice almost shaky.

"You can do this," he reassured.

They were going to do this.

"We can," they announced together, determined.

Thank you for reading!