Family

Chapter Two

Vow

Their plan to leave Magnolia worked to perfection. They met. They walked into the empty building, and they shot away – after Lucy had aped some of her fiance's power. He said it was weird to look at a double of himself. She'd gotten used to it.

They landed in the capital too late to get married. Government offices were all closed for the night. Not that she was unaware of that or that she was so impatient for something she had not even expected to happen.

She was scared. As had already been observed, multiple times.

And understandably! Raised to the idea of an arranged marriage, but fought her entire life against it. Yet, here she was, marrying a man for practical reasons, not emotional ones.

"Lucy?" he said from outside the bathroom, where she was currently hiding in the tub.

"Yeah?" she called back.

"I'm going out for a bit. Hungry. Want anything to eat?"

It was late, but honestly, she hadn't been stable enough to eat all day. She was really hungry, now that he mentioned it. And restaurants, unlike government offices, were open late in Crocus. "Strawberry soda and some kind of solid food. I'm hungry. Don't care what."

"Alright. Be back."

"'K."

She heard the door slam.

"Not true," she told herself, replying to earlier thoughts. "There are emotional reasons. Like he said. Family." She'd liked the way he said the word. The way he owned it.

And she could have, as she said, picked anyone. Laxus had a curse, too, yes. But she also trusted him. As a guildmate. Cared for him in that way. Knew he would protect her, if that was what was called for, and would do her best to do the same for him. And if her curse carried through, she was fairly certain that his trials with his own father would keep him with their child if she died. Even if that child had her face. As she had the face of her mother, her father's wife.

Trust, care, a feeling of safety.

When he kissed her...

She trembled.

It wasn't like the arranged marriages when she was a little girl. Sure, she hadn't fallen in love with Laxus. This was desperation and selfishness. But he was better than anything her father would have picked.

He was flawed. Cocky – with reason, yes, but it would rile her, she could already tell – and stoic wouldn't pair well with dreamy and emotional. But the need behind the arrangement might make it work.

She could very easily imagine herself falling for him, dreamy and emotional as she was.

Sighing, she crawled out of the bath, dressed, and went into the bedroom.

Laxus had offered two rooms. She had snorted and called him an unexpected romantic, while blushing. Two beds, she said – still blushing – was fine for the night. They could do the license when the offices opened, and then maybe since they said they'd be gone a week, they would go somewhere else.

She didn't use the word honeymoon, but she had thought it very loudly. He had agreed. She'd kept her excited (frightened) cheers to herself, inside her own head, too.

She was sitting on her bed reading a book when he ducked into the room an hour later. Literally ducked.

"We should have found a taller hotel," she teased as he tossed a bag of what smelled like a burger and fries next to her and put the soda on the table between their beds.

"Eh, I'm used t'it."

"Yeah. I wonder how Elfman manages anymore. I mean he has to go sideways through some of the doors in the back rooms of the guild!"

"You been to their house?" he asked as he started in on his own food.

"No?"

"They altered all of the doors for him. Expanded his room, too." He flashed her a sharp grin. "Got Ever drunk a few months ago, and she said they'd had to replace his bed four times."

"They'd."

He laughed, "That's what Bix said, but she was too sloshed for subtle jabs. I'm not sure it was the extra muscle either... well..."

Her skin blistered with heat, but she laughed. "With MIRA in the house, though? I know Evergreen is your teammate, and I mean no offense, but... is she really that brave? Cuz I don't think Elfman is at all."

"Brave don't have shit to do with it. With Ever? Stubborn. Belligerent."

"Big word," she told her straw.

"Freed," he sneered.

"Ha!" she snorted, almost spitting her soda. "He calls Evergreen belligerent? To her face? And he isn't decorating Fairy Hills' front lawn as a statue?"

"He was also drunk; neither of them remember it. Or at least they have a mutual agreement to pretend like they've forgotten it."

"Huh." She smiled. "He is funny drunk. Though, I've only seen it a few times. Very demanding and energetic."

"And you? What are you like drunk?"

She tilted her head to the side, "I don't really know. According to Natsu, I make him treat me like a cat or something. He pretty much refuses to talk about it. Natsu and Gray both hate it when Erza, Juvia, and I get any sake. Oh! But Carla is hilarious!"

"...you've gotten the little girl's exheed drunk."

"Yup. She turns into a little empress and forces Happy to act like a horse and carry her around. Someone recorded it. Poor Happy."

"You don't sound all that sad," he observed.

She laughed, "I'll find the recording and show you, and you'll get it. Plus that cat deserves a bit of embarrassment now and again as payback. What about you drunk?"

"Can't really get drunk. Metabolism's too high."

"Like, as a dragon slayer? Because Wendy can-"

"You got Wendy drunk?!" His eyes were huge in his head. He looked so alarmed that it was comical. And a bit cute.

"Well I didn't."

Still horrified, he explained, "I don't think it's dragon slayer specific, but I've never seen Natsu more than buzzed for a minute or two."

"Makes sense." She finished her burger. He finished his three.

He tossed her a box.

"Here."

"What is it?"

"It's spur of the moment for us, but the letter means it should be something we kinda thought about, right? Only makes sense there'd be a ring-"

Maybe he was still talking. She was no longer listening.

It wasn't fancy, as in elaborate, but it was without doubt unique.

White gold set with what looked like a quarter-carat pale pink diamond, bordered by chip-small canary diamonds that flashed golden light around that faint-glowing rose.. The design itself was simple. Were they regular diamonds, completely unremarkable. As they were, however...

"Laxus," she whispered, finally looking from the ring, up to his face. "You..." again, she considered saying something like you shouldn't have or let me help pay for it, which would lessen the value of the gift. "It is beautiful. Perfect."

She pulled it from the cushion in the box, and slid it onto the proper finger. Admiring how the colors looked against her skin and how the diamond sparkled in the room's light. She grinned.

She almost cried.

She slid off of her bed and leaned over to him, placing her lips firmly to his. He stayed very still.

Nervous, she realized. The fear she had was starting to touch him, too.

"Thank you, Laxus."

When she would have gone back to her own bed, he finally moved to grab her left hand and pull her back to him.

This kiss was like the one in the office. It left her gasping. Weak. Half on fire. And she knew what it was like, to be on fire. She ached with promises, and all he touched was her fingers and her mouth.

She wasn't going to have to worry about curses, she thought giddily as he released her and told her good night. She was going to die the next day when he touched her... No way was she surviving that.

0000

They woke early, both of them. In fact, neither had gotten much in the way of sleep. They ate, Laxus had picked up fruit and water the night before to stand as a basic breakfast, and then they dressed.

Though it wasn't a real wedding, or a wedding at all, it was still a marriage. Lucy wanted to look nice when she signed that particular contract. She … She... Now that she truly understood the rules of the curse, she couldn't be certain her mother loved her father when they married. What she was doing now, her mother could have done then. But there was absolutely no question that her father had loved her mother. It was why he had mourned so deeply and so darkly. It was why he had never remarried, or even considered doing so.

Like her father, Lucy had no intentions of doing this a second time, even though this wasn't a marriage of love, and even if her plan was successful. Like her mother, she would make this man into a partner, and come to love him as best she could.

Lucy knew that her heart was her strongest asset, and thought maybe she could take the tragedy of her parents and make it right. The lessons of her childhood and make them a foundation for her new life.

"Virgo."

"Yes, Princess." The pink-haired spirit arrived, dress already in hand. They always best-knew what she needed. Lucy smiled.

"It's beautiful."

Virgo's nod was brusque, "We all thought so, Princess."

Light filled the bathroom, and she straightened her shoulders to deal with Loke, who had been against the plan from the start. Because it was Laxus. Because he was protective. But he had no alternatives to offer her. Not when her death was the end option.

"I don't like it," were his first words. He was scowling, but she knew the expression wasn't aimed at her – or the dress – but the situation.

"I'm aware. And I'd appreciate if you remembered I'm the one living this, Loke. But it's happening. It was his suggestion," she offered. "He didn't want to not be a part of the child's life."

Loke's scowl deepened. "There's no guarantee he'll be a good husband or father."

"There is no guarantee anyone will be a good spouse or parent. We're both going into this with open eyes, at least. We've both experienced some of the worst examples of parenting, so we know what not to do, and we've seen hints of good parenting – Mama, Master, Bisca and Alzak. We'll have help, friends, which our fathers wouldn't accept even if they had any.

"If I die, still, he won't be alone, like father was. His team wouldn't let him be alone, and my team wouldn't let him lock away my daughter or son from the light the way I was. No matter the outcome of the curse, both curses … it has to be better in this generation than in the last. He's not Ivan. He's not my father. You have to at least acknowledge that, Loke."

The foul expression did not fade. "I don't like that you are marrying without love."

"I'm not. I'm not in love with him, but I'm not without love. He's of the guild, and I love that aspect of him. He is saving me, and that fills my heart. He proposed, Loke, when all I asked for was sex. All I asked for was sex and what he heard was family. That connects us, deeply. This will not be a marriage without my love."

Finally her lion wilted. "Fine. Fine. But if he hurts you..."

"You'll have help, I'm sure," she smiled. Another man she wouldn't insult by forbidding his need to protect her. That was his natural, driving imperative.

"Go away, Loke. I need to get dressed."

"I could..."

"Go away, Loke."

He finally smiled and after he faded away a light reading I love Lucy most remained.

It cheered her as she readied herself for the short trip to the office. She called out Cancer, who softened her hair slightly, and added a small sparkling hair pin, but otherwise left her hair down and loose. Nothing fancy, but still very attractive. Like her ring. Looking at it made her smile.

When she left the bathroom, she found Laxus waiting in black slacks, a white button down, and a black blazer. She wasn't surprised by his clothing, or how good it looked on him, not really. It was just odd to see him in something like a blazer. Button downs, yes. His coat, yes. Blazer?

He looked nice, though.

"You look nice," she decided to tell him.

"Ditto."

Such a way with words.

"I think my spirits matched the ring on purpose," she told him, indicating the yellow accents on the pale-pink sundress.

"Or they just know you like those colors."

She laughed, "Or that." Looking at him, more seriously at him, she asked, "Nervous?"

"No." He was scowling.

"Liar."

He glared more, but she just rolled her eyes deciding to ignore it.

"Ready?"

"Mmm-hmm," she nodded, picking up her bag. They wouldn't be returning to the room.

"Where do you want to go after?"

She flashed him a devious grin, "I was kind of thinking Shirotsume. There's a wonderful hot spring there, you know."

That stopped him in his tracks.

"And it's one of the towns closest to Blue Pegasus."

"Oh?" She made her eyes wide. "Really?"

"Lucy."

"Ah?"

"If Ichiya, who loves hot springs, or any other Blue Pegasus mage sees us before Gramps, they..."

"Yes?"

"You realize me dying so soon goes against your plans. I have to be alive for at least a little while."

"True. True. But I was thinking … rumor, confirmation. Master Bob and Ichiya are the closest mages to our guild. More-so now that you and yours spent a year there."

They walked casually the fourteen blocks to the nearest government office. Laxus tilted his head to the side, lifting his chin slightly to indicate a coffee shop across from the office. People were staring.

"I think the story will spread without any help from us," he murmured, holding open the door for her. "I'm willing to bet..." he thought, "dinner, all weekend, that it shows up in tomorrow's paper."

He didn't quite smile, but there was humor in his eyes. "I'm pretty famous, Lucy, and you're popular yourself."

She considered. "You make a good point. A very good point. Such a good point that I challenge that Jason will release an evening edition flier for Crocus on the issue that will be the basis of the papers tomorrow."

That did make him laugh.

They were, though they had left early, fourth in line at the clerk's desk. Now, she was terrified. Teasing aside, she was terrified.

She reached out for his hand, and he allowed her to take it.

He was trembling. Her eyes widened, but she didn't say a word about it, just leaned closer.

"Master will be in his office in an hour," she whispered.

"More like two," Laxus corrected. "Mira ordered whiskey, which came in yesterday, and he stole a bottle. Saw him do it. She'll be pissed, and he'll be sleeping it off. I made sure to lock up behind me, though. No one'll see the letter before he does."

"I left a short note at my place, too," she told him. "Not as many details, just that I was going away for a bit and to check the guild for more information. Natsu might have found it by now. He was only going to be away from town with Happy for a day. It's hard to predict how long he takes to travel. Happy's speed isn't as regular as a train schedule. And their attention wanders. If he's found it..."

"They won't suspect Crocus, and they can't get here so fast."

"Mmm." Only two ahead of them. And those two, like everyone else in the room, were beginning to pay more attention to them than to the clerk.

Them. Their hands. The ring. Laxus was very right. This wasn't staying a secret. People would know before they signed the paperwork because the people in front of them would-

Lucy smiled at those two people who were staring and in front of them.

"Excuse me," she said in a bright, sweet voice, "but do you mind if me and this giant here cut in line? We've got reservations we really don't want to miss." Almost in a daze, they nodded, and she put a hand, her sparkling left hand, to her heart in gratitude. "Thank you so much!"

Laxus blinked, and she pulled him to the counter as it freed up.

"We are here to get married," she told the old woman. Breathless. Shaking like a leaf.

Bored and hardly paying attention, only person in the office who wasn't since she was completely focused on her desk, the woman pulled out a form and a pen.

"Fill this out."

Lucy quickly read through the contract finding nothing surprising. It was purely legal in nature. She quickly filled out her own information, leaving the address section blank with a raised eyebrow at Laxus, who nodded. Her doorways were far too small for him. She giggled.

She quickly considered the matter of surname but decided to take his after playing with the idea of hyphenation. Father had been all about hyphenating to show the power of a combined family, but that wasn't what this was about. And she knew Laxus had struggled with his own surname and its own fame and infamy. She would do her part to make it a family name. A name of closeness instead of a name for headlines.

You know, after it made these headlines. Of course.

With a slight smile, and chewing the inside of her cheek, she signed the document Lucy Dreyar.

Power welled up beside her, but never turned into electricity. She gave him the pen when she was certain he wouldn't destroy it, and pushed him the paper when she was certain he wouldn't fry it.

She watched him write, which she hadn't really taken the occasion to do when they wrote the note the day before. His hand was firm, and regimented, which was unsurprising. But the characters were interestingly curved, and certain ones, t's and a's for example, connected to their following characters in most cases.

The style resulted in an unexpectedly attractive and pleasantly readable script.

His signature was equally firm and certain.

When the clerk reviewed the document, she finally looked up. Her mouth open in shock.

"I... I..."

"It okay?" Laxus rumbled.

Lucy reached up to touch the small woman's wrinkled hand. "What do we do next?"

"Oral portion of the contract..." she said, which made sense to Lucy. That was generally how she defined contracts. "Ummm..." the woman flipped through her book, though she had surely done this hundreds of times before.

Lucy noticed Laxus' faint smirk. The woman being flustered to such a degree had stilled his own nerves. She felt much the same.

"Now," the woman put her finger on a paragraph. "Repeat after me, Lucy: I, Lucy-"

"I, Lucy-" she refused to allow her voice to shake.

"-vow to bind myself-"

"-vow to bind myself-"

"-to this man-"

"-to this man-" she looked at him, smiling.

"-following the laws of Fiore-"

"-following the laws of Fiore-"

"-and those of the heart and soul."

She didn't hesitate because what she had told Loke had not been untrue. Her heart was part of this. "-and those of the heart and soul."

"And now Laxus," she turned to him. "I, Laxus-"

"I, Laxus-"

Lucy almost gasped, because a feeling rose inside her, inside of her where her power lived, responding to the strength of his voice and the cadence of the oath. Her magic understood what this was, even if Laxus wasn't a celestial spirit, and the magic, celestial or not, had perked up to listen to him.

"-vow to bind myself to this woman-"

"-vow to bind myself to this woman-"

"-following the laws of Fiore-"

"-following the laws of Fiore-"

"-and those of the heart and soul."

"-and those of the heart and soul."

And, for the first time, Lucy made a contract with a human.

From his pocket he pulled rings, which he hadn't mentioned, but she should have known he'd bought. He reached for her hand and added a second, pale-yellow gold band to sit with the one he'd given her the night before. When he would have slipped his own on, she snatched it from him and put it on properly, herself.

No. It wasn't a wedding, but a few things she could have. She grabbed the collar of his blazer and pulled him down far enough so that she could, on tip-toe, stretch up to kiss him.

When he lifted her slightly, she heard clapping. And when he placed her carefully back on her own two feet, there were cheers. Lucy heard the loud thuds of a stamp hitting hard against a table, validating their contract, and the clerk handed them a witnessed document.

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Dreyar."

There were echos of that as they escaped the office into a side street

"Where are we going?" he asked again.

"Mountains. My team would never look for me in the mountains."

Laxus nodded. "Went training in the mountains a little over a year ago. Know a place. Never stayed there, but it has hot springs, since you seem to like that sort of thing, and has a very good rep."

"Yes. Then that's the place. She lifted her bag and pulled out her Gemini key. Once again, Laxus appeared unnerved at the spirits' version of him, but it did the trick. Moments later, they were in front of a snowy mountain lodge. A very large, stuck in the mountain, super ritzy, snowy mountain lodge.

"Think we can rely on their discretion?" she asked only slightly sarcastically.

"Eh?"

"I was wondering if maybe you should sign in alone. Communication lacrima are a thing, after all."

He grinned. "At this point? It'll be out tonight or tomorrow, remember, and if it gets out that we're here, we'll just move."

"Or we could just plan to move," she suggested. "Stay two days, maybe go to a lake or forest one? There are some caves in the northwest I've always meant to see..."

Privately, she was recalling stories of bridal journeys, month or maybe longer trips following a wedding giving a couple time to get to know one another. Traditionally for arranged marriages of royalty, lesser nobles, and then wealthy business folk had taken up the practice from time to time.

"Sounds like a plan. No way the old man's going to be able to keep the whole guild inside. If it were anyone else and he could command Freed's help, maybe-"

"But that's not going to work if Freed's one of the first ones trying to break down the door," she agreed. They walked to the resort entrance, and he opened the door for her.

She nodded her thanks.

0000X0000

Author's Note:

I am about to get on a plane. Just in case... since accidents are a thing.

(EDT: I made it back with no accidents! Also, chapter 465 dropped and the info on Layla didn't ruin my plot... so far, it wasn't much info... GOOD STUFF! Also, our first look EVER at a little Gajeel. HOLY CRAP MONKEYS! WHAT A CUTIE!)

So... they're married... :pops champagne: yay!

Thanks for the support so far! I was SHOCKED when within minutes to an hour of posting this I had like a dozen faves and follows... and in less than a day I had over a dozen reviews. It happened super fast. Floored by the sudden support by what technically isn't even a romance. It's listed as drama/family and not "romance" for a reason. These two characters are friendly and have mutual goals, they can enjoy each other physically, but they don't know each other enough right now to be in love. It's going to take a bit, maybe for that to happen.

Things may get a little heated in the next chapter, but won't go full lemon, or even really citrusy, because I CANNOT do that. I SUUUUUCK at that. Sorry...

NOW! I had quite a few Guest reviewers right off the bat who I couldn't directly respond to, but I like to thank still, so to those reviewers I just want to acknowledge and give my absolute appreciation to!

Person, Guest, Moon, justloverly

Y'all are awesome. Thanks!