Chapter 3: Holding Off

Lucy was set to meet with Damien, the heir to the Tobias estate, a few days after her meeting with Rayf. Lucy summoned Loke because she didn't want to go alone.

"Do you mind if you stand guard while I meet Damien today?" Lucy asked Loke. "I don't think I can trust these people and I don't want to be alone with them."
"Of course, princess," he replied. "If it was brawns that you needed, why didn't you ask Natsu? Compared to a handsome devil like me, Natsu's face is much scarier."
Lucy thought about Loke's question. "I would ask Natsu for help under normal circumstances..." Lucy's mind wandered off at the thought of her pink haired friend. The reality is if he did come along, Lucy would be too distracted to think straight. "I guess, because this is my family's business, I want to be the one to handle it. I consider you, Capricorn, and the other Stellar Spirits as part of my family."

Loke smiled at Lucy warmly. She was the most benevolent master he's ever had.

"So what's this meeting about?" Loke asked.
"This is my first time meeting Damien. I also asked for him to bring proof that he has possession of my mother's journals."

As usual, the Tobias family arranged for a carriage to fetch Lucy from her apartment to the appointed café. It was a quiet part of Manolia, far away from the Fairy Tail building. Damien was already waiting.

Damien Tobias was a tall, slender young man. He had short black hair, and brown eyes. He was dressed in a short sleeved button up shirt, khakis, and comfortable shoes. His appearance seemed simple and comfortable, but his whole look seemed to compliment his body shape and facial features. It was the exact kind of outfit a professional stylist would put together. Lucy couldn't deny that Damien himself was not so bad looking. He handsome features. Adding in the money that he's entitled to, Lucy could understand why he would be a very attractive prospect for other women.

He was not Lucy's type. She knew this immediately.

As Lucy and Loke approached the table he was sitting at, he stood up. "Are you Miss Heartfilia?" he asked.
"I am," Lucy said, her hand extended out palm down for him to kiss, which is a very upper class social expectation. "You must be Damien."
"You are correct," Damien answered. He pulled out a seat for Lucy to sit down on. He looked over to Loke's direction and nodded in acknowledgement.
"This is Loke," Lucy said. "He's my-"
"Your Stellar Spirit, the Lion," Damien said interrupting her. "He used to work solo with Fairy Tail before you came in and beaome one of the more promising Stellar Spirit mages."
"You seem quite informed," Lucy noted.
Damien smiled at her timidly, almost as if apologizing. "I have to be informed. It's part of the business... Or so I'm told."

Loke bowed and took a seat a few tables away from them to keep watch over Lucy. The first few moments of their meeting was filled with silence and quiet exchanges with the cafe staff over their orders. Despite Lucy's desire to be cordial with Damien, there just wasn't anything for them to talk about.

"Rayf informed me that you wanted to stay a mage even after your marriage," Damien said.
"Yes," Lucy confirmed. "That is one item I won't budge on."
"He must have told you some of the things the upper circles say about mages."
"Yes, he did."
"I have to apologize for his behavior," Damien said. "A lot of people in my position feel that way... I just wanted you to know that I actually admire your occupation."
"Oh," Lucy said, surprised. "Are you interested in magic?"
"I don't know the first thing about magic... But I do know that you gave up a comfortable life in order to pursue your dreams."
"You make it sound cooler than it actually was," Lucy said, chuckling.
"Actually, I admire you for that. When I was reading up on some of your history, I couldn't help wondering to myself what would happen if I had done something else with my life."
"You're not interested in inheriting the family business?"
"It's not that... I don't mind inheriting the business. I spent my whole life preparing for it. I just never considered that I could even choose a different path... Just thinking about it makes me scared of the things I would sacrifice."
"There were a few sacrifices that I had to make," Lucy said. "But I'm very happy where I am."

Lucy was surprised by how laid back Damien was. He seemed timid even, especially compared Rayf. By comparison, she liked dealing with Damien much better.

"Here is one of the journals you requested," Damien said handing her a hardcover notebook.

Lucy wiped off her hands and gently took hold of her mother's journal. Lucy hasn't been in contact with anything related to her family in a long time. To hold her mother's journal filled her with such anticipation. It was as if Lucy were reuniting with her mother… Lucy took a deep breath and flipped to a random page:

July 1, x676

Today I gave birth to a beautiful little girl. The name Jude and I picked seems to fit her perfectly! Lucy Heartfilia… It's strange falling in love with someone who I just met. I think Lucy is going to be that kind of girl.

Lucy's mother's voice echoed in her mind as she read the journal. Lucy was surprised by how much joy filled her heart in remembering her mother. It was to the point that Lucy was tearing up. This was her mother's journal. It was her mother's handwriting. She felt such a deep connection to the journal that she had no doubt that it was genuine. And it became clear to Lucy how important it was for her to recover these journals.

"Are you okay, Miss Heartfilia?" Damien asked.
"I'm fine," she sniffed. "It's been a long while since I've seen something of my mother's…"

Lucy quickly glanced at Damien. It seemed possible for her to simply ask Damien for the journals. Damien didn't sound personally invested in this marriage and he seemed like a nice guy. She took a napkin to wipe of the tears from her face. She looked up at Damien. He was looking back at her intently, concern clearly in his eyes.

Rayf has already prepped Damien for this meeting by feeding him information about me… Lucy thought. I don't know what Damien's intentions are or how much influence Rayf has over him… Lucy looked down at the journal in hand. Perhaps it's too soon to ask him… Until I know I can trust Damien, I won't approach him about it yet…

Damien reached out, indicating he would like the journal back. He was quick to emphasize that it was Rayf who insisted the journal be returned. They finished their food quietly. Lucy eventually stood up to excuses herself from the cafe. She motioned to Loke she was ready to go.

"Thank you for the meal," Lucy said to Damien.
"Shall I send for a carriage?" Damien asked.
"No thanks," Lucy said. "It's a nice day for a walk."

Damien nodded. He smiled at her as she walked away with Loke following behind her. As they got further and further away from the café, Lucy sighed.

"Well, what did you think?" Loke asked.
"He's a nice guy," Lucy replied.
"He seemed to really like you."
"You think?"
"Believe me, Princess, I know these things."
"It's all the better for me, then. I'm thinking I can get on his good side and convince him to give me the journals."
"That's not a bad plan, but I have to warn you," Loke cautioned. "Your plan will get complicated if he ends up falling in love with you."
"I think you're overestimating how much he likes me. I just want to put myself in a good position to get a hold of those journals and any other property they have."
Loke looked at Lucy skeptically. "Why did you leave so soon? You could have scouted him for more information. He obviously was willing to talk to you."
"I need to take on a job today," Lucy said sighing. "My rent is due tomorrow." She turned to Loke. "Thanks for coming out today. You can go back if you like."

Loke gave Lucy a concerned look, which struck Lucy as odd. He cautioned her again to be careful before disappearing back into the Stellar Spirit World.


Natsu had been dazed for the past few days. He and Lucy got hot and heavy the night after her birthday. She pushed him out of her room, saying they would talk about it, but he hasn't seen her since. He didn't know what to think about what had happened and he couldn't get himself to concentrate well enough to take on a job. Without Lucy, Natsu wasn't sure what to do with himself.

Eventually, Natsu decided to go on a walk, though even then his walk turned into aimless wandering around Magnolia. In his aimless wandering, he ended up on the other side of town. It was the bougie part of town that was always quiet and pristine. Natsu had no idea why he ended up here since he normally had no reason to come to this area. It wasn't until he randomly sniffed the air that he noticed he had been unconsciously following a scent extremely similar to Lucy's.

Curious, and slightly anxious to see if it was her, he followed the scent until he came within a block of a little café. It was empty at the moment, save for three people: Loke, Lucy, and a man he didn't recognize. Natsu could feel his nerves tighten at the sight of this man. He didn't know what he had to do with Lucy, but Natsu had an undeniable sense of possessiveness over Lucy. He wasn't used to seeing her with another man that wasn't him.

From the distance he couldn't tell what they were saying. The other man bowed to Lucy and Loke before being taken away by a carriage. Lucy and Loke exchanged a few words before Loke disappeared back to the Stellar Spirit world.

"Lucy," Natsu said as he came closer to her.
"Natsu," Lucy said, surprised. He noticed a slight redness in her cheeks. "What are you doing here?"
"I was on a walk," Natsu said impatiently. "Who was that guy?"

Lucy looked at Natsu. The expression on her face was mix of being serious, sad, and perhaps a little guilty. Natsu could tell that it was an expression meant solely for Natsu that went right over Happy's head. She sat Natsu and Happy down and explained what's been happening to her over the past few days. Natsu heard about the contract, the meeting with Rayf Hitzig, the journals she wanted to recover, and about Damien. Happy seemed to squeal at the novelty of Lucy actually being engaged.

"So you're going to be a rich person's wife?" Happy asked incredulously.
"It hasn't really been decided," Lucy clarified.
"Aren't you happy, Lucy?" Happy asked. "You won't be broke anymore!"
"Being rich isn't all great. There are so many social expectations and you can't choose your own path in life. Damien didn't even realize that he had a choice."
"But you could buy all the fish you want! Right?" Happy squealed.
Lucy let out a defeated laugh. "If I do become rich, I'll get you all the fish you want."
"Yay!"

Natsu said nothing during this exchange. His mind was racing with so many thoughts: Lucy is engaged? Am I happy for her? Am I angry? Had she known about this all along? Why didn't she tell me? Why did she kiss me on her birthday? Does she even like that guy? What the hell is going on?!

Thinking about all this made Natsu's whole body tense. He really wanted to punch someone right now!

"Natsu?" Happy asked quizzically, snapping Natsu out of his thoughts. "Lucy asked if we were doing okay on rent."

Natsu noticed Lucy looking at him. She looked like she had something she wanted to say, but couldn't say in front of Happy.

"We got nothing," Natsu answered in a short, clipped tone.
"Should we all go on a mission?" Lucy suggested mostly to Happy.
"We should!" Happy said.
"Why don't you go to the guild hall and look for a good one," Lucy said. Her eyes not leaving Natsu's. "Make sure it's for tomorrow."
"Aye!"

Happy flew off. It was just Natsu and Lucy now.

"So this is why you didn't want Erza to see me at your apartment," Natsu said in a careful tone. For some reason, he wanted to explode.
"Yes," Lucy said quietly.

Natsu remained quiet. There was a tightness in his temple. So Lucy had known about her engagement even during her birthday. Why didn't she say anything about it to him before? This really bothered Natsu. He didn't realize before because it's never happened, but he actually hated the idea that Lucy was keeping something from him.

"Are you happy about your engagement?" Natsu asked, a strain in his voice.
"No," Lucy replied. "I'm not interested in this marriage at all."

Natsu let out an involuntary scowl, though at the same time he was relieved.

"I don't like this," Natsu said. "I don't like that guy and I definitely don't like that you're engaged to him. Why can't you just refuse him? Don't do things you don't want to do."
"I want to get my family's personal property back. My mother…" Lucy said. "Her journals were handed over to their estate and I want them back."
"Then I'll bust in there myself and take them for you," Natsu burst out, pounding his fist onto the table. "If anyone gets in the way, I'll kick his ass."

Lucy looked at Natsu a little stunned. He was more agitated than he realized.

"I wish we could do that, but I don't know what they have or where it's all at… " Lucy's voice trailed off. "Are you angry?" Lucy asked.
"No," Natsu answered. "Not at you."

Lucy looked away. Natsu could still she was feeling guilty.

"I…" Natsu started. "When I saw you with that guy, I was getting really angry." Even now, Natsu found himself needing to breathe deeply to keep himself calm. "I wanted to go up to him and bash him in the face. The only reason why I didn't was because I thought he might be your friend and that you would get mad." Natsu looked up at Lucy. "I don't know what to think about your engagement. I know I'm not happy about it."

Lucy stood up to sit next to Natsu. He was sitting on a bench style chair, so she was able to slide close next to him, their hips touching each other. She gently touched her fingers on his hand. Somehow, Natsu instantly relaxed.

Lucy leaned in closer to Natsu, her voice a whisper now. "I'm sorry…" she said. "I'm not happy about it either. I didn't think they would continue with the marriage contract. I hope you don't think I misled you on my birthday... That kiss… And all of those other kisses were real."

Natsu gazed at Lucy. They've known each other for years and never once did Lucy express a desire to kiss or be intimate with anyone. Not with him or anyone else he's seen her interact with. Then she kissed him on her birthday and now she's engaged to someone else. All of this, all at once was making Natsu's head dizzy.

"Please bear with me until this is over…" she whispered. "I wanted everything that happened on my birthday. I probably should have waited until after the marriage contract was settled before trying to kiss you… But at that time, I don't think I could hold back any longer…" Lucy laughed at the irony. "Now I have to wait until I can get my family's property back. I won't force you to wait for me..."

Lucy turned to face Natsu, a wistful expression on her face. Her face so close, he could feel her warm breath on his lips.

"I can wait," Natsu said, not daring to move his face away from hers. "I can wait as long as you want me to."

For a brief second, Natsu thought he saw Lucy's eyes go cloudy. It was as if she wasn't herself. Natsu thought it was a little strange, but he was distracted by Lucy's lips brushing against his. The second their lips touch, Natsu could feel Lucy's body change dramatically from being normal to being insistent that their bodies touched. Responding to Lucy's body, Natsu reached up to take her into his arms. He could feel her jolt underneath his palm. It was as if she snapped out of a spell. Lucy pulled back and stared at Natsu with a bewildered expression on her face. Her breathing was heavy and she appeared to be really flush. Natsu handed her a napkin to wipe off the sweat on her brow.

"Right..." Lucy chastised herself. "I can't do that anymore…" She stood up and started heading home. "I know this is going to be hard, but let's try to act normal, okay?"

Natsu nodded. He couldn't help thinking that the pained expression on her face was real.


A/N: I really struggled with this chapter because I have a really hard time writing characters like Natsu. He is probably going to be OOC in this story. His usual goofiness doesn't quite fit with the slightly serious tone I tend to write. Apologies if that kind of thing bothers you! That's my limitation as a writer, I guess.