"Never forget that the most powerful force on earth is love."
-Nelson Rockefeller
Summary
A few years after everything had happened, the famed power couple of Fairy Tail Natsu and Lucy are having "The Wedding of the Century" as the magazines put it. As preparations are set, the guests arrived, and the countdown to the aisle starts, join Fairy Tail as they embark on a different type of adventure!
A Very Fairy Wedding
by
Magnafeana
Chapter Three
Most Powerful Magic
The place they had chosen for taking the remainder of their wedding photos was picturesque. It was near the edge of land that ended right where the beach began. The sun was still in the sky and the crashing of waves and cawing of seagulls were everywhere, but the wind was gentle, caressing skin with kisses that were not hot or cold. Jason Weekly was off catching up those who watched wedding on Lacrima-Vision along with other magazines and news reporters, but he gave Natsu and Lucy the best photographer of Sorcerer Weekly.
"Okay, everyone, I have met all of you before, but I'll say it again: I'm Monica," a young woman introduced, giving them all a blinding smile and brushing back violet hair. "I am the executive photographer for Sorcerer Weekly and I am honored to be the photographer of the wedding between Fairy Tail's Salamander and Celestial Maiden."
"Thank you for joining us today," Lucy put in as her husband gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "It means a lot to us."
Natsu nodded his appreciation, too infatuated with giving Lucy kisses to vocalize his thanks.
Monica nodded back at him and turned to the rest of the people behind them. "Let's start with my beautiful bridesmaids. And where is my Maid and Matron of Honor?"
Levy and Mira raised their hands.
Monica smiled at them and beckoned them forward as Erza, Cana, and Juvia walked up to her, their bouquets in hand. "Why don't we get you lovely ladies in this first shot? And how about we add the bride too? We can do a women's shot first."
Lucy perked up at the idea and left Natsu's side to grab her bouquet from Levy and walk up with her to their standing spot. Monica took her camera off her tripod and began positioning the ladies in the spots she wanted them in, moving them all left or right.
Natsu sighed, his eyes trailing after the ever-smiling Lucy. That woman was now his wife. She was now Mrs. Natsu Dragneel forevermore. It was all so…weird to him.
Natsu did not need to turn his head to know Sting approached him. The White Dragon Slayer put an arm on Natsu's shoulder and took up the same line of vision at the bride and her friends as they all stood in a line and smiled at the camera. "She really is beautiful," Sting acknowledge in a sigh.
"Yeah, I know." Natsu turned to growl at Sting, "And she's mine too."
Sting raised his hands in surrender. "I know, I know. I have my own lady, so as much as yours is tempting, I'd rather not ruin it."
Natsu smirked at him. "I thought I smelled Yukino's scent on you when you came back to the hotel room. What? Going to see her was that 'errand' of yours?" he jested.
"So what?" Sting asked.
Natsu shrugged his best with Sting's arm propped up on one of his shoulders. His onyx eyes traced after Lucy still as Monica called for the flower girls to join the picture. Asuka seemed excited at the prospect of being in the picture while Aine walked up quietly. The two girls were quite opposites. Asuka was bright and cheery and vastly expressive while Aine took to being the quiet, observant one who only showed bouts of emotion. It was entertaining to see the two of their personalities together.
"Why didn't Minerva come to the wedding by the way?" Natsu asked suddenly. "She was invited."
"She didn't think it was best for her to come. She did almost try to kill all of you guys and hurt Lucy pretty bad in the past," Sting reasoned.
"That past is the past. Though"—Natsu grinned deviously and his eyes flashed—"if she tries that again, she might not live through it." The glint in Natsu's eyes vanished and he was back to his cheery self again. "Like Lucy says: 'forgive and forget'. Besides, Minerva already said 'sorry', so no hard feelings anymore."
Sting smiled, shook his head and walked away as Monica called for the accompanists of the flower girls. Lance strode up to Aine, making the poor girl blush when he smiled innocently at her, and Mystogan flanked Aine's other side, his eyes betraying his suspicion toward Lance.
"Alright, let's take the bride out and just have a shot with everyone else," Monica instructed. "Sorry, we don't need you anymore," she joked with Lucy.
Lucy sighed as she walked away. "I knew it would come eventually," she supposed.
The other girls snickered while Monica called to Lucy: "Don't worry! I'll call you back in a few minutes!"
Lucy waved her hand as indication Monica was heard and made her way to her husband, eyes connecting and her grin meeting his grin. "Hey you," she greeted as she stopped before him. "You know, I think I've seen you before," she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.
Natsu tipped his head to the side. "I feel the same," he confessed. He squinted at her. "Are you that hooker Gray shoved on me during my bachelor party?"
Lucy's eyes widened and she shoved her laughing husband away. "Natsu," she whined.
Natsu grinned as he hugged her from behind, chin resting on her shoulder and arms around her waist. He looked at her with innocent onyx eyes as she turned her head away from him, nose high. "Aw, c'mon, Lucy," he begged, He switched to the other side, but it resulted in her turning her head the other way, not even sparing him a glance. "Lucy!"
The Celestial Spirit Mage smirked and eyed the Fire Dragon Slayer. "Y—" However, she was not prepared for his abrupt kiss. She struggled to pull away from him, watching him with amused, yet stern eyes. "You've got to stop that!" she scolded.
"But it's our wedding day," Natsu protested. "I can kiss you whenever I want to now!"
"Not like you didn't do that before," she muttered, but her smirk never disappeared. She observed him with tender eyes. "You're just too much sometimes."
Natsu grinned proudly. "I know," he boasted, earning an eye roll from Lucy. "And now you get to deal with all of me forever!"
"I don't know if I can handle all of that," Lucy groaned mockingly. Natsu whined into her exposed shoulder, making her laugh.
A gentle tugging along Lucy's dress made her look down, and Natsu followed her gaze. Tugging on her dress was the youngest Fullbuster, his dark eyes centered on his aunt and one finger still in his mouth. "Aunt Rushi," Gary called in the adorable nickname he had given her when he first learned her name.
Natsu let go of Lucy as she bent down and gathered Gary in her arms, gazing at her youngest nephew smilingly. "Well don't you look rather handsome, huh, Gary?" she teased, pressing his forehead against hers. Gary smiled at her and that was enough to make her laugh. "You certainly get good looks from your father, don't you?"
"Hey!" Natsu protested. "How could you think that loser is good-looking?"
Lucy looked at him with feigned annoyance. "Yes, Gray's attractive, but you are the most handsomest man I have ever met," she amended. "After Gary," she added in a mutter.
Natsu stuck out his tongue at her. "I heard that, y'know," he huffed.
Lucy turned back to Gary, her smile for her nephew. "Anyways, did you think your aunt Rushi was pretty today?" she asked.
Gary shook his head slowly.
Lucy's face fell a little. "No? Why not?"
Gary took his finger out of his mouth and stared up at his aunt in full seriousness. "Aunt Rushi is beautiful," he complimented before sticking his hand right back in his mouth.
Lucy smiled brightly at him. "Aw, Gary! Thank you so much! And your mom and dad are looking pretty good today too, huh?"
Gary nodded.
"Misses Dragneel?"
Lucy looked up to see an amused Monica looking at her. "Yeah? What is it?" she asked.
"Do you mind getting in the shot with the flower girls and their escorts?" Monica requested.
Lucy brightened at the idea. "Sure! But do you mind if I bring my nephew with me?" she entreated with Gary turning his head to look at Monica curiously.
Monica shrugged. "Sure, why not? And Mister Dragneel, I want you in the shot too."
Natsu grinned and followed after his wife as they made their way to the standing spot. Asuka looked ready with Aine by her side. Mystogan was on Asuka's side while Lance was on Aine's side, talking to the girl in soft words. Natsu and Lucy stood behind them with Gary in Lucy's arms and the bridal bouquet in Natsu's hand. Monica gave them a few instructions, but was able to snap a few pictures before Gary grew disinterested and looked toward the sea.
"Perfect!" Monica gushed. "Picture of Misses Dragneel and the Best Man is next."
Carefully, Natsu and Lucy swapped bouquet for nephew respectively and Natsu was able to usher the kids out of the shot while Gray made us way up to Lucy. He placed an arm around her shoulders, smiling down at her. "You look great, Lucy," he whispered in her ear.
"So do you," Lucy whispered back. "Thanks for everything."
Gray shrugged. "No problem. If the idiot screws up, you always have a place to stay with Juvia and I, okay?"
"Hey! I heard that!" Natsu shouted.
Lucy laughed quietly. "I don't think he'll screw up," she believed, "but if he does happen to destroy another town on a really good-paying mission, then maybe I'll take you up on that offer."
"Lucy!" Natsu whined from afar.
Gray and Lucy could not stop laughing as Monica took a few photos of them before claiming she was done with them and demanding a picture of the groomsmen and the bridesmaids. Lucy walked back to the pouting Natsu, who had let Gary wander to Lance and Mystogan.
"You know I wouldn't do that," Natsu argued.
Lucy ran a hand through Natsu's hair and hummed. "Not intentionally anyways," she corrected, "but I know you. Somehow, we end up losing some percentage of reward money to repairs!"
Natsu grinned sheepishly. "At least we have fun on our missions," he reminded.
Lucy kissed Natsu's cheek. "And hopefully, we'll go on many more missions," she prayed.
"Of course we will!" Natsu chirped, stroking her cheek lovingly. "We'll finish our adventure together, Lucy. Just you and me."
"What about me?" came a demand.
Natsu and Lucy looked up in surprise to see Happy frowning as he lay on Natsu's head. "You two are forgetting about your most important member," he chided.
Lucy pulled Happy into her arms and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "We could never forget about you, Happy," she cooed.
Natsu offered him a fanged grin. "Yeah! We're teammates! Of course we'll want you with us as we finish our adventures!"
"Really?" Happy asked, eyes wide and teary.
Lucy nodded, and Natsu ruffled Happy's fur. "No need to worry, buddy. You're always going to be part of this family."
Happy sniffed. "What about when you have eggs?"
Lucy looked at the blue-furred tomcat in confusion, glancing back at Natsu for guidance. "'Eggs'?" she echoed.
"Kids," Natsu explained to Lucy briefly before turning back to Happy. "And you'll still be in this family even when we have kids."
"But that might not be for a while," Lucy put in, "and that's okay. We still love you, Happy. We always will."
Happy buried his face in Lucy's shoulder and sniffled.
Natsu's eyes lit up in laughter. "You cryin', buddy?" he wondered.
Happy sniffed. "No way!" he denied. "Crying's not manly! Its just allergies."
Lucy looked down at the Exceed with soft eyes and tightened her hold on him. "Oh, Happy," she sighed.
Makarov watched the two from his spot next to Porlyusica. To him, it was a sight to see the destructive Dragon Slayer and his levelheaded partner with such tenderness in their eyes as they comforted Happy. In all the years he had known Natsu, love and marriage were two things he didn't think of too much. He thought about getting stronger. He thought about finding Igneel. He thought about becoming an S-Class wizard.
And then there was Lucy. Her first thoughts were moving on from her old lifestyle. She thought about her rent being due soon and scraping for money. She thought about new chapters for her book.
But when Makarov saw the two become partners and watched as they worked with each other over the years, he saw a change in them.
He saw Natsu work to impress Lucy.
He saw Lucy saving extra money so she could feed Natsu.
He saw the two of them become much more than mere partners. More than best friends. He saw them become the couple before him now.
"Hey, Gramps! Why do you weird look on your face?"
Makarov looked over to see Natsu standing before him with a curious expression on his face. He smiled. "Just thinking," he breezily answered.
Natsu looked interested. "About what?"
When Makarov opened his mouth, Monica interrupted them. "Hey, Husband! I need to get some pictures of you and your wife!"
Natsu turned around, forgetting his inquiry and the curiosity of about Makarov's answer. He walked to the waiting Lucy, hand extended to her. "Do we have to take pictures?" he complained.
Lucy took his hand and bumped his shoulder with hers. "C'mon, Natsu, don't complain. We want to remember this for the rest of our lives!"
"But I want food!" Natsu whined.
"And you'll get food," Lucy assured, "after pictures."
Makarov watched Natsu groan at that and begin to whine, allowing Lucy to lead him away. A faint smile was on his lips. There was no doubt those two had changed over the years. Their partnership led them to be stronger in their bond. He could still see those kids he had seen walk out the guild door. Lucy in her lopsided ponytail and Natsu with his regular vest, pants, and sandals. To see the two of them come so far since then felt comforting to him. Seeing his children grow always made him proud.
And Makarov hoped the next generation of Fairy Tail would make their parents proud.
As Natsu and Lucy approached their standing spot, Monica grinned. "Alright. How about our first picture of the new couple be a simple kiss?"
The couple turned to each other, gazing into eyes of their significant other. Lucy sent Natsu a stern look. "'Simple kiss', Mister Dragneel. Nothing more," she instructed.
Natsu rolled his eyes, but gave her a playful smile. "I'll be good," he promised.
Lucy tried to mask her smile with a warning look, but she could tell Natsu saw through her. "You better," she said.
"I'm ready. So whenever you two are ready, I'll start," Monica called.
Natsu firmly locked his hands on Lucy's waist, and Lucy placed her hands behind his neck. "You ready?" he asked her.
Lucy scoffed. "We've done this a thousand times."
"A thousand and one if you count the kiss at the wedding," Natsu corrected smartly.
Lucy stuck her tongue out at him. "Stupid Dragneel."
Natsu raised an eyebrow. "You're a Dragneel too, y'know," he reminded her.
Lucy paused. Natsu watched in amusement as she struggled to come up with a biting retort to his teasing. "Just shut up and kiss me," was all she could say.
Natsu grinned and leaned forward. "Your wish is my command, Dragneel," he chuckled.
Within an instant, their eyes closed, and their lips met and pressed into one another. They could not here the snapping of neither Monica's camera nor the snarky remark from Gajeel to keep their kissing kid-friendly.
Gray watched his frenemy and the girl he called his little sister from a little ways away. "They seem so happy," he sighed.
"Of course they are."
Gray looked to the side to see Rogue of all people standing next to him with Frosch in his arms. He raised an eyebrow. "Finally talking, huh?" he asked.
Gray's annoyance did not faze Rogue as he ignored the rhetorical question. "Most people don't understand dragons. They only believe the false legends that burden humans. We, Dragon Slayers, have seen dragons for our own eyes. We may not understand them completely, but we understand enough. From rumors, it would seem people believe dragons mate for fertility rather than affection. And those rumors have extended to Dragon Slayers." Rogue's red eyes narrowed a fraction. "Perhaps for some Dragon Slayers, mating is for the sex rather than for the emotional aspect. But Natsu has balanced both sides. He found his mate to give him children. But he found a wife he can love. That in itself is something all Dragon Slayers wish to have."
Gray watched as Rogue walked away to Gajeel. It was rare for the Shadow Dragon Slayer to speak to anyone in Fairy Tail who wasn't Gajeel or Pantherlily.
Gray looked back as Lucy laughed as Natsu feathered her face in kisses. He smiled when he saw Lucy's smile and Natsu's cheeky grin. The idiot he had grown up with, fought with, worked with, had matured into a confident man. The vain girl he had taken care of, watched over, protected, did not need him as much anymore and could fight her own battles. They were husband and wife, lovers, mates. They were each other's protectors.
Gray looked over at Juvia as she kept their son entertained. He could understand everything Natsu and Lucy felt.
"I may not believe in 'happily ever after'," Gray said, "and I may not believe in fairy tales, but I do believe love is the most powerful magic."