All Rights to Hiro Mashima

Buckle up my precious cupcakes. We're on our way to the Kozern. (took some liberties with the dinner scene. I do realise that eating snails is usually a French custom...but France doens't exist in this AU)

BEWARE! A WILD LION APPEARS! JUDE IS A DUMBASS!

~ Flaws ~

In which Natsu realises just what he had gotten himself into marrying a weirdo like Lucy, and Lucy has a slight mental breakdown.

Two days later found Natsu and Lucy still trying to navigate this strange situation the best they knew how.

And it involved a lot of communication – which they had in droves in the form of laughing, teasing, general chit chatting, and small silences that were entirely comfortable – but not once did they talk about what would happen next for them as a new married couple who had sex twice, forgot due to Tequila poisoning, then made out in a hotel lobby.

Natsu made Lucy felt safe, needed, and warm in all the best ways.

Lucy balanced Natsu's behaviour out and grounded him. He was centred and calmer than he usually was on non-fight days. She made him feel whole and wanted.

They just…worked together, even if they had suddenly found some flaws in each other that made them feel like they were human and this wasn't just a weird dream.

The pink-haired man was exuberant to the point where his hand gestures while he spoke had knocked not one but two lamps over and shattered them on her hardwood floor. He ate a completely ridiculous amount and he was always, always hungry.

Natsu found out that Lucy gets extremely grumpy when she was even the littlest bit sleepy and she took hour long baths and showers twice a day. Which he didn't mind, but seriously, what was he supposed to do when he was alone?

He had made the mistake once of barging in on her in the bath and it was then that he realised that she had a very powerful roundhouse kick. Perfectly executed and amazingly done. He didn't even see her stand up she was so fast. Natsu couldn't even begin to be mad at that because he was just so impressed with her form (naked or otherwise).

So he told her so, and he was delighted by the pink blush on the tops of her ears and the small kiss she planted on his cheek.

But then she had tried to punch him in the gut for eating her share of the fried rice one night and he was appalled at the fist she made. There was no way that he was going to let his wife get away with something so utterly wrong to the point where if she actually tried to punch someone, she would most likely come away from the fight with a broken thumb or worse.

So he also told her this and to his surprise, she was very happy to have him teach her the correct way to duke it out with an assailant. He taught her a couple of easy holds and how to break out of the more common ones that taller men use on a shorter person.

It made Natsu feel all fuzzy inside to know that she would have a way to protect herself when he wasn't around – cause he knew that there were crazies about and wouldn't always be stuck to her like glue. But, she had a killer kick and he told her to default to kicking a male in the nuts and she would win every time.

Even if they were flawed in all the best ways, they worked together naturally and both knew that whatever this was, even if it hadn't been totally intentional and done in a moment of shared weakness under the influence of the Devil's drink…they would never, not in a million years, regret that decision.

They hadn't been intimate since they had woken up hung over and married, but there were some kissing and tongue action that was shared. Natsu was generally a handsy person and loved to invade her personal space and hold her for no other reason than because he could. Lucy was fine with this because she craved skinship after being unable to have it for so long and her husband was just so damn warm all the time it was hard not to melt into his hugs.

And he gave her lots, all the time. It was like he knew somehow that she had been deprived of human contact for most of her life.

It made her feel so special. Special and precious.

Days were spent getting to know each other, while nights found them draped over each other watching a movie munching noisily on snacks or Natsu napped while Lucy read or wrote some of her novel. Natsu showed off his culinary skills in the morning with a mean piece of French toast or an omelette, and Lucy made his dinners extra spicy because – in her own words – he was completely and utterly insane, but she did it anyways because she liked him.

One afternoon, Natsu woke up from his post-lunch nap on Lucy's lap to look up and see her giving their marriage licence the evil eye.

"Luce…you look really weird right now. What are you trying to do? Burn a hole through the paper?"

She flicked him in the forehead and shoved the paper in his hands. "NO! I was trying to read this name." Lucy pointed at an intelligible scribble on the line marked 'witness.'

Natsu squinted at it. "Huh."

"Do you remember the witness? Was it a stranger or one of your friends?"

"One of our friends Luce…remember you're in for life." She rolled her eyes like he was lying, but he would show her one day that she had so many friends just waiting for her to come home. "But no, I can't remember anything about the ceremony and the picture only has us and the minister in it."

They had dropped the topic, but each wondered who their witness really was and if they even remembered the wedding either. Given the drunken scrawl that looked like chicken scratch combined with a pretty wicked sugar high, the witness was probably just as bombed as they were. Which, now that they thought about it, could have been anyone of the friends that had come from Magnolia to see Natsu and Gajeel duke it out.

Or a complete stranger, but they doubted that.

So their days and nights went on like that for a couple of days in a state of blissed-out limbo. They weren't disturbed at all. Lucy had completed her story and sent it via email to Jason one evening and Natsu had placed his lacrima com on airplane mode, knowing that when he turned that on when he was ready to deal with all his friends…well…Erza would be the least of his problems.

Mira would be all up in his face about the videos that just had to be circulating over the internet now, but right at this moment, he wanted to just relax with his best friend and let himself fall in love with her.

This was surprisingly okay with Lucy and she didn't protest when he had ended up passing out at the end of the night with her in her bed. He was warm and crazily comfortable to sleep next to. Natsu never pushed it too far but seemed to like crushing her to his chest and draping his considerable weight all over her to the point where she woke up hot and sweaty every morning. And not in a good way.

They were well aware of their attraction to each other and neither hid it, they both understood - unconsciously - that they would try to get their bearings as best friends then add lovers into the mix when they were good and ready again.

She was…happy. For lack of a better term. Lucy wanted to stay in this state of in-between for as long as possible.

It was the calm before a storm, however, she put off thinking about her real life for too long and life, as it is prone to do, decided to pop up and whack her in the face with reality before she realized it.

But Lucy knew that they needed to have a serious heart to heart about some things that would be happening quite soon, especially when her lacrima com lit up on the third morning and reminded her of the date.

It was the nineteenth.

The day of her ball.

For the men, she was supposed to be marrying because in their world she was little more than a doll to be passed around and owned. It didn't sit right with her, but it sat even less well with her new pink-haired husband and severely protective best friend. Even though he knew that this was what her life had been reduced to and why she had run away, he didn't like it.

"What do you want to do?"

"You mean about the ball?"

"Yeah. You know…if you wanted to because we got…"

"Married. Yes. That did happen Natsu."

"Uh. Yeah. I mean…you could just leave a note on your door along with the marriage certificate and we could book it out of here and go somewhere else. You could come back to Magnolia with me and meet everyone. You could meet Happy and we could go camping and fishing and just…I don't know…be happy?"

That sounded…like the best thing she had ever heard. She had always wanted to be happy and here Natsu was, offering her the world and she wanted to say yes without delay. "I've never been camping before. Is it fun?"

Natsu nodded and lightly tickled her calves where they were resting on his lap. "Course. Being one with nature is always fun. And Happy would love the fresh fish and sunlight. I promise, you'll love it. Especially the ghost stories."

She'd never heard one of those either, but if it was a story told by Natsu himself, she would listen to it no matter what.

Nothing had ever seemed so inviting before and she wanted to jump up and pack immediately and leave on the next train.

But she couldn't for one reason.

Her father.

She wanted to look him in the eye and say 'fuck you' and then leave this whole life behind, travel back to Natsu's house with him, make more friends and be absurdly content for the rest of her life. With her pink-haired MMA fighter husband and a blue cat that apparently liked fresh raw fish (she had learned on the afternoon of the first day back in her apartment after a mild freak out that his young friend Wendy was looking after the feline until he got back, it was the one and only call he made before he all but shut his lacrima com off).

"I want to Natsu, I really do. But…"

She could see him panicking and once again tried to find the words needed to reassure him that she wasn't going anywhere, she just needed a little more time to tie up some loose ends. Like her father and the arranged marriage, her rent and her job. But after that she was golden. Yes, she had worked hard for her job, but luckily for her, she could do it anywhere, and after Natsu assured her that she would be living in his house with him (We're married Luce! How weird would it be for a married couple to live in different places right after the wedding?) Lucy wouldn't need to worry about rent. She had agreed and was looking forward to going to Magnolia. Her apartment had come furnished and so all she had to pack was her clothes, toiletries, writing things and her kitchen stuff. It wasn't a lot, and now she had a big strong husband to help her with the lifting.

However, first, she needed to get some things off her chest.

"I need to see my father one last time. I need to grow up and stop running away from him like a scared little girl and be a strong woman and tell him that I made my own choices and married a wonderful man. And if he doesn't like it I give you permission to knock him unconscious with your pinky or something."

"Like a ninja?"

"Sure Natsu." She ran her fingers through his hair absentmindedly. Her husband was a loveable dork, that was for sure.

Natsu sighed, happy that he wasn't going to lose this woman before they had a true chance to love each other, and pulled her onto his lap. She wiggled a bit until she found a comfortable spot where her butt bones weren't digging into his thighs. "Alright. So I guess you want to go to that ball then."

"Yep."

"And I'm going to have to wear a tux right?"

"Yep."

"I'm sorry, but I think I have to divorce you now." He groaned and pushed her over onto her couch and flopped his entire heavy body on top of her, his muscle mass weighing her down as she giggled breathily.

She gasped in mock hurt. "You wound me, sir."

Natsu smiled. He loved times like these, sarcastic comments, teasing and all. She was truly the best friend anyone could have, but she was his and he felt infinitely sorry for everyone that didn't have a Lucy in their lives.

She placed a small kiss on his forehead and he all but purred happily, rubbing his face like a cat in the crook of her neck. Lucy always smelled so nice and it was strongest there. "In all seriousness Natsu. You don't have to go if you don't want to. I have to learn to stand up to my father by myself sometime."

"Don't worry I'm coming with you." His voice was muffled while his face was still shoved into her hair.

"You sure?"

"What kind of husband would I be if I just left you to be all weird and shit by yourself? You might end up kicking him through the roof and then we would have to run away really fast and that's hard to do in heels and a dress."

She snorted before eyeing him with a contemplative look. "How would you know? Have any experience running in heels and a skirt?"

"…no?"

"Oh, my Mavis. You do. Tell me!"

"No! Stop it! I will never tell! You'll never get the truth from me! I'll never succumb to your weirdness!"

"Shut up Mr Dragneel."

"Make me Mrs Dragneel."

And she did with another kiss that somehow morphed into a full make-out session in her living room, and for a while, all thoughts were banished from their heads and they didn't have a care in the world.

-ooo-

"Good evening Miss Lucy. It's good to see you again."

Lucy smiled at the stoic chauffeur that had arrived to pick her up and take her to the ball. "And it's good to see you as well Capricorn." The tall man with a white beard and perfect posture was always one of her favourites, next to her nanny Aries, and the head maid Virgo.

Oh. And Leo, but he was in a class all on his own. More like an older annoying brother than anything. Lucy looked around but couldn't see Taurus the massive groundskeeper. She scowled lightly. Her father thought that she would come complacently like a good little girl.

...she would. But just this one time.

The tall man eyed the two people that stood before him, as far as he knew, he was only supposed to bring Lucy to the manor house. She did look the part after all. A soft lilac dress was wrapped around her frame, while simple pearl accessories adorned her wrist and ears, he knew those had belonged to Miss Layla once upon a time. Her hair and makeup was done perfectly with Cancer's signature style, but the male…even though he was dressed in a tuxedo that he filled out quite well…he had no knowledge of him. So, that could only mean an impromptu guest.

Interesting indeed.

Lucy caught Capricorn looking sceptically at Natsu – who looked stupidly handsome in his tux that had been tailored to his impressive body and made her heart beat just a little bit faster every time she caught a glimpse of him – and grabbed his hand leading them towards the limo that awaited them.

Although…Natsu looked a little green around the gills as he prepared to get into a car again, she had chalked it up last time to the lighting or a lasting effect of the hangover when he had all but keeled over into her lap in the taxi, but now she wasn't so sure (she would learn in five minutes that Natsu had severe motion sickness and spent the whole ride moaning and groaning with his head in her lap and to his surprise only barfed once when they finally stopped.)

She grinned wickedly and suddenly Capricorn wasn't that worried for his young mistress anymore. Her time away seemed to do her well, if anything he slightly pitied Jude. There was a storm coming his way and he had no knowledge of it. "Capricorn, I would like you to meet Natsu Dragneel…my husband."

Most definitely interesting.

The chauffeur looked at the rings on their fingers and the way that they seemed like two puzzle pieces fitting together and the other half of his worry for Lucy disappeared off his shoulders. There would be no arranged marriage for his favourite girl, whom he thought of as a daughter – he had raised her more than he own father but he would never say those words aloud – and he felt infinitely better.

Then he took a good look at her husband. He was tall, strong, and he looked like he wanted to give Lucy the world. Even if the man had pink hair, tattoos over his wrists and some of his neck, and at least three piercing's in each ear, Capricorn knew immediately that this Natsu was what was best for Lucy and vice versa.

Capricorn bowed and opened the door to the limo, ushering them in, then made his way back to the driver's seat.

Never in his life was he more excited to see the look on his employers face then right then.

Tonight was going to be very eventful, he could feel it.

-ooo-

After Natsu had washed his mouth out with water and his stomach was settled, Lucy had looped her arm around his and had steered him towards a truly massive white mansion that sat on a hill. While he was well off seeing as he was a famous fighter that won most of his bouts, he couldn't help but gawk at the extreme extravagance.

It was overwhelming.

Lucy, on the other hand, had her nose scrunched up in that way that she did when she thought something was disgusting. Like his stinky feet after a run or his method of eating peanut butter (straight from the jar with his fingers) and he liked that she thought that chandeliers dripping with crystals were as gaudy and unnecessary as he did. It also made him feel better about showing her his house which was much smaller than this.

"Right this way Miss Lucy, I know Aries and Virgo are looking forward to seeing you again. And Leo…you know how he gets when you're not here."

They rounded a corner of the hallway Capricorn was leading them down when Lucy was all but ripped from Natsu's grasp and clutched tight to a chest that wasn't his own. Natsu was honestly bewildered when all he could hear would Lucy laughing and a loud shout of "PRINCESESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" The watched as a handsome young man with a mane of auburn hair and small sunglasses twirled his Lucy around in the air.

White hot jealousy rippled through Natsu's body when his mind caught up with the situation and he scowled a little at himself. Lucy was her own person and could do what she wanted. She didn't shy away from this man…so she obviously knew him, trusted him, but he couldn't help that little traitorous twinge in his heart. He assumed it was because he had had her all to himself for days on end and now he had to share.

"LEO! It's so good to see you again!"

"Same goes for you, Princess." The man named Leo bent his head down and placed a chaste lingering kiss on Lucy's hand – which, to Natsu's amusement – she repaid the gesture by swatting the back of his head lightly. "Where have you been all this time?"

"Crocus."

"Ah. That makes sense. Jude would have never looked for you there. Keep your friends close…"

"…and your enemies closer. I remember. That was the first thing he ever taught me." Her tone was friendly but Natsu could hear the bitterness that writhed underneath. He couldn't help but feel the annoyance for Lucy's father that sat close to his heart grow just a little bit bigger. Father's were supposed to teach their children how to ride a bike and catch them sneaking out to be with their friends and making sure that they actually did brush their teeth like they said they did.

Natsu decided he was finished sitting on the sidelines and was also done with Lucy having those dark thoughts about her past – he had commented once and she had told him the whole story – so he walked up beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, curled her close to him and pressed a kiss to her forehead. It was meant as an assurance that he was there if she needed him, but it also served the purpose of showing this…Leo character just where he sat on the totem pole when it came to his Lucy.

Natsu was at the very top, with everyone else as a close second.

Leo bristled and glared at him through tinted glasses and Natsu caught the sly smirk of a retreating Capricorn who no doubt knew exactly what Natsu had been doing moments before. "And who are you exactly?"

Lucy sighed as she smelt the testosterone in the room increase exponentially. "Where are my manners," She murmured as she was still slightly smashed to Natsu's torso, "Natsu…meet Leo, head of security here at the Kozern. Leo…meet Natsu Dragneel, also known as the Salamander and…my husband."

Leo gawked at them, slowly blinking as if trying to wake up from a bad drug trip.

"You're married?"

"…yes?"

"To an MMA fighter? To the famous Salamander? Really?"

"Ugh. Yes, Leo. You don't have to say it like that."

Then the man with the mane of brilliant orange hair grinned showing off a smile that made him look like a lion that swallowed a lamb. "I can't wait for Jude to hear this…he's going to throw the mother of all temper tantrums."

Lucy coughed awkwardly into a curled fist. "Yes. Well…please leave that for me to tell my father."

Leo scrutinised Natsu for a moment before thrusting his hand out. Natsu shook the man's hand and realised that Leo would always do what was best for Lucy no matter what, and protect her if he couldn't be there. They were alike that way and it brought the pink-haired man a measure of peace. "Take care of our Princess, alright?"

"Always."

He nodded and gestured to the right. "Dinner is almost ready, so you can join the other guests in the dining room."

"What! I thought this was a ball!"

"Lucy…you know how your father is. Wine and dine, then show off the goods. The goods in this situation are you dancing with all the available men."

"Well…shit. This is going to be one giant train wreck. Fuck."

Leo pushed them towards the double doors. "Might as well get it over with then. Don't worry though, we'll all be watching."

Lucy through him a look that screamed that Leo was making the situation worse, but waved the security expert away so that he could continue his job. She looked at her husband with slightly wild eyes and her breathing was a bit elevated but other than that, she seemed like she was handling this confrontation alright so far.

He brought her in for a hug – he would always hug her if she needed it – and brushed a strand of her bangs away behind her ear. "Luce. Everything will be fine alright. We go, we eat…if anyone asks who I am…we tell the truth and then we leave. Simple as that. If anyone gropes you I'll snap their arms off then beat them with them."

She gave him a wane little smile that tugged at his heart. Lucy would be just fine, she was just nervous obviously.

"Right. The truth. I have a husband. I am no longer Lucy Heartfilia, but Lucy Dragneel. We got married in Crocus after we got shitfaced and ended up having sex twice but forgot and will never look Tequila in the face ever again. Oh. And I've known my husband for like…four days total."

"Uh. That was okay…but maybe you want to leave that last bit off."

"Which part? The sex part or the other part about knowing you for four days?"

"How about uhh….both?"

She nodded, swallowed thickly, and then nodded once more. "Alright. Let's go."

But she didn't move and only stared at the doors.

So he took matters into his own hands as he rolled his eyes. "Come on Luce. Let's do this." He all but dragged her into the dining room to go and meet with her father and the men who wanted to marry his wife while she squawked and stumbled along behind him.

-ooo-

No matter how hard Natsu tried, he couldn't for the love of Mavis figure out what he was eating. Or which fucking fork he was supposed to use.

Or maybe it was a spoon?

He wasn't entirely sure, but when he looked towards Lucy for help she looked as bewildered as he did. Natsu could hear his wife – that still made him giddy as all hell to think that word – mumbling to herself, her brows furrowed in confusion while her hands hovered over the silverware uncertainly.

He leant over to whisper in her ear. "Uh. Luce. What the fuck is this?"

Lucy's eyes slid to his, her expression panicked. "I don't have a fucking clue! I forgot how many forks there were in a formal dinner. Holy Mother of Mavis this is ridiculous. Who needs this many options? I swear to all that is holy Natsu…you better have one fork in your house that you use for everything or I will divorce the shit out of you this instant." Her voice hissed out in a whisper yell.

He snorted, then blanched as at least twelve different people looked up at him, being pulled out of their conversations that revolved mostly around money, apparently. "I promise you, Princess. One fork. One spoon. One knife."

She sighed. "If I wasn't already married to you I would fucking propose to you right this instant."

He smiled wide. Damn, he was a lucky bastard to have found this little spitfire. "I would need a complete proposal from you this time. Down on one knee and everything. And a ring. A big ass diamond, Princess cut."

"Ugh so picky." Her smile was blinding and he couldn't help but fall deeper into that never ending pit inside his heart labelled 'Love'.

Despite the weirdness of the situation, he was actually having a good time with Lucy seated on his right.

When he had dragged her through the door, he had expected maybe ten other people but was flabbergasted to see at least thirty guests, all of them male, in a wild range of ages all waiting around chatting and sipping out of tumblers. The only other things in the room was a gigantic chandelier, and a truly massive table that looked like it could seat at least thirty people comfortably.

The men had given them a once over, seeming interested in him – his pink hair was a blessing and a curse all at once – and then he realised that they probably knew him as the Salamander, the MMA fighter.

Most of the men in the room gravitated towards a single male with a commanding presence at one end of the room. He had dirty blonde hair and a very impressive moustache. Natsu surmised that he was most likely Jude Heartfilia, Lucy's father.

But the odd thing was, while the gentlemen clustered around Jude came to chat with him about sports and insignificant things, not one said a single word to Lucy, even though it was obvious to everyone that she was the object of this whole evening. She was the only woman in the room after all.

It infuriated him that his Lucy, who was bright and bubbly and amazing, was being looked over by all these men like she was a second rate person in their eyes.

But the thing that irked him more, was that it looked like Lucy almost believed that, her sparkling eyes dimmed as she seemed to remember more and more about her childhood the longer she stood beside him. So he struck up a conversation with her and after a few moments had her laughing that happy laugh that had captured his attention mere days before.

Most of the men had looked scandalised that a woman had the audacity to interrupt their important conversations about tax rates of wheat or whatever, but chose not to do anything about it. Natsu was thankful for that because he didn't have a lot of range of motion in this tux jacket and he didn't really rip the sleeves off of something that made Lucy look at him with so much heat in her eyes, and he would love more than anything to beat them all senseless.

A maid with a blank cerulean stare and bright fuchsia hair rang the bell – a little pretentious for his tastes – that announced that dinner was ready to be served.

They all sat around that stupidly big table with Lucy at one end and her father at the other. A red headed flirty man named Dan tried to take the seat right next to Lucy, but with a glare and small growl that seat mysteriously opened up.

First had been a delightful soup, then a flaky fish, and then here they were with the most bizarre looking main course he had ever seen. But he couldn't care less with Lucy looking at him like he was the only one in the world and a smile on those lips he couldn't wait to kiss again.

She was beautiful.

His pride swelled when he remembered she was all his. His little wife who hated all things pretentious wanted to be an author and didn't mind making him spicy chicken wings at all hours of the night – albeit she did grumble about that last one.

He had hit the proverbial wife jackpot. She was strong and fiery and amazing.

A voice broke them out of their little world, it was soft but deep and Lucy immediately recognised it as the head butler, Scorpio. "Hey, squirt. You look a little lost. Need help?" His lips barely moved and she smiled sheepishly down at her plate of…something while he craftily filled hers and Natsu's wine glasses up again to keep up the pretence of being nothing more than a servant.

"Hey, Scorpio. Yeah. I need help apparently. What the fuck is this?"

The man chuckled lowly and leant over to whisper in her ear. Lucy blanched and pulled away, then nodded before the man moved off and refilled more glasses.

"Luce. What is it?"

She eyed her cutlery before finding a small fork that had two tines and looked very flimsy. "I didn't recognise the dish originally because of all the shit on top of it but…" she brushed off the arugula and other steamed vegetables to reveal six small shells.

"It's escargot Natsu."

"…what?"

She picked up one of the small shells and showed him. "It's Boscan…garden snails. Usually done in garlic and butter."

Natsu eyed his plate once more. "Mavis. What in the actual fuck? Are you serious?"

"Deadly. Which sucks because they are supposed to be very good, but I'm allergic."

Natsu sat still as confusion swirled through his mind. "I thought this was a dinner for you though? Shouldn't we be eating things that you can…you know…eat, without you dying?"

She laughed, the sound bitter and like it stuck in her throat. "You think my dear father knows that about me? Only Aries knew because she found me when I was little with a rash on my hands after playing with a garden snail and Virgo because she applied the salve to keep the rash away."

He nodded, but then looked at her in bewildered silence and deemed her to have lost her mind suddenly.

"Uh. Luce. What are you doing?" She had taken the fork up again before proceeding to pull out the meat from inside the snail shell.

"I'm eating my dinner."

"Why?"

"…because…well…uhm…" When she couldn't give him an answer, Natsu reached over and smacked the snail out of her hands.

She gave him a grateful look before it turned into one filled with horror. "What the hell was I doing? I could have died…just to please my father. Gods I'm so pathetic." She covered her bashfully red face up with her hands and just stared at her plate.

It was then that Natsu realised Lucy's most fatal flaw, she loved indiscriminately and gave people the benefit of the doubt, second chances that they might not deserve. But he liked her besides that and couldn't help but feel lucky that this woman had fallen into his life. She wasn't pathetic, Lucy was just a girl who was looking for love from her father, a person that should love her no matter what but seemed not to know his own child.

If he could, he would have hugged her to his chest and never let go. Unfortunately, when he had hit her hand, she had also dropped the metal fork onto the china plate which made a huge racket and drew every single eye towards them.

"Is there a problem with the meal?"

This question made Natsu wish he could breathe fire he was so angry. This was literally the first thing Lucy's father had spoken towards her since the evening began almost an hour and a half before. He's heard of distance between parents and their children, but this…was just…stupid.

Lucy lowered her head in embarrassment. She didn't want a confrontation with Jude in front of all these men, but then she felt a warm hand sneak under the table and squeeze her knee in a tight grip.

Natsu. He had known her the least amount of time out of all these people and yet he was the one who knew her the most.

Reassured Lucy picked her head up and stared at her father in the eyes for the first time that night with a fire in her gaze. "Yes."

Jude seemed…surprised if anything, that she would have the stones to speak out against something in his own house. He scowled, and Lucy knew that look. It was one that he gave her when he thought she was being childish.

She would show him.

"I'm allergic to snails. If Natsu hadn't caught the mistake, I would have died."

Jude looked mildly irritated at her, then turned his stony gaze towards the pink-haired man to her left who neither flinched nor looked away. "Oh. I assumed you would have grown out of a silly ailment like that years ago." Then turned back to a balding plump man and continued his conversation as if she was nothing more than a statue that he had found mildly interesting, but ultimately deemed unworthy.

To Natsu's complete and utter bewilderment instead of a meek response or possibly something akin to shame from Lucy, he got a wild hellion, eyes blazing and cheeks aflame, who downed her entire glass of wine in a single gulp that would make Cana insanely proud to hear about before slamming the empty crystal goblet on the dark wooden table. The force she used was enough to crack the rim, but the sound reverberated around the room and all conversation died instantly.

Natsu spied both Capricorn and Leo out of the corners of his eye, as well as the maid, Virgo, and another shy looking woman with soft pink hair. They were smirking and Leo had a lacrima com out and seemed to be recording the proceedings. Instantly, Natsu knew that this was something out of the ordinary, but no less interesting and prepared for shit to hit the fan.

"No, I did not grow out of being allergic to escargot father. I can't believe that you actually knew that and still insisted that this shit is served tonight. Would you risk killing your precious commodity before she had a chance to make you even richer? Despicable form father and you call yourself a business man. Don't you know you can't sell something that's broken?" She hissed the words out between clenched teeth, all the contempt and anger she had held inside towards her father finally, finally being revealed after all these years.

Lucy waved Scorpio over for a refill of the wine that she had downed and shot a wink towards Natsu to reassure him if nothing else.

But what she found wasn't concern or bewildered uncertainty. Instead, she saw blazing, naked hunger in his eyes. She definitely liked that, liked that he could look at her like she was a delicious meal to be devoured and savoured and enjoyed. That, more than anything else, made her feel powerful and strong.

All that was going through Natsu's mind was:

Holy fucking shit.

And not much else. He had never seen this side of Lucy, and he fucking loved her passion and strength and the way she was all fired up. He wasn't even ashamed to say that her rage, with her pink cheeks and shining eyes, was making him so fucking hard it was he was having to shift uncomfortably in his chair to conceal his boner.

She was just so…sexy.

So Natsu sat back and watched as his wife went to work, loving every single minute of it.

-ooo-

"You are being ridiculous."

"Shut up papa. I got out of this life years ago and I never wanted to come back. You don't get to tell me how to act anymore."

Natsu watched his wife and her father go at it, snappy jabs and condescending words flying back and forth with thinly veiled rage simmering underneath their skin. He and all the other men at the table were snapping their heads back and forth as if this battle of words was a tennis game, however, it was infinitely more exciting.

Lucy reached for her empty wine glass again and pouted.

With a twinkle in his eyes, Natsu pushed his own full glass towards her. He was more of a beer sort of man, but if Lucy needed a little of this liquid courage to finally speak her mind to her father, who was he to stop her?

A loud crash was heard from the other side of the table and those who didn't grow up with violence – basically everyone here except for Natsu, Laxus and Erza were terrors to grow up with – jumped in their seats. Jude had smacked his hand down on the table in a fit of anger.

It seemed he was done dicking around.

Leo's words came back to Natsu then and he wondered if this was the "mother-of-all-temper-tantrums."

"ENOUGH!" He roared and everyone shrunk down in their seats. Natsu could see just why Jude was so influential and powerful, his presence was commanding and he was honestly – not that he would ever speak these words out loud – terrified of the man.

But then, the little spitfire that he married under the influence of alcohol cackled like the friggin Wicked Witch of the West. "I am not some thirteen-year-old child that you can threaten with corporeal punishment any more father." Her fingers brushed over her cheekbone as if remembering some long forgotten pain.

Something snapped within the pink-haired man. This man, this…Jude had hit his only daughter. Natsu had been fortunate to grow up under the wing of Makarov, and his life had been filled with love and laughter, brawls and fun. Gramps had given him rules to follow and smacked him upside the head when he was out of line, but it was never cold, never…used as a way to control someone.

He snarled out at Jude, his eyes flashing and sparking. "…Bastard. You would hit your only daughter? When she was only a child."

Jude turned his nose up at Natsu, huffing and then nodded. "Of course. She was a disobedient child and needed to be…controlled."

Natsu sat stunned in his chair.

And all he could think was that he pitied this man for never knowing the joys that family could bring. He found his voice after a moment, a scathing remark on the tip of his tongue, but a look from Lucy silenced him.

She shook her head slightly as if it wasn't even worth it to get so fired up over Jude, or the pain that she had felt growing up because she was leaving it all behind and Natsu would follow this amazing woman to the gates of hell and beyond. To the ends of Earthland, past the stars, if she wanted.

"Who are you anyways? I don't remember you on the list of suitors I invited tonight." The men collectively whipped their heads around to stare Natsu down, questions in their eyes. Many of them recognised him, but that didn't mean they knew why he was here specifically.

Was he a rival to them for the hand of Jude's daughter and the millions in the deal that Heartfilia Kozern had offered should one…take her off his hands? Or perhaps another more interesting reason?

Natsu's smirk was legendary, one that he often gave when he knew the outcome of his fight.

When he knew he was going to win without a doubt. He showed it now, his long canines glinting in the soft white light of the chandelier.

It made many of the men jealous to see as if Pinkette had the infinite secret to life itself and wasn't about to share it with the likes of them.

Natsu licked his lips. "My name, sir, is Natsu Dragneel." His tone was light but you could almost see the contempt drip from his lips like poison.

Jude was truly confused. "The MMA fighter who just won in Crocus? The Salamander?"

"The one and only."

Jude looked at him in a new light then, impressed with the man before him.

Lucy rolled her eyes at her best friend. If they inflated his ego anymore she would definitely have to butter the doors to get him out of this mansion. But, Natsu could afford to be proud of himself, he was an amazing fighter and deserved the praise.

"Why are you here Mr Dragneel?"

"Oh. Luce invited me."

"Luce?"

Natsu looked at the elder Heartfilia in the room then gestured at Lucy slowly as if to a small child just learning how the world worked. "Yes…Lucy…your daughter…invited me." He spoke clearly, not wanting the meaning to be lost. He turned suddenly towards Lucy and grabbed her hand underneath the table and staged whispered behind his other, his cocky smirk still plastered to his handsome face. "Damn Luce. I think he's going senile. Getting a bit slow…"

Lucy giggled and slapped his shoulder playfully her eyes alight with poorly concealed glee, her cheeks a little red from the drinks she had been slamming back, she was adorable and Natsu couldn't help it but forgot where he was for a moment and leant forward placing a small kiss on her cute little nose.

She blinked up at him before bashfully lowering her eyes from his. He liked that he could make her look like that, it made his male pride soar.

Everyone else looked at him like he was crazy, but that wasn't new. He had pink hair and liked to fight for fun and wondered sometimes what it would feel like to eat fire. Natsu was sure that he was probably certifiable, but Lucy didn't care and neither did his friends or family, so that was all that mattered.

Jude spluttered. "Who do you think you are speaking about me like that?"

Natsu was suddenly fed up with this prick and how he thought so high of himself and so low of his daughter. In his books, Lucy was so much more remarkable than Jude could ever hope to be.

He growled from his chest in irritation and almost laughed as some of the pansy ass men that had the fucking audacity to even try to buy his Lucy and take her from him shied away. They couldn't have her because they would want to take her somewhere and cage her, far away from him, away from the exciting life that she was meant to live full of adventures and joy, laughter and friends, love and commitment.

"My name is Natsu fucking Dragneel and that –" He pointed to the blonde to his right who gave a cheeky wave to her father whose face looked so red he was almost worried the man was going to have a heart attack. "-is Lucy Dragneel. My kickass wife and best friend."

Immediate, suffocating silence stole over the table and all eyes were on Lucy and Natsu.

"What?" Jude hissed through clenched teeth.

Lucy wiggled her left hand in front of her face so that her father could see the gold wedding band that sat neatly on her ring finger. She hadn't tried to hide it, she wasn't keep it a secret as if she was ashamed of the fact that she was married to the pink-haired man beside her.

She sniffed derisively. It was Jude's fault – and all the other suitors – for not noticing in the first place.

"I demand that you explain this at once!"

Lucy sighed, suddenly very bored and very tired of the proceedings. "Natsu's my husband," She shrugged, "Simple as that."

More silence, until;

"UNACCEPTABLE! You were promised to one of these men here, not this…this- ruffian who is completely below your station-"

Lucy stood up so quickly that the heavy carved chair she had been previously sitting in had fallen back to the ground with a loud clatter. "Shut up! Natsu is worth more to me than every single one of you at this table. He makes me feel safe and warm and like I have a home and that someone actually fucking cares about me as a person. No cages, no money, no contracts. Just…me."

Some of the suitors looked down guiltily, while others starred blatantly at the blonde woman like she was an interesting bug that they would want to collect one day and pin to a board. Natsu eyed them all but decided that they weren't worth his time.

But Lucy was. His crazy, passionate, goddamn fucking amazing perfect wife was the only one who mattered. And at the moment, she looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Which made him want to breathe fire again.

Natsu stood up and ignored Jude who was also standing and yelling and waving his hands around. He looked like some type of exotic bird in the middle of a mating ritual or something.

He pulled his Lucy towards him and crushed her to him in a huge so fierce he heard the air in her lungs whoosh out, but then she giggled a little and swayed on her feet – curtesy of the alcohol – and Natsu deemed it high time to leave this depressing place and get her back to Magnolia where she belonged, laughing and happy by his side. Cheering him on from the sidelines, or writing the rest of her novel while he tried to annoy her.

"Let's get out of here. I think we've overstayed our welcome as it is…" He gestured to a furious Jude and many irate and grumbling suitors who were flashing them annoyed glances. To which he smirked. He knew that they all wanted this woman, but she was Natsu's.

Till death do they part.

"Lucy Ashley Heartfilia! I forbid you from going anywhere with this man. I will have your disgraceful marriage annulled as soon as possible and you will be married again to one of these men here. Although," Jude eyed his daughter in disgust, "They will lower their prices because you are no longer…pure."

That was the last straw for Natsu and he whipped off his suit jacket and proceeded to bunch up his dress shirt sleeves to his elbows as fast as possible. He had never wanted to hit someone more than he did at this very second. Gray had goaded him plenty, Laxus pissed him off to no end, Gajeel was a pain in his ass, but none of them compared to the mother of all fuckers that stood before them in this room and spoke about his only daughter as if she was worthless. As if her body was an item to be owned and bought and traded and used.

It made him sick.

A small hand on his elbow caught him before he could rush off and put Jude into a fucking coma for the next five years – or perhaps longer. He wasn't picky.

The look in Lucy's eye gave him pause, it was cold, wintery dark ice that froze everything it touched. Which included him and her own father.

"I renounced my name as a Heartfilia as soon as I married Natsu. I am Lucy Dragneel and I will always be." She looked towards her husband whose expression was one of soft awe and understanding. But also joy, because she had just said that she wanted to be with him for longer than it would take to get him a green card, or for her father to get off her back.

They were in this for the long haul, and they both knew that however strange and wonderful this situation was.

She strode around the table and picked up Natsu's discarded jacket before slipping one of her hands into his own, her hips swaying with newfound confidence and Natsu was having a hard time looking away from them. So enticing.

"Goodbye, Jude. I don't think we'll meet again."

"This isn't over young lady! I-"

Lucy cut him off with a single look, one of her hands in Natsu's, half way to those big double doors that she had such a problem with.

"I am no longer your pawn you can just…push around the board. I'm a fucking queen."

And with that, they were gone while chaos erupted around Jude, the suitors demanding answers while some laughed at the fact he was played so well by a woman, his own child.

Checkmate.

Next: Body Language

Tomorrow is DEFINITELY rated M. (don those hats and raincoats kiddies. It's about to get a little wet up in here...)

Stay Crazy,

LoadedEel