Hola! I hope you all had a great week. I've been suuuuuper busy but I had time to squeeze out another chapter... actually I wrote a 7k word chapter so I broke it into two parts haha.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you so much for all the encouragement and reviews you all have written. Thank you as well to all those who have favorited and followed this fanfic and myself as a writer.

Enjoy!


Day 3

The sound of light breathing fought through the silence permeating the room. The sunlight shone through the thin curtains illuminating the small apartment, casting a light glow across the two people who lay asleep in their bed.

Natsu laid on his back with his right leg hanging over the edge of the bed and his left intertwined with Lucy's. His left arm was wrapped around the blonde's upper torso while his right clasped her hand as it rested on his bare chest. The sheet rested just underneath Lucy's arm as she straddled half of her body on Natsu's.

The door to the apartment lightly opened and shut as Grandine stepped into the quiet space. She tiptoed through the room towards the back-bedroom area. She glanced at the pile of clothes on the floor before looking around the corner of the box wall at her son and his fiancé. She had to hold a hand up to her mouth to keep her from squealing in joy at the sight before her.

She remembered sitting on their back porch sipping tea with Layla while they watched their children run around on the lawn. Layla was her best friend; the two of them were inseparable and that was something she was proud to pass onto their children. She remembered watching Natsu and Lucy laugh and play as she talked to Layla about future plans for their wedding. It was all made in total jest but part of her always hoped it would be true. If only Layla could see them now in this moment.

Grandine walked over to the side of the bed closest to Natsu and lightly tapped on his bare shoulder. The pinkette winced at the touch and pulled the blonde closer to him in response. Grandine chuckled at her son, he was always hard to wake up but this definitely was the hardest time she has ever had.

She continued to poke around on his chest and face until he was startled awake. As soon as his eyes opened, Grandine placed a hand on his hand to comfort him. "Is everything okay?" he asked in a confused whisper. Grandine put a single finger to her mouth before pointing down. Confused, Natsu followed where she was pointing and noticed the sleeping blonde resting on his chest. He looked back up at his mother who motioned him to come out into the living area before she walked away.

Natsu watched his mom walk out of his field of view before he returned his gaze to Lucy. He slowly moved his arms up and held them in the air as he processed the events of last night. Okay so… party then tree house then gym… what next? He remembered walking home, but the rest was a bit foggy. He glanced around the room for clues before his eyes landed on their pile of clothes from last night.

His eyes went wide… please don't tell me. He looked from Lucy to her bare shoulder to his bare chest and to the sheet covering them. He took a deep breath and held it as he lifted the cover to look down at himself. Not only was he clothes but they both were… well, kinda, but they were clothed!

His head returned to the pillow as he simultaneously released the breath he held. After reestablishing his composure, Natsu slowly slid out of bed in an effort not to wake Lucy. He couldn't help but stop to take an extra glance at the sleeping beauty before he met his mother in the living room.

"What's going on, mom?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his bare chest.

"Some of the guys cancelled last minute on your father so he needs some help to finish setting up the booths on Main Street. Gajeel is out there now but they could use another hand."

Natsu nodded in affirmation," I'll be right there, just let me get dressed." Grandine nodded and siled before she left so Natsu could change.

He strode over to the bedroom area once more since his suitcase still sat on the floor near the foot of the bed. Natsu quietly unzipped his suitcase, grabbed a pair of jeans and a tshirt before leaving to change in the bathroom. When he was done, he scribbled a note explaining his absence to Lucy and left it on the nightstand before heading out.

Lucy groaned when she heard the chiming of her phone from somewhere beside her. Without opening her eyes, she reached over to the bedside table and felt around for her phone. Upon finding it, she grabbed it and held it up to her ear.

"H-hello?" she answered groggily.

"Good Morning, Lu-chan!" Levy cheered.

"Levy?" she inquired as she peered open her eyes. Immediately, her eyes landed on a folded piece of paper placed on the table beside a glass of an unknown substance. "What time is it?" she asked as she maneuvered herself into a sitting position.

"It's 9:30."

Once the room stopped spinning, she grabbed the paper with her free hand and read the note.

'Luce- Drink this, it will help with the hangover. Left to help Igneel with the festival. Be back later. Your Favorite Fiancé.'

She read as she listened to her best friend on the phone, "So Gajeel left earlier to help Igneel with the festival. Apparently, some people had to drop out last minute so he is helping out."

"Natsu is there too." Apparently. She grabbed the glass and swished the substance around before summing up the courage to down whatever was in there. Lucy practically gagged as soon as the substance hit her tongue but she was able to keep it down.

"Cool, so what do you think about meeting me for breakfast this morning?" At the sound of the word, her stomach began to grumble. "Breakfast sounds great." She said almost hesitantly.

"Great! So I will see you in a half hour at the usual spot!" Levy said her goodbye before hanging up on the blonde. Lucy sat in the bed in bewilderment; her head felt cloudy and her body ached. She definitely drank too much last night… but what happened last night? She remembered being with Natsu at the party then in the treehouse and then at the high school. After that, she has bits and pieces but she doesn't think too much of it.

She gets up to start her day and is caught off guard when she realizes she is only wearing her undergarments. That's weird, she thought. She walked into the bathroom to get ready and took notice of herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed from a night of drinking, her eyes were still a little red and watery, her hair was messed up but other than that she looked fine.

Lucy took a quick shower, changed, did her makeup and set out on her way to meet Levy. As she walked out the door, she noticed she was already starting to feel a bit better.

She walked down main street, taking the time to wave at people as she passed. While waving to the florist, something shiny on her left hand caught her eye. She slowly brought her hand down to her face and saw her mother's ring resting on her finger. It wasn't something she was used to and honestly, she wasn't sure how she really felt about wearing it.

With a confused sigh, she brought her hand down to her side and strode on towards the diner. Once she got to Mira's, her and Levy's favorite place to eat, she walked straight in and looked for Levy. "Lu-chan!" Lucy turned her head towards the voice and saw Levy sitting in their booth waving wildly. She couldn't help but smile at her absurd friend as she walked over to their booth.

"Good morning, Lu-chan!" Lucy smiled and returned the greeting with a warm smile. "Morning." She simply responded as she sat down in the booth across from the blunette.

"How are you doing today?" Levy asked.

"I need coffee." Lucy deadpanned. Levy chuckled as she waved a waitress over. "Rough night?" Levy asked as the waitress set the items down on the front of the table and poured a cup for Lucy.

"You have no idea," she muttered just before she took a sip of her hot coffee.

Levy smirked, "You disappeared last night." Lucy looked up from her cup and gave Levy a confused look. "Last time I saw you, you were sneaking off with Natsu." Lucy audibly groaned and set her cup down on the table. Levy leaned in closer, "So what were you up to?"

She was tired of trying to argue. "Levy, what Natsu and I do in our own time is between us." She grunted.

"I get it, Lu-chan, you don't kiss and tell," Levy winked as she held a finger up to her lips. Lucy sighed and hung her head; her friend was so absurd. The waitress returned and took their orders.

"So you never did tell me how you two got together." Lucy tried so hard not to spit out her coffee that she ended up choking on it and started coughing. "Or even how he proposed." Lucy grabbed her napkin to cover her mouth as she coughed. Levy leaned on the table and rested her face in her hand, "I always knew you two would end up together."

Finally recovering from her coughing fit, Lucy replied, "Why would you think that?"

Levy shrugged, "It's the classic best friends to lovers scenario."

"Levy, we aren't some made up characters you can pair in some fanfiction. We are real people."

"Real people who REALLY love each other." Lucy groaned again and shook her head. "You two are perfect for one another and I'm glad you two finally noticed it."

Before Lucy could reply, a waitress walked up with their food. "Here you are ladies!" she cheered as she set the plates of hot food down in front of each of them. "Thank you, Bisca!" Levy cheered.

"Oh my goodness, Bisca! It's so good to see you!" Lucy stated.

"You too, Lucy. And I couldn't help but overhear the news… Congrats on the engagement!"

Lucy's smile faltered slightly, "Oh… thank you."

"If you don't mind me saying, Levy has a point."

"Bisca!" Lucy yelled defensively, drawing the attention of the few people within the diner.

"What? I'm just saying the whole 'friends to lovers' trope isn't all that farfetched. That's exactly what happened to Alzac and I."

That's right, Lucy thought. Bisca and Alzac were best friends since middle school and everyone something more between them but the two were in denial for the longest time. She remembered how she and the girls would tease Bisca about them and plan their wedding. She also recalled how happy everyone was when Bisca and Alzac finally got together at their Junior Prom. Then the joy of seeing them win Prom King and Queen the following year (her Junior prom since she was a grade below them in school).

Lucy barely listened as Bisca and Levy droned on about the course of her relationship with Alzac: friends, lovers, marriage and now they were raising their child together. She glanced out the window and glanced over all the foot traffic in town. With the festival starting up, many people were hard at work.

Her eyes fell on the back of a familiar head of pink hair. She watched as he grabbed a nail, rested it in his mouth between his lips, as he climbed the ladder before him with a hammer in hand. Once a top the ladder, he removed the nail, placed it on the corner of the banner and began hammering the fabric in place. She couldn't help but chuckle when he missed the nail and struck his thumb causing him to rage and even fall off the ladder.

Lucy continued to watch as Gajeel began laughing at Natsu, who in turn stood up and began yelling back at the pierced man. The two then started physically fighting with one another and Igneel had to run over to break them apart.

Levy and Bisca didn't notice Lucy's inattentiveness to the conversation but continued to plan the event they brought up a few minutes ago. "So where should we go for girls' night?" Levy asked.

"There are a few good shop that opened up in the town over." Bisca pointed over her shoulder.

"Oh yeah! I heard Heart Kruz just opened a store near here."

"Yep and they have wedding dresses there too," Bisca blinked.

"That sounds fun, although I would assume Lucy would wear her mother's dress."

"So then just try them on! It can be a pre-bachelorette party."

"Yes! I will message Grandine and Wendy to come too." Levy glanced down at her cellphone as she typed a quick message to the girls. "I will pick you up here after your shift."

"Sounds good." Bisca finally turned her attention to the blonde, who was still looking at the chaos across the street. Bisca followed Lucy's gaze, smiled then looked back at the blonde. "See you tonight, Lucy." Stunned by hearing her name, Lucy turned and was confused to see the green haired girl walk away.

"I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention," the blonde admitted as she began eating her food.

Levy chuckled, "It's okay, Lu-chan. Bisca and I were just making plans."

"So what's going on between you and Gajeel?" Levy blushed and dropped her fork, causing a loud sound when it impacted the plate.

"W-why do you ask?"

"Well we've only talked about Natsu and I so far this week and I would like to hear about your relationship." Lucy smiled. Knowing her friend would not drop the topic, she sighed and began sharing stories of her world wind romance with Gajeel.

Lucy and Levy walked up to the register after eating to pay for their meal. Levy paid as her 'congrats' present on Lucy's engagement, much to Lucy's dismay. Levy provided her card to the cashier, who began processing her information for payment. As Lucy was watching the process, she couldn't help but wonder if Natsu had eaten this morning.

Just as the cashier handed the card and receipt back to Levy, she asked, "Is it possible to order food to go?" The cashier simply shook her head up and down and handed her a menu. "Still hungry?" Levy asked.

Without looking up from the menu, Lucy answered, "No, it's Natsu. He didn't get to eat this morning since we slept in so late."

"AWWW!" Lucy looked up from the menu to give her friend a disapproving glare before looking back down. "Did you decide on what you wanted?" the cashier asked. Lucy nodded and returned the menu. "I will take a Bacon English Muffin Breakfast Sandwich with hot sauce on the side, a cup of fresh fruit and a large black coffee."

"It will be just a few minutes." The cashier noted as Lucy handed her card over to be processed. When the cashier was down and Lucy had signed the necessary receipts, the cashier walked away to watch over Lucy's order.

"That's so sweet of you to give your future hubby breakfast," Levy cooed.

"You and I both know how he gets when he doesn't eat, and I can't imagine how that's playing into him and Gajeel working together." Levy's face quickly turned from a happy smile to a seriously worried look. "I never thought about that…" she murmured to herself.

"I'll be surprised if they haven't killed each other by now." Levy nodded in agreement, just as another employee walked forward with Lucy's order.

The two girls left the restaurant and walked down Main St to their right in an attempt to find Natsu and Gajeel. Lucy was impressed that they actually made progress in the hour and a half she was eating with Levy. The streetlights were each decorated with a unique banner listing the name of a local business. Each storefront window was also decorated to display the festival logo. The girls continued to walk down the street until they reached Magnolia Park where different vendors were preparing their booths for tomorrow.

Amongst the crowd and makeshift stands, Lucy caught a glimpse of pink hair. Apologizing wildly, Lucy and Levy wound through the people until they reached the two guys (who were still arguing).

"We are not using red," Gajeel complained.

"Red catches the eye better than black does," Natsu argued.

Sensing another argument about to unfold, Igneel cut in, "The sign is already made, guys. Just use the blue piece of paper its on."

"BLUE?!" Natsu and Gajeel whined in unison.

"Hey, guys!" Levy called, causing all three men to turn their heads towards them. Lucy's breath hitched in her throat a little when Natsu's eyes locked with her own; why was she reacting like this?! She quickly turned her attention to Igneel as he walked up behind the boys, "Thank Mavis you two are here; these two have been at each other's throats since we started this morning."

"But it looks like you got a lot accomplished," Lucy encouraged.

"I would have gotten more done if Natsu hadn't gotten in my way," Gajeel grunted.

Natsu whipped his head around to angrily stare at his partner, "Excuse me?! I did all the work! You were too busy staring at Levy through the diner window!" Both Levy and Gajeel immediately blushed.

"Anyway," Igneel interrupted, "These two are done; the vendors can handle their own booths themselves."

"So we are free to go then?" Natsu clarified.

"Get out!" Igneel shouted as he pointed away from his location. Before matters could get worse, Levy and Lucy grabbed Gajeel and Natsu and began walking towards town.

"Oh, by the way, Natsu," Lucy began, drawing his attention to the girl beside him, "I got you some breakfast." She held up the small bag and coffee to the pinkette.

"Is this Mira's?!" Natsu asked wildly as he peered into the bag. Lucy responded by nodding her head up and down. She squealed when Natsu wrapped her in a bear hug and squeezed her tight, "You are the best fiancé ever!"

"Ugh! Get a room you two!" Gajeel disgustingly stated.

Natsu didn't fully release the blonde, but instead kept a single arm around her neck, "We have our own apartment, thank you very much! So at least we can have some privacy unlike the two of you."

Insulted, Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest, "Why would you need privacy, Salamander?" Lucy never understood that nickname, something from their football days.

Natsu responded by winking and saying, "Some things shouldn't be said in public."

Lucy's eyes went wide and a blush rushed over her face. "Natsu!" she shouted as she hit him in the chest but the pinkette simply laughed. "You better eat that sandwich before I shove it down your throat."

"Speaking of privacy…" Levy began, causing Gajeel and Lucy to look at the small girl, "We have something we need to discuss." Levy looked directly at Gajeel, but he looked back at her with an empty gaze. "What?" the pierced male responded. Levy obviously didn't like that reaction because she responded with a disappointed glare. "We have to talk about something IN PRIVATE." Levy mumbled the last bit. Finally understanding what Levy was implying, Gajeel's eyes went wide and he shook his head in agreement. Levy grabbed Gajeel's hand and as the two began walking away, Levy commented, "See you tonight, Lu-chan!"

Lucy waved in response. "What are you guys doing tonight?" Natsu asked.

"No clue," Lucy deadpanned as she returned her head to her side. "I wasn't really paying attention during her conversation with Bisca."

"It's not like you to be scatter brained, especially when you're with Levy," he commented as he took a sip from his coffee cup.

She glanced at him then quickly looked away, "I had something on my mind."

"Care to talk about it?" he asked as he stared down at his sandwich, trying to find the perfect place to take the first bite.

"About what?"

"About what's on your mind." He repeated this time with a mouthful of food.

She shook her head and smiled at him, "Nothing new, just feeling a bit overwhelmed by this week."

"I get that."

The two of them walked around a bit before returning to the Dragneel residence. They were in the middle of a funny story when Natsu held open the front door for them to enter. "Lucy!" The two dropped their smiles and turned towards the voice. Lucy turned to see Grandine sitting in the living room beside Wendy and Levy on the couches.

"Hey… were we supposed to be doing something?" Lucy asked, still confused. Grandine stood, walked over to Lucy, took her hand and drug her over to the other girls. "We are going shopping tonight," Grandine smiled wildly as the other two girls joined in.

"Shopping?" Wendy and Levy only responded with affirmative nods. "I don't need anything though." But Lucy was quickly waved off. "It's just a fun night with us girls." Lucy didn't know why but she was weary of the situation. "Just bonding between us girls," Levy added.

"Just girls, which means no Natsus allowed," Wendy clarified as she glared at her brother.

"Well what am I supposed to do then?" Natsu asked defensively.

"Whatever you want but you can't come with us," Grandine stated as she moved Lucy forward by pushing her from behind. Wendy and Levy followed behind as they walked towards the front door. "Don't wait up, Natsu!" Wendy called as she shut the front door behind the group. Natsu stood silent and alone in the massive living room, left to wonder what just happened and contemplate the remainder of his night.