Toma & Natsu:

"Well, say what you have to, Natsu-kun. I'm eager to hear it." Toma chuckles tauntingly.

Natsu just stares at him.

"What? Are you going to say things like, 'Oh, don't steal our precious friend away from us!' And, 'If you hurt her, I'll beat you to a pulp!' Right?" Toma laughs, holding his stomach. "Too predictable. Well, it doesn't matter what you say after all, Natsu-kun. Because if Lucy says yes, then there will be absolutely nothing you can do."

Natsu continues to stare. Toma begins to sweat.

"O-oi, say something already."

Natsu smirks.

Toma's eyebrow twitches. "What's with that?"

"I wasn't going to say anything like that, moron."

Toma grits his teeth. 'Moron!?' He thinks. "Then, what were you going to say?"

Natsu points at him. "You'd better be serious about Lucy…or will I make you regret it if you do hurt her."

Toma blinks, surprised. "Pfft!" He laughs. "That's it? Oh man, I thought I was in for it. Well, I can't say that I'm not glad."

"Lucy is our friend. A member of Fairy Tail. A part of our family. If you are serious about this, take care of her." Natsu turns, having said what he wanted to say.

Toma grins. "That's it? This was too easy. I was hoping for a tougher fight, but if you're so eager to hand her over…"

Toma blinks as in a flash Natsu is back, Toma's shirt gripped in his fist, and the other raised before Toma's face. Toma grins.

"That was the expression I wanted to see… I have to admit, I was almost disappointed."

Natsu glares murderously at him. "Teme! What are you planning?"

"Planning? I honestly want to make an honest woman out of Lucy. Doesn't she deserve that? I can give Lucy everything she wants and more. As long as Lucy is happy, isn't that what matters the most, Natsu-kun?" Toma stares at Natsu before saying, "If you really love someone, you'd want the best for them, right?"

Natsu releases Toma, ducking his head.

Toma clears his throat as he straightens, fixing his shirt back into place. "If there's nothing more, I really need to get going. I have a wedding to prepare."

Toma glances at Natsu before walking away. He shoves his hands into his front pockets as he tries to contain his laughter.

Lucy:

Lucy sits in her room, staring out of her huge window at the full, bright moon. She closes her eyes as she gets up and walks to her desk, looking at the box that contains the letters she writes to her deceased mother.

"Mama, is this what you wanted for me? If you were here now…could you help me decide?"

Finally, she decides to write. Writing and reading have become a sort of solace for her. She can find comfort in them. And so with a blank page and pen in hand, she takes to the pages to ease some of her worry.

That night, Lucy dreamt… She dreamt of happiness and a life of ease, but it did not involve her friends or the guild. A life where she would be safe all of the time. A life where she would make a great mother and wife. She'd bought her home and things were perfect. Too perfect. Seemingly boringly perfect… A perfect life: perfect husband, perfect children, perfect home. Where was the fun in that?

Lucy did not see the ending to this perfect envision. It never ended…

The next day:

Lucy trembles with unease as she enters the guild. Everyone is there that she wants to be. The always noisy boys: Natsu, Gray, Elfman… Her good girlfriends: Erza, Juvia, Levy… The master and Mirajane are in their usual spots. Everything is normal. An everlasting adventure with the people she loves. But…nothing lasts forever. And deep within her she knows that. Though she can't stop it, change will happen. Today. Tomorrow. Or even ten years from now. No one remains the same. Nothing stays the way it is. That's the thing about life, people grow, people move forward, people just…change.

She takes a deep breath as she steps into the- no, her guild. Her home away from home.

"Minna, do you have a minute?"

Everyone looks up. It's not unusual for someone to grasp at attention, but this is different. They can feel it. They can hear it in Lucy's voice.

"I have something I want to say… It's very important. I'm sure you probably heard there's a rumor going around that I've been proposed to. Though not in the most romantic way. But, that's not all I want to say. I love everyone here. I love the guild. I love Fairy Tail. I want to stay for as long as I can…the way it is. Even when change comes…I want to stay."

Toma:

Toma glances at the note delivered to him in the morning, hand written by Lucy Heartfilia herself. He sighs.

"Taku, what's this woman up to? Calling me all the way to that dangerous, filthy guild." He takes a deep breath as he steps to the door.

"Even when change comes, I want to say."

He stops. 'That's Lucy-san's voice…' He frowns. 'So she's made her decision already? Is this woman an idiot?' He opens the doors, not bothering at subtly.

"What's that guy doing here?" Natsu grumbles.

Lucy glances back at Toma. "Ah, Toma-san… Thank you for coming."

"As per request." He says, not meeting her gaze.

Lucy swallows. "A-as I was saying…"

"Something about wanting to stay even if change comes." Toma reminds her.

"Eh?"

He finally glances at her. "You're afraid of change, Lucy-san. And yet, everything seems to be changing around you. Every one of your friends is changing. Don't get me wrong, I did my research. The water mage and the ice mage are secretly dating."

Gray spits his water out. Juvia squirms with concealed delight.

"What?!" Erza glances at the two.

"The Iron Dragon Slayer and the one he nearly killed, are also dating secretly."

"What'd you say!?" Gajeel rises, but Levy holds him back.

"Your friends, the Demons, Mirajane and Erza are continuously plotting to get their friends together."

"M-Mira!?" Lucy glares at her and Mirajane chuckles nervously.

"Let's see… Am I missing anything?"

"You're forgetting one thing." Natsu says as he stands. "Even if everyone changes in the guild, we're all still a family."

"Natsu…" Lucy stares at him.

"Lucy, you aren't running away again, are you?" Happy walks up to Lucy with watery eyes. "Everyone would miss Lucy and would be sad if she left."

Everyone in the guild smiles, feeling the same as happy, but not brave enough to say the words aloud amongst the strongest mages in Fiore.

Lucy smiles as she kneels, patting Happy's head. "Of course I'm not leaving. I would be sad and miss everyone, too."

"And I said," Toma says, "you could continue your life here at Fairy Tail. Though it will be slightly different, nothing has to change indefinitely."

"You really mean that?" Lucy turns to Toma, staring up at him.

Toma's eyes widen slightly and he gulps. He turns his head, "Tch. I only say what I mean and mean what I say. All I'm asking is for your hand in marriage for our father's sake. In a few years or so, if you still don't feel right about it, I'll let you go. I have no intentions of making you do what you don't want to do." Finally, he turns back to Lucy and smiles. "I'm not that kind of person."

"Tch!"

Toma glares at Natsu. "Did you just cluck your tongue at me!?"

"So what if I did? What are you going to do about it?"

Erza smacks Natsu down. "Calm yourself, Natsu."

Lucy swallows, taking a deep breath. She looks up with a smile and says, "Then, I accept Toma's proposal. In a few years, like you said, let's see how things go. I might be afraid of change, but I'm not completely weak. Please, take care of me, Toma."

Though there are some saddened by Lucy's choice, some more than others, it can't be helped. Sucking it up, they accept Lucy's choice, and change, and congratulate her. Only Natsu distances himself. He won't change towards Lucy, but he'll always look out for her. From afar.

And so….