"Hey, Lucy?" Natsu asked, turning to her. They were lounging in the corner of the guild in the aftermath of a fight. Everything was quiet and peaceful, though most of the members were hedging around Erza. Despite having a new slice of cake, she still seemed volatile and gave off a dangerous aura.

"Hm?" she asked, leaning against his arm.

"We should get married," he said.

Lucy choked on her own spit and lurched forward in her seat in surprise, "What? Married?"

"Yeah," Natsu said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, though he seemed bashful. "People get married when they know they want to be together forever, right?"

She rubbed the side of her neck, her mind overwhelmed by a mess of emotions. She'd always wanted to get married. She had imagined her wedding day millions of times and to be Natsu's wife would be amazing. But…she couldn't do that to him. She couldn't say that she would take him as a husband knowing it wouldn't be forever.

She wanted him to have a happy after. As much as it hurt to think of Natsu with someone else, it hurt even more to think of him miserable and alone for the rest of his life. And, she didn't want his future wife to always have to be second to her.

"Oh, Natsu," she said, hiding her face in his neck. It was hard to tell him no when he looked at her with those earnest eyes and that hopeful expression. Every fiber of her being wanted to say yes, but she refused to be selfish. "I want to, but I can't."

His body tensed, and without even looking at his face, she could tell he was upset and hurt. He tried to pull her back, to look at her face, but she held on tighter like a coward, "You can't? Why?"

Smoothing down his hair, she said, "Because I want you to be happy and I don't want to be selfish."

He was quiet for a long time before he said, "But…if you married me, it would be me being selfish."

Lucy shook her head, her voice breaking, "I'm sorry, Natsu."

She let him pull her back the second time. He wiped her tears away and said, "I don't really get it, but okay."

"I'm sorry," she said again. Natsu smiled, showing her that everything was forgiven and kissed her softly. Her eyes fluttered shut and she allowed herself to picture their wedding. She wondered what he would say for the vows? He had always been dense, but on multiple occasions he'd pulled out speeches that surprised her in their heart and eloquence. Maybe he would just say that he was fired up and dip her for a kiss.

"Lucy, it's okay. Don't cry anymore," Natsu said when he ended the kiss and saw that she was crying again.

She nodded and leaned against him again. He put his arm around her and she forced her mind on to other subjects to keep herself from caving into her selfish want.

I really wanted to say yes.

#16 Marry Me?

(Weh, I'm so mean to them! I'm sorry~! Oh, and, thanks for telling me your favorite kisses, it made my night reading them. :D It seems the general consensus was the fishing and painting kisses. Thanks for reading~!)