We walked in comfortable silence, hand in hand for a few minutes, quietly enjoying the breeze and each other's company. The walk really wasn't long and we hit a sidewalk soon enough that led alongside a row of shops. I would go out to town on occasion but it was such a hassle to call a driver and having to drag along Aries, Virgo, or Heavens forbid I ever asked Aquarius to accompany me to town, because that was what was "proper" for a young lady of my standing. I didn't really have an interest in any of the clothing or shoe shops anyway. What did finally catch my eye was a small bookstore off in the corner. I knew there had to be so many books to choose from in the library back at Natsu's, so I decided it would be best not to ask to go in.

"Lucy, would you like to go into the bookstore?" Natsu said, turning his head to look at me and breaking the quiet he had left me in so I could take in the small line of shops.

"No, we don't have to. I'm sure I can find anything I could ever want to read in your library." I said with a small shake of my head, looking up at him.

"You do realize that it is your library too, right? It will probably be more your library than mine soon anyway with how easily you seem to get lost in reading. I have a feeling you will spend much more time there than I ever have. You may as well start filling it with books of your choice now. Most of the ones we have are kinda old and dusty anway." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Yeah, let's go in then." I said, letting him lead me into the store.

We greeted the older lady behind the desk with a small wave after her welcome and we set to browsing the shelves. My eyes roamed over the titles but none of them seemed to stick with me as I thought of what Natsu had said earlier. "It is your library too." I guess most of the last few days have really seemed like they were happening to someone else. But I was going to marry Natsu. He was going to be my husband, and I am going to become his wife. I would have the rest of my life to fill the shelves with whatever books I wanted.

I suddenly became aware that Natsu was looking at me rather than the books around us.

"Did I say that outloud?" wondering if I had said any of my previous thoughts as I was prone to do.

"Say what? Were you thinking about me?" Natsu said with a tilt to his head and a grin so wide it made his eyes close.

"No," I said, turning to put a book back on the shelf I had unconsciously grabbed it from, only kinda working to hide the blush creeping up my neck and trying to find its way onto my cheeks. "Well, maybe I kinda was."

"What were you thinking about if it was only kinda about me?"

"I was just thinking about what you had said earlier about the library and how it was mine. I don't know, I guess that made this all seem more real to me all of the sudden."

"Well, I for one, am very grateful that it is the reality that I get to live in with you." Natsu said as he took a few steps toward me and took up both of my hands in his.

"Thank you." I said, with a happy smile.

"What would make you say something like that?" he said with another tilt of his head that kinda reminded me of a lost puppy.

"Because you have been nothing but nice to me and you don't owe me anything because I would have had to marry you anyway because that is always how it was going to be for me no matter what but you are nice and sweet and kind and you seem like you like me and I think I might be starting to like you more than like you, and.." I said, kind of just letting the run on sentence trail off not knowing where to go with all of the words that just came out of my mouth.

"First off, I do like you, in fact I think I might more than like you too," he said with a sweet smile rather than his signature grin, "and I didn't want it to be that way for us. I didn't want you to have to marry me. I want you to want to marry me."

My brain and my mouth couldn't seem to work together long enough for me to reply to that so I just smiled and nodded, trying not to let any tears fall.

"Anyway, have you found a book you want?" Natsu said. I noted how he hadn't put the word yet behind that sentence. He made it seem like he had nothing else in the world to be doing but helping me find a good book even if he had no interest in them at all.

"No, but we can leave, I can always come back later." I said, not wanting to take any time away from the day he had planned.

"Go ahead and keep looking, I'll stop distracting you. We don't have to leave until you are ready to leave." He said, starting to walk in the opposite direction from me.

I decided to go deeper back into the bookstore to try and find something that caught my eye, but once again thoughts of the last week creep into my thoughts.

As I am aimlessly wandering through the book shelves, I spot Natsu up front laughing and talking to the lady behind the desk, she is just as charmed by Natsu as everyone else seems to be. I smile to myself and continue wandering through the shelves until I decide that I am really ready to leave and vowing to come back and really look at what the small store had to offer when I wasn't so distracted.

"Natsu, I think I am ready to go. I saw so many good titles that I will just have to come back and look another time." I said, finding him near the front of the shop.

"You didn't find anything?"

"No, it will be okay."

"Well, while I was talking to the lady at the front desk, she recommended I give you this one." He said holding up a thick hardcover book.

"What is it?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure but she said she thought you would like it. Plus I already bought it, so you have to love it now." He said with a grin as he put it in my hands and started walking to the door.

"Oh, thank you.." I said as I rushed out the door to follow him.